Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

IZZY

A fter Levi drops that bomb, the lights in the room begin to flicker. A black mist seeps out around him before it crawls across the floor toward us. Levi's eyes glow red and a skeletal face appears over his face, making his features hazy. Electricity whips in the air around him, and the hair on my arms stands straight up.

"Holy hell," I whisper, wondering what on earth is going on. Maybe Aggie wasn't too far off with Levi opening a gateway to hell. He sure looks like a Grim Reaper right now. All he's missing are a scythe and black robes.

As quickly as the creepy effects start, they end. With a bright flare of light, Levi returns to normal. It's like the mist and skeletal features never existed. But I know what I saw.

"What are you?" I breathe, less confident I can get Aggie and me out of this situation unscathed than I was before. If it comes down to pure power, I'm not sure who would win. Normally, I'm confident I'm the one with the most magic. Not this time.

Although Levi is definitely scary when he lets his power out, I don't feel like he'll really hurt me. For some reason, I've always felt safe around him. Hopefully, I won't need to find out if I can beat him in a fight.

"I'll tell you when you tell me what you do in the forest," Levi bargains with me. I press my lips into a thin line and look away. I'd rather not tell anyone what I can do. "That's what I thought. Come get your shoes, little raven. We need to get you back to school."

I hesitantly approach Levi. When nothing happens as I draw near to him, I get braver. I close the last few steps between us quickly. My hand darts out to grab my shoes from his outstretched hand. As I close my fingers around the shoes, my hand brushes his. Familiar tingles race giddily up my arm.

No. Not again.

I snap my gaze up to his. "You're my mate?" I croak.

"I am," he confirms, his black eyes bouncing between mine.

Releasing the shoes, I let them drop to the floor with a bang. I rub my hands over my face and tunnel my hands into my hair. Spinning away from him, I look at the ceiling and mutter, "Why does this keep happening to me? What the fuck did I do to you, universe?"

Honestly, I'd like to know. The universe seems to love fucking me over. In a past life, was I a dictator who ate babies for breakfast? Or someone who put toilet paper under instead of over? I must have done something awful to deserve all the shit the universe piles on me.

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.

It's probably better if they do think I'm a garbage gremlin. It'll hurt when my mates finally realize I'm not worth it, but I can deal with all the pain in the world to keep them safe.

On that depressing note, I should probably stop hiding in an alcove with my combat instructor and a ghost. Straightening, I brush past Levi and head for the front of the building. He transported us to an alcove near the door, so it's a short walk outside.

Levi is hot on my heels as I push open the door. Once my eyes adjust to the overeager sun, all I see is Bishop. He notices me as soon as I leave the building, and he starts walking toward me. Bishop has his hands shoved in his jeans pockets, and he's wearing a similar band tee to the one I'm in.

I completely forget I'm supposed to play it cool around him, so people won't know we're mates. After my nightmare earlier, I'm just so relieved to see that he's okay. Taking off at a run, I close the distance between us in no time. When I'm close enough, I leap at him, wrapping my arms and legs around him like a spider monkey.

Bishop catches me with a grunt. He supports my ass with one arm and bands the other around my back. "Hello to you, too, sweetheart," Bishop says with his lips pressed against my ear and a smile in his voice. His warm breath fans across my neck, causing me to shiver slightly.

"You're okay," I whisper. Even though I know it was just a dream, it's still hard to see everyone I care about being killed. Seeing Bishop in one piece and unharmed soothes a part of me I don't really want to acknowledge. This is totally how friends feel about each other.

"Of course, I am," Bishop responds. "Hey, what's wrong, Izzy? Did something happen?"

"Nightmare," I answer, refusing to release my death grip on him so we can talk like normal people. In his arms is one of my favorite places to be. For totally platonic, friend reasons. That's all I can ever feel about him. If only my stupid heart would get the memo.

"Oh, sweetheart. I'm sorry. I'm fine, as you can see. So are the wolves, who are starting to get a little jealous at all the attention you're giving me."

I groan at the reminder of my other mates. I'm not sure why they're here, but I can't deny that I'm relieved to see them after the dream earlier. Bishop doesn't put me down until I'm ready to let go of him. After another minute of enjoying his hug, I wiggle to be put down. He slides me down his body.

Spinning around, I take off toward the wolves. Archer is the first one I see. I crash into him at full force, and he doesn't budge even an inch. That's one solidly built wolf.

While I'm hugging him, I breathe in his vanilla citrus smell. After a quick hug, I whisper to him, "Tell anyone I hugged you, and I'll shank you." He barks out a startled laugh at my threat but doesn't say anything.

I move on to Luca next. When I wrap my arms around him, his arms hesitantly enfold me in a hug. The man is great at giving hugs, unfortunately for me. I bury my nose in his chest and inhale his dark, woodsy scent. When I pull back, I meet his aquamarine eyes with my gray ones. "You heard what I said to your brother. The same applies to you, wolf boy."

Without waiting for a response, I walk over to Cain. He's more reserved than the other two, so I don't hug him at first. His green eyes flick between mine before he opens his arms in an invitation. I slowly approach him, not wanting to freak him out. When I'm in reach, he startles me by grabbing me around the waist and hauling me into his body.

After a moment of breathing in the burnt marshmallow scent of the wolf, I tell him, "I'd rather not kill you, so keep this whole lapse in judgment to yourself." When I pull back, Cain gives me a half smile as his arms drop away. That's the most positive emotion I've seen directed my way from him.

"Why, exactly, are you threatening us if we tell anyone you hugged us?" Archer asks while trying to smother his amusement. The wide grin stretching across his handsome face betrays him, though.

I roll my eyes. "I have an image to uphold. Who's going to believe I have the personality of a cactus if it gets out that I give hugs and shit?" I huff and cross my arms as all three wolves smile at me. It's a reasonable concern. I've spent a lot of time carefully constructing my image of a heartless porcupine. It keeps people away. In this town full of assholes, that's a good thing.

"I don't think anyone would believe them, anyway, little raven," Levi interjects from behind me. I totally forgot he was here; I was so caught up in Bishop and the wolves.

"Who the fuck is he?" Luca rumbles as he advances on Levi.