Solan looked like he might protest, but instead he said, “I’d love to have you by my side.I want to keep you safe, but I think we can keep each other safe.”
Adam kissed Cinder’s temple, his wolf rumbling.“We need all hands on deck right now.If Foley and the shifter poacher have joined forces again, things could get very dangerous very fast.”
“I’ll do my best,” Kaeli said.“I could use some protection spells to practice with, though, that wasn’t something I was ever allowed to try because I couldn’t even do the simple spells.”
“I’ve got just the book,” Cinder said.
“First,” Kaeli said, laying her hand on Solan’s wounded shoulder, “let’s fix this up.”
Pulling her magic to the forefront once more, she focused on healing the wound, using an old spell she’d never been able to master before.
His skin heated under her hand, and he let out a grunt, and then she removed her hand, and it was all healed.
“Wow, you healed me,” he said.“Thanks,Nightling.”
She grinned and looked at Cinder as she came back onto the porch with a spellbook of protection spells.“You’ve got clarity now,” Cinder said.“Your magics are revealing themselves to you, and you can utilize them.”
“Let’s get to work,” Kaeli said.She kissed Solan.“Be careful.I just got you, I don’t want to lose you.”
“I will.”
They parted ways, Solan and Adam heading over to the pack doctor’s house to check on Theron, and Cinder and Kaeli returning to the kitchen.
“Let’s go out onto the back porch,” Cinder said.
“Why?”Kaeli asked.
“Because protection spells can be aggressive, and you have fire.I don’t want my curtains to burn up if things go awry while you’re studying.”
“Good idea,” she said.“And thanks.”
“For what?”
“For helping me through that.It was scary.”
“New magic stuff can be scary for sure, but you’re a rockstar.”
Kaeli had never had anyone believe in her and her magical abilities until she met Cinder.She had finally gotten clarity with her magics, and it had come on the heels of defending her mate from a distance.Now she just had to learn the spells to wield her magics like a sword and keep the pack safe.
Especially her mate and her alphas.
ChapterThirteen
Monday morning, Solan stood on the back porch of the alphas’ house and watched his mate and Cinder work on spellcasting.They were kneeling on a grassy patch under the shade of a maple tree, Kaeli’s spellbook between them, along with numerous witchy items like candles and containers.Theron had stopped by earlier, out from under the tranquilizer’s effects thanks to Doc Whalen’s efforts.Solan put him to work in the territory on patrol and would be joining him later that day as well.For now, Solan was content to watch his mate.
He wanted her to learn how to keep herself safe with her magic, but he didn’t want to leave her side either.He knew he was being overprotective, but after Foley had come at them at the dealership, he didn’t think anyone was safe.
“Let’s try that one again,” Cinder said.“You’re not trying to bully the earth into helping you.You want to ask for and encourage its help.You’re North power, the earth is naturally attuned to you and wants to help you keep yourself and others safe.”
Kaeli exhaled loudly.Then she touched her fingertips to the ground and spoke a handful of words in what Solan had come to learn was the ancient language of Wiccans.It sounded a bit like Greek to him, but there was something otherworldly about the words because they carried magic with them.The ground shook slightly, and the air shimmered like a summer day’s haziness.The shimmery haze popped loudly like a balloon, and Kaeli let out aneep.
Solan tried to stifle his chuckle at her reaction, but she clearly heard him, because she looked at him with a wry smile.
“I’m trying!”she said.
“You’re doing great,Nightling,” he called.
“He’s right,” Cinder said, sitting back on her heels.“But you’re trying to build a wall around yourself, and magic doesn’t like walls.”
