I brought a hand to my head as my arm reached out to the floor to steady myself. Another wave of fatigue filled me.

In a heartbeat, the hunter’s hands were wrapped around my shoulders, holding me. “Tala? Are you okay?” That husky tone still filled his words, and I knew he was reeling too.

I nodded, and with each breath I took, some of the dizziness abated. “It’s always like that with my forbidden power. It’s so much, and it’s so strong. Every time I use it, it tires me.” Of course, I didn’t mention the other part. The bit about feeling him being too overwhelming.

I felt him studying me, but I looked down. That was a mistake since my gaze landed on his crotch. The hunter was tenting big time. A huge erection strained against his loose pants.

I squeezed my eyes shut and concentrated on breathing deeply and bringing myself back to the present. But my core still clenched with hunger. And it wasn’t hunger for food.

Slowly, the swirling sensation of the room began to fade, and that pulsing and aching desire for the hunter lessened to something I could manage. I just thanked the gods I hadn’t done anything stupid, because training with the hunter was even worse than I’d thought it would be. I’d been worried about battling and sparring, but that would be infinitely easier to deal with than what I’d just experienced.

“I think that’s enough for today,” I said.

“Did you sense what I did? Did you feel that cavern?”

I nodded. “I think I did, a little.” I finally lifted my gaze to his. Raging amber eyes met mine. He was looking at me so intensely—heat running rampant through his irises like a raging inferno. I concentrated on the point of this training session so I wouldn’t get lost in his fire. “Do you really think that was my new power? Do you think it resides beside my forbidden one?”

“It’s possible. It was the only thing I sensed that felt untouched in you.”

I shivered, unable to help it. Even though the hunter had kept his word and hadn’t touched me physically until just now, it had felt as if he’d been touching all of me throughout that entire session.

I’d never allowed somebody else’s magic to join with mine before. I didn’t even know something like that was possible. My witch magic certainly didn’t allow it, but my forbidden power? Apparently, that one did, and the hunter had sensed it and had the foresight to try it.

“How did you know that connecting with me could help?”

He shrugged and finally let go of me. I instantly missed the feel of him, but I refused to let myself acknowledge that. “When you used it on me in the club, I felt a connection to you. But in the heat of that moment, I obviously didn’t explore it. However, it was enough for me to realize that you and I were fused. And I’ve been curious to try that again.”

“So it was a hunch that you could find my new power? Or were you just wanting to cop a feel of my magic?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

He chuckled but then his voice dipped again, and damn, the hunter’s erection was still fully apparent through his loose pants. “I won’t lie, feeling you fused with me is incredibly arousing, but that wasn’t why I wanted to try this today. You have to remember, I’m a hunter. I seek things that are lost. I think connecting my magic with yours is the key to helping you find it and learn how to access it.”

My eyes widened. “You mean, we’ll be doing this again?”

“If you let me. Until you learn where this power is and know how to access it, you won’t be able to use it. I think the first step is helping you identify where it is. Once you have a firm grasp on that, you can begin playing with it.”

“Playing with it how?”

“By using me. You can draw on my magic, suck it away from me, play with it, until you learn how to control your new magic better.”

“You want me to play with you?”

He grinned devilishly. “It’s almost as if that statement has a double meaning.”

“Such a pervert.” But I couldn’t stop my smile.

“In all seriousness, yes, I want you to play with your new magic by using me, and you’re welcome to use me in whatever way you please.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks, but just as quickly so did a huge dose of reality. “But this new magic has killed other supernaturals. It’s sucked the life and magic from them to the point of death.”

“True.”

“But what if I—” I shook my head rapidly. “What if I hurt you? Or kill you?”

He gave me a soft, seductive smile. “Well, colantha, we’ll have to hope it doesn’t come to that.”

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Chapter 20

Somehow, I managed to stand from the mat without touching him while he conjured his portal. It was hard to believe that it was already evening. The day had slipped away so fast.

“Ready?” The hunter held out his hand while his portal swirled behind him.

I took it, and seconds later, we were in the woods just outside his cabin.

Night had fallen, the trees dark and bare, as the portal disappeared into a swirling gold void. I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering.

The Fire Wolf took a step closer, his large build predatory and silent. “I’m going to touch base with the pack members guarding you. Go on in and get warmed up. I’ll be inside in a minute.”

He disappeared in a blur through the trees, and I thanked the gods that I had a minute alone. After that training session, I needed it.

Doing a one-eighty, I trudged toward the cabin, but while my body felt okay, my mind was another matter. I was mentally fatigued. What I needed was another good night’s sleep without dreams or early wake-up calls.

I reached the porch steps and began to climb them when something tugged inside me. My gaze snagged upward, toward the shining waxing crescent moon. It gleamed brightly in the sky, like a curved pearly-white petal.

Lips parting, my feet moved hesitantly and then before I knew what I was doing, I was retreating back down the steps toward the forest’s edge.

The tug continued to draw me, pulling me toward the moon’s snowy light. The trees thinned, the meadow appearing. I stumbled into it, my eyes never leaving the moon.

It was incredibly alluring, shockingly beautiful, and so—

“Tala?” The hunter’s sharp call snapped me upright.

I swung around to find him standing right behind me, his eyes shining amber in the moonlight. “Why are you out here? You’re supposed to be inside.”

His question cut through the fog in my mind, and with a shake of my head, I realized what I’d been doing. Following the moon? Really, Tala? You need to get some rest.

“I don’t know,” I said sheepishly. “Sorry.”

A frown wrinkled his forehead, a groove appearing between his eyes. His nostrils flared, and he took a step closer to me. He inhaled, his frown deepening before he shook his head. “Come on. Let’s get inside.”

He held out his hand to guide me, but I strode forward without accepting it.

When we reached the cabin, I climbed the steps in a hurry and didn’t slow even when I crossed the threshold. “It’s late. I’m tired, and I’m—”

“You have to be hungry. I’ll make us something to eat.” He strode into the kitchen, and even though my gaze automatically drifted to the broadness of his shoulders and sexy roll of his hips, I forced my attention to the vaulted ceiling before fleeing up the stairs.

The sound of banging pots and pans came from below as I darted into the master bedroom. I paced a few times, my insides flapping like a caged bird since nighttime had come, which meant that my bargain with the hunter was just around the corner.

With clumsy movements, I went to my purse, needing to speak with Prish or Tessa and wanting to know if they were okay and how they were doing.