I blink again and again. No matter how much I repeat the action, nothing is clearer. “Excuse me. What the hell are you talking about?”
He ignores me, shaking his head again. “It can’t be. You’re human,” he says to himself, then shoots a glance at me. “You’re human, aren’t you?”
“Of course, I am,” I reply, though when I stop to think about it, I’m not entirely sure. Donatello said I smelled like magic, and yesterday was... Definitely weird. But I never did anything of the sort.
Hot Cop takes another step, caging me against the wall. He lowers his head and sniffs at my hair. “You smell like magic.”
“I’ve been told that.” I roll my eyes, knowing I shouldn’t turn on the banter right now but unable to shut it up. “Do you think it means anything to me? I’m human. Born and raised.” That doesn’t even make sense.
He frowns again. He looks like the frowning type. “I can’t have a human mate. You must be something else.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “You keep calling me mate when I don’t know what you mean by that.”
The side of his lips pulls into a quick smile, and my knees buckle. Keep yourself together, Cassandra. “It means,” he starts, bending, so his face hovers over mine, making my stomach lurch, “we’re meant for each other.”
A shiver races down my body, but I shoot him a pointed look. “I don’t believe in destiny.”
He shrugs. “Destiny doesn’t give a shit.”
“Oh, so I’m supposed to date some guy I don’t even know because destiny told me so? Please.”
He smiles again, that secretive smile that tells me he’s laughing at me. The fucker. “Because you’re my mate, I’ll give you a chance. Tell me what happened.” He gets so close I can smell something like char in him. Who could guess char could be this hot? “And remember, I’m very good at knowing when someone’s telling the truth.”
“How?” I ask, but he only smirks. We stand in front of each other, staring for a moment, and the color of his eyes washes off, back to black. I blink, half-hypnotized by the effect. “I killed him,” I say, knowing there are few choices for me now. The guard saw me. The cops are already after me.
I need Plan B. And C and D, just in case.
He nods. “Why?”
“I didn’t mean it,” I say from between my teeth. There’s no denying that I didn’t mean it, but I also don’t mind. One less rapist in the world, but I’m pretty sure Hot Cop won’t like the way I think. “I followed him outside because he cheated at my poker table.”
He cocks his head. “I thought the casinos were spelled against that?”
I shrug. “Hell if I know. He said he used illusions. It didn’t seem like it was the first time he did it.”
A hand on his chin, Hot Cop nods. “Light Mage magic. I bet no casinos are prepared for that. He was the first in a while, after all.”
I tap my foot to the floor. What happens from here? He won’t let me walk out, but he knows I’m telling the truth. Somehow. “What are you, anyway?” I squint at him. “You ain’t with the regular cops.”
He shoots his attention back to me, squaring his shoulders. “You killed a high profile supernatural. Didn’t you think the New Council would get involved?”
I shrug, impatience making my stomach churn. The New Council, the group of supernaturals who rule the supernaturals, blah blah blah. I don’t care. I don’t even know why they’re callednew. My heart drums my ribcage. This is how walking the plank must feel. The dread of what’s coming mixing with the impatience of wanting it to end. “I didn’t think of anything. It was an accident.”
He moves closer. “You didn’t say how it happened. There was magic in the scene, but no one could tell of what kind.”
Another shrug shakes my shoulders. It’s almost nonstop now. “I don’t know of what kind. Until yesterday evening, I was a one-hundred percent boring human. He froze me with a spell, and he was about to rape me, and I broke out of it. I raised my hand to hit him, but something exploded out of me, I guess.” My shoulders droop. When I put it like this, and with all the evidence against it, I know I can’t deny there’s magic involved.
Hot Cop stays silent, but a deep rumble starts in his chest again. I shoot my gaze to his face, finding it twisted in rage. He doesn’t look at me, though, but out of the window, baring his teeth, eyebrows furrowed over his eyes. Something cracks, and I watch his fists closing so tightly his knuckles are popping.
“Um...” I try to step away, but he’s too close to allow it. “What’s happening?”
Tiny blackthingspop from the skin over his knuckles. My jaw drops. What the fucking hell is going on? The tiny things slide from his skin, one over the other, until they cover the back of his hand like... Like scales.
Like scales.
“Fuck. You’re a shifter?” I’ve heard of those. Werewolves and werebears. People who can turn into animals, people who hunt like them and live like them. Renewed fear washes over me. A man this big? Whatever animal’s inside him, it won’t be a chihuahua.
He snaps his gaze back to mine, all golden once more. The moment he sees my face and the horror stamped onto it, he relaxes. His shoulders drop, and he releases the hold on his hands. The gold washes into black, and his expression goes soft. Almost gentle.