He shifted his gaze to his fingers. He’d sprouted fur again. His palm was directly over her heart and the electricity had returned.
He realized he had killing power in his hand, a very warlock ability, yet he also sensed it was something more.
Focusing on his hand over her heart, he mentally pictured her soul. An image formed in his mind of great beauty, of a different pool surrounded by large boulders but in a dark forest. It was daytime, and a shaft of light poured across the sparkling water.
He was looking at Kiara, at who she was. He saw the beauty of her soul and he felt her capacity for love as though it was as deep as the forest. Maybe it was.
Warren, I’m seeing a grotto in the forest and it’s so beautiful.
You’re seeing the images, too?
She nodded. I am. But what am I looking at?
It’s you.
What do you mean?
You’re seeing a reflection of your soul.
He drew his hand back and the image faded then disappeared. He shook his head, mystified. “I don’t get what’s happening here.”
~ ~ ~
Kiara stood naked in her burrow bathroom, not a foot away from Warren. She was completely overwhelmed by this unexpected miracle. But she agreed with him. She had no idea what was happening, either.
It was all so bizarre.
Healing and killing power.
Storm power.
She didn’t know what to think.
She planted a hand on his chest, between his heavy, muscular pecs. She took great care because of her killing power. Witches, and their male counterparts, possessed an ability to kill vampires with just a touch of their fingers. But they could also do severe damage to other alter species as well.
Warren wasn’t a vampire, yet she could feel how simple it would be to kill him just as he seemed to be experiencing a similar warlock ability to do the same to her.
She lowered her arm and stared at him. She swallowed hard since her mouth had suddenly gone dry. “We could hurt each other so easily. I could take your life and you could end mine.”
“I know.”
“Then you must trust me if you’ve let me touch you like this.”
“I do. Or at least, as much as I’m able to trust any witch.”
“Understood.” Any alter person who’d been burned like Warren would have great reluctance being around people of her kind.
Water pooled at the ends of her hair near her waist. Droplets ran into her ass-crack. He was equally wet and took a moment to shove the weight of his long, damp hair over his shoulder.
How strange it was to be here with Warren, the way she’d always wanted to be with him. Yet it was so much more than she could have imagined. The pool-and-forest image, so similar to what she’d built in her burrow, resonated within her body.
She pressed her hand harder against his chest, but held back her killing power. She wanted to see his soul, the way he’d seen hers. “How did you do it? Looking into my soul, I mean?”
He frowned. “I’m not sure. I felt this call inside me. I focused on your soul. That’s all.”
Kiara closed her eyes. She forgot her surroundings, her wet hair, the proximity of the man she desired. Maybe using intense focus was a wolf thing.
The moment she considered Warren’s wolf abilities, she felt something rise within her, enormous and centered. Yes, very wolf.