Greykin Valley

| 75 | Moving Out

⥐ ⋞ ☽ ⋟ ⥐

| Damon |

As the afternoon became the evening, Damon glared up at the darkening sky. He tried to focus on the mission, on the fact that he would soon be facing Kane again, but all he could think about was how much he wanted to kill Wilson. He wanted to tear him limb from limb, he wanted to break every bone in his body, and he wanted to make him suffer until his last breath.

His anger was pointless, though. He wouldn't get to kill him; he promised Jackson...but if Wilson tried anything else—if he got the slightest suspicion that he was planning on hurting or trying something else with Jackson—he'd not hesitate. He'd let his mate have his talk with him...but he'd make sure that Tokala or Wesley watched that muto like a hawk. He wasn't going to take any chances.

With a quiet sigh, he lifted his head from over Jackson's and glanced around at the resting wolves. Some of Cyrus' guys were getting up and ready, and Cyrus was talking to Sebastien, who shifted into his hound form a few moments later and rushed off to help three others deal with a lone cadejo.

"Looks like we're getting ready to move," Raphael said.

Damon turned his head and set his eyes on the orange wolf.

"He awake?" he asked, nodding at Jackson.

The Alpha looked down at his sleeping mate and then back at Raphael. "No."

"Then wake him up."

Damon snarled irritably but held his tongue; he wasn't about to start an argument with him. He nuzzled Jackson's neck and quietly said, "Jackson."

But his mate didn't respond.

"Jackson?" he asked as he nudged him.

He still didn't wake up.

Damon started panicking. The last time this happened, Caedis had to wake him before his soul was imprisoned by the Holy Grail. He jumped to his paws, but before he could speak, Raphael shoved him out of the way and shifted out of his wolf form. The Alpha watched him place his hand on Jackson's head the way Caedis had, and he muttered the same words in that strange language, too.

Jackson suddenly flinched and shot up to his paws. He looked around as if he had no idea where he was, but after a few seconds, he calmed down and stared at Damon with a confused frown. There was also fear in his eyes, and his body was visibly trembling.

"What did you see?" Raphael asked him before Damon could ask if he was okay.

As he slowly turned his head to look at Raphael, Jackson tried to compose himself. "The same as before," he answered shakily.

"The same guy?"

He nodded. "Is this...gonna happen every time I try to sleep?"

"Probably," Raphael said. "The Holy Grail are persistent; Strămoş Luca wouldn't have put me on babysitting duty if they weren't."

"Can't something be done?" Damon questioned frustratedly. "I'd rather not have to have one of you around all the time after this mission is over."

Raphael scoffed. "I'd rather not be around you all the time, either. But we both have to suck it up and do what Strămoş Luca says, don't we?" He shifted his glare to Jackson. "Did you see or learn anything new?"

Jackson thought for a few silent moments. "I-I don't know," he mumbled. "The same bells...but they rang in sequences of three. Could that mean anything?"

The orange-haired man frowned as if he was pondering, and then he shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. The number three could mean a lot of things: three hours, three days, three weeks—or maybe three tries and they give up or switch tactics."