Chapter 28: Chapter 28

It didn’t matter how long or how fast I ran; I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling. Mikayla’s words still echoed in my thoughts. Was I dangerous to others? Is that why sirens were hunted to near extinction? I shifted back to human and found my clothes that I had left hanging over a tree branch. I was still unsettled.

A familiar nauseating scent met me as I left the forest. The clawing, overpowering scent of cheap perfume suffocated my nostrils. She was waiting for me as I emerged from the forest. I guess my earlier encounter with her hadn’t scared her off too much.

“You need to leave Reece alone,” she demanded, “He and I were happy before you came along.”

“You mean, my mate?” I said. “Not going to happen.”

“You’re not right for him. He needs to be with someone like me!” she said, haughtily, “You’re not wanted here.”

I wasn’t in the mood to deal with her right now. I just wanted to get away. I dodged her and ran off, like a coward. I don’t normally run away form a fight, but I was frightened of using my powers again. I was terrified of hurting someone, so I just ran.

Melissa was waiting for me outside the training centre. Reece had arranged for us to have private use of the whole facility, so we were the only ones here.

When I reached her, she smiled and hugged me. When she pulled away from me, she looked at me and instantly knew something was wrong and she frowned.

“What’s wrong?” she said. She was always too good at detecting my emotions, always seeming to know when I was upset or angry. I was going to have to spill. I bit my lip nervously and decided not to tell her about my run in with Mikayla.

“Are sirens dangerous?” I asked quietly. A look of momentary shock flashed in her eyes, and she pursed her lips together into a thin line.

“Allie,” she sighed, “The truth is that it is simply not in your nature to pose a threat to anyone. The Moon Goddess created you to be a loving and peaceful creature. You are not able to be anything else.” She spoke vehemently and it calmed my anxiety about the subject. I smiled and let out the breath I was holding silently. She kissed my forehead softly.

“Your parents were the same, my darling. Created to be loving and peaceful by the Moon Goddess. And they were. Every moment of their lives,” she said, her eyes gleaming. She took my hands in hers. “It might feel like you are a threat now. You have not yet learnt to control your gifts. But once you have mastered your skills, you won’t feel like this anymore.”

I nodded and took a deep breath. It was what I needed to hear, and I felt ready to get a grip of my powers. “We better start then,” I said, firmly.

Melissa smiled and released my hands.

“Ready, Lana?” I asked my wolf.

“You bet I’m ready!” she cried, sounding pumped. “Let’s do this, girl!”

I giggled at her enthusiasm. My mood was starting to lift

“Now,” Melissa began, “your emotions play a big part in your ability to control your powers. But it takes a lot of strength to conjure a force field, and even more to do it voluntarily, as opposed to involuntary, which is what happened in the forest. Mastering control over your emotions is the key to controlling your powers. Do not fear them, Allie, or they will start to dominate you. Once you have mastered control of your emotions, you will be able to manipulate your powers and use them voluntarily, when you want. But it all takes practice.”

“To practice, you will need to figure out which emotions are the best triggers. For example, it might be fear, or anger.”

I thought back to earlier, seeing Reece with the she-wolf draped over him in the kitchen. I felt a mixture of jealousy and anger. Reece had helped a lot learning how to relax and stay calm. I wondered if I could do that again? It wasn’t difficult at the time, and I started to feel more confident.

“But I want to try something first,” she said, surprising me. What could she be talking about?

“When your mother turned 18 and received her powers, she was able to manipulate them and control them almost immediately. That usually takes weeks of practice. It took your father almost a month!” she said, laughing, “Let’s see if you can do it too?”

“How?” I asked, bewildered.

“I want you to close your eyes and clear your mind,” she instructed. I took a deep breath and slowly closed my eyes.

“Now hold out your hand.” I lifted my hand up nervously. I kept my breathing steady and focused on what she was saying.

“Allie, you have the ability to summon a force field right now, just a tiny one. Visualize it in your mind. Imagine it as a ball of energy, so small that you can hold it in the palm of your hand.”

I did what she said and imagined that I was holding the little ball of energy. There it was, in my mind’s eye, floating there above my hand, glowing beautifully. It was mesmerising, small glittering sparks cascading from it in soft waves.

A minute or two passed, and Melissa was silent. “Now what do I do?” I asked.

“Open your eyes.” I slowly opened them.

“Oh,” I breathed. Hovering just above my outstretched hand was a beaming orb of force field energy. It was silver in colour and about the size of an orange. I felt its power through my hand as I watched it, not quite believing what was happening.

“Excellent!” cried Melissa, her grin spreading to her eyes. “Just like your mother.”

It was weird, but holding the little ball of light, I felt closer to my parents than ever before. That this was my destiny, it felt so right and normal.

“Now you’re going to stop the force field,” she instructed, “Send it away so it disappears.”

“How do I do that?” I said, suddenly my nerves kicking in. I didn’t want to hurt her if something went wrong. What if I accidentally released it. The one and only time I released a force field, I hurt people. Before I launched into full panic mode, which I was close to doing, Melissa picked up on it.

“You won’t hurt me, sweetheart. I promise. This is only a tiny force field and is dormant until you actively release it. It’s too small to do any real damage, and I took the precaution of putting a protection spell on the entire training centre. You won’t hurt anybody, my darling.”

“Ok,” I said, feeling relieved, “Then how do I stop it and make it go away?”

“Use your mind. The power you have inside you. Imagine squashing it in your hand and it disappearing,” she encouraged.

I took a deep breath and focused on the force field ball. I thought about squashing it and moved my other hand above it so that it was sandwiched in the middle of them. Then I slowly started to bring my hands together and I saw that the ball was getting smaller. I was doing it! Soon it had disappeared completely, and my hands were touching.

“Good job, honey!” she said, “Let’s keep practising.”

We spent the rest of the afternoon conjuring baby force fields and squashing them. It got easier and easier each time. Melissa instructed and encouraged and soon I was able to move the little balls around with my mind.

Phew! This was hard work though and I was starting to feel warm. I swiped my forearm across my forehead to wipe away a layer of sweat. I took off my sweater in an attempt to get cooler.

“I think that’s enough for today,” Melissa said, mercifully. I nodded and she smiled, “How about tomorrow?”

“Sure,” I answered, glad to be taking a break, but still overheating. I never knew that these powers would be such hard work. I needed some fresh air to cool down.

“Good, let’s go” she said, leading us out of the training centre. Stepping outside felt glorious. It was a mild day, with clear skies, gentle sunshine and a heavenly breeze. It blew softly and made me feel cooler as we walked slowly back to the pack house.

“So, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Melissa said as we reached the main door, “Great job today, Allie.”

We hugged goodbye and I watched her leave. I still missed her being around me every day, but it was getting easier to cope. The mate bond didn’t leave much room for sadness. Only happiness. It had been a crazy few days, but I couldn’t imagine my life without Reece now. He was a part of me, my soul, and my spirit.

I climbed the staircase, trying to remember what my life was like before I turned 18. It was so different, but I actually didn’t regret anything that had happened. With Reece on my mind, and his scent wafting into my nostrils, I opened the door and skipped in, closing the door behind me.

As soon as I laid eyes on him, lust washed over me. I needed him now. I launched myself into his embrace, wrapping my legs tightly around his strong body. All I could smell was him, the room was filled with his potent scent, and it was driving me wild. I kissed him with urgency, like I was searching for water in a drought, and tugged at his shirt. I needed to touch his skin.

As my hands ran over his body, the sparks of the mate bond were intense. Grinding my core against his bulging pants, he started to walk towards the bed. When he found it, he lowered me down gently. I instantly straddled him, revelling in the pressure of his boner against my clit, and clumsily fumbled with his belt buckle. He took my shirt off over my head in one fluid motion and took one nipple into his mouth and sucked, leaving me breathless. He suddenly stopped and said, “Hey, are you ok sweetie?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I answered in between kisses.

“Honey, I think you are in heat,” he said. I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“It means you’re burning up, and your wolf wants to mate constantly. It doesn’t usually start happening until she-wolves are in their early twenties,” he said, “We need to cool you down.” He lifted me off the bed effortlessly and walked me to the shower, switching the setting to cool and setting me down.

“Here, sweetie. Get in,” He ushered me in to the shower stall. I took the rest of my clothes off and stepped under the spray.

“Reece, this is ridiculous,” I protested, “I feel fine, I’m just a little warm from my practice lesson.” There was nothing wrong with me. I was just overheated from my lesson with Melissa. This was a little over the top. I grabbed his arm and pulled him into the shower with me and wrapped my arms around his neck, planting hot kisses on his neck and chest. I felt Lana elongate my claws and they raked down his back, making him shudder. I couldn’t get enough of him. I wanted him right now, needed him inside me right now. I’d never felt like this before.

The cool spray beat down on us and I felt myself calming down a bit. I let out a sigh as I moved my hands from around his neck and ran them down his chest to his boxers and slowly peeled them off allowing his bulge to spring free.

I slowly dropped to my knees in front of him and ran my hands slowly down the length of his cock, hearing him groan. I’d never done this before, but it felt good being in control and pleasuring him. I leaned in closer and ran my tongue softly along the tip. He sucked in his breath sharply. I did it again with more pressure this time and felt his thighs quiver against my body. I wrapped my lips around him, tasting the hard length of him in a long suck that sent tremors through him. I had no idea if I was doing it right, but he seemed to be enjoying it, so I kept going, sucking and licking as I took more of him in my mouth.

“That feels amazing,” he managed to say, his breathing ragged and uneven. I played with his balls with one hand as the other pumped his shaft up and down. His moans echoed through the bathroom, but then he cried, “Allie, stop!” and pulled away from me.

I thought I had done something wrong, until he pulled me up onto my feet, then launched me into his arms, gripping my buttocks and expertly thrusting his cock inside me. My orgasm came hard and fast, and so did his, but it wasn’t enough. I needed more.

It was hours until we made it out of the shower, and I had cooled down a lot, to the point of shivering. Reece wrapped me up snugly in a towel and carried me to the bed. He checked my skin to make sure I wasn’t too hot and laid next to me, his strong arms cocooning me. We were both exhausted and it wasn’t long before sleep claimed us.