Magnus

The drive to Lachlan's took forever. Traffic wasn't cooperating with me and it seemed like even after I got off the congested freeway, I hit every red light. It didn't help that my phone didn't buzz once during the drive.

This wasn't like Lachlan. The past few days he had been less responsive, but never for this long.

I wasn't in a good place by the time I pulled into Lachlan's driveway, and even more alarming was what I saw and smelled when I pulled up. Lachlan's car was here, but so was my brother's. In fact, it smelled like Felix was still here – along with a third scent I didn't recognize. It smelled male, definitely supernatural, and it was a species I wasn't familiar with.

I froze in abject horror while I tried to think of something to explain this other than the obvious: Lachlan had been taken and my brother was investigating. Lachlan's scent was potent enough near his home that I couldn't tell whether he was still inside yet.

The front door opened, revealing my brother. He looked worried, but not as worried as he would if Lachlan was gone... right? "Magnus? What are you doing here?"

I almost wanted to laugh, but that was probably the encroaching hysteria. "Is Lachlan okay?" I asked.

"He has a bit of a fever and he's been out for the past few hours, but I'm told he'll be fine," Felix said.

What? "He's sick?"

But Felix's brow wrinkled and he opened his mouth, shut it, and frowned at me. Lachlan wasn't sick, then. My heart sank.

"So... did they get to him? He's transforming?" I whispered.

Felix just looked more confused and concerned. "He's... He was supposed to call you."

I'd had enough of this. I dashed up the porch steps and pushed past Felix. I could smell Lachlan here, but he didn't smell the same. His scent was stronger, I thought, but maybe that was my imagination. We had been separated for a few days, so maybe it was just hitting me harder than usual. I followed his scent down the hall to his bedroom and didn't stop running until I reached his bed.

Lachlan's hair was damp and plastered to his head. His cheeks were flushed, but he shivered under a huge pile of blankets. The top blanket, I noted with some confusion, was my comforter from home. I was so focused on Lachlan that I didn't realize someone else was in the room until he stepped up to the other side of Lachlan's bed.

The man looked like something out of a fantasy movie. There was an ethereal light to him and his eyes gripped me when they met mine. I was incapable of looking away from them, though I desperately needed to figure out what was going on with my mate.

"You're Magnus," he said. His voice was strange. Smoother than I had ever heard and with an unfamiliar cadence to it. He didn't have an accent, exactly, but something about the way he spoke was unusual.

I wanted to ask who he was and why he was in my mate's room. Instead, I said, "Yes."

I didn't mean to. Questions I wanted to ask had been on my lips, but my mouth formed an answer to his question entirely without my permission. What was he doing to me?

Worse, what had he done to Lachlan?

Just as suddenly as he trapped me, I was released. The man smiled brightly – and I do mean brightly, since he actually glowed a little. "I'm Luin, a friend of Lachlan's. It's good to meet you."

He stuck out his hand, but I didn't take it. I didn't know him and didn't trust his control over my body. I also didn't totally believe that he was Lachlan's friend. Lachlan had certainly never mentioned him to me.

Wouldn't I have known about a powerful supernatural friend?

Felix came in and said, "Magnus, do you know Luin?"

I shot him a look of alarm I hoped he could interpret and said, "No, we just met."

Felix put a hand on my shoulder like he had so many other times when I needed comfort. "He showed up earlier this afternoon. Lachlan introduced us."

Okay, so Lachlan did know him. Somehow, that didn't make me feel much better.

"Luin, would you give us the room for a few minutes? I need to talk to Magnus and I know he won't want to leave Lachlan," Felix said.

Luin bowed smoothly and said, "Of course." He strode out of the room with long, quick strides that were fluid despite his speed. The door shut almost silently behind him.

"What's going on?" I asked as soon as it was shut, though Luin could probably still hear us. I wouldn't put anything past him after that display of power.

"Lachlan called me earlier today," Felix said. "He... he said he was going to explain all this the next time you two talked, but it looks like he never got the chance."

I looked down at Lachlan, who still shuddered. I knew I shouldn't, but I reached out and gently pressed the back of my hand against his forehead, which was alarmingly warm. Lachlan leaned into the touch even though he was definitely still out cold.

I looked back to my brother. "Please. Tell me what's wrong with him."

"He's changing," Felix said. "That's why he called me. He wanted me to change him, and I did."

I shook my head and stared at Felix, trying to figure out where I was misunderstanding. Because surely... surely, Lachlan wouldn't do this without talking to me first. Right? And it seemed so sudden. We had never even talked about the possibility of him changing, not really. He never told me he was even thinking about it. Why do this now?

"He's becoming a werewolf," I said, needing to be sure.

"Yes." Felix reached pulled back Lachlan's blankets, making him shiver even more violently. I was about to rip them back into place, but Felix took Lachlan's hand and held it palm-up for me to see a long, thin line there. A cut. It looked like it must hurt a lot, it was such a deep red. The redness radiated out from his palm in thick, twisting lines, trailing up his arm and down his fingers. I brushed hesitant fingers over the darkest patches and instantly recoiled – his skin there was even hotter than his forehead had been.

Felix gently laid Lachlan's hand back down and pulled the covers over him again. "I swear he wanted it, Magnus. I never would have agreed if I detected even a hint of doubt."

"Is he going to be okay?" I asked even though Felix couldn't know much more about this than I did.

"Lachlan assured me it was safe. He just might be sick for the next few days. That's why Luin is here – to look after him when his cousins can't."

"I should be the one to look after him," I said, frowning. Why had Lachlan done this without me? Why wouldn't he want me to be the one by his side through this?

Felix put his hands on my shoulders and squeezed comfortingly. "He said he wanted to do this now, before you got back, so he could see you more when you returned. He knew you would have to look after the pack."

Blast Lachlan for being right. As impossible as it seemed now, I would need to leave him in the morning to see my pack again, take back the reins of alpha, and interview with Jason to start preparing for my hearing.

But how could I leave Lachlan with that man, with Luin?

Well, that was a problem for morning. "What can I do to help him?"

Felix shrugged. "Lachlan didn't really give me directions. He just said he might feel a little sick. Maybe half an hour after he made that cut, he started getting flushed and sweaty. Luin showed up not much later, then Lachlan got into bed and fell asleep. Since he kept shivering, I put some blankets on him. I also had Everett drop off your blanket so he would have your scent with him. I have no idea how long it'll be before that matters to him, but it can't hurt."

"Thanks, Felix. For taking care of him, I mean." I was still reeling. None of this seemed real. In all my fantasies of the future, it had never occurred to me that Lachlan might make the change without talking to me about it first.

At least now I knew why he hadn't answered his phone. He probably didn't know yet that I had been able to come back today. That would be a fun surprise, at least.

"Magnus, he's family. No need to thank me... but since you're here now, I'm going to head back home. Is there anything I can do for you?" Felix asked.

I debated having Felix bring me an overnight bag, but decided it was unnecessary. "No, I'm okay. Say hi to Everett and Griffin for me."

"Will do."

Felix gave me a quick but firm hug and left.

I sat gingerly on the edge of Lachlan's bed and carefully smoothed his hair back from his forehead. My fingers brushed his skin a little bit and I snatched them back out of habit even though there was no reason not to touch him now. Lachlan shivered again and I felt so helpless.

Well, if he was cold, maybe I could help warm him up. I took off my shoes and lifted the heap of blankets enough that I could climb in. I eased over until our sides were pressed together and Lachlan turned in his sleep to wrap himself around me. His head came to rest on my shoulder and I pressed a kiss to his temple, lingering so I could draw in his scent.

"Magnus" Lachlan said groggily. I jolted back. His eyes were drooping with exhaustion, but they peered at me beneath lowered lids for a few moments before they widened. "Magnus?" Lachlan repeated, sounding much more awake now. His voice was scratchy and lower than usual, but it was beautiful to me.

"Hey, how do you feel?"

Lachlan was growing more awake by the second, though his eyelids never fully opened. "How are you here?"

We stared each other down waiting for answers, but I caved first. I couldn't deny him anything, not when he looked so run-down. "We flew back earlier today. I texted you, but you've been sleeping for a while now. Seriously, how do you feel?"

He looked adorably confused, then his expression shifted to amusement. "You found me asleep so you decided to climb into bed with me?"

"Is that okay?"

Before I could pull more than an inch away from him, Lachlan hooked his arm around my waist and pressed his lips against mine. They were too warm. Everything about Lachlan felt too warm, but still he shivered against me. Were his eyes looking a little glazed?

Lachlan swatted at me. "Calm down. It's fine. And before you ask again, I'm fine. A little thirsty, maybe, and freezing, but fine."

Freezing? I felt his forehead again. He was way too hot. This couldn't be healthy. How hot did you have to get before your brain started taking damage? Because he might be approaching that point. Then, like the idiot I was, I changed the subject. "How do you know Luin?" I asked.

"My cousins."

He looked exhausted and it was clearly a battle to keep his eyes open. I pressed a kiss to his hot skin and said, "I'm going to get you some water, okay?"

Lachlan's eyes drifted shut and he nodded, then winced. I really didn't want to leave him, I had to know more about how to take care of him.

Luin was in the living room reading a book. His posture was disturbingly perfect. Maybe that was a weird thing to notice at a time like this, but... it really was. How could someone's back be so straight, their shoulders so perfectly squared? I straightened myself out a little more, but felt self-conscious about it.

"Magnus, did you need something?"

Well, now that he mentioned it... "I was hoping you could do me a favor. Lachlan's really hot but he says he feels cold. Could you talk to his cousins and see if they know anything that might help?"

Luin set his book down and stood in one fluid motion. "Yes, of course. I'll be back soon."

It shouldn't have surprised me when he disappeared before my eyes, but I gasped and shrieked a little. I thought I heard a trace of laughter coming from where he had been standing, but when I stepped forward and cautiously swiped my arms through the air, I found nothing.

Who even was this guy?

Whatever. I had bigger problems just now. I got Lachlan a glass of water – after debating for way too long about whether it should be hot or cold – and brought it to him, but he was sound asleep when I reached his room. I debated waking him, but he really did seem exhausted. I put the glass on his bedside table and climbed back into bed.

Maybe I should have been trying to cool Lachlan down instead of warming him up, but it was hard to watch him shivering. Hopefully Luin would be back soon with some answers. Until then, I pressed myself against Lachlan's side and hoped he would recover soon.

A few minutes later, I heard the front door opening along with the sound of three sets of feet making their way closer. A woman was speaking, clearly agitated. "This is just like him," she said. "Mr. I'm-never-transforming moves back, saying he wants our protection and for us to be close again and then what does he do? He transforms without telling us. I swear, that man..."

She reached the bedroom by now and trailed off when she saw me. I had slipped out of the bed while they drew nearer, bracing myself in case they were here to hurt Lachlan. It was clear, though, that this was his cousin. I thought I recognized her. This was the woman who had ogled us through her window from across the street on more than one occasion.

Two more people appeared in the doorway, Luin and Glenna. Glenna looked and smelled a lot like the ranting woman, which meant this must be Safiya.

Since they were both staring at me while Luin seemed completely unconcerned and totally comfortable standing there indefinitely, I realized it would be on me to break the silence.

"Hi, I'm Magnus."

The woman in front squealed. "Magnus? I'm Safiya. It's so, so good to meet you." She darted forward to give me a quick hug, then stepped aside to look back at her sister. "Glenna, Magnus is here!"

Glenna stepped forward much more calmly and gave me a serene smile. She offered her hand, which I shook gently. Gentle just seemed the way to go with her – she seemed so delicate and refined. "It's good to see you again," she said.

"You too." I stepped back and looked at Lachlan, who was still flushed and sleeping. "I think he's too hot, but when he woke up a bit ago he said he was cold," I told her.

Safiya pulled her sweater up a little, revealing a wand holster at her hip. She grabbed her wand and I barely stopped myself from throwing myself between her and Lachlan when she waved it in his direction.

This was his family. He trusted her, and she knew way more about this than I did. I had to have faith that Safiya and Glenna knew what they were doing and wouldn't hurt him.

Safiya stepped forward and waved her wand over his head, then ran it slowly over his chest while it emitted a faintly shimmering cloud that looked almost like fog. The fog dissipated before it ever landed on Lachlan, which was good – I was barely keeping it together as it was. Safiya wore a look of deep concentration and occasionally muttered to herself, but when she looked up again, her brow unfurrowed and she smiled at me. "He's fine."

That was it? All that magic for such a vague response?

Glenna rested a hand on my arm. "I've seen a lot of transformations in my life, Magnus, and our people always come out of them just fine. The best thing we can do is listen to Lachlan. If he says he's still too cold, warm him up."

"But he's already so hot."

"He's at 105 degrees," Safiya said. "It's the upper limit that a human body can safely handle, but he's already less human than he was earlier today. His tolerance is rising faster than his fever is."

"Werewolves have healing abilities," I realized. "At some point, he'll be werewolf enough that he'll get better, right?"

Glenna bit her lip a little and frowned thoughtfully. Safiya just shrugged. "There's no telling when he'll get that particular ability, but the werewolf healing won't finish his transformation." I knew my face fell and she quickly added, "It'll probably make the end of his transformation much more pleasant, though."

I'd take what I could get. "Thank you for checking on him. Thank you both."

Glenna smiled and looked like she was going to say something, but Safiya balled her fists on her hips and said, "I just can't believe he did this without telling us first!"

I laughed harder than I probably should have, since both of them gave me odd looks. "Sorry. It's just that he didn't tell me either."

Safiya blew out a long breath and laughed. "Okay, okay. You win."

They left soon after, promising to check on him again later before they went to bed. I shut the door, took off my shirt, and climbed back into Lachlan's bed once Luin headed down the hallway. Lachlan twined himself around me almost immediately – the first time I ever felt so much skin-to-skin contact with him. The constant ache in my chest from being away from him and holding myself back when we were together dulled. I felt almost dizzy with relief – or maybe the heat from all these blankets and my burning up mate was getting to me. I didn't care. It was enough in that moment just to hold him.