Page 157 of How to Flirt with a Witch

I chew my lip, wishing she had a different answer. “Promise me you won’t use it for anything but your health,” I say, touching her wrist. “Please promise me.”

She nods. No hesitation, nothing but a desperate plea in her eyes. “Only my health. Nothing more. I swear on my life, Katie. On Sebastian’s life.”

It’ll have to be enough.

I step back, letting her swing the door open.

There’s no time to stand and watch… but as I race to the next cage, fear for what she’s about to do gets the better of me, and I can’t resist glancing back.

The magic takes the form of a dark gray wolf, its fur shimmering with an otherworldly light. It crouches in the center, its muscles coiled and ready to spring, its piercing purple eyes fixed on Millie as she slips inside with a palm up—as if that’s enough to make this enormous beast stop.

Shutting the door behind her, Millie stands with both hands up in a gesture of peace, looking tiny in the face of the massive wolf. The wolf’s lips curl back into a snarl, and its ears twitch.

Terror seizes me, freezing me in place. This is a bad idea. One bite with those jaws and she’s done.

But Millie stands strong, keeping her hands in front of her—and it’s then that I see the blood dripping from her palms. It splatters onto the stone floor like crimson rain drops. She’s etched a symbol into each palm, the cuts deep and jagged, and is presenting them to the wolf.

The beast’s muscles bunch, ready to pounce, but neither of them makes a move. My breaths heave in and out, a nervous tremor passing through me. I’m witnessing something beyond my understanding—a negotiation between a witch and feral magic.

Forcing myself to move, I smash the next lock with a shaking fist.

A snarl rips through the air, and I snap my attention back to Millie.

The wolf leaps at her, a rush of glinting teeth and ruffling fur.

“No!” I cry, lurching back toward Millie as if I can save her.

But then, in mid-air, the wolf begins to dissolve, its shimmering violet particles drifting to Millie like floating pollen. They enter her body through the cuts in her palms, and she lets out a blood-curdling scream, dropping to her knees.

“Millie!” I stop at the entrance to her cage, afraid to step inside.

She doesn’t answer, stifling her shouts through clenched teeth. But she keeps her hands up, even as she trembles and writhes under the magic pouring into her bloodstream.

“What’s happening?” Sebastian shouts. “Millie!”

Outside us, the sounds of the fight draw closer, panicked yells rising over each other.

Natalie’s yells hit my ears, her words jumbled and frantic. “Amir! Shit! Someone help him!”

Keep moving!my inner voice shouts—but shock has my feet rooted to the floor as Millie absorbs the bio magic.

I watch, numb, as the wolf dissolves completely. It’s gone—finished fusing with her.

She falls forward on all fours, gasping for breath.

“Are you okay?” I ask, my voice thin as fear grips my throat.

No answer.

Dammit.Do I go to her or continue opening cages? I rock from foot to foot, torn between priorities.

Another explosion rocks the room, and I duck as debris hits my head and shoulders.

“Katie—we can’t hold them back any longer!” Natalie shouts from much too close.

Millie stirs. With jerky movements, she crawls backward, then gets her feet under her and stands. She turns her head to meet my gaze, a purple gleam in her eyes that sends a jolt of adrenaline through me. “Go,” she says, her voice raspy.

She’s done it. Whatever ritual that was, it’s over, and that wolf is part of her.