Mated By Fate by Christa Wick

Chapter Seven

Morning light filteredthrough the guest room's pale rose curtains. Lana's eyelids flickered open, then clamped shut at the sun's brilliant intrusion. She wanted to roll onto her other side, but her body ached from head to toe. The ache was something Esme had warned her about—a side effect of using magic for the first time, especially after more than two decades of never intentionally tapping into her power as a latent.

Intentionally…

The word had stuck in Lana's head after Esme said it. Looking back, she could see the intrusions. Dreams mostly. Dreams and the deep forebodings when she was awake that had made her steer clear of certain locations or people—like the would-be-landlord who turned out to be a serial killer.

Rolling onto her back, she lifted a forearm to cover her eyes against the light. Listening for sounds of activity elsewhere in the house, she heard nothing.

Silence was only a temporary blessing. With a million new questions bouncing in her head, Lana was eager to face Esme again. She might even marginally welcome Denver's presence now that last night's healing demonstration had shaved off a layer of his skepticism about latents. She was also curious about the secret she could feel him holding back. On that matter, she only knew that it wasn't his feelings for Esme. Those were obvious to everyone but the witch herself. If she had to guess, she'd say he was more powerful than he let on. But she really knew nothing about the shifters yet, so guessing was all she could do.

So, yeah, remove butt from bed and stop hiding in the bedroom!

The injunctive sounded good but for the possible presence of Esme's mother. With the medical emergency over before her arrival, Camille had focused her attention on Lana. Her scrutiny was a cold, creeping fog that seemed to push its way into every pore on Lana's body.

It had been like sweating in reverse, the toxins seeping in.

Do you have any living female relatives?

Have you met others who have had similar experiences?

Esme had put a halt to the interrogation after the second question, suggesting Lana needed to rest. That had been an understatement. She had fallen asleep as soon as she pulled the covers up to her chin.

Pushing those same covers off, she sat up and swung her legs so that her feet landed on the polished wooden floor. She looked for a clock but didn't see one. She couldn't check her phone, either. Seth had confiscated it then immediately removed the battery and chip.

He wasn't going to give the phone back, either. Her old life was gone, that much was clear. She would miss the kids she had worked with, but, after everything Esme had told her about the Hunters, Lana knew she could never risk them following her onto school grounds.

More worries seeped in, forced her to stand and put on the robe. Toes growing cold, she grabbed her thickest pair of socks and put them on. Arm extended, fingers reaching for the doorknob, she froze. Blood pounded through her. She felt it first in her chest, her breathing struggling to catch up with the heavy, rapid pulse beating through her veins. The sensations radiated from there, vertigo dancing circles around her brain at the same time a persistent, insistent beat began to thrum against her clit.

Knees suddenly weak, she tried to turn toward the bed.

A voice stopped her, its timbre locking her legs straight.

"Lana," Seth repeated from just outside her room. "Open the door."

A growl—almost. Sexy. Persuasive.

"Kitchen, now," Esme snapped from farther down the hall.

Lana remained frozen, uncertain who the witch was barking orders at. Then Seth grumbled and Lana felt his retreat. A few seconds later, a soft knock landed.

"Coming," Lana croaked, experimentally lifting one foot from the floor, then breathing a sigh of relief to find her legs working again.

Unlocking the door, she gestured for Esme to enter.

"Sorry, he's quicker and quieter than I am. By the time I realized he'd left the kitchen—"

Lana waved away the apology.

"What was that…I mean…I could feel him on the other side of the door, but it wasn't like yesterday's feeling of dread."

"That dread was your body's reaction to the Hunters," Esme said, slipping into the room. "Was this…uhm…"

Seeing the pink blush of Esme's cheeks and the anatomical direction in which her hand gestured, Lana released a shaky laugh.

"Yeah, very."

Esme nodded, her expression troubled.

"I wish I could brace you for what to expect," she said. "But it's all so new. The records I've seen don't get into the mechanics. I think showing you how to transfer energy between wolves last night must have been like unclogging a pipe. You're going to feel all of Seth's presence now, including his emotions."

Her voice dropped to an almost breathless whisper as she leaned in close. "While I can show you ways to at least reduce the volume, he has ways of turning it back up that I can't combat with just a charm. Still, there is a wolf totem buried within you. It's something you can work at training, but he's alpha, male, and your mate."

A fresh burst of energy from down the hall told Lana that Seth could hear the witch. She only hoped that he hadn't pieced together the meaning of her answer to Esme's veiled question and graphic hand sweep. She especially didn't want him to know how close she'd been to throwing the door open and wrapping her legs around his waist.

Starting to shake, she closed her eyes.

"He's returning."

"Right," Esme said, spinning toward the door. "I'm on it. Come out when you're ready, but I don't think he's leaving until you at least talk to him."

Alone, Lana pulled out fresh clothes from the closet and drawers then dressed, her fingers trembling as she worked the zipper and buttons. She ran a brush through her hair long enough to tame the top then gathered the rest of its length into a pony tail. Throughout the process, her hands shook, prompting false starts on the buttons and hair band.

Emerging into the hallway, the low thrum of energy she could feel emanating from Seth began to climb in intensity. Like a leash around her waist, it tugged her forward, threw her steps off balance.

Reaching out, she grabbed the handle on the bathroom door and shouted.

"Look, I'm not coming out there until you shut off whatever you're throwing at me long enough that I can take a friggin' pee!"

A rumbling chuckle sounded from the kitchen, but the flow of energy abated.

Not fair!

Struggling with her zipper in the bathroom, Lana mouthed the words, certain that he would hear her faintest whisper. Pants down, she quickly relieved herself, then washed her hands and splashed cold water on her face. She gathered another handful of water and swallowed it, her throat feeling like it had a golf ball wedged within it.

The mirror above the sink revealed a ponytail fully askew and a gray cast to her skin despite it feeling flushed. She fixed her hair, couldn't do anything about the ashen appearance other than maybe pinch her cheeks. She refused to do that. Seth believed they were mates of some sort. Trying to pretty herself up for the man wouldn't further Lana's argument that he was dead wrong.

Throat vibrating with a growl of her own, she pulled the door open and marched toward the front of the house.

Before she reached her destination, she could see Esme out on the porch, curled up in a thick blanket and sipping on a hot drink. Beyond the witch, almost disappearing into the tree line, Denver furiously attacked a pile of logs with an ax. She didn't have to look for where he was. She felt it.

Just like she felt Seth off to her side and a little forward, his energy bigger and wholly intimate.

"Just a few more steps, baby girl," he murmured, his voice drifting to Lana as she hovered a few feet away from where the hall spilled onto the front of the house.

Cautiously, she stepped forward, her gaze shooting straight to where he sat at the kitchen counter, his hands wrapped around a mug of something hot and steaming. Another mug waited in front of him. He pushed it farther down the counter, the smell of the coffee it contained beckoning Lana forward.

She approached from the kitchen side of the counter, wrapped her hands around the mug and brought it to her lips.

"It's straight," he warned. "No sugar or cream."

She nodded. When she wanted cream and sugar, she took it with tea. Right at that moment, she needed a strong kick of pure caffeine.

Finished with the first gulp, she put the mug on the counter but kept a two-handed grip on it. She had a feeling that, once free of the mug, Seth would try to capture her, maybe by the wrist, maybe just curling a few of his fingers around hers.

She wasn't ready for any contact with the man—or his wolf.

A half-chastising pulse from Seth pushed at her, the energy warming her chest and abdomen.

"What was that for?" she asked, her tone sharp even as her thighs melted.

Seth looked innocent for half a second before the facade collapsed. "Because I want to be on the same side of the counter, close to you, but you intentionally put a barrier between us. Why?"

"Because of that!" Unwrapping one hand from the cup, she waved it at the space between them and the path she had felt the power of his wolf take. That must have been the "volume control" Esme had warned about.

"What?" he asked, his gaze innocent but his voice a teasing baritone that pinched her nipples.

"You pushed your energy at me to prove a point," Lana accused.

"Absolutely," he grinned. "And I'll keep pushing it at you now that you know what you're feeling because, the sooner you realize I would do anything to protect you, that I would die with a smile on my face knowing I had kept you safe, the safer you'll be."

When she didn't reply, he snorted then took a long drink from his mug, holding the hot liquid in his mouth for a few seconds before swallowing it down.

"I heard what happened last night," he said. "Hell…I felt what happened, first with Esme as your conduit then with…"

His nose twitched as he refused to say Denver's name. A rough brush of hair peppered his cheeks for a second then disappeared just as suddenly as it had sprouted.

"Anyway, things have clearly changed since last night," he finished with a rumble.

"Only some things," Lana whispered, holding the mug close to her chest as she turned and retreated to her bedroom, locking the door with a loud click and a silent flourish of her hand.