Bonded Read online

  “Dude, fucking freaked me out,” Anton griped, shaking himself.

  “Saved your ass, didn’t I?” Alister snorted, flicking the collar of his perfectly tailored suit jacket, looking elegantly bored.

  “Yes, and thank you,” Rafe cut in, giving Anton a dark look.

  “What?” the alpha said a bit sullenly.

  “Thank you,” Jonas said to Alister. “That was some quick thinking.”

  The warlock tipped his dark head, but stayed silent watching them.

  “Franklin. Leopold killed Franklin.” Rafe leaned against the brick wall, his head tipped back.

  Jonas placed a hand on Rafe’s shoulder. “We’ll figure out what to do with his pack and what to tell the East Coast Region alphas.”

  The alphas would need to elect another leader for the East region, but all that could wait until they figured out what the hell to do next.

  “I’ll be back. Get to Jonas’ place and wait for me,” Alister told them and disappeared.

  “Are we taking orders from a magic flipper now?” Anton scowled.

  Jace gasped at Anton’s rudeness and Cage wanted to knock the fucker into next week.

  “Anton?” Jonas snapped.

  “What?”

  “Shut the fuck up,” the alpha growled, the irritation clearly heard in Jonas’ voice.

  “Just sayin’ is all,” Anton snapped back, but then wisely shut his mouth.

  Cage urged Jace toward the entrance of the alleyway. Once they reached the end of the alley, they paused. Walking naked through Vegas wasn’t an option.

  “I’ve got this, just stay within ten feet of me,” Jace said and pulled his blades. They suddenly set off a glow, and Cage realized his love was using his cloaking abilities on the whole group.

  Hurrying through the night, they reached the paid parking lot where they’d left the SUV. Tugging open the back of the vehicle, he grabbed a spare set of clothing along with the others.

  “That’s a super cool power,” Rafe said once he was dressed.

  Jace offered the alpha a sad looking smile while pulling on his boots. “It’s come in handy more over the past few weeks then ever in my life.”

  “You two stick with us,” Jonas told Rafe and Anton.

  “Where to?” Rafe asked.

  “My place,” Jonas replied and shrugged on a leather jacket before sliding into the vehicle.

  “Until when?” Anton grumbled, but got in the SUV.

  “Until we can figure out a game plan,” Jonas snapped.

  “We need to wait for Alister, and then we can figure out a game plan,” Cage told Jonas before he got in beside Jace.

  After a moment of hesitation, Jonas agreed. “Yes, we’ll wait for the warlock.”

  Cage reached for Jace’s hand and locked their fingers together. He lifted Jace’s hand up to his lips and kissed the hunter’s knuckles, holding Jace’s gaze. Jace squeezed his hand tightly and let out a slow breath. Tipping his head, he brushed his cheek against Jace’s fingers, the touch of his mate bringing him comfort.

  A silence settled over the SUV as Roman drove them back to Pocatello.

  The silence ended once they grew near.

  “I just don’t know why you’re throwing in with magics now,” Anton grumbled with a sour tone of voice from his spot in the far back seat.

  Cage turned in his seat and gave the alpha leader a hard stare. “I’m throwing in with anyone who wants peace. If that’s not you, we can stop the SUV and let your ass out.”

  “Watch who you’re talking to, Cage. I’m still an Alpha Region Leader,” Anton snapped back.

  “And elections are just around the corner,” Jace snapped, overriding any response Cage would have made.

  Pride swelled in Cage’s chest when his mate fiercely protected him.

  Anton shut his fucking mouth. It was just as well, before Cage shut it for him. After all, Anton was just a shifter when it came right down to it. The Region leaders didn’t have special abilities, they were elected shifters and that was what gave them power. Power that could easily be taken away during the next election year.

  Eight long hours and a few quick stops along the route, they reached the Pocatello ranch. His pack came running to meet them. With Jace at his side, Cage gathered his pack close, touching and reassuring them all that he and Jace were fine.

  Hugs, chatter, and voices filled with concern were silenced by Jonas with a lift of his hand.

  “We’re waiting for Alister to return. Once he does, myself and the other alphas will make a decision. Right now, though, I think it’s best you each pack a bag. Pack only what you can carry and get ready to head toward Montana.”

  Cage herded his pack back toward the houses they’d been provided. The women had taken over one and the men the other.

  “Where are we going?” Lucas asked, hanging onto his arm.

  Cage reached with his free hand and squeezed the back of the pup’s neck. “Wherever we go, we’ll go together.”

  Waiting for Alister to return was excruciating.

  “Come sit down.”

  “I can’t.” Jace stalked to the end of the living room, then spun and stalked back only to rinse and repeat.

  “There’s nothing you can do.”

  “I can worry,” Jace snapped, hands fisted as he paced to the window and glanced out for what seemed like the hundredth time, acid eating at his stomach.

  “I know, baby.” Cage’s voice sounded so soothing, Jace suddenly wanted to cry.

  “Why is he doing this?” He turned to stare at Cage, but the alpha was a blur as his eyes filled.

  Cage was suddenly there, closing his arms around him tightly, crushing him to his chest and rocking him gently.

  “My guess is that something happened between a hunter and shifter and it affected Leopold.”

  Jace sniffled. “You think Leopold was in love with a shifter?”

  “I don’t know, but my guess is it had to be something personal. Back when he was young. It had to be a long time ago. He might be the only person on earth who knows what really happened and why the law is in place.”

  “And you’d be right,” Alister’s voice came quietly near the closed door. As was typical, the warlock hadn’t opened the door to gain entry.

  “Alister!” Jace tore from Cage’s arms and ran to his friend.

  Alister winced when Jace hugged him. “You’re hurt.”

  “Just a little. There were more mages than I’ve ever seen. Let’s get the others so I don’t need to repeat myself.”

  Cage jumped on the phone and called the other alphas and he, Cage, Roman, Jonas, Rafe, Anton, and Alister gathered at Jonas’s large dining room table.

  Jonas had ended up with a few broken ribs, and even though he moved a bit gingerly, he jokingly told them it was nothing that a couple of shifts couldn’t cure.

  Alister studied Jonas for a moment before getting right down to business. “Leopold had convinced the mage leader, Cornelius, of Cage’s guilt and now Jace’s.”

  “Shit. Well, that’s it then. We get Cage and Jace and their pack out of here and to safety. Things should die down,” Jonas said.

  “No.” Alister shook his head.

  “What do you mean, no?” Jonas frowned.

  “Leopold and Cornelius had a very interesting conversation.”

  “How do you know?” Anton looked skeptical.

  “Let’s just say I was a fly on the wall.”

  “What was the conversation?” Jonas held Alister’s gaze.

  “Leopold has declared war on the shifters and Cornelius is in agreement.”

  “How can he do that?” Rafe gaped.

  “It’s my belief that Leopold’s been itching for a fight for a long time,” Jonas cut in quietly.

  “What do you mean?” Jace frowned.

  “As you know, all leaders meet at a summit once a year. Three years ago, Leopold argued against several of our new pack laws about shifter females’ rights and another about the water usage in
South Dakota. Of course, while we value hunter input, we only inform the community as a courtesy. We make the final decisions and decided against his advice. We started the new laws for female rights as well as negotiations for the water usage,” Jonas said.

  The summit Jonas spoke of was held once a year. It included any leader of any race. Human, Shifters—of all kinds, Mages, Warlocks, and Wizards were invited. Not everyone came, but each leader received an invitation.

  “I remember that,” Rafe said. “He seemed bent out of shape and left the summit early.”

  “And the next year, Leopold came and started talking about moving border boundaries.” Anton frowned, crossing his arms. “He wanted to change the wolf pack boundaries as if he had a say.”

  “Mhmm, and we vetoed that as well,” Jonas said. “This last year, we didn’t invite Leopold to the summit.”

  “Did the mage leader attend?” Jace asked Jonas.

  “Cornelius was there two years back, but not this last year,” Jonas replied.

  “Pethious was there,” Alister said. “I know because he was pissed Arcamedis wasn’t.”

  “Why wouldn’t the dragon king show up to the summit?” Jace was puzzled that Arcamedis wouldn’t attend.

  “I’m not sure,” Alister told him.

  “Do you think the Grand Wizard will back us if we go to war?” Jace asked, getting back on track. If they had Pethious backing them, they might come out of this alive.

  “Pethious is reluctant to choose a side at this point.” Alister sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before gazing at them all. “And while he doesn’t want to interfere at this point in time, he suggested that you head north and—”

  “Wolves don’t run,” Anton snapped, cutting off Alister.

  “Well, don’t you sound stupid,” Alister sneered.

  “The hell did you just say?” Anton shoved to his feet and his chair went flying.

  Jonas shoved to his feet in a powerful move.

  Alister stood as well. “Sure, go out there, fight them. Now that they know what you’re capable of, they’ll have spells ready in seconds to tie you up in silver. Go on,” the warlock snapped.

  Anton swallowed and slowly sank into his chair. Alister rubbed his fingers thoughtfully at his chin and after a moment, Jonas resumed his seat.

  “This is bigger than any of you imagine. The mages have gone in with the hunters, so that means every wolf is in danger,” Alister said.

  “Wolves outnumber the hunters,” Jace pointed out.

  “Yes, but not now. With the mages help, it has leveled the playing field,” Cage jumped in.

  “It has done much more than that,” Alister said. “What we saw in Vegas was only the tip of the iceberg.”

  “What the hell do we do now?” Cage growled.

  “As I was going to stay, head north. Our only hope is to see if Arcamedis will give you asylum.” Alister paused, and then let out a heavy sigh. “There’s one more thing.”

  “What is it?” Jace’s heart thumped hard at the warlock’s concerned look. Alister rarely if ever showed fear and Jace knew Alister felt it now.

  “The mages have lowered the dragon ward shields.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Cage muttered.

  “Why?” Jace choked out. “Don’t they realize the dragons will come gunning for them?”

  “I don’t think they’re thinking at all. It makes me wonder why Cornelius is working with Leopold. And if the mage leader has something against the dragons.”

  “Arcamedis must be informed of this,” Jonas said of the dragon king.

  “He will be. Cage, Jace, your pack is heading toward dragon territory tomorrow morning,” Alister said.

  “Why is everyone pushing us toward the dragons?” Jace frowned.

  “I’m not sure,” Alister sighed. “Pethious didn’t say, and there’s no love lost between my Grand Wizard and the Dragon King, so it must be important.”

  “Or a trap,” Cage muttered.

  Alister gave Cage a dark look.

  “Sorry!” The alpha held up his hands.

  “Does Arcamedis know we’re coming?” Jace effectively brought Alister’s attention back to him.

  “Not yet.”

  “This is my fault. I should have never called them. I should have kept us a secret.” Cage looked so devastated, Jace’s heart ached.

  “Baby, I don’t want our love to be a secret, and if that means going to war, then so be it,” Jace said fiercely, turning into Cage’s arms.

  v

  “What’s the difference between mages and warlocks?” Jace overheard Lucas ask Alister. The boy appeared enthralled with the warlock, who was helping him fix food.

  “Well, mages need numbers to craft elemental spells. We can manipulate the elements, but only in short bursts.”

  “We?”

  “My clan—which is made up of wizards, warlocks, and sorcerers.”

  “You have sorcerers?” Lucas’s eyeballs almost bugged out of his head.

  “Yes, and one of them is very powerful. Pethious, we call him Grand Wizard, but he actually comes from a long line of sorcerers and wizards. His great grandfather was a wizard and his grandmother a sorceress. I believe their daughter married a warlock. I’m not sure exactly how it goes, but we’re all pretty much a mixture,” Alister patiently answered and handed the boy a spoon to stir the sauce on the stove at Roman’s ranch house.

  They’d reached Roman’s place in Alaska after traveling all week. Alister had come to Roman’s with him with no hesitation. After all, it was Cage and Jace they wanted dead the most, Alister had reasoned.

  Not taking a chance with all the leaders traveling together, plans had been altered slightly.

  Rafe, Jonas, and Anton had split up and gone back to their packs to discuss the possibility of war. Jace had heard from Rafe earlier that he and Anton were on their way.

  Jonas was bringing all of his pack because it was smaller, but he had yet to check in.

  All leaders were to meet up with him and Cage here at Roman’s place.

  “Why don’t you just make a spell to protect the dragons?” Lucas asked.

  “We don’t typically craft long term elemental spells like the mages,” Alister patiently answered again. “A possible solution would be to place up wards to keep people away.”

  “Why didn’t you do that for the dragons then?”

  “I’m not sure.” Alister frowned. “I guess it’s because the mages were the ones who were asked to do it. They collectively created a spell to keep the dragons’ area invisible.”

  “How do they do it?” Lucas asked, eyes locked on Alister.

  “By illusion.”

  “Awesome.”

  Alister snorted. “Not really. With spells comes great responsibility. Cornelius is abusing the mages powers, and now he’s using threats to try and control your alpha.”

  “Bummer,” Lucas said.

  “Yes. That I can agree with you on,” Alister said with a slight smile.

  “Hey, Lucas, Griffin is looking for you. Something about helping carry in the groceries?” Jace leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb.

  “Okay!” Lucas said and dashed off.

  “Did you hear enough?” Alister quirked one eyebrow at him.

  Jace grinned. “Yes, all powerful wizard.”

  “Don’t get cheeky. To the rest of the world, I’m a warlock.”

  Wizards were known for good magic and warlocks dealt with darker, evil magic. For some reason, Alister wanted the world to think of him as evil. Well, Jace had news for his friend. He wasn’t evil.

  “You know, it’s actually possible to be known as both wizard and warlock,” he smirked.

  When Alister gave him a dark look, Jace laughed and held up his hands.

  He was grateful for Alister’s help and hoped the new plan of splitting them up worked. Once all the leaders arrived, they would safely make it up toward the border of dragon territory with the idea of addressing the dragon king.
r />   “So, you know where Leopold is?” He lifted a bottle of spice and sniffed at the plastic top.

  “Mhmm. He and the mages are moving west and from there, up through California to pick up as many mage covens as possible.”

  “Crap.”

  “I won’t let them hurt you.”

  Jace released his breath and smile at his best friend.

  “What about the other wolf packs?”

  “The mages are more interested in killing you and Cage first. Cut the head off the snake and the rest will die.”

  “But we aren’t the head.” He frowned.

  “To Leopold, you are.”

  “I guess that makes sense. We’re living proof of his lie.”

  “Mhmm. I can only imagine Arcamedis’ face when he sees you two.”

  “The king, why?”

  “The blood bond, the whole hunter, shifter thing. Dragons are shifters too.” Alister waved his hand at him.

  “So, they were forbidden as well?”

  “As much as Arcamedis allows others to forbid him to do anything,” Alister smirked. “The king is almost as old as Leopold. Perhaps, he’ll have some answers.”

  “That would be nice,” Jace agreed.

  After a moment of silence, he glanced over at Alister.

  “What happened the day you rescued me at the hunter’s coven? Did you fight Marcus?”

  “He’s been taken care of,” Alister said flatly.

  “What?” Roman gasped.

  Jace whipped around and found Roman and Cage standing a few feet from them.

  Alister slipped to his feet, facing Roman.

  Roman stared at Alister. “Tell me.”

  “Well, after he got done bragging to me about torturing, tasering, and having his guards beat Jace, I figured he needed to die.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I sent him to Pethious. My Grand Wizard doesn’t take kindly to people attacking me.”

  Roman rubbed at his chest. A sheen covered the older alpha’s eyes.

  “Is he dead?”

  “I don’t know,” Alister said gravely.

  “Roman.” Jace took a step forward, but Roman held up his hand.

  Jace stopped and then glanced at Cage.

  “I need a moment,” Roman gritted the words out and then left them.