Magical Midlife Love (Leveling Up #4) - K.F. Breene Page 0,21

would expect no less. In answer to your question, no, I’m not using magic to control you. I’m using it to eavesdrop around the room, but since I can hear you just fine, the spell isn’t near you.”

“Oh yeah?” She glanced at those flat gray eyes, his face utterly expressionless except for that strange smile. “Hear anything good?”

“A great many ladies would like to bed the alpha.”

“You don’t need magic to know that.”

“Well…I do. I’m not very good at reading social cues or understanding human behavior. I’m slightly…socially awkward, we’ll say. Socially deficient, maybe.”

“Jessie will be glad to hear it. What else?”

“A group in the back doesn’t like the way the alpha is scheduling supervised fights to handle pack placement. Nor do they like the way he throws his weight around.”

Niamh sniffed. “They don’t like their own inferiority.”

“Sounds like one of them’s an alpha from another pack? I can’t be sure, but…”

“Ah.” She nodded. “A mediocre alpha and his best and brightest. They’re more interested in fighting for dominance than in joining the pack, the maggots. Some alphas cannot stand the idea of someone being tougher or more powerful than they are. They likely take Austin Steele’s newness to the post as a sign of weakness.” She grinned. “That’ll be some show. I hope they challenge him tonight.”

“You want them to do it?”

“Oh yeah. When Austin Steele gets going, it really gets the blood pumping. I like watching—when it’s got nothing to do with me, o’course.”

“I see.”

“Nah, ye don’t. Shifters are a different breed. Though all creatures have their issues. Gargoyles are some lot, I’ll tell ye. Only thing good about them is they are mostly quiet. Except for the thorn in me arse, Mr. Tom.”

“I’ve tried to read up on them—shifters, I mean. I’ve always been fascinated by the rift between mages and shifters, you see. And I think… I mean, I don’t know… But after seeing some of the shifters in here, I think mages must be scared of shifters. I’m scared, at least. That must be the root of the prejudice. Magic like mine does not require strength. Magic does not require courage. We are cowards, most of us. Take away our magic, and you take away our…purpose. Our…”

“Bollocks?”

He huffed out a laugh. “Yes, I suppose. I am physically weak. I am emotionally stunted.”

“Christ almighty, we don’t need to get too personal—”

“I am socially inept. All I have is my magic. If that magic fails, a shifter, even one in human form, could rip me in half.”

“Some of them would rip you in half even with yer magic. They might be half-dead before they finish the job, but by God, they would finish it.”

“Yes. That’s what I’m gathering. Mages have reason to be scared. A well-functioning pack led by a competent alpha would be a serious threat to my kind. They stand together, whereas mages stay solo. Even the Mages’ Guild, which is supposed to be an association of our peers—” He huffed and shook his head. “Each one of them are in it for themselves. They aren’t working as a unit; they are strategizing against each other, supporting each other only when it is clear they’ll get something out of it. They make deals that will help themselves under the guise of helping mages everywhere. The rest of us might work with other mages on things, but it’s out of necessity, and the sum total is equal to its parts. With shifters, the sum total of a pack is greater than its parts. Do you see what I mean?”

“And here I thought you weren’t chatty.”

He wiggled in his chair a little, the only time he’d really moved since sitting down, other than bending forward and looking aloof. “You say this town is in chaos. This is a normal magical town to me. The strong prey on the weak. The weak get out of the way. Law and order is present to some degree, but only when the powers that be feel like keeping the peace.”

“Well. If ye hang around, you’ll see what a well-functioning town looks like. Austin Steele will sort it all out.”

He was quiet for a moment. “You’ve heard of Momar?”

She squinted, trying to place that name. “A powerful mage, yeah? Last I heard, he was organizing his forces to take over the crime world from Elliot Graves.”

“Your information is outdated. He has mostly taken over the crime world. Elliot Graves has slunk into the shadows. I heard he’s doing just enough to get