Chapter Fifteen—Lucas

Lucas went straight from his third period class to the library at lunch. He wanted to make sure Sweeny didn’t get lost on the way.

The silent hallway sent chills up his spine. He’d gone to school there since junior high but something felt different—colder about it that day. With the old gray brick and huge windows, the entire campus gave off a witchy feel. Someone must have been killed or tortured somewhere in one of these buildings.

Maybe the basement.

It would explain the feeling of being watched the students talked about over the years.

Lucas walked into the dimly lit library and toward the row of worn wooden desks. Theo, Jaxson and Sweeny sat at one table. Theo and Jaxson whispered to one another, while Sweeny sat uncomfortably two seats over.

He took the empty place next to Sweeny and grabbed the edge of her seat to pull her closer to him. He could smell her nerves being there with all of them.

“So,” she said, eyeing the old book between them.

Jaxson crossed his arms across his chest. “I told Lucas about you flirting with the new guy in American History.”

“Punk,” she mumbled.

Lucas knew she wasn’t flirting with him. The new guy was drawn to her for other reasons. Theo chuckled which earned him an eye roll from Jaxson.

“I wasn’t flirting with him,” she said. “I was taking up for him because you seem to make friends by being mean to them.”

“I don’t need friends. I have them.” He gestured toward Lucas and Theo.

“Yeah, huge crowd. Can we please get on with this?”

Lucas sat back in his chair, swiping his thumb down the corner of his mouth. “Nah, I want to get one thing straight right now. I ain’t gonna listen to you two talk crap. Jaxson,” he said, leaning forward. “Stop it. It doesn’t matter what she turns out to be, but that’s she is my mate and I’m gonna have her however I want.”

“Wait a second,” she said sitting up straight. Lucas could feel the heat crawl up her neck to her cheeks. “However you want is a little much, don’t cha think? I’m not your ragdoll to do whatever with.”

Lucas smiled at her.

Theo leaned forward, his dark eyes watching her face. “You don’t get this, do you? Your soulmate is sitting right in front of you. You are his to have.”

Sweeny cringed. “This is awkward and I don’t want to talk about biting, mating or—being someone’s plaything. I want to figure out what this new guy is and figure out why all these animals think I’m their new Momma.”

Jaxson ran his palm down his face. “You can’t be his mate. Come on, Lucas, are you sure?”

That pissed him off, and apparently her too.

She went for a pen sitting on the table but Lucas grabbed her wrist and shook his head. “I’ve never been surer of anything,” he said.

Jaxson shrugged. “It’s your future, not mine.”

“Exactly,” she snapped. “So shut up about it.”

Theo sighed loudly, sliding the book toward her. “We’ve been searching and we think you’re a witch.”

Way to ease her into it, Theo.

Sweeny looked at the old page with tiny cursive writing. She begun to read when she laughed. “A witch, really?” she asked. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Lucas cleared his throat. “Well, what do you think it is, cher?”

“Senioritis?”

Jaxson laughed without humor. “Beams of light shot from your palms, Sweeny. Are you ignoring that?”

“That really happened?” she whispered. “I thought I blacked out and dreamt it.”

“Cher,” Lucas whispered, turning her to face him. “Has anything else happened to you lately?”

She shook her head. “No.”

Theo sat back. “We need to try and figure it out. Maybe we could try some stuff and see how she reacts.”

“Like what?” Lucas asked.

“Attack her,” Jaxson said with a smile.

“No,” Lucas hissed. “How about we go to my house and see if we can get her to use the power she did before? She can’t control it if she doesn’t use it.”

Sweeny palmed her forehead. “This is insane.”

“Have you talked to your Momma about your Daddy?”

“No, I don’t know how. She never talks about him, and when I ask, she gets weird.”

“You have to at least try,” Lucas encouraged. “Let’s go to my house now, and then we can go search your Momma’s room.”

Sweeny frowned. “I don’t feel comfortable going through her things, Lucas. We have a good relationship and I don’t want to invade her privacy.”

Lucas searched her face, running the tip of his finger against her bottom lip. “Don’t fret, cher. We’ve got you.”

Jaxson stood up abruptly. “Can we please go before y’all start screwing on the library floor?”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to skip school. What if someone notices and calls my mom?”

Theo stood up next. “Are you a good girl, Sweeny? Scared to get caught.”

“Uh, yeah?”

Lucas smiled, grabbed her bag and offered her his palm. “Come on, it’ll be fine. No one will think about it.”

***

They all drove to Lucas’ house together in his ride. Lucas could feel Sweeny’s nerves. “Why you nervous?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know this witchy stuff that you think I do. Wouldn’t I know if I was a witch? I mean—are guys called witches? Am I supposed to fly on broomsticks? Does being a witch automatically make me bad? Are there good and bad witches?” she asked.

Lucas couldn’t help but smile. She talked a lot when she was nervous, and it made his wolf want to shut her up with his mouth. Calm all those nerves spewing out into the cab of his truck.

“Guys are called warlocks,” Theo answered from the back seat.

“So you think my dad was one?” she asked Lucas.

He shrugged. “Can’t say for sure. It could have skipped a generation.”

“I can’t imagine the man in the picture I found being a warlock. He looked so normal but what does a witch look like? I guess it’s kind of like serial killers. You never know."

Theo glanced at Lucas in his review mirror and smiled. He seemed to be loosening up to her more than Jaxson.

How could they not like her? She was perfect.

They parked beneath a Cyprus tree on Lucas’ property and all got out. It was a particularly humid day and Lucas noticed Sweeny beginning to sweat.

He shrugged out of his T-shirt and left himself in a tank top. “Here, have this. It’s hot as hell.”

Sweeny’s eyes swept over him and she ran it across the back of her neck before following them toward the clearing on the left of Lucas’ house. Jaxson picked up a rock and tossed it at her chest.

“Cut it," Lucas snapped.

“Just checking,” Jaxson said with a shrug.

Lucas turned to Sweeny. “Okay, so you were attacked when you used your power. You’re sure you never have before?”

Sweeny let her palms fall flat against her thighs. “No, never. I’ve never heard animals or seen the woman.”

Lucas slid his tongue over his teeth. “Okay,” he said. “I’m gonna throw this boulder and I want you to try and laser beam it.”

Sweeny laughed. “Laser beam?”

“I wasn’t there,” Lucas said with his sideways smirk.

“It was more like beams of light,” Jaxson said.

Sweeny stopped in thought.

“What is it?” Lucas asked.

She turned to Theo. “Did you see any light the day I fell into the bayou?”

“No.”

She frowned. “I did, and someone called my name.”

Lucas walked over toward a huge boulder, bent down and tossed it easily up into the air. Sweeny watched as his muscles constricted and her amazement sent his wolf into overdrive. The boulder fell and he stared at her with a lifted brow.

“Sorry,” she laughed. “That's … distracting.”

Jaxson groaned. “Knock it off, I can smell you from here.”

“Could y’all please get a cold or something? Maybe stop up your noses. I’ve got some tampons in my purse, it’d be nice not to be smelled every five minutes.”

Lucas laughed. He didn’t laugh often, and it felt nice. “Okay, try again.”

Lucas grabbed the same boulder and tossed it. This time she seemed more focused and braced both palms outward.

Nothing.

The boulder fell and split in half.

Lucas watched her kick her worn converse against the ground and sigh.

“You were being attacked when it happened,” Theo said. “Maybe it only works when you’re in danger.”

“No,” Lucas hissed. “You touch her and I’ll kill you.”

“We wouldn’t really hurt her,” Theo said.

“Speak for yourself,” Jaxson mumbled.

“This is stupid,” Sweeny said.

Lucas ran his fingers into his dark hair and glanced out at the bayou. “What about a gator?”

“What about it?” she asked.

“We could provoke one and see if you could fight ‘em off?"

Theo rubbed his palms together. “You know I love a gator fight.”

“Who likes to fight with an alligator?” she whispered.

Sweeny began to shake her head when Jaxson stepped forward and slammed his first against Lucas’ jaw. He stumbled toward a nearby tree, his eyes turned golden.

Lucas jumped, did a roundhouse kick and knocked Jaxson to the ground. He groaned as he stood up. “I just got over a set of broken ribs,” he mumbled.

Jaxson and Theo gave each other a quick look. Theo lunged forward and grabbed Lucas in a headlock as Jaxson kicked him in the stomach.

Lucas groaned in pain. Sweeny's face looked tormented. He hated to see her look that way, but he knew what his pack was up to, and it might work.

Another punch.

“Stop it!” she screamed; her fingers tightened into fists. “I said stop!”

Lucas pulled at Theo’s arms, but he held a firm grip, while Jaxson prepared for another punch.

“Jaxson, I said stop!” she screamed, this time her scream rung loud.

Jaxson fell to the ground, holding his ears, and curling into a fetal position in the dirt. Theo let go of Lucas and placed his palms out in surrender.

Lucas stilled, his face red, with blood running down his jaw. “Damn, cher. What was that?”

Sweeny shrugged. “They were hurting you.”

Jaxson got up slowly. “Now, tell me you don’t think you’re a witch. Do you know anyone that can knock a person to the ground with their scream?”

Theo pointed toward the front windshield of Lucas’ Hummer. “She broke the glass.”

Lucas grinned. “I guess someone just needed to be threatened. I’m glad I’m important enough to ensure a screaming match, yeah.”

Sweeny swiped a flyaway from her forehead. “Don’t get the big head. So, what do I do now?” she asked. “I have no one to turn to or ask about this.”

“You could ask the new guy?” Theo suggested, giving Lucas a quick smile.

“The hell she will,” he said. “You stay away from him. He is bad news, I can feel it.”

“I can too,” she said. “It’s like two different people inside of him.”

Lucas nodded, his gaze drifting toward the road. A police car pulled into the driveway with Sweeny’s mother behind her.

“Oh crap,” she whispered.

Lucas cleared his throat. “Ah, cher.”

Jaxson laughed, lacing his intertwined fingers on the back of his neck. “This should be fun.”

Her mother slammed the car door, walking toward them in a pencil skirt and heels. “Sweeny Harper, get your butt in the car, now!”

She looked at Lucas over her shoulder. He winked at her.

“Officer Derrick,” Lucas said.

“Boys, you better have a good reason for skipping school. Get ya tails back there now.”

Lucas met Sweeny’s gaze through the windshield of her mother’s car. When he smiled, she rolled her eyes.