Greykin Mountain

| 70 | Consequences of Victory

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While Damon rested on the couch, Jackson gazed at him from across the room. He was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, listening to the quiet voices outside. Everyone was talking about the fight; some said they'd changed their mind and were staying with Damon, but others were talking about how it was better to get out of there now before things got worse.

          Wasn't Damon going to go out there and try to stop those who wanted to leave? The pack was already small; if they lost anyone else, it would make the pack even weaker. But it was their choice, though...wasn't it? Damon didn't want to force anyone to stay, and Jackson understood that.

          He looked down at the floor, but then reached into his pocket and pulled out the amulet. Why did he keep pulling it out to gawp at it? He'd already inspected every inch of it, and he hadn't seen that white shimmer or creature's eye inside it again. Maybe he kept staring because he wanted to know more about it. There was no way to do that, though.

          With a quiet sigh, he put the amulet back in his pocket.

          "What are you sighing about?" came Damon's fatigued voice.

          Jackson tensed up in startle and gawped over at him. "Uh...nothing, I just...wish I knew more about this amulet," he mumbled, glancing down at his pocket.

          Damon slowly rolled onto his right side so that he could lie facing Jackson. "You'd have to find a demon willing to educate you."

          "Yeah, and they're super territorial, right? So, that's probably gonna be impossible."

          "Hard, but not impossible. You'll need to find one anyway if you want to learn to use the power you have that comes with being an asmodi."

          Jackson frowned softly. That was true, and even though he was a little unsure whether or not he wanted to learn to use his demon power, the fact remained that he needed to learn to control it. That didn't necessarily mean learning to harness it, it was just keeping it under control. After what he'd felt inside himself while trying to gain control over his wolf, he was confident that it would be better for everyone if he worked out how to keep that side of him at bay.

          But who? Someone at the Venaticus outpost? No...he couldn't risk them finding out about what he was. So where was he supposed to find a demon who would help him? He had no idea.

          Thinking about the amulet made him remember the state of the room he'd found it in when he'd taken Damon to see it. And a cold shiver ran down his spine. They still hadn't figured out who had done it or if there was someone skulking around the ruin.

          "Damon...?"

          "Mm," the Alpha mumbled, opening his eyes to look at him.

          "We never found out who turned that room upside down. What if there's someone here?"

          His words made a concerned frown appear on Damon's face. "I was too distracted to even remember that."

          Jackson shook his head. "It's okay, I just...I'm a little scared. If there is some imposter here, they could be hiding right under our noses. I mean...there's a lot of places they could hide here."

          It looked like Damon was pondering for a moment...and then he looked over at the door. "Wesley," he called.

          Jackson heard the cellar doors open, a pair of rushing footsteps echoing down the hall, and then the door to Damon's room opened, and Wesley stepped in.