Page 7 of Enspelled

He plunges a hand into his jeans pocket and tugs out a candy bar. “Oh, here, in case you changed your mind.”

I stare at him. “Are you crazy? I don’t want a candy bar, and I want nothing to do with a wolf. Get out of my car. Right now.”

One corner of his mouth turns up in a half-smile. “You sure you don’t want it?”

I lean toward him. “What part of me telling you to get lost before I climbed in my car and drove off didn’t you understand?”

If I could be sure that Bodie wouldn’t kill me in such an enclosed space, I’d risk a spell to get rid of him.

Though not the one I used against the tree.

I hide my shudder at the sheer…destructiveness of it. Killing things isn’t what we green witches do. Not if we can help it. Spells for defense are one thing, but an offensive spell that can destroy a tree?

Bodie tears the wrapper open before darting a glance at the cottage just outside. “Why are we breaking into a house?”

“Weare not breaking in,” I hiss. “You’re leaving soIcan—”

“Find some way to help your haunted friend?” he interrupts, never losing his smile.

His smile is disturbing. Wolves are like Keane Destin or Liam Wolfe, gruff and growly. They don’t go around smiling and offering to help witches.

Unless this is some trick.

My eyes narrow. “Did Liam send you?”

“Who’s Liam?”

I search his face, but his amiable expression is impossible to see through. I refuse to believe that he’s easygoing, but this mask is convincing as hell.

“The alpha of Madden Grove,” I tell him, observing him even closer.

“Never met him. You must really like your friend to be breaking into someone’s house.” He raises an eyebrow. “Unless this is a habit of yours.”

“I do not go around breaking into…” My voice trails off as a thought suddenly occurs to me. “What makes you think I’m breaking in?”

“You did before. I heard you tell your nightgown-wearing friend you snuck in to steal a spell, so I’m guessing there must be another one to get rid of the wolf souls.”

“You were in the grocery store while I was talking with Briar. How did you hear?”

“It’s not a big parking lot or grocery store.”

He was eavesdropping. The nosy…

A dozen different spells filter through my mind. Spells that could make him bald and steal his ability to speak, or even make him think he was a mouse.

But then I discard the idea because that’s not the green witch way. Petty and cruel magic tricks are what the once-living-and-breathing Calla sisters would do for spite, but not me. Not after seeing all the things they did to Briar.

I could never do the same to anyone else.

“Why are you even here?” I demand. “Didn’t you say you were a drifter? Surely it’s time for you to drift to somewhere else.”

“Nope.”

I wait for more of an explanation about why he’s decided to stick around.

His smile widens.

“That’s it? That’s all you’re going to say?”

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