17. MAVERICK

17

MAVERICK

The days bleed together—quiet, predictable, and laced with a tension we’re all trying to ignore. It’s not the sharp, suffocating kind of tension we’re used to. Not yet, anyway. It’s the quiet before the storm. The pause where we’re all holding our breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I should be thankful for it. For the stillness. The absence of chaos.

But all it takes is one distraction for everything to unravel.

“ Focus, Maverick!” Ilara’s sharp voice snaps through my concentration, jolting me back to the present.

My magic, which had been humming at my fingertips, flickers and sputters out like a candle in a storm. I scowl, dropping my hands and turning toward her. She stands a few feet away, arms crossed, a brow arched in disapproval.

“You want me to focus when that’s happening?” I snap, jerking my chin toward the back window of the pack house.

Ilara doesn’t even turn to look. “You’ve been distracted every time we train, Maverick. You don’t have the luxury of ignoring your magic anymore.”

Her words sting even if I know she’s right.

I glance back out the window, unable to help myself. From here, I can see Nepheline just beyond the clearing, standing with Victoria near the edge of the crystal forest. The trees shimmer faintly in the light, the branches casting pale shadows across the ground.

Nepheline’s posture is rigid, her head tilted slightly as Victoria says something I can’t hear. Lawrence and Darius hover nearby, just close enough to intervene if something goes wrong, though they seem to have settled into an easy rhythm.

And then I see it.

Her nose scrunches up, the way it always does when someone says something that annoys her. It’s adorable and it makes my chest ache in ways I don’t have words for. But before I can even think about smiling, Nepheline’s expression shifts, her lips curling into a snarl that echoes through the clearing.

I stiffen immediately, every instinct in me screaming to go to her.

Ilara lets out an exasperated sigh. “Again? Focus, Maverick!”

I tear my gaze away from the window, though it takes every ounce of willpower I have. “It’s hard to focus when my mate’s about to rip someone’s head off,” I mutter.

“Your mate is fine ,” Ilara replies coolly, though there’s a faint smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. “You think Victoria doesn’t know how to handle her? Besides, both of their Betas are with them.”

I huff out a breath, but Ilara’s right. If anything, Victoria has proven she knows exactly how to keep Nepheline on edge—enough to push her but never enough to break her. I’ve watched it happen every morning for the past week.

Nepheline stands with Victoria for hours, honing her control, learning to use the power flowing through her. It’s incredible to see how much she’s grown. She’s steadier, more confident, but still… she’s Nepheline. My fiery, stubborn mate who grumbles under her breath and stomps away when she’s had enough.

And then she comes straight to me.

My lips twitch at the thought. Nepheline has always been affectionate, but lately, it’s something more. She’s clingy in a way that doesn’t bother me—if anything, I live for it. The way she stomps into the house, finds me wherever I am, and demands cuddles with all the authority of a Luna who knows her mate can’t say no.

There’s not much sex. It’s not even about that. She just wants to be close, to feel safe, and I’m more than happy to give her that.

“Do you want to keep staring out the window, or do you want to keep your magic from blowing up in someone’s face?” Ilara interrupts, pulling me back into the moment.

I shoot her a glare. “I’m not blowing anything up.”

“Not yet,” she replies flatly. “Which is why you need to get it under control now.”

I grumble something under my breath but step back into position. Ilara narrows her eyes at me, clearly unimpressed.

“You’ve been walking around like a ticking bomb for weeks now,” she says, her voice softer but no less sharp. “Magic isn’t something you can keep ignoring, Maverick. It will demand your attention one way or another.”

I know she’s right. I feel it, deep in my bones. The magic isn’t just a part of me anymore—it’s a presence. It hums beneath my skin like it’s alive, waiting for me to lose focus, to let it spill out of me in ways I won’t be able to take back. I haven’t passed out in a while with a vision so heavy that it takes over my body but it’s only a matter of time. I run a hand through my hair, trying to shake off the frustration building in my chest. “It’s just—”

A familiar sound outside cuts me off.

The back door slams, followed by the unmistakable sound of stomping feet.

I don’t even have to look to know it’s her.

Nepheline storms into the kitchen, her hair slightly windswept, her cheeks flushed with frustration. Her magic clings to her like a second skin, crackling faintly in the air as she locks her fiery hazel eyes on me.

“I’m done ,” she declares, her tone firm as she marches toward me. “Victoria is the most infuriating person I’ve ever met, and if I have to listen to her voice for one more second, I’m going to scream.”

I don’t fight the grin that tugs at my lips as she stops in front of me, her arms crossing over her chest. “I thought you were learning to control your magic,” I tease.

She glares at me, but there’s no real heat behind it. “I’m learning. I just hate her voice.”

I chuckle softly, opening my arms, and Nepheline immediately steps into them, her body melting against mine. She presses her face into my chest with a little sigh and I wrap my arms around her, holding her close. Ilara mutters something under her breath, but I don’t pay her any attention. Nepheline’s here now, in my arms, and nothing else matters.

“You’re clingy today,” I murmur, brushing my lips against the top of her head.

“I’ll stop when you complain,” she mutters back, her voice muffled against my shirt.

“Never.”

As I hold her, the faint crackle of her power wraps around me, familiar and strange all at once. Her magic is evolving, changing her, and I know we’re not even close to understanding what she’s becoming. Nepheline doesn’t stay long, gathering up the courage to march right back outside and continue working with Victoria.

“Now,” Ilara cuts through the silence. “Tell me what’s really going on. It has nothing to do with the fact that you aren’t picking up new skills.”

A heavy sigh falls from my lips as I finally let myself take a break. Sleep hasn’t been my friend for weeks now. Every time I close my eyes, it’s the same—visions that flicker like broken film reels, pieces of something I can’t make sense of.

Dark. Gloomy. No end in sight.

I keep telling myself there has to be a light, that it’s there somewhere, just beyond the edges of what I can see. But every time I try to look closer, to grasp at something hopeful, it slips through my fingers like smoke. The frustration digs into me. It’s worse than the sleeplessness. Worse than the tension I’ve been carrying since the Sapphire wolves arrived. And if I’m being honest, it’s not even really about them.

But Ilara—

Ilara snaps her fingers in front of my face, jolting me out of my thoughts. “I need to know what’s going on. Why won’t you train your magic? As a seer, my visions can be painful but as an Oraculum, your visions could kill you. The magic, the power you wield wasn’t meant to be kept inside of you.”

I scowl, turning away from her. “It’s burning me,” I admit. “From the inside out. It’s too much, Ilara.”

I’ve kept it to myself for too long, the way the magic curls under my skin like wildfire, licking at my nerves until I can barely think. My visions have always been sporadic, unpredictable, but now they’re constant . Nothing that makes sense—just flashes of nonsense that I fail to interpret. And the magic? The magic feels alive, like it’s clawing its way out of me whether I want it to or not.

Ilara crosses her arms, her lips pressing into a thin line. “And yet, you’re still holding on to it.”

“What do you want me to do? Let it go?” I snap, the edge in my voice sharper than I intend. “You keep telling me to ‘relax,’ but you don’t understand. If I let this go, if I lose control—”

“It will be disastrous,” Ilara interrupts. “Yes, I know. You’ve told me that a dozen times.”

“Because it’s true,” I growl, my hands curling into fists. I feel the hum of the magic now, sparking just beneath my skin and I shove it back down before it can spill out. “You want me to relax, but I can’t . This isn’t like Nepheline’s magic. It’s not just power—it’s visions. Things I can’t stop seeing. And none of it is good, Ilara. Not one damn thing.”

I don’t realize I’ve raised my voice until she takes a step back, her gaze softening slightly.

“What do you see?” she asks, quieter now.

I shake my head, staring at the counter instead of her. “It doesn’t matter. It’s all shadows. Ruin. War. Nothing that can help us prepare but I don’t see a way out of it.”

Ilara sighs, the sound heavy, and steps forward again. “That’s because you’re clinging to the magic like it’s a curse instead of letting it show you what it’s meant to.”

I let out a bitter laugh, dragging a hand through my hair. “ Let it show me ? You don’t get it. It’s not something I can just… let flow. If I let it go, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t even know what I am anymore.”

Ilara doesn’t respond right away. She just watches me, her gaze too steady, too unyielding. Finally, she exhales, the sound almost disappointed. “I can’t train you if you won’t trust me or yourself. You’re fighting the magic instead of working with it and it’s eating you alive because of it.”

Ilara leaves me with those words, my stubbornness making all of this worse. Everyone else has a position, a place while I flounder and try to figure out where I fit in. Before all this began, I was just helping Nepheline find her pack. And then I became her Alpha but that’s all it was supposed to be. Now, I’m an Oraculum with so much magic it’s eating me alive.

I head into the living room, letting my feet guide me, intent on spending the morning on the couch as my thoughts run wild. By the time I push open the door to Asani’s clinic, I’m not even sure how I got here. Through blurry vision, I see Remi sprawled across the lounge in the corner, his legs kicked up over the armrest, a soft hum escaping his lips as he flips lazily through a book. His head pops up the second he hears me stumble, his carefree grin falling away.

“Maverick?”

I don’t answer. I can’t. My knees buckle, and before I hit the floor, strong arms catch me, steadying me. “Asani,” I mumble, my voice slurred, the sound of his name barely recognizable even to me.

“I’ve got you,” he says, laced with something I can’t place—panic, maybe. He lowers me gently, my body sagging against him as blood drips from my nose. I feel it, trickling down my upper lip and over my chin.

“Too… hot,” I whisper, though my body shivers violently. My skin burns while ice creeps through my veins, the clash of sensations leaving me reeling.

Asani’s hand presses against my forehead, his other arm wrapping around me as if he’s trying to hold me together. “Shit. You’re burning up. Remi, grab a cloth—now!”

The sound of Remi scrambling is faint, far away, as my vision flickers in and out. The magic won’t stop. It’s everywhere—under my skin, in my bones, in my damn teeth. I can’t breathe. Can’t think.

I let go.

And then everything goes dark.

I wake up to warmth and the faint feeling of fingers brushing through my hair. “Finally,” a voice breathes out softly—Remi. There’s panic in his tone and I blink slowly, trying to make sense of the room around me. The lights are dim, but it’s enough to make me wince.

I shift slightly and that’s when I realize I’m in someone’s arms. My body is curled against Asani’s chest, his scent anchoring me, steadying the magic that still pulses faintly inside me like a low flame. “Welcome back,” Asani murmurs, looking down at me with a mix of relief and exasperation. “You’re lucky I was here.”

I blink again, groaning as I try to sit up. My muscles ache, but Asani doesn’t let me go far, his arms firm as he keeps me steady. “What… happened?” I rasp, my throat dry.

Remi moves closer, his brows knitted together with worry. “You scared the hell out of us, that’s what happened,” he says, his usual playfulness gone. “You passed out, Maverick. Your nose wouldn’t stop bleeding.”

My gaze falls to the floor, several bloody towels and tissues littered across the wood. A trashcan nearby is full of red cloth as well. Asani cuts in before I can say anything. “It’s your magic, isn’t it?” he says quietly. “You’re holding onto it too tightly and it’s breaking you apart.”

I don’t have the energy to argue with him, not now. I press a hand to my temple, the remnants of the headache still lingering. “It’s… different. It doesn’t feel right.”

Asani sighs, his thumb brushing against my jaw. “Because it’s not just magic, Maverick. It’s you.”

He leans forward, pressing a slow, deliberate kiss to my lips, one that steals the breath from my lungs and grounds me more than anything else has. When he pulls back, he holds something in his hand. A single black feather.

I frown, staring at it as he places it carefully in my palm. “What is this?”

“Proof,” Asani says, his voice steady. “It’s not only Nepheline who’s changing.”

It all clicks. The magic returning is bringing back everything. Including an Oraculum who shifts. Victoria mentioned before that it was strange that I didn’t shift—whether into a wolf or something else but the feather proves that the magic isn’t done working. A shuddering breath falls from my lips as I twirl the feather between my fingers.

“I shifted?” I ask in disbelief.

“Not completely. It was more a flurry of magic than anything but you have a beast and I suspect it’s why the magic feels so heavy. Because you’re keeping your beast at bay. It’s not a dangerous thing, Maverick. Having that other half is natural, a second skin of sorts and I can’t wait to see yours. I bet you’re gorgeous, shimmering black feathers. I wonder if you’ll be big like our wolf or be able to sit on our Omega’s shoulder as she commands the pack.”

I snort, feeling some relief as I relax in Asani’s arms. I think his words are what I needed—words that made me remember that this pack is going to love me regardless of what I am.

Remi grins at my side, softly patting my arm. “No more trying to contain it. I’ve seen more blood today than I have in weeks. Besides, what the fuck would have happened if Nepheline had seen this? Just… let it happen, Maverick. Please .”

I nod, my eyes fluttering close as I take a few minutes to myself.