Fated By Starlight by Krista Street

Chapter 22

~ WYATT ~

I excused my new recruits for lunch, then headed to the training center. I told myself that I was only going to check in on Avery’s progress. She was already in her third week at the SF, and as her squad commander, it was my duty to ensure she was progressing adequately.

I snorted inwardly. That’s right. It’s duty that calls you. It wasn’t because I simply wanted to see her, even if it was from afar. No, it was strictly professional.

Just keep telling yourself that, Jamison.

I silently opened the training room door, and the pungent scent of old rubber, dry sweat, and metallic magic from the wards greeted me. But underneath it all was that floral aroma I had begun associating with longing, lust, and unrequited wanting—Avery’s signature lilac scent.

Fuck, Little Flower, I miss you.

I crept to the wall in the shadowed entry, as silent as a stalking wolf. Nobody detected me, not even Dee who was used to working with other werewolves.

“Try again,” Reese, one of our sorcerers, said. He positioned himself behind Avery and lifted her arms, helping her swish her fingers in a precise pattern through the air. “And your cadence on the second word is off. Leminee, the last syllable is lower.”

“Avartus contorum leminee,” Avery repeated, the ee sound on the last word longer. A slight spark shot from her fingertip, but it quickly fizzled out.

“Better. That’s better.” Reese waved his hands and repeated the incantation. A blast of sparks shot from his hand before turning into a glowing blue ball. He wove the ball through the air, the energy from it crackling. Another second passed, then his hands shot out and the ball exploded into the wall. The wards around the room vibrated, effectively stopping it, and a shower of sparks rained. “That’s the potential strength this particular binding spell has.”

I stayed where I was, hidden in the shadows, lurking like some crazy lovestruck stalker. But I couldn’t help it. That was exactly what I was, and I had to see her.

Avery frowned. “I’m sorry, sir. I’ve never been skilled at spells and incantations.”

Reese smiled, his expression encouraging. “Don’t apologize. Let’s try again, except this time I want you to close your eyes. Feel for your magic inside your chest and pull it to your fingers.”

I crossed my arms, my back rigid as I watched him work with her. A snarl wanted to erupt from my chest. Reese was touching Avery, even if it was only her wrists.

It didn’t help that Reese was a nice guy, a highly trained sorcerer, and was good with recruits. A lot of his students adored him.

He was also incredibly talented and was called in to assist with sorcerers who showed advanced aptitude. Ultimately, he would be in charge of Nick’s training.

But as for why Major Armund had called him in to work with Avery . . .

That was unusual, and I thought since Avery was a witch that wouldn’t have happened. Normally, sorcerers and witches taught their own, so if anything, a witch should have been in charge of Avery’s magical training.

But whatever Reese was doing, it seemed to be working.

My chest tightened with pride when another spark shot from Avery’s fingers. There were at least three blue sparks that time, and they lasted longer before distinguishing.

A grin split across her face, and she turned shining eyes up to Reese. “That worked better!”

He dipped his head, a scent of satisfaction erupting from him.

Despite feeling so damned proud of her that I wanted to grin, my nostrils flared, and my wolf growled. Reese’s satisfaction was obviously because Avery had done better, but it didn’t stop the hot flow of jealousy that scorched my skin.

Only two weeks ago, Avery had smiled at me like that. Her eyes had shone with hope and laughter as the undercurrents of desire had filled her lilac scent.

Has it already been two weeks since that night under the stars?

It felt like a lifetime.

Agitation oozed from my wolf at the addition of a male trainer to Avery’s schedule. I knew I would be having a private conversation with Major Armund about what she was up to. Never in our discussions had she divulged bringing a sorcerer in to assist.

And it didn’t help that Reese was young and single, but at least as another SF superior he also wasn’t allowed to date Avery.

Still . . . it didn’t stop my jealousy. I wanted to be the one touching Avery, yet Reese was the lucky bastard who got that job.

I gritted my teeth and finally pushed away from the wall. I exited the training room as silently as I’d entered it. Anger and regret strummed through me as I strode through the halls.

I pictured Marcus again, and thought of Avery learning her new job unencumbered by a wolf lusting after her half a world away—a wolf she couldn’t even properly be with.

I needed those reminders right now of why I’d turned my back on her, because every time I walked away from her, it still felt so wrong.

∞     ∞     ∞

I waited for Major Armund outside of her barracks later that evening. Twilight had set in, bringing with it chirping crickets and the scent of night.

“Major Armund, may I have a word?” I asked when she approached the brick building.

“Sure, Jamison. What’s up?” She placed her hands on her hips, her stance casual on the sidewalk. A light breeze whistled through the trees, rustling the boxwood hedges near the barracks.

“I happened to walk by the training room earlier today and noticed that Reese was working with Avery.” I paused, wondering how to word my question without sounding like a jealous wolf. “To be honest, I was a bit surprised. I didn’t realize you planned to pull him in.”

She shrugged. “I didn’t initially, but Avery’s not easy to train. Physically, she’s not much stronger than a human, so the only chance she has of effectively dealing with a crisis situation against a powerful supernatural is if her magic improves. She needs something to use other than her wits, and she’ll never pass her final test unless she has some magic, and we both know if she doesn’t pass that test, she can’t continue on to the Institute.”

My jaw worked. Dee was right. Without any magic whatsoever, Avery would have a hard time passing her final test.

But more than that, she needed magic to defend herself. Just the thought of another supernatural trying to harm her, pin her, or hurt her, made my blood turn to ice.

I frowned. “And you think Reese is the answer? Wouldn’t a witch be a more appropriate teacher given Avery is a woman?”

Dee cocked her head, her expression thoughtful. “Initially, I thought so, too, but then I looked more into her background. She attended magical school during her childhood, and some of those schools were quite prestigious, yet she never showed any aptitude for witch spells or incantations, despite sufficient training. I know that’s not unusual for a half-breed witch whose magic comes from a sorcerer father, but her father is also a rare breed of sorcerer. Like Avery, his abilities lie in detecting other’s magic, so I thought why not have a sorcerer give her training a go. Their spells are slightly different. Maybe her magic will respond to it even though that’s rare. If I can just get her to master one defensive spell and one offensive spell, she’ll be much better off.”

My earlier conviction that I’d done the right thing by asking Major Armund to train Avery came roaring back. I never would have thought to give sorcerer magic a try with Avery. But I kept picturing Reese touching her.

Dee frowned. “Everything okay, Wyatt?”

I raked a hand through my hair. Damn. I was losing it again, and Dee had obviously just picked up on that.

“Yeah. Of course.” I reminded myself that Avery’s training was my priority, even if that meant other men touching her during training—as long as those touches stayed respectful and professional.

Because if they didn’t . . .

I growled, but then cut it short, my eyes widening that I’d allowed the sound to escape.

But Dee’s attention had shifted to something on her tablet. She sighed and held up a picture of a few of our squad mates on a beach in the Caribbean. “Damn, and to think that’s where I could have been right now.”

I dipped my head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stop your trip, but I do appreciate you training Avery.”

She chuckled and slipped her tablet back into her pocket. “Just as long as we’re even after this.”

“Of course. I won’t ask for a favor like this again.”

“Good.” She loosened her stance, looking toward the door. “Well, if there’s nothing else?”

“No, have a good evening, Major.”

She nodded curtly before disappearing into the barracks.

I let out a deep sigh. It was sheer luck that Dee hadn’t noticed my second territorial reaction to Avery. If that message hadn’t come through from our friends . . .

I seethed. I couldn’t keep up this charade much longer. Dee was too good at analyzing people and too apt at reading between the lines. Sooner or later, she would see that I couldn’t help myself where Avery was concerned.

It was only a matter of time before she found my intense interest in Avery’s training peculiar. Because even though I was required to train Avery, I wasn’t required to watch over every second of her progression.

“Shit,” I whispered. I needed to back off. I could check on her once a week while she trained with Armund, but that was it. More check-ins than that and I was bound to do something foolish.

I straightened when a group of SF members strolled by on the sidewalk. Their conversation floated toward me. “Did you guys hear about that comet that’s going to pass over the fae lands? It hasn’t happened in two thousand years. Should be a pretty wicked sighting.”

“When’s it going to happen?” another asked.

“In earth time, two months from now.”

I concentrated on their conversation, trying to distract myself with it. I’d heard, too, about the comet barreling toward the fae lands’ solar system.

But my hope of using their conversation as a distraction backfired. The comet only reminded me of that night with Avery. The night she’d baked me a cake, we’d lain under the stars, and had touched and kissed with such intense passion that it still haunted my dreams.

My heart throbbed with the need to claim her. I’d wanted so desperately to claim her that night. I still felt that way. Weeks away from her had only made the urge grow, not lessen.

My wolf whined within. He again wanted out, to run, to forget the torment I was forcing on him. Each day at morning drills while we merely existed in Avery’s presence, he’d grown more demanding and irritated when I refused to submit to his desires.

But I couldn’t.

Avery wasn’t ours. Not yet.

She wasn’t our mate even if we wanted her to be.

And we both needed to remember that.

But a run for my wolf? That I could oblige.

“I can probably use one myself,” I said to him. I headed toward the woods, my pulse quickening as magic shimmered over my skin. The heat built inside me as my wolf urged the shift.

I stripped out of my clothes, setting them behind a tree to retrieve later. Standing upright, I let the shift take hold. Heady magic pulsed over my body, heating my skin, and then my wolf emerged in an explosion of magic.

The release eased the throb of longing squeezing my chest as my mind faded to the background and my wolf’s took over.

But his mind still ached for Avery, too, and his desire to be with her bordered on obsession.

We can’t, I said to him.

He whined again, knowing I wouldn’t allow it.

But we can run.

He took off, the call of the woods and the pull of the moon the only things keeping us from howling in pain at the loss of Avery Meyers.