Lanie


    | grinned at my grandfather. “Bring it on, old man!”


    Mchi winced. “For the sun’s sake, Lanie. Please try to address me with a bit of decorum.”


    “Oh, Ancient one,” | teased. “Is that better?”


    “Marginally,” Mchi said.


    | was feeling good about putting my body to the test and passing it. My muscles that had been aching were sore but in a good


    way now. | was pumped up.’


    Energized. | felt like | could probably run up the walls and across the ceiling if | tried hard enough. | felt like | could fly.


    “Calm down first,” Mchi added as | bounced back and forth on the balls of my feet. “You''re so easily


    distracted.”


    Greyson chuckled, earning him a sharp look from Mchi. Charlotte frowned at him, too, shaking her head, but then her lips


    curled into a small smile. She took his hand and squeezed it. | could tell they were speaking to each other through a mind link.


    The love that shone out of their eyes for each other was so


    beautiful, it almost moved me to tears.


    “Your emotions are out of control,” my grandfather cut into my thoughts. “By the Goddess, | can


    practically smell them. Wipe those sappy tears away, granddaughter. Focus. If you don’t get yourself under


    control, you''re going to hurt yourself. Or worse, one of us.”


    “| didn’t think I''d be able to hurt you,” | said, but | did as hemanded and dashed away my tears of happiness for my friends.


    He was right. My emotions were all over the ce.


    There was no reason for me to be so ovee by them. To my surprise, Braden put an arm around my


    shoulder and pulled me against his hip.


    “Stop guing her, Mchi. Lanie’s emotions are part of what makes her so unique. She can’t just turn


    them off like they’reing out of a faucet,” Braden said calmly. “If she didn’t feel so deeply, she’d never be able to harness her


    gifts.”


    Mchi’s eyebrows went up, but then his eyes narrowed. “Would you like to take responsibility for her if she allows her emotions


    to hamper her progress? What if it causes an ident because she’s too worked up?”


    “Hey, you two. No fighting. Braden, my grandfather has a point. | do need to learn to manage myself. I’m not saying | don’t think |


    should feel,” | corrected hastily when Braden looked like he was going to protest. “But


    he’s right. If | want to learn how to use my hybrid traits, | need to be focused.”


    Mchi shot Braden a smug look. For someone centuries old, my grandfather sometimes acted even


    “Let''s try telekinesis,” Charlotte cut in, bringing my attention back to the tasks at hand. She put a small, weighted ball on a table


    in front of me and stepped back. “Try to move this with your mind.”


    it.”


    “Can you do that?” | asked curiously.


    She shook her head. “No, but it is a talent some vampires have. Mchi has it, so you might.”


    My grandfather demonstrated by lifting the ball and setting it down merely by looking at it. “Now, you try


    | did, but even though | stared hard enough to make my eyes hurt, the ball didn’t budge. | frowned.


    “What''s the trick?”


    “There is no trick. You can either do it or you can’t,”


    Charlotte said. “Looks like you can’t.”


    That was a disappointment, but there were many other tests | had to do. My earlier confidence and good feeling from mastering


    the fast run was fading quickly as | was unable to do anything else my grandfather or Charlotte asked me to do. | wanted to cry


    again, but this time the tears weren''t happy.


    Charlotte hugged me. “Don’t worry about it, Lanie.


    Think of it this way. The more we eliminate, the more opportunities you''ll have to focus on what you can do, without everything


    else clouding it.”


    “Enough of this sappy nonsense,” Mchi said, snapping his fingers. “Let''s test your mind reading.”


    | tried Greyson first, but although | could tell


    anything from him. Braden, on the other hand...


    e was thinking hard to give me a good chance, | couldn’t get


    “| can’t...quite...tell what you''re thinking,” | said slowly as | concentrated. “It’s more like I’m getting shes of your feelings.”


    Charlotte nodded. “That makes sense. As your grandfather pointed out before, your own emotions are running high. You''re


    connected to feelings, especially deep ones.”


    “If you can’t discern Braden’s thoughts, then describe his feelings,” Mchi demanded.N?velDrama.Org exclusive content.


    | did my best to create that shift in my mind again.


    That opening door. But when | looked at Braden’s face, something became so clear to me | didn’t have to read his mind to guess


    what he was thinking.


    He didn’t want me to share his feelings with anyone in this room, and especially not with my grandfather.