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Chapter six
Gideon
I don’t bother shutting my door as I jump out of the truck and race around the house to the back yard. Darrold was cryptic on the phone, but the message was clear—Adara’s magic came out during training, uncontrolled. I don’t know the carnage I was expecting to see, but it definitely isn’t the small ring of burned grass with an untouched Jaz sitting beside her, holding her hand.
My anger flares, and my glare lands on Darrold. “Didn’t you say there were injuries or damage?” My tone is clipped as I talk to him, kneeling down to assess Jaz, then Adara, a blush lighting across Adara’s face. Concern for her overpowers the smallest twinge of… something stirring in my chest, wanting me to back away from the witch who could burn everything to the ground.
“No, boss. I said I’m not sure on injuries and there’s minimal damage.” Darrold has enough sense to sound apologetic. “It looks like the training might’ve activated some witch magic. I didn’t get to test her wolf yet, though her claws came out nicely along with the… uh… fire.”
My eyes never leave her face, taking in every inch, every centimeter, until I know she’s not hurt. Not physically anyway. I brush back the lock of hair that falls across her forehead, tucking it behind her ear, and she looks up at me from beneath her lashes. Violet eyes speckled with the silver of her wolf, like the few bright stars seen in a darkening twilight sky, stare back at me. And gods be damned, I don’t know if I’ll ever choose anything over her. My pack, my status, my own life… none of it compares to the witch sitting before me.
Cupping her cheek in my hand, a fog lifts from my mind, the twinge from earlier dissipates. Suddenly, I can’t catch my breath. I want to drown in her. I want her very essence, her soul, to be so entwined with mine that we can’t find where one of us ends and the other begins.
I drop my hand from her face, reaching down to pull her to her feet. “I’ll take over your training myself.” Darrold clears his throat, and I turn my head to glare at him. “Do you have something to say?”
His gaze shoots between me, Adara, and Jaz before coming back to me. “I only thought you’d be busy with… um.” He rubs the back of his neck, my eyes narrowing into slits. “Maybe Jaz could train with you too. She’s already ahead of the rest of the kids here.”
Jaz, holding Adara’s other hand, jumps up and down. “Can I? Please!” Sensing my hesitation, she juts out her lip in a pout. “Please!”
Adara’s hand tightens in mine, and a sharp burst of panic floods me—her panic. I rub the back of her hand with my thumb, relishing in the mate bond flowing between us again. “Fine. But only half the time. The other half you’ll be coming here. I can’t spend all my time babysitting.”
Jaz pumps her fist into the air, oblivious to Adara’s fear. But is she afraid of me? Or her powers?
“Again,” I say, staring down at Adara where she sits slumped on the ground, trying to catch her breath.
“Gideon, I—”
“Again,” I snap.
“You can do it,” Jaz says, smiling down at her and reaching out a hand.
Groaning in frustration, she lets the girl pull her to her feet, and I hold back the wolf trying to rush forward, wanting to be the one to help her. “Fine.” Adara’s mouth twists into a snarl as she stares at me for a moment, closing her eyes just as silver floods them.
“Start from the beginning. Reach out—”
“I know that,” she sighs. “It just isn’t working.”
“It’s never going to work if you don’t actually believe it will,” Jaz says, trying to encourage her, but I can feel Adara’s frustration growing.
“Get out of your own way, little witch.” I smirk when her eyes crack open to throw daggers at me. I know she hates the nickname, but that makes it all the more fun.
Huffing, she throws up her arms. “It isn’t working. She won’t let me grab her. She… It just isn’t working.” She drops back down to the ground, laying back and staring at the cloudy sky above. Her dark hair fans out around her, contrasting with the sharp green grass.
It’s been a couple of days of training in the back yard, and we haven’t made any progress outside of being able to pull her claws out without fully shifting. But she still can’t shift at will unless provoked. Jaz, though, is making incredible progress.
“That’s enough for today,” I say, glancing between them. “Jaz, Madrona is waiting in the driveway to take you home.”
She opens her mouth to protest, but glancing at Adara, she closes it quickly, nodding. “See you next week?”
Adara rolls her head toward her with a small smile. “Yeah, see you then.”
Jaz’s face lights up, and she skips to the front yard. A few minutes later, gravel crunches under Madrona’s tires as she cruises down the driveway. I move to sit down beside Adara in the grass, unable to resist the temptation of running my fingers through her hair.
“Why did you agree to let Jaz train with us?” she asks, her voice soft.
“Because she could use the challenge. And you could use the friend.”
She turns her face toward me, worry etched into her face. “But what if I hurt her?”
