Page 53 of The Secret Life of a Witch

EVALEE

“You’re lying.” Shaking my head, I kneel on the bed while eyeballing the door. I want out of here. I want to pretend none of this is true, when deep down … Well, I’ve always known I didn’t fit in with my family.I didn’t fit in with anyone.

This makes too much sense …

“There’s no way my mom and dad aren’t my parents … I mean, they have baby photos!”At least, I think they do. I’ve only actually seen one.“And I have memories of them from when I was, like, four years old.”

“That was around the time you started living with them.” Hunter appears conflicted, opening and flexing his hand while looking back and forth between the door and me. “Baby, please don’t try to run. If you do, then I’m going to have to become more difficult.”

“Why the hell do you keep calling me baby?” I twist toward him, not waiting for him to answer before I add, “And what the hell does that mean—you’re going to become more difficult?”

“It means, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you from running out that door.” His tone slightly wavers, but he hastily clearsit. “I don’t want to, but I also have to protect you know matter what.”

I shake my head, anger prickling through me. “You say that our relationship hasn’t really been a lie, but you sound nothing like the Hunter I thought I knew.” I sit back down on the bed, toward the bottom, a good distance away from him. “Why is it so necessary for me to stay inside now, when only hours ago—or last night—you and I were running around town, searching for my sister?”

“Because no one realized before now that the severity of the situation has changed.”

“And what situation would that be?”

“The demons are trying new tactics to get to you.” He casts a brief glance toward the window. “I don’t know how, but by some means, they found out you were keeping Ryleigh’s body here and are now trying to lure you underground by using her.”

I slant to the side to make eye contact with him, but he refuses to look at me.

“What do you mean, new tactics? They’ve tried to do this before?”

He nods, his gaze straying back to mine. “Ever since the day a handful of Mystic Bay Society members pulled you out of a demon’s lair, demons have been trying every trick in the book to get you back. That’s part of the reason you have so many members in your life—to protect you.” He stretches his arms toward me again, but after taking one look at my face, he draws back.

Smart wizard.

I press my fingers to the brim of my nose as my brain throbs against my skull. “None of this makes sense. And honestly, I’m not even sure if I believe you.”

“I know. I can tell.”

“How?”

“Because you haven’t tried to run for the door yet. I know you well enough to know that, when you try to run, it’s when you’re finally accepting the truth.”

He’s probably right, and I hate that he is.

He knows me too well, while I know nothing about him.

“There’s just a lot that doesn’t make sense,” I mutter with my head lowered. “I mean, why was I in a lair to begin with? What am I? Why do the demons want me? And if they want me so badly, why don’t they just take me?”

“The last part’s pretty simple to explain,” he says. “You remember how Carter touched you, and then screamed?”

Nodding, I raise my head to look at him. “And then he died for no apparent reason.”

“He died because he tried to drink in your power.”

“Sure it was. Because my power issoawesome.” I roll my eyes and shake my head. “You’ve known me forever,dude. You’ve got to come up with something better than that.”

“It’s the truth.” He scoots closer, taking slow, cautious moves. “I know you can’t cast spells very well, and you aren’t that great at charms, either. But that’s not because you’re powerless. It’s because you’re not completely a witch, and your control over your magic is …” He wavers. “Well, you really don’t have any control yet. But that’s not your fault. You just haven’t been taught properly.”

My muscles ravel tightly as his words strike deep nerves. Running for the door seems more like a better idea by the second.

“If I’m not completely a witch, then what am I?”

He sucks in a breath through his nose and releases it slowly out of his mouth. “A hybrid, obviously, but no one’s been able to figure out exactly what your bloodlines are. Do you have some witch’s blood in you?” He nods. “That much we’ve been able to figure out.” He inches even closer, lowering his voice. “Youalso have some … demon blood in you, along with traces of an unidentifiable creature.”

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