Page 79 of Wolf Mate

“I haven’t learned the details yet—I found the book late last night and read the first five pages, but I plan on heading back to the library today to see what else it reveals.” He lifted a finger. “There was one thing on the first page. The priestess detailed the way she discovered Foster, the arcane-born. He was near death when she found him. He lost control of his power in the middleof the town, but he escaped. He continued to panic and caused a mild earthquake that alerted the witches to a magical presence. They found him near death from exerting so much magic.”

Shit. I couldn’t imagine the panic he must have felt. I understood the blood humming and all the sensations that went with it, but causing an actual earthquake was hard to fathom. I’d shaken the ground under my feet and nearby, but nothing that would register on the Richter scale. “How did they know he caused it?”

“They carried him back to their coven and let him rest in one of their houses. When he came to, he reacted much like you did the other day. He could hardly stay awake, and he was famished. But he told them about hisblood jumping.He knew he’d caused the quake, and the signature around the center of where his magic was released had the same magical essence that was within him.”

Jumping. I didn’t describe my magic like that, but it made sense. He must have been talking about his blood vibrating. After I’d gotten so worn down, I hadn’t felt it anymore.

“And the priestess also spoke of Foster’s death five years later. His magic took a toll on him. The book is all about him and their story.”

The fizzing in my blood felt ominous. “Is it the same for witches?”

“No.” His lips pressed into a line. “If we use magic, we get drained, but our bodies heal. It doesn’t take the same toll on us as it does on you.”

I kicked at the ground. “So, I could’ve died the other day.” Though I hadn’t released a huge burst of power like Foster had, I had used mine for hours.

He licked his lips. “I didn’t know that, and I’m sorry. I’m not sure if you were close to death or if you were severely drained, but either way, once you feel fatigued, we need to stop.”

A bitter laugh escaped me. I had told him I needed to stop, but he’d pressured me, and I’d trusted him. I couldn’t believe how foolish I’d been. I hadn’t wanted to disappoint him, which was why I’d pushed through. I’d been so desperate for a friend.

“In my defense, when I saw how bad off you were, I refused to train you for the rest of the week, remember? We weren’t supposed to restart until today because I wanted to make sure you were recovered.” He clasped his hands and shook them in front of him. “You have no clue how upset I was last night. I stayed up all night, knowing I hurt you.”

I sighed, reading how guilty he felt. But he was right. I’d begged him on Thursday to train me again, and he’d pushed back, wanting to make sure I was ready. How could I hold getting drained against him when he hadn’t known and refused to train me until I’d recovered? “It’s not your fault. It’s just easier to be angry at you for everything, but I could’ve said no. It was my fault, not yours.” He’d put my needs first, more than I had. That was one reason it had hurt so much when he’d turned into someone else this past weekend.

He put a hand on my shoulder. “I’m partly to blame too, but it’s good to know you don’t hate me for it.” He frowned. “I wish I could redo this weekend and not be such an asshole to you. I don’t even know what I was thinking. I was drunk, and the way Raffe took off with you … I was afraid I’d lost you, and I’ve been doing stupid shit since then.”

My blood settled to a jolt, the remorse coming off him lending truth to his words. Maybe we could salvage our friendship, even though that would take time. “Stop acting that way and quit giving me reasons not to talk to you.”

“Really? You’ll give me another chance?” He grinned and bounced on his feet like a little boy.

I lifted a hand. “I don’t know, but I do need help to control my power.” Raffe and the others couldn’t assist me with that,and though I might not have the best life in the world, I didn’t want todie. “But we can’t go back after what you pulled this weekend. You’ll have to prove to me that this weekend was a fluke and not how you treat everyone.” Hecate’s attitude also gave me pause. She didn’t think too highly of him, though she clearly wanted to date him. Maybe she was trying to get me out of the picture?

“That’s fair.” He bit his bottom lip despite his smile growing wider. “What if I can make it up to you?”

Here was the charming man I’d felt a connection with and trusted. But the memory of him trying to force himself on me kept popping up in my mind. “It’s going to take more than one thing. It’s going to take time.”

His smile drooped slightly, and he nodded. “Fair. But a sign of good intentions can’t hurt. Right?”

I clutched my phone harder. I didn’t know how to respond to that. It felt like a trap.

“What if I talk to someone and see if you can visit the coven library with me?”

That was unexpected. I rocked back on my heels, but the wordsomeonerepeated in my mind. He was still keeping stuff from me, making me wary of him all over again. “You mean your mother?”

He snorted, the lines of bitterness falling back on his face. “Raffe told you. Youhavebeen spending more time with him, haven’t you? You know, he’s not a great guy. He’s using you to get to me.” Maliciousness and hatred flashed like a beacon from him.

The thing was, I didn’t believe that about Raffe. Yes, we had our challenges, but he cared about me. We had a connection, and that couldn’t be faked … unless the buzzing was wolf magic. I hadn’t felt it with Lucy, but we were the same sex. Would the buzzing happen if I touched Adam or Keith? Now I couldn’thelp but wonder, but regardless, I’d felt a connection with Raffe the first time I saw him, and nothing for the other two. I could always touch Adam or Keith and see if I felt the buzz.

I didn’t want Slade to know that his seeds of doubt were working on me, so I shrugged. “He says the same thing about you. So far, you’ve proved him right.”

Slade jerked his head back like I’d slapped him. He rasped, “He’s been an ass to you.”

“He has been, but so have you.” I wouldn’t let him conveniently forget about this past weekend. “Unlikeyou, he’s saved me from threats and helped me out of a bad situation with a drunk guy. Also, he’s never lied to me or withheld information from me. He’s been doing what he thinks he has to do to make his father happy. Is that why you didn’t tell me about your mom? She didn’t want you to?”

Blinking, Slade ran a hand down his face. “Wow. You’re defendinghim?”

“You’re deflecting.” I crossed my arms. “Why didn’t you tell me about your mom? Hiding stuff from me and pushing yourself on me are two separate things that have nothing to do with Raffe.”

He exhaled noisily. “Fine. When we met, you were skittish and unsure why you were here. I worried that if you knew my mom was the head of the board at EEU, you wouldn’t want to be friends with me, so I didn’t tell you.” He avoided my eyes like he was still hiding something, but I didn’t want to call him out on it while he was coming clean.

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