“It’s gross but true,” the mountain lion confirmed.
“What about shifters?” I asked.
Malik reached over and stole a handful of fries off my plate. “We need witches for their magic too. You guys can provide us with amulets that make it so our clothes stay on when we shift back into our human forms. And in exchange, shifters often work for witches providing protection or are used for information gathering depending on what kind of animal form they take.”
“And sometimes their fur, feathers, whiskers, or whatever can be used for spells. Especially if you’re trying to track something or someone.” Hannah said.
As weird as this all was, I wasn’t freaking out or overwhelmed. They explained it so matter-of-factly, I just listened and stored away the information for later. This was my new world, and I was happy to learn more about it.
“And vampires need us for our blood,” Malik said with a wicked grin.
I froze. No. He was joking.
“Did you see that?” Daniel chuckled. “She went pale in like one second! I’ve never seen blood drain that fast.”
“Then you haven’t been bitten by a very good vamp,” Malik teased him.
I was going to be sick.
“Drink this,” Hannah held my water out to me. “They’re just trying to freak you out.”
I glared at them. “It’s working.”
“Vampires are forbidden from drinking the blood of witches. It’s a crime punishable by death, so don’t worry.” Daniel composed himself. “Shifters, too, but only in our human form.”
“Yeah, it’s nottechnicallyagainst the rules for them to feed off our animal forms, and it gives them a crazy power boost so sometimes we trade.” Malik shrugged, like letting someone drink from your veins was completely normal.
“Trade for what?” I barely got the words out.
“Usually healing,” a guy stopped behind the shifters and smiled across the table at me.
“Sai, there you are!” Daniel and Malik scooted to make room for him on the bench, and Sai sat down. He had thick black hair, dark eyes, and skin a similar shade to Malik. I almost asked if they were related, but Daniel interrupted my perusal. “This is Saige, the new girl we told you about.”
“Nice to meet you, Saige. It’s not every day a year-four student appears out of nowhere.” His full lips quirked into a smile, and my cheeks heated. His voice was deep and smooth. I could listen to him forever. Plus, he was ridiculously gorgeous. Where were all of these guys coming from? Were supernaturals just super attractive as well?
“Oh, good. Your color’s coming back.” Malik winked at me, and I nearly threw a cold fry at him.
“Nice to meet you too,” I croaked out, then cleared my throat. This was humiliating.
“Right, so vampires will heal shifters in exchange for their animal’s blood.” Hannah continued quickly to save me. “They can go to the health center, of course, but the school keeps track. It raises too many questions if they go in too often.”
“Why are they getting hurt so often?” I asked.
The three guys shared a look, and Daniel sighed. “There are some activities that take place that aren’t necessarily school-sanctioned.”
“There’s a fight club,” Hannah clarified.
I smirked. “I thought the first rule was that you don’t talk about fight club.”
Sai whooped. “Saige, my love. Where did you come from?”
I giggled while Hannah shook her head.
“Pittsburgh,” Daniel answered for me.
“Well, I’m glad you’re here now.” Sai stood and slid across the table to wrap me in a tight hug. A familiar zap of energy filled me at his touch, and I stiffened. He pulled away from me, beaming, and waved to his friends. “I’ll see you guys later.” He winked at me. “And you.”
I smiled, too stunned to wave or say goodbye before he turned and headed out of the hall.