Summoned By Magic by Lexie Scott
Chapter 28
It took less than three minutes for her to go through every single item I owned and for me to convince her that it was, in fact, all I owned. At least, it was all I brought.
“Fine,” she huffed and tossed items out of the drawers until she pulled out a black racerback tank. “Wear this with those jeans since you have them cuffed.”
I did as I was told and pulled on my lavender converse before turning in a slow circle. “What do you think?”
“Pull your hair up, and it will be perfect.”
She went down to her room to change while I pulled my hair into a high ponytail and fluffed and tugged it a bit so it was messy. When she got back, she looked gorgeous in her dress with her hair parted in the middle and laying in a dark sheet down her back, leaving her clavicles for all to see and admire.
“Ready?” I asked, grabbing my phone and room key.
“Yeah.”
We took the stairs together, and I was surprised when we got outside to see the sun already setting.
“Are we going to be too early?”
“No.” She pointed toward the forest on the other side of the tower. “They already started.”
I caught a glimpse of a fire and realized it was where the party was taking place. As we got closer, the bonfire came into view as well as about a hundred people.
“I thought the guys wanted it to be just us.”
She shrugged. “Word got out. It always does.”
Where were our friends? I scanned the area and smiled when I spotted Malik dancing with Travis, his non-crush. They looked adorable together, him in his tall, dark, and handsome glory contrasting with Travis’ pale skin and sandy brown hair.
The Sorcerer's Society kids were there, and I couldn’t help but watch as the brunette had her arms wrapped around two of the guys while a third offered her a chunk of a brownie. I wanted someone to feed me chocolate.
“There’s Daniel.” Hannah squeezed my hand, snapping me out of my creeping. I followed her line of sight to the far side where he stood with Carter and Sai.
“Go ask him to dance,” I prodded.
She shook her head, still frozen in place.
“Hannah, he’s one of your best friends. It’s not weird.”
She bit her lip, and I waited for her to gather her courage.
“Come on, if you do, I’ll talk to Sai.”
Her head snapped toward me. “You have to ask him to dance too.”
Shit. I totally walked into that. “What about Carter? I don’t want to leave him alone.”
“One of the girls will snatch him up. It never takes long.”
I could do this for her. She needed a push, and I could be brave.
“Fine.”
“Really?” Was that panic I heard?
I nodded, faking confidence I most definitely did not feel. “Come on.”
I took her hand and carved a path to the guys.
“Hey!” I called out when we were close enough for them to hear us over the music.
“There you guys are!” Sai smiled, and my stomach did a little somersault.
“Wow, you guys look great,” Daniel grinned, and his eyes lingered on Hannah.
“Thanks,” she said to the ground.
“Do you want to dance?” I asked Sai, ripping off the Band-Aid before I had a chance to change my mind.
His eyes widened a fraction, but he recovered quickly. “Yeah, yes.”
I turned and headed in that direction, leaving Hannah to live up to her end of the bargain. Sai fell into step next to me and pointed to Malik and Travis when we got close. “Let’s go by them.”
They smiled and greeted us when they saw us, and I realized with a flash of dread that I had no idea how to dance. With a guy. To party music. This wasn’t a slow song we could just sway back and forth to.
On the few occasions I went out with my friends, in the PD days, all the girls danced together, and the guys hung out around the edges of the room. It didn’t matter then if I looked like an idiot. I should move my hips and shoulders to the beat, but what about my hands? What did they do? Do I touch him?
He took the decision-making responsibility from me by taking my hands in his and doing little side steps in time with the music. Okay, so he wasn’t some secretly amazing dancer either. We could figure this out together.
“You look beautiful,” he said over the music. At least I was pretty sure that’s what he said. I was mostly relying on my mouth reading abilities.
“Thanks. You look good too.” I half-shouted back.
He grinned, and I took that as a good sign.
The music changed, and he placed my hands on his shoulders, then lowered his to my waist. I giggled, feeling completely out of my comfort zone. Why was I so awkward?
Hannah and Daniel were a few feet away, and I winked when she caught my eye. Her smile was brighter than the fire, and she looked like she knew what she was doing. I mirrored some of her moves, twisting my hips and slipping my fingers up into Sai’s hair.
His eyes heated as he looked down at me, and I nearly melted. He liked that? Good because I really liked it too. I stepped a bit closer, and he met me, closing the distance until we were nearly pressed into each other.
Oh, man. He smelled so good. Like pine and apples? It didn’t matter right now. I just wanted to stay here in this exact position forever.
“Mind if I cut in?” a deep voice came from behind me.
Sai’s eyes changed into a burning fire in an instant. “Yeah, actually I do.”
Theo glared at Sai, but when he settled his attention on me, his whole face lit up, exposing those dangerous dimples.
Shit. This wasn’t good.
“Hi, Theo.”
What was I supposed to do? I didn’t want to turn him down, but I didn’t want to blow off Sai either. Just as my anxiety was boiling over into full-blown panic, another guy joined our group.
“Can I talk to you for a second, Saige?” Niall looked bored as he glanced from Theo to Sai. “If the brutes don’t mind.”
Before they could start arguing, I agreed. “Yeah, I’ll be right back,” I told Sai, then smiled apologetically at Theo. “We can dance later.”
Niall was already walking into the dark, so I hurried after him. He leaned against a tree, facing away from me, so I slowed down until I was next to him. “What did you need to talk to me about?”
He smirked. “Nothing. You just looked like you were about to have a breakdown, so I decided to save you.”
“Save me?” I huffed. “Since when do you care?”
How his bright blue eyes managed to look so dark was a mystery I’d never solve. “I don’t. I just happen to enjoy pissing those two off.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why? Why aren’t you friends with anyone?”
This was something I wanted to asked him since I first heard about him having friends and being nice once upon a time.
He glared back. “What are you talking about? I have friends.”
I crossed my arms. “Not from what I've seen.”
“Oh, since you’ve been here, what? Two weeks? You know everything?”
His Irish accent was out in full force, and I’d be a big ol’ liar if I said it wasn’t the sexiest thing in the world.
“I know a few things.” I refused to back down. He was probably used to people backing down but not me. There was something strange between us, and I was sick of ignoring it. “But I don’t know why you hate me.”
“I don’t hate you.” His voice was much softer now.
“Really? Cause it feels like you do.”
He looked into the darkness of the forest. “Nah, it takes too much energy to hate someone. I don’t care enough to do that.”
Okay. That was a slap in the face I hadn’t been prepared for.
“Awesome. Great talk.”
I started to turn away when he wrapped his hand around the back of my neck. I froze. He was so close. If I stood up on my tip toes and he dipped his head . . .
He leaned to the side and stared at my neck for a moment before the muscles in the corners of his jaw bulged from tension. In a flash, his hand was gone, and he was striding back to the party leaving me behind like I didn’t matter at all.
My heart was racing, and I sagged against a tree to keep from falling over. His touch was the most intense few seconds of my life. It felt like something big was about to happen, then he just disappeared.
What was wrong with him?
Or was it me?
It didn’t matter. He didn’t matter. He was a jerk. I had enough to worry about with Sai and Theo to care about that arrogant, sexy, stupid asshole.
Being around people now held no appeal. One interaction and I was exhausted, emotionally and mentally. I didn't want to deal with the duel between the guys either. Hannah would probably get mad at me later, but at least she had Daniel to hang out with. I just wanted to be alone.
I snuck along the edge of the party until I saw the tower through the trees and was about to find the main path. I passed a few latecomers on their way to the danger zone. Hopefully, they would have a better time than I did.
The dorms were silent as I waited for the elevator to come. Everyone was off enjoying their Saturday night. Good for them.
I wasn’t bitter.
I wasn’t going to write a declaration that I was never going to another party.
Nope. I was just fine.
Natasha was still out, so I changed and climbed into bed. The familiar wish floated through my mind, not for the first or even hundredth time, that I had a way to block the nightmares and never have to worry about drifting into a much-needed slumber.
I lay as still as possible and went through a few meditation practices that helped me relax. By the end of my fourth round of deep breathing, I felt the tug of pleasant sleep and smiled before falling into the sensation.
When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t in my wildflower field. I looked up for my hawk but only saw trees. Everywhere. I was in the middle of a thick forest I didn’t recognize. It could be the area around the school, but I wasn’t sure.
This wasn’t right. Was something bad about to happen?
I turned around but couldn’t see anything except tree trunks, so I started running. The ground was soft, damp. There were so many scents. Too many to take in. Moss. Pine. Fir. Dirt. Something decaying.
Wait.
Why were the different smells in the earth so strong?
I stopped and looked around again. This was all off. Why was I so low? The lowest branches of the trees around me were several feet up. I could usually reach them. I glanced down and blinked.
My feet were gone.
The ankles I was so confident in were missing. Two small gray paws were in their place.
What the actual hell?
I glanced back and found a fluffy gray and white tail.
What kind of nightmare was this?
I gasped as I shot up in bed and looked around. I was in my room. Safe. I patted my chest and shoulders before throwing back the blanket to confirm that I did in fact have normal feet and no tail.
That was the strangest, most disconcerting sensation I’d ever had in one of my happy dreams. No hawk but no disaster either. What was it?
I picked up my phone to check the time. It was only one in the morning. Natasha’s bed was empty. I didn’t bother sneaking into the stairwell this time.
Masie answered on the second ring. “Saige? Are you okay?”
“No,” my voice cracked.
“What happened?”
I had to know. I’d been meaning to ask since the first day, but something in me kept pushing it off.
“What kind of shifter was my dad?”
She was silent for a moment. “A wolf. His family is part of the biggest pack in the states.”
I gasped.
“What is it? Saige?”
My breath was coming in pants now, and I was starting to get light-headed. “Masie, how do shifters first manifest their powers?”
“Oh, Saige.” There was so much sadness in those two words, and I knew. My gut instinct or psychic ability told me. I wasn’t just a witch. I was also a wolf.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed meeting Saige and her friends!
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What’s next? Follow Saige as she continues her journey at Drexel Academy!
Grab your copy of Bound by Magic!
Xoxo,
Lexie