Chapter 24: _ Asher

Chapter Twenty Four

Asher

Rolling my eyes, I turned in my chair to find him seated on my other side, leering. “Training.”

“That’s my job. Father Sylvester set it up, remember? You were there when he suggested it.”

I bristled. “That’s not what this is. You’re supposed to help with my wolf, not my control. Not fighting.”

“It’s the same thing. You’d understand that if you could shift. But since you can’t, you’ll have to trust the expert.”

Expert? The gall of this asshole.

“And who’s that?” Cian asked dryly. “You?”

“I’m certainly more of an expert on the topic of who she is. Who she’s meant to be.”

Cian scoffed, his eyes turning an electric shade of blue. “Down boy,” he commanded, right as the chair Devon was sitting on disappeared and he crashed down hard on the library floor. His mouth opened to protest, but no sound came out. “And why don’t you keep quiet while you’re at it?”

The laugh escaped me involuntarily, prompting a withering glare from Devon. “Cian, let him talk. It’s all he has.”

“Are you sure? He’s so much more pleasant to be around like this.”

The commotion had called the attention of other students and the librarian. Soon, we’d be caught, and Cian would likely end up punished because of his abuse of magic. There was no reason both of us needed to be in the doghouse. “Yeah. He’s right anyway. I need to work on both things at the same time. Controlling my anger and my wolf.”

Cian looked at Devon with a severe expression. “That mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble one day. Be thankful she’s here to protect you. I won’t be so tolerant the next time you piss me off.” Then his eyes flared that brilliant azure color once more, and the library was filled with the sound of Devon’s tirade.

Profanity, loud and plentiful, flew from Devon, warranting a strong word of warning from the librarian. Devon gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, his whole body trembling from the effort to restrain himself.

“My goodness, Devon. I thought you had more control in you than that,” I teased. “Maybe you and I should both work with Cian to get better at it.”

Cian’s brows lifted in amusement. “Always happy to help. I’d gladly offer my services to you both. But I should warn you, Devon. I can be a bit of an arsehole. You might not enjoy it.”

“Fuck your services.” Devon turned his focus to me. “Asher, I’ll expect you to join me in the clearing by the lake tonight for our first session. If you don’t show up, I’ll come get you, toss your ass over my shoulder, and cart you out to your lesson. Understood?”

“How ‘bout this,” Cian drawled. “We’ll both be there. And if you have a problem with that, you can air your grievances with my fist in your face.”

Devon’s eyes glowed a deep amber, a feral growl building in his chest. But before he could answer, the librarian approached.

“Whatever . . . this is,” she gestured between us. “Needs to end. Here and now. I don’t care for pissing matches, and certainly not in my library. Take it outside, or you three can visit the headmistress.”

Realizing the only one who could put an end to this was me, I sighed. “Sorry. We’re leaving.”

She glared at us over her half-moon spectacles once more for good measure before adding. “See that you do. With haste.” Then she turned on her heel and stomped off.

“Tonight. Both of you. At the clearing. But for now? Leave me the fuck alone. I’m already in enough trouble as it is.”

****

^Cian^

The tension rolling off Asher was strong enough to set my blood boiling as we stood together in the clearing. There was definitely something going on between her and the shifter, though it was unclear if either of them knew exactly what it was. All I knew was he set her on edge, and it made me want to knock his teeth down his throat.

“So . . . this isn’t awkward at all,” Asher said, looking between us.

I realized Devon and I had been sizing each other up for the better part of the last few minutes, both waiting to see which of us would cave first. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. Instead, I’d teach him exactly who he was dealing with. They didn’t call my father the Warrior of Odin for nothing. And I was every inch my father’s son.

“Here’s how this is going to work,” I said.

“Oh, so you’re in charge now?” Devon snapped.

“Yup.”

“Put your dicks away. I’m in charge here. This is my training session, and I’m the ticking time bomb, so handle with fucking care.”

Asher stepped between us, her anger and frustration palpable as she spoke.

I could feel power crackling through her. A storm about to break. Recalling a technique my brother and I put into practice regularly, I summoned my magic and created a target for Asher . . . using Devon as the dummy. Something about him taking on the form of Asher’s rival seemed fitting. From arsehole to bitch. Appropriate for a wolf.

“Seriously? Her?” Asher stared at the fake Callie I’d conjured, disgust plain on her face.

“Do I threaten you so much you can’t even deal with my likeness?” I made the conjured image of Callie sneer in her voice. Devon pushed back against my magic, clearly not liking the sounds coming from his mouth. Maybe I’d gone too far, but Asher needed to be poked and prodded if we were going to learn anything about her triggers.

“How exactly is this supposed to help her with her wolf?” Devon asked, clearly unimpressed with his new body. You think he’d be thankful I at least gave him use of his own voice.

“The idea is to test her limits. Asher wants to learn control, so we need to push her to her breaking point. The only way to do that in a safe scenario is to make it feel as real as possible. Thus . . . her nemesis.”

“Why do I have to wear the chick suit? You already have the man bun. You wear the tits.”

“Just be thankful I only made you look like her. I could change your voice permanently if I wanted to.”

“Hello, I’m right here, and I can tell you right now, we don’t need to turn Devon into Callie for me to kick his ass. Just say the word, and I’ll have him on the ground in no time,” Asher huffed.

My lips twitched, and I moved to stand behind her, placing one hand on each of her shoulders. “You told me you felt most out of control during your fight with Callie. We’re going to recreate the scenario, and you’re going to harness and use your anger without letting it overtake you.”

Taking a long, slow breath, she nodded. “Okay. Lemme at her.”

Devon growled. “I’m not going to forget this, Mackenzie.”

“Good. Maybe next time you’ll remember who you’re dealing with. Because if you think that is the extent of what I can do, you clearly need to freshen up on your Norse mythology.”

Asher shrugged. “Or watch a Marvel movie.”

This time I was the one who growled. “The number of liberties they took with those fucking movies . . . do not get me started, Asher. Trust me, it’s not remotely the same thing.”

“Aw, does the big bad Viking have issues with Thor and Loki? Give me five minutes alone with Tom Hiddleston and I—”

“Enough,” I grunted. “Get to work.”