Veiled Spirits

One of the two people I actually like being around at school is my mate. Now, I have to avoid him to keep him safe. Although, with his creepy Grim Reaper party trick, he might be able to keep himself safe.

“Are you displeased because I’m not a mage?” Levi asks evenly. I’d expect him to shout or get angry or something. Instead, he just calmly asks the question.

“What? No!” I whirl to face him as I talk. “Why does everyone think that? All of the mages here suck ass. Why would I want one as my mate?” It’s honestly a relief that Bishop is the only mage I’ve been paired with thus far. Then again, if I were matched with a random mage from Hawthorne Grove, it’d be a piece of cake to stay away.

Although, I didn’t know fated mates could be from different species. Different species can’t have kids together, so a mage can’t have a child with a shifter, vampire, fae, or whatever the hell Levi is. I would’ve thought fate would only pair people with the same race for that reason, but I guess not.

“Why are you unhappy, then?” Levi questions. His jet-black eyes narrow in thought as he considers me.

I sigh and rub my hands over my face. It’s only as I’m rubbing my eyes that I realize I’m not exhausted anymore. Sure, I’m a little tired, but it’s nowhere near the bone-deep fatigue from before. Instead of answering his question, I ask one of my own, “How long have I been asleep?”

“You slept for almost six hours, kid. That’s why your other mates are waiting outside Gallagher Hall.” Aggie eyes Levi warily. I almost want to laugh at the change in her. She sure flipped quickly from thinking Levi’s hot to viewing him as a threat.

“What? Fuck! I missed my other two classes.” I groan, already knowing my professors are going to speak to the dean about my absence. I’m probably not going to get away with only laps this time.

“I covered for you, little raven,” Levi informs me. “The dean was thrilled to hear that I’ve been making you run laps all day until I determine you regret your actions.”

I snort. Of course, he was. Me having to run for six hours straight was probably the best news Dean Murphy heard all day.

Shaking my head, I bend down to grab my Converse I dropped earlier. I plop down on the rug and put them on. When I’ve laced my sneakers, I stand back up and look at Levi. If I leave, maybe he’ll just forget this whole mates thing. “Well, as fun as getting kidnapped by you was, it wasn’t. Let’s not do this again.”

“You can’t open a portal here,” Levi calls as I turn away from him and start drawing my magic.

I laugh.

Sure, I can’t, buddy. Imagining a portal in my mind, I let my magic flow out of me. Instead of forming a rip in space like normal, it feels like it slammed against a brick wall. Like a crash test dummy, my magic jerks back from the hit and rebounds into me. It feels like a bunch of rubber bands snapped in my chest at once.

“Ow,” I mutter and rub my breastbone, under which my magic huddles currently. It seems… scared, which has never happened. Turning to Levi, I ask, “Where, exactly, are we? And why won’t my magic open a portal?”

Levi winces in sympathy at my pained expression. “Here and there,” he replies evasively. “I’ll tell you why your magic doesn’t work if you tell me why you don’t want me as a mate.”

He really seems to love bargaining. Blowing out a breath, I decide it doesn’t hurt anything to tell Levi about the mate stuff. “You already know I can see ghosts. That type of magic is essentially a death sentence if anyone finds out. Being my mate just puts you in danger. I can drag you down with me if I am found out. That’s why I’m upset. It’s nothing about you.”

Levi’s eyes soften at my explanation. “You don’t need to worry about me, little raven. I can take care of myself. As for your magic, mage magic doesn’t work on this plane.”

Plane?

“Where the hell are we, Levi?” I demand. Only I could manage to get kidnapped by my P.E. teacher. My teacher, who turns out to be a Grim Reaper and takes me to another dimension.

“A question for a question. Tell me what you do in the forest that has the ghost so worried, and I’ll tell you where we are.” Levi advances on me as he talks, only stopping once we’re toe to toe.

He stares down at me, and I gulp. How have I never noticed how intimidating he can be before now? Levi does an excellent job playing the laid-back combat instructor. That freaks me out more than if he were always intimidating. Someone who can hide their true nature is far more dangerous than someone who is upfront about who they are.

Instead of replying, I shake my head. Levi would probably try to stop me from healing the ghosts if he knew. I know it’s dangerous, but I’m the only one who can help them. It would make me pretty selfish to put my own safety above the thousands of ghosts I’ve helped.

Levi just nods, already expecting my response. “Are you ready to go? We should get you back before your other mates worry.”

“Yeah, I’m ready to go, as long as Aggie can come too.” I don’t know whether this realm can trap Aggie at Levi’s command. Aggie may be a pain in the ass, but she’s my pain in the ass. I’m not going to leave her in some alternate dimension.

His lips twitch up at my assertion, but he doesn’t respond. Levi ducks out of the room, leaving me unsure what to do with myself. It’s not like I can leave. Glancing at Aggie, I see if she has any idea what to do. “Don’t look at me, kid. He’s terrifying. I’m just going to hide behind you and hope he forgets about me.”

“I’m not that scary, ghost,” Levi says as he walks back into the room. Aggie lets out a ghostly screech and huddles behind me. I snort. I’m not sure hiding behind me works the way she thinks it does. But I’ll let her do her.

Levi holds his hand out to me. I hesitantly put mine in his as black mist swirls around us. The floor feels like it’s dropping out from under me, and I squeeze my eyes shut. Here’s hoping I’m not falling to my death. That’d be inconvenient.

“Open your eyes,” Levi rasps from in front of me. Peeking one eye open, I see that we’re back at school. When I open both eyes, I realize I’m plastered against Levi’s front. I can feel every inch of him, including his hard dick.

I stumble back in shock and crash into the wall behind me. Because, of course, I do. I’m apparently incapable of looking like anything other than a mess in front of my mates. Not that it matters what they think of me.