Page 16 of Blade

Wasn’t I?

Why was I magic?

“You just said I’m human.” My mate’s words tasted dishonest. Good. Prey was honest. “I haven’t done anything to him.”

Honest.

But he was my mate so some would be allowed in my defense.

Somehow I knew that too.

“I’ve seen stranger things than your new friend here, but I’m not letting you go anywhere if you’ve hurt him or put him under some kind of compulsion.” Hands out. Tension. The magic man was hard to understand but he was worried about me?

Me?

I could kill him before he had the chance to grab the dangerous things on his side that would explode if he was angry.

I knew explosions.

“That’s insane.” My mate’s tone made the magic man frown deeper. Maybe? What did insane mean? “I came out to hunt him but we made friends instead. It happens.”

The angry animals in the trees were more dangerous than my mate, but I would keep him safe.

“What?” The magic man stepped back and something around us felt heavy. “Fucking hell.”

The magic had fear rushing through my mate, so I stepped in front of him.

I was faster than the magic man.

I was always faster than magic.

Magic was…dangerous?

There was something I’d forgotten in the fog, but it was clearing.

“Are you telling me you came out to huntThe Beast of Bladenboroand ended up finding this guy?” My mate’s headjerked making the man let out pained sounds. “You realize we’ve been trying to find him for almost seventy years?”

“You can’t kill him.” My mate dropped to the ground, wrapping his arms around me. “I’ll make sure he stops killing…well…things he shouldn’t.”

How?

“That’s not the problem.” The man muttered something about needing to be saved from humans but it didn’t make sense. “He’s not a monster.”

“I think we’ve got different definitions of that word, but I’ll agree that he’s very sweet and we just need to work on boundaries.” My mate petted my head, letting me ignore the confusing words the fog wanted to consume. “He actually saved me. He’s very sweet.”

Frustration was filling the magic man and he felt like the angry tree animals, but he’d be more than a mouthful. “No. He’s a regular male shifter who got accidentally spelled. He’s a panther shifter. He just can’t find his human side and we couldn’t find him.”

“Oh.” My mate wiggled around to look at me. “You’re a person?”

My mate was confused.

Did he have the fog too?

I’d keep it from taking him from me.

“Don’t lick me.” My mate fell back, sighing. “I’ve got more sand in my pants now.”

“Is he actually responding to you?” The magic man was stupid. “Fucking hell. I need the fucking coven.”