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“He is not,” Rage said. “I have witnessed her magic healing the human.”
Trace dropped down into his chair. “Well, we should know soon enough.”
Chapter 13
Ivy
“Again,” Devon ordered, circling me in the large basement gym. It had everything: a boxing ring, weights, treadmills, punching bags…all of which were state of the art. This house had the latest and greatest, which spoke of their wealth. Not that I noticed as Devon faced me on the oversized wrestling mat. I worried about using magic inside the packhouse, but he assured me that a witch had spelled the walls to absorb the excess magic.
We had been at this for hours.Hours!And I was dog-tired. But Caroline’s teaching rang through my head. I couldn’t stop or complain until I literally dropped from exhaustion.
I blocked his punch, twisted around, and landed a blow in the center of his back. Devon wouldn’t admit it, but he was also tiring. The difference? He hadn’t trained his entire life with Caroline and probably didn’t know that I never quit. I never gloated. Never smiled or laughed at his defeat. This was about survival, nothing more.
Devon bent and rested his hands on his knees, breathing a little heavy. His eyes lifted to mine. “You are good. You have been trained well but could still be so much more.”
Initially, I bristled and then asked, “Why would you say that?”
“I have been trying to coax your magic from you, but you hold it back. If you learned to use it, you could be so much stronger, Ivy.”
It still scared me to think about using my magic. It was an unknown, and what if it turned out to be dark magic? Destructive magic? Yes, I had healed Devon and Kelly, but at what cost? Consequences had a way of showing up when you least expected them. But being here with Devon, my secret exposed, I took comfort knowing that I didn’t have to hide it anymore because he had already witnessed my magic firsthand.
“How?” I asked, fisting a hip.
“What do you mean, how?” He asked, now standing straight.
“Caroline never allowed me to use magic. She never liked for me to change into my wolf either so all I know is hand-to-hand fighting.” Devon’s face softened and it pissed me off. “Oh hell no. I don’t want your fucking pity. If you want to help, then help. But that’s it.”
His face morphed into impassiveness, and he gave a curt nod. But he did add, “Do not mistake my reaction as pity. Luca has rescued each of us from a terrible situation. That is one reason he will always have our unwavering loyalty. Got it?”
“Yes.” It did make me wonder about the others and their stories. Before I had a chance to think more about it, Devon moved to stand behind me. Like mere inches behind me. My wolf went on alert. She didn’t consider him part of her pack and she didn’t like him at her back. Trust was earned and not freely given.
“Let’s try something else.” He lightly gripped my shoulders. “Now close your eyes and try to feel the magic inside you.”
I did as he asked, but the magic just wasn’t there. It didn’t make any sense. Any other time it would be rushing for the surface. I pictured it pooling in the center of my chest, that warm feeling gathering heat until I thought it would scorch my skin.
But the feeling never came. No matter how many times I tried, the magic refused to surface.
My shoulders slumped. “It’s not working,” I mumbled, half aggravated and dejected.
Devon moved away. “Don’t worry, it will come.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood up, my heart kicked up a beat and without seeing him, I knew Luca was here. Turning toward the staircase, his eyes latched onto mine. How did he manage to affect me every single time?
“How is the training coming along?” Luca asked, his eyes never leaving mine even though I was sure he wasn’t talking to me.
Devon answered, sparing me the embarrassment of admitting my epic failure. “Her hand-to-hand fighting skills are superb. The puma who taught her must have been an excellent fighter.”
“And her magic?”
The way his eyes had me rooted in place, both searing and exposing every single flaw. He peered into my soul searching for the secrets that even I didn’t know about. I held my head back and lifted my chin. “Apparently, I need to be hunting vampires to access my magic. That brings me to another subject. I need a phone. If I don’t check in with The Agency, Jackson will assume something happened to me and launch a search party. And I need to talk to Kelly.”
The silence grew after making my demands. Luca would either give me a phone or I would leave. I didn’t care that the vampires could very well be after me. Or more over, after my fucking blood. For the hundredth time, I worried what the hell I was.
Luca tore his gaze away from me, telling Devon, “Give us a moment.”
“Yes alpha.”
When Devon disappeared, I swallowed hard. We were alone and Luca looked so damn fine. A tight light gray shirt stretched across his delicious muscles. I wanted to run my tongue across every defined line of his tanned skin. Those chocolate eyes only reminded me how yummy he would be to taste…to feel his cock deep…
