"Which one of you is dating her, anyway? I thought it was you, but the way Ed and Allan look at her made me wonder."
"Uh." Doc ran his hand through his hair, which he was currently wearing down because Sofia liked it that way.
"Wait, no. I don't want to know." Sam shook her head wryly.
"None of us want to see her hurt, Sam," Doc said, voice low. "If losing her to Nikolai will keep her safe, then we'll just have to deal with it."
"You know the Andersons won't leave you and the boys alone after this. Even if Sofia is gone. Right? That truce you fought so hard for is gone, and the reason for it will be, too." Sam crossed her arms and gave him a look that almost seemed smug.
"Why do you even care so much?" Doc glared back, voice rising slightly.
She took a step back, fear flashing across her eyes.
Doc took a deep breath and tried to tone his emotions down a little.
"I just don't want to see any of you get hurt. Look, I didn't think any of you would know. She may not even know. I'm quite certain Nikolai does."
He shrugged, shifting his feet, and staring at the ground. "It'll be what it will be."
"Their auras have already mingled. You've already lost her, Roy. She just doesn't know it yet."
"Doc?"
He snapped his attention back to the present, braked hard to make the turn off, and focused on the small dirt road to his cabin. He wasn't sure who had spoken to him, but it didn't seem to matter. Did anything matter? He didn't want to lose Sofia. Was it already too late, as had Sam claimed?
They reached the cabin, and he shut off the truck. Everyone climbed out into the dark evening.
His eyes adjusted almost immediately, and he did a quick scan of the area, looking to see if he sensed anything disturbed in the area.
Ed and Allan did the same but didn't appear worried as they headed to the house. They kicked off their shoes, and both sprawled on the couch.
"What's up?" Ed asked when Doc sank down onto the loveseat.
Nikolai sat in the armchair near the window.
"What do you mean?" Doc leaned back and stared at the ceiling, stretching his legs out in front of him.
"Whatever Sam said bothered you. You've barely said a word all night," Ed answered.
Instead of answering Ed, he turned his attention to Nikolai. "Why won't you train Sofia?"
Nikolai answered after considering Doc for a moment. "I already told you, I do not train people already in a relationship. It goes badly. I will teach her a few basic things."
"What about it goes badly?"
"Typically, the other half of the relationship grows jealous of the time the student spends with the teacher."
"That's it?"
"No. I have already spoken with Sofia. She understands."
"But you don't want to tell us?" Doc crossed his arms.
"It is not particularly pertinent." Nikolai shrugged. "It doesn't work well, and I am not going to do it."
"What if it's the only way to keep her safe?"
Nikolai sighed, looking resigned. "The difficulty is this, if you must know. Our magic has resonance. I can teach her beyond basics, but it will draw us together, even if we don't want it. I do not want to cause problems with all of you." He clenched his jaw and frowned.
"Surely you can keep your hands to yourself," Ed grumbled.
"Yes, of course I can." Nikolai shook his head. "It is difficult to explain unless you've experienced it."
Doc thought he knew what Nikolai was talking about. When he had helped Sofia first access her magic more deliberately, her magic had washed through him. They'd had no reason not to act on their impulses, and he hadn't thought anything of it. If that was what Nikolai was talking about, he understood why the mage didn't want to get involved, but according to Sam, it was too late.
He brought his attention back to the conversation when he heard one of werewolves growl at Nikolai.
The mage held his hands up. "No, I would not deliberately steal her from you. I do not wish to. It is simply the way magic works."
Ed glared. Allan glanced at Doc, as if looking for help.
"I will demonstrate, if that's what it will take to convince you." Nikolai shifted his attention from the angry werewolf to Doc. He stood up. "Come here."
Mildly annoyed at being ordered around, but not having the energy to argue about it, Doc got up and went over to the mage.
"Thank you. Now, call on magic you carry in reservoir."
Doc hesitated.
"I will replenish it for you, if necessary."
Doc took a deep breath and hoped he wasn't going to regret being the demonstration. Touching Sofia's magic stored in his mother's bracelets, he called it into himself.
"So, see, Doc is using Sofia's magic. The only thing I will do is push my magic into him, as if teaching him new spell."
Before he could even remotely prepare himself, Nikolai pushed a tendril of his rich blue magic into him.
He gasped, Nikolai's magic rushing through him like electricity. Hunger warred with desire as his body instantly aroused. He couldn't even think for a minute, and he nearly went for Nikolai's neck as he practically lost control of himself.
"How do you even get anything done if it's like this?" He trembled with the effort of keeping his hands off Nikolai. It didn't help that the mage's heart was racing, and he didn't seem to be able to move his eyes away from Doc, either.
"This is why family usually teaches each other. It is different with family." The mage's voice was strained. "It is not this bad after the first few times, though it does not get appreciably easier without lots of practice." He bit his lip. "Maybe I should have tried more explanation before resorting to demonstration."
Doc's teeth ached, the need for blood raging through
