I noted Zane didn’t include himself in that statement. Had he changed his mind about me? Understandable if he had. No sensible being wanted a demon magnet for a mate.
“Her mate?” Willow’s eyebrows shot up. She stared first at Maverick, then at me. “You mated a bear?” she spluttered, aghast.
“And? You did bad things with a wolf last year.” We both ignored Zane’s laughter.
“Wolves are for fun, not for life, Raven. I thought I made that clear.”
“Maverick’s a bear, not a wolf.” From Willow’s scowl, she didn’t understand what point I was making. Honestly, neither did I, but her attitude pissed me off. The bear was my mate, whether or not she approved.
“The shifter can’t be your mate, Raven,” Adam said, his jaw ticking. “Witches and shifters don’t mate.”
“Witches and shifters have formed soul-bonds in the past,” Glynda piped up, but Adam ignored her.
“She is my soul-bonded mate.” Maverick’s tone made it clear he didn’t care what Adam thought. “Montgomery is aware. If you take Raven away, she’ll get sick.”
“Then I’ll heal her.” Adam shook his head dismissively. He tried to pull me away, but Zane shoved him back, no longer so amused.
“Be careful, incubus,” Adam warned, raising his hand to cast magic. “Raven is my responsibility. I will not leave here without her.”
“No!” I’d had enough of people telling me what to do. I wasn’t a child anymore, and I could make my own decisions. “I’m staying, Adam. Maverick is my soul-bonded mate. The incubus too.” I didn’t mention the possibility that I had two more mates. Since they refused to accept me, I would ignore them.
Adam lowered his hand and forced a brittle smile. “Raven, dear child, please—”
The headmaster’s voice boomed across the field.
“Everyone inside the main hall while the security mages clear the area. You have five minutes before we assume you’re dead and notify your next of kin.”
Maverick picked me up, apparently unbothered by his nakedness. He turned his back on Adam and Willow and carried me toward the main building with Glynda jogging behind.
I didn’t dare look back at Adam and Willow.
6
Alaric
“Kinara’s dead.” My father tore his attention away from his phone and frowned at the state of me. I’d wiped the worst of the gore off my face and chest while outside, but I still looked like an extra from a human zombie movie.
“Dead? What on earth are you talking about?”
“She’s dead. A demon ripped her apart.” Kinara’s death hadn’t sunk in yet. Part of me wondered whether I ought to be upset. After all, she had sort of been my fiancée. In name, at least. But then I remembered I hated the bitch.
Unlike mine, Dad’s tuxedo was in pristine condition. No damage or bloodstains. No wonder. He’d moved to the main building the minute the demons arrived, where it was safe.The coward.
“For fuck’s sake,” he grumbled, more annoyed than upset that my fiancée was dead. “Why couldn’t the silly bitch stay inside where it was safe? Now Regina will blame me.”
“Why would she blame you?” That made no sense. The demon attack was a random event. Gears turned slowly in my head. Had my father known something like this would happen?
If he’d known and not warned the school, students and parents would be understandably upset. Kinara wasn’t the only student to lose her life. Two shifters had died, plus another witch, and several of the mage security staff were missing, believed dead.
The whole thing was a clusterfuck of immense proportions. Montgomery had called everyone to the main hall in a feeble attempt to control the narrative before it ended up all over social media, but bad news traveled faster than the speed of light these days. I hadn’t checked Magigram or WitchTok, but I bet there were already videos doing the rounds.
At least both platforms were invisible to humans. If the humans saw videos of demon attacks, their tiny minds would implode. They barely coped with the idea of magical beings like witches, mages, and shifters. Demons were a step too far.
“Never mind. It’s not important.” Dad waved his hand dismissively. “I have to leave now. Go to the meeting and keep your ear to the ground. If there’s any anti-mage sentiment, I want to hear about it.”
“Why would there be?” Once again, he wasn’t making sense. “If this is a random attack, surely nobody’s at fault?”
“Of course it’s a random attack. What else would it be?” He huffed in annoyance and shoved his phone back in his jacket pocket. A security mage appeared in the doorway and nodded to let him know it was time to go.
