Page 49 of The Chosen One Universe: Volume One

Sam

When the door closed behind Vaughn, Sam marched down the front steps and glared at both Zaire and Teague. “What just happened?”

Before he could answer, one of the fiery portals opened, and Meshaq stepped through. He looked at all three of them with an intense glare before crossing his giant arms over his chest. “What’s wrong?”

“I scared the young mage,” Zaire said quietly. “I need you to help me quiet the spirits before I get close to him again.”

“Quiet the spirits. What the ever loving hell does that mean?” Sam asked. He crossed his own arms over his chest and glared right back. “You scared my kid. I want answers.”

Meshaq grinned at Sam and uncrossed his arms. “Your kid?”

Sam growled. “You know what I mean.”

“I do know. I approve. Congratulations by the way.”

“Don’t change the subject. Someone needs to tell me what the hell just happened. Right now.”

Zaire stepped forward lowering her eyes as she went. Sam didn’t really understand the significance, but part of him knew she was doing it as a sign of respect. It eased something inside him.

“I can explain,” Zaire said. “How much do you know about elemental magic?”

“Little to nothing.”

“So you need the basics. There are four elements: fire, air, water, and earth. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, and combinations of each have strengths and weaknesses. I’m a fire elemental. My magic is used for cleansing, protection, and appeasing the spirits. I also have an affinity for creatures who are based in the fire element, like our hellhound friends here.”

“I’m with you so far,” Sam said.

“Excellent. Your young mage is an air elemental. I’ll have to talk to him to get a better idea of what his strengths are, but for right now, you need to understand that he’s traumatized, and he’s got his magical shields up. Okay, now for the tricky part. Fire and air tend to work really well together, right? When you’re talking literal fire, it needs air to survive. With me?”

Sam nodded.

“Okay, so when I’m around an air elemental, I tend to burn bright. Problem is, when I’m angry and around an air elemental, I can pull a little too hard. Think… wildfire. The wind turns and boom, the fire spreads out of control in seconds. When you told me what happened, I got mad. I bet he felt it, and it scared him. I didn’t hurt him, but my magic brushed against his and basically said, hey, you wanna start a wildfire?”

“And he’s likely never been around someone like you before so he didn’t know what was happening?”

Zaire shrugged. “That’s my guess. He’s strong, though. I can still feel him. His magic is poking at me, and I can tell that it’s subconscious. He doesn’t know he’s doing it. He needs a mentor and some pretty serious training.”

Sam glanced at Meshaq. “I don’t think now is the right time for that. Unless you tell me otherwise.”

“Why?” Meshaq asked.

“Because he needs stability at home first. He needs to know he’s safe here and that he’s going to get fed every day and have a bed to sleep in at night. He needs to not worry about whatever has been happening to them and know that he’s got a pack now.”

Meshaq put his hand on Sam’s shoulder and looked at him with flame-ringed eyes. “He’s your responsibility now. I trust your instincts. Talk it over with Vaughn, and we’ll go from there.”

“It’s Education 101, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs at its finest. We’ve got a lot of work to do with these kids to get them feeling healthy and safe before we start working on anything outside of that. If I’m wrong, tell me,” Sam said, looking at Zaire next. “I know you’re the expert, but I think he’s too unstable to expect to be able to control his magic. He needs to be grounded first.”

“Interesting choice of words, Alpha-mate.” Zaire grinned at him. “Shifters are earth elementals. He’s surrounded by a lot of grounding magic right now. If he isn’t meant for a coven, then having a pack is the best place for him.”

“Trust your instincts,” Meshaq said. “You’ll do what’s right by him.”

It couldn’t be that easy, but Sam had never had a problem trusting his gut. And his gut told him Henry wasn’t ready for training. He needed day-to-day stability first, and he needed it to be with the other cubs. Isolating him now for special training wasn’t the answer.

“Then let’s go inside so you can meet all of them.”

“Give us a minute, first,” Zaire said. “I’ll dial my magic down quite a bit with Meshaq’s help.”

Sam nodded before turning and heading into the house. He found Vaughn and the kids in the living room and immediately went to them. He knelt in front of Henry with a smile. “I learned some cool stuff about magic just now,” Sam said. “I can’t wait to tell you, but Zaire is going to come in to meet you in a minute, so we’ll wait to talk for a little bit. If you feel weird or don’t like something, tell me and I’ll ask her to leave.”