Page 65 of Dance in the Stones

“Thank you for the warning,” Damon said. “We’ll be ready.”

Hanging up, Damon immediately opened his pack link, reaching all eleven of his brothers.

Be alert, there’s a chance the sanctuary we’re building here will be under attack tomorrow night. I’ll be calling on you.

Responses came back immediately from all of them, mentioning using the Underworld as a babysitting service and a safe place for smaller mates, while every hound committed to coming on Damon’s word.

“That’s all it takes? All of them?” Redford watched Damon coordinate through the pack link, disbelief pulsing through their mate bond. “The entire original pack?”

“This is what pack means,” Damon said. “When one is threatened, we all respond. Get Faron to tell you the Wendigo story one time. The castle needs to see that it’s not just you and me protecting it - it’s got the backing of the most powerful shifters on Earth.”

/~/~/~/~/

That night, the castle created another test. Damon was walking from the kitchen to their bedroom when reality rippled around him. The corridor stretched impossibly long, the bedroom door receding into the distance. Through the bond, he felt Redford’s similar confusion - his mate had been sealed in the bathroom, the door refusing to open.

They could feel each other clearly through their bond but couldn’t reach each other physically. Then the visions started.

The castle showed Damon images of Redford returning to the FBI, his mate leaving Scotland because the work called to him, because Redford couldn’t resist being needed, because ultimately staying with Damon wasn’t enough. The visions were so vivid it was like it was happening in real life. Damon was forced to watch as Redford packed his things, explained he couldn’t give up his old life, and then drove away. Over and over again.

Through their bond, Damon felt Redford experiencing his own nightmare. His seemed to be a vision of Damon abandoning the sanctuary to live with his pack brothers, choosing them over the mate bond, deciding Redford had been a pleasant distraction but ultimately insufficient.

Damon couldn’t imagine how the castle thought that would be something Redford feared, because his gargoyle had never mentioned it, and both Damon and Redford understood how fated mate bonds worked, but clearly the castle didn’t.

Which is why the visions rang hollow. Even if the fated mate bond wasn’t a factor, neither scenario was real. Redford had finally resigned from the FBI after their last talk, and recommended Wilson for the position. Damon had spent thousands of years apart from his brothers and hadn’t even considered leaving the home they’d built together.

I’m not leaving, Damon sent through their bond. I’m right here. This isn’t real.

I know, Redford replied, equally steady. The castle is trying to make us doubt each other. But I can feel you, I know exactly where you are, and I’m not going anywhere.

There was no point fighting the illusions, and it wasn’t as though images in the head were a physical aspect they could fight. Damon and Redford simply waited, in their separate spaces, to be allowed to be together again.

Tomorrow’s going to be rough, Damon sent through their connection. Seven hostiles minimum, all of them powerful. Are you worried?

About the fight? No. About keeping Finn and Kara safe during it? Yes.

Kolton will handle evacuation if needed. He’s good at protecting the vulnerable.

What’s the plan otherwise?

To show them that threatening a hellhound’s home is a spectacularly bad decision.

They talked through their bond for what felt like hours. There was no point in dwelling on the fight ahead – they would deal with that when it happened. Redford talked about some of the crazy cases he’d dealt with when he was a new special agent, and Damon shared stories about some of his travels while on the race circuit. Slowly, the illusions faded, and finally the bedroom door unlocked.

Redford came racing down the hall, and Damon realized he’d been sitting by the door the whole time. Reaching out, he swept Damon into his arms, and Damon melted under Redford’s lips.

“It’s still afraid,” Redford said quietly when they finally pulled apart.

“I know,” Damon said, but then he raised his voice. “Tomorrow, you’ll finally see what we’re really made of.”

“Tomorrow,” Redford echoed.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The pack began arriving just after dawn. Kolton and Simon translocated first, appearing in the cottage kitchen while Redford scrambled eggs. Warner had gone to the Underworld with Consort Ali, who’d insisted on taking all the smaller mates and children somewhere safe. Lord Hades himself would be keeping an eye on the situation from his realm, ready to intervene if needed.

“Warner cried when I left,” Kolton admitted, grabbing coffee. “He really wanted to come help.”

“Seven-month-olds, even with his heritage, do not get to fight ancient mages,” Simon said dryly, though his gargoyle rumbled protective beneath his skin. “No matter how insistent they are.”