Page 205 of Star Claimed Omega
She blinked at him. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I can alter your aura and remove the shifter frequency and your transformation link. Poof. Gone forever.’
She stopped cold. ‘You can do that?’
Zev nodded, sliding his hands back into his hooded jacket.
‘It’s part of what I do besides playing the clown for the others. I modify aura alignments. I can also mask or reveal someone’s true lycanthropic levels, purge curses, and clean up soul fractures. Whatever’s needed.’
She stared at him. ‘But lycanthropy cancels psionics, which Xander displays.’
‘That’s limited to Earth-bound lycans,’ he said, shrugging. ‘It doesn’t apply to us. Our potency is not from the planet we left behind. We’re spectral wolves, alien and ancient. Their rules don’t bind us the same way.’
She was quiet for a beat, absorbing his words.
‘So if I wanted,’ she murmured, ‘I could erase this part of myself.’
‘You could,’ he confirmed. ‘I won’t ever do it without your consent, and it’s not reversible. Once it’s gone, it’s lost forever.’
She walked a few steps ahead, the wind catching her hair, and for a moment, she let herself imagine it.
‘Nada,’ she said, turning back to Zev. ‘Sante, but no. I think I’ll take it day by day. I’m learning to choose how I transform into my lycan form. Never again to attack, only to defend, like I did with an old lady on Cybele.’
Zev’s smile deepened, a flicker of approval shining in his eyes. ‘We’re on the same wavelength within the pack,’ he said. ‘None of us shift for domination unless we have to. Most of the time, it is for defense and protection. That’s what makes us Signet. That’s what lends our lycan form nobility.’
She glanced at him, surprised by the gravity of his tone. ‘You’re not just the joker of the group.’
Zev chuckled. ‘Don’t ruin my reputation. I’ve worked many years on my persona.’
She tilted her head and studied him. ‘You’re saying that you’ve crafted a mask so that most overlook the deeper complexity beneath your smirking exterior.’
‘I let people underestimate me so they never know what I’m capable of, which isfokkin’up their shit.’
She laughed, the sound light and real.
They rounded a bend in the path, the lake glittering beside them, the sky widening overhead. She tucked her hair behind one ear and exhaled.
‘I appreciate your time, Zev.’
He glanced at her and jerked his chin, his eyes warm with kindness. ‘Anytime, Red.’
‘Is that what you’re calling me now?’ she chided with a smile.
He laughed. ‘Suits ya.’
With a laugh, they walked on, the wind whipped leaves into the air, whispering secrets to the emerald trees lining the lagoon.
Later that day, Soleil pushed the heavy maintenance door open with her hip, expertly balancing a large, foil-covered tray.
The air in the tiny office was scented with cleaning solvents and fresh-brewed coffee, and was thick with the rhythmic, dull clicking of data pad keys.
‘Surprise, bitches,’ she announced, her voice pitched to cut through the noise.
Astra, Zima, and Wren looked up simultaneously.
A stunned silence lasted precisely half a second before all three scrambled out of their chairs, launching toward her.
Astra, her wild hair flying, got there first, pulling her into a crushing hug that nearly dislodged the pastry tray.
