Page 5

Finn

I'd asked Levi to meet at the new café at the docks, The Witching Hour, because it was mostly aimed toward the tourists—one of Cam's brainchildren—and therefore not usually frequented by the people I knew.

Until I was a hundred percent sure about letting Levi back into my life, I didn't want to introduce him to anyone.

Plus, they made great coffee, and they had an extra-strong supe menu.

The locals might not visit it often, but they definitely ordered deliveries.

I was pretty sure it was the only place in town with a delivery service for coffee, and even that was only for the local supe clientele.

The guy who delivered was supe himself, and could fly fast enough to deliver piping-hot coffee anywhere in town within minutes of ordering.

I'd shown up a few minutes early, and I was glad I had because finding a space to park was a nightmare. It was why I usually preferred to walk, especially when I was headed toward the touristy side of town, but I hadn't wanted to risk being late.

Once I found a spot, I made my way to the café, and debated between sitting outside or inside. It didn't look like Levi was here yet, so the choice fell to me. The weather was perfect today—a rarity these days—so I picked a table outside that would still afford us a little privacy to talk freely.

My basilisk side was unusually quiet in my head, and I hoped he would stay that way. While he didn't actually talk to me, he was very good at communicating without words.

"Finn!"

I glanced up, smiling as I saw Levi approach. Then I spotted Greta riding on his shoulder, and my smile softened.

"Hey, Finn. Greta insisted she tag along. I hope you don't mind," Levi said, probably noticing my preoccupation.

Greta peered at me with beady black eyes, and I smiled, giving her a little wave. "Not at all. Like I said, she's cute. I didn't really get to talk to her yesterday."

"You've met a familiar before, haven't you?

" Levi asked, his blue eyes bright with curiosity as he took the chair across from me, and Greta slid from his shoulder to his lap before standing up with her hands clasped on the table's edge, clearly curious about my answer as well.

She hadn't met Neya when she came by yesterday, but I had a feeling they'd make good friends.

"I live with one. My dad is a mage," I explained, and he blinked.

"Your dad? Did you reconnect with your family? "

I winced, and shook off the memories of the 'family' Levi was referring to.

"No. My dads adopted me and my siblings.

It's a long story." A story that I didn't really want to dive in just then.

Not before we'd talked about simpler things, before I had an idea of how much Levi had changed in the years since we last met.

"This place looks great," he said, clearly sensing my wish to change the subject. He was as perceptive as before.

Levi's messy black hair looked windblown, and his blue eyes were bright as they watched me, his lips curved in a smile.

Last time, I'd noticed he was a few inches shorter than me—which had felt strange because he'd been the taller one the last time we saw each other—but he was stockier, muscular where I was still mostly skin and bones.

He was dressed in dark jeans and a graphic tee with the picture of a rock climbing a ladder and the text 'Rock Climbing' beside it. I snorted.

"You like my shirt?" he asked with a grin, and I shook my head.

"No way," I said, though my smile proved me a liar.

He chuckled, then eyed the front of the café.

I followed his gaze, taking in the glass front and what we could see of the inside from here.

Donna—short for Belladonna—the resident black cat of the cafe, sat in her perch on the other side of the glass, watching people walk by with her inquisitive gaze.

Behind her, the café was decorated in blacks and purples, herbs and fake bats hanging from the ceiling .

From my last visit, I knew they served coffee in little black mugs with a design of purple flames licking at their sides, and their coffee pots were shaped like cauldrons. They also served some 'special' drinks in weird colors to make them seem more 'witchy.'

"I'm guessing an actual witch owns this place," Levi said, and I hummed in agreement.

"Yeah, his name is Rory. How did you guess?" I asked, since there were a bunch of clues to pick from.

"The menu has a section shielded from human eyes for supe-only drinks, and this," he said, pointing to the cat figurine sitting in the center of our table. It was a tiny thing, barely the size of my thumb, but very detailed.

"The cat figurine?" I asked, confused. But when I focused on it, I realized there was magic contained in it. A spell of some kind? Huh. How had I not noticed it before?

"Yep. It's spelled," Levi said, then reached out to pet the tiny cat's head. I felt a wave of magic wash over me, like it was enveloping us in a bubble, and gave him a questioning look.

"It's a cloaking spell of sorts. It softens the noise outside the little bubble it created around us, and keeps others from listening in. See, it's mentioned here in the menu."

I'd completely missed that. Rory really had gone all out with this place. I didn't really know him well, but I wanted to change that. First, though, I wanted to catch up with Levi.

The last time I'd talked to him—other than my fumbling freak-out yesterday—I'd been so sure we would never make it out alive.

And then the assholes holding us captive had told us Levi was dead.

I'd missed him a lot, and sometimes, I'd wished I'd died instead if only to be free, which had then made me feel guilty because Penny and Dean had needed me.

Levi and I met under the worst of circumstances, and while we'd become friends, I didn't know if it was just the result of our shared trauma. What if we couldn't connect anymore?

"Sorry," Levi said, making me glance up at him. "If you can't tell, I'm really fucking nervous, which is why I'm talking about everything except what we're supposed to talk about."

I bit back a chuckle because I felt exactly the same.

I opened my mouth to tell him as much when a server showed up, and we took a moment to place our orders.

I went for a Luxurious Latte while Levi chose a Chaotic Cappuccino, both off the supe menu, along with two slices of chocolate cake.

The server, a sweet human girl named Jenna, told us she'd be back with our order in a few minutes, and I spoke the moment she stepped out of our invisible bubble.

"I know what you mean. I wanted to apologize again for running out yesterday. I was just shocked to see you alive, and yeah, I did think you'd broken your promise. I can't believe you came back. We'd been rescued by that point, but I'm still grateful you did."

I was glad he'd been late, because otherwise I never would've met my dads or Cam and Micah or Neel and Pax. I had a loving family now that I wouldn't have had if Levi had found us in time .

Levi

"Rescued?" I asked, leaning forward curiously. Greta was curled up on my lap, and I assumed the cloaking spell was making the humans ignore her too because I hadn't had a single 'well-meaning' human approach me to tell me why I shouldn't keep a skunk as a pet.

Jenna reappeared with our drinks and cake before Finn could elaborate, and I thanked her as she placed everything on the table, smiling when she gave a cheerful "You're welcome! Holler if you need anything."

When I glanced up, Finn was watching me with an unreadable look in his eyes, his glasses halfway down his nose. Since he seemed to have lost his train of thought, I prompted, "You were rescued?"

Finn blinked, then nodded sharply. He slid his glasses back up, and told me everything in a condensed version that included all the facts and none of the feelings.

How he and the others had been rescued by a group of soldiers who policed the supes, how they'd killed every single one of the bastards who'd kidnapped us and regularly drained our blood to use in their black magic, how the team's leader, a man named Maximus, had brought them to this town because he knew the dragon would keep them safe in case anyone else tried to find them .

Finn and his siblings, Amelia, and the twins had all been adopted by different people in the dragon's clan, and they'd all gotten the chance to grow up in a normal, loving family.

The relief that filled me as Finn told his story was unimaginable. I'd spent years imagining the worst, torturing myself with the what-ifs. I was glad I hadn't sentenced them to death or a life of misery by running away and not finding them in time.

"God, Finn. I'm so glad all of you are safe and happy."

"I'm glad you're okay too. They told us you were dead, and I believed them," Finn said with a shake of his head. "I should've told Maximus about you. He could've found you. You could've grown up with us here."

That...that didn't sound half-bad. I would've enjoyed growing up with the others. While I was almost three years older than Finn, we'd always gotten along well, and I imagined we'd have been the best of friends if we hadn't gotten separated.

"That would've been nice, but it's not like I had a bad life out there.

Sure, I struggled for a bit, but once I got a hang of my magic, nature became my best friend, and I could always find enough food and a place to sleep.

Then I got a job at a nursery, and made some friends.

I've had a good life since I escaped. Don't worry, okay? "

Finn nodded, then eyed me curiously as I took a sip of my drink and hummed at the warm, caffeine-rich goodness.

"So why the move to Mistvale? Any particular reason?"

"I spent the last few years in a big city. The nursery I worked at was great, but the city itself didn't have much natural land. Everything was concrete and brick, and it started to feel stifling. So I decided it was time for a change. I heard about this supe-friendly town, and here I am."

"Just like that," he said with a smile, and I chuckled.

"Yep. Just like that. I never thought I'd run into you, but boy am I glad."

Finn smiled, making his eyes crinkle up.

He had such beautiful eyes. I'd always thought that.

But while he'd been a brave little kid the last time I saw him, he wasn't a kid anymore.

Neither was I. And I was starting to realize that I might like Finn.

I had no idea how Finn felt about me, though, since our two interactions had been poles apart. Was he even interested in men?

There were so many things I still didn't know about him—like why he insisted on wearing those glasses, or what kind of supe he was—but I liked what I did know. I liked the man he'd grown into, and I wanted to know him better.

Greta woke up from her nap, stretched, and then stood up on my legs, peering at Finn over the table. He smiled when he spotted her, and she hopped up onto the table.

I glanced around, grateful for the spell because people really didn't seem to care about her.

When I turned around, Greta was sniffing Finn's fingers, and he was watching her with a besotted look on his face.

She'd clearly suckered him in already. Maybe she could be my way in for spending more time with Finn.

Or I could ask him to reintroduce me to Amelia, Mateo, Miles, and his siblings .

"Ow!" I jerked Greta back as she bit Finn, but the damage was already done. There was a bite mark and a thin trail of blood running down his index finger.

My eyes flashed to Greta, who was watching me carefully. "Greta, why would you do that?" I asked, keeping my tone level because I knew she'd understand me.

She kept staring at me, then sent me a thought through our bond. She didn't use words often, preferring to use pictures to explain what she wanted to say. But right then, she sent a word loud and clear through our bond: mate .

I shook my head, then shifted my chair closer to Finn's before taking his hand in mine. "Let me see that."

I leaned over, examining the bite, and realized it wasn't too deep. Actually, it was quite similar to the bite she'd given me when she claimed me as her mage. Huh.

"It's okay. It's probably healed already," Finn murmured, and I grabbed a napkin to wipe his finger, realizing he was right. So whatever kind of supe he was, it was one with extremely fast healing.

"Looks like it. I'm sorry about that," I murmured, unsure if I was quite yet ready to deal with the bomb Greta had dropped on me.

Mate . Finn was my mate.

But if so, why hadn't he said anything? He was a supe, so he should already know, right?

Could it be that he didn't want to be my mate? Or was it possible that he didn't know? I knew some supes only recognized their mates when they were in their supe forms, or through certain senses.

Either way, I didn't think it would be the best idea to tell him now. We'd just reconnected, and I wanted to get to know him better before throwing romance into the mix. I wanted to see Amelia and the others too, and maybe once I was sure I had a place in his life, I'd tell Finn about our bond.

I just hoped he wouldn't figure it out on his own first.