Page 40 of Faerie Gift

“Tavi,” Mike said the moment his gaze fell on me. “What are you doing here?”

I took in his cagey expression. The hard set of his shoulders and the way he glanced over his shoulder. Over my shoulder. Behind again.

“I’m…just out for a walk,” I hastily supplied, then inwardly cringed. Oh yeah, what abrilliantresponse. No doubt it would seal the deal for us and Mike would kneel at my feet in awe of my brilliance. I threw his own question back at him. “What areyoudoing here?”

Why would the tracking spell send me tohim?

He glanced away as though he was unable to look at me. Or unwilling to look at me. “Yeah, same. Walk. It was too cold outside. I decided to stroll around the castle.”

“Sure.” I pointed over my shoulder. “I’m, ah, going to go now. I’ve got some bookwork to finish.”

“Sure,” he said, mimicking my tone. We strode past each other without another word and I shook my head.

Bloody hell. I closed my eyes. Was Mike harboring some sort of magic artifact on him? My gut churned and acid burned my throat. Oh jeez, he couldn’t have stolen the Augundae Imperium, right?

I couldn’t let it go. Damning my big mouth, I turned around to stare at his retreating back. “Although thisisa strange part of the castle for usbothto find ourselves on a walk. Don’t you agree?” I asked with a forced laugh.

He froze, jaw muscle twitching as he glanced over his shoulder. “Great minds, right? Maybe we just had the same thought at the same time.”

It was a classic deflection and one I’d expected. One I’d anticipated. My brows drew together. I needed an answer and wondered if slapping him upside the head would make him spill the beans in one go. Was it worth a shot?

“Possible, but unlikely.”

Mike turned around to face me then, his eyes wide. His mouth opened to speak but a sudden scream interrupted whatever he was about to say.

My expression must have mirrored his: equal parts confusion and fear. His took on an icy edge as we both bolted toward the sound before pulling up short at what we found around the corner.

A circle of students stood staring at something on the floor. Our footsteps slowed as we approached, craning our heads to see past the students. The air smelled of death, a wet and revolting scent of torn organs laced with a hint of magic.

Another body. I’d bet my life on it. We managed to shoulder our way into the center of the group and I felt a freezing shock to my system. The acid in my throat seemed to burn a hole straight through me. It was someone I knew, someone I recognized.

Professor Reeds. The same professor who had given those bullying boys detention during assembly the other day. He was dead…and half-eaten.

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The air grew thick suddenly, coagulating in my throat until I choked.

Well, at least it wasn’tmewho’d found him this time, I thought nastily, and guilt rose instantly. My body count was already too damn high, and if I’d nabbed another one, the detective would never let me live it down.

“Don’t look,” Mike ordered, reaching out to turn me in the opposite direction, his hands firm on my arms to keep me in place.

It didn’t matter now. I didn’t need to look. I’d already seen enough. The entire lower half of Professor Reeds’ body had been torn off, and crimson pooled around his upper torso and arms. Shredded skin. His skin and muscles had been flayed, and his internal organs were either popped open or missing.

Which accounted for the smell, and I heard several of the other students gagging, slapping hands over their mouths. Someone was still screaming.

I knew this kind of kill intimately, because not only had I seen it, I’d engaged in the same. Not humans.Neverhumans, or anything with a mouth to talk back to me. But deer in the forest during my full-moon shift? Yes. A rite of passage to the elders in the pack. I’d wanted my Uncle Will to be proud of me and I’d stalked through the darkest hours until I brought down a trophy buck.

This kill? This kill was classic wolf. Classicshifter.

My teeth were on edge.

I shook my head and Mike took it as a sign of my distress, molding me to his chest and wrapping me up in his arms. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s going to be fine,” he soothed. “Just don’t look.”

This couldn’t be happening again.

“I could say the same to you,” I murmured against his shirt.

The Fae were notorious shifter haters. I’d done my hardest to keep myself from being discovered because it would mean immediate expulsion if I were ever found out. And expulsion would mean being catapulted right into my fated mate’s arms.

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