Bella Vita (32 page)

“
Can you really see what
people are made of, I mean potentially? Isn't that kinda weird? Is
it like the touching thing?” Mike hadn't realized exactly what my
touching thing was, but he knew it was one of my special
things.

“
Yes, I really can. I'll
show you later... maybe because of our bond you'll be able to
experience what I do. It isn't weird to me, it's just part of me.
It's sorta like that touching thing.” I smiled at him.

“
Kay, sounds cool, I
guess.” His uncertainty was present in his thoughts, but I could
feel it rolling off him like waves of chilly water.

The drive back turned into complete silence
after that.

His apartment was tinted with early morning
gray as we walked in. The world seemed so very different from
before, now that Mike and I had bonded. I felt a bubble of panic
rising in my body. I tried to stop it but it was circulating
through my system quickly.

“
Emma, what's wrong?”
Mike's voice was concerned.

“
Nothing. My mind is merely
trying to adjust. It's good to know that you feel my emotions as
well. What else will be affected by all of this?” I threw out my
arms, trying to encompass everything that was happening to
us.

“
Don't fret so much. We'll
figure it out together. And then, well, we'll see once we get to
that point.” His smile was relaxed but his emotions weren't- they
were as confused and worried as mine.

“
Maybe we should get some
rest before I try to figure you out more.” I smiled at
him.

“
Sounds like a brilliant
idea. Do you want anything to eat first, because I'm gonna grab
something?” He walked toward his small little kitchen.

“
Nah. I'll eat later. I'm
just gonna lie down.” I went to the futon and laid down, sleep took
me instantly.

When consciousness found me again, Mike was
sitting next to me absently stroking my hair. I wasn't sure how
long I had been asleep, but I could tell he hadn't gone to sleep
and was thinking things over- serious things by the look on his
face.

“
What's cookin' good
lookin'?” I smiled up at him.

He blinked a few times, as though my voice
had brought him back to this place and time, “sleep well?”

“
Yep, but you obviously
didn't, so spill.” I knew if I tried I could read all of his
thoughts.

“
Just thinking is all.
Worrying after the fact.” He looked away from me.

I knew my face showed my
hurt.
Was I a mistake?
I couldn't put the words out into the world, making them more
real.

“
Aw, Em. Don't even think
like that. I would never... you're... you're the most important
thing.” His face was pained.

Tears welled up in my eyes.

You know how important you
are. I was lost in a pity party. Lost in thoughts about how to
handle the fallout of our choice.
Mike's
warm hand reached out and took mine.

“
Yeah. Well, you aren't the
only one that's in this boat. But you're the only one that seems to
have doubts.” A tear streaked down my cheek.

“
Emma Mary Hutchinson,
don't even think that I could have doubts about you.” He knelt in
front of me, trying to get me to see the truth in his
words.

Mike, we need to have a
solid front. Our choices will always be under observation and
questioned. But we have to be solid!
I
desperately wanted him to understand.

“
I know, Em. I realize that
now. I'm sorry that it wasn't apparent.” His head hung in
shame.

“
Hey, this is going to be a
rough road. No one will make the right choices or say the right
things all the time.” I smiled at him.

He nodded.

“
Now, let's see if you have
anything deep inside you that might serve to help you.” I took his
hands.

“
Do I need to do anything?”
He looked from his hands to me.

“
Just relax. I don't know
if you're wired different, but hopefully you won't feel anything-
just don't try to force me out. If something happens, talk to me.”
I tried to remain calm- but the unknown was frightening.

“
Okay. You'll be okay
though, right?” His eyes were clouded with concern.

“
Yep.” I pushed down all my
feelings and thoughts to ensure it seemed like I believed
that.

Mike nodded and sat in front of me- his
hands securely in mine.

I took a deep steadying breath. I turned my
full attention to Mike. His scent was woodsy, strong, vibrant, and
welcoming- like home. Locking onto what was Mike was extremely
easy- our bond created an easy bridge for me into Mike's
subconscious.

At first I was worried that because he was a
werewolf I wouldn't be able to read him as I did the others- but
this wasn't the case. Mike was an open book for me. Everything that
was Mike was suddenly a part of me. I gasped for breath at the
overwhelming flood of information.

I shut myself off from the flow of
information- blocking out all the sensations that I was being
assaulted with. A few minutes later I was ready to press forward-
this time I knew what to expect. I probed his mind as deep as I
knew I could safely go. His shape-shifting abilities were tangible
at this point. It was almost as though I could feel the fur
springing from my own body.

Something caught my
attention. It was like a singular piece of glitter floating in the
wind. It was trace elements of magic, not the kind I knew but like
the kind that allowed people to throw crackling balls of energy
around.
Wow, I've never encountered that
before. What else is here?

I quickly found the source
of the energy and realized it had been locked away- or should I
say
spelled
away.
The magic was a darkness that tried to black out the glow of the
magic within Mike.

It took me a few minutes of contemplating to
decide that nothing should be locked away from someone without
their knowledge and I knew Mike didn't know he had such gifts.

Unlike most things that I could heal, this
spell didn't like me undoing it. For every step I moved forward in
removing it, I could feel it trying to fight back- tooth and nail.
As I didn't know what would happen when the spell was removed, I
left a weakened version on so I could finish trying to see if Mike
had anything else hidden.

I mentally sent out a
search to reveal what was hidden and another to see if he had any
mental abilities that would allow him to guard his new bond from
the other wolves. So many things danced behind me, that I thought
I'd never see what was important. Then I saw that he could be
taught to shield his mind- but I also found spells upon spells.
Each one was tied to the master spell that had been placed on his
energy. By weakening that spell, it left all the others in a
similar state. For once I didn't know what to do.
Why is this hidden from him and so tightly
spelled away?

This only lasted a few seconds as I realized
that if I were in his place, I would be pissed if someone did that
to me.

I shifted back to the spelled energy, took a
deep breath, and broke the spell- releasing the harnessed energy
into Mike. The sheer force of the power violently pushed me out of
Mike's mind.

My body jerked off the table as I gasped for
breath from the pain in my chest.

Mike's face was alit with the new glow of
his hidden power. His mouth hung open as he stared down at me on
the floor- my body still jerked from the shock of the mental blow I
had received.

Emma?
Mike's voice was full of energy as it filled my
mind.

Yep.
I wasn't going to give anything away until asked.

What did you do?
It wasn't an accusation- merely an
inquiry.

I fixed something. Part of
your potential had been spelled away from you. You are a crafter as
well as a werewolf. You can also learn how to shield your
mind.
I figured it was best to get it all
out at once.

Wait, I'm a what? What do
you mean
spelled
?
Can you teach me to shield?
The questions
flowed to me as soon as they formed in his mind.

Let's answer the easiest
one first. Yes, I can teach you- although I think you can just
absorb the information from me. Now, a crafter is like the witches
we see in the movies chanting spells and throwing witch energy
balls. You have the spells in your mind already and you can throw
witch fire or energy balls- whatever you wanna call it. You are
going to be upset about what I have to say about the spell.
I took a breath and moved to sit next to him on
the couch- intertwining my fingers with his.

Someone, I don't know who
as I didn't think to trace it, placed dark complex magic on your
energy and the knowledge of your spells- anything that was
associated with the magic.
I held his hand
as waves of anger rolled off him.

“
Why would anyone do
that?!” Mike stood up so quickly he pulled me up after
him.

“
I don't know. I wish I had
more answers. You're unique like me.” I smiled as warmly as I
could.

“
Eh. Yeah, unique. So
special that someone had to try and pass me off as normal.” He
scoffed at it all.

“
Maybe they were afraid of
the unknown. I get that a lot.” My sympathy did nothing for
him.

“
It was probably someone
close to me!” I watched as his fist clenched and
unclenched.

“
Um, maybe we need to go
outside.” I quickly realized if he hit anything in here, it would
break- unless he wanted to spar with me.

“
Yeah.” His body
shuddered.

“
I know you're not going to
want to hear this- but you
can't
shift right now.” I pushed at his mind with my
words as I said them to ensure they got through.

“
What?” His rage lashed out
at me like a whip.

“
You haven't learned to
shield. If you shift, they will know about
everything
!” My temper was beginning
to rise; I didn't like being an innocent bystander that had things
taken out on them.

“
Em, I don't know if I can
stop it.” For a second his anger cooled and panic filled his
eyes.

“
I've got an idea, but you
won't like it.” I weakly smiled up at him.

“
What is it?” He asked
through clinched teeth- clearly struggling to stop his
change.

“
Well, I don't think I
could teach you how to shield right now- not with the way your mind
is raging. But I can offer to fight you.” I beamed my best
smile.

He stared at me in shock.

“
If you don't use some
physical force your emotions will keep you close to shifting and
stop me from helping you learn to shield. Therefore, we need to
release some of that- it's either fight or have sex.” I shrugged
like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“
You... want me... to
hit
you
?” His
words broke like he wasn't understanding.

“
Yes. I promise I can
defend myself. Do you have a place for sparring?” Clearly I needed
to take the helm.

“
Yeah, upstairs.” He
gestured to a side door I hadn't noticed before.

I pulled him to the door, but found it
locked.

“
Let me get that.” He
retrieved his keys and unlocked it. “But Em, before you go up...
you need to know that I'm not the only wolf that uses it... and,
eh, we... learn how to... eh, you know.” He mimed staking
me.

I tried to swallow down my disgust, but I
could feel my face drain of color. I merely nodded.

His eyes were pained, nonetheless he waved
me ahead.

I walked up the narrow dark
steps and my heart began to race.
Why did
he warn me? What is up here?

The room was black when I got into it- that
didn't stop the scent of old blood from assaulting me. There was a
subtle smell of leather as well. Mike flicked on harsh florescent
overhead lights and my heart stopped and dropped into my
stomach.

The floor was padded, but
the walls held racks and racks of weapons. There was a small amount
of gym equipment- it was clustered together in a small corner. This
room was obviously a training room.
Could
it be a vampire killing training room?

I looked from the room to Mike. The answer
was written on his face.

You've been training to
kill vampires?
I couldn't keep the hurt
out of my voice or off my face.

“
Em, I don't have a choice.
Once I have more influence I'm going to push for our balance. But
right now, there nothing I can do.” He looked away from me as he
confirmed what I feared.

A rage like no other raised
from deep within me. I wanted to break the room and even break him
for his weakness.
You think I have any
power? No! But I still refused to be a spy for the vampires. I
would never...
The anger took me and I
mentally slapped Mike.