Page 73 of How to Flirt with a Witch

“Yeah, for sure,” I say casually, averting my gaze so she won’t see the flash of victory inmy eyes.Woodward Library.

She squints suspiciously. “You’d better.”

I cock an eyebrow. “Or what?”

She steps in, her body heat radiating. “Or you’ll be inbigtrouble.”

I open my mouth, but no sound comes out. Is it inappropriate to tell her that’s more of an invitation than a threat?

She backs up, the hint of playfulness vanishing. “Seriously. See you soon.”

As she leaves me melting into a puddle, I drag my feet into the classroom and settle into a plastic seat.

My knee bounces. My window of opportunity is here.

At the front of the room, the prof settles in and checks his watch.

I need to follow Natalie. As pissed off as she’ll be when I show up in the library, how else am I supposed to prove I can be helpful? She’s being stubborn, and I have to take this into my own hands.

Before I lose my nerve—and before the prof can start talking—I grab my bag and bolt. A few people curiously watch me leave.

My heart slams into my ribs as I walk down the hallway. Natalie is going to be furious. But I tried to ask for a fair trial, and she wouldn’t listen. A single test in a lab with a bunch of people watching wasn’t good enough.

I push through the doors, the chilly January air biting my cheeks… and my steps falter. Guilt crushes me, slowing my feet until I come to a stop beneath an overhang.

This is shitty of me. Natalie clearly wants to keep me safe.

“Dammit,” I whisper. A ball of frustration forms as I stand on the paved walkway. What am I supposed to do? Yes, Natalie is being overprotective by refusing to let me help, but she’s going out of her way for me, and I don’t want to be ungrateful.

Do fighting for myself and betraying Natalie really have to be the same thing? Isn’t there another way?

I bite my lip. My inner moral compass spins around and around before stopping, pointing firmly back inside.

Ugh.My annoying guilty conscience.

I growl and spin—and smack into someone in a leather jacket.

“Oops!” She puts her hands on my shoulders before either of us can fall over. “Watch out, sweetheart.”

Heat rushes up my neck. “I’m so sorry.”

I look up into the face of a girl my age with snow-white skin and black hair worn in a short shag. Between her muscular build, black lipstick and eyeshadow, septum piercing, and the razor lines notched into her eyebrows, there’s an intensity about her that dares anyone to mess with her.

I make a sound like an awkward laugh and step back.

It’s then that I realize her hands haven’t left my shoulders.

Her grip tightens as she sets her dark lips into a knowing smile. “Nice to finally meet you. I’m Oaklyn Madsen.”

Chapter 18

An Earth-Shattering Situation

The blood drains frommy head in a dizzying rush.

Oh—shit.

“You’re going to turn and walk with me,” Oaklyn says slowly and clearly, her expression not inviting me to fuck around. “I’m going to keep my arm over your shoulders so you don’t get any ideas.”