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And I do trust her. It’s the only way forward for us, trusting each other even when it doesn’t feel like the easiest path to travel together. If I can trust her not to run, she has to trust me to make staying worthwhile. There’s no withholding things just because I’m worried about the possibilities. She’s right about that.
I roll my shoulders and try to relax as Tess hesitates at the edge of the training circle. My expectations are pretty open, but I’m still surprised when she sheds her clothes and shifts. I sit up a little straighter and watch her join my father in the center of the circle.
Her light coloring makes her stand out with all of the greenery surrounding her. The way she moves is so lithe, and I feel transfixed as my father puts her through her paces in wolf form. I’ve seen this sight what feels like a million times, but it’s still mesmerizing to see the way she moves. She’s light on her feet—that’s why no one in my pack can keep up with her. She moves with such finesse that you almost can’t anticipate her moves until she’s made them.
She’s the perfect fighter. That realization makes my stomach turn. I know Maren referred to her as a warrior, but I was still really hoping that was code for something else. The idea of her ending up in the middle of a real war is agonizing. It makes me want to go out into the world right now and tear every potential danger apart until I’m sure she’s safe.
If only it were that easy.
My father brings Tess back to the center, speaking to her the way he was when I first turned up. I hate that I can’t hear them from here—a purposeful design so that when multiple wolves train, they can’t overhear the instructions given unless it’s intended for them.
When he’s finished speaking, my father turns and leaves her, coming to join me on the sidelines.
“What’s going on?” I ask him. I assumed he’d be walking her through her moves some more. That’s what they were doing before from what I could tell.
“We practiced first on what she’s capable of in wolf form. Wait until you see her, Dominic, it’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen. We only started working on her powers in human form about an hour ago. She has better control in wolf form, but it makes sense that she trains in both,” he explains as if all of this is just completely casual.
Meanwhile, I can feel my heart threatening to combust in my chest.
My mate, my beautiful mate, becomes something ethereal right in front of my eyes. That green energy she’s been playing with in human form completely consumes her wolf form. It radiates off of her in a spectacular show of power. What we’ve seen was clearly only the very beginning.
“What is it?” I ask quietly.
“Earth powers,” my father answers. “She’s channeling something ancient that her ancestors tapped into. An ability to work with the earth in order to protect it—and in return, it protects her as well.”
“This is…” I have no words.
My father nods. He knows as well as I do that there’s no way to explain this. In all my years, I’ve never seen anything so remarkable.
The earth starts to move around Tess, splitting open to create a protective barrier between her and an imagined threat. And that green aura of hers seems to embrace her like a lover. I have to bite back a ridiculous sense of jealousy when it builds. She’s my mate, and I’m not thrilled for anyone or anything to touch her like that. Not even her own powers, if I’m being honest.
“I can feel you simmering from here,” my father chuckles. “Don’t worry, all of this is just raw energy. There’s nothing else behind it. Though I’m sure if it were your mother that had been in this position back when, I would have been preening with jealousy too.”
“This is just…” I still can’t quite find words to describe it. “I wouldn’t believe this if I wasn’t seeing it with my own two eyes.”
“That’s for the best, I’d say. If she ever needs to use this, others will underestimate her. That can only end up working in our favor,” my father says solemnly. I look over at him, noticing the pride on his face. He looks truly alive for the first time in a long while. But there’s something else lingering behind it, an intensity that makes me worry even more than I already was.
“Do you think she’s going to have to use it?”
We watch her in silence for a moment as she continues to manipulate the ground. It looks effortless, but I can see from the concentration on her face that she’s put work in to show this level of control. Her wolf is as strong as the rest of her.
Finally, and with a gravity I’m not prepared to face, my father tells me, “I think the worst is yet to come.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Tess
I ride an adrenaline high as Dominic walks me back toward the pack house. Dimitri abandoned us about an hour ago, complaining that he was a tired old man and needed a break. Dominic stayed to watch over me so I could keep practicing in human form. I want to be prepared for anything.
I practically skip along withWar and Warriorsclutched in my hands, nothing able to bring me down. Not even Dominic's sulking as he drags his feet alongside me. He can be pissy all he wants about me training with his dad; Dimitri knows his stuff. If we're ever going to face a bigger threat than Warner Overstreet and some under-prepared wolves, I want to be prepared.
We're passing Dominic's family home when he jerks me by the arm and practically drags me up the walkway to the front door. If I’m being honest, I love the house, but I'm not interested in being manhandled after just spending all these hours exploring how much power I'm capable of.
I jerk out of his grip and plant my feet. If Dominic wanted a partner to follow his every whim, I'm sure plenty of wolves would have offered him that.
"I'm not going to apologize for training with your father," I tell him.
He turns on the path to face me, his eyes darting around as if he's worried someone else is going to witness our little stand-off. I'm tempted to keep him out here to hash things out, but his worry becomes mine. A public argument between us serves no purpose except to make the pack nervous. I start for the house again, letting him off the hook for the moment. I hear his steps pick up behind me, following me.
