Chapter Twenty Six

For the first time in a while, Anna felt complete. She also felt like she had a living nuclear power plant inside of her, but at least now she knew that was normal. The space was now eerily quiet; she could sense her father's powers. He was holding them there and shielding them at the same time. If Anna wanted to, she could bring them back to Christian's apartment, but that they weren't done yet.

"I know how you did this," said Anna.

"Good, the more you can sense about another's abilities, the better you will be able to combat them, if needed," said Franklin.

Anna nodded her head. If a Fae every attacked her, she would at least see it coming. Was that a good thing? She didn't want to think about it.

"Now, I want you to take us somewhere secluded and open. I warn you, once we arrive there, your extra senses may overwhelm you, but I'll help you focus them."

"Of course; there's always something. So how do I do this?"

Franklin smiled.

"The key to your power is focus and desire. Think about what you want and make it happen. If you waver in your desire, it won't happen or you'll end up doing something unintended."

Anna exhaled.

"Okay, I'm ready. Are you ready?"

Franklin chuckled. She was so cute.

"Yes, I'm ready."

"Alright."

Her eyes turned white as she thought about where she wanted to go and imagined them both being there. She closed her eyes and reached toward the place in her mind. She felt a cool breeze on her face. It wasn't like the wind that surrounded her when she used her abilities, this felt different. As she opened her eyes, the white faded from them. Franklin stood beside her and smiled. She did it. Traveling was one of the hardest things to accomplish, but she did it on her first try. She was nearly limitless.

"I did it," she said with a wistful laugh.

"Yes, you did. You're quite powerful," he said.

Anna looked around the forest area. From the looks of it, they were deep in the forest. She doubted anyone would see them here. Suddenly, the half darkened sky looked as bright as the sun. She heard nearly every animal in the forest and felt the ground shift as grass began to sprout from the dirt. She covered her ears and knelt on the ground.

"It's too much, dad, make it stop."

"You can shut this out, just focus on what you want to see and hear."

"I can't, it's too much."

"Then destroy it."

"What?"

"Those are your only options."

Franklin knew she wouldn't choose to destroy the land and creatures around her, but he had to remind her of what she was capable of. She always had that option and she needed to be aware of it at all times. If not, there would be terrible consequences. Anna closed her eyes for a moment and willed herself to focus on just the area near her. She lowered her hands from her ears. She could still sense more than she should, but she wasn't as overwhelmed as she was before. She looked up at her dad incredulously.

"Destruction is never going to be an option for me."

"I know, but it doesn't change the fact that if you are not careful, it will happen."

Anna almost cried, but she quickly straightened her posture and returned to the task at hand. She had to get back to her life and back to her man. Christian was more sensitive than usual and she didn't have to use her new abilities to know that Christian was on edge. She knew that she was partly to blame for his uneasiness. She left him after he thought they would be together forever. She knew he would trust her again, the fact that he took her back after everything proved it.

Christian did not need this right now. He smelled Alexa near the elevator to his apartment before Taylor turned toward the elevator. Taylor looked back at Christian apologetically, Christian arched his eyes brow. Taylor had nothing to do with this. If that was the case, she would have gone directly to Taylor's room. If Christian gambled, he would bet a million dollars that Alexa was put back on guard duty. Well, Christian was not going to let her near his apartment. If Alexa saw Anna appear out of thin air with an actual Fae, it would be chaos. Christian needed a distraction. He looked at Taylor again. Christian felt bad for what he was going to ask Taylor to do. Christian leaned toward Taylor's ear. Alexa wasn't allowed to ease drop on Royals private conversations, Christian hoped that was true for him as well.

"I'm not going to let her upstairs. Anna should be back soon. Can you handle her for tonight?"

Christian saw Taylor's back stiffen.

"This is not an order, but I really need your help. If you uncomfortable…"

"I'll do it," Taylor interrupted.

"Are you sure?"

Taylor smiled. It would be fun to get under Alexa's skin for a while. Nothing will happen unless Alexa wants it to, but she will not enter Christian's apartment tonight.

"Positive."

"Thank you."

Taylor stepped out of the car and opened Christian's door. Alexa knelt on the wall beside the elevator door. She wore a silver dress, a white jacket and white cargo boots. She jumped off the wall and lowered her eyes for a moment when Christian stood in front of her.

"Why are you here, Alexa," asked Christian?

"I'm here on Corin's orders, sir," said Alexa.

They had done this song and dance before. Christian knew the deal. If he ordered Alexa away, Corin would see her as unfit for service and have her killed. Christian and Sierra were the only two wolves in Corin's pack that were off limits and Christian knew that. Christian clenched his jaw. He knew he had to accept her as his enforcer again or Corin may execute her. He just needed her to stay out of his way for one night.

"I accept," said Christian.

Alexa shoulders relaxed. She knew she and Christian were not on the best of terms. After she left, Christian didn't expect to see her again. She didn't want to be here either. She hated being compromised and she was more loyal to Christian than his father.

"Thank you," said Alexa.

"I need a favor," said Christian.

Alexa tilted her head to the side and waited for Christian to speak. She knew she wouldn't like what he was about to ask her, but she would agree to it if she could.

"I need some privacy tonight. You can stay with Taylor like before or I can get you a room. I just need time with Anna alone."

Alexa looked at Christian. She wasn't allowed to read him, but her own natural senses could tell he was hiding something. He was also desperate.

"Alright, but I have to be by your side tomorrow morning."

"I can accept that. I'll see you then."

Christian pressed the button for the elevator and didn't give Alexa a backward glance. Alexa smiled. She had never seen Christian so out of sorts like this. He covered it well, but anyone who knew him, knew he was a bit off at the moment. Taylor parked the car in front of Alexa and honked the horn. She scowled at him. He knew the horn would hurt her ears since he was so close to her.

"So, you need a place to stay," asked Taylor?

Alexa didn't answer him as she walked to the passenger side door and opened it. She sat down in car and looked straight ahead. When he didn't drive the car, she looked at him.

"Are you going to drive," she asked?

"Seatbelt," he said.

Alexa growled and put on her seat belt. Taylor held back his smile. Even though she would most likely survive a car crash, they still needed to keep up appearances.

"Thank you."

Alexa wanted to throttle him, but he was driving. She just might do it once they were upstairs in his room. She thought about being in his room again. Would she really be that tempted? He asked her if she'd eaten. Damn, she thought. If he cooked her dinner, she might lose all of her restraint.

"I can make something," he said.

Alexa rolled her eyes. Yeah, she's going to sleep with him. It might not be tonight, but soon.

Anna looked down at the grass below her. Her father wanted her to practice her powers by manipulating the area around them. She focused on making three white roses sprout from the ground. Her eyes flashed white for a moment and three white roses grew in front of her. She waved her hand over them and changed the rose petals' to blue and purple. Her eyes widened. When she reached for one, it grew larger; it was now as tall as her. Anna covered her mouth and looked at her dad.

"It's alright," he said.

She placed her hand over the rose and made a pushing down motion. The rose shrunk down to the size it was before. She didn't want to accidently do something else unintentionally again.

"Why did it do that," asked Anna?

"Your desire for what you wanted wasn't focused so your powers interpreted what you wanted and the rose grew towards you."

"So my powers are like a computer. I have to be specific about what I want?"

"Yes, that's a good way to think about it."

She smiled. She couldn't wait to finish training so she could see Christian again and spend some time with her father. She had so many questions to ask him. Like how he found her mother? Was it a bond, like with werewolves?

Franklin could tell her mind was somewhere else. She was progressing faster than he anticipated. Their time together would be shorter than he expected. He asked her to create a few more items to make sure she had a full grasp of that ability. He later taught her how to shield herself and objects, she mastered that task easily as well. He wanted to make sure she knew how to protect herself just in case Corin stepped out of line.

Now that Anna would be able to take care of herself, Franklin would not have to intervene with her and Corin. Corin was a very powerful alpha with many territories under his domain. If he were prematurely killed without a successor, the lower ranked packs would go to war to take what they could from Corin's region. Corin had to remain alive until Christian accepted his position as Corin's successor, but that was for Anna and Christian to deal with. It may take decades for Christian to finally accept his place among the pack.

"You're doing very well, Anna, we should return for now. You'll have just a few more things to learn."

"Like what?"

It amazed him that she could still remain in awe after everything she had seen herself do today. He hoped she never lost that sense of wonder. The Fae took so much for granted; it was how some of them turned cold.

"We'll go over shapeshifting and mortal manipulation next. Do you think Christian would like to volunteer for it?"

Anna looked at her father in disbelief. Was he joking? Did he actually think that it would be okay for them to use Christian as a test dummy?

"No," she said.

Franklin obviously upset her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I just thought that Christian would be a great subject since he already knows about you. If not, we'll have to permanently wipe someone's memory."

Anna sighed. Well, she didn't want to wipe a person's memory.

"I'll talk to him when we get back, but if he says no. Then its no."

Franklin raised his hands in surrender and agreement.

"Agreed."

Thanks for reading! Anna is easily coming into her own with her abilities. The only thing she'll be worried about is maintaining control of her powers so she doesn't accidently hurt anyone. Alexa is back in the picture, Christian plans to do his best to keep Alexa from finding out more about Anna's abilities.

As always, I appreciate your reviews, comments and constructive criticism.