Page 29 of Revenge is a Witch

He rubs the back of his neck, struggling to find the words. "I know you’ve got your no-dating-until-after-graduation thing, and honestly, I respect the hell out of that. I really do. I admire your focus and restraint."

“Uh-huh,” I murmur, my brain already starting to jump to conclusions, though I can’t piece them together just yet.

"But the truth is…" He takes a deep breath. "I’ve loved you for a while now, Zaria. And every day it gets harder. Not seeing you, not telling you."

My brain does a full stop. Like, full system malfunction.Loved me?

“Derek… what?” I stammer, completely thrown off balance. “Maybe you just think it’s love, but it’s—maybe it’s just a crush. It’ll pass.”

He shakes his head, looking a little sheepish, but his eyes are earnest. “No. I know it’s not just a crush. It’s… my wolf.”

“Your wolf?” I ask, suddenly even more confused. “What about your wolf?”

Derek hesitates for a second, but then he leans in, his voice softer, more serious than I’ve ever heard him. “Whenever I’m near you, my wolf… he just wants to reach out and mark you. And I’m telling you all this, but I don’t expect anything from you, Z. I just… I want to be around you. If that’s okay.”

My heart skips a beat, and then another.Mark me?It takes a moment for it to sink in, but when it does, I’m hit with the realization—if his wolf wants to mark me, then that means... I’m his mate.

I stare at him, my mind racing. He’s known this, and he’s kept it to himself this whole time. How long has he been feeling like this? And why didn’t he say anything sooner?

There’s a moment of silence, where I can see the uncertainty in his eyes, and before I can think about it too hard, I lean in and wrap him in a tight, sideways hug. My arms loop around his neck, pulling him close.

I take a deep breath, my heart pounding in my chest as I look at Derek. There’s something so raw, so vulnerable in his expression that it makes my own defenses crumble. I can’t hide behind sarcasm right now. He deserves more than that. He deserves… everything.

“You deserve someone to love you,” I whisper, my voice steady, though my heart feels like it’s racing. “Someone who can be there for you, fully. And I want to be that person. I really do. But you don’t deserve someone whose mind is split in a million directions, with half of it focused on revenge against Kyla.” I feel this overwhelming urge to make him understand. “I want to give you what you deserve, Derek. But right now… I’m not fully here. I need to get this whole thing with Kyla out of the way first. Then, when that’s done, I can be with you. Completely. No distractions, no divided attention. You don’t have to wait until after graduation, but just… let me deal with this first. And then, we’ll go on a date, or whatever it is fiends like us do these days.”

I pull back slightly, hoping for a smile, some kind of reaction that tells me he’s okay with waiting. But what happens next takes me completely by surprise.

In one swift motion, Derek grabs the back of my neck, pulling me into a kiss so deep and so full of emotion that it sends a shock through my entire body. It’s not the kind of kiss you forget—there’s something raw, something real in the way our lips meet, and for a moment, everything else falls away. The world, Kyla, the mess that is my life—none of it matters.

It’s just me and Derek.

When he finally pulls back, I’m left breathless, my heart hammering in my chest, my mind spinning. I’ve never feltanything like that before. It’s like every nerve in my body has been lit on fire, and for a split second, I forget how to speak.

He looks at me with that same intensity, his voice low and sure. “I’ll wait however long you want, Z. I’ll be here.”

And just like that, everything shifts. It’s not just Derek, not just the banter and the teasing. There’s something deeper between us now, something I can’t ignore. Something I don’twantto ignore.

Guinea Pig

Derek had left in a rush, muttering something about a potential pack war and a phone call from his dad. He’d assured me, of course, that it wasn’t as dramatic as it sounded—just his dad and his uncle having what he called an “old man screaming match.” Still, the idea of it didn’t sit right with me, but I let it go. Derek could handle himself, and he’d promised it wasn’t dangerous.

Now, I’m alone in my room, flipping through books on Binding Hexes. The piles of notes and spellbooks are slowly taking over my desk, but nothing concrete is jumping out at me. After what feels like hours of cross-referencing symbols and incantations, I come up with three possible solutions. Two involve complex potions, and both have a decent chance of working… but without a test subject, there’s no way to be sure.

Frustrated, I toss a book aside and glance at the trash bin, where a crumpled note with Sebastian’s number stares back at me. Sighing, I fish it out and grab my phone.Ugh, this is going to be painful.I open a text window and type:

Oi, I need you. It's Zaria btw

How badly? Does it ache?

Do you want your hex gone or not you prick

I can assure you its more than a prick

I groan, throwing the phone onto the bed.God, why does he have to be like this?I have no interest in poking the bear—or the vampire—any further. I busy myself preparing the potions, knowing he’ll show up soon enough.

Sure enough, about twenty minutes later, there’s a knock at my door. I open it to find Sebastian leaning against the frame, his usual smirk plastered across his face.

“Locking the door? How scandalous,” he says, his voice dripping with innuendo as I click the lock behind him.

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