Page 18 of Blood Witch

“Oh hell, it’s my full name, okay? But no one calls me that.”

“Except him,” Maia murmured, and my cheeks burned as everyone’s attention turned to me.

“I think Mabel is a beautiful name. It means lovable. Just like your friend here,” Fin added, and I about died right there.

Why were boys so confusing?

I mean, if he kept saying things like that, I was liable to do something really dumb. Like fall for him.

“Hey, are you okay?” Jade whispered, sliding a half-full cup of tea to me.

It was her lavender and chamomile blend, my favorite. I always added cream and honey to sweeten it, and she’d left me plenty of room to do just that. I nodded my head, mixing my tea, and avoided meeting Fin’s gaze. I could feel those silver eyes of his boring into me. I mean, damn. They were like brands, marking me with intent.

“Okay, I need you to tell me everything about your magic, Mabel. When did you first experience this feeling? This hunger?” he asked.

“Um, I didn’t really notice it or understand what it was until I came here. To Westwood,” I began.

The others had already heard most of this, so I did not mind telling it again. Arlo nodded encouragingly. The rest just sat, supporting me with their proximity, and wasn’t that amazing?

“I hid myself from everyone. I tried to avoid other witches and wizards because my hunger got crazy strong around them. Arlo noticed I had an affinity for earth magic,” I confessed, embarrassed. “I, uh, sort of siphoned from Jade without her consent or knowledge the first time I saw her.”

“I see,” Fin said, nodding for me to continue.

“Mabe didn’t know what she was doing, and she never hurt me,” Jade was quick to chime in.

“Look, we know the danger and the myths about blood witches, but Mabe has been managing fine. Arlo helps her,” Tana spoke up in my defense.

“Actually, I think there is something else going on,” Fin began, raising his eyebrows.

“How do you mean?” I asked.

“Explain,” Enok said, the teacher in him eager to learn.

“The mythology surrounding blood witches is based on the preconception that they use magic to perform spells, castings. They were hunted to extinction because of the dark magic they practiced. What you are describing is something else,” Fin said, and once more, he seemed to speak only to me.

It was something else, being on the receiving end of all that intensity. My nerve endings sizzled with awareness. I wondered what he would do if I got up and sat in his lap, like Rio did with Magnus. I mean, it was silly. We’d only shared a kiss,er, okay, it was more like kisses, as in several.

But we were not dating, and we sure as hell were not fated mates. But there was something there. I could not deny that. Call it animal attraction or chemistry. Whatever it was, I was drawn to the man, and the sentiment echoed within me.

“Fin, why were you sent to Westwood?” Enok asked.

“To investigate the disappearance of blood from the infirmary’s supply. The Council wanted to be sure no one on campus was doing anything with dark magic.”

“Like what?” Rio snorted. “Summon a demon or something?”

“Yes,” he replied, wiping the smile off my blue-haired friend’s face. “Something exactly like that.”

“Shit,” she muttered. Magnus rubbed her back and pulled her protectively against him. The kraken shifter glared at the Enforcer, but Fin simply shrugged.

“You can imagine my surprise when I happened upon Mabel being hassled by some idiot wizards—”

“What? Mabe! You promised you would tell me if that happened again,” Jade growled, and I rolled my eyes, giving Fin athanks a lotlook.

“Okay, let’s settle down,” Arlo announced. “So, what do you think she is, if not a blood witch?”

“Honestly. I don’t know. But she needs to feed regularly, right?”

“Yeah. At first, I could go weeks without feeding. But lately, the hunger is back in hours.”

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