Page 52 of Hunter

“I’m fine with bugs. Not spiders. I hate spiders.”

“Tell me about the Alpha. Your scent was all over him. And you’re wearing his. You haven’t known him that long which leads me to believe something is up. I’m not gonna say it.”

“There’s nothing to say.” Mate. Mine. “We were together. He’s…okay.” Amazing. “There’s a lesson I learned long ago. Sometimes we can’t have everything we want.”

“Yeah, okay. I still can’t believe this is happening to you. This is awesome news, yeah? It wasn’t supposed to happen to either of us.”

“Nothing is happening,” she insisted, her voice terse as she pressed through the deep brush.

“The thing is once ‘it’ happens, there’s not a whole helluva lot you can do about it. Your wolf. You will crush her if you deny her her…”

Willa spun on her heels, pointing her finger at her brother. “Do not say it. Do you hear me? Don’t say it. Don’t. I can’t let myself go there. I just can’t.” Her voice wavered, emotion bubbling up through her words. “He left me back there. With his violent beta.” She shook her head, her hands on her hips. “No. I’m not going to be with someone who can’t value me enough to…Ah, why am I even talking about this? There is no way he can be my…you know. I am not saying the words, Jules. If I keep this quiet, it will go away. Right now, I need to focus, and I can’t do that if I’m thinking about him.” My Alpha.

She sighed, and spun around, again making her way through the thick jungle. “This is going to take us all day. Maybe we should shift and run the rest of the way.”

“If you’re okay with goin’ au natural and leaving our stuff here.”

“No, I’m not crazy about doing that in the jungle. Besides it’s not that far. What I really need is a machete.”

“I could make this easier for you, dear sister. That’s if you want to know.”

“Know what? How to materialize a machete out of thin air? Because if you know how to do that, please do.”

“Don’t you realize you have it inside you already?”

“Stop screwing around, Jules. Either go flash somewhere and get one or let’s just get through this the hard way and be done with it.”

“I’m not fucking around. Listen. Part of our legacy is power. Power other wolves don’t have. You’re never going to see any wolf do what I can do.”

“Viktor can.”

“He’s a vampire.”

“True, but the magick is similar. Viktor doesn’t say how old he is. But my guess is thousands. And when did the first hybrid begin? Mama said the Goddess created them to be one with nature, from the very beginning of time. But was it? May have been before. Or after. But the very essence of the magick bestowed in our bloodline is royal.” Willa’s lips drew into a tight line. “While I don’t deny our heritage, I can’t say anymore what that even means. I did everything they told us. Our blood is different. We’ll be the end of the line. I’ll never have children because I’ll never have a…” Tears brimmed as she balled her fists. “Mate.”

“Willa.” Julian’s voice softened. “I’m not saying that everything they said was true. But the power within you is already there. Your light. Give me your hand.”

Willa’s eyes flashed to his in doubt.

“Come on. Just indulge me.”

She extended her hand, placing it in his. He turned it over to expose her palm.

“Your skin.” He traced a finger up her wrists. “You don’t just sparkle.”

Her heart squeezed in her chest, his words conjuring long-lost memories; running in the dark through the fields, she’d allow her skin to glow. She’d insist she was a star, her brother a warrior sent from the heavens, protecting the galaxy so she could shine bright.

“Show me,” he told her.

Willa smiled at him and sent the magick to her blood. Her arm tingled, the light dancing over her skin.

“You’ve only ever seen light within your veins. But my dear sister, your energy is so much more than that. It’s power.”

“I’m like a glow stick.” She laughed and went to pull her hand away, but he held firm to it.

“It’s more than that. You just have to focus your magick. Let it flow from your skin to the object as if you’re touching it yourself. Start small and you will grow stronger. When I came into mine, I could only dematerialize short distances. Over the years, I honed my powers. Now there is nowhere beyond my reach.”

“You’re serious?” Willa cocked her head in disbelief. “Julian, I may have been able to light our way in the dark like a firefly but that’s a far cry from what you’re suggesting.”