Page 11 of Snips, Snails and Werewolf Tails

"No, it's n-nothing like that," I stammer. How do I clarify what I mean without sounding like a fool? "I couldn't care less about the meeting, but—" This time, I stop myself short.

"But what?"

Elspeth stares back at me with blatant curiosity and I can't help but notice her slightly parted lips as she awaits my answer. The neurons in my brain are all firing at once and I know I should take a breath and wait. I shouldn't do or say anything until I have a chance to calm down and think clearly. It's my feral instincts' fault I can't.

All I see is the rise and fall of her chest. All I feel is the puff of her breath on my face as we sit beside each other on the narrow bench. And all I sense is the mounting desire to claim her as mine.

I don't know what comes over me, and in error, I don't fight against it. I lean forward and kiss her.

The kiss lasts for no more than a couple of seconds, but that is enough to make me feel like my life is lingering on her lips. For a moment, Elspeth kisses me back, making me forget my worries about this being a mistake. But then Elspeth pulls away from me.

"I'm sorry," I blurt out awkwardly. "I shouldn't have—"

"No, it's—" Elspeth doesn't finish her thought. She just jumps up from the bench and hurries away. I watch her as she goes, and I want to call out after her, but I can't think of anything to say that would remedy the situation. So, I simply sit and watch as she fades into the distance, leaving me to wonder what I've done and why.

Eventually I get up and follow her, to make sure she gets back to her apartment safely. But I keep my distance, and this time, I don't go up to her rooftop garden and I don't peer through her window. I simply stand in the alley until I hear the click of the lock on her apartment door, and then I turn to leave.

I shouldn't have given into my instincts or my desire.

But I couldn't help it. Something about her calls to me, stirring a place deep inside me I've never noticed before.

7

ELSPETH

Idon't run away from Lucian because I'm scared or repulsed by his advances. I run because I'm overwhelmed by how the kiss made mefeel.

I've been navigating the unfamiliar territory of my emotions for a while now—ever since Sybil decided to break with ancient witch tradition and use emotions to fuel magic instead of bottling them up to avoid their influence. The transition from avoiding my emotions to embracing them was a fairly easy and natural one for me. I always felt like I was more in tune with my feelings than the other witches in the coven anyway.

But this time feltdifferent. Feeling angry or annoyed or even slightly smitten with a good-looking stranger is much,mucheasier to control than the feelings I had when Lucian kissed me. That feeling was something else entirely. I felt like a swelling volcano moments from eruption, and if I didn't run, I would've been consumed.

But I wanted to be consumed. I wanted to keep on kissing him, until I could feel nothing but the press of his mouth on mine. Andthatis exactly the problem: he makes it impossible to think clearly. So, I did the only thing that I could think of to do—I ran.

I don't even really know where I'm running too, I just need to put distance between me and Lucian. Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do to distance myself from my own thoughts, which are consumed with him as I race down the streets and out of Back Bay toward my apartment in South End. Images of Lucian swirl around in my head and mix with a flurry of feelings that I am wholly unprepared for.

I don't see him like the other witches do. They see Lucian as a grisly predator, just like they seeallwerewolves. I think they're wrong. Some of my coven sisters rely too heavily on classic stereotypes. They should be more progressive and forward thinking. After all, there are stereotypes about witches too, but none of us have warts and crooked fingers.

I think Lucian iswonderful—strong, protective, and kind. And even though he lied to me about the threat to the coven, I can't help but forgive him for it.

Still, the werewolves are about to go to war with the vampires, and that is no small matter. I'm torn about what to do. On the one hand, the coven is responsible for mediating the peace between the supernatural factions, and I would probably be better off sticking with the other witches and acting as a neutral party.

But on the other hand, I don't want to see Lucian get hurt. As alpha, he will be leading his pack in the battle, which means that he'll be at risk. Michael might strike him down and take his pack's land. If this was just a one-on-one fight, then I would place my wager on Lucian. He is twice as big as Mickael and can transform into a giant, vicious canine. But a war isn't just a duel between two people; there will be a horde of vampires trying to take Lucian out.

He's going to get himself killed.

I turn the corner toward my apartment and slow my run to a walk. I'm already winded and out of breath. Sybil, Blair, and Isla think that I'm weaker than them, and I want to prove them wrong. I want to show them, but mostly Lucian, how strong I am.

I can do a whole lot of damage too, both with my spells and with the potions I can concoct with reagents from my garden. No one gives folk magic enough credit, but green witchcraft has been around a lot longer than some of the more modern practices, and there areancientspells that I can perform that invoke great power.

But I'm strong even without those. So strong that I decide to go speak with the vampire leader myself, without Lucian. It's brazen, stupid, and likely to blow up in my face, but I have to try. This war will put everything I love at risk.

My coven sisters would try to talk me out of this, I'm sure. Witches aren't welcome on the vampire clan's private property,especiallynot with the current tensions. Even before the current tensions, the vampires have always been touchy about anyone showing up at their door. They relish their secrecy and self-proclaimed superiority. I know I won't receive the warmest of welcomes. But I also know that Mickael would be a fool to let any harm come to me. Evenhewouldn't risk the wrath of the coven during such tumultuous times.

I enter my apartment building, sticking my key into the lock and taking the stairs three at a time. I look behind me for a moment, wondering why I didn't hear the door slamming closed behind me, and get the eerie feeling that someone else is there in the stairwell too, though I don't see anyone.

In my apartment, I collect a small amount of the potion I made for Lucian. I left myself a tiny bit in the bottom of a teacup, just in case I needed some, too. I funnel it into a small vial and tuck it into my bra to keep with me. I'm not sure how much this potion will help me, but I figure it can't hurt to have a few extra things in my arsenal.

"I seriously must be a glutton for punishment," I say to myself, shaking my head as I head back out the door. "First the werewolf den, and now the vampire clan? It's like I'mlookingfor trouble."

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