Chapter 41

Julia

We had been close to escaping the building when my sister, Jolie, spotted us.

“Julia!” she shouted.

I stopped to face her, hoping she was alone. Luck seemed to be on my side. It was just Jolie, which meant she was likely there for something related to the preparations for her witch test.

“Hi, Jolie,” I greeted her with a hug.

Jolie was a power hugger who nearly bruised several of my ribs hugging me back. “I’m so glad I found you!”

Both of my sisters looked a lot like me. We were all blue-eyed blondes with slender builds. Jolie was about half a foot shorter than I was. She’d always been tiny, but we’d assumed she’d eventually grow. We’d been wrong. She was eighteen and still short. Jolie also had a childlike innocence and a sweet nature. Others gravitated toward her. They even stayed after they realized she had a tendency to blurt out whatever came to mind, no matter how much it might embarrass those around her.

“How did you know I was here?” I asked her.

“First, introduce me to the beautiful werewolf,” she insisted excitedly before introducing herself. “I’m Jolie, Julia’s sister.”

“My name’s Gryph. I’m not sure anyone else considers me beautiful,” he replied with a laugh.

“Oh, but you are,” she assured him. “Your aura is so lovely, I want to reach out and touch it. It’s like there are wisps of purple smoke floating around your body.” Her hand reached out hesitantly. “May I touch it?”

Gryph shrugged. “I suppose.”

He was looking at my sister like she was crazy. Even some witches looked at her that way since it was rare to see someone’s aura as clearly as Jolie did. Those who saw auras that clearly also tended to become bitter. They seemed drawn to the negative parts of a person’s aura. Jolie was different. She only saw the good. Not only that; Jolie could enhance the good parts of a person’s aura when she chose to.

Jolie’s hand reached forward, stopping about an inch from Gryph’s body. Her brow scrunched as she looked over at me. “This is really strange.”

“What’s strange?” I asked as I watched Jolie move her hand in circles near Gryph’s body. I felt a tug at my own magic.

“You’re part of his aura,” Jolie replied thoughtfully. “When I separate it out, I can see that his aura is normally various shades of blue. It’s mixed in with the red in your power. It’s quite stunning.”

I had no idea what to make of that.

“Does this mean you’re Gryph’s mate?” Jolie asked excitedly, drawing the attention of several passing witches.

Gryph was watching me, waiting for my response. I knew this was important to him. If I played off our connection, like it didn’t matter, it would hurt him.

“His wolf recognizes me as his mate, and my power seems drawn to him,” I admitted. “We’re dating. I like Gryph a lot.”

“That’s wonderful!” Jolie exclaimed. “I wonder if that’s why Dad wants to see you.”

“Dad wants to see me?” I gasped.

“That’s why I was glad I’d found you. He’s getting ready to perform an affinity test, but there’s time to see him before it begins. They were just clearing any magic from the test circle when I left. It’s in the larger testing room.”

That meant it was a big deal, and the room was expected to be crowded. It also explained why there were so few attending the meeting about Tatiana.

“We’ll head over there now,” I assured her. “Are you coming, too?”

Jolie shook her head. “I’m heading home. After spending six hours doing prep for my witch test and then hunting you down for Dad, I’m exhausted.”

She gave me one last hug before surprising Gryph with a hug and then hurrying in the direction of the closest exit.

“Your sister has a lot of energy,” Gryph mused.

“Yeah, she’s something else,” I agreed.

“I expected you to downplay what’s going on between us,” Gryph admitted as we walked to the meeting room.

“I know,” I said with a smile. “You would have been annoyingly understanding if I’d done that.”

“It would have annoyed you had I been understanding?” he asked with a smirk.

“Yes,” I replied. “You have every right to expect me to respect you. That means not hiding the fact that we’re dating. The only reason we were cautious before was to avoid being a distraction at the inquiry into Tatiana’s disappearance.”

“Does this mean you’re going to tell your father about us?” he asked.

I nearly laughed at his question. “If Jolie picked up on the connection between us, my dad will. There’s no hiding this from any member of my family.”

When we reached the testing room, I turned to Gryph. “Are you okay with meeting my dad? This room may already be filled with nosy witches and warlocks, so if my father says anything, it could be a huge deal among all witches.”

Gryph grinned. “You think I’m afraid of a few gossipy witches?” he asked.

“Everyone is afraid of gossipy witches,” I muttered as I opened the door.