Chapter 28
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
L iam woke to late morning light spilling in through the windows and the warm weight of Kade draped along his back, an arm wrapped around him. All he wanted to do was melt into him further, to stay like that for hours.
Kade was awake, and Liam was certain Kade could tell he’d woken as well. But for a few tranquil moments, they lay there, pretending otherwise, neither willing to break the illusion.
The night before had been intense. Their connection had let Liam feel Kade and the sensations echoing between them… It had been the hottest thing he’d ever done, so different from anything else he’d ever felt. What would sex with Kade be like? Unaffected by the spirit, just the two of them and their bond. Liam tethered to him, filled with Kade’s energy. It was more appealing than he would have dreamed possible before this trip.
Kade shifted his weight on the bed, and Liam realized it wasn’t the smartest idea to think about that while Kade was pressed against him, so he forced his mind to safer thoughts.
He’d figured Kade would regret it, but nothing about Kade’s presence indicated that, and Liam couldn’t bring himself to regret it either. If anything, he could get used to waking up in Kade’s arms and not having a reason to pull away.
When he blinked his eyes open, his gaze landed on the books on the bedside table—three of them from the attic. He’d reinforced the protection spells on them before bringing them down to read.
He’d never cared about his lack of ability to do practical magic. The theoretical was so much more interesting. But looking at them now, there was no denying that this bond was special. It wasn’t on the same level as Victor and Elijah’s, but would it grow to something closer as they got to know each other better?
If he were being honest with himself, he’d miss this. Miss their bond if they severed it, the magic they did together. Miss Kade . But that didn’t mean he wanted to stay there. He wanted to set up his archive and create a proper history of mages that filled in the holes left in the official histories. He wouldn’t be able to do that in the middle of nowhere.
“Are you still going to tell me you’re fine?” Kade asked, his voice a whisper that brushed against Liam’s neck, making him jump.
Of course Kade felt how conflicted he was, just as Liam sensed Kade’s concern nudging at him. He’d assumed that would be intrusive when Elijah had talked about it, but it wasn’t. Not with Kade.
He opened his mouth, then closed it, unsure what to say.
“You don’t have to answer. It’s fine.”
Liam huffed out a laugh. “The irony of you telling me it’s fine.” He sighed. “This was… unexpected. I’d planned to be here for two or three weeks max, then head back to the library.”
Kade waited for him to continue. Something in his emotions said he was bracing himself for the worst. It was too hesitant to be anticipation, though it held a glimmer of hope.
Liam’s phone buzzed, and he considered ignoring it, but it vibrated again. He felt like a coward reaching for it, using it for the diversion it offered.
He sat up, and Kade did the same, though he leaned close, his arm pressed against Liam’s, and Liam had no desire to put distance between them as he opened the notifications on his phone.
Miles
The wards are reset. Everything went well.
I slept most of the morning, and I'm starving and more depleted than I've let myself get in a long while, but overall, I'm good.
Liam exhaled. One more hurdle cleared. He showed the messages to Kade, and the cooling rush of his relief swept over Liam, but Aran replied before he had a chance to.
Aran
So… how was that night-long pounding from Alpha Silver Wolf Daddy's metaphorical shifter dick? Are you nice and stretched this lovely morning?
Miles
There was no shifter dick! Metaphorical or otherwise!
Aran
Who said anything about otherwise? You did get to see him naked though, right? If he isn't an absolute beast in that department, I'll swear a vow of celibacy for a year.
Elijah
You'd crack after a week.
Aran
Speaking of people who got their fill of shifter dick last night… though much less metaphorically.
Elijah sent an eye-roll emoji.
Liam
Miles, are you up to driving to the shop, or do you need someone to pick you up?
There was a slight delay before Miles answered.
Miles
Actually, Grant invited me to their pack breakfast and said I could rest here until I've recovered.
So I'm going to eat as much food as they'll give me and then sleep until tomorrow.
Liam hummed thoughtfully. Elijah had offered Miles and Aran spare bedrooms multiple times, and they’d insisted it wouldn’t feel right to stay on pack land. He was surprised Miles felt comfortable enough to do it now, but with the wards containing so much of his magic, it might feel different to him.
Liam
Okay, but let us know if you change your mind and are too tired to drive.
We'll come get you.
Miles
Thanks, but I'm good. And STARVING.
I'll see you guys tomorrow.
Aran
At which point I will expect a lengthy dick report! Both metaphorical and otherwise!
Miles didn’t reply. Definitely the wise choice, in Liam’s opinion.
He set his phone aside and got out of bed. They got ready in an easy silence, though Liam sensed Kade waiting for him to say more.
He remained close to Liam, like he couldn’t bear to be farther than an arm’s length away, and Liam understood. There was a pull between them that demanded they get closer. He wanted to be consumed by Kade.
It had to have been what they’d done. They’d deepened the bond, and it was demanding more. That should have made him worry, but it didn’t.
As they descended the stairs, the house was quieter than he’d grown accustomed to over the last month. With Grant’s pack gone, there was room to breathe. Sure, there were more people than Liam was used to, but it wasn’t bad. It seemed like the perfect amount.
He didn’t mind all the people there. The sly looks they gave them, on the other hand… It didn’t take a genius to realize they could smell what he and Kade had done.
Victor took a breath, cocking an eyebrow at Kade, and Elijah whipped his head toward Victor, picking up enough to understand Victor’s reaction. Elijah’s eyes locked on Liam as he sat, delighted mischief in their depths. Liam’s cheeks heated.
Like Elijah was one to talk. He appeared thoroughly mauled again, his pale neck marked up with half-healed hickeys. Not that Liam was jealous about that or wondering what it would have been like if he and Kade had exercised a little less self-control.
Before Liam could pick up his plate, Kade was already filling it with everything Liam was craving. Liam stared down at it, and when he glanced up, Elijah was smirking at him from across the table. Some tiny corner of Liam’s mind was telling him he should be annoyed, but given how delicious the food was, he couldn’t be bothered.
As soon as Liam had cleaned his plate, Elijah was out of his chair, circling the table and grabbing him by the arm.
“I’m borrowing him for a few minutes,” Elijah said as he dragged Liam away from the dining room and out of the house.
It was brisk outside, and Liam shivered at the cold. There’d be snow by the end of the week.
“Soooo…” Elijah looked at him expectantly.
Liam refrained from rolling his eyes. “A few days ago, I examined a spell I did with Kade’s energy.”
“There are very few times I get to say this to you, so you’ll have to forgive me for enjoying this, but… I told you so. Now what are you going to do about it? I mean, aside from whatever you did last night.”
“I don’t know.”
“You like him though. You’re just overthinking it like always.”
Liam couldn’t refute any of that. “What does it matter if I like him? Kade’s pack is here, and I’d rather not live here forever.”
“You should talk to Kade before you make any assumptions. But for the record, I’m all for it. Even if you don’t stay here.”
“How would that work? He’s Victor’s second.”
“Talk to Kade, Liam.”
Would Kade want to leave his pack? He’d mentioned it, but that must have been more of an ‘I’m okay with leaving briefly to do some traveling’ than an ‘I’m willing to leave my pack forever for you.’ The latter wasn’t something Liam would ever ask Kade to do.
And if he did leave, didn’t wolf shifters have an innate desire to belong to a pack? Wouldn’t that mean he’d need to be part of a pack somewhere else? How did that fix their situation?
“Talk to Kade, Liam,” Elijah repeated. “You aren’t an idiot, though sometimes you try to be. Don’t be one now.”
Liam gave him a flat look. “Fine. I will.”
Eventually. After he figured out what he was hoping for.
Kade was waiting by the door and wasted no time getting close to Liam once he was inside. Liam had to wonder how much of his emotions Kade was able to read. He sensed some of it, if the apprehension coloring their bond was anything to go by.
Elijah glanced at Liam one last time before heading back to the dining room.
Liam inhaled, about to speak, but he still didn’t know what to say. So instead, he said, “Let’s go to the workroom.”
He was being a chicken about this; he could admit that much, but it was upending his entire life. It wasn’t something he could research and find the answers he needed.
When they got to the workroom, Kade sat beside him, their shoulders bumping together.
Liam called a ball of fire into his hand and stared into it like it held the answers to his questions.
Kade reached over, and Liam passed him the flame, his fingers brushing Kade’s as he did. Kade held the ball before transferring it to his other hand, then back. He offered it to Liam, who took it, copying his actions before passing it to Kade again. Each time their fingers touched, Kade’s energy sparked against Liam’s skin, accompanied by the occasional flash of memory from the night before.
There was a deliberateness to Kade’s fingers stroking along his as they passed the fireball back and forth, neither talking, and Liam couldn’t deny that his touch lingered as well. Flames licked over their skin.
They were sitting too close for Liam to make smart life choices. Kade smelled so tempting. Each brush of their fingers lit up Liam’s senses. He tried to distract himself, but didn’t stop passing the flame to Kade.
“I’m out of ideas. I’ve tried every way imaginable to destroy these damn spirits, and now I’ve got no clue what to do or where to look next.”
Kade stayed quiet as Liam gathered his thoughts.
“How do you destroy something that’s basically an emotion? Anger or hatred or sadness?” Liam was starting to believe the spirits couldn’t be destroyed.
“You don’t. Or at least, not with real emotions. You can’t blow up hatred and expect it to go away. Sadness doesn’t disappear if you try to force it. There’s always a root cause you need to address first.”
Liam paused, his hand on Kade’s, not taking the flame Kade had been passing him.
The spirits were formed from corrupt magic. That was their underlying issue. Corrupt magic couldn’t be used for anything good, anything pure. Anything like healing.
Maybe he’d been coming at this wrong. Maybe they couldn’t destroy the spirits; maybe they needed to heal them.
Elijah had tried to heal the forest when the decay spirit was affecting it, but that had been healing its effects, not the cause.
Healing the spirits themselves might work.
Liam’s first instinct was to call Miles, but he was on Grant’s territory, presumably asleep, recovering from the ritual. Liam didn’t want to bother him while he was depleted.
He wasn’t great at healing, but he could try it. A basic circle below the box, a few standard herbs and stones. It might not require more than that.
He glanced up and found Kade staring at him, a soft smile on his lips.
“You’re lighting up in my head again,” he said.
“I don’t know if it will work, but I want to attempt to heal a spirit.”
“Then let’s do it. What’s the worst that can happen? It blows up in our faces?”
Liam snorted. “Hopefully not. I’ve had more than enough of that for a lifetime.”
They scrubbed the floor clean so Liam could draw a new circle. It was simple and elegant compared to the increasingly complex and convoluted things he’d been trying. He added lavender, rose quartz, and willow for emotional healing, turquoise for balance, and cedar for support, then he placed the box that held the spirit of annoyance in the center of the circle and flipped open the lid. They’d tried to destroy it countless times, but it remained—a yellow ball that pulsed orange.
Liam reached for Kade, their hands meeting over the circle. He exhaled and let Kade’s energy fill him. Their magic and energy twined, and the circle began to glow. That combined power washed over the spirit, over the tainted magic it had been born from. And slowly, so gently and slowly, the spirit dissolved, bits and pieces of it fading into nothingness. It took more energy than everything they’d tried before, but when the final wisps of the spirit disappeared, Liam knew without a doubt that it was gone.
Still, he waited, his hands clasped with Kade’s, not breathing, expecting it to return.
It didn’t.
He tore his gaze from the now-empty box, a wide smile spreading across his face. Wonder and amazement echoed through their bond. Liam’s relief was so powerful, his elation so effervescent, that he might have floated away if it weren’t for Kade’s hands on him. His joy was too immense for words.
They could do this—get rid of these spirits, heal the spirits. It took a lot of energy, but if he could do it, so could Elijah. And Miles too, if he used Grant’s energy.
They could absolutely do this.
Liam didn’t know who moved first, but he found himself pulled across the circle, the box knocked aside, the chalk lines smudging under his knees, the stones and herbs scattering as Kade gathered him in his arms.
Kade’s breath ghosted over his skin, and he leaned in, his body warm against Liam’s.
“You did it,” he whispered.
“Team effort.” Liam was breathless from the emotions caused by achieving this breakthrough.
Kade let out a laugh full of delight and happiness. “Sure. If that’s what you need to tell yourself.”
Liam wanted to argue, but Kade was tightening his hold, pulling him closer, one hand cupping Liam’s cheek, his eyes dropping to Liam’s mouth.
Magic and energy danced in the air, saturating the room with everything that was them. Liam wouldn’t have been able to look away from Kade even if the spirit had chosen that moment to reappear.
God, he’d wanted to kiss Kade for so long, but it was more than that now. Before, it had been a physical desire, but this need felt soul-deep, mirrored back at him.
“Can I?” Kade’s voice was a velvet-soft whisper, his expression one of unadulterated longing, matching the emotions thrumming through their bond.
“Your human side is in control?” Liam asked as he pressed closer to Kade.
“Completely.”
Was this wrong? It didn’t feel like it, but they were caught up in their success, caught up in their bond.
“Your brain never shuts off, does it?” There was fond amusement in Kade’s tone, the question a gust of air against Liam’s lips.
“No.” How could he stop overthinking things? Especially something like this, something heavy with meaning he hadn’t fully grasped.
“Can I try?”
“Try? To shut my brain off?”
“Yeah, that. Let me try to do that.” There was a promise behind those words that had Liam shivering.
This might be a horrible idea, but that didn’t make him want it any less. “Okay.”
With slow determination, Kade closed that last sliver of distance between them, their breath mingling as they met in an aching kiss. Kade’s lips were warm and soft, sending a jolt of awareness through Liam’s body. Kade’s energy surged between them, the power of their bond singing at the touch, magnifying every sensation, every emotion.
Liam gasped into Kade’s mouth as his magic whirled around them. He gripped Kade’s shoulders like he needed an anchor in that blissful storm. The raw connection between them had him trembling, anticipation a wildfire in his veins, the air charged with the intensity of the moment.
A low rumble built in Kade’s chest as he deepened the kiss for one far-too-short minute that had Liam losing track of reality, the edges of the world around them blurring, before Kade eased back to a lingering tenderness, then pulled away.
Liam opened his eyes. Kade was staring at him with a hooded gaze. The roaring inferno of his touch subsided to a banked warmth that wouldn’t take much to rekindle into a consuming blaze.
“Why’d you stop?” Liam asked, his voice rough.
“Because I want you certain, and you aren’t yet.”
Liam wasn’t so sure. If Kade had kept kissing him like that, he would have been certain real soon. “You said you’ve thought about leaving your pack.”
“I did, and I have.”
“For how long?”
Kade’s hands tightened around his waist. “Forever, if I needed to.”
Liam blew out a breath. “But don’t you need to be with a pack?”
Kade looked him straight in the eye. “My mate could be my pack. That’s all I’d need.”
That sent another shiver through Liam. “You’d want to travel the world?”
“Yes.”
“But you’re Victor’s second.”
“I don’t have to be.”
“You’d honestly leave your pack forever?”
“Ideally? They’d still be my pack. I’d be gone for a few months, return for a few weeks, then head somewhere new. But if that wasn’t possible, I’m flexible.”
Liam swallowed. Could that work? Could they use Lost Creek as a base? Travel the world together, then come back home.
Kade’s expression grew wicked. “And just so you know, when I say I’m flexible, I mean that in more ways than one.”
Liam laughed despite himself.
“Alright,” Kade said, disentangling himself from Liam. “You need to think about this, and when you’re this close to me, it’s hard for me to remember I want to give you time to do that.” He stood and offered a hand to Liam, pulling him to his feet.
Liam would be thinking about this. It’d be impossible for him not to. But they had other things they needed to do.
He glanced down at the ruined circle and brushed as much of the chalk off his knees as he could before he sent a message to Elijah.
Liam
Can you meet us in the workroom and bring the spirit of your choice?
I think we found something that works.
He’d barely grabbed a rag before Elijah was rushing into the room, three boxes tucked under his arm, Victor a step behind him.
“You figured out how—” Elijah cut himself off. “Did you try to clean that circle up with your knees? No, wait. Don’t answer that. I’m not Aran. I don’t want to know.” He set the boxes on the workbench. “You destroyed a spirit?”
“No. I healed it.”
“You… healed it?” Elijah turned that thought over in his head, his mouth hanging open. “Well, fuck. How did we not think of that before?”
“We were too fixated on destroying the things.”
“True. That doesn’t make me feel less like an idiot though.”
Liam was in total agreement. He’d been spinning his wheels on this for far too long. He reset the circle, then walked Elijah through what he’d done.
While Elijah wasn’t the most proficient at healing either, he had more experience with it than Liam did, and he had access to a larger source of energy through his bond with Victor. Liam had confidence in Elijah’s skills, but he was still holding his breath as Elijah and Victor took their places around the circle. They linked hands, and Elijah channeled his magic and Victor’s energy. Their power filled the room, the formidable strength of their connection.
The first spirit Elijah had brought oozed in its box, a squirming, sickly green. The mere sight of it made Liam seasick and nauseous. But Elijah’s magic gradually disintegrated it until the box sat empty.
Elijah stayed frozen, staring at the box suspiciously, his breathing accelerated, a sheen of sweat on his brow, his hands in Victor’s.
“Everything in me is telling me the spirit is gone,” he said. “But I’ve been through this before. Many times. I’m not sure I trust it.”
“Same,” Liam said. “But I think they truly are gone.”
Elijah looked up, cautious optimism in his eyes. “Did it work? Can we defeat these evil bastards for good?”
“We can.” Liam felt almost giddy.
Elijah sat back on his heels. “I knew you’d figure it out.”
Liam shook his head. “Team effort.”
Kade snorted. “Some members of the team contributed significantly more to the effort.”
“They did,” Elijah agreed. “This takes a lot of magic, but it’s doable. I could do a few a day without draining myself too much, as long as I didn’t have to do anything else. I bet Miles would be even more efficient at it. He might have less access to Grant’s energy, but if he was able to reset the territory wards properly, he’ll be able to do this. We’ll have to have him try it after he’s recovered from the ward ritual.”
That was what Liam had been thinking.
They had another piece of the puzzle solved. There were a few small spirits left on Grant and Victor’s lands that they were having difficulty tracking down, but their packs were mostly safe, and now they could handle the spirits. They just needed to take out the paranoia spirit and get Niall’s territory cleaned up, and hopefully that would happen soon, which gave them four or five days to heal spirits before they had to conserve their magic for that.
For the first time in weeks, Liam saw an end to this. He was worried about what was happening to Niall’s pack, and there was the issue of who was behind this and where they were, but if they could heal the spirits, they’d figure everything else out.
Realistically, at the rate they’d be able to heal the spirits, and given how many they’d captured, it’d take them a while, but they get it done. It would be time-consuming to do them individually, but if he altered the spell to do several at once, it would speed things up. It was something he’d have to brainstorm. Though it would take a ridiculous amount of magic and energy to do that, there was a chance they could manage it. A ritual with the four of them to amplify each other, fed by the energy of three packs. Yeah, that might be doable.
Things were looking up, and that was confirmed when Elijah and Victor healed another spirit. It worked exactly like it had previously, though Elijah appeared more strained by the end.
Liam let out a relieved sigh. Something was finally going right for them.
Victor side-eyed Kade, then looked at Liam. “I owe you. Anything you want, name it and it’s yours.”
The first request that jumped into Liam’s head was downright inappropriate. Kade was his own to give.
He was about to say Victor didn’t owe him, but stopped as another thought hit him. “Actually. Would it be okay if I were to archive the books in your attic? Not any you consider too personal to be shared widely, and you’d have final approval over everything, but those books are a priceless resource. I’d like to make them available for anyone who needs them.”
Victor glanced at Elijah and got a nod before answering Liam. “Have at it.”
Liam beamed at him.
If they each healed one or two spirits a day, archiving the attic would give him plenty to do in the downtime while they waited to meet Pierce. Plus, it offered him an excuse to go through every single book up there. The next week was going to fly by.
With everything that had gone wrong lately, today was turning out to be an amazing day.
The following day, Liam healed a spirit with Kade, then spent the morning in the attic, organizing the books and preparing them to be archived.
The scanner in Elijah’s office had been damaged during the break-in, so Liam had to order a new one, but that was alright. He had plenty to do before it arrived, and he was excited to get started on this project.
His mind was brimming with visions of how many other family libraries might exist and how much knowledge he’d find in them.
The books that were most fascinating to him were the ones about pack history, the ones he would not be archiving publicly. He had an unedited source of information reaching back to before the abductions, and it was filling in so many blanks for him.
Reluctantly, he emerged from the attic for lunch and found Aran was already there. Shortly after that, Miles and Grant arrived, and as much as Liam longed to return to the attic, they had more important things to do.
“Are you up for doing this?” Liam didn’t want Miles straining himself if he was depleted. He should rest another day or two. It wasn’t that urgent. But Miles waved him off.
“I’m surprisingly good. Not nearly as drained as I expected to be.”
“It was all that metaphorical alpha dick, wasn’t it?” Aran asked.
Kade chuckled, and Liam glanced at him, only to get feigned innocence and a feeling of evasiveness in return.
Whatever. Liam couldn’t focus on Kade’s perverted thoughts.
Miles’s cheeks were pink, but he ignored Aran.
“So, you healed the spirits?” Miles was attempting to change the subject, and Liam was happy to assist.
“Yes. Both Elijah and I were able to do it, so you’ll definitely be able to.”
Miles sat on one side of the circle, with Grant opposite him. Grant held out his hands, and Miles placed his on top of Grant’s. His eyelids slid shut, the light blue tattoos on his arms glittering to life. And then he did what Liam and Elijah had already done, but faster and needing less energy.
Liam had known Miles was a world-class healer—his affinities were suited to it, and he was more precise with his use of magic than the rest of them were—but it was always impressive to see him work.
Letting his hands fall from Grant’s, Miles blinked away the blue glow in his brown eyes.
Aran whistled softly. “Not bad. You really are getting used to that alpha energy, aren’t you?”
Miles cleared his throat and stood. “I can do a couple of these a day. Provided Grant is willing to let me use his energy.”
Grant’s voice was gravelly as he said, “Anything you need.”
Miles’s gaze darted toward him, then back to Elijah. “We can do this.”
They exited the room, Miles and Grant walking past Liam and Kade on their way out. Kade inhaled, the corner of his lips twitching.
“Well,” he said, “that was not entirely surprising.”
Liam nodded. “Yeah. I knew Miles could do it.”
Kade smirked at him. “He certainly did.”
He turned to leave, his amusement shimmering in their bond. Liam narrowed his eyes at his back before following. He probably didn’t want to know whatever dirty thing Kade was thinking. Probably.
Liam set a stack of cardboard boxes on the floor and rolled his shoulders. The boxes were full of books from the attic. He’d packed them up the evening before, and that morning, Kade and a few other shifters from the pack had hauled the furniture downstairs. The bookshelves, drawers, and chests now lined the walls of the workroom, waiting to be filled with books again. Books that Liam would put in the proper order so Elijah could find whatever he needed.
He, Elijah, and Miles had already healed two spirits each, and with nothing else to do for the day, they were setting up a workroom for Elijah. The trove of books and magical artifacts was too valuable to be gathering dust up in the attic.
“I still say we can’t trust this Pierce guy,” Aran said as he arranged vials of dried herbs in an apothecary cabinet. “We shouldn’t be going into their territory.”
They’d been discussing the situation as they worked.
Miles looked up from the chest he was organizing. “We can’t abandon them. They’re so affected by the spirit, it could do anything it wants to them. There’s no way they can survive that on their own. Why haven’t we seen or heard from them?”
Liam didn’t trust Pierce either, but he agreed with Miles. They had to help the pack. If there was a pack left to help. “Any luck with breaking through the wards, Elijah?”
Elijah grimaced. “I can do it, but not fast enough.”
They fell into silence, Liam considering the few options they had. He unpacked the books and began to place them on the shelves.
If they ensured Niall’s pack was safe before they tracked down the people behind this, it would give him some peace of mind. It’d be one less thing to worry about. Deal with Niall’s pack, then handle the mages.
But if they were going to do that, they needed to find them, and the stone hadn’t locked onto their hideout yet. They needed a backup plan if that didn’t work.
“Is there something we can do to locate the previous shop owner?” he asked. “What was his name again? Darius?”
“Yeah. Darius Caldwell.” Elijah grimaced. “Victor and the pack never say it, for understandable reasons, but the council wouldn’t even tell me his name. I found it on invoices in the shop.”
“We could ask them. They might know where he is,” Miles suggested, and Liam winced.
“Do we want to get them involved?”
“Hell no,” Aran said.
Elijah shook his head. “I doubt they’d get involved anyway. I think the only reason they bothered in the first place was because he was running one of their shops. They can’t allow corruption there. It’d ruin business if word got out. But he’s no longer an official representative of the council and they’ve punished him for what he did to Victor’s pack, so they’ve washed their hands of it. We could try, but—”
Aran cut him off. “I’d rather not deal with those ancient bastards while everything else is going on. No good can come from their involvement.”
“But we don’t know what he’s doing,” Miles said. “Surely they’d help.”
Liam doubted that. The council never did anything unless there was profit in it for them. They were… Well, they were the council. They had control over far too many things, and they didn’t like change.
“Speaking of,” Elijah said. “I’ve received notice that there have been complaints about my shop being closed so much recently. I told them I was remodeling, and it’d be up and running in the next few weeks. They seemed skeptical, so who knows how long they’ll buy that. I didn’t tell them about the break-in or anything else.”
Liam didn’t blame him. If they were lucky, they’d avoid dealing with them until this was finished. But even if they couldn’t go to the council for help, they should still track Darius down.
“I guess that leaves Victor contacting his father?”
Elijah looked less than thrilled. “He’ll do it if he has to, but there’s an open wound there. If we’ve got nothing after we’ve cleared the largest spirits off Niall’s land, we’ll contact him and see if he knows anything. Or, more likely, if he’s willing to share what he knows.”
Liam grabbed another box of books as he considered that. “The fact that those two mages we saw ran away makes me think they don’t want an all-out confrontation, but I’m worried they might cause more problems. They must have realized the spirits are no longer affecting our pa—Victor’s and Grant’s packs.”
Elijah grinned, but didn’t call him on the slip. His amusement gave way to a sober tone. “They might be planning something as we speak, but if they could attack us, wouldn’t they have done that by now? There must be something holding them back. But that doesn’t change the situation. While we have a credible suspicion of who’s behind it, we can’t search a two-hundred-mile radius in the hopes that we stumble upon them and that whatever protection spells they’re hiding behind magically reveal them to us. We need more to go on than that.”
Liam didn’t love it, but Elijah was right.
“As much fun as it is to discuss things we don’t have answers to,” Aran said, “I’m still waiting for that detailed dick report. So, Miles, how’d the ritual go? Give me specifics. Exactly how big are we talking?”
Miles’s face was burning a bright red.
“Ignore him,” Elijah said. “But I do want to know how the ritual went. Should I check over the wards and make sure everything is okay? You’ve never done anything on that scale before.”
“No, I checked them. You don’t need to.” Miles suddenly seemed fascinated by the contents of the chest. “Oh, that reminds me. Any luck with that flower, Aran?”
Aran groaned. “No. I swear I’ve tested it against every herb and flower in Elijah’s shop, and it didn’t react to any of them other than moonflower, and it’s not registering as having any magical properties either. It’s annoying the hell out of me, but I will figure the fucker out.”
Liam had complete faith in his ability to do that. If anyone could identify what it was, it’d be Aran.
The lack of information about Niall’s pack and who they were up against ate away at Liam, but there was nothing he could do about it for now. They had a week to wait, and until then, they had enough to keep them busy. They had spirits to heal, and he had books to archive. And he was more than capable of doing both as he worried.
Pack dinners were kind of fun. Chaotic, yes, but fun.
Liam let the chaos flow over him. The good-natured ribbing, the easygoing camaraderie, and the pack children constantly asking to see more magic tricks, bigger magic tricks, like Elijah was going to split open the dining room floor so he could do whatever Oliver wanted him to do with his earth affinity.
He even got in on it. After Oliver had discovered his main affinity was fire, he’d run to the living room to get candles for Liam to light and extinguish as he pointed to them, conducting them like a symphony was playing in his little head.
Kade’s happiness and contentment settled over Liam, sinking deep into his bones. He sort of loved this. He wouldn’t want it every night, but he understood the appeal of coming home to this.
The warmth of the meal was offset by the howling wind outside. It started snowing shortly after dinner. Liam had never been fond of snow, having lived most of his life in places without it or with very little. It hadn’t been until he’d moved out to the library that he’d experienced months of snow. It was pretty, but he hated being out in it. Maybe if he and Kade did travel the world, they could hit up the southern hemisphere from December to February.
They headed up to their room after calling it a night. Once inside, Liam shivered. The window was open a crack, and the air in the room was frigid. A tiny drift of snow lay on the sill.
He walked over and shut the window. A sharp pang flashed through his mind, and he spun to look at Kade.
“Oh. Do we still need to keep it open?”
Kade shifted on his feet.
“Are you going to say you’re fine?”
Kade forced out a breath. “Yeah, I kind of was, but I honestly think it’ll be okay.”
Liam studied him, sensing him through their bond, but Kade didn’t feel unsettled. None of the panic Liam had grown accustomed to during their first days bonded was coming through their connection. Aside from that spike of anxiety, Kade genuinely seemed alright.
Kade was capable of making his own decisions, so Liam took him at his word. They couldn’t have the window open while it was snowing.
They changed and brushed their teeth, Kade sticking close to him, occasionally leaning in and inhaling his scent. Liam smiled, enjoying the almost inaudible rumbles Kade let out every time he did it.
When they climbed into bed, Kade didn’t hesitate. He wrapped an arm around Liam and drew him in, fitting his body along Liam’s back. Liam bit his lip and grinned to himself. This was better than he ever would have imagined it could be.
There were so many things they had to do, but together, they’d overcome any obstacle in their way.
As he drifted off, he had to admit—to himself, at least—that he didn’t want to lose this.