Page 52 of Bloodline Unbound

“Pull back,” Melinda said, pressing a hand firmly against my belly button. “It’s easy to fall deep. Ask them to show you what you need to know.”

I relayed the question inside my own head and my mind barreled through the intense network of trees like I was on a roller coaster. It came to an abrupt stop at the farthest edge of the forest where it met the grassy foothills.

Darkness whispered over those hills.

It was still hunting us.

It was coming.

I bolted upright and Melinda pushed me right back down. “We’re not done. You don’t know how to do anything and if you don’t get at least a bit of a handle on things, you’re going to fry those boys to crisps.”

“What?” My gaze flickered to Seth and Caden. They were both tense, watching me, probably also wondering what the fuck Melinda meant.

“We opened a lot of floodgates, and while they’re not all open, there’s enough to drown them if you’re not careful. You’ve got a lot of power and it’s been growing every year but was unable to express before. I don’t have time to teach you much, but I’ll do what I can. Now, close your eyes, call up a good bit of it, and focus on keeping it centralized in your body. Don’t let any of it escape.”

I nodded, closing my eyes, imagining the power like a little campfire in my belly. The warmth of it radiated out, a pleasant, tingling sensation that had goosebumps rising. I called more, my breath trembling as my heart picked up its pace and the tingling growing to a vibration that teased my nerves. My clit pulsed and my pussy clenched as I yanked up more power. Every bit of me broke out in a sweat. I dug my fingers into the moss with a whimper.

“Focus it where you want it, where the core of your power responds strongest.” Melinda’s voice reached through, but I couldn’t open my eyes to see her.

The power trickled between my thighs, the flames spreading over my skin. Tension coiled tightly, my pussy aching for attention, the power responding to that pulsing need. It radiated deep, into every nerve, and I pressed my heels into the ground, my ass lifting my hips up as the muscles tensed.

“There’s a good girl. Bring it higher, all the way up.”

I whined and grabbed at the power. It roiled through my body like a writhing snake, tempting my clit with each flicker of heat. I wanted to be fucked so badly, to have some outward sensation guide the wildness of my new power. It flooded my system, throttling me until my back arched and I let out a pathetic cry.

I heard some sort of commotion and Melinda firmly ordering everyone to stay back.

Please, please, please. I chanted the word in my head, unable to make my mouth listen.

The burn felt so fucking good.

Gods. I was so close.

I pulled the swell of power a little higher and shoved it exactly where I craved that heat and it sent me spiraling. The scream echoed. Power reverberated through each cell, the rise and fall of the pleasure undulating it through my body before finally, finally, dissipating into the earth below me.

I sank back against the moss, totally limp.

“Well done. That should keep any potential crisping at bay for a little while.”

I peeled my eyes open.

Melinda sprawled out next to me. “Hello, sweetness. Feeling all right?”

I couldn’t quite bring myself to speak so I managed a minuscule nod.

She laughed. “Yeah, the first hit is pretty strong. I’m going to take a wild guess and say your power lies in flames and pleasure, both of which are easy to stoke beyond your control.”

“So what do I do?” All of me still tingled with need.

“I’m going to head back and start packing. You are going to stay here and have fun with your boys for a bit, okay? Nothing settles the blood like a solid fuck. You’ll learn quite quickly with this sort of magic that it can both build your power and dissipate it. If you don’t have it release into something that can handle the output, well, that’s how you get yourself a crispy fried shifter.” Melinda sat up and focused on Caden. “I suggest you get good at sharing quickly, little panther. You won’t sate her alone for long.”

Processing those words seemed like too much work so I lay where I was as the growing desire had me squirming. “Caden.”

He was at my side a second later. “I’m here. What do you need?”

“She needs you to fuck her, panther,” Melinda said with a laugh, tapping my forehead with her finger. Thinking got a hell of a lot easier, the fog clearing. “There we are. Got a little clarity back in your eyes. You need to get rid of some more energy and you have two salaciously delicious shifter boys to help with that. You want that, don’t you?”

“I—”

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