Page 34

E verything looked weird . Wavery, swirly, like I’d seen in movie depictions of an acid trip. I reached over to Seth and Caden and dug my fingers into their thighs for a desperate anchor.

“I know.” Melinda held out the cup more insistently. Whatever was inside it was glowing. “Drink this. It’ll help.”

The twisting vision was quickly making me nauseated, and while I wasn’t eager to down some fucked-up potion, I also didn’t want to hurl all over her living room.

I accepted the cup from her and took a tentative sip.

It tasted like the forest and felt like a balm on my tongue.

I’d expected searing heat from the steam but it was only pleasantly warm and I chugged the rest of it.

My vision cleared with every mouthful and I slumped gratefully against Caden as I finished it off.

“There’s a good girl.” Melinda’s words made my stomach flip. She took the mug back and set it on the small table next to her chair. “Better?”

I nodded, but slipped my hands into Caden’s and Seth’s anyway. My blood still hummed, and my head was so light I half worried it would float away.

“Ready to go outside?”

“For what?” I asked.

“Your boys told me about everything and your weird ability quirks. You should have a much easier time with them now if you want to try.”

“In a minute.”

Melinda nodded and updated me on her theory. “If we could figure out what line you’re from, that might give us a better idea as to why you were bound to begin with. There are only three lines that I’m aware of that were locked.”

She twitched her fingers and a thick leather-bound book floated up again. It opened to a section of family trees.

“These are all witch families?” I asked.

“The omega lines, yes. I’m astonished you’ve been around an alpha shifter for so long and neither of you were aware that you’re an omega. Nothing ever tipped you off?”

“I mean, I reacted to him way more strongly than I ever did to humans, but I thought it was just because he’s so hot.”

Melinda laughed. “Your omega magic may have been smothered by the bindings, but it can’t stop everything.”

It should have been weird to consider myself an omega, but the truth of it settled into my bones and my brain snapped into alignment with that most basic fact even as a million more questions craved answers.

“I don’t know anything about omegas. What does it mean to be one?”

“All omegas have inherent magic, whether they are witch, shifter, or something else. They exist across multiple species. I suppose we’re best known for our sensuality and our ease with having children.”

“But…I wasn’t planning on having any.”

“You don’t need to,” Melinda assured me. “Many omegas take advantage of potions and charms to block conception. If you chose to, though, it’s very common to have minimal symptoms or discomfort during pregnancy.”

“Good to know, I guess. So, tell me about the book? How do we figure out my ancestry?”

“One of my ancestors was quite tricky and collected a drop of blood from every witch she ever encountered, applying it to the book. Her magic tracked the connections.”

The idea of giving Melinda any of my blood made me queasy, but maybe it was the best option?

Melinda smirked. “If you want to find out who your birth parents were and to which line you belong, then yes, you’ll need to give me your blood.”

I jerked back. Her power was unnerving. “Could I learn more before I consider that?”

“Of course, sweetness. Let me arrange that for you since I’ll be leaving soon.

” A flick of her fingers had a small knife darting toward her, mother-of-pearl inlaid into the wood handle.

She nicked her thumb and ran the pad of it down the spine of the book, whispering something I couldn’t quite hear.

“There we go. You can borrow this book for a while. Please do keep it safe. It’s been in my family for quite some time.

I’ve bound it to me so I can call it to return at any point.

There should be plenty of information in here to get you started with understanding the history of our people.

Your specific magic will have to be determined by trial and error since every omega witch is different.

Very little of our magic types are hereditary so you can have interesting mixes among family. ”

“Who told you to unbind Logan?” Caden asked. “You said you were told to, but none of us said anything.”

Melinda snorted. “I wouldn’t have listened to you even if you had. I listen to my patron gods, not a prissy panther. But, to answer your question, Hecate requested, and I’m not about to deny a goddess.”

“She’s my?—”

“Patron, yes. She made that quite clear. I don’t mean to rush you, but we’re on a rather tight schedule. Are you ready to go out into the forest to practice?”

“Sure. I suppose it can’t hurt.” My legs were still a bit unsteady as I rose, and Caden looped his arm around my waist.

“Perfect.” Melinda led us out onto a balcony at the back of the shop and down some rickety steps with a liberal sprinkling of lichen decorating the wood.

The ground was mossy and almost blindingly green. I loved it. Something about moss just made me want to strip naked and roll around on it.

We walked about half an hour straight into the forest. I probably should’ve been slightly concerned in case Melinda turned out to be an axe murderer or something, but the trees felt so peaceful.

“Clothes off.” Melinda unceremoniously shucked off her dress and shoes as we entered a small clearing. She was bare beneath the fabric.

“I’m sorry, what?” I wrapped my arms around myself.

“We’re doing this skyclad.”

I glanced at Caden and Seth before taking a deep breath and dropping my sweater into the moss.

I peeled off each item of clothing in turn, ridiculously aware of all of them watching me.

I could have told them to look away, but if I was going to be prancing in the woods with Melinda, what was the point in trying to retain modesty?

Seth sucked in a sharp breath as I wiggled out of my leggings, fingers paused nervously at the waistband of my panties.

I closed my eyes and shoved them down, letting them fall, and unhooking my bra before I could think otherwise.

I wasn’t going to bend down and gather it all up.

I wasn’t too concerned with them seeing me naked, but I wasn’t about to flash Seth with my pussy.

“Perfect,” Melinda said with a smile as she kneeled down. “Come, have a lie down.”

“You weren’t supposed to be a mind reader about my impulses to roll naked in moss.”

Melinda laughed. “It’s something I do regularly.” She patted the squishy green ground next to her.

I sank down, my knees cushioned, and the urge to fall face-first into it was too great to resist.

“This is amazing .” I breathed deeply. The power of the forest washed over me like a gentle stream.

“It gets better,” Melinda assured me. “Roll over.”

I flipped onto my back and wiggled happily against the moss. I needed an entire bed made out of this.

“Focus on rooting into the earth and ask the forest to let you see through its eyes.”

The visualization was easy and something I did every time I worked with the divine. Energetic roots sank into the ground and I opened the request to the enormity of the millions of trees around me.

My head spun and my stomach churned, thousands upon thousands of plants and creatures filtering information to me.

“Pull back,” Melinda said, pressing a hand firmly against my belly button. “It’s easy to fall deep. Ask them to show you what you need to know.”

I relayed the question inside my own head and my mind barreled through the intense network of trees like I was on a roller coaster. It came to an abrupt stop at the farthest edge of the forest where it met the grassy foothills.

Darkness whispered over those hills.

It was still hunting us.

It was coming.

I bolted upright and Melinda pushed me right back down. “We’re not done. You don’t know how to do anything and if you don’t get at least a bit of a handle on things, you’re going to fry those boys to crisps.”

“What?” My gaze flickered to Seth and Caden. They were both tense, watching me, probably also wondering what the fuck Melinda meant.

“We opened a lot of floodgates, and while they’re not all open, there’s enough to drown them if you’re not careful.

You’ve got a lot of power and it’s been growing every year but was unable to express before.

I don’t have time to teach you much, but I’ll do what I can.

Now, close your eyes, call up a good bit of it, and focus on keeping it centralized in your body. Don’t let any of it escape.”

I nodded, closing my eyes, imagining the power like a campfire in my belly.

The warmth of it radiated out, a pleasant, tingling sensation that had goosebumps rising.

I called more, my breath trembling as my heart picked up its pace and the tingling grew to a vibration that teased my nerves.

My clit pulsed and my pussy clenched as I yanked up more power.

Every bit of me broke out in a sweat. I dug my fingers into the moss with a whimper.

“Focus it where you want it, where the core of your power responds strongest.” Melinda’s voice reached through, but I couldn’t open my eyes to see her.

The power trickled between my thighs, the flames spreading over my skin. Tension coiled tightly, my pussy aching for attention, the power responding to that pulsing need. It radiated deep, into every nerve, and I pressed my heels into the ground, my ass lifting my hips up as the muscles tensed.

“There’s a good girl. Bring it higher, all the way up.”

I whined and grabbed at the power. It roiled through my body like a writhing snake, tempting my clit with each flicker of heat. I wanted to be fucked so badly, to have some outward guide for the wildness of my new power. It flooded my system, throttling me until I arched and let out a pathetic cry.

I heard some sort of commotion and Melinda firmly ordering everyone to stay back.

Please, please, please . I chanted the word in my head, unable to make my mouth listen.

The burn felt so fucking good.

Gods. I was so close.

I pulled the swell of power higher and shoved it exactly where I craved that heat and it sent me spiraling. The scream echoed. Power reverberated through each cell, the rise and fall of the pleasure undulating it through my body before finally, finally , dissipating into the earth below me.

I sank against the moss, totally limp.

“Well done. That should keep any potential crisping at bay for a while.”

I peeled my eyes open.

Melinda sprawled out next to me. “Hello, sweetness. Feeling all right?”

I couldn’t quite bring myself to speak but I managed a minuscule nod.

She laughed. “Yeah, the first hit is pretty strong. I’m going to take a wild guess and say your power lies in flames and pleasure, both of which are easy to stoke beyond your control.”

“So what do I do?” All of me still tingled with need.

“ I’m going to head home and start packing.

You are going to stay here and have fun with your boys for a bit, okay?

Nothing settles the blood like a solid fuck.

You’ll learn quite quickly with this sort of magic that it can both build your power and dissipate it.

If you don’t have it release into something that can handle the output, well, that’s how you get yourself a crispy fried shifter.

” Melinda sat up and focused on Caden. “I suggest you get good at sharing quickly, little panther. You won’t sate her alone for long. Omegas need a pack to survive.”

Processing those words seemed like too much work so I lay where I was as the growing desire had me squirming. “ Caden .”

He was at my side a second later. “I’m here. What do you need?”

“She needs you to fuck her, panther,” Melinda said with a laugh, tapping my forehead with her finger.

Thinking got a hell of a lot easier, the fog clearing.

“There we are. Got a little clarity in your eyes. You need to get rid of some more energy and you have two salaciously delicious shifter boys to help with that. You want that, don’t you? ”

“I—”

“Honesty is very important,” Melinda said. “Speaking your desires will only help on the path you’re walking.”

You need them.

I wasn’t sure where the voice came from but it filled my head and stole my breath.

Both?

Both. Take them.

I whimpered. “Caden, please .”

Melinda rolled her eyes. “Don’t let him control your desires, little one. You are the master of your own body. Do you want them both to help you or not?”

“Yes,” I whispered, ashamed of the burning that filled me at the thought of having them both.

“What do you say now, panther?” Melinda eyed Caden.

“I’ll give her anything she wants.”

“Good. Now, have fun.” Melinda rose up again and got dressed before disappearing into the forest.

When she was out of sight, Caden looked at his brother with sharp eyes. “Seth.”

“Um, yeah?”

“Hold her down.”