Page 16 of Challenged Mate
“None.”
I pressed my lips together. I didn’t have a sibling, but I’d seen Hunter and Stephanie together. Sure, they irritated each other from time to time, but they loved each other and looked out for one another.
That was the type of sibling relationship I was used to seeing—especially among shifters. Family was everything to us. Something major must have happened to drive a wedge between Chase and his brother—something more than Stanley’s obvious arrogance.
I contemplated asking Chase about it but decided against it. It wasn’t my business. Besides, based on the way Chase clenched and unclenched his fists, he wasn’t over the encounter just yet.
“What did Stanley mean when he said he could smell magic in the air? Was he joking, or could he really smell my power?”
Kayla and Chase exchanged a look.
“Oh, well…” Chase rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable.
“You know how you can smell if someone is a shifter?” Kayla jumped in when her cousin failed to continue.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Well, it’s like that with sorcerers and sorceresses, too,” she explained. “Except, not only can we detect the magic, but we can also decipher the magic’s potency.”
“Potency?”
“How strong it is,” she clarified. “At least, the scent allows us to get a general sense of how powerful the magic within the sorcerer or sorceress is. No one can know the extent of another’s abilities until they see them use their magic in person, but scent is usually a pretty good indicator.”
I let the information sink in. “So, are you saying my magic smells… powerful?”
“Oh, yes.” Kayla nodded emphatically. “It’s extremely potent. I could smell it from the driveway while you were still in the apartment.”
I crinkled my nose.
I was used to shifters scenting one another but, for some reason, hearing others could smell my magical power filled me with discomfort.
Probably because it wasn’t something I could do myself.
I looked at Chase. “Did you or Asher smell the magic on me in Montana?”
“Not until after the night you were attacked,” he admitted. “We think the sorcerer’s magic cracked the concealment spells your mother had placed on you.”
Interesting.
“So even though I can’t use my power, others know I have it?”
“You can’t use your power?” Kayla asked, shocked.
At the same moment, I felt a silencing barrier slide into place around us.
“Careful who you say that to, Blair.” Chase glanced around the street. Tension pulled at his shoulders, but they loosened when he realized no one was around.
I looked between the cousins, confusion furrowing my brow. “Why?”
“Stanley isn’t the only pack member eager to elevate their position in our pack,” Kayla explained. “There are plenty of females who would love the opportunity to challenge you.”
I knew the alpha likely had females vying to be his mate, and they wouldn’t be happy with my arrival, but I hadn’t considered that one of them might challenge me for the position…
I can use this to my advantage.
“Are you saying a female can confront me, and if she wins, she becomes the alpha’s mate? That’s fantastic.”
“Fantastic?” Kayla repeated, tilting her head to the side. “You don’t want to mate our alpha?”
