Page 23 of Jade Lion and the Witch Boy (Haunted Hearts: Season of the Witch #5)

I HAVE TODAY off, which is perfect, because I don’t want to be around anyone from Boysen House.

Kai and I go on a local hayride and pumpkin patch for a date.

I teach him all about Halloween while we pig out on candied apples.

After lunch, we cuddle on my bed and use my laptop to have a movie marathon.

Kai conjures popcorn while we watch several romantic comedies themed around a Halloween monster university.

Sometime during the third movie, Kai’s constant petting of my head lulls me to sleep.

When I wake up, I don’t have to say a word before Kai can read my mind.

It’s like we have this innate connection, the same tether since the day he appeared in my room.

He knows I’m gone for him, so I gently kiss him as we lie on the bed.

When our hands come into play, our clothes come off. Our kisses become heated, mouths on chests, and hands grasping everywhere. In minutes, we frot on each other and climax at the same time. I’ve never had this much fun with sex before.

After cleaning up, I ask Kai to conjure dinner for just the two of us in bed. We watch more monster romcom movies and share a calzone. It’s a perfect way to spend the evening together.

There’s no way this man, this amazing mage, would ever sap my life force.

When I glance at him, he’s already studying me. We’re both naked under the covers, and I look down at his massive pecs, then back at him. “What?” I ask through a chuckle.

“Today has been wonderful. Truly joyous.”

I smile. “I think so too.”

“Do…do you feel like you and I have a…connection?”

I cuddle him closer and place my hand on his firm chest. “Yes, Kai,” I whisper. “I do.”

“This whole month has been an adjustment, but the only thing that has grounded me was the first thing I saw when I arrived in your time.”

A gasp escapes my lips. “It was me.”

He smiles. “You were gorgeous. I was still cursed in my lion form, but I saw you. And looking into your eyes, I knew everything would be okay.”

I nod, and my eyes water with emotion. “I remember that moment too. Everyone thought I was losing it when I told them I felt an innate pull to your beast form.”

Kai nods. “And I know why that is. I have been searching for something real for years.” He bites his lip and looks away.

“To feel something with another man. My family shunned me because I wouldn’t be with a woman.

And the men I’ve been with didn’t see the real me.

” Kai turns and looks at me, his face inches from mine.

“But with you, Sebastian, it’s…predestined. ”

My heart wants to burst like firecrackers on Lunar New Year. Kai loves me, I can see it on his face.

I scoot back, ready to tell him I feel the same, but my throat goes dry. Everything will be fine as long as my coven doesn’t get in the way.

“What I’m trying to say is…” He trails his hand down my arm. “The Jade Lion is foretold to live with someone by his side. A soulmate.”

I nod, urging him to continue. “Yes?” I whisper.

When I trail my hand down his arm, I notice something warm under the sheet. I pull back the covers, and my eyebrows jump.

The protection charm is on his wrist. And it’s glowing.

Oh no. The coven’s spell is active.

Meanwhile, Kai doesn’t seem to notice my panic. “Sebastian Suarez. I think I’ve been waiting for you.” The charm glows even brighter, and my heart takes off in a panic.

“Seb, I want you to know that I lo—”

“Take it off!” I shriek. I scramble to pull off the bracelet, but to no avail.

Kai, meanwhile, looks at me like I’m a weirdo. He lifts up his wrist while I try to pry the bracelet off. “What?”

“The protection charm. I thought I told you not to wear it anymore!”

I keep tugging, but the knot isn’t budging. Where’s a pair of scissors when you need one?

“Lisbeth spoke to me while you were showering. She urged me to wear it for safety, so I put it back on.”

“Please, Kai. Don’t say another word, just take it off, please!” I tug and tug, then pause and look at the man I love.

He seems equal parts skeptical and confused, but lifts his other hand and shifts it into a lion’s paw. With one clawed finger, he easily snaps off the charm bracelet. I take it and leap out of bed. Then I shove it in a drawer.

Please don’t be too late.

When I turn to Kai, he’s still in bed, watching me with a perplexed look. I take a few calming breaths, content in knowing he looks unaffected. But there’s only one way to find out. “Could you please conjure me a, um…rolling suitcase?”

“Pardon?”

“I…really need one. Right now. Do you know what that is?”

Kai looks down at the floor between us. When he waves his wrist, arcana glows around his fingers. In seconds, a brown piece of luggage manifests. “Like this?” he asks.

I touch the luggage, and my chest sags as I let out a breath. The relief in my soul is immeasurable. Kai is okay.

He stares at me like I’ve lost my mind, which is fair. I bolt upright and stride to my dresser. “We need to leave.”

“I’m sorry?”

“We have to get out of Boysen House. There’s no time,” I say, as I pull clothes out of the drawer. I shove them into the luggage while putting on an outfit.

“But why?”

The coven is going to keep trying to sap his powers, so I need to distance myself from them.

“I…can’t explain, but we need to get our own place.

We can stay at a hotel tonight.” I glance up and pause when I see Kai already standing.

He seems adorably perplexed, and I try not to get distracted by his toned, naked body.

I stride up to him and grab his hips. “I promise you, I will clarify what’s going on eventually. You just have to trust me right now.” I slowly kiss his lips and pull back. Sure, I’m using affection to manipulate him, but it’s for a good cause. “Do you trust me?”

He nods, and his face softens. “Yes, of course.”

I sigh. “Then please help me pack my clothes. I’m going downstairs and taking all of my best ingredients from the kitchen.” With jeans and a shirt on, I grab Kai one more time and peck him on the mouth. “And don’t say anything to the ladies, alright?”

He grins. “As you wish, my love.”

I bite back a swoon and then shake my head. There’s no time to waste, so I dash downstairs.

I’m almost done shoving my favorite utensils into a plastic bag when I feel a presence in the kitchen. When I turn around, my face falls.

Taina looks distraught. Twenty-four hours ago, she was here saying that Kai would kill me. Now she just looks wrung out and sad.

“Seb,” she says.

“Hey,” I reply. She sits down, and I gradually stop my frantic packing. Guilt gnaws at my chest. Boysen House has been good to me, but Taina was my bestie way before that. I can’t imagine a life without her.

I sit at the table next to her, and we awkwardly gaze at each other. She seems extra tired. “Listen, Ty, I appreciate you looking out for me.”

She shrugs. “I try.”

“But you’ve always said divination isn’t one-hundred-percent accurate.”

“I have said that,” she admits in a defeated tone.

“I’m sorry about yesterday’s freak out, but I’m a big witch boy. I’m grown.” I snicker to try to add some levity. “You’ll always be my witch girl, my bestie, but let me take care of myself.”

“I just wish you’d let me take care of you for real.”

“Huh?”

“You’re always with Kai nowadays, and the way he looks at you, I’m surprised he hasn’t fallen in love with you yet.”

I don’t dare tell her today’s developments. “Well…”

“Lisbeth was right. You always had the potential to get him to fall for you. I was just hoping you wouldn’t fall for him.”

She puts her hand on my knee, and I scoot back. “Wha…what?”

Her brown eyes shine with fondness and desperation. “Seb, I’ve known you forever.”

I shake my head, unable to comprehend this conversation. My honorary sister likes me like that? “Is this…are you joking right now?”

She bristles. “I wish I were,” she mutters.

I blink a few times and gradually process this information. Then, I lean forward and take her hand off my knee. “Listen, Ty, I care about you, but…”

“I know, I know.” She waves her hand. “You like men. We’re just friends.”

I bite my lip and nod. “We’ll always be friends.” I lean forward and hug her. “I’m sorry if I led you to believe otherwise.”

She pulls away and studies me, pain clear in her eyes.

“You’re going to be more than sorry after I tell you what I know.”

“Huh?”

She sniffs and squeezes my hand. “I…did a reading on Kai a few hours ago.”

I shake my head. “What? How? He was with me all day.”

“Yeah, you’re always attached at the hip.” She frowns and looks away. “I used some hair he left behind on the bathroom floor.”

I wince. “Wait, you divined someone without their consent?” That’s a big no-no in the witch community, or at least, Lisbeth always said that.

Taina shakes her head and sobs. “Kai, I saw him, claws out, hurting people. He was slashing at random men, and then…” She heaves a sigh and looks at me. “I saw him distraught over you, on that same deathbed.”

I stand up, my face feeling numb. Another death premonition?

“Ty…”

“Seb, this vision was almost as strong as yesterday.” Tears begin to pour down her face. “I see the future, and he may not be in control, but he is going to hurt you.”

“I refuse to believe that!” I pace around the kitchen heatedly.

“Seb—”

“Just stop talking!” I bark. I point at her and say, “And stop telling me my future! Just because you want me and I don’t love you back doesn’t mean you can make up shit!”

“I’m not!” She wipes her eyes. “I wish, so badly, that you and Kai could grow old and be happy and gay forever, but you’re going to be in critical condition soon!”

“Ugh! Why…why…” I’m spiraling as I pace around the room. I walk to the doorway, rage still boiling in my veins. “You had no right to see his future!”

“But Seb—”

“First Lisbeth tells me to make him fall in love with me just so the coven can get stronger, and now this?! Would you all just make up your damn minds! Are we stealing his powers, or is he a threat? Am I forcing him to be in the coven or not? Should I make him fall in love with me or stay away? Huh? What is it? Tell me!”

I’m shouting, not caring about waking up everyone at this late hour. Taina, meanwhile, looks behind me with a horrified look.

I turn around, and my heart falls out of my chest. Kai is standing there with the undeniable expression of heartbreak.

“Kai…” I murmur.

I step forward to touch him, but he huffs and pulls away. The shock and sadness on his face morph into anger. He dashes off and almost runs into Lisbeth, who is walking down the stairs.

“What is going on down here? Jade Lion, what are you doing?” Lisbeth asks.

I run after him, and Kai is frozen, holding the doorknob.

“Wait, Kai, please, let me explain,” I say in my most desperate tone.

He slowly turns around, and the fury on his face is undeniable. Lisbeth and Taina approach me, and, with a quick glance, I spot Ashley and Anika, hovering nearby, both in their nightwear. The coven’s all here.

Kai growls, and I gulp. Are we about to be victims of the Jade Lion’s wrath?

“Well,” he says in a deep tone. “Explain.”

My heart pounds in my neck, and I step forward with my hands up. “The…coven wanted to cast a spell using the charm bracelets. It takes your magic and spreads it among us,” I say.

“It wouldn’t take your powers forever! You’d get them back…probably,” Lisbeth adds.

I motion for her to shut up, then turn back to Kai. “The spell requires you to…” I gulp. “Fall in love with me.”

Kai grumbles, then yanks the door open. He dashes out into the night, and I chase after him.

“Kai, wait!” Fortunately, he freezes on the front lawn. He’s seething, and I don’t blame him. With his back turned to me, I step forward. “Kai, I know it sounds awful, but that’s why I wanted to leave. I wanted us to get away from them.”

He balls his hands into fists. “You lied to me. Manipulated me. You never even loved me, you just wanted my powers,” he mutters.

“That’s not true!” I say with my hands up. My heart breaks and my eyes burn as I desperately try to come up with words to salvage this, the only love I’ve ever known. “I didn’t…I didn’t even fucking know about the spell until last week, I swear!”

He turns to me, and hope flickers in my chest. “Kai, please. Do a truth spell, do anything, but I swear, I didn’t lie about my feelings for you.”

After a long moment, he asks, “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

I sigh. “I was afraid that if you found out, you’d lump me in with them.” My shoulders sag. “And okay, now that I say it, I realize I’m complicit. But Kai, I never wanted them to take your powers. And you have to know how I feel about you.”

All we can hear are the crickets singing in the dark. A million miles of tension exist between us. I take another tentative step forward. “You have to know I love you, Kai,” I say with a trembling voice.

He turns and immediately shifts into his lion form. Kai roars at the sky, and I step back. When he looks down, he growls again. He points at me and says, “I don’t know anything anymore, Seb!”

My heart shatters completely as he leaps into the darkness, headed for the woods.

Alone in the front yard, with nothing but the moon and the stars, I fall to my knees.

I could run after him, but even if I found him, why would he talk to me?

I don’t deserve his forgiveness. Kai was the best thing in my life, and I ruined it.