Veiled Spirits

“Wow, really? I hadn’t noticed, Sherlock,” I snark. It’s probably not a great idea to antagonize Luca. But if I’m not hiding behind anger and sarcasm, I’m going to cry.

Luca’s eyes narrow at me in annoyance. Good. He should be as irritated at this situation as I am. “Why?”

Not really sure how to answer him, I grind my teeth so hard my jaw aches. Looking over, I meet Bishop’s somber gaze to see if he has any idea how I should start. “Just tell him the truth, Izzy,” Bishop encourages me, like it’s just that easy.

Unfortunately, the truth is one thing I can’t share with these wolves. At least, not the whole thing. Groaning, I shove the few loose strands of hair out of my face. Since I don’t have anything else to offer them, I give them the only truth I can. “I ran because I can’t mate with you.”

Deep growls fill the air at my announcement. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up at the eerie sound. My magic perks up at the prospect of a fight. Squashing it down, I glare at Luca as I wait for him to say something.

“Why? Because we’re wolves?” Cain is the one to speak, his deep, melodic voice curling around me.

“What? No! That’s not it at all.” I’m mildly offended they think I’m so racist. Or is it speciesist? I don’t know. My brain is too tired to figure it out right now.

Although, I can’t exactly blame them, because mages are, on the whole, elitist pigs.

Luca hums, clearly not believing me.

I roll my eyes at him. “St. James over here,” I start, gesturing over to Bishop. He raises his hand, and I give him a look.

What the hell is he doing?

Catching my confusion, he slowly lowers his hand. His expression turning sheepish, he gestures for me to continue.

Huffing at his weirdness, I start again. “As I was saying, St. James is also my mate. He’s from one of the most powerful mage lines in Hawthorne Grove. Mating with him would vastly improve my status in town. My parents would pass out from joy if I did. I’d barf at how cute we’d be. Yet, I’m still not mating with him.”

Archer tilts his blond head at me as I speak, studying me. “Why would he help your status in town? Are you not from a good mage family?”

I snort at that. Gallagher is the mage family in Hawthorne Grove. We helped found the town hundreds of years ago. That’s part of why people enjoy picking on me so much. Most mages would never dream of going against a Gallagher. We tend to be really powerful. But because they think I don’t have magic, they can torment me and feel better about their subpar pedigree.

“No. My family is prominent. I don’t have magic, so I’m at the bottom of the social ladder.” Maybe if the wolves learn I’m defective, they’ll reconsider mating with me. My pathetic heart squeezes at that.

I know it will kill part of my soul, having three of my mates reject me, but it’s necessary. It’s not like I have a very long life expectancy, anyway. Maybe it’ll just expedite the process. Then my family will at least be safe.

“That’s a lie, little mate. That portal reeks of your magic. Try again. This time, don’t lie. It won’t end well for you.” Luca’s voice is soft yet somehow super threatening. I wonder if he’d teach me how to be that intimidating without yelling. It would help with all the mages who mess with me.

Swallowing uneasily, I glare at Luca as I steel myself. I refuse to cower to the intimidating alpha who could probably kill me with very little effort. There’s what looks like a flash of respect in his eyes as I don’t back down. But it’s gone too quickly for me to be sure.

“It’s not a lie, as far as the not-so-good people of Hawthorne Grove know,” I respond.

“Why do they think you don’t have magic, then?” Luca demands. He’s clearly used to getting his way and having people fall over themselves to obey him. He’s in for a rude awakening when it comes to me. I have a problem with authority. And I’m awful at following orders I don’t agree with. It gets me into trouble at school more often than not.

My mind blanks at his question. I can’t think of any plausible reason why, other than the truth I can’t tell him. So, I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. “I have a degradation kink.”

Oh my fucking God.

I can’t believe I just said that.

There’s nothing wrong with it, but that’s very much not my thing. It’s also a weird thing to tell people you just met.

As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I close my eyes in embarrassment. I want to smack myself, because surely, there was something better I could have said. Literally anything would have been an improvement.

A bark of laughter from my right startles me. I open my eyes to see Bishop laughing so hard he’s doubled over. Aggie hovers behind him, also cackling in delight at my horrible answer.

Oh, good. More people to witness my humiliation.

Just what I wanted.

I don’t even know when she got here. I’ve been so focused on the wolves that I haven’t been paying attention to my surroundings. At least my brothers aren’t here. I’d never live this down. Bishop better not tell them about it.