Magical Midlife Madness (Leveling Up 1)

Donna poured her a little more wine. Although she wasn’t smiling, her posture was jubilant—she was responding to those sparks in Jess’s eyes, to her tone and demeanor. The call of the hunt was in this woman, Austin felt it too. He wanted to soak it in. Bring her somewhere secluded so he could explore it further.

Ivy House was interested in Jess for a reason.

“Second,” Jess continued, “I chose this place as my home. I haven’t lived in that house long, and Mr. Tom is definitely a nutter, but I love it. I’ll live there for as long as I can. If this magic is super powerful, as you say—and, for the record, I’m having a hard time believing any of this—then we can work together to keep this town safe. We can keep it small, keep it quaint, and keep it weird. Maybe not as weird, but I’m willing to compromise.”

“Girl, you are all kinds of awesome.” Donna offered Jess a fist bump. “Life goals right here.”

Austin didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t deny Jess had great points. There were holes in his argument, but one thing was obvious. It would be more dangerous for all of them, Jess included, if she hung around without claiming the magic.

It struck him that perhaps the old guard was right. Maybe he was wary about losing his place as the biggest, baddest guy in town. Except the new dawn would not belong to some young, upstart alpha, but to a middle-aged woman setting out to conquer the world.

She would do it, too. Austin could see it in her confident bearing and the determined set to her jaw. In the electric sparks lighting up her beautiful amber eyes. She would re-write her story, and this time, she’d get it exactly how she wanted it.

Fuck, but Austin wanted to be there for that. He could not deny it. He wanted to witness the glory of her accomplishments. The pride of a comeback story. And then he’d throw her a sweaty after party, where he would prove his prowess to her in a mess of twisted sheets.

“Donna, get out,” he said, his whole body clenching in his effort to cut those thoughts short. Her story was not his. Her journey was not entwined with his. He had to maintain his distance. He’d found his calling. His second chance had already been used up. “Out of earshot.”

“Yes, alpha.”

“I am not your alpha.”

“Yes, Austin Steele.”

“I’m not magical. I’ll call the cops if you get handsy,” Jess said, uncertainty peeking through her determination.

When Donna was gone, he allowed himself to slouch. “You continually make me take a harder look at myself and my surroundings.” He blew out a breath and poured himself more Scotch.

“Sorry,” she said. “When I came here, I wasn’t looking for any of this. I saw this as a rest stop until I could figure out what to do next.”

“Instead you got another circus. Look, I’m not going to tell you what to do. I’ve given you all the information I have. You seem like a smart lady and this is your life. You’ll do what you need to. I just ask that you remember the town. The people here are good people. They deserve a fair shake, like you do.”

“And you? You don’t deserve a fair shake?” she asked.

“I’m not worried about me.”

“Maybe you should be.” She dropped her hand onto his, her eyes open and supportive. The frost locking up his heart thawed a little.

He pulled his hand away. “And there’s one more thing you should know.”

“Ugh!” She dropped her head onto her arm, resting on the counter. “No more. Please no more.”

“No one can help you get that magic from Ivy House. No one can tell you how.”

When she looked up, it was in the direction of Ivy House. Her eyes turned distant. Her teeth snagged on her plump lower lip. “I think I know how. It would just be a question of finding my way back there when or if the time comes.”Twenty-OneThe whirling of my mind only slightly dulled by the non-conventional tasting, I emerged from the tasting room back into the glorious sunshine. Colorful crystals pulsed in my memory from when I was a kid, pulling at me. Diana pulling me away.

“Why would it choose me and not Diana?” I asked as Austin stepped up behind me.

His touch on the small of my back was slight and his movements coaxed me forward without words. We sauntered down the street, the world at our beck and call.

Or so it seemed. There was nothing quite like afternoon drinking for a good time.

“I suspect this means the legends about the genetic component to the magic aren’t strictly true,” Austin said, bumping into me slightly. The scotch or the wine was starting to work. “If they were, a non-magical person from a completely different lineage wouldn’t awaken the house.” He shook his head at the next tasting room we reached. “I hate that guy’s voice. I would sooner eat glass than listen to him drone on about wine.”