Magical Midlife Madness (Leveling Up #1)(21)

“But you think she’ll find it?”

“She found it when she was ten before life trampled the imagination out of her, like. Her life experience will work against her, so it will. She will believe what she sees, most likely, and keep her eyes closed to the magic. That might prove to be enough of a barrier to keep her out.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

“Then the house will judge. It will be beyond you.”

He gritted his teeth. “Instruct Earl to give her no help. He should stand in her way, if need be.”

“All due respect, Austin Steele, but that house is out of your jurisdiction. It was here before this town, and will be here long after. It does not answer to you, and neither do those who protect it.”

Austin pinned the older woman with his stare, feeling the primal fire build within him. His power expanded, consuming him, easily topping the power radiating from her aged frame.

“I am not young, Mr. Steele,” she said in a deathly quiet voice. “Few of the original protectors have been. And yet, the house still stands. There is always someone to welcome in the new chosen. If you pit yourself against us, you will find yourself in a different sort of hell than you were expecting.”

Austin’s gut flipped. His resolve hardened. “I will not see my town turned upside down.”

“You will not have a choice.”

“I will if that girl fails.”

A sly smile pulled at the woman’s baby-soft skin. “She is no girl. She comes to us in the prime of her life, with all the illusions and naiveties of youth stripped away. She is intelligent, independent, and confident in her skin. The only way to derail her is to kill her, mark my words. And if you do that, all that you’ve worked for will be stripped away. She’s protected as a Jane. She is protected by that house. She is protected by us. In this, Austin Steele, you’ll need to find another avenue. Brawn won’t work. Neither will swinging your pecker around. You will either need to join us and protect her, keeping her on the right path, or step aside.”

He leaned in, almost losing control of his fire. “I will not join in the ruin of this town. You’re mad, old woman.”

“Then help steer her, child. Think with your head for once. Flex that muscle between your ears. She will need guidance. Put down your fear, and help minimize the effects of another chosen.”

He turned away, anger and frustration raging through him. He’d put his blood, sweat, and tears into sanctifying this town as an independent entity. He’d battled more alphas than he could count, keeping them away from his territory. He’d taken out clans sent for him, withstood higher-level magic, and taken away the sly knives of assassins hired to put him in the earth. And he’d done it all to protect the people of O’Briens.

But if that house chose someone new, everything would change. The new chosen would have the power to tear down the borders he’d struggled to maintain, leaving them vulnerable to magical folk on a mission. Those wishing to align themselves with the new master of Ivy House were likely to trample peaceful residents in the wrong place at the wrong time. Battles would kill innocents in the crossfire.

He’d promised to protect these people, and no big city Jane was going to stop him.





Niamh watched Austin Steele strut out the nearest exit, going after the hilarious, headstrong Jane who would do nicely. She wasn’t, in a million years, someone Niamh would’ve picked for the job. Not in a million. She was…ordinary. Average. Just a normal Jane in middle life.

But therein lay her magic, which was the very reason Niamh was not in charge of choosing for the house.

When Jessie’s life had fallen apart, she hadn’t crawled under a rock in a puddle of tears. She’d risen up, grabbed life by the balls, and said, “Screw this. I’ll find something better.”

She’d finally punched fear in the teeth, taken a random job in a secluded town, and marched on in with her head held high.

Looks were deceiving, because that wasn’t ordinary. It was extraordinary.

She had fire, that one. She’d come out with a perfect stranger on her first night in town, challenging her comfort zone. She’d stood up to the biggest, baddest alpha shifter these parts had ever seen. And she’d ended the night by sneaking out to drunkenly stumble home by herself, refusing to rely on anyone else to see her to safety.

Niamh chuckled. Tonight had been a hoot.

Jessie had not kept up with Niamh, drink for drink—thankfully, or she would’ve died of alcohol poisoning—but she hadn’t folded in the towel, either. She’d taken it at her own pace.

Yeah, Jessie would do nicely. All she had to do was find the heart of the house again. Without help. And then the house would make its choice.

A couple of young guys sat in the corner, sucking up the last of their way-too-strong drinks. Paul slowly finished up his duties before moving around the bar to put up the chairs. He knew why Niamh was lingering behind.

“Hundred bucks in it if you want to help,” she told him as he passed. “All you gotta do is help carry him.”

Paul’s eyes tightened.

“Two hundred.”

“Austin Steele doesn’t want people poaching from his bar,” Paul said.

“I’m not poaching. I’m going to see if anyone wants a ride. If one of ’em takes me up on it, then I’ll go home with him. What I do with him at home, like hand him over to a very thirsty vampire who I have lost a bet to, is no one’s business.”