Tangled

39 Ava: Her Identity

39 Ava: Her Identity

You have the potential, Selene says, her voice a cautious whisper in my mind. The arcane flows through your veins. But…

My breath escapes me in a giddy rush. Magic. Real magic. Human magic. It’s something out of a fairy tale, not something that should exist in my life. Then again, supernaturals exist–and we’re pretty nonstandard,

ourselves.

It’s not that simple, Selene continues, her tone growing more serious. Magic is not a toy, little one. It’s a force of nature, raw and untamed. To wield it requires knowledge, discipline, and control.

I swallow hard, feeling the warning in her words. “But how do I learn? I don’t even know where to start.”

You would need a teacher, Selene explains, her voice tinged with hesitation. Someone well–versed in the arcane arts, who could guide you, show you how to harness and control your power. But magic is a lost art. Magicians were lost to the curse and became shifters.

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39 Ava: Her Identity

Talk about a letdown.

O

“So, I won’t be able to do magic.” Is that how you say it? Do magic? Cast magic? Spell magic? Cast spells? It all feels weird in my mouth.

It is unlikely, Selene says, but she still has that cautious

sound to her voice.

“If I tried, what’s the worst that could happen?”

Death.

A simple word, bluntly given, with all the truth in the world behind it. I shudder at the matter–of–fact tone.

humans were lost to the recklessness of their magical talent. Until magicians began to teach each other,

trying to regain some of the

loss. Magic would have been amazing to learn, of course. But–if Selene says it’s too

Her Identity

volatile.

on a question that’s been bothering me from the beginning. “Selene, you’re my wolf, right?”

Of course.

shifter has a wolf

sound that echoes through my mind. You were born bonded with the ancient magic, she explains in that non–explaining way, where nothing is

being cryptic again. All shifters are bonded with ancient magic, and they don’t have any

and I can almost picture her

What are you, an English professor now? And what are we, exactly? Are

Ava: Her

voice filled with a quiet pride.

that somehow makes my brain work better. “How is that possible? Doesn’t the curse decide

who is matched?”

story for another time, Selene says, her tone turning brisk. For now, it’s more important that you take

mention of the alpha sends a shiver down my spine, and I can feel the first

like yesterday. But I can’t let this conversation go just yet. I’m

you just choose to be with me? And what do you mean, we’re separate and

Selene says, her voice softening. There is much you don’t understand yet. But trust me when I say that everything will be revealed in time. For now, focus

Her Identity Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ ꜰindNʘvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and

more later.

feel my skin starting to prickle with sweat. I need to

humiliation is

hospital gown and tossing it on the ground as

as I can.

sense the presence of a powerful wolf. I don’t know how far they are, but they’re close enough that I’m lifting my chin to sniff, trying to

my nose.

One’s a

Ava!

of course does nothing to help but makes me feel better for at least trying, and turn on

in minutes, huddled under that

617

Her Identity

to help keep my mind clear to

extent.

my mind again. Why is heat even a thing? This