Page 48 of The Gamma's Second Chance

She exhales, and with her breath comes a pulse of her aura. The friendly, sparkling, dancing power reflects off the flawless mirrors, and the lights in the room flicker for a moment before I reach out with my ability and draw the aura into me. I focus my power, thinking of it as a filter for her aura to pass through instead of a sponge to absorb as much of it as possible. I let it trickle from her and into me, little by little, opening myself to it slowly to find the perfect balance of manipulation and absorption. The aura lingers around Haven but drifts no further than where it hovers above her skin, and the sparkling stardust diminishes until the only evidence of her power is the slight distortion of air around her body. And even that would only be clear to someone with my ability.

I smile at her as the last of it dances into me, feeling energized and excited instead of exhausted and emptied. Haven’s eyes are wide, and she stares at mine, her jaw dropping open.

“Is that what my aura looks like to you?” she asks, brow furrowing. “That dancing, sparkling, silvery light in your eyes?”

I nod at her. “It’s beautiful and one of a kind.”

“Does it hurt you?”

“It doesn’t. I just absorbed too much of it too quickly the other day, and I wasn’t prepared for the full depth of it. But now that I know what not to do, there won’t be a repeat of that.” I sit straighter in my chair and shake my hands out, my fingers stiff from how I gripped the edge of my seat while working. “Can we try again?”

We practice for most of the day, pausing to eat a late lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup that Wesley whipped up for us and then immediately returning to our training.

But our second session is cut short by heavy footsteps thundering up the porch steps, the front door slamming open, and loud, running feet racing down the hall. Nolan bursts into the room, panting, his eyes frantically scanning the space. As soon as they land on me, relief floods through him, relaxing his muscles and sagging his shoulders as he crosses over to me. “Oh, thank the Goddess. I couldn’t find you anywhere and I was starting to worry.”

“Haven’s fine. She’s with me,” Wesley says as if on autopilot, not looking up from his laptop.

I smile at Nolan and cover the rest of the distance to him, falling into his arms and cuddling into his chest as he embraces me. His muscular arms keep me close, his hand cupping the back of my head that rests above his pounding heart. He sways subtly from side to side as he holds me, and my eyes close as I soak in his warmth and revel in his need to be close to me.

Haven laughs. “None of that was directed towards me, Wesley,” she says.

I peek behind myself at him, and he finally looks up from his laptop, his eyes landing on Nolan’s arms encircling me and taking in the relief I’m sure is shown on Nolan’s face. Wesley’s lips tilt into a cheeky smile, one that rivals his brother’s, and he joins in with Haven’s laughter.

Nolan glares at him, but only for a moment, before returning all his focus to me. “You told me you’d be at the packhouse. I didn’t know where you were.”

“You could have mindlinked Wesley or Haven,” I say, looking up at him with my chin on his chest.

A laugh covered by a cough sounds from the desk, and again, Nolan ignores his alpha. “I…” He presses his lips together andsighs. “I was too worried about you to think about doing that,” he admits, his voice low. “Are you all right?” he asks, changing the subject and cupping my cheek with one hand while still keeping me snuggled to his body with his other arm. I nod. “You didn’t wear yourself out too much?”

“She’s fine,” Haven says, standing and moving to Wesley’s desk, perching on the arm of his chair. He hugs her waist, and his face still holds that teasing grin as he watches Nolan and me interact.

“Stop being a dickhead,” Nolan grunts, grabbing my hand and walking us over to the office area in the dance studio. He leans against the wall and tugs me in front of him, my back to his chest, his arms hugging my shoulders.

Wesley chuckles and shakes his head. “I thought I said I didn’t want to see you until you were in a better mood?”

“I am in a better mood,” Nolan says, his lips twitching against my neck as he inhales my scent and then kisses my fluttering pulse.

I swallow back the sigh of pleasure threatening to escape my mouth, and his arms tighten around me as he leans his head on the wall again. His body relaxes behind mine, and I can sense his contentment and the satisfaction from his wolf as I snuggle in closer to him.

“Good,” Wesley says, shutting his laptop. “Because we have to meet with the other alphas at the mating ball’s venue tomorrow to go over the details for the event and iron out any wrinkles. I can’t have you popping off on one of them. So make sure you’re still in a good mood.”

He wiggles his eyebrows at Nolan. My face flushes, and Haven swats at Wesley’s chest with the back of her hand. Nolan’s deep, resonant laugh vibrates through my body as he says, “Yes, Alpha.”

Chapter 18

CASSANDRA

If someone told mewhen I arrived in Crescent Lake that I’d end up sleeping in Nolan’s bed with him, I’d have laughed myself to tears.

Now, several weeks later, as I snuggle further into the cozy plushness of his king-sized bed with his warm scent embeddedin the fibers of the blankets and sheets, I can’t imagine being anywhere else.

The shower runs in the bathroom as Nolan washes off his sweat from the late run he went on after we left Haven and Wesley’s house. It’s the perfect background noise for reading, and I wrap the covers tighter around me, breathing in Nolan’s scent from them and his shirt I’m wearing as I read my book on my tablet.

It all feels so perfect. So right. Like I’m exactly where I belong.

The mattress cradles my body, making me feel almost weightless. The bedding is soft, and with both his scent and the blankets wrapping around me like a hug, I can imagine he’s here with me even though he’s not. It’s all soothing and satisfying and secure. It’s a private nest of safety to relax in while I read.

Plus, the chapter is getting steamy. My thighs clench, and my neck strains. I hold in a small moan as I grow more aroused with every sentence I read.

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