Chapter 39
There was only one safe place Lucius could think of for Brady and himself. Landing on the country lane in front of his mate’s cottage, he quickly turned to Brady, helping him sit down with his head between his legs.
Closing his eyes, Brady sucked in lungfuls of air, in a desperate effort to keep the contents of his stomach where they belonged.
Everything could wait—would have to wait—until he recovered from the effects of this unexpected and unplanned translocation.
But even that need couldn’t keep his thoughts from wondering what triggered Lucius’ urgent need to escape.
Slowly, his breathing became less frantic as the uproar in his gut disappeared. Opening his eyes, he found himself looking at his girls, and recognized where Lucius had taken him. Brady was sure it was a clue to his mate’s action, but what it meant was, as yet, unknown.
“I’m so sorry,” Lucius cried out softly.
“He has so much power…I was afraid of what he would do to me once he realized I was there…with Valerian…in Scotland…he killed Zeidan and Xavier, too.” Pausing, he felt Brady’s hand resting on his back, helping his fear retreat.
Finally, he felt calm enough to continue.
“I couldn’t stay because he would have killed me, nor could I leave you behind to face his wrath on your own. ”
“So you brought us here,” Brady said, beginning to understand why his mate picked his cottage. “Because it was safe, right?”
Nodding dejectedly, Lucius replied, “Yes…and I didn’t think he knew about it. I figured it would give you some time to decide what you want to do about me.”
Frowning slightly, Brady heard the hopelessness in Lucius’s voice. He didn’t understand it, but was determined to get to the bottom of what was causing it. “Leelan, who would have killed you?”
“Zane…he’s the one who killed my master and the only reason he didn’t kill me was because I…”
“Didn’t obey Valerian’s order to join him in the fight,” Brady murmured, having accessed Lucius’ memories acquired during their claiming.
“I disappeared before Zane could kill me, too,” Lucius whispered.
“And you’re sure he’ll kill you if we go back.”
“Yes-s-s…”
Lucius’ voice was so faint, Brady wouldn’t have known his mate had spoken if he hadn’t been watching him closely.
He had no doubt he was telling the truth; the absolute fear in Lucius’ eyes along with his uncontrollable trembling wasn’t something that could be faked.
But it just didn’t make sense to him. Why didn’t Oracle warn me that members of the Blackwood Pack are after my mate?
Unless she didn’t know? But that doesn’t make any sense, either.
His mate began to cry, spurring Brady to set aside his thoughts and focus on taking care of him.
Wrapping his arms around Lucius, he pulled him tightly against his chest, whispering softly that everything would be all right.
And it would be, if he had anything to say about it.
My mate has suffered enough. It’s time someone is held accountable for it!
But that would have to wait; something was more important.
Brady continued to hold his mate, soothing him the best he could and was grateful when Lucius’ body stopped shaking.
Now it was time to sort out the mess regarding his mate’s fears that Zane intended to kill him.
“Leelan, do you mind if I ask my friend, Mystia, to join us here? I promise she won’t hurt you… or tell Zane where we are.”
“I guess not, if you trust her.”
“I do…with my life. She was the only one who came to my aid after the Witches’ Council banned me,” Brady explained. “I need to know what I’m up against…and why Zane might want to kill you.”
“Okay…but what can you do? He has a lot of power.”
“I can do quite a bit…starting with filing a complaint against him with the Universal Paranormal High Council. There are laws about killing someone who isn’t attacking you.
While Zane may have an acceptable reason for killing Valerian, I know for a fact those reasons do not apply to you,” Brady said.
“I don’t think that will stop him,” Lucius murmured, remembering that none of his complaints to Valerian ever resulted in anything other than more pain for him.
“We’ll see,” Brady growled. “Once I lodge it, the High Council will inform Jackson of the consequences if anything happens to you during their investigation.”
“Why would they warn Jackson when it’s Zane who wants to kill me?” asked Lucius, confused as to how it would stop Zane from killing him.
“As Alpha, Jackson is responsible for the actions of all of his pack members…even his brother Zane.”
Frowning, Lucius thought for a moment before exclaiming, “No Brady, don’t do it, please! That’s not a good idea because Jackson will get angry at me for causing trouble! I felt the Alpha’s power…and even I know there won’t be anywhere we can hide where we’ll be safe.”
Feeling his mate’s agitation, Brady started to run his hand up and down Lucius’ back, hoping to ease his tension.
“Shush, leelan…let’s not jump ahead of ourselves.
Before I do anything, I need some answers…
and Mystia is the one who can give them to me.
” Pressing a small mark on the inside of his wrist, he waited, sighing in relief when a shimmer in the air announced his friend’s arrival.
Rising, Brady pulled Lucius up beside him, keeping an arm around his mate’s waist for support. “Thank you for coming, Mystia. This is my mate, Lucius. Leelan, this is Mystia, my friend.”
“Congratulations to both of you! It’s truly amaz…
” Mystia stopped when she saw signs of tension in their faces.
“What happened? Did someone on the Council threaten you or Lucius? Tell me, which one of those pompous jackasses did it? And why are you here instead of with Remy and Carson? They promised to protect you.”
Brady felt Lucius begin to relax against him, easing some of his worries, but what helped the most was his friend’s response.
As Mystia had done in his past, she once again had taken on his problems and made them her own.
Her steadfast belief in him was always a balm to his bruised and battered soul, but now he needed it more than ever because his mate’s life was on the line.
Quickly, he told her what happened in Scotland, ending up with Lucius coming face to face with the man who killed his master.
“And that’s why we’re here. Lucius feels safe and, frankly, so do I. ”
After listening to Brady, Mystia said, “Let me see what I can find out…and why Zane may still be after Lucius. It just doesn’t make sense to me…”
“Me, either,” Brady muttered.
“Before I can help you, I have to get some answers so I know what to do to protect you two,” Mystia replied. “I’ll be right back.”
Before Brady could ask her to remove the spell on his property, his friend had disappeared. Sighing, he led his mate over to a stand of trees bordering his property. There they could wait, hidden from view, until Mystia returned.
“Will she come back?” asked Lucius, sitting down on a moss covered boulder.
“Yes…she will,” Brady murmured, deciding to remain standing in order to have a clearer view of the road. He just hoped Mystia would be able to give him the information he desperately needed.
~/~/~/~/~
“Nothing ever goes smoothly in this pack,” Jackson muttered, getting up from his chair.
After receiving Dylon’s message regarding Brady’s and Lucius’ abrupt departure, he was just as perplexed as everyone else.
Running through different options for finding them, he came to the conclusion there was only one person who could help sort out the mess.
Not more than a few seconds after sending Mystia a message, she appeared.
Grinning at her, he said, “Wow…that was fast.”
“Hello Jackson,” Mystia said softly. “That’s because I was on my way to see you.”
Walking over, Jackson hugged her. “So happy you’re here. Don’t mean to be short with you but Brady and Lucius…”
“They’re safe,” Mystia said.
“You saw them?” asked Jackson.
“Yes, and I know what happened that caused Lucius to flee,” Mystia said. “But what is a mystery to me…and them…is why Zane would want to kill Lucius.”
“Zane? Kill Lucius? No, no, no…is that why they left? Because if it is…they got it all wrong.”
“They don’t agree,” Mystia said. “And until I can assure Brady his mate isn’t in danger, he won’t return to help Remy and Carson. So, let’s start with what happened in Scotland…and why did Zane kill Valerian?”
“The best person to answer that is Zane,” Jackson said, sending a quick message to his brother.
After reading Zane’s reply, he ushered her over to the love seat in his study and sat down beside her.
“But I give you my word as Alpha of the Blackwood Pack, Zane has no intention of harming Brady or Lucius. There’s been a big misunderstanding. ”
“I’m counting on it,” Mystia murmured, looking up as Zane entered the room.
“Oh…hey, Mystia. Jackson said you wanted to talk to me?” Taking a seat in the chair facing her, Zane continued. “Is it about Brady and Lucius? Cause I didn’t mean to scare them…not that I know why Carson said I did, because all that happened was me introducing myself.”
“Lucius thinks you’re going to kill him,” Jackson replied.
“What?” Zane squeaked. Shaking his head violently, he continued, “I honestly don’t know where he got that idea from because, I swear, all I did was tell him who I was.”
“He was there…in Scotland…when you killed the vampires and fled before you could kill him,” Mystia explained.
Zane’s eyes widened in surprise. “Lucius wasn’t with Valerian in Scotland. I know, because there were only three vampires and all of them are dead.”
“He was on the second floor, watching you through a window. After seeing his master and the other vampires killed, he translocated to France,” Mystia said.
“I didn’t know that,” Zane replied softly. “But still, that doesn’t explain why he thinks I’m going to kill him now.”
“No it doesn’t, so there has to be more to the story,” Mystia said. “Tell me, Zane, why did you kill Valerian?”
After explaining what led up to it, Zane concluded by saying, “Even after warning him not to attack my mate, he came at him, so I had no choice but to kill him. I didn’t do anything wrong. As David’s mate it was what I had to do.”
“You certainly were within your rights to do so,” Mystia agreed.
“The other vampires were killed because they were involved in kidnapping Reif…Brian’s mate,” Zane said.
“Yes…yes,” Mystia murmured, her mind suddenly preoccupied with another thought.
“It sounds like Lucius doesn’t understand the basics of paranormal rights regarding a mate,” Jackson said. “That’s the only explanation I can think of.”
“Carson did say Valerian really messed him up,” Zane offered.
“And Lucius grew up as a human,” Jackson added. “He certainly wouldn’t have learned anything about the paranormal world…or the rights we have regarding our mates.”
“Hmm…good points,” Mystia agreed. “If I look at what Lucius saw through the eyes of a human, then his claim that Zane wants to kill him makes sense, especially if Valerian didn’t educate him about the world he was suddenly thrust into.”
“But Brady knows, so why didn’t he explain it to his mate?” asked Jackson.
Rising, Mystia said, “Because even he doesn’t have the full story. Jackson, I need you to come with me to explain to Brady why Zane was forced to kill Valerian.”
“That’s fine,” Jackson replied, getting to his feet. “Shouldn’t Zane come also?”
“Normally I would agree, but not in this case,” Mystia said. “I’m afraid if Lucius sees him…”
“He’ll disappear again,” Jackson finished for her.
“Yes…and if that happens, I doubt Brady will contact me again,” Mystia murmured, taking Jackson’s hand and disappearing with him.
~/~/~/~/~
After finishing his dessert, Fionn set down his fork, looking around to see if everyone else was done. Thankfully, they were, because he and his dragon had run out of patience and couldn’t wait any longer. Grinning at Alex, Fionn announced, “I have a mating present for you and your mates.”
“Oh my gods, wait until you see it,” Kieran squealed. “It’s the bestest gift ever. Right, macushla?”
“Do you know what it is?” asked Sawyer, looking at his brother.
Smirking, Hunter nodded. “You’re gonna love it.”
“Oh shit,” Sawyer muttered. He knew that look after seeing it many times on his brother’s face and it never resulted in anything good.
Trying to figure out what his brother was up to, he glanced over at Fionn, hoping to find the answer there.
But all it did was confuse him since it appeared Fionn was sincere in thinking that Alex would love it.
So…not a practical joke. Shrugging in response to Glenn’s question through their mind link, Sawyer pushed back his chair before getting up to trail behind Fionn and Alex.
Glancing behind him, Alex saw Quin and Kieran following along. “Did you guys help my brother pick out the gift?”
“No,” Quin replied quickly, “but we did help him get your room ready for you.”
“That’s so nice!” Alex said. “Thank you very much…and Quin…thanks for the gorgeous dinner table. I was really wowed!”
Lightly bumping his shoulder against Quin’s, Kieran murmured, “I told ya so.”
“Here we are,” Fionn announced, placing his hand on the gold door knob, but not turning it.
Instead, he looked at Alex for a moment before continuing.
“I never gave anyone a mating gift before so I wasn’t sure what it should be.
But my dragon did. Once he pointed it out to me, I realized right away it was perfect.
And when my mate agreed with my dragon, that clinched it. ”
Tears pooled in Alex’s eyes. No one had ever given him a gift in his entire life—not for his birthday or a holiday or even to let him know they were thinking about him.
But his brother—the one their father so cruelly treated and tried to kill—had done so, and that meant the world to him.
Reaching out, he wrapped Fionn in a tight hug, whispering how much he loved him and thanking him for being his brother.
Returning Alex’s hug, Fionn thanked Hunter through their mind link for helping him make the decision to meet Alex, and realized that hearing his brother’s condemnation of their father’s behavior was something he needed to help him heal.
Stepping back, he surreptitiously brushed away a few tears as he opened the door, standing aside so his brother could see the whole statue.
“Oh my gods!” exclaimed Alex, his eyes big as saucers as he stared at it.