“Could there be more of them?” Reed asked.
“I don’t know.” Cross faced him, looking at him with those strange eyes. “Maybe, maybe not. It takes decades for a warlock to fully transform into a mage.”
Jeremy harrumphed. “Then how do we stop them?”
“I think we should head back to London,” Reed interjected. “Out here, there are too many factors … too many things can happen. We can all stay at Hunter House so it’ll be easier to watch out for each other.”
“Your Grace, is that wise?” Julianna shifted in her seat uncomfortably. “I mean … well … London has so many people.”
“And out here with no one else around, it’s easier to attack us,” Reed snapped. “We’ll be like sitting ducks just waiting to be sniped off one by one.”
“I have an idea, Your Grace,” Cross said. “I believe … well, the mages in America seemed to be drawn by power. Twice now they have attacked our ascending Alphas. Perhaps we could draw him out during your ceremony.”
Reed contemplated his words. “You mean, set a trap?”
“Exactly.”
He didn’t like the prospect of confronting the mage once more, but then again, this might be their only chance. Unless the mage struck again before that, which could happen at any time. “I suppose we could do that.” Better to be prepared and take out the bastard before he hurt anyone again. “You have a plan for defeating this mage?”
Cross nodded. “We have dealt with them in the past, and we can tell you what we know, if you agree.”
“Do we really have a choice?” Jeremy asked. “Aside from waiting for him to attack us again.”
Reed knew the answer to that. “All right then. I’ll send a message to the high council and tell them we want to do the ceremony sooner rather than later.”
“Instead of a small ceremony, we should have a big one,” Jeremy added. “I know you didn’t want to make a fuss, Hunter.”
He sighed, knowing what Jeremy was suggesting. He was a good Beta, after all, plus a seasoned veteran of war. “No, you’re right. We need all of the clan around us. Maybe we can even call on our Scottish allies for help.”
“We’ll be there too, of course,” Julianna said. “I mean, after all, we have the most experience with the mages.”
“I think it would be best if the ladies were somewhere safe,” Jeremy suggested.
“No way.” Elise got to her feet. “We are not sitting back while you fight him.”
“Eli—Miss Henney.” It took all of his power to stay calm. Her life was in danger! There was no way he was going to let her near that murderous mage. “Between the London clan and the Caelkirk clan, we should be able to round up a good thirty able-bodied male Lycans.”
“But wouldn’t that seem strange?” Elise shot back. “Mages are smart. He’ll know something is up when he sees that only the men are attending your ceremony.”
“Elise is right,” Eleanor said. “Just because we’re women doesn’t mean we can’t fight. We’re Lycans too.”
“Darling.” Jeremy put a hand on her arm. “Please—”
“Don’t patronize me, Jeremy.” She brushed his hand away. “If that mage got to William …” He had never seen his sister look so fierce. Lady or not, a she-wolf showed her claws if there was any threat to her pups.
“They’re right,” the dowager said, much to Reed’s surprise. “Reed, we must make everything look authentic, if we are to draw this despicable mage out.”
“Grandmama—”
“A ball.” The duchess paused dramatically. “Yes, we shall have a ball. It will not only be a good way to get the clan and our allies together, but that way, you can finally take your place as Alpha in a grand way.”
“But—”
“No buts, Reed.” She raised a hand to stop his protests. “Your ascension ceremony may be the last I’ll ever witness, and so we must make it a splendid one. Not a very big one, of course. Just the clan and our allies. Say, one hundred people?”
Reed knew it was useless to argue with his grandmother once she made up her mind, so he allowed her to continue.
“I’ll take care of the arrangements. The invitations, the decorations, the musicians, the food—I even know where your father kept the dagger he used. It was your grandfather’s, you know.” She stood up, and every male in the room got to their feet. “I’ll have my work cut out for me, between the ball and making sure these ladies are properly launched into society. I’ve already decided that they will be having their debut at the Marquess of Finnerly’s ball. So, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll have to get started. Ladies,” she turned to the women in the room. “Come. There’s no time to waste. We shall have to leave for London in the morning.”
Eleanor stood up. “Let’s go, Elise, Julianna.” She shot them a look that said, don’t even try. The two women looked at each other and then followed Eleanor and the dowager out the door.
“I bet if your Grandmother was at the front lines, we would have defeated Napoleon within the first year,” Jeremy joked.
“I’d have given her six months,” he answered wryly.
“But seriously, we must speak about the ladies.” Jeremy ran his fingers through his hair. “You’re not really going to let them be there, are you, Hunter? If that madman even got near Eleanor—”
“I won’t let that happen.” Reed ground his teeth together. “But we should come up with a plan. Any ideas, Jonasson?”
The other man crossed his arms over his chest. “I have a few. But we should not exclude the women. We need all the help we can get.”
He was obviously talking about Elise’s powers. Did Julianna have them too? Did Cross? “All right, we can discuss this over the next few days.” Hopefully, they’d come up with an acceptable plan that wouldn’t involve anyone getting hurt.
Though he hated that they now had an enemy to worry about, focusing their energies on trying
