Chapter 50

Owen

It turns out to be even worse than I imagined.

Asya looks at me with the wide eyes of a deer like I've just revealed the secret of her life—and I have, in a way. But it's not my fault, really. She'd figure it out sooner or later…I guess.

"Have you never experienced anything like this before? Lightning, whispers at night, sudden rain?" I look at her with a grimace of uncertainty. To be honest, I don't know that much about witches' magic, but I suppose it shows itself in one way or another.

But Asya slowly shakes her head, still staring at me, still trying to understand what's happening. I see a tremble running through her frame, and I doubt it's a wave of magic. Looks more like a nervous shiver, and for a moment, I feel an urge to touch her—-it always works when my packmates are stressed. But since when do I care if she’s stressed? I shake my head. It’s none of my business.

"No, never, it's—All I have is this weird tingling under my skin, you know?" Asya looks me in the eyes in the hope of seeing reassurance, but I only open my mouth and close it again with a shrug.

No, actually, I don't know the feeling. Even though I am a creature of magic, it works differently for me and other shapeshifters: we are bound with it, but we can't use it as we please. In fact, every race has its own roots and energy sources—but I don't say it out loud lest it would wire her up even further.

"It must be some kind of mistake," Asya announces after some thinking and straightens up, her knuckles pale from the grip on her keys. "I can't be…I mean, I've never even heard about witches. Well, only in fairytales, but it's just…I can't be one of them. What do witches do, even? I have no idea."

While Asya is blabbering out her thoughts, too nervous to put a filter on her speech, I watch her without a word. What can I say, really? I've never had to deal with any kind of acceptance or unfamiliar feelings. The wolf spirit has been with me since birth, and I would get freaked out if I

didn't feel its presence anymore.

But eventually, the stream of Asya's speech dies down with her gaze turning dull and unfocused, and I feel like I have to say something. Support her? It would be nice, but… We aren't friends, are we? I doubt we even count as acquaintances. Just two people that happen to share a secret.

"Maybe if you forget about it and pretend like nothing has happened, it'll go away?" I pat her back and get up, facing her. It's a weak attempt at encouragement, but there's nothing else left for me to say. What's the point in empty words?

But before I can wave my goodbye to her, Asya realizes what I'm doing and grasps my hand feverishly. Our hands touch—and I flinch from the electric charges immediately spreading from her skin to mine.

"Oh, shit, does it hurt? Sorry." Asya immediately pulls back, clearly shocked by my reaction. Her eyes are wide and scared as she glances at her hand and back at me. "I don't know how it works, sorry. But you—You can't leave like that. I have no idea what to do. What if it doesn't go away?"

I raise my eyebrows, looking at her. Well, what can I do about it? It's not like I'm an expert in witchcraft myself.

"Come on, you should help me."

I should help her? I can't help but chuckle sarcastically and glance to the side. Since when do I owe her anything?

But when our eyes meet again, I feel my wolf spirit perk up as if interested in the pleading glint in her eyes. It looks and sounds like a call for help, too close to a gesture of surrender, and something in me protests against leaving her. Friend or not, Asya is not a stranger to me, and no good alpha would ignore a request for help. Even if it comes from a person that's been challenging me, making fun of me, and doing all she can to piss me off since our first meeting. I purse my lips. Well, damn it.

"Why would I want to help you?"

Asya blinks, caught off guard, quirks an eyebrow, and suddenly straightens up, gaining her composure. "Because I know your secret and can tell everyone else?"

Okay, that is a more rational reason. I doubt Asya would do it, though, but that's the kind of an argument I can't ignore. I linger in front of her, gathering my thoughts, but in the end, I sit back down, and Asya visibly relaxes.

"But I don't know how your magic works," I try to explain again, genuinely confused about how I can help her. It seems to confuse Asya, too, but for quite a different reason.

"My magic?" she repeats, and I can barely hold back a sigh. Yeah, I forgot, she doesn't know about it either.

“You know, the kind of magic that witches use." I glance at her pointedly. "It’s different from ours.”

Asya swallows, and even in the darkness of the square, I can see the pale tint of her skin. She looks at me for a moment before casting her gaze down, where her hands are curled into fists. What does she feel there? I don't know—but I can see that she's upset, and somehow that makes me upset, too.

"But you know something, right? You understand this whole thing with lights and spells." Asya looks up at me, her brow furrowed with fear and distress. "But I don't understand anything. All I know is that there's something wrong with me, and it—"

She doesn't finish and looks away, chewing her lips, all tense and exuding a prickling air of stress. She doesn't finish—but I can guess the rest of the sentence anyway. It scares her. And I doubt I would be any better in her place.

I sigh and rub the back of my neck. "Look, I really don't know—"

"Owen, please."

When I look at her again, our eyes meet, and I see. I see how hard it is for her to ask me something. She kinda hates me, doesn't she? And Asya doesn't try to pretend that she likes me all of a sudden. Her lips are a tight line, her shoulders are tense—but the look in her eyes is desperate, and before I can think about it, I’m already nodding.

“Alright, I…I will see what I can do for you.”

“Thank you.” Asya immediately breaks into a wide, grateful smile, her eyes glimmering in the street lights, her shoulders slumping in relief—and it strikes me how beautiful her smile is. As if echoing my thoughts, the wolf spirit rumbles in pleasure. Well, I guess it likes to have a new ally or something?

"Can you meet me on Wednesday?"

It's two days from now, and hopefully, I'll have had time to deal with my own problems by then.

"Yes," she says, sounding way more cheerful than two minutes ago. "I have a morning shift, so at five?"

"Alright." I take a look at the darkness of the forest around Raywald and hum. "Wait for me in the woods, then." "Where?" I hear a confused frown in Asya's voice and look back at her with a chuckle. It's gonna take some time for her to get used to my true nature.

"Just choose a quiet place, I’ll find you."

It's funny to see how it dawns on her. She stares at me for a few seconds, still confused, until I sniff the air a few times, memorizing her scent all over again—and Asya's eyes widen in realization. She looks surprised, and I can’t help a wide smile. What can I say, I like to impress people—especially, a girl like Asya.

"Oh. Okay, thanks." She nods again and gets up, clutching her keys. "I'll see you at five, then. And, Owen?" I hum.

"Let's not tell anyone, okay?" She sounds rather worried even though I should be the one asking her. But I decide not to remind her about it and nod.

"Okay."

With that, Asya gives me a quick but bright smile and walks away. I pretend to linger at the edge of the square to think about what to do next, but in reality, I’m simply waiting for her to get to the car. She may be a witch who takes me for an asshole—but she's also a pretty girl walking on her own at night, and I want to make sure she's safe. When Asya reaches the car, she notices my gaze and, after an awkward pause, waves at me before driving away.

God, are we gonna be friends now? I huff to myself and start down the street toward the motel. It’s not that far —something tells me I’d be able to go from one side of Raywald to the other in less than an hour—so I have just enough time to think what the hell I’ve just signed up for.

I should have said no. I really should have said no. There is way more important stuff to me to be dealing with: the new pack, the old pack, my life both as a human and as a wolf here. It’s not like I’m walking around town doing nothing—I’m here for a reason. Okay, she may be fun and hot—-but it’s not my fault she’s a witch!