by C. Larsen
Gray chuckles, a devilish glint in his eyes. "Oh, the openings that leaves me..."
"Huh? Oh. Combusting. You have a dirty mind, Gray."
He grins, unrepentant. "So, is this the part where you kick me out of your room?"
I step toward him, closing the gap between us. I wrap my arms around his waist, pressing my face into the warm skin of his chest. After a moment's hesitation, his arms encircle me, holding me tight.
Inhaling the delicious, spicy musk that is Gray’s scent alone, I sigh, finally feeling the weight in my chest lift.
"You can stay if you want," I say, leaning back to smile up at him. "I might even give you half the bed."
Gray's face lights up, mouth curling into a lopsided grin.
"But just for sleep," I clarify, not wanting to give him the wrong idea.
"Why, luna, the thought never even crossed my mind."
"Liar," I say, stifling a giggle.
He grins again, his hands gliding along my arms and back, sending warm tingles all the way to my toes.
I bite my lip, reminding myself that I'm exhausted and nowhere near ready to have sex with him yet. But I can't help my thoughts when he's standing here like this. My hands twitch, needing to touch him again, but he nudges me toward the bed.
"Bedtime, luna. And don't even think about taking advantage of me. I can practically hear all your dirty thoughts."
I laugh, the lightness in my chest making me giddy. Crawling into bed after me, he curls up against my back and buries his face in my neck.
"You asked how I manage to still be normal, despite Nikolay as a father?" he says, his voice rumbling in my ear.
"Yeah?"
"You can thank Vasily for that. He practically raised me. He's loyal to Nikolay as his Alpha, but he's nothing like him. I know he seems tough, but Vasily is one of the best men I know."
"Well," I say around the thickness in my throat. "I'll try to remember that when he's kicking my ass in training tomorrow."
"You do that," he chuckles. He wraps one arm around my waist, hand resting just below my chest. I lace my fingers with his, taking comfort in his warm, steady presence. His scent envelops me, and sighing in contentment, I drift off to sleep.
Chapter 32
For the next month I double my training, working with both Vasily and Madelyn. The days begin to blur together, every day the same: get up, train with Gray and Vasily, eat lunch, train with Madelyn, somehow find time to complete homework for my online classes, then stumble into bed, get up, and do it all over again.
Christmas passes—or Yule as the coven and pack call it. And while I’m thankful for a day off from training to celebrate, I’d almost rather ignore the holidays altogether. It’s just another reminder of how long I’ve been away from home and how much I miss my dad and friends.
Gray tries his best to make it special, surprising me with a picnic in the woods. He strings up some lights on one of the spruce trees and brings a thermos of spiced cider. We stay out under the twinkling lights long into the night, talking and making out before the cold night air drives us back inside.
But the day after Yule, it’s back to work.
Vasily's training only gets more difficult as the days go on, but with Gray as my training partner, it's infinitely more fun than that first day. Not that Gray goes easy on me anymore—Vasily won't let him get away with that—but I'd much rather get pinned to the ground over and over again by Gray than Vasily.
The only downside to fighting Gray is the guilt that eats at me every time I practice my new soul-binding ability on him. I know I need to get control of it for all our sakes, but controlling Gray without his knowledge makes me feel dirty. I'm thrilled whenever Vasily has me fight Isabel or Miles. Though I still feel a pinch of guilt for using my powers on them, I'd much prefer that to the wretchedness I feel when it’s Gray.
After a little practice, I find that it's much easier for me to get into Miles' head and control him than it is anyone else. I figure it must have something to do with dominance. As a submissive, it makes sense he'd be the most susceptible.
The private training sessions with Madelyn are less physically exhausting than those with Vasily, but are harder mentally, leaving me completely and utterly spent each day.
For the first few days she reviews the things I learned from Caiden and the Night’s Hollow Coven, correcting my techniques and honing my skills, but soon enough she begins teaching me more interesting spells, such as warding and breaking curses and hexes.
Her lessons on hexes are intense, and, if I'm being honest, a bit terrifying. I had no idea how many ways witches could curse one another. From simple spying spells like the ones to Gabriella cast around my house months ago, to ones that make hair fall out, to flesh-eating hexes designed to liquidity a person from the inside out, and everything in between. Pretty much any terrible thing you can imagine, you can turn into a hex.
Thankfully, Madelyn also teaches me how to ward against many common hexes and how to remove them if warding doesn't work, though I hope I never have any occasion to use them. She explains that it's rare for witches to cast hexes or curses of any kind since they believe in the law of three: any energy you send out into the world, be it good or bad, returns to you three times stronger. Because of this, most covens only practice positive magick.
But just as there are good and bad people, so there are good and bad witches. Some people, like Caroline and Gabriella, have no qualms about using negative magick in order to achieve their goals. I need to prepare for anything they might throw at me.
As promised, Madelyn also teaches me techniques to increase my telepathy, but these lessons don't go as well as I hoped. Despite training for almost a month, I'm still unable to deliberately read anyone's mind except Madelyn's. I've tried it on numerous pack members, from the strongest in the pack such as Nikolay, Ivan, and Gray, to Miles and some of the weaker weres', all with very little success.
Though Vasily and Madelyn force me to work harder than I ever have in my life, I'm happier these days than I've been in a long time, mostly because of Gray.
He shares my bed every night since the day Nikolay punished him. Although we still don't have sex, we cuddle together and kiss. Sometimes the kissing gets a little heated the way it did after the bonfire, but Gray is careful not to push me further than I'm ready to go. Most of the time, though, we spend the night talking, learning more about each other.
I tell him about my childhood. About the family nights we used to have, watching movies with my parents and making homemade mozzarella sticks. About the years afterward, the fights and cold silences filling the house. About the supposed suicide and how my dad disappeared, drowning himself in work, leaving me all alone in that big, empty house.
Gray tells me about growing up as the Alpha's son, the expectations put on him, the pressure. The loneliness.
He tells me about his mother, who died when he was just eight. How he barely knew his father growing up. Nikolay was always busy with his pack responsibilities or away in Russia with Ivan. And when Nikolay did pay attention to him, it was infinitely worse than being ignored.
His words strike a chord in me. I know how loneliness can wear on you. At least I have some good memories of my parents growing up. It was only the later years, leading up to her death and then afterwards, that were bad.
Gray doesn't have any happy memories of his parents.
It makes me realize how lucky I am, having been raised by Jack. I know he's not my biological father, and that he lied to me about it my whole life, but still, he raised me. Gave me a safe and happy childhood. Provided for me. Loved me.
How I wish I could go back in time and take back all the harsh words I've said to him. Once I'm back home, I'll make it up to him.
This kind of intimacy with Gray is a new experience for me. Sebastian and I never had any deep conversations, and although Caiden and I did talk, I never felt comfortable enough with him to completely open up. I was always afraid of what he'd think
of me. Afraid he'd judge me. But with Gray, it's different. I feel like I can tell him anything and he won't turn away from me.
Well, almost anything... the closer we get, the more terrible I feel for continuing to practice my powers on him. I want to come clean, to tell him what Margie said that night, talk to him about this new, frightening ability of mine, but I'm terrified he'll reject me. Or worse, turn me over to Nikolay.
After a few weeks of working with it, I've noticed that my soul-binding ability manifests itself as a black, net-like substance, similar to the hexes Madelyn has been teaching me break.
The thought that I've been secretly hexing Gray all this time has my stomach constantly tied up in knots. I keep reminding myself that I'm doing this to help all of us. That this is the only way. It doesn't do much to ease my conscience, but it is a relief to know I won't have to do this for much longer. Considering how I've been progressing in both my werewolf and witch training, I know it's almost time for me to return to Haven Hollow and try to form some kind of truce.
According to Arianna, they still haven't had any luck getting James or Richard to negotiate. Things are getting desperate over there, and if I don't return soon, it might be beyond my help.
Chapter 33
One afternoon in January, during yet another fruitless session on telepathy, I turn to Madelyn in frustration. "It's no use. I've tried doing what you showed me and it's still not working."
She looks at me in surprise. "You've been able to read my thoughts with decent accuracy for the past couple of weeks."
"But it doesn't work on anyone else. I've tried it on practically the entire pack and I can't get more than a few stray thoughts every now and then."
Her lips twitch, as if trying not to smile. "I'm not surprised. Our abilities don't work particularly well on werewolves. Even I have trouble reading them much of the time."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I'm sure after the attack of the rogues you've noticed how much more energy it requires to use our powers on them. Even a small thing such as tossing them back like you did requires a tremendous amount of power."
"So that's why I couldn't fight the others off... I threw a few of them back, but then I was attacked by two at once and didn't have enough energy to stop them. I didn't understand why I was exhausted so quickly."
"Using our powers on humans is easiest, as they have no resistance. Using them on other witches requires a bit more energy, especially if they're warding or defending themselves in some way. But using them on a werewolf.... Even at full strength you'll quickly find yourself depleted.
“Whatever Brannagh did when she created them, they seem to have quite a bit of resistance to our powers. That doesn't mean we can't win against them, if and when we need to, but before going into any battle there are certain preparations we need to make to increase our strength and keep our energy from dissipating too quickly."
"What about healing them?" I ask.
She looks at me questioningly. "Same principle. It will take much more energy to heal a werewolf than it would to heal a witch. It's why Margie is always called to heal the pack, even though using that much power isn't good for her mental stability. She's the strongest healer we have, and the only one able to heal any life-threatening wounds on them."
"But I've healed werewolves before."
"Yes, and you passed out."
"Well, yeah, that time. But back during the attack in Haven Hollow I healed Miles and Olivia; both their wounds were pretty serious. And I've healed Gray several times too. If it's so much more difficult to work on them, how was I able to do it?"
"Healing seems to be a particular talent of yours, which is interesting considering your bloodlines. Not many of Morrigan's descendants have such a strong aptitude for it.
"But as strong as you are, I'm sure you were still exhausted afterward. If it were humans, or even other witches you were working on, it wouldn't have tired you nearly as much." She studies me, a speculative look coming into her eyes. "With the strength you displayed healing Gray that night, I doubt there's a human malady in the world that you couldn't heal. You can do a lot of good with an ability such as yours, especially in the war that's coming."
"You mean the one that's already begun?"
"Begun? No. This is nothing. Skirmishes. When the Great War arrives, we will need every witch we can get to prevent the werewolves from wiping us out."
"What? I thought you had a truce with Silver Ridge? Are you saying you're planning on fighting them?"
"When the time comes, we'll all have to pick a side."
"Why can't we work with them? It doesn't have to be witches or weres'. We can make peace with them."
"I wish that were true, but look around. Even though we’ve had a peace treaty with them for years, it’s been an uneasy alliance to say the least. It’s one of the reasons I was so keen to mate Elizabeth to Vasily. When that fell through…well, I knew it was only a matter of time before our alliance shattered as well. Silver Ridge doesn’t trust us. They never have. I don't want to fight them any more than you do, but you've heard Ivan. It's only a matter of time before he convinces Nikolay to betray us. We need to be prepared for that."
"You're forgetting—I'm a werewolf too. Are you going to fight me?"
"Of course not. You're one of us. No matter what blood runs in your veins, you’re a witch first. Your other genes will only prove that much more useful against them."
"I won't fight Gray."
"You may not have a choice. He obeys his Alpha. Will you not defend yourself against him when he betrays you?"
Her words bring my worst fears to life. Haven't I been afraid of this from the beginning? That he’d eventually betray me, just like everyone else.
"No. He wouldn't do that. There has to be another option. We just need to buy a little time until I can figure out how to free them from the curse. If they know we don't pose any threat, that we can't enslave them anymore, then they'll have no reason to fight us."
"I once believed as you do. It's why I agreed to Nikolay's truce. But I was naive. Even if you could free them, there's no guarantee they won't still attack us. And let's say that you’re right, and they don't attack once you free them. Do you have any idea how to free them? By the time you figure it out—if you do—it will be too late. Tensions are escalating quickly. It won't be much longer before we’re in the middle of it. It's why I agreed with Nikolay about upping your training. You need to be ready."
"How was it?” Gray asks when I return to my room later that afternoon. “Still standing I see?"
I force a smile to my face. "Barely."
Despite my attempt to hide it, Madelyn's words affect me more than I want to admit. If even Madelyn's coven—the only coven I know of that was willing to form an alliance with a pack of werewolves—is preparing for war against them, what chance do I possibly have of convincing the other covens to form a truce? And if a war does break out, which side will I choose? Will I be forced to fight Gray?
I can't let that happen. It's time for me to go home. I need to stop this war.
I know I'll have to fight Nikolay on this. He won’t be happy about my leaving. But as Margie pointed out, I'm their Chain Breaker. They need me. Without my cooperation, they'll never be free.
I meet Gray's gaze, fully intending to tell him I'm leaving tonight, that it's time for me to return home, but then he steps forward and wraps me in his warm, powerful arms. I waver. I've been putting this off for too many days now, but maybe I should leave in the morning instead. What harm can one more night make?
As it turns out, a whole lot.
Chapter 34
I’m jolted out of sleep by an obnoxious buzzing coming from the nightstand. I must have forgotten to silence my phone. Next to me, Gray grumbles when I pull out of his arms and fumble around in the dark to grab the damn cell.
It stops ringing by the time I finally reach it, then starts right back up.
"Okay, okay," I growl as I snatch it up. Whe
n I notice the number, I bolt up into a sitting position. "What the hell?"
Gray sits up and watches me in concern.
"Josh? What's wrong?" I know he wouldn't be calling me unless it was important.
"Emerson, we need your help. Sebastian's hurt. You have to fix him."
"Hurt? How? What happened?"
Easily able to hear Josh on the other end, Gray's already out of bed and getting dressed.
"We were ambushed. A group of witches attacked us out in the woods. I don't know what they did to him, but he's not waking up. You need to fix him."
"Me? How? I don't even know what's wrong with him! Besides, I'm all the way in Vermont! Let me call Caiden; he can take a look at him."
"Caiden? Are you serious? He's probably the one who did this!"
"No way, Josh. Caiden wouldn't attack any of you—"
"You can't be this fucking dumb. Of course he would. Caiden hates us."
"Give me the phone!" I hear Olivia say in the background.
"Em?" she says. "We're on our way up to Ashwood now, but we aren't allowed into their territory. You're going to have to meet us halfway. Call me when you're on your way. I think he's dying."
She hangs up, leaving me cold and shaking. Gray's fully dressed before I even hang up the phone.
"Come on, we have to tell Nikolay. If they're being attacked, we could be in for an ambush too."
I barely hear him as I begin throwing on the first clothes I see. "Where are the keys to the Hummer? We have to hurry."
"Wait, what?" He looks at me like I'm speaking another language. "Are you crazy? You can't leave. We're on lock down. No one in or out. And now with this attack so close, there's no way Nikolay will let you go."
"Sebastian is dying! Of course I'm going."
"You don't know that. This could be a trap. James could be using your feelings for Sebastian as bait to capture you. Maybe even kill you."