Chapter 35 CHAPTER 35
Rafael's POV
I followed Mathias down the hallway, away from the main building. He had that look on his face—the one that meant he'd pulled off something he probably shouldn't have been able to.
"Alright," I said once we were alone. "What's going on?"
Mathias glanced around, making sure no one was nearby. Then he turned to me, and despite the serious expression, I could see the hint of satisfaction in his eyes.
"I got contacts."
I stopped walking. "Already?"
"Already." He crossed his arms, looking pretty pleased with himself. "I know I said end of the week, but I pushed harder. Called in some favors. Annoyed a lot of people."
"And?"
"And despite them being really grudging about it—and I mean really grudging, one of them literally told me to go to hell twice—I managed to set up a meeting."
Relief hit me so hard I almost couldn't process it. "You're serious."
"Dead serious." Mathias grinned. "Told you I'd come through."
"I—" I shook my head, genuinely surprised. "Good work, man. Really. That's... that's huge."
"I know." He looked way too smug about it. "You can thank me later."
"Who is it?" I asked, getting back to business. "Where are they? How soon can we meet?"
"That's the interesting part." Mathias's grin widened. "She's actually a student here. At Riverside High."
I stared at him. "You're joking."
"Nope. A witch. Right here under everyone's noses."
"A witch goes to our school." I said it slowly, trying to wrap my head around it.
"Apparently." Mathias shrugged. "I mean, it makes sense when you think about it. Supernaturals living in the human realm isn't exactly uncommon. We do it. Why not witches?"
He had a point. Still, the idea that there'd been a witch walking these hallways all this time and I hadn't known was unsettling.
"Does she know about us?" I asked.
"She knows about werewolves in general. Not sure if she knows specifically about you, but—" Mathias paused. "Actually, she probably does now. I had to tell her it was urgent. That it involved a high-ranking wolf with a mate bond issue."
Great. So much for keeping this quiet.
"And she still agreed to meet?"
"Grudgingly," Mathias repeated. "Like I said, witches aren't exactly thrilled about helping wolves. But I offered her something she couldn't refuse."
I raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"My eternal gratitude and charming personality."
"Mathias."
"Fine. I promised her access to some rare herbs from the pack's territory. Apparently she's been trying to get her hands on moonbloom for a ritual, and that stuff only grows in werewolf-protected forests."
Moonbloom. Valuable, hard to get, and definitely something my father wouldn't be happy about me trading away. But desperate times.
"When can we meet her?" I asked.
"Now, actually." Mathias checked his phone. "She said she's free right now. Wants to meet somewhere private. Away from prying eyes."
Now. I could get answers now.
"There's more," Mathias added. "I also set up a meeting with another witch. End of this week, like I originally said."
"Another one?"
"Yeah. She's not around town right now—traveling or something. But she'll be back by Friday, and she agreed to meet with you."
Two witches. Two potential solutions.
"That's good," I said, feeling something like hope for the first time in days. "The more options we have, the better."
"Exactly what I was thinking." Mathias started walking again, gesturing for me to follow. "Come on. We should head out before she changes her mind."
I fell into step beside him. "How the hell did you even get contacts like this? I've been trying to find witch connections for months and came up with nothing."
Mathias just smiled, that infuriating, cocky smile that meant he knew something I didn't. "I know a few tricks."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only answer you're getting." He pushed open the back door that led to the parking lot. "Let's just say I've made friends in interesting places over the years. You're not the only one with secrets, Rafael."
I wanted to push, but honestly, I didn't care how he'd done it. All that mattered was that he had.
"Where are we meeting her?" I asked as we headed toward my car.
"Old chemistry lab. The one in the east wing that they don't use anymore." Mathias unlocked the car but didn't get in yet. "She said it's warded. No one will overhear us."
Warded. Right. Because of course a witch would have protections in place.
"Does she know what this is about?" I asked. "Specifically?"
"I told her you needed information about cross-species bonds. About whether there's a way for a human to survive a werewolf marking." Mathias met my eyes. "She knows it's serious. Life or death."
"And she still agreed to help."
"Like I said—grudgingly." He finally opened the car door. "But yeah. She agreed."
I moved toward the passenger side, then stopped. "Wait. The old chemistry lab is in the building. We don't need to drive there."
"Oh. Right." Mathias closed the car door again, looking slightly embarrassed. "Forgot about that. Okay, we walk then."
We headed back inside, taking a route through the less-crowded hallways. Most students were in class right now, which made it easier to move without being noticed.
"What's her name?" I asked as we walked.
"She didn't give me a name. Just said to call her V." Mathias shrugged. "Witches are weird about names. Something about them having power or whatever."
V. Great. Meeting a mysterious witch who wouldn't even tell us her real name. This was going well.
We reached the east wing, which had been closed off for renovations that apparently never happened. The hallways were darker here, dusty, with that abandoned feeling that made my wolf uneasy.
Mathias led the way to the old chemistry lab. The door was closed, and through the small window, I could see a faint glow—candles, maybe.
"She's already here," Mathias said quietly. "You ready?"
Was I ready to potentially get answers about how to save both Vivienne's life and my own? To find out if there was actually a solution to this impossible situation?
"Yeah," I said. "I'm ready."
Mathias knocked twice, paused, then knocked once more. Some kind of signal.
The door opened.
And I found myself face to face with someone I definitely hadn't expected.