“An alpha doesn’t walk into another alpha’s territory without getting ready for war,” Theodore said in a somber voice.

“No war,” Jack said. “Ryder, a bit of help here, please?”

“I accept your presence at Pinemoor,” Ryder declared solemnly. “The Luna’s Sentinels welcome you, alpha.”

Jack sighed in relief. “Great, now that’s out of the way, let’s synchronize our watches. Pinemoor, here we come?”

“Why the question mark?” Danny asked.

“Um, maybe because I don’t know what airline will take us there?” Jack expressed his doubts directly.

“How did you get here, Ryder?” Danny asked. “Is it very far?”

“It is far,” Ryder confirmed. “An alpha can rush through forests and rivers, cutting a clear path for himself. But that isn’t possible, given our current circumstances.”

“You must go with Theodore then,” Danny said. “The rest of us can wait here. Unless you need Jack with you, of course.”

“I will not leave this place without you,” Ryder said fiercely.

Jack and Vince were both following the exchange between the two fated mates with growing interest.

“Are you people forgetting who I am?” Theodore hissed, drawing attention to his person again. “Release me, and we will take one of my aircraft.”

“Of course, he has aircraft,” Jack said, opening his arms wide. “Don’t tell me you even know how to fly such things.”

“Of course, I do know how to fly such things,” Theodore shot back.

Yes, of course. He was a handsome alpha who owned a city and knew how to fly aircraft. Jack was starting to wonder if he wasn’t trapped in a strange romance novel featuring an absurdly attractive male lead who could do it all and had it all and—and most likely had a big thing in his pants, too.

What was he thinking? He had never thought of other guys’ ‘things’ before discovering he was a clairvoyant. Did clairvoyants usually swing that way? Jack needed to conduct more research on the matter. After all, Vince’s playful banter and teasing also made him hot all over and especially in places that had no business heating up out of the blue.

Ryder pulled Theodore up and cut all the ties restraining him. “Take us to your aircraft. We must not postpone this one moment more. Cassandra is very likely expecting us since she can foretell the future.”

“Unless she’s busy doing something else,” Jack intervened. “It’s not like she’s playing with her crystal ball all the time, right? Or with her cards?”

“That is the only thing I have ever seen her doing,” Ryder replied.

“Goddammit,” Jack cursed under his breath. “I so hate overachievers. Ryder, tell me again how good I am at this clairvoyant thing.”

“We don’t have time for your whining,” Theodore warned, cutting Jack’s words short.

“You are very good at being a clairvoyant, Jack,” Danny said, gripping Jack’s shoulder to offer him reassurance.

Theodore made Jack and Danny yelp by moving to their side. “You will answer for your deeds, clairvoyant. And you will disclose the secret you hold close to your chest.”

“I’m not hiding anything,” Jack protested.

How could Theo tell he was hiding something? Was it because he had the nose of a wolf? He wasn’t a dog, though. Who had better lie-sniffing capabilities, wolves or dogs?

As soon as Theodore moved away, Danny caught Jack’s hand and whispered in his ear, “What you’re hiding is nothing bad, I hope, Jack. Is it?”

“No, just weird as fuck,” Jack replied. “Wait until Vince hears it.”

“What is it?” Danny insisted.

Jack waved him off. “I can’t tell you right now. And the cards can change at any moment. I’ve seen it happen before, when Ryder was supposed to die by trying to mate with Theodore. There’s no sign of that now. That Cassandra witch is our main problem. What comes after we deal with her, well, we’ll see.”

Yep, that was a good idea. Sweep it all under the rug, until it turns into a huge little pile of… something. But, before that, he needed to share some of this crazy stuff with Vince.

Because, well, Vince, was really good at being a guardian. He had never failed so far. So maybe the cards were just silly, and Vince actually had to guard Jack’s tiny asshole from having to meet Theo’s humongous ‘thing’. That was what mating was all about right?

Ass-fucking. Something Jack knew nothing about.

TBC