Rocky (Tales of the Were) by Bianca D'Arc

they were trying to bring her back too. It would take a great deal of dark, evil magic to retrieve her from such a place and her minions in this realm were working toward that goal.
    They’d already tried to kill Allie and the Lords. They’d failed in that attempt, but who knew how many Others on the side of light had been silenced already? The Venifucus were playing the long game, taking out their opposition one by one before anyone even realized they were still a viable organization.
    Now that the Lords knew for sure they were back and what they were plotting, the forces of Light were being rallied. Nobody really knew if it would be enough to prevent catastrophe. And no one knew exactly when or how the Venifucus planned to act. Vigilence was the order of the day.
    “Yeah, that’s the other bad news. Tony was killed by a Venifucus mage. Another of their mages tried to kill Allie a while back. She’s Rafe and Tim’s mate, the new Priestess. It was a close thing. Rafe was nearly killed. It took a hell of a lot of magical firepower to get that mage. This one’s got to be even stronger. I mean, if he was able to take out Tony…”
    It went without saying that Tony was one of the most magical grizzly shamans in recent history. It would take someone equally as powerful or even stronger to take him down.
    “All the more reason for us to come out there and help guard our grandsons.” Rocky knew that tone in his father’s voice. There was no arguing with that particular sound. The old grizzly’s mind was made up. Rocky sighed.
    “All right. Call me when you have the flight information. I’ll get some wolves to pick you up at the airport and bring you to my house. I’m sorry, but I’m not leaving Maggie or the boys for even a minute. I hope you don’t mind.”
    “Mind? Why would we mind? You’re doing the right thing. Guard her and the boys. They come first. We’ll be fine on our own if you can’t spare anyone to get us. We do know how to drive, you know.” His mother tried to be upbeat, but he knew it was hard for her. She’d just had a lot dumped on her. It would take time for her to deal with it all, if he knew his mother.
    “Don’t drive yourselves. You’ll be safer in numbers. Until this mage is caught, nobody is running around alone. Rafe and Tim are spreading the word today. I’ll make sure you have a strong group to escort you here.”
    “A wise precaution.” Rocky breathed a sigh of relief at his father’s easy acceptance of his plan. “We’ll call you back with our flight plan as soon as we get it.”
    “In the meantime, give Maggie and our grandsons a hug from us,” his mother requested tearfully. “Tell her we’ll be there as soon as we can.”
    “I’ll tell her. I know she’ll be happy to see you.”
    Rocky ended the call after a few more words, glad to have that ordeal over with. It would be hard when his parents arrived. They’d known Maggie almost as long as they’d known Tony, and they loved her too. It would be a sad reunion without Tony here to share it, but perhaps his parents could help Maggie. They were pillars of strength, and his mother especially might be a good shoulder for Maggie to cry on. Another woman might be able to help with her grief in ways he couldn’t.
     
    By that evening, the basic framework of what looked like a whole new house had taken form. Maggie was amazed by the speed with which these people moved. They were not only faster but stronger than normal people, and Rocky was the most powerful of them all physically. She’d watched from the sidelines all day as he hoisted beams and logs easily five times his weight into position while others secured them. The construction was simple and lovely, built to withstand the rigors of time yet blend in beautifully with the surrounding forest as if the home were part of it.
    Maggie took the babies outside for a while, setting up a playpen to keep them safe. Various people stopped by to talk with her and coo over