Page 14 of The Gamma's Second Chance

“He really doesn’t,” I say, meeting her eyes in the rearview mirror. “Trust me.”

“I know,” she says, a soft smile on her lips as she strokes her petite bump and stares out the back window.

I flick my eyes to Cassandra, who is still examining her fingertips, a frown on her face, deep in thought. “What can you tell me about your aura?” she asks Haven.

Haven shrugs one shoulder. “Not much. I don’t feel it, see it, or really understand it. But I can tell when I use it.”

I meet Haven’s eyes in the rearview mirror again, and before I can think about it, an explanation leaves my mouth. “It’s like starlight. Shimmery, soft, and sweet, yet playful. There’s a warmth to it that’s unlike anything else. And it’s not just a physical warmth, but a spiritual warmth too. It dances with and teases our wolves and reminds us who you are, putting us at ease.”

Haven’s brow arches upwards. “That was unexpectedly poetic.”

I smile at her. “I have my moments.”

“And when did you first discover the aura?” Cassandra asks, turning in her seat to talk to Haven.

“After the ceremony when we all took over the pack. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I’ve been able to control it and keep it hidden. It’s only when I get too emotional that I can’t. But themore this little lycan grows, the harder it is to hide the aura at all. ”

“Which is why King Malachi asked for an oracle to help.”

I smirk to myself, keeping my attention on the road as we get closer to the busier streets of the city. “I thought you weren’t an oracle yet?”

Cassandra ignores my snide remark and continues playing twenty questions with Haven. “Has Selene given you any other powers?”

“I can mindlink the pack,” Haven says. “And… I can command other wolves and lycans, no matter what pack they are in.”

“Is your command powerful?”

I nod. “Very.”

“Wesley says it’s even stronger than King Malachi’s,” Haven adds.

I grimace. “Do I even want to ask why he knows how powerful your Haven command is?”

She laughs, and Cassandra joins her. That light and sweet sound bounces around the truck’s interior, mimicking the movements of Haven’s aura and lifting a bit of the weight from within my chest. So much so that I can’t help but join in with their laughter.

“‘Haven command?’” Cassandra asks, a brow raised in interest.

“Reid came up with it,” Haven says, still chuckling. “He said ‘Selene’s daughter’s command’ was too long, and ‘alpha command’ didn’t apply because I’m not an alpha. And since we don’t know of anyone else with this ability, he decided it needed a name as unique as my own. So it’s the ‘Haven command.’”

Cassandra nods. “Sound logic.”

“Can you help her hide it? The aura?” I ask.

“Yes. As long as I’m in the same room as her or I can see her, then I can suppress it, absorb it, or manipulate it so it’s unnoticeable.”

“Which is why she has to come to rehearsals with us from now until I go on leave,” Haven says.

“Speaking of”—Cassandra tucks her hair behind her ears—“who do the other dancers think Nolan is? They all know he’s not your husband since you’re married to Alpha Wesley. How do you explain Nolan’s near-constant presence?”

“They’re told he’s the head of the ballet company’s marketing department,” Haven tells her.

“And is he?”

I huff out a short laugh. “He is not.”

Cassandra’s lips twitch, and she glances at me out of the corner of her eye. “What does he do then?”

“Computer programming,” I state.

---