Chapter 18

Chapter 18

WILLOW

" U m, excuse me?"

Sean looked up, blinking. A Witch stood in front of him, in a short flowy sundress, clutching a stack of books to her chest and chewing at her bottom lip.

"Uh… hey, yeah." He shuffled some of the books on his lap nervously. "What's up?"

She was breathtaking. Almost literally, as Sean found it hard to draw a proper breath while looking at her. Her curly brown hair surrounded her adorably round face like a halo and the way the top of her dress clung to her curves…

Sean swallowed audibly.

"I just moved here from the fifth octant," the girl was saying to him. "And I'm supposed to meet with my advisor, Professor…" She struggled with the books and papers she clutched against her chest, jostling and bouncing her breasts as she searched for a scrap of paper. "Ah! Here it is—Professor Danvers . Do you know where his office is?"

Sean's face fell. "Uh, yeah, I do, but I'm so sorry to tell you this—Professor Danvers went missing a few days ago. No one's seen him, and no one knows where he is."

"Disappeared?" A blonde woman appeared at the girl's side, frowning. She was equally beautiful, though a few years older, and wearing significantly more clothing. "It wasn't anything… dangerous, was it?"

She sounded so concerned, so scared, that Sean found himself jumping to reassure her.

"Oh, no, no, I'm sure it's nothing dangerous," he insisted. "The city is safe, honest—and nothing bad happens on campus. There's nothing to be worried about."

"See?" The brown-skinned angel in front of him beamed. "I told you it was safe here." She juggled with the books in her arms once more, holding out her entire arm to offer him her hand. "I'm Willow," she said, smiling. "And this is my sister."

Sean blinked, standing to shake her hand, and looking between the two of them. The white-skinned blonde woman certainly didn't look like she could be her sister . But he knew enough about Witches to know they had a strange sense of family. Didn't members of the same coven sometimes call each other sister?

"I'm Sean," he introduced himself.

"So," Willow asked in a loud stage whisper. "What did happen to him, then?"

Sean shrugged. "No one knows, yet. But I don't think he's originally from the city, so he probably just went home and didn't bother to tell anyone. He has a husband, I think, in one of the inner octants, so he probably just had a family emergency and had to take off with no notice, you know?"

That was the gossip, at least, after Professor Danvers failed to show up to his last few classes.

"And you're sure it's safe here?" the blonde pressured, frowning. She put a protective hand on her sister's arm.

"Oh, totally. The safest place in the city. You don't have anything to worry about. Your sister will be safe here." He gave her his most sincere smile, the one he used whenever he picked up a girl from her parents' house for a date, and the woman visibly relaxed.

"Well," Willow sighed. "I guess I won't be meeting with Professor Danvers after all… Did you know him? Like, personally?"

"Yeah, uh, I did. I mean, I do. I'm taking his class in Medicinal Chemistry this quarter, and I had him for History of Medical Witchcraft last year. He's a great professor, really engaging."

"And… is he nice?"

"Oh, totally," Sean continued. Her sister pulled out her cell phone, frowning at something, and wandered a few steps away to take a call. It gave them a little space to chat, and Sean silently thanked the Goddess. He could talk to this girl all day. "If he's your advisor, you'll have no problems. The guy is a total softy. And open-minded—he sponsors all sorts of university clubs, even for the Shifters."

"Are… are you a Shifter?" the girl asked, eyes wide.

He tried not to smile, tried to ignore the giddy feeling in his chest. Of course, she had no idea if he was a Shifter. If she was from one of the outer octants, she probably hadn't ever met a Shifter before. Outside the Eternal City, Factions kept to themselves, and fraternization between them was rare—even rarer the further away from the city you got.

He could be the first Shifter she'd ever talked to. The thought made him smile.

"I am," he answered, and her mouth formed a shocked circle that was just too adorable. "But don't be scared. We're harmless." He dropped his voice to make sure her sister couldn't hear him, but she seemed preoccupied with her phone, ignoring them entirely. "Me, especially. I'm not even a predator."

"What… what are you?" Willow asked. And then, immediately, she blushed. "Goddess, is that rude to ask? Did I just, like, totally insult you?"

Sean laughed. Goddess bless him, could this girl get any cuter? "No, it's fine. I don't mind at all. But to answer your question, I'm a Deer Shifter."

"Do you… do you have horns?" Willow asked, and she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, almost involuntarily.

Sean's blood heated. This gorgeous Witch sounded so intrigued, so interested… in him.

"Yeah," he told her, his voice husky. "Yeah, I have antlers."

"Wow," she whispered back. "Antlers."

"We should go," her sister interrupted, finally coming back over. "If your advisor has gone missing, maybe we can go speak with the dean and find out who you're supposed to meet with instead?"

"Yeah, okay," Willow told her, and Sean felt his luck finally run out. Oh, well… he had class in a few minutes anyway, so it wasn't like he could have stayed chatting with her all afternoon. He leaned down to start gathering his books and his notes.

"Hey, Sean?"

Sean glanced up, and the Witch was looking at him with big, inviting eyes.

"Would you mind showing us around?" Willow asked. "We don't know the campus, and you seem just like… so smart." She blushed and looked away. "If you're not busy or anything, I mean?"

What the hell, he could miss one class, right?

"Uh, sure," he said, trying not to blush as the girl beamed at him. "Why not?"

"Maybe we can stop by Professor Danvers's office, just in case he came back? And you could tell us a little more about him and these clubs he sponsors."

Sean smiled. "Yeah, totally. I can do that."