Page 31 of Blood Witch

“Okay, let’s start from the top. If that was a claiming bite, then yes, I accept. I want to be with you, Mabel. Only you. It’s the only thing I knew for sure since I saw you here at Westwood,” he started, and I could hear the truth in his voice.

What the fuck?

But it was right there, ringing out in every word he uttered. Somehow, I could just hear it. Fin paused, looking down at me, and I nodded for him to continue.

“You’re not going to argue with that?” he asked, and I could see he was surprised as well as amused.

“I get it, some girls need to be convinced of their worth. Look, I am not conceited, but we are not talking about my self-image here. I know I have value. Even being raised without family and living on the streets couldn’t rob me of that. Besides, I trust you to know your own mind. If you say you want me, Fin, then I believe you.”

“Just like that, huh?” he asked, flashing a megawatt, panty-melting grin.

“Just like that. For the record, though, if that was not a claiming bite, I still want to be with you. All right, go on,” I confessed, exposing a bit of vulnerability, but I figured he’d earned it. I nodded, encouraging him to continue.

He settled me against him once more, rubbing my back and shoulders in lazy circles as he spoke. The quiet was lovely, and being with him like this was so very nice. I never expected to feel this close to someone, and Fin was superb. He seemed to anticipate my needs and wants, and he loved touching me, which was awesome, because I loved it too.

“Next, item on your list. Yes, I did just get back from the Council and first, Mabe, I apologize, but I had sent that blood bag to our lab for confirmation on what it was exactly, and the Council found out. Luckily, someone here covered for you. They forwarded medical records regarding your very serious medical condition. I had no idea you suffered from hemophilia—”

“What? I don’t. I’m not a hemophiliac,” I mumbled.

“Well, I assumed it was Arlo who sent the records. Even if they aren’t real, maybe he could have forged them,” Fin replied with a shrug.

“I don’t know. Remind me to ask him,” I murmured, enjoying the feel of his heart beating against my cheek as he resumed talking.

“The Council of Covens is at odds, Mabel. There is dissension in the ranks as they quibble about the magic deprivation sickness hitting the witch and wizard community. You and your friends are the topic of a whole lot of debate,” he said, shaking his head.

“Can you tell me more?”

“I didn’t even think if I could tell you this, since they gagged me with an addendum to our contract. Fucking magical oaths with hidden loopholes like that should be banned, but it is my fault for not knowing better. Still, as my mate, I should think you come first,” he murmured, pressing his lips to my head.

My heart squeezed in response.

His mate.

He called me his mate.

Was it crazy to believe this all so fast?

Maybe. But I never did anything anyone ever expected of me.

So, why should this be any different?

“Do Enforcers have mates?” I asked, ignoring the other information for now.

Fin’s fingers brushed against my chin, and he lifted my face gently. His smile was soft and warm, so inviting, I got shivers all over from that one look. I had never seen anyone with eyes that shade of silver before.

“My people are descendants of the Vesuvian Beast, the chimera whose silver fire almost destroyed the city of Pompeii in the first century.”

“But you are not a shifter?”

“No, I am not a shifter, but the blood of one of the most lethal beasts ever to have walked the earth survives within me. My father is of that line, and my mother, well, she was from an older witch lineage. I inherited my stores of magic from her. The runes you see on my skin are remnants of past spells, the ones from current spells will still glow until the contract is complete.”

“But all your runes glow,” I said, lifting myself up.

Fin frowned, looking down at his chest. I raised one hand and touched his skin, sure enough, the etchings on his skin started to pulse and glow. Between the class I was taking on runes and the markings on my own body whenever my hunger went wild, I had my fair share of dealings with cuneiforms as well.

My skin broke out in glowing glyphs whenever I experienced that bone-deep hunger that turned my vision red. I did not quite know what they meant. They were in a language I had yet to come across in my studies, but they were a part of me and I was determined to discover what they meant. Still, I could use what I knew to help Fin.

“How is this happening?” he murmured, face slack with shock.

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