Waiting for the news that the procedure had been safely completed for three of the people I loved the most had driven me insane. Now I stood in a room waiting for Nash, trying to decide how I felt. If it worked, he'd have the power I had. And that was a complicated thing. This power could be a curse as much as a gift. He wanted it so badly though.

In a strange way, did I worry that this major change would alter our life too much?

When the door opened and his broad form filled up my view, I half expected him to look differently. Silly, wasn't it? Seeing his same light-hearted smile settled the nerves in me.

"How does it feel?" I held my breath after asking the question. Nash and I had stepped into a recovery room away from the others. It was the first time I'd seen him since he'd had the procedure to receive the neural implant. Apart from a look of fatigue and a very different look of eagerness, he seemed exactly the same. As much as I wanted to check on Leif and Wren, I needed this moment with just Nash. I needed it to be just us and the changes he'd undergone.

He lifted his hands and tightened them into a fist, staring at them intently. "I feel this strange sensation running beneath my skin."

Excitement bubbled up in me. "It's the power. Try to let it out."

"I don't know what will happen if I do."

"I'm not the best at containing power, but I can contain yours. This is fresh. Go ahead."

"You're sure?"

"Yes. Do it already."

Nash looked nervous for once, but he still smirked anyway, as eager as he was uncertain. A haze rose from his hand, looking almost like smoke, only a light blue in color. It took my breath away to see my Nash wielding power.

"Fuck," Nash shouted. "You see that?"

I laughed and gripped his wrist. "Yes." Carefully, I placed my hand over it, feeling the heat emanating from it. I imagined that if I touched it, then it would burn my skin. "Look at that. You're a natural."

"How do you know?"

"It's not easy to draw out meaningful power on your first try. You can use this in battle. You just need to learn how to propel it or gather into a better form, like an arrow, or a little ball."

I felt the energy slowly dissipate while the blue sank back into his palm. "This is incredible."

Pride and joy burst within me. I jumped up to reach around his neck and squeezed his time while I let out a squeal. "You have power!"

"I know. I can't believe it."

"Think of what we can do." I kissed him hard, squeezed him, and then kissed him again.

Nash laughed against my lips, eased me back against the wall, and opened my mouth with his, tilting his head to kiss me properly. My insides pooled in my stomach. Sometimes, when we were together, I attuned my senses to hear his heart and feel everything at a deeper level. His eyes opened wide mid-kiss and I wondered if he'd naturally done the same thing.

"Did you feel that?"

"What?"

"It was like everything I normally feel when I kiss you was intensified. Is it like that for you?"

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"Sometimes, yeah. Many times."

Nash pushed his fingers into my hair and pulled my head back, gazing down my face, his eyes hungry and fervent now. "You've been holding out on me, Sharpshooter."

A giggle spilled from my lips as he melted his mouth to mine and roamed the soft of my tongue with his own, his kiss like electricity sparking. His hands slid down my back and pulled me close to him. A pulse of power sparked from his palms and rushed through my body. I gasped deeply with my eyes opening wide.

"Did I hurt you?"

It had been like a gentle vibrating buzzing across my skin and burying itself in my bones. I struggled to draw in a breath. "I wouldn't say it hurt."

He smiled now as he gazed down my face. "Yeah?"

"I think…" My fingers stole down the side of his whiskered cheek. With his curls falling over his amber eyes, he looked incredibly handsome. It was fucking divine. "I think we should save this for later."

He nodded, eyes intent on my mouth now. Gaze skittering down my body. "We should." Despite his words, he kissed along my jaw and gripped my hips. "We definitely should."

His touch melted me. Nash lifted me then and I wrapped my legs around him.

"I feel amazing."

He looked like he felt amazing. His eyes had come alive. This man had been born to wield this power.

"Everything is different now, Max." His voice became serious. "I swear to you that every day I live, I'll hone this power and I'll use it to build a home where we can rest and truly live."

I bit my lip, shocked by how much his words soothed my heart.

"You're tired." He drew me down to rest his face alongside mine. "You're not alone in this anymore. I swear it, Max. This is our fight and I'll learn how to wield this power faster than anyone ever has so you don't have to wait for me any longer."

"I've wanted to run away." The confession burst from me before I could catch it. "To find some quiet with you and Elsie where nothing matters except for us. This makes that feel further away but also closer."

"It'll be okay. Everything is okay now."

I rested against him and let my heart believe his words without question.

----------------------------------------

"I think mine is broken." Leif punched his fist through the air like it would force his power to shoot out. "Come on!"

Everyone had recovered from the drowsiness and headache of the power. We stood inside the room where the procedure had taken place now while the three of them tested their new abilities.

"You're overthinking," Nash said.

"You aren't thinking enough," Wren corrected.

"Everyone taps into their power in a different way," I said. "Leif, you need to be patient. You're locking yourself up by trying to force it."

"I've heard that before. Arn thinks himself funny when I'm stuck in the outhouse. But this is a battle I've faced before. One I always win."

"For the love of the gods," Wren muttered.

He crouched and lifted his fists in the air. "Come out!"

"I can't tell if he's actually about to take a shit." Nash snickered.

Seeing normal in the midst of completely unbelievable–all three of them having power now–made me want to laugh and cry at the same time.

We'd be just fine, wouldn't we?

"Don't force anything," I said to all three. "You're eager, but this will take time. Elias and Piercey both said they'd help you with your abilities."

Wren raised one brow at me. "What about you? Not willing to help?"

I leveled my look at her, because she knew. I was an awful, impatient teacher. "I'll beat your ass down when you're ready to fight."

"Now I really have to get this power working," Leif said. "I cannot allow a challenge to go unanswered."

Nash lifted his palm as a small, glowing ball of energy popped over one finger at a time. "Holy shit."

"Are you serious?" Leif growled and pounded the air with his fists. "Where is my power!"

I watched Wren as she placed a hand to her stomach.

"You feel it?" I asked.

"It's like water trickling through my body."

"Mine is like fire. I should have expected yours to be more peaceful and in control."

She smiled and slid her arm through mine, quiet as she watched the two men.

Yeah, it really would be fine.

A sense of urgency suddenly came over me, followed by a feeling like slipping. I met Nash's eyes just as the world was ripped away from me.

And in a chilling sense of deja vu I found myself standing in the all-white room.