Selene
“Bastien, you’re being ridiculous.”
He’s standing across from me in our sunlit kitchen, his arms crossed over his chest and a stubborn grimace on his handsome face. After the events of last night he’s been on high alert, not letting me out of his sight for one moment. I actually had to kick him out of the restroom this morning so I could have a bit of privacy, and now he’s refusing to go to work.
“Can you blame me?” He growls.
In all fairness, I know my husband is also exhausted. We didn’t go to sleep until around four this morning, and having a young pup means we didn’t get the luxury of sleeping in either. If I thought he wanted to stay home with us to catch up on his sleep, I might be more understanding – but that isn’t the case.
“We’ve got to figure out a way to get past this,” I sigh, feeling emotionally drained. “We can’t change what happened, but we can’t let it take over our lives either. You have to go to work, I’ve got to take Lila to her playdate and go grocery shopping.”
And after I’ve got to start figuring out what on earth I’m going to do with my life. I add in my head, causing Luna to chortle softly.
“What playdate?” Bastien asks, narrowing his eyes.
“With Donovan’s niece, remember?” I prompt, “I told you about this yesterday. She needs to make some friends here.”
“They can have the playdate here.” He decides, “and there’s no reason for you to go to the store yourself.”
“I’m not going to let this person control my life, Bastien.” I insist. “I’ve spent too many years living in fear and I refuse to do it any longer. I’m not going to hide away because of one creep who is too cowardly to come out of the shadows and challenge you directly.”
I’m seriously regretting the way I fell apart last night. It couldn’t be helped in the moment, but my reaction has sent Bastien into an overprotective frenzy, and it’s making things very difficult. “Selene, you know that isn’t what I want.” He reasons coolly, “But until we know what we’re up against, laying low is imperative. It’s not weak, it’s smart.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” I counter, “but how long is it going to be until we know what we’re up against? You’ve been trying to find this person for years and you aren’t any closer to identifying them now than you were when your Father died.”
“Maybe not, but we haven’t had the full story until now.” Bastien reminds me, “I have a feeling you’re the key to all of this, the piece we’ve been missing.” His jaw twitches in agitation, “which is all the more reason for us to be cautious.”
“I’m not completely defenseless you know.” I mutter, thinking of my confrontation with the she-wolves in the ladies room. With everything that’s happened since, I completely forgot about the incident. The revelations about the safe house and the spy cameras completely overshadowed the strange new powers I channeled defending myself last night, but now that I think about it, I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to tell my mate. “Speaking of which, I forgot to tell you…”
Trailing off, I crinkle my nose in thought. How on earth can I explain this? Honey, I forgot to tell you I’m magic? Or, hey babe, you didn’t happen to hear about a bunch of unconscious women turning up in a restroom did you? My bad! Maybe, I know we can’t afford any bad press, but I decided to reintroduce myself to the pack’s she-wolves by knocking a bunch of them out with my mind.
Definitely the first one. Luna quips.
Bastien’s brows knit together in concern as he watches my internal struggle, “What is it?”
“Something happened at the banquet. I think I somehow tapped into… some new powers or something.” I summarize feebly.
“What do you mean?” He presses, moving closer.
“Well when you took Lila to the garden, I went to the ladies room and had a little run in with a few she-wolves.” I broach warily, “three of them came in and started being really horrid about me and Lila, and I sort of lost my temper.”
Bastien immediately zones in on the wrong part of the story, “Horrid how?”
“Just saying the same sort of ugly nonsense they always did.” Waving off the details, I continue, “but they went after Lila this time and I completely sunk to their level. I provoked the ringleader and she attacked –”
“She attacked you?!” Bastien thunders, grasping me by the shoulders. “Are you all right? Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Who was it? I want a name!”
“That’s not the point, Bastien!” I exclaim, shaking him off. “When she came at me something happened. I threw my arms out to protect myself and all of a sudden they just collapsed. I didn’t even touch them, but I felt this… I don’t know, electricity inside me, and I pushed it outwards. I have no idea what it was or how I did it, but they went down as soon as it hit them.”
“Was it the same bitch who pushed you into the pool and almost killed you?” He rumbles.
“Bestien, focus. I’m trying to tell you something important.” Dragging a hand through my long hair, I theorize, “The only explanation I can think of, is that it’s something to do with my blood. Something to do with being a Volana.”
Bastien is breathing heavily, standing with his hands on his hips and glaring out the window. I can see him trying to work through his anger, and I know he hasn’t completely conquered it when he turns back to me. “Okay, tell me again – in as much detail as you can. Don’t leave anything out.”
I do as he asks, relating every word, thought and feeling that passed through my mind during the confrontation. He doesn’t look any calmer when I finish, but I can see he’s thinking hard. “I’ve never heard of anything like what you’re describing.”
“You believe me… don’t you?” I ask hesitantly.
The next thing I know, my mate is looming over me, holding my face between his hands. “Of course I do, little wolf.”
“What do you think it means?” I wonder aloud.
“I think you’re probably right.” He shares, “this has to be your Volana blood coming through. Maybe finally shifting triggered something; allowed your powers to start manifesting, the same way it sent you into your first heat.”
“So really what you’re saying is this is all your fault.” I tease, “after all I never would have shifted in the first place if you hadn’t found me.”
Bastien shoots me a wolfish grin, “I’ll gladly take credit.” He replies, only slightly smug. “I know it’s probably alarming, but the more defenses you have the better. If part of your bloodline gives you some sort of extra abilities, we should encourage them as much as possible.”
“Especially since Lila will have them too.” I agree, “only she’s going to have to deal with them a lot sooner than I did.”
Bastien frowns, looking suddenly perturbed. “I hadn’t even considered that.”
“We always knew there had to be a reason people talked about Volanas the way they do. I mean no one knows the blood secret, so it had to be something like this, right?” I’m not sure why I’m whispering, but it feels wrong to talk about these things at full volume. “The problem is that I don’t know how I’m supposed to encourage these powers when I don’t even know how I tapped into them in the first place.”
“We need to find someone who knows Volana lore.” Bastien poses, “There have to be books or histories, people who know more about the heritage than you and I.”
“Yes well, finding them without advertising why we’re looking is going to be a challenge.” I remark dryly.
Bastien rubs his jaw, “that’s a fair point. We’re going to have to be very careful. Do you remember anything your mother might have shared with you, any names or stories?”
“No.” I grimace, “I didn’t even know I’d have powers like this.”
“That’s okay.” Bastien assures me, pulling me into a hug. “We’ll figure it out. I promise.”
I relax instantly, breathing in his incredible scent and leaning my weight into his strong arms. The tension filling my body slowly unwinds, and even though nothing has been resolved, I feel calmer. “I still want to know the names of those she-wolves.” Bastien grumbles in my ear.
His words flip a switch in my mind, and I lean back, looking up at him curiously. “What if there was another way?” I inquire slyly,
“What do you mean?” He asks.
“Well, we know the powers came out when I felt threatened right?” I state rhetorically, “so if we want to get them to come out again…”
“Tell me you aren’t suggesting what I think you are.” Bastien commands ominously.
Looking up at him from beneath my lashes, I purr, “How would you like to attack me?”
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