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A loud, curdling scream escaped Elise's vocal cords, the physical exertion taking over her body as she was pushed well past her limits.
For more than eight hours now, her and Asher had been in the woods training, a whole sundown ed gaze upon their successes and failures.
Elise was struggling to hold on, the thought of adding one more person under the control of her powers worrisome. Now, she felt cocky for ever messing with Leah Clearwater. One person, that was easy, but Elise was balancing the whole pack and half of the elders in her grip. They were all hovering about a foot over the ground, unable to move yet still cognizant. "I can't hold it," She all but shouted to whomever was listening to her anymore.
"You have to hold it," The weathered voice of Billy Black shouted back through the clearing.
"I'm telling you, I can't." Her politeness towards her elders was long disregarded, the physical pain she was enduring was bad enough but pairing it with the emotional strain she was feeling as well was catastrophic. Elise held them there for maybe a minute more before she released them all with a heavy exhale.
Dropping to the groud the same time as the others, Elise threw up whatever contents were left in her stomach, Paul rushing beside her with a cold water bottle and soothing words. "Ares holds the strength of a thousand men and yet you can barely hold up thirteen."
Billy's words cut Elise like a knife. Wiping her mouth on the back of her hand, she exhaled deeply. "A few hours ago I could barely hold two. I'm trying."
"Trying won't save us."
"Hey," Paul's shot Jacob's father a look, one that showed he was trying his hardest to be respectful yet he clearly was not fan of the process. "Back off. She's been at this longer that any of us would been able to handle."
"And I appreciate that," The previous leader of the pack rolled over on his wheelchair, his expession somber. "But you and your brother don't have nearly the amount of time needed in order for me to be polite. To be frank, you weren't even given a date as to when you would be partaking in this fight. I'm trying to get you both ready and that can't be done unless I'm a little harsh."
Finally gaining control over her breathing, Elise shakily stood back up, her thighs burning due to overuse but she ignored it. "Again."
Falling back into place, Elise took a deep breath and watched the line of people form before her. All she had to do was take control of them all. Drifting off into her zone, Elise left her eyes closed until she felt completely at one with her being, eyes opening fiercely with a glow just as lethal encasing her body. One hand raised and her first victim fell to her whims, hovering a foot over the air before she moved onto the next one. "This is looking too easy for you, let's change it up a little," Sam projected, giving Jared and Embry a nod. Immediately they charged towards her, both phasing a few steps in.
Without a second thought, she raised her other hand, capturing Embry then Jared just before he reached her while simultaneously collecting three new victims with her opposing hand. "That all you got?"
"I was hoping you'd say that," A whistle escaped Sam's lips and instantaneously she heard more wolves breaking from the tree line from all directions.
Elise didn't even know exactly what she was doing, but she allowed her body to take over. She vanished, her hold momentarily lifting until she reappeared atop one of the trees, hands outstretched once more and suddenly, every last person below her lost control of their bodies and hovered in the air, none of them in control of their own faculties. She raised them higher until they all reached her eye level, frozen in place in the air by the tallest tree. Fear was evident in their eyes, but not Elise's, she looked as calm as a cucumber.
For the quickest beat of time she almost felt the evil desire of just dropping them all but she bottled those thoughts away and slowly lowered then all until they were safe on the ground and finally in control of their own body. "How did you do that?" Asher questions, his hands shaking at his sides—he too exhausted by the strenuous labor he'd endured.
"Do what?" Her voice was soft, the siblings taking a habit in speaking in hushed whispers amongst one another. "I just did what he asked."
"No, not that." Scooting in closer, Asher subconsciously peeked around for unwanted ears. "Whenever I use my powers for a long period of time, there's this voice in my head that almost—"
"—taunts you to do great evil?" The response was so effortless coming from her tongue, her brothers eyes widened slightly. "Yeah, I get that too. I'm starting to realize that a huge part of harboring these gifts is self-control."
Asher exhaled in astonishment, his hands running through his tresses as the severity of the situation settled in deep into his bones. "This is insane, one night were normal teenagers and the next were protecting the world from certain death? I don't know about you but I am definitely overstimulated."
Elise didn't even have words for her blood relative, he wasn't wrong no matter how childish he made everything sound. "Don't crack under the pressure now, your imprint is watching."
His eyes darted around until they finally set on the gorgeous golden complexion of his destined soulmate. "Oh, shit. What happens to her if I die in battle?"
The never ending pit in her stomach felt a little heavier at the question, a part of her believing that her brother deserved to know but the burden of yet another reminder of what was at stake not something she was willing to make her brother carry. "Don't think about that, you aren't going to die."
