Under Witch Aura (Moon Shadow Series) by Schneider, Maria E

would have made me laugh. “That sounds like witch training all right. I thought she didn’t want big brother’s help in finding her life’s direction?” “She doesn’t, and she’s fighting me every step of the way. Her talent is nothing like mine. She spells things partway, and my techniques don't necessarily work for her. She ends up screaming and crying like an idiot.” “Hmm. You aren’t still trying to pick her dates for her too, are you?” His response was a growl in the back of his throat. “I’m telling you, she’ll stop dating shifters when you quit trying to stop her.” His hand tightened on mine in an echo of the growl. He obviously had no sense of humor on the subject. There was no winning that particular argument so I moved past it. “The offer is still open if you want me to take a shot at training her. My magic might be closer to her talent.” His shoulders were tense enough to have been carved from granite. “The point I was trying to make was that even a spell gone wrong doesn’t feel as contaminated as that wind. It was unfocused and...hungry. I swear I smelled blood as if a beast had just gutted a kill.” He leaned forward to look down into the fireplace, but the ashes near his foot shifted. We both retreated, fast. The scorpion that emerged was easily as ugly as the first one. It scuttled toward the hole and dove over the side before either of us had a chance to react. “Mayan curses! Did she keep those things as pets or what?” I tugged on his arm until we were outside the peri