“Wait. I think I heard you incorrectly. Did you say he’s using your connection?”
A burst of energy in Nix’s bonds had made everyone in the room flinch, and it had been enough to stop Grayson cold. In the same instant, Rowan had shifted to his wolf in a burst of white light.
“Sh–oot. One second, sir.” Grayson had covered the mouthpiece of his phone, but Nix still hadn’t spoken.
He couldn’t.
Something hadn’t felt right, and his hackles were raised metaphorically in the same way Rowan’s had literally been along his back.
“Nix?” Jamie had growled. When Nix had only been able to shake his head, he’d continued, “Stay here, Gray. Talk to Ignatius about your training, okay?”
“Yeah, okay. Did you hear that, sir?”
“I did indeed. How are your studies going?”
Nix had led the way outside onto the pool deck, the fall sun warming the stone under his feet, with Gideon, Jamie, and Finn on his heels.
Rowan had taken off into the yard where Leo was throwing the frisbee with Luca, so he could sit between the girls in their bouncy chairs.
“What is it?” Jamie had paced back and forth, eyes alternating between the house and Nix. His aura had been all sexy-alpha-on-guard, but Nix couldn’t even spare a thought to let it get him worked up in agoodway.
“I don’t know. I just felt off when Gray was going to tell Ignatius about Skye. Like, really bad, and I just knew that if Iignored it, things would go badly. My bonds are all lit up, and it’s not coming from me…or you guys, either. It’s hard to explain.”
The explanation hadn’t nearly covered the absolute dread that had coursed through him when Grayson had geared up to speak the words about Skye’s ability to read souls.
“Okay, what should we do?” Finn had asked. His eyebrows hit his hairline before dropping into a suspicious frown. “Is it Ignatius?”
“No,” Nix had been sure it wasn’t Ignatius. It had just felt like…like he shouldn’t say the words out loud at all. “Can we get them to come here without actually sharing all the magic stuff over the phone?”
“We can think of something, I’m sure. Would texting be okay, do you think?” Finn had asked, his eyes bright blue behind his glasses. “Is it just saying out loud that sets your wolf off?”
Texting hadn’t seemed to ping Nix’s dread-o-meter, but he couldn’t be sure. It all sounds super weird when he thinks about it, and even though heknewhe wasn’t wrong, he wouldn’t have blamed them for wondering if he’d lost his mind. “You guys believe me, though, right?”
“Hell yes, we do. There has to be a way…” Finn had said, pulling out his phone. “I have an idea. What about a Moon Dedication Ceremony for the kids? Ignatius’s crew is just like pack, right? And they’ll need to be here.”
Gideon had been confused for a second, but he’d caught on when Finn’s eyes went big.
“Oh, yes. A dedication sounds perfect. Nothing like a party at the most inopportune time,” Gideon said dryly.
“I can’t disagree, but it will get our friends here, and it’s an excuse to circumvent the rules a little.” Jamie had almost shuddered at the idea.
“I texted Nimue. She’ll tell Ignatius they’ve been invited to a Were Moon Dedication ceremony for the kids. I’ll email her theflight details once I get Leo on it. She had some questions, but I’ll let her know what’s what. Or, at least I will once we’ve figured it out. Does that feel better, Nix?”
A wave of relief had washed over him, the previous fear slipping away to sit at a low simmer rather than a fast boil.
“Yeah, it’s still itchy, but that is much better. Even though I have no idea what a Moon Dedication is.”
“I’ll explain later. We need to figure out what set you off so hard.”
“Not just me, either. What about Ro? He might not shift back for a week.”
Nix had looked out over the yard to find Rowan lying across Leo’s and Luca’s laps, his ears perked up and nose twitching.
When they’d gone back inside, Grayson had been pacing, hair swirling around his head in a non-existent breeze.
“What was that about?”
Nix hadn’t known what to say, but as long as they weren’t talking about Skye, the itchy feeling in his bonds had stayed low-key.
