Page 26 of Draven

It struck me that he was scared. I never thought I'd ever see that. Draven seemed invincible to me.

I felt his massive aura and knew Draven was no pushover, so what kind of creature was this Belladonna? Some kind of special shifter?

"She's not a shifter," Draven confirmed. I flushed, realizing I said my thoughts out loud.

Draven fell silent for a few moments, and I didn't quite like how distant his eyes seemed. I immediately reached for his hand.

"Hey," I whispered, "don't go to a place I can't follow, okay?"

I already suspected that being with Draven came with its own set of complications.

Now, I started to wonder if I was really in way over my head. I gave his hand a squeeze, and Draven looked at me.

"A black witch," Draven said.

At first, I wondered if I had imagined the words, but Draven looked steadily at me, once more waiting... waiting for me to reject him.

"Black witches don't exist; they're only in fairytales told to shifter kids to behave," I said, suddenly unsure.

"Your lunch break's over. Let me walk you back to the library," Draven said, abruptly changing the topic.

I had so many questions to ask him, but Draven looked guarded, no longer in the mood to talk.

Whatever this Belladonna did to him, it had traumatized him to the point where his animal half was growing unstable.

Now wasn't the time to push, and I had a feeling that if I pushed him too much, I might lose him. That much was certain.

So, I only nodded. We walked to the library and talked about more pleasant things.

"I'll uh, text or call you later?" I said once Draven dropped me off at the library.

I was supposed to be manning the desk, but thankfully, Mrs. Moore was there.

Once again, I wondered if I was being too needy, too pushy, too much overall. But Draven only flashed me a small smile.

"I'm looking forward to your call," Draven said.

He paused, then leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek, sending a shiver down my spine.

I watched his retreating back for a few seconds, feeling a warmth spread through me.

"I didn't realize you had a boyfriend, Tobias," Mrs. Moore remarked, breaking the silence. “Congratulations.”

I flushed, turning to her. She adjusted her horn-rimmed glasses on her nose and gazed at Draven thoughtfully.

"What an...interesting choice," she murmured.

Mrs. Moore was one of the few witches living in town, so she probably knew Draven was a shifter like me.

"Yeah, you don't meet an alligator shifter often," I joked, trying to ease the tension.

However, Mrs. Moore's expression remained serious.

"Alligator?" she repeated, her tone indicating she knew more than she let on.

It seemed she had more to say, but eventually, she sighed.

"Well, your relationship is none of my business, but Tobias... be careful with that one. I'm quite fond of you." Her words caught me off guard.