Shattered (the Spellbound Series Book 2) by Rene Lanausse

the only thing that keeps her powers in check is a necklace with a pewter pendant shaped like a pentagram. A necklace that, along with the rest of her dark-and-gloomy attire, she hasn’t worn since Selene’s death.
                  “I haven’t had the chance to tell her,” Alyssa answers after a few seconds of contemplation. “I haven’t even told her that I’m a spellcaster. She’s as normal as they come, so I want things between us to just be… well, normal.”
                  “Oh.” I understand Alyssa’s instinct to protect average human beings from the truth. It’s an instinct that’s been keeping me from telling my friend Jenna that anything’s been amiss.
                  “And besides, I’m not sure my ‘condition’ is going to be a problem anymore.”
                  “Why not?”
                  “I’ve been teaching myself how to maintain control when my powers start getting out of hand.” Alyssa sighs, and rests her head on one of her palms. “The necklace was just a means of restraining it, Selene’s way of doing things. Now that I understand how my powers work, I’ve been working at keeping them reigned in until they’re needed at full force. And they’re amplified when my emotions run rampant… so much so, that I could probably even kick your ass, Nephilim.”
                  “Yeah, right,” I mutter as I roll my eyes. “You couldn’t take me in a million years.”
                  A dangerous smile spreads across Alyssa’s face. “Is that a challenge, Santos?”
                  “Maybe. It’d be nice to spar with someone other than Krystal, for once.”
                  “We’ll see.” Alyssa slides further into her side of the booth, and Lily takes the now open seat. “Hey stranger,” she says once Lily’s settled in.
                  “Hey. Sorry that took so long, they were out of Marlboro Reds. Not once in the history of smoking has that ever happened.”
                  “I wouldn’t be so sure.”
                  “I’m serious! There’s been research done…”
                  I watch Alyssa and Lily bicker, amused but hardly listening, and occasionally try to catch a glimpse of our waiter to see if our food is done yet. Something taps my leg under the table, and I reach under to see if I can grasp it. Instead of finding Nick’s hand, my fingers wrap around a long, thin box in a plastic bag. Maybe Lily is trustworthy after all. I take the bag and slip it into my back pocket, thankful for the timely arrival of both our waiter and our orders. Lily winks at me over her plate of shrimp alfredo, but neither of the others seem to have noticed our exchange at all.
                  The rest of the meal passes without incident. Alyssa, Nick, and Lily indulge in conversation, while I take my time with a massive plate of lasagna primavera. I offer a few comments here and there, but I have too much on my mind to really participate much. I realize part of the way through the meal that Lily’s getting particularly chummy with Nick; she laughs a little too hard at his jokes, and they both seemingly forget their food for minutes at a time when they delve into topics of mutual interest. Alyssa doesn’t seem bothered by their behavior, so I keep my mouth shut. All the same, I watch the two of them closely. I may have decided to like Lily, but I sincerely hope I won’t have to watch her around my boyfriend.
                  Once everyone is done, we split the check, and decide to go our separate ways. Alyssa and Lily want to go bowling on 44 th street, but Nick and I want to call it a night. I wrap Alyssa into a tight hug before they go, and offer one to Lily as well. Surprisingly, she accepts the gesture; she didn’t really strike me as a hugger. As we release each other, she murmurs, “It was