Page 51

At that moment, the front door opened, and Colt walked in the door holding a box of beer. A relaxed smile shaped his mouth. “Heard there was a celebration going on.”

Just as the door was about to shut, it pushed open again. Reid followed behind him with his usual cap on backwards, carrying a box of beer.

This time, when the alarm rang in my head, I didn’t ignore it. Reid barely drank alcohol, until recently. In all the years I had known him, I could count the number of times I’d seen him with an alcoholic beverage, outside of his work, on two hands. An uneasy feeling settled into the pit of my stomach.

The moment he entered the room, his eyes found mine. No smile, no knowing look. Seconds later, they landed on Seb’s arm draped across the back of the couch behind me. Reid’s gaze dropped to where his body angled toward mine, our knees almost touching.

He visibly stiffened before straightening to his full height, forcing his shoulders back. From where I sat, he gave off an aura of ‘don’t fuck with me,’ and the stubble on his jaw combined with his neck tattoos, gave him an edgier look than normal.

“What’s his deal?” said Seb beside me. “Are you and him…”

I shook my head. “No, he’s a friend.”

He threw me a pointed look. “Could have fooled me.”

My heart crashed against my ribcage. My every sense of Reid was on high alert. I swore I felt his unease at us being in the same room as easy as I did mine. “Yeah, well, he’s… going through some stuff right now,” I offered, hoping the conversation would move on to something else, but it seemed luck was not on my side.

“Looks like he wants to rip my head off if you ask me. You sure he’s not into you?”

I shrugged. “If he is, he has a funny way of showing it,” I muttered.

“Ain’t that the truth.” Seb’s knuckles skimmed the nape of my neck. “Too bad. He’s missing out on a good thing.”

Honestly, could this guy be any more forward?

Colt approached, shaking Seb’s hand. “Good to see you again. Hope Scar’s using her polite words.” The grin he threw at me made me roll my eyes.

Nice, Colt. I wasn’t snarky to everyone.

“Ah, yeah.” Seb gave me a sidelong look. “She was just telling me about her magic. What’s the deal with the rest of you?” he said, addressing the rest of the room who had overheard the conversation and stopped to listen.

At that, everyone introduced themselves. Reid was the last to speak. He lifted his beer, taking a long drink. “Reid. Blood Mage.”

Seb tilted his head to the side. “Forgive my ignorance, but what does a blood mage do?”

Oh shit. How would he answer this one?

I wondered if I should intervene or steer the conversation elsewhere. Because, surely, he wouldn’t tell these strangers his blood could heal.

Reid deadpanned the inquisitive wolf beside me. “I control it,” he said darkly.

The room stilled.

Skye threw me a look, and I shrugged. This was as much news to me as it was to her. But was there any truth in it?

“Control it?” Seb stared at Reid from over the top of his beer as he took a drink. “As in?”

Reid’s eyes darkened, not leaving Seb’s. “As in, I could control anyone’s blood in this room.”

Was he serious? Or was this some sort of decoy to throw the wolves off and keep his healing gift between our close friends? I exchanged a look with Colt, and he gave me a look that told me to ‘zip it.’

Seb let out a nervous laugh.

Reid continued. “Cool it, heat it. Send it to a targeted part of your body.” He spoke directly to Seb, as if in a silent challenge.

Seb stared back at him. Adjusted his arm on the couch behind me.

“Are you for real?” I blurted out, not believing that in all these years he hadn’t told us this if it were true. This had to be a joke.