***
“Shit…” Troy muttered as he swung his legs off his bed and sat up. He looked at his bedside clock and groaned. It was half-past two a. m. and he still hadn’t slept a wink. And all because he couldn’t get a certain grey-eyed hunk out of his mind.
Troy had been tossing and turning since he went to bed after visiting Paul. Maybe it was the bed, he thought as he grabbed the bottle of water on his bedside table. But deep down he knew that his restlessness had nothing to do with his bed. He emptied the bottle and then left his room for the living area, recalling the expression on Jeremy’s face when he dropped him off earlier. His brother had looked amused for some reason. As though he thought his decision to sleep at home was silly. Troy was beginning to understand his brother’s silly behaviour. That damn mate mark was messing him up.
He went to lie on one of the couches in the living area and stared at nothing. He wished he could simply close his eyes and sleep but thanks to that damn “Philip…” Troy breathed.
‘Troy, are you okay?’ Troy heard Philip’s voice in his mind but it sounded so loud and close he shot up into a sitting position and glanced around the living room. ‘Troy?’
‘Yes, I’m okay.’
‘Sure?’ Philip murmured.
‘I can’t sleep.’ Troy said simply.
‘Any particular reason?’
‘Nope.’ Troy got off the couch and began to pace. Hearing from Philip was making him want to go to the man.
‘Anything I can do?’
How about you show your face here, Troy thought but aloud, he said; ‘Nothing.’
‘Come outside, Troy.’ Philip said quietly.
‘What?’ Troy breathed as he rushed to the door and threw it wide open. He gasped when he saw Philip sitting on the stairs with his back against a pillar. “What are you doing here?” He stared at Philip as he closed the door behind him.
“Want me to leave?” Philip shot back.
“I didn’t say that,” Troy muttered as he went closer to where Philip sat.
“Come sit.” Philip gestured towards the space beside him and waited quietly as Troy sat beside him. From the way Philip was turned, he could comfortably watch Troy to his heart’s content. “How is Paul doing?”
“What do you care?” Troy muttered.
“I see you’re still angry over…”
“You wanted to kill him,” Troy growled. “That was just mean. And you haven’t even apologized.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for,” Philip said gruffly. “I asked you whether he knew what you are. You couldn’t give me an answer…”
“Because even I, didn’t know what I was.” Troy snapped.
“Exactly,” Philip growled. “So there was no consensus ad idem.”
“No what?”
“Meeting of the minds,” Philip explained. “We were not on the same page so I wasn’t wrong to have demanded his…”
“Fuck you, Philip” Troy muttered as he started to stand up but Philip’s hand shot out and grabbed his hand.
The change that came over Troy was swift, sweet, and just amazing to watch. It was as if he melted at Philip’s touch. The woman watching from her window smiled, closed her window, and went back to bed with a relieved sigh. The alpha drew his mate to sit between his legs and pressed his head to his chest. Troy stayed put. It didn’t look like he wanted to move from where he was. He snuggled even closer when Philip began to comb his fingers through his blonde tresses. He was still angry at Philip but the man’s touch was everything. For the very first time, the two men sat in comfortable silence, enjoying each other’s warmth and energy. A silence that was broken by Philip after almost an hour.
“I’m sorry I gave you my mark without your consent.” He whispered.
Troy remained quiet for a full two minutes. But Philip knew he’d heard him. He waited. Finally, Troy spoke.
“That was a real shitty thing you did. And in as much as I’m not as angry at you as I was before…thanks to my brother’s explanation, I still can’t forgive you for that. At least not now.”
“I understand.” Philip rasped. He would have been surprised if Troy had accepted his apology so readily. “Will you at least run with me in the morning?”
“Yes,” Troy whispered and promptly smiled at the deep sigh of relief Philip released.
“Thank you.” Philip breathed.
“Pleasure.” Troy’s smile widened. Beneath that tough exterior, Philip was just a softie, Troy thought to Philip’s chagrin. “Any other thing you haven’t told me?”
Philip took a deep breath. “I can read your thoughts.”
Troy’s head shot up. “What…”
***
Two cloaked figures stood in front of a locked prison cell and stared at its four sleeping inmates. One cloaked figure threw a handful of dirt at the solid barred door whilst chanting some words. The second cloaked figure reached out and slid the door open. Both figures entered the cell and closed it behind them. The dirt thrower recited some words and flicked a hand against the door. Nothing changed. Or so it seemed. But the door had actually been magically warded such that anyone looking into that particular cell at that moment wouldn’t have seen or heard anything unusual. The person would have simply seen four inmates sleeping peacefully.
One cloaked figure stood by the door as the other shook awake one inmate and shorn a torchlight on his face.
“What the…” But the criminal couldn’t complete his words because the cloaked figure touched a finger to his forehead, sending him into a deep sleep instantly.
The cloaked figure did that to all the inmates until one person remained. He was clearly the inmate the cloaked figures were after.
“What’s going on?” Blaze blinked to clear his vision. “Oh fuck, not you magicians again.” He gasped when he finally focused on the people in the cell with him. “What do you want?”
“Just to know exactly what you know.” The cloaked figure shrugged as she pushed off the hood covering her head.
“Hey lady, I told the police everything.” Blaze snapped. “I don’t even remember much anymore.”
“Don’t worry.” The woman said with utter nonchalance. “You don’t need to speak at all.” With those weird words, the woman pushed Blaze into the chair in the cell, and then reached out to touch his neck with a finger.
“What did you do to me?” Blaze gasped. “I can’t move my limbs.” With the exception of his head, he couldn’t move any part of his body.
“I rendered you immobile from the neck down.” The woman said with a smile. “I need your head.”
“Are you nuts?” Blaze bellowed. “If you don’t release me from this silly statue trick this very instant, I will…” The next sound that left his lips was a blood-curdling scream.
The woman cupped the sides of Blaze’s face so firmly he couldn’t move his head. Her head was thrown back and her eyes were closed in deep concentration. And for the next three minutes, Blaze screamed as the woman did her thing. By the time she was satisfied with whatever information she’d extracted from Blaze, his eyes were empty charred sockets and he was no longer making any sound. Blaze was dead.
“Mary?” The second cloaked figure looked at the woman anxiously.
“The wolves. They have him.” Mary couldn’t mask her shock. She couldn’t help but wonder how that particular pack had gotten to know who Troy was.
“Stanwood?”
Mary nodded with a grave look on her face. Those animals had virtually wiped out her entire clan. What killed her most was the death of her husband, the great Jackal. The love of her life. The man she’d been with for over a century. Her sunshine. She hadn’t even seen his body to give him the burial he deserved. It was time to rain hell on those wolves.
“Time for revenge,” Mary said in a chilled tone.