Page 29 of Betrayed Alpha Mate

I need to detach from how I feel about Sean, remove myself from the hatred that’s been festering in my heart for the past five years. It can’t be so bad, can it?

After all, I was able to stick around in the black ops squad while he was there and act as if his existence didn’t affect me. Now, it’s no different. Not even with the lunar binding spell active.

I can do this. I can let his presence serve me rather than despise him for breathing near me. It’s not like it’s his fault that my magic is tied to him now. And there’s something I’m ready to test, a theory about my powers being most active when we make physical contact.

Perhaps I need to prove to myself that I can be fully detached before I resume training, and that’s why I walk out of the bedroom, still in my nightgown, and head to the kitchen to catch him before he leaves.

I know he’s avoiding me after what happened the other day, but being around each other is bigger than the past hanging between us.

“Hey…” I greet him calmly as I step into the kitchen, finding him zipping up his lunch bag to take with him to the office.

He looks up and greets me first with wary eyes, a frown flitting across his brows as if he’s gauging a life-or-death situation. “H-hey.”

I walk further into the kitchen with cautious steps on my bare feet, approaching him carefully as he watches me skeptically. The air between us is thick with tension, with words unspoken, and I know I have to rip the band-aid off.

“I’m resuming my training tomorrow,” I say matter-of-factly. “Will you be here?”

“If you need me to be here, I will be,” he responds, straightening up with his hands braced flat on the marble surface.

My eyes flicker to his arms, and I notice the prominent veins mapping thick muscles, internally whimpering and biting my bottom lip. But then Delilah’s voice rings out to remind me to detach, and I shake off the heinous, intrusive thought before it consumes me like it did in the past.

Lifting my eyes to his face doesn’t help much when the sun catches his sculpted features in a way that makes his hardened expression one to die for. But it only gives me more determination to be detached from my personal feelings.

This is a test of will, and I have to pass if I have any hope of fulfilling my destiny as a witch.

“I think it’s imperative that you are here,” I confirm with a stiff nod. “I’ve made peace with the fact that my powers are tied to you. But, even now, I don’t know if I can use them fully…” I murmur, dropping my gaze.

I can feel Sean’s eyes boring into me as he stares at my face. “So, what do you need me to do? Just say the word, and I’ll do whatever. Not because of the bond, not because of anything, but wanting to do what’s needed to put an end to Grimes.”

I lift my head to find his stare cool and collected, honorable, as if we’re back in black ops and he’s reporting for duty or bringing an update about a mission.

Detach, Emily.

Detach.

“I need you to be very still,” I say before I can think twice about the strange request. “There’s a theory I want to test.”

“Right now?” he asks, and I nod briskly.

Sean straightens up and removes his hands from the island counter, turning to the side even as a faint frown remains furrowing his brows.

“Don’t move,” I whisper, mentally battling the part of me that wants to recall a moment in time when doing this wasn’t from a place of detachment. It takes every ounce of inner strength to remain detached, even as I move closer, not wanting to be a coward about this.

“This isn’t personal. I just need to know how these powers work…I need to know what triggers it,” I murmur as I reach out, hiding my eyes as I lower them, not wanting to be exposed in front of the one man I despise. Sean remains still through this, silent, barely breathing as I do what I need to do.

Tentatively placing a hand on his arm, my breath catches when I feel his muscles flex beneath my palm.

Detach, Emily, I remind myself, closing my eyes and focusing on the sensations that spark from the touch.

Beneath his warm, tight flesh comes a burst of energy that flows into my palm, alive, awake, as if the energy has a life of its own. I concentrate on that feeling as it surges through me, my eyes flying open when I feel it in my free palm.

A gasp escapes my lips when I lift that palm up to inspect it, fine gold threads of magic now visible across my flesh and intertwining with my fingers.

“Oh, my…” I gasp out again and look up at Sean, half-expectantly, partly surprised that I’m feeling so powerful through physical touch.

“Wow…” he breathes in awe, eyes wide and fascinated as he stares at my palm glowing with magic. “It’s working…”

“Yeah,” I say, curling and uncurling my fingers, feeling how the motion moves the magic, as if I’m in control of it now. Absentmindedly, the hand that’s on his arm drifts upward, and I’m too focused on the heightened tingling sensation in my palms to notice until I’m met with the brick wall of his chest.