Chapter 48 Raven
Raven
Two weeks had passed, and I was still no closer to finding a spell that might reveal the location of the vampire prince. Each time I went to bed alone, which wasn’t often thanks to an overprotective bear-shifter mate, I hoped I might drop in on Rasmus again. But so far, it hadn’t happened.
That worried me. What if I was too late? What if he’d passed on to the afterlife already?
The idea of his dying all alone in some underground room made me want to cry. Nobody deserved that kind of grim fate.
I sat on my bed, brooding. Although it was now evening, Maverick had a meeting with the other faculty members that he couldn’t miss. Montgomery was aware of our mate status and not at all happy about it. Like most mages, he viewed inter-species mate bonds as beyond the pale.
Maverick had almost lost his temper after the headmaster summoned us to his office for a dressing down. Only the presence of the mate mark stopped Montgomery from throwing Maverick out of the school and me into permanent detention.
I wasn’t sure how he’d even found out, but I was positive Demelza had something to do with it.
The bitch witch herself had been quiet since the meat incident. While she couldn’t prove it, she knew the meat swap had something to do with me. We’d both given each other a wide berth ever since.
Alaric had also been conspicuously absent. And Zane. Oh, and Kai was definitely avoiding me.
“Do I smell?” I asked Kenji. Glynda was too nice to say something, but the kitsune had no filter.
“Yes. Why?”
I sniffed my armpits in alarm. Stars above, I shouldn’t smell!
I showered daily and used antiperspirant religiously.
Maybe there was something wrong with my sweat glands.
Maverick had said nothing, but bears liked pungent smells.
Perhaps to him I smelled good, but to all other magicals I smelled like fox poo.
“Goddess, what do I smell of?”
“Witch. It’s disgusting, frankly. I submitted a complaint to Kitsune Resources, but they hadn’t responded yet.”
I scowled at him. “Doesn’t stop you from hogging the covers when I sleep here!”
“I didn’t want to offend you. It would be cruel.” Now I really rolled my eyes. The kitsune loved to offend me on the regular. Considering he was my familiar, he was way less supportive than I’d expected.
One of the third years had a feline familiar who acted as her emotional support animal. They adored each other. The cat was forever loving on her witch. All Kenji did was give me snark and act like I’d ruined his day if I failed to provide enough snacks.
He ignored my huffing and closed his eyes. “Please shut up now, witch. I’m having a power nap.”
“How can you possibly be tired? You’ve done nothing but snooze all day!”
“I was up late. Doing important things.”
“Such as?” I wondered if these important things had anything to do with the diamond necklace that appeared in the bathroom this morning before vanishing again.
“Nothing I can talk about. Plausible deniability if the Mage Council subpoenas you.”
I was about to yell at him when someone knocked on my door.
“Coming!”
I yanked it open to see Zane leaning against the door frame while wearing a pair of tailored pants and a black shirt. Stars, the incubus was hot. My panties smoldered, along with my ovaries.
“Yes?” My intention was to sound dismissive and unconcerned by his presence, but the word yes came out all husky and sexy, like I’d just agreed to go to an orgy with him. For the record, I would never do that. Not without my bear anyway.
He smirked and stroked my cheek with one perfectly manicured finger. How did he find the time for a manicure when I barely had time to brush my hair?
“Are you going to invite me in, pet?”
“You don’t usually wait for an invitation,” I replied somewhat grumpily, still annoyed by Kenji’s comments about me smelling.
“Do I smell?” I blurted once Zane walked in and closed the door to keep nosy witches from listening to our conversation.
I had a feeling the witch dorm group chat, which I ignored for the sake of my mental health, had just blown up big time.
Zane’s presence anywhere always caused a stir.
Mostly because he used his lust magic to incite chaos.
Zane looked at me as if I’d lost my mind. “What?”
I sighed. “Do I smell? Everyone’s avoiding me.”
He burst out laughing. “By everyone, you mean the mage and the merman?”
Without asking, he sat on my bed and leaned back against my stack of pillows. Kenji grumbled but moved out of his way, both tails flicking in annoyance.
“Maybe,” I hedged.
“Pet, yes, you do smell.” Before I could burst into hysterical tears, he chuckled.
“You smell fucking delicious. Like chocolate and cherries with a hint of smoke and darkness.” He crossed his legs at the ankle, drawing my gaze to the bulge between his thighs.
I almost choked. “Your delicious scent makes me want to lick you all over.”
“Um, you’re an incubus. Pretty sure sex is all you think about.”
“I will admit that sex is on my mind a lot, but only because my magic needs it to recharge unless I feel like scaring stupid wolves to death.” He winked.
I ignored that. While the Supernatural Council had scaled back its investigation of the wolf shifter deaths, it was better if I pretended I knew nothing. Just in case someone had bugged my room. Unlikely, but never say never was my motto.
“So I don’t smell bad,” I muttered, wondering whether my hair was the problem. I mean, it badly needed a trim, not to mention a brush. I’d been so consumed with trying to find a spell to locate the vampire that self-care had flown right out of the window.
Then it occurred to me. I’d asked Alaric for help, but he’d basically told me to fuck off. Zane was a third-year, so maybe he’d know something useful to help me with my search.
“Any clue where I can find a really powerful locator spell to track down the vampire prince?” I asked Zane.
“I was wondering how long it would take you to ask.” The incubus pointed to his lap, making my kitsune gag in disgust.
“For the sake of my delicate mental health, I’m out of here.” Kenji blinked away.
“Can’t you just tell me if you know something?” Something about the predatory way the incubus looked at me, like I was his favorite meal, had my core tightening.
“I need an incentive.”
My jaw dropped. “Seriously? Can’t you just help me?”
“Quid pro quo, Raven.”
I was ninety-nine percent sure he’d just quoted a line from a creepy human serial killer movie Willow had made me watch on Samhain Eve two years ago. I’d had nightmares for months.
“Ugh. Fine!” Sitting in his lap was hardly a chore. Not when he looked hot enough to burn my retinas.
I awkwardly crawled across the bed while wishing I’d worn something less revealing. Tiny shorts and a vest top did nothing to hide anything. Especially my tits.
Zane’s eyes turned molten as I sat astride him. He grasped my hips and pulled me down so that the bulge between his thighs rested snugly against my needy pussy.
“Now what was it you wanted to know?” he asked while subtly rocking my body back and forth. Each minuscule movement pushed my arousal higher. The more I tried to scratch my itch, the brighter his pupils glowed.
Then I realized. The bastard was recharging his magic with my lust.
Knowing this wasn’t about me made me angry. How dare he use me!
“Stop it!”
He blinked in surprise before smirking. “Stop what, pet? I’m just getting comfortable.”
“Stop… using me! If you want to recharge your magic, go watch some horny shifters or something!”
He sat up and dug one hand into my messy hair while cupping my ass with the other. This pressed me harder into his erection, and I fought back a groan. Stars, the incubus was difficult to resist. Or maybe I had no willpower?
“I’m not using you, pet. I’m merely capitalizing on your need, which, for the record, is entirely mutual.” He leaned in and licked my neck, perilously close to Maverick’s mating mark. A shiver shot through me as my brain unhelpfully showed me a picture of Maverick under me and Zane behind me.
“You’re supposed to be giving me something helpful,” I choked out while trying to hold it together. Zane’s hand on my ass slid lower and squeezed while the other one moved to collar my throat. The gesture felt possessive. Worryingly so.
The incubus had no right to be possessive of me. Yes, our connection was undeniable, and I’d be insane not to feel the way the tether in my chest hummed when he was nearby. But it didn’t mean we needed to seal the bond. Or even that he wanted to.
I had no clue whether Zane cared about me beyond a superficial interest. He seemed closed off most of the time. An emotional desert. Possibly a psychopath.
“I am giving you something,” he purred while brushing his mouth over mine. “I’m giving you pleasure.”
This was getting me nowhere. Fighting my frustration, I shoved Zane’s hands back and scowled at him.
“I need a spell, Zane!”
“Okay, fine!” He rolled his eyes before tugging me closer again. “Montgomery has a collection of books in his office, including an old grimoire from the now-dead Hawthorne witches. There will probably be a spell in there. The Hawthornes were extremely powerful back in the day.”
“But Glynda said we can’t open grimoires that are not connected to us by blood.”
“She’s right, but there are no Hawthorne witches left, so the protection spell will have broken. It’s why Montgomery has the grimoire.”
“What happened to the last of the Hawthorne witches?” I had a feeling it wasn’t anything good.
“The Salem witch trials happened, sweetheart. Jessa Hawthorne was the last daughter in her bloodline. She burned, like many other witches in the day.”
“Oh my stars, that’s awful!” Tears pricked my eyes. Being burned alive scared the living daylights out of me.
Zane shrugged. “So now that you know what you need, how do you plan on retrieving it? The headmaster has powerful wards on the storage room where he keeps his collection of books and other artifacts. Even I can’t teleport in there.”
My shoulders slumped. If Zane couldn’t break in, how was I supposed to retrieve the grimoire?
“I can,” my kitsune announced with a foxy grin when he blinked into view.
“You can?” Zane’s gaze flicked between us. “Kenji says he can get into the office,” I explained.
From the lack of surprise on Zane’s face, I guessed he already knew this. What else did he know? I had a feeling there was a lot more to the incubus, but I didn’t have time to worry about the many things he was keeping from me. I needed that grimoire. So I turned to Kenji.
“Please explain how you can bypass the headmaster’s security wards.”