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“The connection is gone.”
The panic in Erwan’s voice was evident, and Jermon couldn’t blame him.
Jermon and his brothers had been hanging out together in Erwan’s living room, sharing stories about their mom and finding solace and comfort with each other in their grief. Jermon had just been about to head back to his mates and hatchlings, when Erwan had cried out in surprise, sensing his mate needed him. Seconds later, they had all felt the pull on their magic. They had linked hands and sent as much of their power as possible into the connection.
The drain on their magic had peaked, and Jermon had sent protective and healing spells, praying with all his might they would reach Rhene. The strength of the pull had weakened to a mere shimmer, which they had interpreted as good news, as whatever danger had threatened Rhene being gone.
Jermon closed his eyes, focusing with all his might on the thin thread linking them to Rhene until mere seconds ago. Erwan was right. They had lost him. He opened his eyes again.
“It could be for any number of reasons,” he said to his brother, but it came out weakly. He knew better, and so did Erwan.
“Something happened to him.” Erwan’s voice broke. “You know I’m right. You felt it too.”
What sense was lying? They all knew the truth. “I’m sorry.”
Erwan hung his head, his hands balled into fists. “I should never have left him there. He has no magic. He’s powerless against the Murphys and against Cladhaire and Baoth. What was I thinking?”
Jermon put a strong hand on his brother’s shoulder. “This is not on you. It must feel that way, but it’s not. He wanted you to go. He knew you needed to be with Mom. Even if he’d known something would happen to him, he would’ve still insisted on you saying goodbye.”
“Jermon is right,” Valdis said. “And Rhene would never want you to blame yourself. Besides, he is one badass wolf, so don’t count him out yet.”
“Maybe he ended it because he didn’t need our magic anymore,” Nadiv said.
“Yeah, maybe,” Erwan responded, but he clearly didn’t believe it. Neither did Jermon, if he were honest.
“I need to get back there.” Erwan nodded as if convincing himself. “I should ask Cedric if he can teleport us back.”
“Last I heard, he was still on bedrest, completely drained by the effort of getting you here,” Jermon said. “I doubt that’s an option.”
“A plane ticket, then. My mate needs me.”
Jermon hated that he had to be the voice of reason, but somebody had to, right? “I’m not saying you shouldn’t go, but are you sure that’s the wisest course of action? If Rhene is in danger, he wouldn’t want you anywhere near. You know his first priority is keeping you safe. But also, remember that on a plane, you can’t communicate with any of us. Whatever happens, we won’t be able to get a hold of you, and even if we did, you’d be stuck there for hours, helpless to do anything.”
Erwan’s shoulders slumped and tears formed in his eyes. “I can’t sit here and do nothing. I’m the White Dragon, for crying out loud. There has to be something I can do.”
Jermon sat up straight. “We need to get the clan together. Your powers are at their strongest when the clan is united, remember? If there ever was a reason to combine our magic, it’s now.”
“We already asked everyone to gather when Mom was sick. I’m not sure if we can ask them again so soon.”
Nadiv shook his head. “We didn’t ask them, bro. They all came of their own free will. Hell, no one got a formal invitation or anything. People just showed up because they sensed they needed to be there. We only asked the Hayes pack to join us in the end, but that was it.”
Erwan raised his chin. “Then we won’t ask them this time either. We will leave the choice with them.”
That decision was hard to argue with, so Jermon didn’t even try. Instead, he texted his mates he would stay with his brothers for a while. They’d understand. He had no doubt about that. And indeed, Wilmer sent him a quick reply he should do whatever he thought was best and had his full support, whereas Riordan replied with lots of hugs and hearts. How befitting their personalities. Love for his mates filled Jermon’s heart. He was so, so lucky to have found them.
“While we wait, why don’t you tell us about the Dragon Council?” Valdis asked. “You gave us the highlights, but I’m sure you skipped a lot. You might as well fill us in on the details now.”
Looking relieved—probably because he needed the distraction—Erwan followed that suggestion and shared what he and Rhene had encountered. Jermon listened with rising indignation, his mouth dropping open at times.
He held up a hand. “Wait, what? They were running a brothel?”
“Yeah.” Erwan’s jaw ticked. “You should’ve seen Rhene when he came back after discovering it. He was literally trembling with anger.”
“No kidding.” Jermon blew out a shaky breath. “Every time I think I’ve heard the worst, I discover something else. That is the most despicable, dishonorable thing ever, whoring out omegas.”
“And you’re saying this was common practice?” Nadiv asked.
“Apparently,” Erwan replied. “The clans took turns running it.”
