Words of Power (Alice Gray Book 3)

5

The line curled round the side of the building when the taxi deposited us on the curb. I twisted out, all knees and elbows as I tried to keep everything covered in the short halter neck handkerchief dress that barely covered my ass.

The massive gust of wind that swept past as I straightened up made all my efforts redundant. I closed my eyes. Loud laughter surrounded me on each side as my pack flanked me.

"Really guys?"

"What?" Lucas asked, the picture of innocence.

"You picked this one on purpose."

"Cheer up, hot stuff, the line needed a bit of entertainment."

My eyes darted to the row of waiting humans, fear shooting through me until I remembered that I didn't have my magic anymore. They weren't attracted to my life-force. I only had to worry about the fact that I'd just flashed them.

Embarrassing? Check.

Hoards of human minions desperate to do my bidding if it meant getting close to my magic? Thankfully not.

It wasn't as good as it sounded.

Humans didn't usually respond to witch energy, but like so many other things, I was the exception. When I lost my temper, even the humans fell under the spell of the silver magic.
The leers that lingered on my form today were just the result of the woefully inadequate piece of black silk that I was wearing, and because of that, they were welcome.

It was actually nice to feel the heat of natural attraction instead of the forced desire that my witch energy created. Even if some of the humans did look a bit pervy and drug addled.

To my surprise, the guys marched me right up to the bouncers instead of joining the end of the long line. The burning glowers from the people that waited their turns nearly made me forget that humans weren't a threat. But the frowns magically smoothed out when the guys got up close, at least from a large proportion of the waiting group.

I couldn't blame them, Evan and Lucas were looking hot.

Pale skin and blond hair, bright blue eyes sparkling with excitement at the chance to relax for the first time since, well, since he'd met me, there was an innocent charm to Evan. With Lucas's influence he had managed to banish all trace of the silver power, the lingering infection from my father Jonathan Device. He was back to his old self, the one that I'd crushed on when we'd first met: cute, easy-going, positive.

He caught my eye and winked. There wasn't any heat in it. Too much had passed between us for that. Having an Alpha was a great equalizer for Evan and I. Lucas levelled the trauma of our past. He made us feel safe with each other, and, most of all, let us care for each other without the guilt of the harm we'd done hanging over us.

Then there was Lucas.

Power oozed from every pore of the massive werewolf. Caramel skin and striking green eyes pulled the attention of everyone regardless of sex or orientation. His black hair was shaved close to the skull, but he didn't look like a thug.

He looked like a boss.

Our boss.

I often wondered if he'd appeared so commanding before he was an Alpha. The first night we met, I'd only known him for half an hour, then we'd been drugged and kidnapped. What happened next was hazy for both of us, and when we woke his wolf had already claimed me.

I couldn't imagine he'd ever been anything but impressive, even when he was serving as Beta in the English pack. Seeing the looks he was getting now, I was surprised the poor humans weren't swooning at his feet!

A snort erupted at the thought, drawing an amused glance from the Alpha himself. There was heat in that gaze. Oh yes. And when I looked away it was more to discourage the connection, than out of deference to his position in the pack.

Lucas had blithely explained away the attraction between us. Apparently female pack members were always attracted to the Alpha. Wolves especially would always want to mate with the strongest partner. Survival of the fittest and all that.

Who knew that it would be the same for witches?

No one did. Because as far as we could tell, this was the first hybrid pack in existence. So far we had a wolf Alpha, two witches and a human. Nobody really knew where it would end. It wasn't a problem for us, but the other British pack saw things differently.

Since the old Alpha Dominic had been murdered on my watch, a large proportion of the shifters wanted me to pay. They hadn't been happy to lose Lucas. He'd been expected to step up to the Alpha role for them.
Lucas had declined with the reason that no one could see him as Alpha when he'd served as Beta for so long. But really it was because the wolves would not accept me. We all knew it, even if nobody said it.

Luckily that didn't matter, as they were all down in London. Or so I thought, until I saw the group round the pool tables at the back of the club.

Oh dear, maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all! 🤦‍♀️