Logan nodded. “That’s right. Which means I have no way of training you fully because I don’t deal in … purplemagic.”
I rolled my eyes. “Stop saying purple like it’s cancer. Purple is a badass color.” I motioned to the unicorn on the wall that had a magnificent purple glitterhorn.
Logan smiled sheepishly, letting me know he appreciated my rare and often misunderstood sense of humor. “Nevertheless, you might blast my head off if I’m not careful, and you also might send a beacon out to the world saying ‘come find me.’ I have no idea what hybrid magic is capableof.”
It dawned on me then. “That’s why you want a sorcerer in thepack.”
Logan nodded, running his fingers over his chin stubble in what I was learning was his thinking gesture. “I need a sorcerer there to shield our training sessions and also to … fix stuff if it goessouth.”
“This whole talk is not very confidence inspiring. Why don’t we just skip the magic training altogether?” Please, no more running. No more purplemagic.
Logan’s eye narrowed a little as he stepped closer to the bed. “Sloane, it’s only a matter of time before the hunters find us again. Fighting off the druids is a full-time job. If you’re not prepared, if I’m not around to save you … you’redead.”
Those words.You’re dead.They slapped out at me, bringing the harsh reality of my new life with it. But something else he said botheredme.
“Why would you not be around?” I asked insecurely, and stared at a piece of lint on the carpet. Maybe he would train me and leave. Maybe I was too much of a risk to keep around long-term.
“This is a dangerous life. I might die, and then you would be left behind to carry on the magic alone. If I don’t train you in time, then my knowledge dies with me.” His voice was stone cold, void of emotion, but his words made a pulsing ache constrict my heart. My inner dragon flared to life and I stood suddenly, facing Logan, inches from his face. I knew instinctively that my eyes were glowing. I didn’t know why I stood or what I was going to say, I just knew that talk of Logan dying made me want to lock him in a cage and keep anyone from hurting him. Karma. Logan’s eyes fell to my lips and I licked them, relishing the warm throb that had started in my gut. I couldn’t explain it, but there was something about Logan Sharp that made me feel like we were two magnets constantly being pulled to each other. I didn’t want to fight the pullanymore.
“I dreamt about you,” Logan breathed; his hand came up to stroke my hair, staring at the bright red strands as if they held some truth. His declaration of dreaming about me had the breath stopping in my chest. I leaned forward, pulling myself up on my tiptoes. All rules of no dating within the pack had flown out my head. I wanted Logan Sharp and I wanted him now. My dragon preened at the inner declaration as Logan’s hand went from my hair to the back of my neck.Yes.
He leaned forward slowly, all the while asking me with his eyes if this was okay. When he got closer, I closed my eyes and pursed my lips. But just as I felt the heat of his breath, Nadine shouted fromdownstairs.
“Logan! Eva’s here. There’s trouble!” Her voice held panic, and the raging inferno that had built in my belly was doused as Logan rocked back on his heels, dropping hishand.
He looked at me for one more long moment and then sighed, turning and striding towards the door. Damn.That was an epic kissing fail. Now that his smoldering body was away from me, I had time to gather my wits. Kissing Logan, my trainer and fellow surviving dragon, was abadidea. Right? Like Nadine said, if we dated and broke up, it would be a disaster and I would be kicked out of the pack. Now that I had seen all of the supernatural dangers in the world, I didn’t want to leave the pack. It was safe. I needed to staunch my hormones and playcool.
I smoothed my hair and shirt and jogged down the stairs to join them. Just as I was rounding into the kitchen, I heard Eva talking to Nadine, Gear, andLogan.
“Two druids at the bar. They have a truth witch with them and they’re asking about a redhead,” Eva said, causing me to stop dead, mouth popped halfopen.
“Since when do the druids have a truth witch?” Logan asked as I was trying to decipher what the hell a truth witch was. It didn’t soundgood.
Eva smoothed her crisp black suit. “These druids weren’t like the others I’ve met passing through town. They were organized and brimming with power. I think they work directly forArdan.”
Nadine physically flinched at the name of the evil master druid. Logan started pacing. “I’ve sent Keegan to add on two more shifters to our pack, and I also requested he hire asorcerer.”
Eva nodded. “Smart. Danny would be perfect. He’spowerful.”
Logan made a gesture with his hands. “Yeah, well, I’m not sure Keegan is going to go forthat.”
Eva made a tsk-tsk noise. “Love shouldn’t be so hard to figure out. If you love someone, you be with them. End ofdiscussion.”
My eyes flicked to Nadine, whose eyes flicked to Gear, who was staring at hisshoes.
“I’ll try to see if any of my other sorcerers would be a good fit for your pack. Meanwhile, I have evaded their truth witch’s questioning by saying I had an important appointment. But I fear if I don’t go back to answer his questions, it will raisesuspicions.”
Logan nodded. “Did your bartender sayanything?”
Eva flinched. “Logan, it was a truth witch. He had to. He’s untrained in the art of trickery. So he said that a new wolf in town, with red hair, had recently been to thebar.”
“Dammit!” Logan smacked his fist into hispalm.
“But…” She held up a finger. “He also listed off half a dozen other redheads that he knew. Turns out he has a thing for them. Notices every redhead in the room. One of my dancers is new and has red hair, so they started questioning herfirst.”
Alright, I couldn’t take it anymore. “What’s a truthwitch?”
Logan turned to face me, stress lining his features. “You know the bouncer at Eva’s club that was manning the front door lastnight?”
