Chapter 17
Simon opened his eyes and blinked up at the ceiling. He could hear low growls beside him and turned to look at Gray. “It’s gone,” he smiled. He felt no presence of the darkness in his mind.
“Not gone,” Cormac said from his place on the floor. He held up the stone, now streaked with red. “Trapped.”
Simon tried to sit up and turn around so he could see. Gray helped him up, and Simon stared at Cormac. “Thank you.”
“Now, why don’t we see if we can track this thing to its source and put an end to this.” Cormac pushed himself to his feet, and Liam reached out to grab his arm and steady him. “Thank you, wolf.”
Liam grunted, and Simon couldn’t stop a chuckle from escaping. “I feel really good,” he said, then laughed again. Gray ran his hand down Simon’s back, and Simon turned to meet his eyes. They shared a heated look, and Simon had to bite his lip to keep back a moan. Man, he felt really, really good.
“As you should.” Cormac lifted a piece of purple velvet from the cabinet and wrapped the stone. “Whatever did this was strong, but the magic is growing weaker. We need to find it now, before it has a chance to do anything else.”
Simon agreed. If they could find the demon and end this now, there was a chance he could actually have a leg to stand on with the Council. “I’m ready,” he said and slid off the table. His legs wobbled, but Gray wrapped an arm around him and held him steady.
“You can find it using the stone?” Gray sounded disbelieving.
“I can,” Cormac replied. “Just as you can find your wolves using your magic, I can find other soul magic users using mine. Especially if I hold a piece of their magic in my hand.”
Simon watched as Cormac gathered a few things. He pushed up his sleeve and strapped on a leather band, then removed a second dagger from the wall. He slid it into the wrist sheath and made sure it was secure. Several crystals went from the cabinet into his pockets before he announced he was ready.
Gray and Liam still had their hands in partially shifted form, so they didn’t require any weapons. Cormac eyed Simon and went back to the cabinet for another crystal. He wrapped this one in silver wire and put it around Simon’s neck. He twisted the ends of the wire together to hold it in place.
“Keep that on, Simon, and remember that this demon is now attuned to your magic. It will be easier for it to attach itself to you a second time. This thing is desperate if it is doing these types of spells.”
“I understand.” Simon placed his hand over the necklace and felt an immediate sense of security.
He gave it a gentle squeeze and offered silent thanks for its protection.
He turned to Gray, half expecting Gray to protest his going along.
Unlike the others, he would be unarmed, with just his magic to protect him.
Gray didn’t say a word, and Simon didn’t mention the fact to him.
They left Cormac’s house, the vampire replacing spells on each door as they passed through them.
Simon wanted to learn how to do those spells, wanted to be able to protect himself and his home.
He nearly stopped in his tracks when that thought didn’t bring to mind his little cabin but Gray’s house at the compound.
Gray drove again, but this time Cormac got the front seat. Simon and Liam sat in the back. Cormac gave directions to Gray, vague ones that were generally just a direction. “Go left,” he said, then after a while, “now right.”
Simon ignored them for the most part, concentrating more on his magic and how he was feeling.
The leech had affected him more than he’d realized, especially now that it was gone and he was back to himself again.
Each moment, he grew stronger, as if the magic he’d been using to keep the leech trapped in its little bubble was now being used to refill his nearly empty stores.
“DAMN it,” Cormac said after they’d been driving a few minutes. “It’s weakening faster than it should. You need to drive faster.”
The car lurched as Gray slammed down on the gas.
“Keep going north. Hmm. Slightly east.”
The SUV flew, and Simon held onto the handle of the door tightly as each turn threatened to send him flying across the seat.
“Fuck, we’re heading straight for the compound.” Gray’s voice was angrier than Simon had ever heard it.
“Contact your pack, Alpha. Tell them to remain together. The demon will attack with no provocation at this point. It is dying and needs more magic quickly.”
Simon felt Gray’s magic, could actually hear him in his head for the first time. He warned the pack, gave instructions through the mind-link he shared with them. Liam nodded his agreement as each order was issued.
“Gray, what about the patrol? Should we leave them out?”
“No,” Cormac interrupted. “They need to stay in a group. An isolated wolf or two will be at risk, even in its weakened state.”
Gray sent yet another message even as he sped toward the compound.
A loud crack sounded, and Cormac jerked in his seat. “Damn it,” he cursed again. “It’s dead.”
Simon leaned forward. The black stone lay in several pieces where it rested on the cloth in Cormac’s hand. “What do we do now?”
“We keep going.”
Gray didn’t argue and kept the SUV at its high rate of speed. Several minutes passed before they reached the entrance to the compound. Gray and Liam both jumped out and shifted to their wolf forms before Simon even had his door open. They took off into the woods, howling into the darkness.
Simon could barely process what he’d just witnessed. He’d never seen Gray in wolf form—and really hadn’t seen much more than a blur as they ran into the trees. Cormac got out, grabbed Simon’s arm, and pulled him along.
“Come on, Simon. We need to find it.”
Simon knew that, even if he had no idea what they were going to do when they found it. They followed the howls, running through the woods. Simon kept tripping over every stick and stone in his path. Branches slapped him in the face and his shirt kept getting caught as he tried to keep up.
“Cormac, go ahead. I know you can get there faster without me slowing you down.”
Cormac seemed torn, but after a moment’s hesitation, he picked up his pace and ran out of Simon’s sight. Simon tried to keep running but had to slow down before he hurt himself. He yelped in fright when he felt fur brush against his side. He hadn’t seen or heard the wolf approach.
It was pack, Simon could sense that much, even though he didn’t know who exactly it was. It put its head under Simon’s hand and bumped up. Simon grabbed hold of its soft fur and let the wolf lead him through the woods.
There was a slight break in the trees, not even big enough to be called a clearing. Simon could barely make out the shapes of wolves and men standing there. Gray and Liam were back in human form, their pale, bare skin easy to make out against the darkness.
Gray came to him and rubbed his hand over a small scratch on Simon’s face. “You okay?”
Simon nodded, and Gray reached out to rub the wolf’s head at his side absently. After a moment, Gray stepped aside, and Simon could see what he’d been shielding from view with his naked body.
The demon’s corpse was sprawled in the brush, shriveled and shrunken. Simon recognized it, but it wasn’t easy. There wasn’t much left of the thing that had attacked him.
Cormac knelt at its side, his eyes closed in concentration. “It is completely drained.”
“What does that mean?” Simon asked.
“That means that its magic is gone. All of it.”
“I don’t understand,” Gray said.
Cormac rose to his feet. “I don’t either. I’ll need to take the body back to my home so I can try to glean more information from it. I don’t like the looks of this at all.”
Simon took a step closer. “Cormac, please. Tell me what this means. I thought it was over.”
“It very well may be. This demon dealt in dark magics, and this may have been that magic backfiring on it. Or it could be something else. I just don’t know yet. Alpha, could I trouble you for a ride back to my place?”
“No problem,” Gray said. “Liam, give Cormac a ride back and assist him in any way he needs. Contact me if you learn anything.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
Cormac and Liam lifted the body and carried it back through the woods. Simon started to follow them, but Gray placed his hand on his shoulder, and Simon stopped. “I need to help.”
“Simon, let him go. He knows this magic and you don’t. Liam will contact me if they need help.”
“But—”
“Please, Simon. Let’s go see Garon and let him know we’re okay.”
The thought of Garon concerned about them, worried for their safety, was enough to convince Simon. “Okay.”
“I’ll shift and you hold on to me.”
Simon nodded and the next thing he knew Gray was again a wolf. He noticed more this time, now that he was close and Gray wasn’t running into the night. Before that first night, when he had seen the wolf at his car window, Simon hadn’t known just how big the wolves were in shifted form.
He’d imagined the wolf more like a large dog, a lab or something. Gray was easily twice that size. His back reached Simon’s waist and his head was nearly at Simon’s chest. Gray looked up at him, and even in the darkness, Simon could see his eyes were the same.
Simon ran his hand over Gray’s head, behind his ears. Gray pushed into him, nearly knocking him over. Simon laughed and did it again before grabbing a handful of fur and letting Gray lead him through the woods.
The rest of the wolves followed them, one after the other stepping up to Simon’s free side and pressing their heads into his hand. He rubbed each of them in return. It comforted him, knowing they were there beside and behind him, watching over him as Gray led him home.
A break appeared in the trees up ahead, and moments later they were on the drive leading into the compound. Gray shifted again, his naked body magically appearing where the wolf had stood moments before.
His power intoxicated Simon, aroused him in a way Simon didn’t really understand.
All he knew was he wanted more. Gray had barely missed a step during the change, but Simon found himself stumbling more than ever, though they were on even ground.
His gaze was stuck on Gray, fascinated in turn by the beauty of his long legs and the powerful muscles of his chest. He couldn’t seem to concentrate on where he was walking.
Gray steadied him after the second stumble and looked at him with concern. What he saw in Simon’s eyes made him catch his breath and then smirk at Simon knowingly. He threw his arm around Simon’s shoulders and pulled him close.
Simon wound his arm around Gray’s waist, his bare skin hot to the touch. He traced his fingers over Gray’s ribs, down to the slight indention of his side, and then back up again. Simon’s steps became surer now that he was keeping pace with Gray.
The cabins of the pack began to appear as they got closer to the center of the compound, and Gray hurried them along.
The wolves following them drifted away one by one, breaking off to go back to their own homes.
After a few minutes, Gray and Simon were alone and walking the final steps to the main house.
When they reached a particularly dark spot under a huge oak in the yard, Gray spun Simon around and pulled him close. “Fuck, what you do to me.” He devoured Simon’s lips with his, and Simon opened to him without hesitation.
He’d never wanted this much, needed this much. He gripped Gray’s muscled back, pulling him closer and closer until there was nothing between them but the thin material of Simon’s clothes. He longed to rip his shirt off and throw it aside, leaving only their skin touching.
Gray broke away, gasping for breath, his cock hard against Simon’s stomach. “I want you,” he whispered, his voice hoarse and raspy.
“Yes, please,” Simon said, before pulling Gray close again.
Gray held him back, chuckling. “We have to wait. Just a few more minutes.”
Simon groaned, but he knew Garon was waiting for them inside, just a few steps away. “You can’t go in like that.” Simon gestured to Gray’s straining erection.
“I know.” Gray sighed, and Simon felt the tingle of his magic.
A minute later the front door opened, and Aunt Maggie tossed something out into the yard.
Gray went over and picked up the pair of shorts and slipped them on.
His cock was still slightly obscene, outlined clearly against the thin fabric.
“Just stay kind of in front of me for a minute.”
Simon laughed and nodded. They went onto the porch and in through the front door. Garon came barreling through the living room at them and grabbed Simon in a hug.
“Did you get it out?”
Simon nodded. “Yep. It’s gone.”
“I heard Dad say it was here, but everything’s okay now, right?”
Gray spoke up behind him. “Everything’s fine, kiddo. No one is hurt, and the demon is dead.”
“Oh. Did you have to kill it, Dad?”
“No, it was dead when we found it. Nothing to worry about, though. We’re taking care of it, okay?”
“Okay. You’re sure it’s dead?”
Gray slipped around a bit so he could wrap himself around both Garon and Simon. “I’m sure, son.”
Garon breathed a sigh of relief. “I know it’s not okay to be glad someone died, but I kind of am.”
Simon gave him a little squeeze. “It’s okay, Garon. I have to say I’m a little bit glad myself. The demon was dangerous and trying to hurt us. I wish it didn’t have to end that way, but I’d rather it die than one of us, you know?”
“Yeah. I was pretty scared.”
Simon looked up into Gray’s eyes. “Yeah, I was too. But we don’t have to worry. Your dad will keep us safe.”