Page 109 of How to Flirt with a Witch

“I still don’t get why the Madsens want to steal a curse,” I murmur. “Like, the second a person touches one, it starts trying to kill them. What are they planning to do once they get one?”

Natalie stays quiet. When I look at her, her gaze is on everything but me.

Frustration churns in my gut. “You’re going to keep withholding information from me?” I ask flatly.

“It’s for your own safety.”

I press my lips together to avoid spitting out an argument. This need-to-know arrangement blows. I get that Natalie is just following the rules and keeping me safe, but it’s forcing me to be less than everyone else in CSAMM. What’ll it take to truly belong with them?

The hairs on the back of my neck lift, and my feet move faster before I process what’s happening.

“It’s close,” I whisper, letting instinct guide me.

Natalie hurries to keep up.

I cross to the next row of graves, nearly breaking into a run.Thisis why I’m here. This is the power none of them have, and I’m going to use it to the fullest.

My breaths quicken. Anticipation tugs me onward like a magnetic force.

Near the center of the cemetery, hidden from public view by trees, a headstone with a square top sits darkened by moss. A bouquet of artificial white roses rests against its base, frost clinging to the faded green stems and weathered petals.

I stop, my heart beating out of my chest. Icy wind curls around us, making branches groan.

“The flowers?” Natalie murmurs.

I nod.

She crouches and studies the headstone. Her brow pinches.

“Familiar name?” I ask. Have we found a witch’s grave?

“Not sure.”

I roll my eyes in frustration.Vague and secretive as ever.

She checks over her shoulder and reaches into her inner pocket for the vial. “Don’t touch it. We’ll neutralize it right here.”

Suddenly, something grabs my ankles, yanking so hard that I fall forward. I catch myself with my hands, crying out as pain shoots up my arms.

“Katie!” Natalie shouts, jumping to her feet.

The grass slides under me, icy and wet. I grab onto anything I can, trying to stop, coming away with fistfuls of mud. I kick to free my ankles, but they’re bound together.

What’s happening? What’s dragging me?

An image of zombies rising in the graveyard flashes through my mind’s eye before reason takes over. This must be related to the curse, or…

A deep bark reverberates through the tombstones, sending a shiver through my core.

The Madsens.

My heart jumps into action as it becomes clear we’re in danger. How did they findus so quickly?

Paws thunder closer. I wince, bracing myself for Wyatt’s jaws. But the dog leaps over me, darkening the sky, and continues barreling toward Natalie.

“No!” I cry, thrashing as panic closes around me. A thick root binds my ankles, dragging me further from her with every frantic beat of my heart.

Natalie sweeps her arm, and a patch of grass raises like a shield, arrripfilling the air as it tears away from the dirt. The dog bursts through, jaws snapping.