Page 27 of Captive Witch

I nod, letting a small smile creep onto my face. “Well, since you said please.”

He glares at me, whipping his hands out and tickling my sides. I shriek, jumping off my stool, but he pulls me into him, his lips grazing my ear. “Finish your coffee so we can leave, or I might never let you go.”

He presses a kiss to my neck, then sets me down with a smack on my ass. My face heats, a blush creeping up my neck, and I quickly drain my coffee. I haven’t texted Jules about the trip, wanting to see the look on her face when I surprise her, and I can’t wait. My wolf isn’t crazy about the idea of being so far from Gideon, but we both take comfort in knowing we’re coming back. Because this is where we belong, and I know that now.

Finishing my coffee and grabbing my backpack, I meet Gideon at the front door. I move to grab the knob, then pause. “Um, I…” Turning around, I face him. “How do I get there? I-I can’t drive, though I could shift, but—”

“I’m driving you, little witch,” he says, smiling down at me and tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. “But when you get back, I’ll teach you how to drive.”

“But… it’s so far. You’re driving there and back in one day? Are you… picking me up too?”

He laughs, grabbing my hand and pulling me out the door. “Of course I am. I wouldn’t want anyone else to get to spend those three hours with you.” Kissing my knuckles, he walks me to the car and opens the door for me. Leaning in, he pulls theseatbelt across my lap and clicks it into place, his fingers trailing a line of fire from hip to hip.

“I could’ve buckled myself,” I mutter, settling into the soft leather seats of the black sedan as Kaylus flies in through the open window and settles into my lap. “Wait, where’s your truck?”

“In the shop.” He peels down the driveway, gravel flying behind us, and it takes me a minute to realize it.

“Aaron’s shop? The drummer?” I chew on my lip, feeling completely lost. I thought he hated Aaron after… well, the first time I saw him lose his temper.

Gideon glances at me. “He is the only mechanic in town, and my truck needed new brakes.”

“I… I just thought you hated him. You know, after… before.” I stare out the window, watching the trees blur by in a mix of greens and browns, most of the leaves having fallen off their branches, and try not to remember the shift I’d worked at Gideon’s bar when Aaron was drunk and forced me to dance with him… earning him and his whole group to be banned from the bar.

“Hmm. I can’t say that I particularly like him, but I didn’t kill him or kick him out of the pack.” He shrugs, reaching over with one hand to hold mine. “I trust that he learned his lesson, so I don’t see a reason to worry about him. Unless something else happened you haven’t told me about?”

I shake my head, brushing my free hand over Kaylus’s sleek feathers, and rest back against the seat. Nerves eat at my gut, the coffee from this morning souring in my stomach. I’ve never been to the academy before, and now, the first time I’ll be there, I’m a wolf. Not a student. I’ll never be allowed to study there, no matter how much magic I gain.

My wolf hasn’t failed to remind me of her suggestion—finding an oracle. The academy will be flooded with witches, but lessthan ten will have oracle abilities, and I’m not entirely sure how to find out who they would be. There’s the option of finding Batya, trying to tell her what happened with Monique, but she’ll know who I am—what I am. I’m amazed that I’m able to go to the academy at all, really, especially after Monique told me the coven was hunting for me.

“How did you get the academy to approve my visit?” I ask, avoiding Gideon’s gaze for fear of what he’ll say.

“I filled out the visitation paperwork for your sister’s dorm mate with a false name.” He squeezes his hand around mine.

“So… the coven won’t know I’m there, right?” I turn to face him, the late morning sun slanting in through the window.

“No, Adara, they won’t know. And if anything out of the ordinary happens, I want you to get out of there.” Glancing at me, he raises his brows. “Kaylus will be with you, but if you can’t wait for me, then leave. Text me, call me, run into the woods. Just… get out of there.” He clears his throat, his grip on the steering wheel tightening. “Nothing will happen, though. For the weekend, you’re Kita Landrey, Wren’s distant cousin. No one will suspect a thing.”

I nod, my lips curling up into a small smile.

“Why are you thinking about finding an oracle?”Kaylus asks, his eyes closed as if he were asleep.

Peeking from under my lashes, I look at Gideon briefly before returning my attention back to the raven in my lap. His feathers are silk beneath my fingers.“I think they can help me find the truth. I don’t think Gideon is telling me everything, and there are some things that don’t make sense.”

Kaylus wriggles a bit in my lap, ruffling his feathers.“What things?”

“Well… why did the wolf council run off when the last plan didn’t work out? Where did Aramin go? Gideon thinks she’s working with the council maybe, since she’d been connected toRathmann, but… what if he’s wrong? And where’s Monique? Why was she working alone?”I sigh, looking back out the window.“My wolf wanted me to find Batya, but I don’t—”

“No,”he says,“not her. Not with the coven hunting you.”

I pull my lower lip between my teeth, gnawing at the sensitive skin.“Exactly, but the academy will have a few other oracles, so maybe they’ll help me find an answer to at least one thing, if not all of it.”

The three hour drive to Rhode Island is over quickly, and my palms sweat the closer we get. Thick forest lines each side of the road, and cracking open the window, the salty smell of ocean air wafts in. Slowly, the smell of lavender encroaches on us.

Gideon reaches over and takes my hand. “You know that spell you used to hide your witch scent at my bar?”

“Um, the one that didn’t work?” The one I’d used when sneaking into his bar to cheat at cards… and he caught me—and turned me.

“It worked on everyone else, little witch.” He smirks, jutting his chin toward the road. “There’s a shield ahead of us. Do you think you could mask our wolves with a similar spell?”

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