by Alisa Woods
First, she was a witch.
Second… really, there didn’t need to be a second, because she was a witch… but second, witches weren’t mate-material. Jaxson, the head of the Riverwise security firm Daniel had been coordinating with, had mated with a half-witch, but that was a special circumstance. And an orphan half-witch is an entirely different thing than a full-blooded witch from one of the most powerful covens in the city—Daniel had checked her out during his morning errands. This girl wasn’t his soul mate—which meant hot and fast sex, one and done, enjoying the hell out of each other’s bodies until they were too exhausted to go at it anymore… and fuck, his hard-on was making an appearance again.
And his wolf was going nuts. If he had his way, they’d march out to the field and haul Skylar back to his room to play out that little scenario he’d just conjured in his mind.
Daniel turned around to face his car, bracing his hands on the roof and telling his inner wolf to shut the hell up. He wasn’t done counting the reasons why sex with Skylar was a really, really bad idea. So besides the obvious and painful fact that she was a witch, and besides the fact that this would never be anything other than hot, dangerous sex with a woman who could kill him with a touch, the third reason was just practical… and the most compelling. He was putting together a team of magical wolves, and she was an expert in magic. Catching the Wolf Hunter was his prime mission—lives were at stake, and that counted a hell of a lot more than getting laid. And, as much as he hated to admit it, the team was already radically better at wielding their magic with her help. The last thing he should be thinking about was messing that up by getting naked with Skylar Starling.
Which was precisely why he refused to shift to human in the forest this morning—she would have seen his raging hard-on, and things would have gotten even more massively awkward than they already were. And the team had to be his focus.
Right. Stay on track, Wilding. And that went double for his beast. He could think about women and mating and all of that later, after the Wolf Hunter was behind bars, or even better, dead.
Daniel pushed away from the car and headed toward the field. He was late—he could tell by the magic light-balls whizzing through the air already. He hated being late. He had a well-deserved reputation in the sprawling, extended Wilding family for being a rule-follower. It wasn’t just the Army that did that to him—it was his own damn father, Colonel Astor Wilding, now up on charges for his part in the shifter experiments he authorized on his own son, Noah, as well as countless other wolves. Being the straight-arrow was what allowed Daniel to be the one to put his own father behind bars. And it was what would eventually bring down the Wolf Hunter as well.
Besides, Daniel had learned early on that how a wolf treated a woman said more about him as a man than just about anything else he did—he’d gotten that lesson from his father as well, watching him slowly destroy his mother with abuse and neglect until she took her own life. Daniel, Noah, and their older sister, Piper, were just kids when it happened. But it had made a forever mark on his soul. He owed it to his mom to be a better man than his father ever was—and when Daniel found a woman he loved, he would make her his mate and treat her right. It wasn’t like he hadn’t had casual sex before, but it was always with someone who at least had the potential to be that woman—the one he would cherish for life. So far, he hadn’t found her… but Skylar Starling definitely wasn’t the one. And chasing after hot witches for casual sex was nowhere on the agenda—either in the hunt for the Wolf Hunter or in his normal life, if and when he ever got back to having one.
Out in the field, Kaden and Owen were firing magic shots back and forth. Noah was paired up with Skylar doing the same. The grass crunched under Daniel’s boots as he crossed the field, and the noise seemed to catch Skylar’s attention first. He gave her a quick nod before she had to look away to catch an incoming fireball from Noah—if she were planning on bringing up their encounter in the forest this morning, he’d roll with it, but he certainly wouldn’t be the one to talk first. His job was to keep the group together.
Although it was clear from the practice they were doing—Kaden was starting to mess around with fancy maneuvers, like catching the balls behind his back—that they didn’t have much need for Daniel, not really. Sure, he could keep the group on task and cohesive, but this wasn’t like the Army, where the leader usually had the most skills, not the least. The fact that Daniel wasn’t a witch or a wolf with witch powers actually hampered him in his work—but that didn’t mean he was keen on becoming one. Like he told Troy this morning during their run, being a white wolf was a source of shame in the Wilding family, due to their family history of murder and dissolution of the pack. If Daniel could bring down the Wolf Hunter without having to actually bring out the white wolf gene hidden inside him, he’d take that option all day long.
“Hey, man, you made it,” Noah said as Daniel approached.
“I had some things to take care of.”
Noah trapped the ball Skylar tossed to him, levitating it between his two hands, one on top and one below. He squinted at Daniel. “You okay? You’re like never late.”
“I’m fine,” Daniel ground out, flicking a look to Skylar.
She was watching him with wide eyes, but her dusty-pink lips were pressed tight. Apparently, she was opting for staying quiet about this morning as well.
Good. “Looks like you guys are getting a handle on this magic hot potato game you’ve got going,” he said, keeping his voice all business. He tipped his head to Skylar. “But I’m guessing any encounter with the Wolf Hunter will be closer to a deadly version of dodgeball. Any suggestions on how they can train for that?”
Those lips curved up into a small smile. “Depends. How much of the forest can we burn?”
Daniel glanced around—they’d already scarred up the edges of the forest and patches of the field pretty good. “As little as possible? I’d like to not get kicked out by Mama River.”
That sobered her up. “Sounds like we should work more on control, then. Maybe smaller power, precision strikes?”
He gave her a nod. “Sounds good. Although, I don’t really know how that works.”
“Like this?” Noah asked. He had conjured a ball of magic that was tiny—the size of a golf ball rather than a basketball.
“Nice,” Skylar said with a smile. “Now, try to hit this…” She waved her hands in a circular motion, and the wispy blue magic that formed between them took the shape of a bird. When she flung her hands out, the bird took flight, rising quickly above the group.
Noah reared both arms back, still cradling his small ball of magic, then let it fly, zooming up after the escaping bird-magic. It went sailing past, missing the target, then arcing over the field.
“I’ve got it!” Kaden called, running backward like an outfielder going for a deep field catch. Noah’s small ball of energy was gaining speed on the way down, but Kaden managed to scoop it off the tops of the long grass before it scorched anything too badly. He grinned and held it up in triumph.
The magic bird had circled back to Skylar.
“Let me try again,” Noah said, already conjuring another ball.
“One at a time,” Skylar said with a laugh. “Kaden, you’re up!” She flung the bird out again, and this time, Kaden tried to shoot it down. He also missed, and Noah had to bobble his magic ball to a chuckling Skylar so he could attempt to catch Kaden’s missed shot. He failed, and it burned a divot in the field. Noah stomped out the flames, then turned back with a grin, beckoning Skylar to return his conjured ball for another try.
Owen joined in next, and the four of them were having entirely too much fun trying to kill Skylar’s magic bird-target. Daniel kept off to the side, arms folded, watching them and feeling pretty useless. He was relieved to see Zoe and Troy heading out to the field. He’d meant to check in on her after her visit with the mayor, but he hadn’t had the chance. Plus it would be nice not to be the only normal, not super-powered wolf hanging out with t
he superheroes.
Zoe’s expression was locked down as she strode across the field to them, and Troy had a pinched, nervous look on his face—what was that about? Daniel knew Troy had a thing for Zoe. Had something gone down between them? He hoped that wasn’t something else he’d have to manage—he’d rather Troy was able to stick around and keep him company.
“Hey, Zo,” Daniel called as they approached. “How’re you doing?” He flicked a look to Troy, but he was keeping it buttoned up.
“Fine,” she said. “But I’ve got something tell you.” She glanced at Troy, and he gave her an encouraging nod.
Okay… “Yeah? What’s that?” Daniel asked. The magical play in the field came to a halt as the others caught the tension stringing through Zoe’s voice.
She met his concerned look with one that was entirely too twisted up for his liking. “Well, turns out that white wolf gene we have floating around our family? I have it.”
Daniel’s arms unlocked and dropped to his side. “Wait… what? You’re a white wolf?” How did he not know this? Was this a new thing? He knew she had just recently shifted for the first time when her lab was firebombed…
Troy stood behind her, his hand at the small of her back. “It’s okay,” he said softly.
Shit. She was coming out to them, which obviously terrified her, and Daniel was making it worse. What kind of crappy cousin was he?
Zoe stepped away from Troy and cleared her throat. “Yes, I am,” she said, loud enough for the others in the field to hear. They were drawing closer anyway. “And I’ve done a little magic before.”
The tremor in her voice as she said this wrenched his stomach. So this wasn’t a new thing—she’d been hiding this for a while. And he wasn’t making this coming out any easier on her.
He threw out his arms dramatically. “Well, fuck! Why am I the only loser here with no magical powers?”
That seemed to draw a smile out of her, which made him feel slightly better.
“Thanks, bro,” Troy called from behind her. “Good to know I’m in the loser category.”
Daniel dropped his arms. Man, he just couldn’t seem to get this right. “Oh, hey, Troy, I didn’t mean—”
But Troy was laughing. “I’m totally yanking your chain, man.”
Skylar’s voice came from behind Daniel, suddenly close. “I’ll bring out your inner witch, hot stuff.”
Sweet Jesus. He couldn’t help the jolt that her words sent through his body. He turned to face her, struggling for words about why this was neither the time nor the place—
“Go ahead, Daniel,” Zoe called out, challenging him. “You go first.”
Crap. Skylar’s face lit up, and before he could object, she was tugging him out into the field. “Come on, you big baby. There’s nothing to be scared of.”
Oh, yes there is. And not just the fact that her touch on his arm was sending those tingly jolts of something through his skin again. He was not making that up—there was genuinely some kind of pleasure-spark when they touched—but he couldn’t tell if she felt it, too.
Owen, Noah, and Kaden were gathering around for the show. And if Zoe was willing to come out like this, especially if that meant another white wolf for the team, he should at least appear to be trying to bring out his own white wolf. If it even existed. He definitely had a red-blooded black-furred normal wolf… because it was currently panting over the possibility of getting more of that electric touch from Skylar. But she had backed off, giving him some room—to do what, he wasn’t at all sure.
“Close your eyes and connect with your wolf,” Skylar said. “That seems to be how the others tap into it and control it.”
She wasn’t flirting with him, but that green-eyed stare wasn’t helping with his concentration. So he closed his eyes and tried to forget about that electric touch of hers. But focusing on his wolf only had it surging closer to the surface, panting after Skylar.
“Okay, now what?” Daniel asked. He hoped Zoe was watching this ridiculousness—maybe seeing him bumble and fail to do a damn thing, magically speaking, would help her with this coming out that Troy had obviously talked her into. And Daniel really did want her as part of the team…
“Now tap into that inner stronghold of your magic,” Skylar said. She’d moved closer—he could tell by the nearness of her voice and the soft scent of soap-scrubbed skin floating over the air. His wolf was growling lustful grunts with every whiff. His inner magic wanted to make some outer magic with her…
Jesus. Focus, Wilding. “Okay,” he said out loud.
“Now let that energy flow up and out,” Skylar said.
“Up and out?” Daniel replied. “Like this?” He kept his eyes closed but circled his hands in the air like he had seen the other white wolves do… and, he felt ridiculous.
A long stretch of seconds passed. Daniel could swear he heard some kind of snort-laugh, not from Skylar, but from the other jokers in the field. He dropped his hands and opened his eyes, shooting a glare at the others. Kaden had his arms crossed, but Daniel could tell it was just to keep the laugh inside. Owen was struggling mightily to keep a straight face, but Noah was banging his head on Owen’s shoulder, silently laughing up a storm.
“You guys are assholes, you know that?” Daniel said.
Noah choked back the laugh. “Sorry, bro, I just can’t even with that…” He flailed his hands around in a mockery of Daniel’s admittedly pathetic attempt.
He glanced at Zoe—she had been huddled with Troy, but now she was stepping away from him and striding across the field.
“Don’t let them bully you, Daniel,” she called out. Then she raised her hand, palm out, towards him.
Skylar stepped back.
Holy crap, what was she doing? He put up both hands to hold her off. “Hey, now, don’t start ganging up on me.”
His cousin smiled. “You’re right, I shouldn’t use you as a guinea pig.” She pointed her palm at a tree stump instead—it was one of the trees they had destroyed earlier, cut clean off from two feet on up. There was a small pine cone resting on top. Zoe closed her eyes and a moment later a blue ball of fire shot from her hand… only it didn’t blast the stump. Instead, it wrapped around the pinecone, encasing it in a blue shield, and lifted it into the air.
“Holy shit.” Daniel hadn’t seen any of the other wolves do anything like it. The others were amazed as well. Skylar danced across the grass to Zoe.
“What else can you do, girl?” Skylar was even shorter than Zoe was. “Witching is such an inherently feminine power. I’ll be you’ve got all kinds of things going on under that cute new haircut.”
Zoe laughed. “I’m really not doing anything special. Just manipulating the field a little bit.”
Skylar looked impressed, sliding a nod to Daniel. “You see? Just manipulating the field a little bit.” She turned back to Zoe. “These burly masculine men are hotter than sin, but they’re more wolf than witch. Even with those white wolf powers expressing like crazy, it’s hard for them to harness their witchy side. Tough for them, but you… you, my girl, could do amazing things.”
Daniel mostly heard the hotter than sin part—did that mean Skylar was feeling this magic touch thing, too?
“So you’re saying that because I’m a female white wolf that I have more access to my witchy side?” Zoe asked.
“Absolutely!” Skylar beckoned her further into the field. “It’s a fact that we—witches and wolves—used to be much more intimately entwined.” She threw a quick smirk to him, and he’d be damned if that didn’t bring heat up to his face. The woman really needed to stop throwing every sexual innuendo in the book at him. Then she licked her lips in a way that had him clamping his teeth down and glaring at her—she had to know what this was doing to him.
She turned back to Zoe. “It may be ancient history to you wolves, but several of my sisters are long-lived enough to remember when stories about the ancient unification of wolves and witches were not stories at all. But the white wolf you guys are e
xpressing is the closest I’ve seen in modern times to combining both sides. My sisters in the coven are all jealous of me—not only do I get to spend my time with some hunkalicious men, but the white wolf could be the start of something special for wolves and witches both. Something we haven’t seen for hundreds of years.”
“What do you mean?” Troy asked from behind her, where he had edged up closer.
“I mean,” Skylar said with another lingering-too-long glance at Daniel, “that the reunification of our species could be a possibility.” The way she said it sounded a whole lot more like unification of his body with hers. An idea that he was starting to think had serious merit, if only to cool off some of this raging sexual tension between them.
“Right now,” Zoe said, “I’m really just interested in knowing how to blast a certain Wolf Hunter to hell if he happens to come to my lab again.”
That doused some cold water on his fantasy. At least someone was keeping their eyes on the prize.
Skylar sobered a little too. “That’s something I would like to see as well.” She narrowed her eyes at Zoe. “Show me what you’ve really got, sister.”
Zoe seemed to take that as a challenge. She closed her eyes again, held out both hands toward the tree stump, and her body seemed to tremble from deep inside. Then a tremendous surge of blue magic gushed from her hands and blasted in every direction. It knocked him flat down to the ground and went on to crackle and sear across the field, scorching everything about three feet off the ground, including leveling a dozen trees at the edge of the clearing.
Holy shit. He dashed a look to Skylar and the others—they were all smacked down by the same energy field, but they were moving. No one seemed hurt.
“You okay?” Daniel asked Skylar, still reeling from the crackling magic that was jumping from tree to tree, burning itself out.
She nodded but seemed stunned.
Zoe gasped… then she ran. She nearly tripped over Troy’s body in her haste to haul ass away from the magical destruction she had unleashed. She was sprinting toward the house—Daniel would have gone after her, but Troy was already up and headed her way. And besides, he understood exactly what Zoe was feeling—completely freaked out about the magic power of her white wolf. If he was honest, that was part of what kept him from really trying to summon his own inner witch. This level of magic was flat dangerous, and this witch-wolf hybrid thing—the white wolf—was unpredictable and, as Zoe just demonstrated, dangerous. The others seemed to have a handle on it, but clearly Zoe didn’t—and she was more powerful than all of them combined.
