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.

each other, too many lives were lost

regain some of

But–if Selene says it’s too dangerous, I believe her. It isn’t worth my

Ava: Her

volatile.

me from the beginning. “Selene, you’re my wolf,

Of course.

No shifter has

through my mind. You were born bonded with the ancient magic, she explains in

again. All shifters are bonded with ancient magic, and they don’t have any ‘separate‘, only ‘one‘. Why am I different?”

almost picture her shaking her head. It’s the

you, an English professor now? And what are we, exactly? Are you a Lycan or

Her Identity

quiet pride. I came to be with you of

if that somehow makes my brain work better. “How is that possible?

who is matched?”

For now, it’s more important that

down my spine, and I can feel the first tendrils of heat starting

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

what do you mean, we’re separate and one at the same time? I don’t understand any of this.”

But trust me when I say

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

more later.

demand answers, but the heat is building faster now, and I can feel my skin starting to prickle with sweat. I need

humiliation is enough.

as I go. Niceties

as I can.

wolf. I don’t know how far they are, but they’re close enough that I’m lifting my chin to sniff, trying to get their

my nose.

them. One’s a little weaker, but he’ll do

Ava!

nothing to help but makes me feel better for at least trying, and turn on the water

minutes, huddled under that freezing

617

Her Identity

it seems to help keep my mind clear to an

extent.

my mind again. Why is heat even a thing? This is ridiculous. I’m losing