“I’m sure it was, but no, we can’t mark you,” Koa said. “Well, technically wecouldbite you, but our fangs would only leave a scar. And it wouldn’t enhance our bond like a mate mark does.”
“Do youwantus to bite you, pretty girl?” Zane leered, his eyes half-lidded, and I gulped as I shook my head, sending my curls rioting around my face. That made him laugh, Koa chuckle, and even Casimir’s mouth wiggle at the corners.
“Other than recognizing us as mates and knowing our scents, have you noticed anything else that a wolf would?” Koa asked. “Mate sparks? Mindlink? Mate bond?”
“Only the bond,” I admitted. “No sparks or link.”
That was a little disappointing. Mama and Papa had been able to link, and Mama had felt the mate sparks when Papa touched her. I’d always hoped that would happen for me, too.
Still, I wasn’t complaining. The Goddess had given me three very handsome, strong, protective mates who were kind to me. That was more of a blessing than I deserved.
“Dhampirs are the same. Only the bond,” Casimir said.
“If not feeling the mate sparks bothers you, love bug, we can slather up with warming jelly—”
“Zane!” Casimir and Koa growled together.
“Jelly?” My brow wrinkled in confusion. “Wouldn’t that be messy?”
“Never mind,” Koa muttered, red scoring across his cheekbones. “We know a pack that has several different species, including witches and fairies, mated to wolves, and it’s always a crapshoot as far as what their kids inherit. At least you have scents and can feel the bond.”
“Better than nothing, I guess, for just a human with a few wolfie traits,” Zane chuckled.
“I’m awitch, not ‘just a human’!” I frowned at him.
He burst out laughing for some reason, and my brows came down even more. Glancing over at Koa, I saw him quickly wipe a smirk off his face. Even Casimir’s green eyes looked doubtful.
“Iam!” I insisted. “I’m a witch!”
“An herbalist, maybe?” Koa suggested gently. “Did your papa show you how to make remedies from plants?”
“Yes, of course he did. He was an earth witch, after all. AndIam a lunar witch.”
Zane laughed so hard, he fell off of his chair, and Brumous lunged for him, licking his face frantically. Koa chuckled. Casimir gave me a disappointed look, as if catching me doing something after he’d told me not.
“Ooo!” I clenched my fists in a rare bout of anger. “You just wait until my magic comes back! I’ll show you!”
“A lunar witch is incredibly rare outside the Sky Realm, Serafina,” Casimir murmured.
“Yes, I know. There wasn’t anyone to teach me.” My voice trembled with both outrage and remembered loneliness. “I had to figure a lot of things out on my own before…”
I stopped abruptly, the silence shackle clamping down like a vice. I clenched my fists tighter, frustration bubbling up inside me.
“Before what?” Koa asked.
I shook my head, unable to speak. Instead, I focused on what Icouldsay.
“I figured out moon phase influence on my own, and Papa was helping me learn how to call moonlight.”
“Would you like us to arrange for you to visit your papa? Getting married doesn’t mean you can’t visit him,” Casimir offered.
Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, both at the kind offer and the answer I had to give to it.
“He’s dead.” I bowed my head, my voice breaking. “Buried next to Mama.”
“Would you like us to arrange a visit to where they rest?” Koa asked in a gentle voice.
I shook my head, my throat too tight to speak. The cemetery was close,fartoo close, to the Bell farm and the evil things who lived there now.
