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Seth shrugged. "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. And vengeful."
"So, yes," I concluded. "I'm sorry the witches suck."
Seth smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "They made me what I am today. Including training in how to use my power." He waved to an open space in the middle of the room.
I stepped over and watched him inhale deeply.
"What are you—" The rest of my words were knocked away as the air was forced from my lungs by the searing pain that filled them. Power was like a vice around my organs. Squeezing, pressing in, pressing hard. It gripped my breasts, pushing the flesh inward until I felt like they’d pop.
I wanted to draw in power of my own to fight him off, but my vision started to blur.
"Fuuuuck," I wheezed. "Stooo…" The room started to go black. The pain went for another three thousand years, then abruptly stopped.
I just managed to stay on my feet, but tears streamed down my face.
"What the fuck was that?" I brushed away the tears.
Seth was completely unapologetic.
"Sometimes it takes some convincing." He drew again.
This time the power wrapped around my legs. Again, it pressed tight. I could breathe this time, but the pain was excruciating. I didn't even try to keep the tears from falling.
"This is fucked up," I ground out.
"But necessary." He offered me a smile, but it was strained with the effort of using power.
Good. I wouldn't like to think this was easy on him.
"Fight back," he said finally. "Without your power."
"With what, a butter knife?" I asked. I snorted.
"Look for your inner animal," Seth said. "Dig deep. Find it, set it free."
"What if it's a wolf?" I asked.
He faltered for a moment and the pain receded.
"As long as you can shift, it doesn't matter what you are," he replied firmly.
"Right, because Gwendolyn is a wolf too." I leaned over and rubbed my aching legs. "I can't feel any kind of animal trying to escape. Is it possible there isn't one?"
"Yes, but are you ready to give up so quickly?" He fixed narrowed eyes on me.
"I guess not. Is there another way though? Not that I'm not having a total blast here or anything." I grimaced.
"If your animal won't come voluntarily, then it may need some coercion," he said. "Desperation. We need to trigger the fight or flight response."
"Like that asshole who tried to drown me?" I asked sharply.
Seth nodded, again unapologetic. "He got over zealous, but that may have been his plan."
"To release my inner shifter? He failed miserably. And died for his efforts." I physically shuddered at the memory. If Seth suggested doing that again, he'd get a foot in the groin.
"Different methods work for different people," Seth said. "I once met a sparrow who didn't know he could shift until he was thrown off the top of a building."
"No," I said immediately. "I'm not jumping off a building to see what happens."
