Chapter 29 Raven #2
“Fuck, I’m so—” An unexpected apology fell from his lips and then died when he realized who stood before him. “Oh, it’s you.” Disdain coated his words like poison. I hated the way he made me feel, like I’d never be good enough for him.
But I refused to let him drag me down. What did it matter if he hated me? He was just a mage, and I was just a witch. Sure, we both attended the same school, but as a second-year, he’d graduate before me.
“Yep. Just me!” I said breezily while doing my best to ignore the pain in my chest. This was the first time we’d seen each other since the confusing magic lesson. My cheeks colored at the memory of him whispering good girl in my ear.
It didn’t seem to matter how badly the mage treated me. My body still wanted him.
I focused on his aura. It seemed darker today, more gray than metallic, with deep purple strands woven through it. The longer we stood staring at each other, the more his aura tried to merge with mine.
It made no sense. The mage hated me. So why was his aura so desperate to be close to me?
Maverick’s aura behaved in the same way, but he was my mate, so of course it did. The incubus’s aura also reacted similarly, but since I knew nothing about incubi and their magic, I wasn’t sure why.
Researching incubi was on my to-do list. Along with interrogating my familiar about why he’d shown up with a very expensive watch.
But first…
“You’re supposed to be mentoring me,” I reminded Alar-dick. He scowled in return.
“The last lesson was a disaster, so it seems pretty pointless to me. Read a book or something.” He tried to pass me, but I blocked him.
A small smirk betrayed his amusement at my stubbornness, but to my surprise, he didn’t use his size to force me out of the way.
Maybe he wasn’t such a dick after all, although I still planned to head back into the forest. It wouldn’t hurt to have some orange trumpet flower potion on hand. Just in case.
“Please.” I wasn’t above begging. The goddess knew I needed help to stop my magic from spinning out of control. “You’re the best person to help me.”
He stepped closer, forcing me back against the wall. The corridor was empty, and for a moment, a small kernel of disquiet bloomed at the idea he might hurt me, but I brushed it aside. The mage was a dick, but he’d never actually hurt me. Not physically, at least.
“Are you willing to beg, little witch?” His green eyes darkened from bright emerald to a rich forest green. I swallowed hard as he caged me in with biceps so thick they strained the seams of his uniform jacket.
Even though no part of us touched, the heat of his body scorched me.
“I’m willing to beg, yes,” I admitted.
“I bet you’d look so fucking pretty on your knees, begging for me to—”
“Get your fucking hands off her!” Maverick grabbed Alaric by the shoulders and flung him away so hard he hit the wall with a sharp oomph.
“He wasn’t—” I tried to say, but Alaric hit back with a blast of icy-cold wind that knocked my bear over. Maverick roared, and a nearby window shattered.
“STOP!” Reacting to my panic, the magic inside me surged forward. Violet flames blasted out and spread up the walls, scorching several dull paintings. Both males forgot about their fight and focused on me in alarm.
“Raven! Calm down!”
“Pull your magic back now!”
“I can’t!” The more I tried, the more it got away from me like a snowball gathering speed as it rolled down a mountain. The wall of fire expanded, pushing the males back. Alaric shouted my name while trying to dowse my flames with his icy magic.
“Focus on the magic ball in your chest. Imagine reeling it back in like a ball of wool!”
I forced the panic down and pictured the magic as a sparking purple ball under my breastbone. Hundreds of glittering strands spread out in a blanket, coating me and everything around me. Slowly, carefully, I wound each strand in and tucked it back inside the ball.
The heat surrounding me lessened.
“Good girl, keep going.” I heard the relief in Alaric’s voice as the flames extinguished. When the fire finally spluttered out, I opened my eyes to see a worried shifter and a pissed-off mage eyeing each other with suspicion.
I sighed.
“He wasn’t hurting me,” I directed at my bear before he could launch another attack on the mage. Then I spun to face the mage.
“So you’ll help me?” Exhaustion coated my words. Not having control over my stupid magic stressed me out.
“Yes.”
I slumped against the blackened wall in relief. “Thank you.”
Now all I needed to do was figure out how to fix the damage before anyone saw it.
Alaric saw me panic all over again and rolled his eyes.
“Go. I’ll sort the mess out.”
My bear’s jaw ticked. I could tell he wanted to pick me up, but he couldn’t, not with Alaric here.
“I’ll escort you out, Miss Blackstone,” he said in a formal voice.
I almost laughed at his terrible impression of a teacher helping a student but swallowed my hysteria before I gave us both away.
Alaric might report us if he suspected there was something between me and the coach.
Right now, he probably assumed Maverick had intervened to protect a vulnerable student from harm. Not his mate.
At least I hoped so.
“Thank you, Coach Wilder.”
Alaric frowned at our awkward interaction but stepped aside. Maverick followed me toward the exit. When I looked back, Alaric stood staring at us.