United. (Book 5 of the Lupus Antiqua Series)
The Ripple

"Again." Kani sounded almost bored. Abby couldn't blame her. Abby was growing bored too. She flexed her power and everything in the room lifted several feet into the air. She groaned and let it all drop.

"Damn it!"

"Okay, the problem with powerful witches, is that there is more than enough power there to float and entire building. It's easier to use more than to use less. But when you manage to thread your power so that only what you need comes through, you will have learned to control it." Kani murmured.

"I had perfect control before." Abby sighed. "My power worked exactly how it needed to when I took on the Anguis."

"You said the very words that prove my point. 'Your power worked exactly how it needed to, not how you needed it to. It was in control.

You can't always rely on rage to activate all your ability. That is entirely untenable and extremely dangerous. You need to be able to control it so that you are in charge at all times.

Now, again. Think of it like threading a needle. Only release enough of your power to float the brown objects in the room." Kani murmured.

Abby looked around the warded training room in dismay. There were various random things tossed all through the room. Toys, clothes, weapons, books, action figures, just normal mundane items.

There were seven brown items out of the whole mass of things that were scattered around, and the goal was to make only those brown items float. So far, she'd only been able to float every item, and Kani too, at one point.

Abby closed her eyes, visualizing her power as a giant ball of thread and the amount necessary threading through the eye of a needle.

When she felt like she had it, she released only what she'd threaded. Several minutes went by in silence before she dared to open her eyes.

All the brown items were floating. Abby grinned, relief rushing through her, and at the break in her focus all the items dropped. But she didn't care. She'd done it!

"Good." Kani said. "Now this time, do it with your eyes open."

"Why aren't we practicing my Imperium abilities too?" She wondered, concentrating and getting the brown items to float again.

"You've already mastered that. Your Imperium ability, herb lore, basic casting, and summoning are things your Matron actually taught you. So they don't need to be retrained.

But your war witch abilities, your offensive and protective magic have gone ignored. In those things you're no different than the children who come here once their power is identified.

You are picking it up much more quickly than they are, but you are far from ready to face another War Witch in the trials. The trials which, by the way, you will not be allowed to use your Imperium gift for. So do it again." Kani gestured to the brown items.

She was just about to comply when the entire world shook. Or at least, that's what it felt like. A rumble of power that rippled through the entire planet and the unmistakable tingling, cold feeling that fate had been sitting at a crossroads and had suddenly chosen a path.

She gasped and her eyes flew to Kani.

"What the hell?" She asked. Kani's eyes were wide, and full of equal parts fear and determination.

"It's begun." She whispered.

"What's begun?" She asked, resisting the urge to get the answer from Kani's mind.

"That's above your pay grade for now I'm afraid. But it's more important than ever that we get you trained and quickly. I'm very sorry dear, but we no longer have time to do this gently." Her eyes took on a vacant expression, indicating she was speaking mind to mind with someone.

A few seconds later, the temperature plummeted and the walls of the training room fogged up with frost. In a blast of winter air, Loralee; Winter's Fury herself, teleported into the center of the room. Hoarfrost coated the ground at her feet.

She was lovely. Tall, elegant, with a ballerina's body and delicate bone structure. Her hair, from her elegantly arched brows to her thigh length wavy locks was blue/white. Her eyes were an eerie yellow/green and her skin like the most flawless dark chocolate. She was breathtaking, and she radiated more cold than an iceberg.

"Imperium." She stated, voice as cold as the rest of her, though it was also a rich alto that most singers would envy. "You are now my problem." She turned her gaze on Kani. "You will wish to call the sisters, and convene with the council, no doubt." Kani nodded and was gone before Abby could blink.

Loralee took in the room with disdain in her expression and with a wave of her hand the items were gone.

"Enough with the child's play. The time for kindness is gone. By the time I'm done with you, you will either be a War Witch, or you will be dead. There is no in between. There is no second chance. There is no do over. You have ten seconds to prepare yourself."

**

He, and every wolf and Umbra in the training field felt the ripple through the earth. Endymion had paused for a long moment before pushing his new pack back into training. Kyle referred to them as the fur n fang gang, and that was what stuck. He secretly liked the assignation.

He watched as his wolves practiced shifting quickly, something that most of them hadn't managed to be able to do. He was getting ready to wade in amongst them and correct technique, when three scents reached him. One was familiar and unexpected. The other two were entirely unwelcome.

He turned, unable to stop himself and there they were. His brother, his ex mate, and a fellow Lupus Antiqua. One of the triplets. Micah, if he remembered correctly. What in all that was holy were they doing here.

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