by S. L. Morgan
Dom’s mind was shuffling now, and we were in the present day. His thoughts of the void were like having his soul ripped from him, and though he knew how to fix it, innocent lives depended on him not taking his mate as a shifter naturally would. The constant struggle and temptations drove him to feel rage around those who were stopping him from doing what he knew we both needed.
His desire went beyond intimate bonding. It was the need for our souls to confirm they were one instead of being separate and longing to be united. Anyone—especially that leprechaun—who was in his way now should be fearful of the alpha. Dom was also fighting his wolf that was seething within him to destroy everything that kept us separated.
This was as bad as the demon, but Dom mentally had to fight his issues while I was able to lock mine up—or so I thought I did. We had to merge the wolves or this school and its students would have an unstoppable, rabid alpha on their hands.
If these thoughts were still in his head even after I fairy-smacked him with some deep sleeping spell, then what the heck else could stop him feeling like this. I feared Dominic being in this state was more of a danger to himself and the school than that menacing threat could ever be.
“Dom,” I ran my hands over his chest, trying to rouse him. “Dominic.”
Dom’s lips twitched up, but he held me tighter to him. Thank God we had plenty of time for him to hold his mate and absorb the peace it brought him, because I was out of ideas on how to fix him. I pressed my lips into his chest, and with a few movements, our bodies intertwined, and I felt the negative emotions leaving Dom’s mind.
The wolf was part of his problem. The wolf was the one feeding me all his emotions and his mental state, most likely trying to convince me to work Dom into intimately claiming each other and ending their suffering once and for all. Dom was snuffing out the natural side of himself. His powerful wolf was on a tight leash, and Dom was operating on emotions instead of his alpha-shifter side—well, up until last night when his wolf ran a bit too freely.
There was a pretty good chance that we could have become claimed mates if I hadn’t hit him with that sleeping spell, which brought to mind something. If I could take this alpha out with a sleeping spell, why the hell couldn’t I knock out that fairy, remove her feelings for Dom, or hex her annoying ass with my combined witch and fairy genetics? What if all three supernatural powers inside me could be combined as one—the wolf, the fairy, and the witch? God dang, I would diffuse that leprechaun like a bomb if that were possible. Whatever I could do to shut this chick down, fast and hard, I had to do it.
We had more significant problems than this idiot chick who was infatuated with Dominic. We had darkness at our school that needed to be stopped, and the leprechaun needed to be out of the picture so we could all focus on the greater evil.
I needed Dom back and thinking straight again. My mental state went into doing just that, forcing contentment. I focused on Dom, by mentally reprogramming his wolf to help him instead of selfishly driving him to do what the wolf and Dominic would naturally do when they felt this strongly about their true mate.
I closed my eyes, held him close, and imagined my magic lifting safely from my hand that rubbed along his forehead and entering deep into his subconscious mind. I felt a tingling sensation and the currents of electricity that happened when my fairy genetics came into play. God, I hoped he would forgive me for going full-fairy on him, but he desperately needed help, and this was as good an idea as any.
If I had Dominic in his right mind, I was sure he would forgive it all, then we’d work together to start climbing this mountain of crap that stood in front of us. I kept my thoughts positive while I continued to feel the dose of fairy in my genetics, helping Dom to get back to his old self.
Chapter Eight
I woke to the sun high over the valley that spanned outside of the windows that graced this room. Crap! I ran my hand over to where Dom should have been, but he wasn’t there. I sighed with relief when I heard the water running from the shower, allowing me to appreciate the fact that he actually woke up from the spell at all.
I glanced over at the door that still had swirling colors sealing it shut, and I knew this was the first issue I had to fix. What time is it? I glanced over at the clock. Damn it! It’s eleven in the morning? My stomach was in a spasm of pain, reminding me that shifters wake up at the crack of dawn to work out, eat, and get on with our days. We weren’t the type to lazily sleep in. Dom’s parents would have expected us at breakfast, which we obviously missed.
One thing at a time, Jenna. I won’t need to worry about an excuse for missing breakfast if I can’t unseal this door and get us out of the room.
I cleared my mind, centered myself, and stared intently at the door. I allowed myself to become consumed with the horrifying emotion of claustrophobia and being stuck in this room. A sizzling sensation instantly ran through my veins, and I watched as the magic that sealed the door faded to particles of dust, then it floated toward me and returned to my open palms.
Oh, this is so badass! I thought as I watched the colorful dust return to my hands, brighten them, and then everything was normal again.
“Amazing.” Dom’s voice came from the bathroom to the left of where I sat on the bed.
I turned to where he stood, wearing only shorts. My eyes weren’t drawn to his muscular body for once, they were focused on the lighter features of his face. He looked like a million bucks again, and thank God I felt like I had him back.
“Hey, you look great. How do you feel?”
“Much better.” Dom smoothed back his wet hair and smiled while walking toward me. “Although, you’re lucky I didn’t wake up in the crazed state I was in last night, or I’d have a pretty big problem with you knocking my butt out with that fairy magic like you did,” he said, sitting on the bed next to me. “You got me pretty good with that.”
I leaned into him after he brought an arm around me. “Yeah, I wasn’t expecting to go at you with my fairy genetics, but I was worried about you. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“So, a potent fairy sleeping pill was the answer, eh?”
I smiled at him. “Seems like it. You certainly seem happier and more relaxed than I’ve seen you in a long time.”
“I feel like a weight’s been lifted.”
“Do you still feel your wolf calling like it was?”
“Yes, but it’s not a battle for me now. It’s sort of taken a back seat in my mind. I feel normal and in control again.”
I sighed and wrapped both arms around his waist. “I have to confess to something else I did to you while you were out.”
Dom’s eyebrows shot up, highlighting his smile. “Please tell me you didn’t do anything that I would have liked to be a part of.”
“I was in your mind last night,” I admitted. “Full-blown, crazy-girlfriend invasion of privacy, I think, but it wasn’t my intention. It happened kind of by accident.”
“In my mind?” he questioned softly. “How did you manage that?”
“Well, I just tried to figure out more ways of helping your mind stay strong for when you woke up.”
Unexpectedly, Dom laughed loudly. “So, slamming me with your fairy juice wasn’t enough, so you thought it was safe to use more of that magic to go into my mind and heal it?”
“I know,” I rubbed my forehead out of guilt, shame, and embarrassment. “I could have totally messed you up.”
“I could be a Frankenstein’d version of myself, just some pieced together, work of mental, fairy art.” He ran a finger over my nose, “A monster that you created all on your own.”
“But you’re not.”
“No,” he said as he shook his head. “Out of curiosity, what did you find while you were rattling around in my brain?”
“All the shit you went through with Melanie and the battle you’ve been having with your wolf. It helped me understand what you’ve been dealing with.”
“Melanie?” he said in shock. “How in the hell is th
at leprechaun something that you picked up on of all the things in my mind?”
“Well, she is the reason we’re here. She’s also the reason we’re screwed if I don’t get this magic crap down before we get back to school.”
“Well, you hit a strong-ass alpha wolf pretty damn hard with that fairy magic of yours last night, so I think that leprechaun might have met her match.” He softly laughed. “It really is insane that you got into my mind, though.” He narrowed his eyes at me, “You sure you didn’t do anything that I’m going to be pissed that I missed out on?”
“You need to stay focused,” I eyed him. “I really don’t know how I got into your mind without us being united like true mates.”
His eyes widened with his smile. “Which is why I’m asking if you did anything crazy while I was out. I’m a strong shifter, and my wolf always stays hidden from everyone unless I let them in, so you jumping in my mind like that is quite remarkable.”
“That surprises me too. Not only was I able to get into your memories, but I was also able to knock you out.”
“Should I be nervous about that? There’s a reason I stopped messing around with fairies a long time ago.” He grinned.
“Dom, be serious. I’m starting to think you’re still doped up on the fairy juice.”
“I have to say, I do feel light and airy. I could stay here all day and make out with you.”
My eyes widened, “Maybe you should go take another shower.”
Dom’s fingers ran up my arms. “Maybe I should properly thank you for making me feel like this. It’s pretty awesome not to have a care in the world.”
His face couldn’t conceal that he was taunting me for jumping him with fairy magic, so I played into his silly game. “Well, damn,” I stood up and looked back at his million-dollar smile. “I wish I did this a whole lot sooner, Master Dom,” I smirked. “You know, drills would have been a lot more fun.”
Dom rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Yeah, that sort of instructing would unquestionably get me thrown into a new troubled students’ program.” He laughed, rose up, and pulled me in for a hug. “I have an idea.”
I pulled out of his embrace, “What’s that?”
“How about the next time when I’m already juiced up with some fairy sleeping spell, why don’t you wait until that wears off before you come at me with more of the magic you’re learning how to use. Deal?”
“That’s definitely a deal. I could have totally jacked you up.”
“But you didn’t, so no harm done. Go get dressed. I know I’m starved, and I’m pretty sure you are too.”
“Mind if I take a quick shower?”
“Quick question,” he said, eyeing me. “Your eyes have a greenish-blue hue to them. I’m assuming that’s because some of this fairy stuff is in you after unsealing that door?”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek, “I’m not sure. I can’t go downstairs and see your family with a completely different eye color.”
“No,” he answered. “That would only force more questions after they ask why we weren’t at breakfast this morning.”
“What’s our excuse for that?”
“We’ll tell them we shifted and stayed out all night as wolves, came back, and dressed for an early breakfast down in Aspen.” Dom ran his hand along my cheek, “The harder excuse to come up with is going to be why you have fairy-colored eyes. Try using the shower to help wash the residual magic energy away.”
“Oh, another thing,” I said, turning back to him. “I knocked myself out with that sleeping energy too.”
Dom’s lips tightened, and he closed his eyes. I could tell he was doing everything he could to not burst into laughter at that one.
“You can laugh. It was stupid, but who knows, maybe I needed the rest too.”
“Maybe you did.” He grinned. “Next time, we keep the fairy dust for emergencies only. Until we can get a fairy I can trust to work with us, E and Vannah need to be the only ones who help you figure this out.”
“How do you think we’re going to recruit a fairy?”
“Eileen is a good friend of my sister, and she comes from a powerful line of fairies. Maybe she can help us.”
“You think she’s strong enough to figure out what’s going on with me? Can she be trusted?”
“I need to talk to Lusa and see what she thinks, then we’ll feel Eileen out together. You seem to have sharp intuition, so I think you’ll know. Right now, she’s the only one I think we should take a chance with, and besides, no one will question it.”
“Right, she’s with Lusa all the time. We need to get Lusa to hang with us and make it look less obvious.”
“We’ll handle it. If she’s not someone we can trust, I do know that E will have a problem with her almost instantly. I also know that E can help with this fairy stuff too. We might just have him help, but I don’t want to overwhelm the kid.”
“Alright, let me go take a shower. I’m starved too.”
I used the warm water raining down over my head to think and recall the things I actually paid attention to in my Fae classes, growing up in the supernatural schooling system. If my witchy genetics were suddenly taking some time off in helping me out with my magic, then I had to focus on the one genetic I inwardly hated most.
Glamour was the first thing that came to mind. This could work! I thought as I focused on how many fairies—experienced ones—used this to make themselves change appearance to either deceive humans to do their dirty work or just cheat the system and get a human to fall for them. Both were all wrong, and it was another reason fairies annoyed the crap out of me. They couldn’t be trusted.
Now, here I was, desperate to play their games to conceal my ridiculously bright, aquamarine eyes. I had to take Dom’s advice first and shower off the residual magic energy, hopefully, that will turn me back into my usual shifter self.
Stepping out of the shower and seeing that I was still screwed with my gemstone fairy eyes, I knew I had two options. I could stay shifted as a wolf this entire trip—because that wouldn’t be suspicious—or I could try my hand at fairy glamour. God help us all.
“Hey, Dom!” I called out.
“What’s up?” he said from outside the bathroom.
I wrapped a towel around my dripping wet body and opened the door. “I’m going to have to tap into my magic again. My eyes are brighter than before the damn shower.”
Dom’s lips twisted in thought. “We don’t have any colored contact lenses, so that’s obviously out of the question.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Humans use contact lenses to see when they don’t want to wear glasses, and some of those contacts can change their eye color. Forget I mentioned it. It doesn’t matter.” He folded his arms, eyes dark in thought.
“I might have an idea,” I started. “I would venture to guess that since Dean Edgewater is still here, your parents are just getting to know me, and your dad’s obviously been brainwashed by the president of IA that this situation is going to fall under the magic used only for emergencies category.”
“I get that. Tell me what you came up with then, because your eyes are definitely going to bring up questions.”
“Alright, do you remember learning about the Fae using their glamour on themselves?”
“Yeah, you think you can pull that off without turning yourself into a squirrel? This sort of enchantment can go sideways. They don’t even start allowing fairies to learn this stuff until their senior year. Even at that, IA brings in specific fairies to help them not screw it up and understand the responsibility that comes with that magic.”
“I get the school rules, Dom. I really think it’s my only option to hide this. Do you think your family can sense it?”
“That’s what makes the enchantment of glamour so frustrating with the Fae. No one can sense it.”
“Then it’s my only option.” I turned back to look at my brilliant irises. “I’ve got to fix this.”
Do
m came up behind me and studied my eyes with me. “Jen,” he sighed, “whatever you do, just be very careful. If you get this wrong, your glamour enchantment can make you invisible.”
“I know that too.” I rested my head back into his chest. “Wish me luck.”
“I don’t even know if luck is the right term to use with the way you’ve been pulling enchantments out of your butt in the last twelve hours,” he answered.
“Alright. Let me focus so I don’t turn into a rat or something.”
“I have faith in you.” He smiled nervously.
“Okay, leave. Your anxious vibes aren’t helping. I’ve got this.”
“If you don’t call me in a few minutes, I’m coming in to check on you.”
“Deal.”
Dom turned and left, and I walked away from the mirror so my reflection wouldn’t distract me. I inhaled and worked to manifest a glamour that would not let anyone see the color my eyes had changed into. My eyes would be brown again, and I would be the shifter I really am.
I felt nothing but checked the mirror anyway. I sighed and felt my frustration rise when my twinkling little fairy eyes practically laughed at my lack of effort. That’s when I went deeper. I focused intently on my brown eyes and my appearance changing drastically from the stupid fairy I had turned into. What was next? Glittery skin? Lime green hair? Hell no.
The sizzling power started in, and I felt it streaming from my hands and shooting directly toward my head. Heat flushed my cheeks, and I felt like I was about to pass out just before it all left. I knew I’d done it.
“Jen?” Dom said. “Coming in…”
I turned back with a hopeful smile only to see Dom’s eyes widen.
“Holy shit!” I said in reaction to his response. “Am I a green-haired, glittery-faced fairy?”
