Daric’s grip tightens. “Go ahead, tell him.”
Gunnar’s lower lip trembles. “She falls to the floor. You’re holding her and whisper something in her ear. There’s fighting around you. A man with long white hair wearing a red hooded robe slips the ring on his finger, raises the dagger and the necklace over his head. He takes all the three objects and disappears. You’re all lying on the ground. Then everyone’s dead … you’re dead. She’s dead. Mom. Dad. Astrid. Everyone dies. And they take over … armies … cities burned to the ground … humans in chains … death. I can’t … stop!” His fingers gripped his short blond hair, pulling at it. “I can’t—”
“It’s all right, son.” Daric rubbed at his back. “Why don’t you lie down?”
Gunnar lay his head on the pillow and curled up into a ball. When he closed his eyes, Daric motioned for Cross to follow him out to the living area.
“Was anyone hurt this time?” Cross asked when he shut the door behind him.
“No, but that’s why he stays out here.”
Since the accident over three years ago, the first time Gunnar’s premonition powers manifested. He’d been at the club in The Village he co-owned, and the magic he bled out was so powerful, it knocked everyone unconscious. That’s why he’d been living here. Well, that was the short version.
“He’s never had another bad episode since the first time. Why now?”
“I think the more important thing here is what he predicted.”
Cross glanced back at the door to the bedroom, wondering if Gunnar was all right. These horrific visions he had … it tormented him. But Daric was right. What he saw was concerning, because Gunnar’s visions had never been wrong yet. “The mages are back.” He never thought he’d say such words out loud. “Or they will be.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” His father’s brows drew together. “We must warn the Alpha.”
“Grant Anderson is no fool.” Cross rubbed his temple. “I don’t think he entirely believed us when we said Gunnar had an accident with some potions that mixed together in his pocket. If he finds out about what really happened—”
“He won’t,” Daric said. “I’ll make sure of it. We’ll make sure of it.”
Cross swallowed audibly. If Grant Anderson knew Gunnar’s powers were out of control, he would have no choice but to tell the Lycan High Council. And the council—who were already prejudiced against hybrids in the first place—could order his brother put down if he were deemed a danger. However, Cross also knew that the situation was so grave that Daric was willing to risk exposing his son.
“What will we tell him?”
So, they came up with a plan, and by sunrise, they were back in New York. Though they could easily teleport into Grant Anderson’s office, they opted to go through his assistant, Jared, and they were shown in right away.
“And what was this matter you needed to talk to me about?” the Alpha asked. “It must be important enough for you to come all the way to see me.”
“Alpha,” Daric bowed his head with respect. Although not a Lycan himself, the warlock had pledged to the clan long ago. “I’ve had a vision, and my mother, she had the same one as well.”
And they relayed to him what Gunnar had seen, under the guise of Daric and Signe’s powers. As non-Lycans, they would not be subject to the Lycan High Council’s influence.
The Alpha listened to them, not saying a word until they finished. The silence in the room was thick and heavy, until he did speak. “You haven’t spoken of your visions in a long time, Daric. And neither has your mother.”
“Anything we’ve seen in the last couple of decades haven’t been important enough to share.” The lie slid out of Daric’s mouth so smoothly that Cross would have believed it too.
“All right.” Grant folded his hands over his massive oak desk. “There’s nothing else you can tell me about your vision? How far into the future is it? Where did it take place?” Daric shook his head. “No clue at all?”
“I’m sorry … I’m just relaying the vision to you. I can’t control it.”
Grant’s jaw hardened. “I can’t just act on a vision—reliable as it may be. But I think we need to learn more.”
“I completely agree, Alpha,” Daric said. “That’s why I’m going to send Cross on a mission. To find out more about the objects in the vision.”
The Alpha turned to him, his emerald green eyes turning dark. “And you’re okay with this? What about your work at Lone Wolf?”
Like most of the people in his extended family, Cross worked at his uncles’ private security firm, Lone Wolf Security, which was an offshoot of the larger Creed Security Corporation. “We’re going to tell them that Dad is sending me on an extended training session to help me gain more control of my powers,” he replied. The lie would be believable enough. After all, because his gifts were so complicated, he’d been studying and training with his father since he was thirteen. Daric himself had started when he was much younger, but then those were different circumstances. “I’m sure Uncle Killian and Sebastian will understand.”
Grant thought for a moment. “All right. You can go on this fact-finding mission, but this needs to stay between us. While we don’t want the same thing to happen as last time, we can’t get everyone into a panic. The Lycan High Council should be notified as well.”
“You’re right of course,” Daric said. “But maybe we should wait until we have solid proof before informing the council.”
“Hmmm.” Grant tapped his fingers on the desk. “All right, proof first.”
After conferring on a few more details, Daric and Cross left, reappearing back in Gunnar’s cabin.
“Are you ready for this, Cross?” Daric asked.
If he were honest—not really. “You’ve trained me well, Dad.”
His father cracked a genuine smile. “And you’ve been an excellent student. I have every confidence
