Page 40 of Claws for Celebration
"Physical contact with her mate should help ground the energy. Touch her, but be prepared for magical feedback."
Lucien's hands settled on Moira's shoulders, and the effect was immediate. The wild torrent of magic flowing through her suddenly had an outlet, a secondary channel that could absorb and stabilize the excess energy. The protective barriers remainedin place, but they stopped growing and began to feel less like an out-of-control wildfire.
"Better?" he asked softly, his voice calm with certainty that always helped center her during chaotic moments.
"Much," she breathed, leaning back against his solid warmth. "But Lucien, the barriers are still there. I've accidentally created some kind of magical fortress around your bookstore."
"A fortress that extends at least fifty feet in every direction," Twyla observed, studying the shimmering dome with professional interest. "I've never seen protective magic this strong, especially not from someone who's been practicing for less than a week."
"The vampire was right about one thing," Miriam said quietly. "This level of power does require careful training. If Moira had attempted this working alone, without the mate bond to help stabilize the energy..."
"Magical burnout," Elena finished grimly. "Or worse. Uncontrolled blood magic can consume the practitioner from the inside."
The weight of responsibility that had been building since her arrival in Hollow Oak suddenly felt crushing. Moira looked around at the protective barriers she'd created without conscious intent, at the faces of people who were depending on her to learn control, at the evidence of power that could either save or destroy everything she'd grown to care about.
"How many people could I hurt if I lose control during the actual ward work?" she asked.
"Potentially everyone in Hollow Oak," Cordelia replied with brutal honesty. "Blood magic amplified by mate bond energy and focused through centuries-old binding circles? If anything goes haywire during the working, the magical explosion could level the entire mountain."
"But if something goes right," Twyla added quickly, "you could create protective barriers strong enough to keep this community safe for another century. Maybe longer."
"Oh, of course," Moira said weakly.
"There's something else you should understand," Lucien said, his hands still resting on her shoulders in a grounding touch that kept her magic stable. "The barriers you've created around the bookstore aren't just protective. They're actively repelling supernatural threats. I can feel it in my shifter senses, the way the magic pushes against anything with hostile intent."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning you've just demonstrated that your instincts for protective magic are incredibly sophisticated," Elena said with obvious admiration. "Most witches take years to develop that level of discrimination in their ward work."
"It's the inherited knowledge," Miriam explained. "Three generations of accumulated Shadowheart wisdom expressing itself through your subconscious magical responses. Your great-great-grandmother's techniques, your grandmother's suppressed power, your mother's dormant abilities, all of it flowing through you when you need it most."
"Like having a magical library downloaded directly into my brain," Moira said, trying to process the implications. "Except I don't know how to access the information consciously."
"That's what we're here to teach you," Cordelia said firmly. "How to access your inherited knowledge deliberately instead of relying on crisis-driven instinct. How to channel emotion into focused magical working instead of uncontrolled power surges. How to work with your mate bond to amplify your abilities safely."
"And we need to teach you quickly," Twyla added, glancing toward the windows where afternoon shadows were already growing long. "Because every day we wait is another day forthe vampires to regroup, for the shadow entities to probe our weakening defenses, for whatever ancient evil is orchestrating these attacks to complete its plans."
As Moira sat surrounded by protective barriers of her own creation, grounded by Lucien's steady presence and supported by women who understood the magical legacy she'd inherited, she felt the pieces of her new identity finally clicking into place.
She wasn't just Moira Marsh the archivist anymore. She wasn't even just a Shadowheart witch discovering her heritage. She was becoming the guardian Hollow Oak needed, the protector her ancestors had sacrificed themselves to prepare for, the woman strong enough to choose love over fear and partnership over isolation.
The training would be intense, the risks enormous, and the timeline impossibly short. But looking into Lucien's dark green eyes and feeling the steady pulse of magic that connected them, Moira knew she was ready to accept whatever destiny awaited them.
Together, they would either save Hollow Oak or die trying. And that felt like a choice she could live with.
23
LUCIEN
The vampire probes had begun at dusk, subtle tests of Hollow Oak's defensive perimeter that would have been invisible to anyone without enhanced supernatural senses. Lucien crouched at the eastern lookout point, his panther's night vision tracking movement in the forest below while his human mind analyzed tactical patterns that made his blood run cold.
"They're methodical," Callum observed, settling beside him with the silent grace of a predator born. "Testing response times, mapping weak points, cataloging our defensive assets."
"Professional hunters," Lucien agreed, watching a shadow detach itself from a cluster of trees only to melt back into darkness when one of their patrol units approached. "Viktor wasn't exaggerating about their resources."
"How's the protective grid holding up?"
Lucien consulted the communication device that linked him to patrol teams stationed around Hollow Oak's perimeter. "Maeve reports three attempted incursions on the southern border, all repelled. Emmett's team has had similar activity onthe western approaches. But they're not trying to break through yet."
