Chapter 15 - Miles
“Yes, sir, magic,” I nod, my expression is calm and professional. I’m standing in front of the elders with my hands behind my back and my shoulders squared.
Jeremy and the other elders stare in absolute disbelief. Jace remains silent. I visited him very early this morning, told him about our discovery last night, and asked him to let me inform the elders on my own.
He sits tensely, waiting for their response. To anyone else watching him, he looks like water on a windless day. Not a ripple on the surface. But I know my friend better than anyone. The dilated pupils. The rhythm of his breath. He is tense.
“There hasn’t been magic in these parts in…” Jeremy mumbles to himself. “In centuries,” Lexus adds. The other elders shift and mutter between themselves for a moment. I need to direct this conversation before they start making decisions.
“Yes, I am aware. That is why this is clearly a gift from the moon goddess for our pack,” I say, setting the tone for their reaction. “No other pack will have the advantage the moon goddess has given us. The rarity of this…it speaks volumes to the value it holds.”
“A gift? How so?” Lexus asks tightly.
“Our defenses. We are already battling the threat of rogues encroaching on our borders. And once she is stronger and word spreads that we have a witch in our army… just the thought alone will strike fear into our enemies and earn deeper respect from our allies.”
Jace nods, ever so slightly. The smallest movement that tells me I’m on the right track.
“They won’t believe it,” Jeremy says.
“Let them find out the hard way then,” I chuckle.
“But you don’t know the girl’s strength yet,” Jeremy argues.
I nod, “We don’t. Not yet. But she will begin training as soon as possible. I spoke with the Alpha’s wife this morning, and she is a self-taught expert on magic. She has been fascinated and reading about it for years. She will help Kelsey harness and learn to direct her magic.”
“Isn’t that convenient…that we just happen to have an expert at our door?” Lexus says sarcastically.
“I don’t believe in convenience or coincidence, sir.
Not for something of this magnitude. The moon goddess gave Mira this fascination so that she would be ready when Kelsey’s magic showed.
It was all planned out long before. All you have to do is put your faith in the moon goddess and trust what she is giving us,” I tell them, playing heavy on the moon goddess because she is the backbone of all of those rituals and rigid traditions that the elders love so much.
And who knows. Maybe this really is a gift from her.
My argument is compelling. How did we end up with a witch and a magic expert.
When I spoke briefly with Mira this morning, I was shocked to find out that the little fascination I thought she had with magic was a full-blown, passionate obsession for finding out everything she possibly can on it.
She kept it quiet, though, because what is a science tech doing believing in the stories told to children at bedtime?
Lexus turns to the elder sitting closest to him and mumbles, “If this is really true, it would be a devastating advantage for our pack. But centuries…”
The man behind him mutters as well, trying to keep his voice low so I can’t hear. They clearly don’t know how intense our Black Ops training was.
“There is no harm in encouraging this little fantasy of theirs. If it plays out in our favor, we can claim that we were supportive all along. If it turns out she is nothing but a lunatic, we can say we did our best to help her through her delusions?”
Lexus nods. Jeremy nods as well. These old men and their old ways… I swallow hard to stop myself from reacting to their disrespect.
“Alright,” Jeremy says. “She may begin training. We want to be kept up to date regarding her progress at all times,” he insists.
“Yes, sir,” I nod. Inside, I’m celebrating in massive ways. Outside, I am water on a windless day.
Jace has the slightest smile on his face. He stands up. “Thank you for your time, elders. We will speak with you soon once she has started training, and we have more understanding of this situation,” he informs them.
“I was already outcast enough without being mocked for my complete obsession with magic. From a little girl, I always wanted to be a witch. I dreamed of waking up one day and finding my magic had activated,” Mira giggles.
The girls are standing in the center of the training arena inside the forest.
Jace made sure we had the place to ourselves this afternoon.
Kelsey looks nervous as she pulls her hair up into a high, messy bun, flattening the loose curls and tucking the stray strands behind her ear. She takes a deep breath and smiles tightly at her friend.
“I can’t believe I didn’t know this about you,” Kelsey smiles.
“No one did. I even tried to hide it from Jace in case he thought I was a lunatic. But my extensive reading collection kind of gave it away,” she giggles, stealing a quick glance at Jace, who is standing next to me a little way off.
“Don’t look so nervous for her. She’s going to be fine,” Jace says quietly.
I straighten my back. “I’m not nervous for her. I’m hopeful for the pack,” I say quickly.
There is no reason to let Jace know how much my feelings for Kelsey are shifting. For Kelsey’s sake, she shouldn’t know how much I’m… how I’m falling for her.
Now, even more than before, I know I don’t deserve her. It’s better she thinks this is still an arrangement of convenience.
“She’s got my full support, Miles,” Jace says sternly, his eyes fixed on me.
I stare at my friend for a moment, reading the sincerity in his expression. “That means a lot, thank you,” I say with a nod.
My heart flutters in my chest as training officially begins.
We fall silent and watch, nervously tense and excitedly anxious.
“Hands out, palms up,” Mira says, demonstrating for Kelsey. “I want you to close your eyes and just listen to me. Don’t worry about anything or anyone else. Just listen.”
Kelsey blows out a lungful of air and assumes the position instructed.
“You said it started as heat in your chest last night? Well, I want you to remember that feeling. Find it in your chest. Feel it as it starts pulsing in the bones of your rib cage…”
Kelsey closes her eyes, and both Jace and I take a sharp breath in when her chest, just below her throat, begins to glow a deep shade of pink.
“Holy fuck,” Jace whispers.
I can’t tear my eyes off her. I can’t believe I am lucky enough to witness something so incredible in my life. “I’ve seen a lot of things, man, but this…. There is something special,” I murmur.
“The important thing to understand is that the heat you feel inside you…it belongs to you. It is you, and that means that you control it in the same way you would control your arms and legs. It’s a part of you,” Mira says, and Kelsey nods, her eyes still closed.
“I want you to push that heat outward. Push it into your arms, feel it moving through your bones and traveling down to the palms of your hands…”
The glowing light spreads through Kelsey, becoming brighter and more saturated as it flows down her arms, settling like a swirling ball of glittering mist in the palms of her hands.
My mouth drops open in awe.
Kelsey opens her eyes and yelps in surprise at what she’s holding. Suddenly, energy bursts from her, and the light shoots outward. A blast of wind lifts Mira’s hair and spreads it out behind her as though she were facing a storm for a split second.
Kelsey stumbles backwards and lands on her ass.
There is a circular patch around the two girls where the ground has been completely cleared of debris, snow, and anything else scattered around.
Jace swallows hard. “Is my wife in danger?” He growls.
But Mira is laughing and reaching for her friend’s hand to help her up. “That was amazing!” She says excitedly. “I can’t believe it; this is so freaking awesome!”
“Did I hurt you? Are you ok?” Kelsey asks, horrified.
“Are you serious? I feel incredible. Come on, even without control of your magic, I know you would never hurt me … think about it like this. All you’re basically doing right now is waving your arm around as though you don’t have control of it.
You might accidentally slap me by mistake, but you aren’t going to actually hurt me.
You’re still my friend and even without that control you subconsciously know that,” she explains.
“Dude, you have a lot more faith in this than I do,” Kelsey sighs.
“That’s because I happen to know a lot more about it than you do,” Mira quips.
“Fair enough. Let’s try again then.”
Jace and I sit quietly watching them. I’m fascinated, in awe of her, and worried.
I’m not worried about her magic or her power. Kelsey is the strongest woman I have ever met. This gift found the right person. I have no doubt of that.
I’m worried about the intensity of my attraction to her. Now that is something I consider dangerous because it hardly seems fair to put a woman like her with a man like me. She deserves to be with someone who can give her everything her heart desires.
Fuck, I want her though.
What happened last night was the most incredible thing that has ever happened to me.
I keep telling myself that the moon magic put us together as mates for a reason, that the goddess does not make mistakes.
But I’m struggling to believe it. Maybe the moon goddess didn’t look at me clearly enough to see all the times I've let people down in the past.
“She’s doing really well,” Jace says, dragging me back into the moment.
Kelsey looks exhausted.
“I think we can stop for the day, you’ve done great…”
“One more time,” Kelsey says, determined.
“Girl, you got it right a hundred times in a row. You should rest.”
“Just one more time, I need to get this perfect,” Kelsey groans.
Mira shrugs and starts again.
I watch my wife realizing that the way she pushes herself is another one of her defense mechanisms born of her experiences as a child.
Being bullied made her desperate to be perfect.
She doesn’t push because she wants to. She pushes because she feels she has to.
She has to be the best. She has to get it right the first time, or it will give the bullies something to latch on to.
She’s constantly fighting the pain of her past. She’s constantly building protective walls against the people who attacked her over and over again.
She thinks she has something to prove to everyone around her when she doesn’t. She only sees her flaws, and all I can see is her perfection.
“That’s enough for today,” I stand, realizing that Kelsey will say just one more time until she’s so tired she can’t stand.
“But Miles, I…”
“Come on, Kelsey, everyone is tired. We can’t keep up with you,” I jokingly make it about everyone else instead of putting the pressure on her.
She pulls her mouth to the side and looks around at Jace, Mira, and me. “Sorry,” she says quietly, “I didn’t mean to take up all your time or…”
“Don’t be silly, that’s not what I meant,” I quickly interrupt her, walking to her and pulling her into a hug. “It was spectacular to watch. You did so fucking well for your first time ever trying to control your magic,” I add.
“I agree. That was insane. I can’t wait to train again!” Mira is clearly loving this.
“I’m starving, how about you?” I ask, pulling her away from the training arena toward our Jeep.
“Oh, my word, are you kidding? I could literally eat two portions of that four-person ribs stack we had the other day. I’m so hungry I’m shaking,” she says, holding up her hands and showing me how they’re trembling. I gently take her hand in mine, and suddenly, she’s embarrassed.
“I’m fine though,” she says, pushing her shoulders back and standing straighter.
Always terrified to show the slightest bit of vulnerability. This beautiful girl is scared of anything that makes her look weak. How do I tell her that she has far more power, not just in her magic, but in everything, than she could ever imagine.
“Let’s go get you two portions of four servings of ribs,” I smile, pulling her close and slipping my arm around her waist. “We can celebrate how well you did today,” I add with a smile.