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.

teach each other, too many lives were lost in the pursuit of the

rub my arms vigorously, trying to regain some of the warmth that fled my

amazing to learn, of course. But–if Selene says it’s too dangerous, I believe her.

Ava: Her

volatile.

bothering me from the beginning. “Selene, you’re my wolf, right?”

Of course.

No shifter has

explains in that non–explaining

“That makes no sense. You’re being cryptic again. All shifters are bonded with ancient

can almost picture her shaking her head. It’s the

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

Her Identity

pure, Selene says, her voice filled with a quiet pride. I came to be with

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

who is matched?”

time, Selene says, her tone turning brisk. For now, it’s more important that you take a cold

my spine, and I can feel the first tendrils

But I can’t let this conversation go just yet. I’m finally getting answers.

to be with me? And what do you mean, we’re separate and one at the same

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

Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of

more later.

is building faster now, and I can feel my skin starting to prickle with sweat. I need to get this under control before I become a feral,

is

the bathroom, tearing off my hospital gown and tossing it on the ground as I go. Niceties are foregone; I just want to get control of

as I can.

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

my nose.

of them. One’s a

Ava!

nose, which of course does nothing to help but makes me feel better for at least trying, and turn on the water at its

shivering in minutes, huddled under that

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Ava: Her Identity

but it seems to help keep my mind

extent.

are chattering, so I talk to Selene through my mind again. Why is heat even a thing? This is ridiculous. I’m losing my mind because I want some dick? Who came up with this