Chapter Seventeen
Alvis
Pierce’s Family Estate
I wound my sheet into a toga-adjacent garment before opening the door for Mori. Dark bags hung under his eyes, and he wobbled on his feet. Yep. He’d visited his dead wolf recently.
“Thank the old bears you haven’t left yet!” Mori sighed, relief dancing through his exhausted eyes.
For half a second, I was tempted to bring him inside and try to put him to sleep.
Sure, he didn’t like me rubbing all over his aura, but the wolf needed some fang-damned sleep.
Except he wasn’t a baby and he’d pushed away my help once already.
I didn’t want Raiel to come downstairs and try to eat him again.
“Come on in,” I waved to him. “Sit down anywhere. Raiel’s upstairs, giving us some space.
I have a few guesses on what you might want to talk about, but I’ll give you a chance to spit it out first.” I led him to the sofa by the arm, after shutting and locking the door behind us.
Mentoring aside, I wanted to get back upstairs to my mate as badly as Raiel wanted me up there with him.
“I need you to make me—No, sorry,” he said and rubbed his temples.
“Have you eaten recently?”
“I was going to have dinner with Preston but Dern….” He shrugged, his words trailing off.
“Are you up to walking to the kitchen?” I asked, but Raiel was coming down the steps, taking them two at a time.
I almost asked if something was wrong, but I didn’t need to now that our mating link was open.
He was headed into the kitchen to get Mori something to eat.
He wasn’t Mori’s biggest fan but he also couldn’t let a guest sit around hungry.
It was against everything lion prides stood for.
A few moments later, he came back into the living room water bottles tucked under one arm and a plate in either hand.
Mori muttered a thanks and dug in as if he hadn’t eaten in days.
Raiel kissed me on the cheek and headed back upstairs.
“Thank you for putting pants on,” I said over our link as he disappeared.
He didn’t answer but the food was answer enough for me. Raiel was attentive to me and there for his family when they needed him. Being kind didn’t always mean being social or nice.
I ate a little more of my noodles but stayed silent while Mori ate. I was about to offer him seconds, but Raiel reemerged from the kitchen with another plate and a bloodshake for me. I’d forgotten about the second set of steps that led down straight into the kitchen.
“Thanks,” Mori said.
Raiel nodded at him and narrowed his eyes on me.
“You need to drink that before you take on his stress. Our cub doesn’t need his stress or anyone else’s either,,” he said.
“Cave lion.”
“Yep, and this is our cave.”
“Oh, stop trying to act all tough. I’ll come upstairs and yank on your tail later,” I teased him over our mating link as he disappeared again.
“He doesn’t have to keep going out on my account,” Mori said.
“Eh, he’s moody. Broody may be a better term. He’s convinced that I’m pregnant already.”
Mori sat his second empty plate down on the coffee table and glanced at my stomach. He tilted his head to the side and his eyes grew big.
“You are. Your aura is really pregnant,” he said. “I think that’s the best way to say it. Like… just looking at you screams pregnant right now.”
“Well, then. You might’ve saved me a trip to the drugstore,” I chuckled.
“Oh, I brought something for you,” he said, digging into his pocket and pulling out a little rectangular box.
A pixelated baby pregnancy test.
“Thank you,” I said and tucked it into the fold of my makeshift toga. “Are you ready to talk now?” I asked, gently.
“I need something that allows me to feel a summons but doesn’t yoink me out of my body,” Mori explained and then told me about his most recent conversation with his dead wolf mentor. “I know Dern sounds like an asshole but..”
“Actually, he just sounds traumatized. I hope they have therapy wherever he’s at,” I said, choosing my words carefully.
“I can definitely make you something like that. I’ll have to wait until the full moon, though.
Annila’s amulet was easier. It was literally to keep Sharon Claudis from taking her.
Yours will be a bit more… complex. Plus, you’ll have to go on a donor’s diet because we’ll need some of your blood to make it. ”
“Oh… This might be too much to ask. If it is, just let me know. I won’t be offended. I really won’t. I know how protective everyone is over their magic but I was hoping you could teach me. I’ve made amulets before for lots of things… But this seems complicated.”
“It is a bit more complicated,” I nodded and crossed my legs. “I have to warn you, it’s been centuries since I’ve taught magic. You’ll probably have to ask lots of questions because a lot of what I do is just who I am.”
“Are you better at some amulets because you can influence people’s minds?” Mori asked and I winced.
“Probably,” I nodded. “I mean, I’ve never tested it, but it probably doesn’t hurt.”
“Would that work on people like Sharon?” Mori asked.
“Maybe. Some people are more susceptible to it than others,” I shrugged. “Some people – usually other magic users- fight back,” I said.
“Makes sense.”
“Mori, I think you can totally make something to do what you need. I’ll help you but the best advice I can give you as someone who’s done this for centuries is that you have to learn how to do things your way and that’s usually a lot of improvisation.
When you read about the wars and old magic they make it sound like people knew what the hell they were doing but I assure you, most of them didn’t.
We wouldn’t have spells at all if someone at some point in the past didn’t experiment. ”
“What do I need to do?” Mori asked.
“Find something nice to make it out of since it’s something you’ll wear all the time. If it’s something that’s already sentimental, even better. We’ll go from there. Still work on the donor diet though – lots of iron and protein.”
“Did you put your blood in Annila’s amulet?”
“No,” I shook my head. “I could’ve but I had another energy source but that’s not something I’m comfortable discussing,” I said, trying not to relive the memory of Raiel’s warm, sticky cum falling in heavy globs on my ass.
Yeah. That didn’t work and I was hard before Mori spoke again.
Thankfully my makeshift sheet toga hid a multitude of sins.
“I think Dern’s just gotten inside your head.
Honestly, I know your parents. I’ve done magic with your carrier.
You know your stuff. You just have to work on your poker face for dealing with guys like him. ”
“He’s my friend,” Mori sighed.
“Yeah, but he’s dead too and the dead have their own guidelines,” I reminded him.
“I know,” he sighed again. “I really do.”
“Work on grounding and centering more often. Visit home if you can.”
“We’re going home for Yule. Preston’s staying for sure and I… Well, I’m not so sure about what I’m going to do.”
“You’ll figure it out and we’ll have you set up way before then,” I promised him and gave him a one-armed hug. “Hey,” I said remembering Annila’s offer. “Has Annila reached out to you?”
“No, why would she?” Mori blinked.
“Because she wanted your help in hunting down Sharon,” I said, choosing my words wisely.
“You’d think she’d have asked before she left then,” he blinked bemused.
“Huh?”
“OH! You haven’t heard because you’ve been locked away in here.
A couple of days after you guys came here, she packed a backpack and left.
She left this long note about how she’d never paid anyone to fight her battles before and she wasn’t about to start now.
She apologized for inconveniencing you and said she hoped to be back before Baby Antonio’s first birthday.
Nic took it really hard but I think he understands why she has to do it. ”
I didn’t tell Mori what sort of money and experience he missed out on when Annila changed her mind. It was probably for the best. If Annila kept Sharon Claudis away from Moonscale London it would probably be the best thing for us all.
Coppery blood filled the air. Mori had bit his lip hard enough to make it bleed.
“What’s wrong, Mori?” I asked, trying not to frown.
“I get it now. Dern showed me how she helped Annila. How Sharon got her away from the scene after she killed Topher. It didn’t make sense. She was patient and kind to Annila. She wanted her help or to at least get her out of the way.”
“You think she plans to attack while she’s away?” I asked, almost standing up, but stayed sitting to hear him out.
“No, well, maybe. What I was going to say is that I think she wanted someone to hang out with while she waited. She saw something in Annila that reminded her of herself.”
“Annila told me that,” I nodded.
“I think… I think she’ll come back when Andy’s older. When she thinks he’s learned enough magic to be a good sacrifice to her own greedy ends.”
“We have time to prepare then,” I sighed and rubbed away the goosebumps rising up on my arms.
“Hell, I need an amulet to teleport me to Dern,” Mori sighed and rubbed his eyes.
“Don’t cry. Does he have a mirror over there?” I asked, wrapping one arm around his shoulders.
“I think so.”
“Good, come on. I’ll show you a trick. Arrick is better at it than I am, but I can help you. I’m sure Dern can get you home once you’re over there.”
“Are you going to shove me through a mirror?” Mori laughed.
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do. Then you won’t be astrally over there and you shouldn’t be as tired when you get back. Just remember, time will still move differently than it does here on Earthside.”
“Thanks,” Mori hugged me tight in a big bear hug before I shoved him through the bathroom mirror, showing him how to find the tiny valleys in the glass that magic traveled.
Now, it was time to get back to my mate.