“He’s been hurt,” Elise explained. “The lower half of his torso’s all burned and bloody.”
Jeremy walked toward them and then offered a hand to Elise. “Miss Henney, I think it’s best if you, uh, let me take care of my Alpha’s injuries.”
Her face went red. “Of course, my lord.” Gently, she eased his head from her lap and got to her feet.
Jeremy knelt down beside him and clucked his tongue. “Are you all right?”
“I could use a bottle of whiskey or two,” he joked. “But I’m already healing.”
“I’ve brought dry clothes.” He glanced down at the riding jacket covering his lap. “When you two didn’t return right away, Eleanor and Grandmama insisted I come after you for, uh, propriety’s sake.”
“Right.”
“I brought Mr. Jonasson of course, since he’s her guardian.” In a low voice, he added, “Shall I get your pistols out and be ready to act as your second?”
He glanced over at Jonasson, who seemed to be more interested in examining what was left of the marble statue than defending his cousin’s honor. “If you check the extent of the burn injuries on my torso, you’ll see that there’s no way I could have compromised Miss Henney.”
“Which begs my earlier question: What the bloody hell happened?”
He sighed. “I don’t really know myself, but I’m going to find out.”
Chapter Ten
Once Reed’s injuries had healed enough so he could get dressed and ride Thor, they made their way back to the house. He instructed Jeremy to ride ahead and summon Miss Anderson to his office, then make sure the human servants, Lord Daly, Simon, and Beatrice were kept far away while they interrogated their guests. Much to his consternation, Miss Anderson wasn’t alone when they entered his office; Grandmama and Eleanor were also there waiting for them. The exasperated look on Jeremy’s face told him that the two women had somehow browbeaten his Beta into telling them what he knew and now refused to leave the matter to the men.
“I was worried that you—my own grandson—was going to sabotage all my work with Miss Henney,” the dowager duchess began. “Going after her by yourself like that—you could have ruined her, you know.” She tutted at him. “But thankfully, Mr. Jonasson doesn’t seem to want your head, which leads me to believe that nothing inappropriate happened.”
He almost wanted to laugh, but stopped himself. “Forgive me, Grandmama. I was worried for Miss Henney. I was told she had never ridden a horse before. No one knows the grounds better than I, so I thought I would have the best chance in finding her.”
“You just about scared me half to death,” Eleanor exclaimed. “And—Reed! You’re bleeding!”
He glanced down at the shirt Jeremy had brought him. The bleeding had stopped long ago, but not before some of the blood transferred to the fabric. “It’s nothing, I’m fine—for goodness sake Ellie, stop with your hysterics! Winford, get your wife some smelling salts before she faints.” With a deep sigh, he limped over to the leather chair behind his desk, then sat down to face everyone. Jeremy had taken a hold of his wife and was helping her sit on one of the armchairs. Cross stood off to the side, leaning against the fireplace as Elise and Julianna huddled together in one of the settees.
Meanwhile, his grandmother sat in one of the plush chairs, back ramrod straight. “Explain,” she said knowing that the single-word command was enough.
“I found Miss Henney after she’d been thrown off by her horse,” he began. “We took shelter from the rain and then we were attacked.”
“Attacked?” Julianna looked at Cross and then Elise.
“A man in a red robe appeared and he used magic on us. He burned me before Elise fought him off.” He hesitated, wondering if he should mention what Elise had told him. Did her cousins know? They must. Still, he decided that was her secret to keep. He was still trying to come to terms with it himself.
“Magic?” The dowager duchess’s brow rose all the way to her hairline. “Dear Lord, are those evil witches starting a war again?”
Elise let out a low growl. “Witches are not—”
Cross cleared his throat. “I’m afraid we are dealing with something else entirely.”
“Mages,” Julianna supplied.
“Mages?” Jeremy repeated. “What’s a mage?”
“A mage is—was a witch or a warlock,” Elise continued. “Magical beings use natural magic and only for good. However, when a witch or warlock breaks the laws of nature to further their own desires, they become something else entirely. They use blood magic—evil, dark magic that comes at the cost of hurting life. Not like pure nature magic which all good witches and warlocks use.”
“We’ve never heard of such things,” the duchess crowed. “How do we know you’re telling the truth?”
“The New York Lycans have recently tangled with them,” Cross said. “Twice now they’ve tried to hurt our Alpha and his family.”
“They tried to murder me, my sister, and my mother.” Julianna’s face was red with anger. “And they tried again with my brother before we came to be here.”
“How did they get to England?” Eleanor asked.
“I don’t know, my lady.” Cross shook his head. “But their influence has been growing for decades now. It’s not unlikely that they have made their way here to London and perhaps the rest of the Continent.”
“What do they want?” Jeremy stood up. “Why attack us?”
“They hate all Lycans,” Julianna said. “They want to destroy all of us.”
“What can we do to stop them?” Reed finally asked. This … mage was a threat to him, to his family, his clan. And he almost killed Elise.
“We must be vigilant,” Cross said. “If our history with them tells
