Page 38 of His Whispered Witch

“More magic,” he said slowly.

“Oh god, did I hurt you?”

“No. Hurt wasn’t the sensation…”

She heard a hysterical giggle and realized it was coming from her.

“There’s a…” he began, “old wives’ tale? Myth? A slight hitch in the proceedings?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Some pairs that I talked about can do that, share magic.”

“Like the wolf and the snake?”

“No, a wolf and a witch. Together. They can share magic between them. That’s how my mom could build wards by herself. It wasn’t by herself. It was with her, um, mate.”

“Mate?”

Finally, he turned and met her eyes. “Yeah.”

“Mate? Like dogs mating?”

“Well, we are all animals, but no, sex isn’t necessary. Just a connection. Not that sex isn’t great. Sign me up! But this is different. This is magic.”

“Between a witch and a shifter. So this happens any time we get near each other? Is that what the treaty was trying to prevent?”

“No. Maybe?”

What the hell was he saying? That they were now tied together, too? Now the messed-up trio was a foursome, and she was roped into it?

Without a conscious thought, she was standing up and pulling on her t-shirt, since her bra had gone missing.

“That’s not a thing,” she muttered. “This is not a thing that happens!”

“It was literally a thing that just happened.” Asher stood exactly where he’d landed and finally dropped his gaze. “Forget I said anything.”

“Do we have a choice?” Oh god, was this some kind of arranged marriage via magic, not just scheming aunts?

“No!” He winced. “Maybe.”

“So I don’t have a choice.”

“I don’t have a choice either! And yes, we absolutely do. I know at least one woman who completely rejected her fated mate.”

“Fate? This is fate?”

She felt sick. At least with an arranged marriage, everyone acknowledged it was for the coven’s convenience, not the pair’s. They didn’t ever claim there was some kind of real connection between prospective lovers. This was something else.

“I’m not trying to trap you,” he said. “I’m just trying to explain what you maybe felt. It’s not something I did or you did that we can control.”

“So we’re just ravening beasts, slaves to instinct and ancient forces.”

“No!” He closed his eyes again. “Kind of. That is certainly what it feels like to me some days.”

She froze by the door, remembering his pain. He seemed as bewildered as she, just as lost and threatened.

She had a vision of walking back to him and taking him in her arms, but his words echoed in her mind: mate, mate, mate.

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