Chapter 23
Consciousness returned to Simon in a rush.
One moment, peaceful calm surrounded him on all sides, and the next, he startled awake in a panic.
It took a minute for him to recognize where he was.
Gray’s bedroom. He winced against the brightness of the lights and lifted his hand to shield his eyes as he attempted to focus on Gray’s dresser, to see if Gray had left his sunglasses lying there the day before.
They were where he remembered. Simon slipped them on before sighing in relief.
He could hear footsteps on the stairs—and it sounded like whoever was coming weighed about eight hundred pounds.
Simon covered his ears now that his eyes were safely behind tinted lenses, wishing he could lower the volume on the world somehow.
The bedroom door began to slowly open. Simon braced himself for a herd of elephants or something equally loud.
Garon’s head poked around the corner, and when he saw Simon awake and standing, he squealed and launched himself at Simon. The sound vibrated through his skull like a jackhammer, and Simon dropped to his knees with his hands clutching his head.
“You’re okay!” Garon screamed.
“Shh,” Simon whispered. “No need to yell.”
Garon looked puzzled. “I wasn’t yelling, Simon. Hey, why are you wearing Dad’s sunglasses? It’s nighttime.”
It didn’t seem like it was dark out to Simon. He glanced around and realized the only light was coming from a small lamp on the dresser. It nearly blinded him when he looked directly at it, so he closed his eyes and wondered what the hell was wrong with him.
More pounding footsteps sounded on the stairs, and Simon thought if he’d ever wondered what a herd of elephants sounded like, he was getting a pretty good idea at the moment. Gray rushed into the room, followed by Aunt Maggie and Cormac. “Simon!” Gray shouted.
Simon held up his hand in a plea for quiet. Garon helped him out. “Dad, shh. Simon says we’re all screaming, even though we aren’t. And he’s wearing your sunglasses too. I think he’s broken or something.”
Simon thought he might be as well. He stood up and put his hand on his head to stop the throbbing. Gray came over to him and leaned their foreheads together. “You okay?”
“I’m not sure. Everything seems very extreme right now. My senses are overloaded or something.” He felt a tingle of magic when he finished speaking and realized it was Gray using his alpha abilities to help.
Simon felt the magic inside him respond with a jolt. He jerked away and gasped for breath. “Holy crap.”
Gray looked hurt by Simon’s rejection, and Simon wanted to go to him, but he was afraid of what would happen if he did.
His body seemed to want to take Gray’s magic in a way it hadn’t before.
He leaned over and put his hands on his knees.
Someone had changed his clothes, and he now wore a T-shirt and his favorite pajama pants, the bright orange ones covered in bacon that said, “Bacon Makes Everything Better.”
Normally he didn’t notice the pattern, but this time he winced and had to look away. He didn’t know how anyone could stand looking at them and wondered how he’d never noticed how dizzying they were.
Cormac stepped up to Simon’s side. “Simon, can you center yourself?”
He forced himself to look up at Cormac as he answered. “I don’t know. I’m not very good at it.”
“Try.”
Simon nodded and concentrated. In a snap, his magic felt more stable, and he opened his eyes in surprise.
Everything appeared normal now, not like he was standing outside in the brightest sunlight.
“That’s better. Weird, that’s the fastest I’ve ever been able to control my magic.
Master Tho—” He stopped, remembering the fate of his former mentor.
“Yes,” Cormac said, “we do need to talk about that master of yours.”
Gray moved up next to Simon, and Simon reached out to pull him closer. When his magic didn’t latch onto Gray’s, Simon grinned and wrapped an arm around Gray’s waist. Gray smiled and hugged Simon against him. “I’d sure like to know what happened,” Gray said.
“Me too.”
“Me three!” Garon laughed. He went back over to Simon, and Simon draped an arm over his shoulders.
“I think there’s a lot we need to figure out.”
Cormac nodded. “The first of which is how Thomas was able to steal your magic, Simon.”
“What? What do you mean? How could he have stolen my magic?”
“I don’t know, but I think that’s what happened. When he died, the magic he stole from you came back to you in a rush.”
Simon concentrated for a moment on the power inside him. He looked around at the others in shock. “I think you’re right. I feel, well, normal, but better somehow. Whole. This doesn’t make sense.”
Gray rubbed his hand along Simon’s waist. “And that’s not all. Thomas had pack magic inside him as well. It’s how I was able to slow him down. I recognized it and called to him as alpha.”
“But how?” Simon asked.
Cormac shook his head and paced back and forth. “None of it makes sense.”
“Sure it does,” Aunt Maggie added. “He stole it. Just like he stole the demon’s magic and Simon’s magic. He was after all three types, and he got them.”
“I’m not sure it’s that simple,” Cormac said. “He must have been draining Simon’s magic for a long time to get that much power from him. And what about the demon? How was he able to exploit an Other?”
She scoffed. “It doesn’t always have to be complicated. And we may never find out more, although if I know my nephew, he’ll be finding out what he can. We should be thankful you all made it home safely and that Simon is free of that… that….”
“Don’t say a bad word, Aunt Maggie.”
She scoffed again, but Gray nodded, agreeing with her both her conclusion and the sentiment toward Thomas. Simon had a feeling Gray would discover as much as possible about what had happened. Simon would as well.
Garon looked puzzled. “But how did he get our magic when the demon guy took it?”
“He must have stolen it from the demon too,” Maggie said.
“You know,” Simon added, “the demon did seem to have some mage magic when I first faced him. I remember wondering about it at the time, but I don’t know that I ever said anything about it to anyone.”
“Someone from the Conclave must be aware of this.” Cormac ran his hand across his hair, then turned to Simon. “You’ve never dealt with them before, have you?”
“No,” Simon answered. “But I don’t know for sure that it was the Conclave. Or the entire Conclave, anyway. They didn’t even give me a chance to speak.”
“That is unusual. From my experience, the mages tend to gather as much information as they can. For them to act first, disregarding the bigger picture, doesn’t fit with my knowledge of their procedures.”
“Well, I don’t think we’re going to figure it all out tonight, at any rate.
We’re all okay, and that’s what’s important.
” Gray hugged Simon closer and Garon squeezed him from the other side.
“Tomorrow, we’ll begin unraveling all of this and try to get some answers.
” He looked over at Cormac. “We can count on you for help?”
“Of course. I’ll do whatever I can. I still have a few contacts within the Conclave, although it’s been years since I’ve worked with them.”
“Anything will help at this point. We have too much to lose to not use every resource we have.”
“Agreed.”
“On that note,” Aunt Maggie said, “I think it’s time for us to call it a night. This will all still be here tomorrow.”
Everyone cleared out of Gray’s bedroom. Aunt Maggie showed Cormac to the guest room while Gray and Simon helped Garon get ready for bed. When the house was finally quiet, Gray and Simon slipped back into the master bedroom and stood looking at each other for several long minutes.
“Any regrets?” Gray asked.
“Just that you guys got hurt.”
“Nothing else?”
Simon stepped closer and wrapped his arms over Gray’s shoulders. “Nope.”
“Me either,” Gray whispered as he lowered his lips to Simon’s. They tasted each other for a moment before Gray groaned and dragged Simon closer. He drove his tongue into Simon’s mouth. Simon answered his demand and opened wider, teasing Gray’s mouth with his own.
“Dang, you’re good at that,” Simon said on a gasp as they broke apart.
“Just at that?” Gray smirked.
Simon chuckled and began stripping off his shirt. “I’m not sure I remember. Maybe you should refresh my memory.”
“I’d be happy to, mate.”
Simon paused and looked up at him. “Wow. It didn’t feel real until right now.”
Gray tossed his T-shirt aside and stepped in close. “It’s real.”
“I don’t even know what it means to be a werewolf’s mate.”
“And I don’t know what being mated to a mage is like. Don’t worry, Simon. We’re in this together. We’ll figure it out as we go.” He pulled Simon back into his arms with a smile.
Simon looked up at him and let out a small huff of air. “It’s crazy how much better I feel when I’m in your arms.” He leaned forward so his forehead rested against Gray’s cheek.
Gray nuzzled into him, and they stood there holding each other for several minutes. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Just in shock, I think. My head is spinning. But I don’t really want to hash it all out right now. Let’s just make tonight about us. Besides, isn’t this our wedding night or whatever it’s called for mates?”
Gray lifted one hand to Simon’s cheek and tilted his face up. Simon could see the swells of emotion in Gray’s eyes, waves of happiness, desire, and even relief flooding from him. Simon began to understand the depth of their connection, of the commitment they’d made to each other.
As Gray stroked his thumb over the light stubble covering Simon’s skin, Simon felt an answering surge of emotion. He leaned in and lightly touched his lips to Gray’s, and Gray immediately opened his mouth to deepen the kiss.