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The elevator dinged, and the doors opened.
I stepped in, Noctus right behind me. “That seems kind of backwards.”
“Indeed,” Noctus said as the door closed. “I suspect it’s also why my kinsmen wanted so badly to enslave humans.”
I played with the zipper of my jacket as I considered everything he’d just told me. “Are you saying you think it wasn’t just greed for power, it was jealousy?”
“Exactly.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chloe
Days passed, making it a full week since the dinner my siblings had at Calor Villa. While Pat wasn’t able to find the fae guy—or even secure any additional information about him using Cloisters resources, since apparently he wasn’t registered in the Midwest—the Cloisters had their people on the watch for him.
But while we might not have gotten any farther on the case, my life had suddenly become an intricate balancing act between shifts at Book Nookery, my siblings, and life at Calor Villa.
None of that was bad—I was happier than I’d ever been. But it meant I didn’t have much time for thinking, and I hadn’t been able to find any resources that would help me figure out how to cement my half of the bond to Noctus.
That was really starting to bother me.
“Hey, Ker?” I fidgeted as I stood next to her. I was supposed to be watching Noctus and Aristide—Aristide had decided since Pat gave me a foundation with handguns, it was time for me to adopt them into my fighting style.
I was not so sure, particularly as I watched Aristide shoot at Noctus—who was wielding an heirloom weapon for the occasion.
“What’s up?” Ker asked.
I glanced at Aristide—he was cocking his head, listening to Noctus’s heartbeat no doubt, as he adjusted where he pointed his handgun. “I was wondering,” I slowly began. “Wolves don’t have magic, right?”
“Correct,” Ker said. “Well, I guess Alphas have maybe a form of it, but it’s been debated whether alpha powers are magic or something else entirely.”
“Except you can shift,” I said. “Isn’t that magic?”
Ker paused, then turned toward me. “Are you thinking about how to return the bond with Noctus?”
“Yes,” I said. “Since transforming back and forth between human and cat is the only active magic I have, I’ve been trying to forge the connection during that moment, but it’s so fast I don’t have a chance to grab my magic, much less do anything with it.”
Ker tucked both of her braids over her shoulder and pursed her lips as she thought. “I guess it would make the most sense to think you have to use your transformation magic. But is that really your only active magic?”
“Yes,” I said. “All of my other abilities run on autopilot. I can’t control them.”
“But you can feel when they kick in?” Ker asked. “Because for wolves, all our abilities just are. All the time. There is no ebb or flow, because they aren’t magic based, it’s sheer physical ability.”
“I guess that’s a good point.” I frowned as I thought. “My powers will turn off and on to a certain extent, though a few of them are always going—like magic not working on me.”
“Do you think that’s maybe the problem, that you need to lower your guard against magic so you can return the bond?”
I shook my head. “I don’t have to do that to make things like fae health potions work, and Noctus had no problem forming the bond with me when he thought I was just a cat.” I fidgeted, watching Noctus run serpentines as he avoided more of Aristide’s gunfire. “I’m not at all blocked from Noctus, either. I just can’t scoop up my own magic to direct at him.”
“Good point.” Ker went back to watching Noctus and Aristide as Aristide switched out his magazines—instead of letting it fall out like I’d seen in the movies, Aristide was careful to take his empty magazines and put them in the back pockets of his pants.
Probably so he doesn’t trip on them while moving around,I idly noted.
“Using your transformation magic is worth a shot—haha, a shot,” Ker chuckled to herself before her expression turned serious. “But don’t let yourself be consumed with it, Chloe. Noctus wanted to bond with you because he’s a tad obsessive and overly protective, and being able to track your location suits him. He won’t be upset if you can’t return it.”
“I know,” I said. “And that makes me feelworse.”
Ker threw an arm over my shoulders, squeezing me in a warm side hug that seemed unique to her and raised my spirits even though I hadn’t figured anything out. “Hey, if all else fails, youaremagic’s favorite. Just ask magic!”
