Magical Midlife Love (Leveling Up #4) - K.F. Breene Page 0,31
bright.”
A black cloud of rage rolled through Austin, though his appearance gave no sign of it. He hadn’t been a fan of Damarion—both were natural alphas, and neither had wanted the other in his space. It was still a sore subject, even more so now that Austin had stepped up to take the title.
“He always did what I said, even when he didn’t want to,” I replied.
“See?” Niamh tucked in her lips and lifted her eyebrows, as though I’d made her point for her.
“If he was trying to manipulate me, where were you? You never said a word.“
“I agreed with Austin Steele about the way the eejit was training you, and I said so. I didn’t bother me arse about the subtle manipulation. He was romancin’ ye to win ye over. Ye weren’t havin’ it, not that I blame ya. That lad didn’t have a clue. Not one clue, boy. Would’ve been nice if ye’d relieved a little stress, though, if ye know what I mean…”
Another blast of rage rolled through the link.
“Great, super. Thanks again for all the help.” I smoothed my hair back in annoyance.
“How many could Austin Steele handle, though?” Niamh knocked on the bar. “Well, now we’ve got a real question, haven’t we?”
“As many as you need.” He rested his hand on his thigh, looking at me. “I can handle whoever and whatever you call in.”
“Is it confidence…or ego?” Sebastian mused aloud. Austin swung his gaze Sebastian’s way. The mage flinched, and then the crooked grin worked at his lips. “I spent some time as an adrenaline junkie in the past—”
“Oh no, he’s on about his past again,” Niamh drawled, and then chugged her cider.
“After a while, you can’t find anything to get the blood pumping again.” Sebastian’s eyes flashed, the color almost morphing into blue for a split second. “I wonder when this will wear off.”
“It won’t.” Niamh tinkled the ice in her empty glass. Paul hurried over. “Trust me on that. It’s annoying as all hell.”
I lightly touched Austin’s knee to bring his attention back to me. He flinched, and wariness roiled through the link.
“Are you always this jumpy after a challenge?” I asked, trying to make light of it.
He didn’t respond.
“Are challenges typically six-to-one odds or similar?” Sebastian asked. “I thought I’d read somewhere that two alphas fought for territory…”
“It’s supposed to be one on one,” Niamh said. “That’s the only way it truly counts. They must’ve known they couldn’t handle Austin Steele that way.”
“What happens if a challenger wins by cheating?” Sebastian asked.
“If it’s not an honest win, the people don’t have to recognize the winner as their new alpha. Of course, it doesn’t always work that way in practice. A cheating alpha doesn’t just go straight once he or she gets ahead. They usually get the territory, and it almost always fails.”
“Fascinating,” Sebastian said. He started to ask another question, but I tuned him out. While this was all probably good to know, I had other things to settle before I snuck out.
I lowered my voice for only Austin, shrouding us in a protective magical bubble. “Are you sure about the level of power I might call in? You have your territory to set up. I don’t want to be taking your bandwidth.”
“Jess, you’ve inspired me to challenge myself, to rise to my potential. It would be easy to run a small territory like this one, with a few towns and only a few idiots challenging every once in a while. My role is more complicated because my pack needs to be strong enough to defend Ivy House, but that’s still well within my abilities. To do all that and also manage the powerful creatures you need for your council? That will certainly be a challenge. Given that a challenge is what I set out for, I hope you call in the biggest and baddest you can find. You charmed a basajaun, of all things. What other surly creatures can you collect?”
“I don’t think you want to ask that question.”
He winked. “I’ll handle whatever comes, Jess. That’s a promise. Call in whatever you need. Call in the best.”
It wasn’t Austin’s ego speaking. He’d earned his confidence. It was built on a foundation of years of experience and trials, and there was no question he also had a firm grip on his weaknesses, most of which stemmed from his past. He was not a man to falsely dress up his nature. He was quicker, in fact, to tear himself down.