Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 126030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Sebastian flared his eyebrows to concede those points. Nessa had to say, the family dynamic aspect was certainly true. Mage culture was more independent, each mage working toward riches and power and not so much toward building communities. Not in the traditional sense, at any rate. Obviously, some mages did settle down and have families, but the more powerful mages tended to pursue their interests, rather than family. At least in this day and age. There was no saying what it was like in the past.
“Anyway, it doesn’t really matter,” Nessa said. “However it happened, very few people can use those Ivy House books.”
“Momar does happen to have a couple that probably could, though.” Sebastian sighed and laid his upper body down on the table again. “The moment they see what Jessie can do, they’ll want to know how. They’ll want those books.”
“Ivy House is a strong deterrent,” Austin said as he headed out of the kitchen with Jessie’s shake.
“Yes, but I was able to get people on those grounds undetected.”
There was a scuff in the hallway as Austin abruptly stopped.
“I did the research, and I figured it out,” Sebastian said. “I devised a potion to hide from Ivy House. Momar has a few ingenious mages who made that thing at Kingsley’s. Ivy House isn’t impenetrable, Austin. It would be a mistake to assume it is. But even if they can’t get in to steal those books, if they see what is possible, they have an opportunity to devise something similar. The question is, are they good enough? And after seeing what they did at Kingsley’s, I think the answer is probably yes, they are. This battle we’re fighting might get a lot harder before the end. We’ll want to be prepared.”
“Which means we’ll want to pour through those books,” Nessa surmised.
“Pour through them and weed out our competition.”
They needed to focus on the mages, rather than on touring the packs. They couldn’t study if they were constantly on the go. Austin and Jessie might have to split up to see this through, something that had probably occurred to everyone earlier when Jessie had made that speech, and later when that alpha had agreed with her.
Austin would not like that one bit.
20
Austin
The Jeep motor died, leaving Austin in silence as he sat outside of Drex’s house. A million thoughts rolled through his head, all lining up with what he’d already vaguely decided. It was a plan half-formed and with a million risks, but they didn’t have any more time or another choice, not anymore. That had become glaringly obvious. Now, he needed details.
He left the keys in the ignition and climbed from the Jeep. Jess was at the house napping and Sebastian wouldn’t be long in following suit. Nessa, after making Sebastian something to eat, had decided to stick around and start baking. This trip was winding down.
He let himself into the house as instructed and heard a murmuring of voices at the end of the hallway. The alphas were sitting around the large table in the dining room with pitchers of water and lemonade amid snacks. Two of the alphas had opted for a beer.
They fell silent when he entered the room, all eyes on him. They’d need to get a shifter’s version of pleasantries out of the way before they started planning. He hoped to hell they had some good ideas or he’d be making things up as he went, something that was bound to fail.
“Alpha.” Drex stood in greeting, and the rest rose respectfully.
Austin stopped from showing his surprise. They were treating him like their alpha.
“Greetings,” he said, because ‘hi’ seemed too informal, and then he felt like a social outcast with such a lame salutation. The Ivy House crew was rubbing off on him.
He tried again as he sat down. “How goes it?”
The rest sat with him except for Drex.
“Lemonade?” Drex indicated the spread before him. “Beer?”
“Beer would be great, thanks.”
Drex nodded and moved off toward the kitchen.
“Did Niamh not stick around?” Austin asked, cluing in through the Ivy House bonds to locate her whereabouts.
“She went to check on the vampire,” Derrick said. “Drex said the vampire was welcome to look around and she called him a damned fool.” Derrick grinned. “Are all pucas that surly?”
“I have no idea but based on what she’s said about her family, I think they are.”
The others chuckled quietly.
Drex popped the top on a can of ale before pouring it into a glass and setting them both in front of Austin. He moved to take his seat again.
“I was telling them a little of your battle setup,” Drex started. The environment around the table was relaxed and laid back, not at all like the cultivated showmanship that went on with generational alphas. These people knew what they were about, could size the others up, and felt no need to talk a big game or show strong. Their confidence was built brick by brick, not manufactured through family and training. Austin didn’t really fit in, as he had the training and the ties, but he still felt so much more at home here than he did in those other meetings.