Page 81 of Another Damned Storm

NEVER

We repeated the training exercise a few times, switching between Matt and Lily as the one under attack. As it turned out, I was just as protective of Lily as I was brother, when she was in human form.

Her tiger was a different story.

I mean, who wouldn’t be triggered by a prowling, two-hundred-pound feline with paws the size of salad plates? She was the picture of danger.

The weird thing was, her animal could also have a calming effect too, and not just on me. In the quiet moments in between, Lily and Angie were inseparable, talking and laughing as Matt looked on. We were all outsiders to their reunion, but seeing them together, safe and happy, was a vivid reminder of why I was here and what I was fighting for.

By the third round, I was starting to get a handle on things. By the fifth, I was bone tired, but I nearly had it. Each time I felt the now familiar rise of power, I knew right where to look to find that internal thread that I could use to bring myself back down.

At least until Emerson flashed into the middle of the last session.

I couldn’t say whether he just startled me at a crucial moment, or if it was a combination of fatigue and the size of the fucking guy, but the power I’d nearly wrestled into submission flared right back up.

His reaction was to just study me with his eyes narrowed. His irises were a dark blue—a lot like mine, actually—including the way they flickered crimson when he realized what was happening.

It was still a deeply unsettling feeling. The wildness that opened up inside me was a force of its own, with its own seemingly endless well of power to draw from. Unlike my much weaker human side who was about dead on her feet.

I managed to leash that savage part of myself relatively quickly, with Lily’s help. Her tiger moved to my side and nuzzled my hip as it let out a chuff. For some inexplicable reason, that simple sound soothed the wildness.

I reached down and scratched her head like I had a million times in the past. You know, back when I thought I knew a hell of a lot more about the world than I actually did, including who and what she really was.

The weird thing was, scratching her enormous head still felt natural.

Normal.

And damned if I didn’t need some normal in my life.

“Learning control?” Emerson asked.

“Slowly” I stifled a sudden yawn with the back of my hand. “We’ve been working on it all afternoon.”

He turned to take in Matt and Hook, and paused briefly when his gaze found the cabin with Angie standing in the doorway. “And you’ve brought the whole family along for the show. Does this mean things have changed?”

Hook moved to my other side, wrapping a strong arm around me. If I’d had even an ounce of energy to spare, I wouldn’t have leaned into him, but I was tapped out, and I was pretty sure he knew it.

Just standing felt like too much work, as if the ground were leeching energy from me through the soles of my tired feet.

“We have a theory about Lapalme that I’d like to run by you,” I said.

“I’m listening.”

“Actually, first things first. You should know that we saw him and Thrain earlier. In Charleston. Those two are definitely in cahoots.”

He crossed his arms over his chest like that wasn’t news to him at all.

“He was complaining that Thrain was taking too long taking us out,” I added.

His brow creased. “Lapalme is working with the god to have you and your family killed? Do you have evidence of this?”

“Just what we witnessed,” Hook replied. “First hand.”

“Did they see you?”

I chewed on my bottom lip. “I might have lost my shit and attacked Lapalme.”

He leaned back and let out a sigh. “So they know you know.”