Page 25 of Pitch a Witch
The damn animal chuckled.
“You know what?” Climbing to my feet, I dusted my pants with jerky, irritated swipes of my bloodied hands. “I’m not doing this with you right now. It was a dumb idea.”
Squinting when the harsh sun tried to blind me, I stopped in the direction we came from, but I only made it two feet. The wolf tackled me from the side, not holding anything back. The air was knocked out of my lungs with a hard whoosh, but I twisted as we flew sideways and jammed my forearm under his jaw just in time.
My neck cracked along with the back of my head when we hit the unforgiving ground, sticks with their sharp edges ripping into my skin and blouse. All my bones were rattled when his full weight pressed on me, and his snout almost touched my face. His nose was cold as it brushed against mine, but his breath was hot like a furnace. The Alpha snarled deep in his chest, and the feral sound pebbled my skin.
All that time I was focused on not freaking out so I could hold back the unpredictable magic from hurting him. Contrary to my wishes, the sigils pulsed and blinked in a frantic tempo, sending short bursts of golden glows around us. The wolf kept snapping his deadly jaws at my face—so not helping matters—and grinding my teeth, I tucked my knees under his belly. With one solid push, I kicked him off me hard enough to make him whine when he hit the trunk of a tree.
“You’re such a jerk.” Seething, I clenched my molars until a sharp pain zinged through my skull. “Are you trying to die? Is that it?”
“I have a solution.” A smooth baritone reached us from between the trees, and River stepped out looking so out of place in his dress pants, loafers, and button-down shirt that it was ridiculous.
He was hot as hell, but ridiculous, nonetheless.
“Look what the cat dragged in,” I drawled, picking twigs and leaves out of my hair as I stood up. “Did you walk or fly here?”
Lips twitching, he leisurely strolled until he was a foot in front of me, his melted chocolate peepers glittered with golden flecks that reflected the bright sun. “Drove actually.”
Alex growled deep in his chest, and I agreed with him. The whole thing was a very dumb idea, and we didn’t need an audience for it, either. Which I not so politely explained to Blondie.
“As I said, I can help so the two of you can practice without any harm,” River addressed the Alpha, ignoring the death stares I was shooting at his pretty face. A slow, cocky-as-fuck smile curled his lips as if he’d heard my thoughts. “I can place a protection against magic around you. That way if she does burst without control, no one will be hurt.”
“You can do that?” Eyeing him dubiously, my hands stilled through my hair.
“A perk.” River shrugged coolly.
Alex and I glanced at each other, and before I could start drilling Blondie for more details, the grey wolf padded toward him. His mismatched gaze was narrowed in suspicion, yet there was no hesitation in the Alpha. It spoke of trust that I personally didn’t think River deserved, but that was only because he’d lied to me. By omission, I’d give him that, but still a lie in my book.
I was tired of untruths and secrets.
River reached a hand toward the wolf’s head but didn’t touch him. Fingers splayed wide, he hummed something inaudible under his breath, and warmth spread through the air with a soft white light. It circled the Alpha, who stood stiff as a board, and a moment later started dissipating. Blondie’s hand curled into a fist before he lowered it to his side.
“This explains why you jumped a few dozen demons without blinking an eye,” I muttered glumly. “You can shield yourself from magic.”
I went rigid when he reached for me, but he only plucked a leaf I missed from my hair and twirled it between his fingers. His scent filled my lungs, awakening feathers that tickled the back of my throat, and I took a wide step away from him. An unreadable expression crossed his gaze, which was locked on me, but Alex was shaking off whatever sensation he was suffering so I focused on him.
“You can go now.” Of course, wing man ignored my demand and settled to watch with his back pressed to a tree and his arms folded across his chest.
A branch snapping told me I was tracking River like an idiot when Alex was ready to attack. The difference was, I didn’t have to hold back anymore. A wicked grin stretching my cheeks, I found the Alpha’s position from the corner of my eye, and this time, I jumped at him. It took him by surprise, and he tried to evade me with no luck. With all my weight, I landed on top of him and wrapped my arms just under his front legs. The momentum propelled me forward, and I flipped the wolf who was twice my weight until I had him in a chokehold.
My sigils went berserk, pulsing and blinking, just as the magic swirled in my chest. Alex snarled viciously, jerking his body out of my grasp and leaving me fistfuls of fur when he shook me off him. His upper lip curled above razor-sharp teeth, and he snapped his jaws in a warning, unhappy that I had the upper hand. My legs kicked up, and I flipped myself to standing, still grinning like a fool. Dark shadows danced around me with blood-red streaks spiderwebbing through them.
The wolf cocked his head in interest, studying the power shimmering around me while I wondered why it’d made an appearance when it was nowhere to be found the night before when I’d faced hordes of demons. Testing boundaries, I flicked my wrist in a spot in front of the shifter’s front legs. Power shot from my fingertips, spearing the earth hard enough for chunks of grass and soil to fly in the air, leaving a hole a few inches deep. Alex wrenched himself aside just in time with a yelp.
I saw the movement coming from my left just in time to bend my back as a fist passed a hairsbreadth from the tip of my nose. River decided to join the fun instead of playing a bystander, and that was fine with me. I used the motion to drop down and swirl, kicking my foot out and swiping his legs from under him. Instead of dropping like a rock, Blondie did a backflip, landing on both feet like a cat.
Both continued attacking in sync, forcing me to stay on defense for some time until I’d had enough of dodging kicks, fists, and snapping jaws. I lost myself in the movements of my body, the familiarity of it calming the turbulence in my mind. My magic followed, zapping from my hands when I needed them to pull back, an instinctual precision assuring that I never aimed it directly at them. Just close enough to keep them on their toes. It felt like forever when they moved far enough away, and we all panted, staring at each other.
One glance around made me cringe at the devastation we’d caused in the clearing. While in the moment, I didn’t care where my magic struck as long as I stayed on my feet and didn’t lose the fight. Seeing the holes in the ground and the broken trees littering the area like corpses didn’t make me warm and fuzzy inside as I gasped for air.
“I think I needed that.” Wiping the sweat from my face with a forearm, I had to admit it felt good to finally use my power with some control. “Thank you, River.”
Blondie blinked like he’d seen me for the first time. I guessed my gratitude shocked him, go figure.
“For what?” His smoldering gaze rose goosebumps over my already-overheated skin. Alex shifted and disappeared through the trees in search of clothing, thank the Goddess.
“For placing the shield against my magic around both of you. I didn’t have to worry that I’d hurt you, so it was easier to pay attention to controlling it,” I told him honestly.
