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“Yes. Then she wouldn’t be in a million pieces, with my father all over the fucking golf course!” He chokes the last bit out and sobs. “A car bomb took them out, and it’s my fault. She said I was at the center of whatever it was.”

“Doesn’t matter what she said. It’s not your fault. It’s fucking Carnell’s fault,” Rowan states emphatically.

Jay freezes, as if this is the first time his guilt has let him see past the immediate grief to the true perpetrator. “Carnell,” he growls.

A flurry of goosebumps erupts over Luca’s arms and legs.

The phone starts ringing again, and honestly, why don’t people text anymore?

Rowan picks up, and Gideon’s voice echoes over the staticky line in the small confines of the SUV.

“Yeah? Shit. Jay, do you want to talk to Gideon? He says he’s got a bit of a problem at the library.”

Problem?More problems than exploding car bombs and dead parents? Luca sincerely hopes not.

“Is it Nix? I am probably ramping him up through the bond. Fuck. Give it here. Gideon?”

“Get to the University of Florida Library. We are in the archives.” Gideon’s voice fades for a minute. “Jay? Basement level. Hurry. Holy fu-”

It’s quiet as if the call drops, but Gideon comes back loud and clear.

“Can you meet us at the Library? Yes, he’s on route–How long do you think until you can get here?”

“I don’t know. Ninety minutes? Gideon, what the fuck is going on?”

“We have company of the magic kind,” Gideon whispers. “Friendly…but Grayson needs you here.”

Already on edge from the grief and the unexpected close call for Leo, just hearing there’s an unknown magic user near his mates—and he’s not there—makes his wolf snap and snarl. Audibly.

“Hey, whoa. I’ve got this under control. Are you okay? I thought you left Luca and Rowan at home.”

Maybe it’s not something Jay wants to deal with on the phone, or maybe it’s that hearing it out loud hurts even more. Still, it hurts Luca’s heart to see his mate hold back his grief for someone else.

“We’re okay. Long story, and I’ll tell you when I see you.” He almost hangs up, but can’t help but add, “Gid?”

“Mmm?”

“Be safe. See you in an hour.” The line goes dead in typical Gideon fashion.

“Rowan, get me directions to the university library.”

Leo speeds up a little and runs a red light of his own, this time without theoops.

Bound by Ancient Threads (Grayson)

The stone floors are cold under his feet, and for a moment, Grayson yearns for the days when their home had dirt floors and the Goddess’s forest was closer at hand.

The nest is cold already, and certainly, his mates had other, more urgent things to attend to this morning.

But Grayson hates waking alone.

He’d been up long into the small hours of the morning, communing with the Moon and gathering Their strength to charge his soul, and had come to bed to find all seven of his mates fast asleep, smelling of sweet satisfaction.

Soul magic was a divine gift from the Sun God and the Moon Goddess—one that They bestowed while creating the life-giving Earth. Its core hummed with the magnetic resonances that were felt in both humans and Weres alike.

He can’t divest himself of the thought that something has changed in the balance; while the Moon still pulsed strongly in his cells, the Sun God’s influence has waned. It makes him feel lopsided—a cart with two wheels, rather than three.

He could not explain it more clearly than that, even to Finn, who couldn’t find anything in his books and scrolls. No amount of theory or history books could explain something only Grayson could feel.