Chapter 12
Monday morning was always busy for Gray, but this morning was unusually so. Rocky arrived with a mountain of security equipment and two of his team members to install the new system. Gray concentrated on the details and forced his mind to remain focused on the new safety measures.
He tried not to count down the minutes until they finished and he could call Simon.
Gray had missed him over the weekend, more than he wanted to admit.
He didn’t know what it was about Simon that drew him in so completely.
The connection between them excited Gray, made him think of possibilities and long-term plans.
The pack run rejuvenated him, and the rest of them as well.
They’d all needed the time together as wolves and a pack to reconnect.
Gray wished Simon had been with them, though.
He thought Simon would have enjoyed seeing them in their wolf forms. The adult wolves could be a bit intimidating, but there wasn’t much cuter than a group of wolf cubs.
Gray could imagine Simon sitting on the ground with a group of them frolicking around him and jumping up to lick his face.
He figured Garon would lead them in pouncing on Simon’s back and nipping playfully at his fingers.
Lost in his daydream, Gray warmed to the idea of Simon being there with them and experiencing the best they had to offer.
Unfortunately, now wasn’t the time for him to get lost in that fantasy. Rocky laid out a technical map on Gray’s desk, and Gray returned his attention to the task at hand.
Rocky wasn’t what Gray had expected when he’d pictured a security specialist. Tall and thin, with pale white skin and shaggy dark red hair, Rocky didn’t look like he would stand a chance against the larger wolves in their pack.
Alex assured him appearances were deceiving, especially in Rocky’s case.
He certainly knew his business, however, and Gray set aside his first impressions and listened as Rocky expertly explained the new security system.
Wires would be buried at the gates and along the property lines.
False wires provided an extra level of protection.
If they were tampered with, alarms would sound.
New cameras were set up, and both gates were monitored.
It all ran together after a while, but Rocky was nothing if not thorough.
Liam had been there for most of the explanation. His responsibilities included the security of the pack, and he’d left only when it was his turn to watch over Simon. He’d nodded at Gray before he went, and Gray had accepted the gesture of reassurance that Simon would be looked after.
A little while later, Cade stormed into the office.
Gray didn’t know what was up, but not much rattled his best friend. “What’s wrong?”
“Those mages are pieces of shit, that’s what’s wrong.
Do you want to know what that supposed master said to Simon?
He washed his hands of him. Told Simon he was tainted and was scared he would be too.
What a dick! He didn’t even offer to help, just hightailed it out of there like Simon had the plague or something. ”
Gray couldn’t believe it. That wasn’t how things were supposed to be. A pack member would never be shunned like that. “What do you mean, Simon is tainted?”
“I don’t know. Simon said something about an energy drain, and that asshole just jumped back and said the demon had tainted him. Do you think whatever he did to help Garon was what did it?”
“That must be it,” Gray said. “I thought the cubs had healed him.”
Rocky looked back and forth between them, his eyes widening. “Something else has happened, I take it?”
Cade sank down in a chair and clenched the arms with his hands. “You could say that.”
“Anyone care to expand on that?”
Cade looked at Gray, who gave Rocky a rundown of the events. Rocky appeared shocked as well. “So this mage guy, who is the same guy who saved the cubs in the first place, comes back and saves the alpha-heir again?”
“That about sums it up,” Cade grumbled.
Rocky shook his head and sat down in the chair beside Cade’s. “You guys are in some deep shit here.”
“We know,” Gray said. “We’re waiting to hear from the Pack Council, but this seems to be something that hasn’t happened before.”
“That’s the understatement of the century. We’ve lived peacefully with the Others for as long as I’ve heard. My grandmother used to tell stories about the Others, the mysterious mages that we were to avoid, and how dangerous demons and the like were.”
“Our elders say the same thing. No one has ever heard of a demon attacking a pack before, and certainly a mage has never come to a pack’s assistance.”
Rocky turned to Gray and seemed to have something to say but didn’t speak.
“What is it?”
“Alpha, I don’t want to question your judgment, but are you sure it’s wise to keep the mage so close? It seems really suspicious to me that he conveniently showed up right when you needed him, that he was there to ‘save the day.’”
Gray didn’t want to admit Rocky had a point. Looking at it from an outsider’s perspective, it did appear questionable. But there was something about Simon, something Gray trusted even though he couldn’t explain it. He said as much to Rocky.
Rocky nodded, his expression unchanged. “And that doesn’t bother you?”
“What?”
“That you just trust him like that, for no real reason. He came out of nowhere, Gray. I know you don’t want to hear this, not after what he did for Garon and the other cubs, but I don’t trust him.
I don’t know what his motives are, and I hate to say it, but I’m not sure that he hasn’t done something to you to get you to feel this way. ”
Gray leaned back in his chair, his thoughts racing. He’d seen firsthand what Simon could do, how he’d used his abilities to control the humans who had kidnapped the cubs.
Cade slammed his hand down on the arm of his chair.
“Enough. You don’t know what you’re talking about.
You weren’t there, man. You didn’t see what Simon did to save Garon.
I did. He would have died, killed himself to save our alpha-heir, for no reason other than it was the fucking right thing to do.
” He jumped up and went to Rocky, getting right in his face with a snarl.
“Don’t question us on things you know nothing about.
If you had seen what he did, you wouldn’t be saying this shit. ”
“Cade, enough.” Gray’s voice was sharp, and Cade turned, raising his fist to the wall. He reconsidered and put his hand down before he struck.
“See, that’s what I’m talking about,” Rocky added.
“Look at how quick Cade is to defend him, how angry he is. You’ve all just taken him in, and, yeah, I get that he saved the cubs.
” He paused and looked back and forth between them.
“But since when are we so trusting to outsiders? I’m not trying to be an asshole here, but you have to admit the whole thing is weird.
Why would he do that? He’s not pack. Cade just gave a perfect example of how the mages aren’t like us. So what does he gain from helping you?”
“Nothing,” Gray answered.
Cade let out a breath, still looking away from them and at the wall. “That’s not entirely true.” He turned and locked eyes with Gray. “He got some of your magic.”
Rocky took in a shocked breath, his eyes wide. “What do you mean, ‘he got some of your magic’? You left that out.”
Gray stood up and paced behind the desk. “When he saved Garon, he depleted his magic. He was going to die, so I treated him like he was an injured pack member and tried to get him to heal.”
“What the hell were you thinking?”
Cade growled, spun around, and stalked toward Rocky. “Do not speak to my alpha that way.”
Gray didn’t stop him. He was beginning to get pissed as well.
“I was thinking that the man had just saved my son’s life at the sacrifice of his own.
I was thinking that he’d done nothing wrong.
” Gray stopped and came around the desk.
He stood shoulder to shoulder with Cade over Rocky.
“And I was thinking that I wasn’t going to let him die. ”
Rocky lowered his eyes and tilted his neck to the side. “I’m sorry, Alpha. I didn’t mean to be insulting. This whole thing is so far out of my experience.”
Gray huffed out a bitter chuckle. “Your experience? How do you think I feel? I see what you’re saying, Rocky, and I appreciate it. But here’s the thing. I trust Simon. My son trusts Simon.”
“We all trust him,” Cade added.
“Bottom line, he’s now a friend of the pack. He’s hurt because he helped us, and we need to find a way to help him.”
“Hey, he said he was going to go through his grandfather’s books to see what he could find. So that’s good, right?” Cade sounded so hopeful that Gray laid his hand on Cade’s shoulder and gave him a gentle squeeze.
“Yeah, that’s really good. We’ll figure this out.”
Rocky stared at them both for a moment. “Well, I still don’t like it, but I trust you guys. If you trust this guy, then I’ll leave it alone. Of course, this does open up a new issue for us regarding security.”
“I’m not sure what you mean,” Gray said.
“Gray, I can’t be sure that this system will keep out the Others. It has never been tested against any magic outside the pack before. We’re unprepared to defend ourselves against mages and demons.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve thought about that, and there’s nothing we can do but try.
Bottom line, when the cubs were taken, the kidnappers disabled the existing security system.
That tells me that they needed to, for whatever reason.
Garon said to me the other night that magic is energy.
The way you’ve set this up, if the energy is tampered with, the alarms will sound.
All I can do is believe that and keep our guard up until this gets resolved. ”
“I hope you’re right. You know, I wonder if this mage of yours would be willing to help with that. If he’s willing to share information, maybe I can work with him and figure out some way to enhance the security.”
“We can ask him.” Gray sat back down behind his desk, resolved to find some way to help Simon.
He couldn’t sit by and allow Simon to be cut off from the mages, not when he was so close to completing his training.
There had to be something they could do, some way to get themselves out of the mess they were facing.
He stared at the phone for a long moment and considered calling Simon, just to hear his voice. No, he’d wait a while, let Simon do what he needed to do, and Gray would find a way to spend time with him later.