by Rene Folsom
Not until now.
With a sense of grace I always knew he possessed, he leaned into me, lightly wrapping his fingers around my neck to hold onto me. My heart nearly hurt with how fast it was beating—my dreams were finally becoming a reality. I’d finally get to find out what he tasted like and what his tongue would feel like against mine. I yearned for his lips.
Yet, my mind couldn’t let go of the fact that my best friend was hired to seduce me. My father was low enough to play on my weakest link. He knew I had feelings for Raz, no matter how intense, and yet he still chose to play that card as if I were his enemy.
My hand reached for his chest, not to caress him like a lover, but to push him away. The shock that consumed me when Raz caught my hand, his grasp almost too tight for comfort, took me by surprise.
His eyes were fierce—hard—almost as if he had awoken from a trance and just now realized what was about to happen.
Lifesaving breaths hissed through his teeth as he attempted to gain control of himself.
I matched his breathing with my own, although mine were shaky and filled with nervous energy.
“How?” he whispered. Within a single moment, his eyes switched from confusion to rage. “How the fuck did he get past my wards?” His words were seething venom.
I backed up. “What do you mean?”
He shook his head as if he were in denial, his brain trying to catch up to the past few minutes.
“I—” He hesitated. “I didn’t want to do this.”
Well, if that didn’t sum up my love life in one single phrase…
He must’ve seen my face drop to the floor, my expression one of defeat and outright heartbreak. I didn’t bother to hide it. He knew damn well how I felt about him… and so did my father.
Fingers ran through his gorgeous hair again, and I tried to hide how utterly devastated I was.
“I didn’t mean it that way,” he said in every attempt to recover the situation. “I just meant I didn’t choose this.” His hands were splayed out in front of me like they contained some sort of evidence of his innocence.
Too bad I didn’t want an innocent Raz at that moment.
“Do you really want me because someone else fucked with my brain, Sarah?” he questioned, his hands now shaking.
I didn’t want his mind manipulated. I wanted him to want me for who I was and drop the fear of what I could do as a charmer. But I also couldn’t help the primal feeling of wanting his skin pressed against mine… to feel his warmth and devotion to me and only me. It was something I’d dreamed about ever since I met the awkward warlock in grade school.
“Say something,” he demanded, his voice not even pretending to be kind.
“Something,” I responded. It was our own little joke… our way of letting each other know we were still here on this earth—still surviving no matter how controlling our parents tended to be.
“I need more than just something.”
My eyes rose and finally met his for more than just a mere glimpse. He was my Raz… my one and only friend. But regardless of how well I knew him, I still didn’t know what to believe.
I was stronger than this shit.
I was tough.
And I needed to show my father just how badass I was. If he thought manipulating my heart was a test of strength, so-fucking-be-it.
“Leave.” There was no inflection in my tone. He needed to go… now… and to question that demand would be the biggest mistake of his life.
I felt more than saw him try to argue, to which my hand flew up and blocked his attempt at making nice. He didn’t want me, and I had to live with that fact. I was okay with that up until the man almost tried to kiss me just moments before. What killed my soul and every fiber of my sensitive heart was that he only did it because my father was more powerful than any of the defensive charms he could possess.
And therefore, I needed to quit thinking about Raz and start focusing on my mission.
My senses were heightened the next afternoon when I waltzed into class, book in hand and ready to learn. Little did my professor know I was only there to learn about him, ultimately gaining access to his supposed girlfriend, Kirsi Ranta.
It then dawned on me… almost all my professors, save for one, were sancti of some sort.
My literature teacher was a mora, similar to my target at the moment… Moras were considered the mutts of the sancti—the supernatural of our world. Mrs. Ward, a beautiful nerd with black-rimmed glasses, was not only an excellent literature teacher, but was also married to a mortali… a human who didn’t know about our kind. How she kept her powers from him was beyond me. Hell, she didn’t even give off much of a vibe, and I was definitely good at reading the various sancti around. The best I could tell, she had shifter magic, but what she was still remained a mystery to me—and obviously to her husband.
My physics teacher was… and this always got a laugh from our kind… my physics teacher was a psychic. He wasn’t like a witch who could pull from the minds of others, he wasn’t a necromancer who could conjure the dead to walk this earth, nor was he a charmer or glimmer who could make anyone think what he showed them was true. No. He was full-on, speak to the living through the dead psychic.
And lastly, aside from my astronomy teacher, Mr. B, my algebra professor was even more human than any supernatural being could hope for. Mostly, we found mortali to be dumber than a box of rocks, and too oblivious to put one and one together to make two, let alone notice the powers of the sancti in our community. Thankfully though, this man was intelligent in his own right, and didn’t need any supernatural powers to keep him at the top of my favorite beings scale.
But the trend was still something to be thought about. Did my father also plan this out? Did he make sure I went to school with my own kind?
His control issues knew no bounds.
“Sarah,” Mr. Bellamy’s voice boomed from the blackboard at the front of the small auditorium. “Have anything to add?”
The smile on his face told me he knew I wasn’t paying attention, which was completely embarrassing and infuriating all wrapped into one.
“Nothing to add. Sorry, sir.” I bowed my head. Even though I could’ve charmed the ever-loving pants off the man in order to get a good grade, the ward hanging from his belt a mere distraction in the face of my powers, I still didn’t want him to know who… or more fitting… what I was. Anonymity was definitely something to be proud of in my line of work, and in all the sancti community for that matter.
Branton Bellamy, the hottest professor on our campus—or so the girls said—just nodded his head and addressed someone else in the class.
My grade was going to suffer for my lack of participation, but I didn’t care. All I needed to focus on was getting to Kirsi Ranta, even if I had to use a kind-hearted Mr. B to make it happen.
Once class was over and I rose from my desk to leave, a tiny slip of blue paper fell from my book.
Dinner.
It was all the note said, yet it was Raz’s handwriting.
Needless to say, that was not going to fucking happen. For all I knew, he could’ve still been under the Encanti stupor when he wrote the note.
I suddenly wished I were powerful enough to manipulate one with pure witch blood flowing through his veins… if only for one night with Raz.
Did it make any sense I was jealous of my father? Jealous he had the power to bypass protective wards the most powerful witches in the area had created like they were child’s play and therefore get what he wanted without question or hesitation?
It sure as fuck didn’t make any sense to me, and I quickly pushed the thoughts from my mind.
“Sarah,” a voice boomed from below me. The mini-auditorium where our class was held had stadium seating, and it didn’t take me long to realize Mr. B was headed up the steps to me.
“You okay?” he asked, one eyebrow raised. I saw his eyes shift from a honey brown to a bright green, and then back to the honey again…
He
was trying to pull my mind. Of course, now he’d definitely know I was one of his kind. If he had pegged me as a sancti, he showed no sign or indication of it. Little did he know my eyes turned an inky black when I tried to use my powers. I honestly never wanted him to experience that side of me, regardless of the fact I was planning to use him in the very near future.
I didn’t answer his question, instead just broke eye contact with him and looked at the book in my hands.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t be prying. You just don’t seem to be on the ball like you usually are in class,” he said with a quiet, almost inaudible voice. He usually spoke so clearly and loudly so we all could hear. I could only guess he was embarrassed.
His concern almost annoyed me. Expectations of normalcy usually bothered me more than it should, maybe because I was far from normal. But then a thought popped into my head…
Concern for someone was born from interest, and if Mr. B was interested in me, I could totally use that to my advantage.
“I’ve just had a bad day—that’s all,” I said in hopes he wouldn’t catch the fact I was lying. Then again, it wasn’t really a lie. I was thinking of Raz when I got caught not paying attention. “I’m sorry. I’ll try to keep it out of the classroom from now on.”
“Nah,” he said, tossing his large hand my way as if to brush off the mere idea of it. “We all have days.” He walked away, while I was still sitting there wondering what to say next.
Again, his attention had me both confused and annoyed. If I didn’t already know he was seeing that Relic Pub chick, I would’ve assumed he was trying to hit on me.
Or was he?
Thankfully, I was able to duck out of the classroom without any more talk. I had to get over the uncomfortable feeling I felt around Mr. B He was my way in when it came to Kirsi Ranta, and I definitely planned to nail this mission.
After a quick change from sandals to boots and donning my leather jacket, I sauntered into the Relic Pub at a little after six in the evening in the hopes of running into the man and starting my ploy to befriend my target. If stealing a necklace was my only task, making buddy-buddy with the owner should’ve been nothing but a thing.
The pub was busy, which was good. Bumping into my professor minutes after our class in an empty bar was going to be more than awkward. Busy was good.
I didn’t hesitate to sit once I spotted Mr. B at the bar. He had an almost-full bottle of beer in front of him, which meant he must’ve just arrived. His honey was serving other patrons, so now was my chance to saddle up and play nice.
Lights flashed in my brain, and I knew just how I was going to play this off.
“Sarah?”
I whipped my head to my left, feigning surprise. “Mr. B? What a coincidence.”
“I’ll say. What are you doing here?” he asked just before taking a swig from his drink. I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes at how obvious the answer to a question like that would be… should be.
“Just trying to chill—blow off some steam,” I responded with a forced smile.
His eyes narrowed, scrutinizing me. “How old are you?”
I hesitated. I was honestly only eighteen, but that wasn’t what my fake ID said. I had to think… how old was I on paper?
“Twenty-two,” I said with an uncomfortable giggle, trying hard not to act like all the other bimbos he probably taught in the past.
“Sorry. I’m just used to teaching younger students.” I could practically feel the skepticism in his voice, though he never allowed it to show on his face.
I tried for nonchalance. “Don’t be. I get it often since I started college a bit late.”
His nod and smile was his only response before he turned his head, clearly searching for his girlfriend.
“So, do you come here often?” I asked, immediately slapping a mental zipper on my stupid lips. “Damn, that came out way more pervy than I wanted it to.”
He just laughed, which made me laugh. I slowly inched my hand into the crook of his arm. It didn’t dawn on me it would be a mistake to put the moves on my professor until I’d already made the move, and I wondered if it would get Kirsi over to us that much sooner.
Jealousy was a wicked weakness that almost every single person possessed, sancti and mortali alike.
I kept my attention on Mr. B while watching Kirsi from the corner of my eye. She glanced around. Realizing she was the only bartender at that moment, she put a smile on her face and slowly walked past all the patrons saddled up to the bar and checked on each one of them.
After filling a drink for a woman, with everyone else topped off and happy, she finally reached our section. As soon as Mr. B looked her way and she responded in kind, I noticed just how icy blue her eyes were. They were stunning.
She smiled warmly, putting on an extremely professional face, and greeted us.
“Evening, Branton. Sorry I’ve been so busy tonight,” she said, glancing between the two of us. That was when I saw the small flare of jealousy in her stare. “Need another?” she asked, pointing to his empty beer bottle
“Please,” he said with a bob of his head. “And what would you like, Sarah?” The way he addressed me, never introducing me to his girlfriend, made me wonder if I’d been off this whole time about them. I looked between the two for evidence of their embarrassment—nothing.
“I’ll have what Mr. B is having,” I said in a cheerful chirp, smiling kindly at Kirsi.
She cocked an eyebrow, looking at him questioningly. Her face totally gave away her amusement with the situation. What I called him clearly told her I was one of his students.
A laugh escaped her lips when she asked for my identification, almost as if she were poking fun at him instead of getting upset. It kept me wondering just what their status was. If he were my man, I’d be super pissed.
“Well, Sarah. It’s nice to meet you,” she said, extending her hand. “I’m the owner, so if there’s ever anything you need, please don’t hesitate to find me.”
With that, she winked at Mr. B and went to get two beers for us.
After only a few minutes, the bar seemed to fill to the brim, and Kirsi was busy. Still, she seemed to avoid our end of the bar like the plague.
Another man, one I hadn’t noticed until that moment, looked at a man to one side of him and then to Mr. B, a wicked smile spreading on his face as soon as he looked back in Kirsi’s direction, staring her down with an evil determination and crooking his finger for her to come to him.
He whispered something to her, his face sinister and his eyes never moving from hers. I kept the conversation going with Mr. B all while keeping my attention on the interaction between my target and her new boy.
“Well, hello,” she responded, loud enough for everyone around to hear. “Taking a break from packing?”
“Just long enough to tell you I’m not moving,” he responded. This time, his voice was louder than before.
“Wait, what?” another man interjected. “You’re moving out?”
My head was spinning with the amount of men now demanding her attention, and Mr. B and I just sat in the wings sipping our beers.
“No, Kirsi here is trying to kick me out, but I’m not budging,” the first man said while side-eyeing Kirsi as if to say, try me.
The second man stared at Kirsi, maybe wanting her to explain? The entire encounter was eerie and strange.
When she didn’t bother responding, instead keeping herself busy with getting their drinks, the first guy decided to make the situation even more tense. “Hey, Dean. Have you met Kirsi’s boyfriend?”
And let the games begin.
The second man, who I now knew as Dean, introduced himself to Mr. B as Kirsi’s best friend. They shook hands.
“So, y’all are dating?” Dean asked, his hand seeming to tense and never letting go of Mr. B.
He shrugged, and the first guy who sounded like he was Kirsi’s roommate laughed out loud. The whole situation seemed to be building to even more uncomfortable levels, and
I couldn’t really tell why Mr. B and this Dean guy wouldn’t play nice.
Until I got a whiff of what Dean was.
They were both witches… Dean a hell of a lot weaker than Mr. B.
“Well, are we, Kirsi?” Mr. B asked, forcing Kirsi’s attention back to us even though she was trying to avoid the clusterfuck at all costs.
She snapped her head in our direction, the wiping she was doing to kill the minutes stopping abruptly.
“What?”
Mr. B laughed right along with the roommate, and I couldn’t help but join in, even though I was still confused as to what was going on.
She almost looked bored as she sauntered over in our direction.
“What are you boys blabbering about?” she asked.
“Dean was just asking if you were my girlfriend,” Mr. B said, a smile nearly splitting his face in two.
“All of you are so damn childish,” she said, glaring at the roommate for starting such a fiasco and turning her back to us once more.
I realized then my ploy to make nice with her boy toy wasn’t the way to get in with Kirsi, especially since just the mention of the word girlfriend made her beat feet.
A hot, albeit totally gay-looking bartender came over to replace Kirsi. As soon as he relieved her, she ducked into the back. The man engaged in conversation with all three men like he knew them well, and I didn’t even need to excuse myself. Clearly, they didn’t notice my absence as I slowly crept away.
I watched over the next few minutes. My target walked in the back room and came out a few seconds later with a case of beer to fill the coolers. It was almost as if keeping busy was her way of avoiding the awkward.
I was surprised when no one even noticed me creep into the hallway just in time for Kirsi to round the corner as she headed back to get another case. She didn’t seem startled at first until she realized it wasn’t her boyfriend standing before her.
I could feel her… see her mind… and she wasn’t happy.
What was that sheep’s name again? Sheeba? Serena?
Her thoughts were loud, and annoying as fuck.
“It’s Sarah, you nitwit,” I said and thought simultaneously. I was well aware by the expression on her face that my voice was clear as a bell and chiming in her ears. I knew by experience as a charmer just how impacting it could be.
