Chapter 21 #3
Gray laughed. “That tracks. I’m glad they have someone they trust, and I think they found the best person in the world to put their trust in.
” He raised my hand to his lips and kissed it, his warm lips heating my skin.
“Speaking of Connie’s pack…” He stopped and raised his eyes to me.
“Now that the threat to you is gone, I’ll have to take care of the threat to Connie and Nick. ”
Take care of… That sounded a lot like a second battle.
“I thought Paul was negotiating with the council?”
Gray let out a bitter laugh, eyes blazing, his wolf pushing against his chest, thrashing in fury. “He is. But the councilman who’s ruling the case is very… conservative. In his opinion, it’s a family matter best resolved within the family. Which means handing Connie back to his brother.”
“But…” I opened my mouth to protest, but Gray was continuing already.
“Which is utter bullshit considering the fact that his brother is the problem. I know. It also fails to address the fact that the pack is keeping another human being as property. Apparently, the council feels like that’s not their jurisdiction, which is even bigger bullshit.”
My eyes grew wide.
Gray hadn’t forgotten about Callum. More so, he had been trying to address the enslavement of my people without me even having to ask. Without telling me what he was doing.
Because he wasn’t doing it for me. He was doing it because it was the right thing to do. Nothing to brag about, just something to get done.
How the fuck had I managed to find a mate like him?
“So… what’s the plan?”
Gray gave me a pained smile. “We’re weighing our options.
But if push comes to shove—and it looks a lot like that’s what’s going to happen—I’m going to challenge Connie’s brother to a fight.
I can argue that since he’s over sixteen and has sought refuge with my pack, I have a legal claim to him, which, in theory, grants me the right to challenge his brother.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a legal claim to the mage.
So, while I’m fighting Alpha Otto over Connie, someone else will have to sneak in and get the mage out. ”
My heart skipped a beat, my mouth falling open.
“You’re going to fight?”
Gray nodded. “I don’t see another way.”
Pictures of him covered in blood came to my mind. Yesterday, it hadn’t been his. But what if next time it was? What if Connie’s brother was stronger? Hell, that fight wasn’t going to be an ambush. If Gray challenged him, it was going to be a formal duel for which both wolves could prepare.
And me?
Gray squeezed my hands, waiting until I met his eyes. “I meant what I said yesterday. You don’t have to watch.”
My chest tightened, the air leaving my lungs as I imagined staying back, waiting in agony to see if our bond would break upon his death or if the triumphant feeling of victory would wash through me.
“I do. Besides, if you’re fighting over Connie… won’t he have to be there?”
Gray bit his lip, brow dipping into a frown.
“Unfortunately, yes. He will. Which is why I need to talk to him. I can’t challenge his brother without his permission.
He might hate him, but it’s still his brother we’re talking about, and I can’t fight him in a duel—which can result in death—if he ends up resenting me for it.
Also, we’ll need him and Nick to help us draw maps.
We won’t have much time to get the mage… ”
“Callum,” I interjected. “His name is Callum.”
Gray nodded. “We won’t have much time to get Callum out without anyone noticing what we’re doing. I’m not gonna lie, it’ll be complicated and risky, but I’m not willing to leave Callum behind.”
I swallowed and nodded. My heart was torn between pride and fear. I could very well lose it all. After I was finally and truly free, and after I finally found my mate, one fight could end up taking it all away.
On the other hand, I could’ve very well ended up in Callum’s shoes. My magic bound, kept as a pet or plaything or… I shuddered, thinking back to the day my own father had put that fucking collar around my neck to teach me a lesson.
It’d been hell. Being able to feel my magic but have it out of my reach, there but not… I shuddered, goosebumps rising on my skin. And the commands… the way my dad had controlled me, used me as a vessel and nothing more.
What would it have been like if it’d been a stranger? Someone worse than my dad? Even more cruel?
There’d been moments where I’d thought he’d never take it off. Moments where I’d thought he’d keep me as his personal slave. And when he’d finally taken the collar off? I’d been willing to do almost anything to never have to feel it around my neck again.
No.
No matter how dangerous it was, I couldn’t put my own safety and comfort above someone else’s freedom.
“I’m in,” I whispered, searching for Gray’s eyes. “While you’re fighting, I’m getting Callum out.”
What did it say about us as a couple that the first thing we did as mates was fight another pack and steal a mage?
Gray pursed his lips, his wolf protesting in his chest. His feelings were echoing through my body: the resistance, the way he recoiled at the mere thought of putting me in danger. The way he desperately tried to calm himself down.
“I’m not sure I want you that close to danger. I’d be able to focus more if I knew you were safe.”
I sent a wave of calm through our bond and waited until his wolf backed down before I squeezed his hand and looked him in the eye. There was no way he was leaving me behind—especially if the person who needed rescuing was a fellow mage.
“I don’t want you to put yourself in danger any more than you do me.
But I accept that this is something you have to do as the Alpha.
I hope you can understand that me being the one to get Callum out of there is something I have to do as a mage.
As someone who could’ve ended up where he is.
And as someone who has the ability to literally turn invisible.
Also, if you send your pack in, who is to say that Callum would come willingly?
He doesn’t know any of you. You’re just shifters that he probably won’t trust. I’m a mage. ”
Gray growled, his eyes flashing with frustration.
“I hate that you have a point,” he ground out, his jaw working, muscles ticking. “I really, really hate it.”
“But you’ll let me tag along anyway?”
Gray sighed, defeat written all over his face. “I’ll put it up for discussion. We don’t even know if I’ll have to fight Otto.”
I didn’t call him out on it, but part of him definitely felt like it was inevitable.