Gradually, he nodded.
Pearl beamed, glancing to Dominic. “Are you in?”
Dominic eyed her, eventually murmuring, “Sure, if you guys can handle it.” His dark gaze caught mine. “You’ll need to leave.”
I stared. “Why?”
“You don’t appreciate being made to do something by force.”
I still stared. “What are you going to make them do?”
“Stand from their chair. Nothing bad.”
Blinking slowly, I muttered dryly, “I think I can handle that.”
“Sure?”
I smirked. “Yeah. I can handle the big, bad wolf.”
He chuckled quietly, kissing my forehead.
“Who wants to go first?” Pearl asked happily.
“I will,” Jack hummed, sitting forward casually. “I won’t do anything too awful, like, drown or freeze you, but you’ll get wet.”
Pushing away the harsh thoughts after he said the word drown — my mom having died that way — I watched as he sucked in a small breath, his brown eyes glowing abruptly. He raised one finger off the table where it rested and I felt a rush of water Elemental power run like an electrical current around the table. His finger dropped sharply. A blue ring of water appeared from nowhere above everyone’s heads. It dropped.
I gasped as cold water drenched me, hearing shrieks or grunts from one and all, except for King Fergus, who was quiet and bone-dry, with a slightly glowing gaze. Sputtering, I wiped frigid water out of my eyes, blinking repeatedly across the table into Ezra’s spring green gaze; his black lashes were stuck together like miniature spears and his spiked hair was now flat on his head, blue water dripping down his chin. His eyes lowered, his gaze immediately hooded.
My teeth started chattering, my frame disturbed with shivers. The water was freezing. My eyes lowering slightly, I saw Ezra’s white t-shirt plastered to him like he was in a wet t-shirt contest. It was then that realization hit. My head dropped as I peered to my own white t-shirt.
Ah, shit. In my haste to get away from the Shifters in the locker room, I hadn’t even attempted to put my bra back on. The damn thing was currently in my book bag under the table. Yanking my suctioned t-shirt away from my skin, I glowered at the Vampire.
Jack flicked the same finger not ten seconds after we had been drenched, and instantaneously, the water was gone. As if it had never been. Everyone’s everything back in place. Perfect.
I let go of my, now, dry t-shirt and leaned against Dominic, still glaring.
Ezra’s lips curled softly.
“Impressive,” Dominic murmured, wrapping his arm around me, keeping me close.
Jack inclined his head. “Thank you.” Now we knew that he could kill us if he wanted.
“I’ll go next,” Pearl offered. Instantly, she glowed such a bright gold that it verged on hurting my eyes. She began murmuring under her breath and our spoons flew into the air, hovering directly in front of our faces. All except King Nelson’s spoon. His lowered to the table when his eyes glowed.
The rest of the spoons didn’t stay in place either. They darted in a clockwise motion in front of our faces. Kept going. Faster…faster. The rotation was so rapid that they blurred, appearing like one solid ring of shining grey in front of our faces.
They stopped abruptly, our own spoon precisely in front of us, and lowered to the table, still once more.
A bit dizzy after watching them, I cleared my throat.
Jack chuckled quietly. “That was illuminating.”
I peered down at the knife on the table. Yeah, illuminating. I wouldn’t want her trying that with a sharp weapon. Hell, even spoons at that speed were dangerous if they hit a person at the right spot.
Dominic was also eyeing his knife, but he quickly lifted his gaze, saying, “My turn, I guess.” His eyes instantly glowed dark black, his power hitting me like a semitrailer. I gasped while everyone at the table jerked hard; his demand was quiet, his wolf growling low. “Stand.” My body vibrated; I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t want to stand. I fought it just as it appeared everyone else was doing, but Dominic sucked in another breath and whispered, “Stand.”
His power hit even harder.
I bowed, grabbing the table while hearing chairs being knocked over in the occupant’s haste to do as Dominic bid; my own Shifter power flared in defiance, my eyes glowing bright blue and my butt still firmly planted on my seat, just like King Kincaid’s was. My face began to glisten with sweat, but I was still sitting. I groaned low, panting. Every muscle in my body was pushing me to obey, the pressure hurting like wild fire to stay in place, my body burning from the inside out.
“Dom,” his dad stated harshly, eyes glowing identically with a King’s command.
“Stop.”
A beat later, Dominic’s power cut off, delicious relief touching the heinous sparks inside me. I gulped air, slumping against him. He caught me, holding me against his chest and rubbing his hand soothingly up and down my back. I could tell the others were awed, but really, after that, I just wanted to lie down and take a nap.
“Ms. Ruckler held out,” Mrs. Jonas murmured. “It must be because they’re mates.”
I groaned under my breath, realizing my mistake too late, now grasping for a non-answer. “It wasn’t easy.” It wasn’t because we were mates. It was because, though I usually allowed them to believe otherwise, I wasn’t weak in my own Shifter power. Surprise was a wonderful defense if ever needed — the main reason why I continued to try to master masking my power.
King Kincaid lifted his arms above his head, arching in a massive stretch. “She’s not kidding.” He smiled at his son as everyone righted their chairs. “Nicely done.”
I grunted, even as Dominic nodded his head. The hell with that. Next time, I was leaving the room when he pulled that crap. He tilted my chin up, kissing my lips lightly, and whispered, “You okay?”
I nodded, wiping sweat off my forehead. Everyone else was just as pristine as they were before. If I hadn’t fought so hard, I would be too. His lips brushed mine again, lingering, and only pulled away when the wild card Vampire spoke.
Sounding bored, Ezra muttered, “My turn.” Leaning back on his chair, slouching, he peered directly at King Kincaid. His eyes flashed a bright green. “What was the best part of your evening last night?”
Instant. “Having sex with my mate in the laundry room.” The King’s mouth slammed shut.
Dominic groaned, dropping his head on top of mine, while I tried not to laugh, watching King Kincaid’s cheeks pink as he glanced awkwardly at his son.