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  “Interesting. Do you think he’d come to her if she called him?”

  Connor shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “Bring her out here and let’s see if it works. The only way to get our questions answered is by confronting him. We have to see what he knows in regards to your mate.”

  Connor ground his teeth, but got up and went to the bedroom.

  Aislinn was pacing the bedroom, her brow furrowed. She looked up when Connor entered the bedroom.

  “It’s Gabriel. Can you come to the living room for a minute?”

  Without a thought to her apparel, or lack thereof, Aislinn followed her mate as he requested. When she saw the joint-alpha, she smiled.

  “It’s nice to see you, Gabriel.”

  He returned her smile and made sure he kept his eyes on her face. The gown she wore left little to the imagination and he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.

  Grumbling was heard from the corner of the room and the sorcerer materialized out of the shadows, frowning at Aislinn. With a wave of his hand, a velvet robe with fur trim covered her body.

  “Had I known you were going to gallivant around in front of people, I would have never made that blasted nightgown,” he grumbled.

  Aislinn gave him a shy smile. “I wasn’t exactly thinking when I walked in here. Thank you for the robe.”

  Instead of responding to her, he glared at the alphas. They needed to spend less time worrying about him and focus more of their attention on upcoming events. The pack would be fighting for their lives soon, and none of them were prepared for it.

  “What the hell do you two want?” he asked with barely restrained fury.

  “We have some questions about Aislinn and her future with the pack,” Gabriel answered calmly, appearing unfazed by the sorcerer’s temper.

  “And you couldn’t ask her?”

  The werewolves looked at one another and then at Aislinn.

  “Do you know something you should share with us?” Connor asked, finding it hard to believe his mate would keep pertinent information from him.

  Noting her pallor, Gabriel gave her the assurance she needed. “We just need to make sure you’re safe. Without knowing if your husband can track you here, we’re vulnerable to an attack.”

  “I came here by magick. Since Hugh is the least magickal person I know, he won’t be able to find me.” She looked at Eric before looking at her mate. “In my world, I’m dead. I’m not going to vanish and I’m not going to be returned to my world.” Unless I screw up, she silently added.

  Connor looked away from her, his jaw tightening in frustration. “Why didn’t you share this with me before now?”

  She moved toward him and stopped. “I didn’t know it was something you were worried about. If you had asked me, I would have told you what I know.”

  “Is there anything else I should know?” Connor asked softly, his stance still rigid and unyielding. It was obvious he was going to make this difficult for her.

  Aislinn look at Eric helplessly. She knew she should tell them about her magickal abilities, but she wasn’t sure how much she could tell them. It wasn’t just her secret, it was Eric’s.

  The sorcerer sighed and tipped his head back, closing his eyes briefly. “I’m supposed to observe without interring, but I’ve screwed that up this time.”

  “You’re the reason Aislinn healed so quickly, aren’t you?” Gabriel asked, the pieces of the puzzle finally coming together.

  Eric nodded. “I shared my life’s essence with her in order to save her life. However, my gift came with a price.”

  “What kind of price?” Connor asked, torn between wanting to thank the man for saving his mate and want to throttle him for having any kind of relationship with her.

  “She inherited some of my magickal abilities. If threatened, she can defend herself.”

  Connor looked between Aislinn and Eric. “Anything else?”

  Eric shrugged. “She may be able to do a few other things, but I won’t know how extensive her powers are until I’m able to test them.”

  “More tests?” Aislinn grumbled.

  He flashed her a smile. “Only if you want to harness your power, little sorceress.”

  “Sorceress!” Gabriel and Connor exclaimed at the same time.

  “Yes, the latest addition to your pack is now a sorceress. And if she continues to practice, she’ll be a rather powerful one.”

  The werewolves looked stunned.

  Connor looked at Aislinn as if he’d never seen her before. Her heart broke a little and she wondered if things would ever be the same between them again. She was still the same woman he’d wanted to make love to moments ago, and yet she knew there was now an invisible wall between them. She looked to Eric for guidance, but he only gave her a sad smile. Obviously she had to fight this battle on her own. She just wasn’t sure how.

  In a blink, Eric disappeared, leaving Aislinn alone with the werewolves. She eyed her mate uncertainly. Her gaze shifted to Gabriel and he gave her an encouraging smile. Rising from the sofa, he walked over and gave her a hug.

  “Everything will work itself out,” he said with a smile.

  “I wish I could believe that,” she replied with a subtle look in Connor’s direction.

  Gabriel squeezed her shoulder before showing himself out, leaving them to work out their problems.

  Aislinn looked at Connor, but he refused to meet her gaze. She swallowed the lump forming in her throat and walked away. At the bedroom door she paused, wondering if Connor would still want to share the room with her. Looking down the hall, she moved toward one of the guest rooms.

  She pushed open the door to the blue bedroom and stepped inside. Closing the door softly, she leaned against it, no longer able to hold herself up. Everything had been going so well, and now it seemed she’d lost it all. It seemed incredibly unfair that she would finally find love only to have it taken away so suddenly.

  Sinking to her knees, she buried her face in her hands. There had to be a way to fix things. She refused to give up!

  What good is magick if it can’t fix a broken heart, she wondered.

  In the living room, Connor was feeling hurt and betrayed. His mate had special abilities, ones that made him useless in her life. If she could protect herself, why did she need him? And why hadn’t she told him?

  He’d been vaguely aware of her leaving the room, but hadn’t stopped her. For once, he wasn’t sure what to say or what to do, wasn’t sure if anything could make it right again.

  He loved her. That much he knew, but did it really matter if she didn’t trust him or love him in return? What was their relationship built on if everything had been a lie? She hadn’t seemed like a deceitful woman, and yet she’d kept things from him, important things.

  Rubbing a hand down his face, he looked to the hall. She hadn’t gone back into their room. He didn’t want to sleep in his bed without her, but he didn’t trust himself to be around her just yet. Grabbing his keys, he left the house, hoping a long drive and maybe a stop at the local bar would help him figure things out. If nothing else, it would help dull the pain and allow him to sleep.

  Aislinn heard the front door close and knew she was alone, again.

  “Eric?” she called softly.

  The sorcerer materialized in front of her and hunkered down so that he was eye level with her.

  “That didn’t go very well, did it?”

  She shook her head. “I think he hates me now.”

  He gave her a tender smile. “No, he doesn’t hate you. He’s just confused and hurting right now. He doesn’t understand why you kept your magick a secret from him, but he’ll come around.”

  “I wish I could be as sure of that as you and Gabriel seem to be.”

  Eric reached out and took her hand. “Come on. You obviously aren’t going to get any sleep so we might as well work on honing those powers of yours.”

  With a sigh of resignation, she stood and leaned against him. “Where to this time?”
>
  He flashed her a grin. “It’s a surprise.”

  Isn’t is always, she thought, right before they vanished from the house and reappeared in what seemed to the barrio in southern California.

  “Eric, I think I’m over dressed.”

  With a chuckle and a wave of his hand, her gown and robe changed into shorts and a baby doll tee.

  Aislinn scanned the scenery, knowing that her lesson for the day had to be hidden in plain sight. She just couldn’t figure out what it was. Waiting patiently, she kept an eye on her surroundings.

  Finally, a small Hispanic woman with two small children walked by; their clothes well worn and hanging loosely on their bodies.

  “So that’s my project?”

  Eric nodded. “Now you get to learn how to make something from nothing. I think it’s time they had their pantry stocked and their clothing replenished.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  After Aislinn had finally learned to create something from nothing, not an easy task to be sure, Eric had transported them to a beach. They’d walked the sandy shores for a good hour in companionable silence before Aislinn had asked to go home.

  Once in her room again, she sank onto the bed, looking tired and lost.

  “I thought you would be feeling a bit better after helping that family,” Eric commented.

  She gave him a wan smile. “I was, but it wore off. Now I’m just tired and feel a bit drained.”

  He nodded. “That’s to be expected. It takes a lot of magick to create things, and it can be especially draining on someone new to their abilities. You’ll have to take it slow for a while.”

  Aislinn brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. Resting her cheek on her knees, she sighed.

  “I’m tired of being alone.”

  Eric looked at her in surprise. “But you aren’t alone. You have an entire pack now.”

  She closed her eyes. “You know what I mean. I was alone in my relationship with Hugh, and now that Connor’s mad at me I’m alone again. I thought I’d finally found the person I was suppose to share my life with.”

  Eric sat beside her and drew her close, wanting to comfort her. “You have. I told you that he just needs some time.”

  Aislinn leaned into him, needing his strength. “I’m glad you’re my friend.”

  Friend? Is that what I am? Eric wasn’t sure what to think about her statement. He hadn’t had friends in centuries.

  “I’m always here if you need me, you know that.”

  She nodded sleepily.

  He pressed a kiss to her temple and helped her lie down on the bed. “Sleep now. You’ll need your energy to face what’s to come.”

  “What’s to come?” she asked sleepily.

  “Connor’s been out all night, but I imagine he’ll want to talk later today. The sun will be up in another hour or two.”

  Aislinn sighed again. “I feel like I could sleep for a year.”

  Eric smiled and brushed her hair back from her face. “I don’t think a year is possible, but you can get a few hours of sleep at the very least. The werewolf will be home before long.”

  “Where did he go?” she asked softly, almost afraid of the answer.

  “He’s not sleeping with anyone, if that’s what you’re worried about. He went out drinking.”

  “But he didn’t sleep here.”

  “He’s not cheating on you, Aislinn. You don’t have to worry about that. He might be upset, but he’d never do that to do you.”

  She nodded and closed her eyes, unable to stay awake for another moment.

  Once she was asleep, Eric vanished from the room, leaving her to get some rest.

  Connor groaned as he came awake, the light streaming through the window making his head pound. He slowly opened his eyes and stared up at an unfamiliar ceiling. Where am I?

  Rising up on an elbow, he surveyed the room. Cassie’s house. It wasn’t the first time he’d stayed in Cassie and Matt’s guest room, but it was the first time he didn’t remember how he got there. He remembered being mad at Aislinn and leaving to go to the bar. He remembered drinking large quantities of beer and tequila. But after the sixth or seventh shot of tequila, everything became a bit fuzzy.

  Climbing out of the bed, he spied his jeans and shirt on a nearby chair. Getting dressed, he stumbled into the bathroom to splash cold water on his face. Opening the cabinet over the sink, he pulled out of the new toothbrushes Cassie kept on hand for company. He brushed his teeth and splashed more cold water on his face. While both helped him wake up and feel a little more human, neither did anything for the monster headache pounding behind his eyes and in his temples.

  Staggering to the stairs, he gripped the rail and slowly made his way downstairs. The screeches of the kids made him wince, but he forged ahead toward the kitchen, following the sounds of laughter and conversation. Propping a shoulder in the kitchen doorway, he smiled as he watched Cassie and Matt take care of their brood of children. It seemed they had another one every time he blinked. Both having been only children, they’d wanted a house full of kids. It seemed they had gotten their wish and then some.

  “Well, there you are,” Cassie said with a smile in his direction. “I wondered if you would rejoin the land of the living.”

  With a grin, he moved into the room and sat at the only empty chair left at the table. “That bad, huh?”

  “Matt had to practically carry you into the house. Want to tell us what drove you to drink? You don’t normally stay at a bar until you’re about to pass out under a table.”

  He shrugged and looked around at the kids. “Just had a fight with Aislinn is all.”

  “Does this have anything to do with Gabriel’s call last night about the sorcerer, and something about Aislinn having powers?”

  He nodded. “She lied to me.”

  Cassie cocked her head to the side and studied him a moment. “You know, if I were in her place, I would be scared to share something like that too.”

  Matt rolled his eyes. “Honey, you were in her place. You were terrified of Cole finding out you could communicate with spirits.”

  Cassie smiled. “True. Maybe that’s why I can sympathize with Aislinn. I’m nowhere near as powerful as she is, but I do get premonitions through dreams, and I still see spirits everywhere I go. Does that make me any less lovable?”

  “You know it doesn’t,” Connor answered.

  “So, why are you so upset your fiancé has magickal gifts?”

  “It isn’t the gifts I mind, Cassie. It’s the fact that she kept them hidden from me, was seeing the sorcerer behind my back. How can I trust her if she can’t trust me with the truth?”

  “Did you ask her about it?”

  He hung his head. “No, I didn’t give her a chance to explain. I was too angry to think straight.”

  “So you left her last night after arguing to go and get drunk, which you already know terrifies her thanks to her previous life, and now you’ve stayed out all night. You’re going to be lucky if she doesn’t change you into a toad when you get home.”

  Connor made a choking sound. “Could she do that?”

  Cassie shrugged. “I have no idea, but I would imagine she’ll be hurt and angry enough to try.”

  “Great. Just what I needed, an angry sorceress.”

  Matt grinned. “Worse, you have an angry mate. I’d be more scared of that than an angry sorceress.”

  Connor groaned and dropped his head into his hands. “I’ve made a royal mess of everything.”

  “Why don’t you stop by the florist on the way home and then crawl on your hands and knees and beg for her forgiveness?” Cassie suggested with a grin.

  “Flowers I can do, but an alpha never begs.”

  Matt threw his head back and laughed. “Just wait, she’ll have you begging before long.”

  Connor muttered something under his breath and pushed his chair back. If he was going to make things right with Aislinn, he needed to head home. He only hop
ed she was still there.

  “Thanks for helping me out last night,” he told Matt and Cassie. “I guess I better go home and see if she’ll forgive me.”

  Matt reached behind him and grabbed Connor’s keys off the counter. He tossed them to him. “You’ll need these. I took them from you last night to keep you from attempting to drive.”

  Connor nodded. “Thanks. Wish me luck!”

  Matt and Cassie looked at each other and smiled, knowing that luck wouldn’t have anything to do with it. They could have eased Connor’s mind and shared Matt’s latest vision with him, but the man was cocky enough already. It would do him some good to worry about his future with Aislinn.

  Chapter Sixteen

  After picking up two dozen red and white roses, Connor pulled into his drive and stared at the house. It seemed still and quiet, which made him uneasy. A few weeks ago, he would have been used to coming home to the house being so still, but now that Aislinn was in his life he was used to more energy.

  Getting out of the truck, he took a breath and walked up to the house. As he pushed the door open, he frowned. He could smell a faint trace of the sorcerer, but he could smell Aislinn, too. It gave him a small amount of comfort to realize she was still in the house, but he frowned as he realized the house was undisturbed. Was she still sleeping? A glance at the clock showed that it was nearly ten o’clock, which was far later than Aislinn ever slept.

  He quickly walked through the living room and into the house, pausing outside of the door to the blue bedroom. Turning the knob, he pushed the door open and stepped into the room. Aislinn lay sprawled across the bed, still sound asleep.

  Connor moved further into the room and sat the flowers down on the nightstand. Sitting lightly on the edge of the bed, he traced the curve of her jaw with his fingers. She looked so peaceful when she slept; the dark shadows that usually haunted her eyes went away for a short time.