At first, nothing happened. The only noises in the backyard were the sounds from the street and the wind blowing through the trees as we waited.
After a few minutes Rex made an irritated noise. “Any day, princess,” he grumbled loud enough that Juneau could hear him. I reached over and gave him a whack, mouthing ‘shut up’ at him before turning my attention back to the woman standing in the grass.
Irritation twitched across Juneau’s face and her lips tightened as she clenched her fists.
Suddenly the dim backyard came to life as flames leapt from Juneau’s closed fists, biting into the grass around her feet.
“What the fuck?” Rex yelped as we scrambled backward to avoid the licking flames.
Looking at them, I suddenly understood why Tug and his men had run like a bunch of cowards earlier.
The flames enveloped her body entirely, and instead of screaming with pain, she seemed to stand taller as the fire arced around her. She lifted her hands seemingly to reel it back into herself until she was standing in front of us as if nothing had happened… except for the fact that she had completely burned all of her clothing away from her body.
I’d never let my mind drift into the territory of what Juneau would look like naked, and seeing it now, I knew it would be forever burned into my memory. She was willowy with pale creamy skin and nipples the same color as her pink lips. Her breasts and hips were on the smaller side, but even from a distance I could see her skin pebble from the chilly air.
Her eyes were still closed, and I knew she hadn’t realized that she was naked yet because there was still a small smile on her face.
“Holy shit,” Bat breathed, and his words shattered the moment as Juneau’s eyes flew open and she glanced down at her sudden nakedness.
A gasp left her lips, her hands fluttering up to cover her breasts as she dropped into a crouch to preserve her modesty.
I hurried across the singed grass to her and tugged my shirt over my head.
“Here,” I said as I helped her pull it on. It was huge on her and hung down past the tops of her pale thighs, covering all of her bits from prying eyes.
“I’m so embarrassed,” she murmured, her blue eyes starting to fill with tears. “I didn’t realize that my clothes would burn too.”
“To be fair, we didn’t either.” I was trying to go for fun and light, but her exasperated look had me apologizing. “Sorry, poor timing. Don’t worry so much, June-bug, I don’t think any of the guys are going to hold it against you.” I reached out and gave her head an unsure pat and nearly jumped out of my skin when she pressed her forehead to my shoulder and let out a whooshing sigh.
“Do we have to go over there?” she whispered quietly.
“I’m afraid so,” I whispered back. “But if anyone says anything, I’ll punch them for you, okay?”
She nodded and stood up straight, steeling her expression as we finally turned and rejoined the group. Everyone looked completely shocked except for Podcast. I could feel pride rippled down the bond as he stared at Juneau with a little smirk.
‘She used the fire to protect me,’Podcast signed, his chest puffing out as he reached for her and tugged her hand out of my grasp. Surprise filled me as I watched him possessively tuck Juneau into his side. I hadn’t seen Podcast be territorial over someone. Ever. We were in love with the guy and he didn’t even act like that with us.
“I was wondering what that smell was. I was too busy getting pummeled by Tug to see any flames, so I just figured that the sound of motorcycles spooked them and made them book it,” Storm looked gobsmacked as he spoke. I could already see that he was going to have two nasty black eyes in the morning.
“When did you learn to do that?” I asked, fighting the urge to pull her fingers into mine again. I was worried that Podcast would bite them off if I tried.
“Today? I think?” Juneau answered with a shrug. “Mr. Voice says that I’ve been capable of it ever since I came out of the mirror.”
“The fuck is that supposed to mean?” Bat cut in, finally speaking for the first time since his earlier exclamation about not wanting Juneau to know about our past.
The same glaze-eyed look that she always had when she was speaking to the voice in her head filled her gaze as she listened.
“He says that many people have the spark of magic within them but it sometimes takes being touched by other magic to ‘jump start it like a car,’” she said with a frown. “How do you know what a car is?” she asked the voice, and I found myself thinking the same question.
Her little nose scrunched. “You haven’t been watching me change, right?”
A low growl filled the backyard at that and I realized after a beat that it had come from me. I felt my pack’s eyes on my face, but I ignored them. I don’t know why the fuck I just growled either and I wasn’t about to try and explain myself.
“I don’t like hearing only half of the conversation,” Bat muttered darkly. “Now I know how you guys feel when I talk to myself.”
Storm gave the alpha a playful nudge. “Yeah, but at least we know she’s talking to someone. Last night you were holding a full conversation with your pigeons. I was getting a little worried.”
“That’s because there’s drama between Grace Kelly and Marlon Brando and I was trying to mediate,” Bat replied with an offended sniff.
