Page 179 of The Delta's Rogue
I bite my lip and wring my hands in front of me as I glance at Sebastian, seeking his approval and permission. “What do you think I should do?”
“It’s your lycan, your body. You don’t need my permission,” he replies. “If you want them to try, then go for it.”
“I want to try,” I whisper. He nods towards the others, and I raise my voice as I turn my focus to them. “I want to try,” I repeat.
“Should we move off Peter’s deck?” Reid asks. “So we don’t break anything?”
Sebastian scoffs. “She’s a lycan, not a bomb, dickhead.”
“He’s got a point, though,” I point out. “If it works, it could be similar to a forced shift. My lycan may be volatile or unruly. If we’re near the trees, I won’t damage Peter’s house, and Reid and Nolan will be able to get Cassandra and Taryn away from me faster.”
They all follow me as I cross to the stairs leading off the deck. I dart down them, with Sebastian close behind. We continue walking until we’re halfway between the edge of the deck and the start of the treeline.
Taryn hovers her hands near my body and locks eyes with me. “I have to touch you to use my ability,” she says. “Is that okay?”
Gratitude swells within me at her question, at her understanding and awareness of my trauma and what may trigger me.
I nod, and she rests one hand above my heart and the other on my forearm. Sebastian grips my shoulders, his chest brushing my back as he hovers protectively behind me.
Reid wraps his arms around Taryn. As he holds her, a shimmering golden glow—filled with serenity and tenderness—glides into my veins and my soul. The glow drifts through my body and swirls around and within me, drowning out the darkness and drawing forth happiness and light. It warms me like the sun shining in a blossoming spring garden or a mug of hot chocolate next to a crackling fire.
It’s joy, life, and love all at the same time.
“Do you feel her aura?” Sebastian asks Cassandra.
“No.” She frowns. “Release your aura,” she tells him. “All of it. I’m going to amplify yours. Maybe if yours calls to hers, it will draw hers forward more.”
The full force of Sebastian’s aura wraps around me and surges outward. I fight against the primal, sensual desires it awakens. This is not the time to give in to those urges, as much as I want to. Instead, I let the aura soothe me into a sense of peace and safety. I let it comfort me the way his arms do when he holds me. I let it be my safe space, my harbor, my calm in the storm.
His grip on me tightens, and his chest vibrates with a growl. Not a threatening or an angry growl, but one of dominance and possessiveness. It’s a growl meant for my lycan, to communicate to her that he will help her, protect her, and guide her.
The pulses increase in intensity and frequency. The power emanating from him is potent enough to drown in. I crave the promises it teases me with—promises of a combined force stronger than anyone before us. We could have whatever we want, take whatever we want, and be whatever we want.
It’s tempting and addicting.
Sebastian’s aura swells and prowls around me while Taryn’s healing light sweeps and swirls within me. Prickles of awareness dance at the tips of my fingers and the recesses of my mind, but there’s nothing more than that. There’s no surge of energy, no rippling ofmy muscles to indicate my lycan initiating a shift, and no tingles or fireworks from the mate bond.
“Stop.” I jerk away from Taryn’s touch and out of Sebastian’s embrace, immediately cold from the loss of her healing glow and Sebastian’s body heat. “Nothing is happening.”
“I can’t even find your aura.” Cassandra sighs, her expression and voice filled with remorse. “I’m sorry.”
“At least we know it won’t work.” I tighten the elastics at the base of my braids as I stare out at the mountains to avoid eye contact with any of them.
“Don’t give up,” Taryn encourages me. “Keep fighting and keep training. Don’t let them win.”
Tears line my eyelids as I give her a half-smile. Reid takes her hand and Nolan takes Cassandra’s, and they lead them back inside the house.
Sebastian’s prominent aura, darker and stronger than ever, presses in on me. My neck rolls as it caresses my spine—an intangible representation of the tempting touches of his fingertips. The darkness within him swirls like heavy smoke, intoxicating and hypnotizing me with its dance.
“Is this why you were so afraid to be an alpha?” I ask over my shoulder, trying to ignore the desires he awakens within me. “Because of this…darkness in your aura?”
His eyes simmer with the power he exudes and with a dark, vengeful oath. “Does it scare you?”
I meander to him, crossing my legs slightly as I walk and clasping my hands behind my back. I stop when I’m beneath him and stare up at him through my eyelashes.
“No. I’ve always known what you’re capable of. I watched you snap Lou’s neck without blinking, and I know you would have killed Lennox if Wesley let you.”
His fingers curl around my hips, and he lowers his face towards mine.
