Claimed by the Alpha I Hate – Episode 34
Nolan began Daisy’s training at dawn in a private courtyard. The pack council called it supervision. Daisy called it an excuse for him to order her around before breakfast.
“Your power responded to emotion,” he said. “We need to learn whether you can summon it without losing control.”
Daisy held out her hand and concentrated. Nothing happened. The seal remained a locked door she could touch but not open.
Nolan circled her, correcting her stance as if vampire power followed the same rules as combat. His hand settled at her waist, and warmth moved instantly through the mate bond.
A red spark appeared above Daisy’s palm. They both stared at it until surprise broke her focus and the light vanished.
“You did that,” she accused. Nolan lifted an eyebrow.
“I stood near you.” He stepped closer again. “If my presence strengthens the bond, use it.”
Daisy tried once more. This time she focused on the shared dream and the safety she had felt waking beside him. Red light gathered in her palm, brighter and steadier.
It was not hunger. The power felt like another language her body remembered even though her mind had never learned it.
Nolan reached toward the light. Daisy warned him back, afraid it might burn, but he touched her palm without injury.
The spark spread between their hands in fine threads. His wolf responded beneath his skin, not with aggression but recognition.
“Your vampire blood doesn’t cancel the bond,” Nolan said. The discovery mattered to both of them more than the training.
Daisy’s control wavered when his thumb moved across her wrist. The red threads vanished, replaced by desire that required no supernatural explanation.
“This is a terrible training method,” she whispered. Nolan agreed without moving away.
He kissed her slowly, leaving space for refusal. Daisy answered by gripping his shirt and pulling him closer.
The power returned around them, circling their joined hands instead of exploding outward. Affection controlled what fear had unleashed.
When they separated, Daisy saw wonder beneath Nolan’s guarded expression. For once, her difference had created something beautiful rather than shameful.
“Again,” he said. Daisy could not tell whether he meant the power or the kiss.
Elias interrupted from the courtyard entrance with news of another scentless track near the western boundary. The threat outside the mansion had moved closer.
Daisy closed her glowing hand into a fist. Whoever sealed her power expected weakness. She was beginning to discover that the bond they wanted to exploit might be the very thing that restored it.