Chapter 6

MISTY

“I’m ready,” I said. I had no doubt Lloyd would reject me, especially if he thought I was a witch, however asinine his logic was.

“Ready to tell me which coven you’re from?” he asked, crouching before me, one hand gripping the table’s edge. I couldn’t help but notice the broad wrists and long fingers—a pianist’s hands.

I rolled my eyes. “I just told you I am not a witch, and no matter how many times you ask, the answer will be the same. But I am ready for you to reject me. Let’s get this over with so I can go home,” I demanded fiercely, even though it caused excruciating pain, and Cammy was whimpering in agony. “I know you want to.”

He laughed mockingly. “Before the two weeks are over, you will admit the truth.”

In other words, he would use the mate bond against me until I admitted I was a witch, and then he’d reject me.

“So, all you want is for me to admit it?”

“Partially.”

“Fine, I’m a witch. Now, can I go?”

His expression turned to disbelief. “You’re lying.”

“No, no, no. On Sundays, I put on my square-toed shoes and pointy hat and jump off the roof.” He looked at me as though I’d gone mad. “You know, like Sabrina, the teenage witch?”

His eyes narrowed. “And she is your friend? Where can I find her?” he asked.

I laughed out loud. “It’s a series, you idiot.” His baffled expression told me he had no idea. “You know, on TV?”

“So, she’s not your friend? But where can I find her?”

Okay, he definitely grew up in bumfuck nowhere. “She’s an actress. Didn’t they have a TV where you grew up?”

“I don’t watch,” he conceded.

“I’m not a damn witch.” Pushing him away, I got up, and he followed suit.

“For some reason, you can’t remember, but you will…,” he promised.

I let out a long-suffering sigh, acutely aware of his body so close to mine.

He gripped my chin and stared into my eyes speculatively, a grimace on his face as though he couldn’t bear my smell or the arousal I was emitting. I glanced down at his crotch and saw he wasn’t unaffected.

“You can go,” he dismissed me.

~“He can’t handle our proximity,”~ Cammy said gleefully.

~“It’s just the mate bond…”~

I strode out the door, breathed deeply, and linked Dawn. ~“Are we still going? ’Cause my punishment is done.”~

~“Awesome, I’ll pick you up at 9:45.”~

I walked home, deep in thought. The whole conversation had been surreal. He thought I was a witch because I smelled like one… What did a witch smell like?

Blood tells the true story… I’d never heard such shite in my life. Was this an excuse so he could reject me? But then why didn’t he?

I hadn’t been able to control my arousal, but neither had he.

~“I don’t think you are a witch,”~ Cammy said. ~“Witches don’t have wolves, but they did exist.”~

~“How do you know that?”~

~“I don’t know, but it’s a feeling deep inside me.”~

It was a ridiculous accusation. I’d seen enough movies about the Salem witch trials, but they hadn’t been witches, just humans who had an affinity for healing and herbs.

Still, he planted a tiny seed of doubt in my mind. Was that why things always happened around me? Were witches born or made?

I snuck around the back of the house into my room and sat on the bed in a daze.

I was good at reading between the lines, and there was something about him other than raw power, which I couldn’t put my finger on. He must be an alpha, but why was he here as beta?

The power he exhibited was immense, and while I knew that some alphas were stronger and more dominant than others, his dominance was off the charts.

And I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt he believed in witches.

He only trained the elites, and now I wondered why Uncle Zack needed an extra beta for training. Perry mentioned that this was a new development—was a war coming? If yes, I wanted no part of that.

Why would he want me to remember I was a witch? For what purpose? I had to find out more about him. And he’d used the word brassiere. Who talks like that? I got the feeling he didn’t know what a television was.

Those books on the table looked centuries old. They even smelled old.

~“He could have been raised in the old ways and had a tutor,”~ Cammy suggested.

~“I guess.”~

I’d seen a cell phone, though. I wished I knew his last name so I could Google him, but werewolves generally didn’t post on social media.

Grabbing my phone, I called Chelsea.

“This is a surprise,” she said, her face popping up on the screen. “Are you done working?”

I hadn’t spoken to her much since moving here and felt terrible. “Yes, and I’m sorry I haven’t called you, but I’m bushed by the time I get home. Please, don’t be angry that I haven’t confided in you, but I have so much to tell you, and I need your help.”

“Okay, whatever it is, I’m here for you,” she assured.

“I can’t tell you everything because I am under orders not to speak to anyone, but he didn’t say anything about texting.” I grinned. “Whatever I can’t verbalize, I’ll text, okay?”

“Whoa, this sounds very clandestine. I love it. Okay, go.”

I told her about the pack, the training, and my suspicions, and I typed everything about Lloyd and what happened.

“I don’t know what to say—a witch? They did exist, you know.”

“Really? Oh.”

~“Told you,”~ Cammy muttered.

“Goddess, I need time to process this. I can speak to Granddad, but you owe me.” She pulled a face, and I grinned. “I know that werewolves and witches never got on. You know what I don’t understand? Why hasn’t Lloyd rejected you already if he hates witches, as you say? It makes no sense. Fuck Misty, I’m so sorry. I wish I were there.”

Now that I’d told her, I felt so much better, and I knew she would move heaven and earth to help me.

“I love you,” I said, tears pricking my eyes.

“I love you too. Besties forever. I still can’t get over that he made you undress. I bet he was horny as fuck. No one can resist the mate bond.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think that will help me.”

“But I will. By the way, have you been invited to a gala evening at the palace?”

“Huh? I haven’t heard anything, but that doesn’t mean much.”

“Oh, Alpha Martin told the pack this morning. All alphas and betas, and their mates and offspring, are invited. It would be awesome to see each other.”

“I don’t understand. If it’s alphas and betas, why are you going?”

“Oh shit, I completely forgot to tell you. Alpha Martin offered my dad the beta position. Listen, I have to go, my mom is calling. I’ll call when I have some information.” She hung up.

Her dad had been made beta—wow, but if we were invited to the palace, I would get to see her, and that thought alone made my week.

Checking the time, I rushed into the shower, waving a tired goodnight to my parents snuggling on the couch before getting ready.

~“We’re here,”~ Dawn linked me, and I snuck stealthily out through the back and into the car.

“Party time,” I yelled as soon as we were speeding away and the mood was set.

It took about half an hour to get to Sleazy’s, and from the looks of things, it was dark and dingy. But with everything that had happened, I wanted to lose myself in the beat and forget all about Lloyd.

Perry bounced out of the car as soon as Dawn parked.

“Tequila is what we need to get going,” Perry claimed.

“True dat,” Fallon agreed, bouncing on her high heels.

The place was grungy, and maybe I was a tad overdressed, but I didn’t care. Elbowing our way to the bar counter, which had a million drinks spilled on it, Dawn shouted the order to the bartender.

The place was loud, and a couple of hours in here would render all of us half deaf.

“Bottoms up,” I yelled, and we downed two tequilas in a row before fighting our way to the dance floor.

The music was pumping, strobe lights flashed in rapid bursts, freezing dancers in mid-moves like snapshots. Neon lasers cut through the haze of smoke, casting shifting patterns on the sweat-slicked crowd.

The music was intense, and in no time, I was dancing, grinning, breathless, surrounded by guys.

One especially handsome guy moved in close, pulling me against his chest with a confident grin.

He spun us into the rhythm, twirling me around so fast I laughed out loud, dizzy and exhilarated. But the laughter caught in my throat when I realized he’d twirled us right off the dance floor—into a dim, narrow side corridor.

“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I snapped, yanking myself free—only to realize I was surrounded.

~“Shit!”~ Cammy yelled.

I was stronger than a human, but not strong enough to take on five at once.

Before I could say another word, a scream of pain tore through the air behind me.

Perry must have been close.