Page 39 of Moody as a Minotaur

“That’s pretty surreal,” I whispered as I touched his back again, marveling at how his clothes appeared out of nowhere to cover him. He turned to face me. His forehead was furrowed.

“Did I scare you?”

“Nope. Not scared.”

Van cleared his throat. “I hate to interrupt, but you know the SC will want an update.”

“The SC?”

“Supernatural Council. We advised them of the hunters, so they knew about the possible threat.”

I still didn’t think my family would be involved in something as sinister as hunting down other people, magical or not. But I understood the precautions.

“He said he wouldn’t hurt us,” Levi said. “I believe him, but I said he’d need to talk to you.”

Van nodded. “Yeah. We should get that out of the way.”

“Fair enough,” I agreed.

“Do you need something to eat after shifting?” Van waved to Levi’s head.

“I’ve got some instant oatmeal in the kitchen,” Levi muttered. “I’ll make some when I get a broom to clean up the mess. You can use my office.”

Levi shuffled around Van and left the room. I had a strange compulsion to follow him, but I didn’t. I got the sense he needed a moment to himself.

“Levi?” I called after him. “It’s going to be okay. We got this.”

My words probably sounded ridiculous to everyone. Because what did I know? But I’d finally figured out what was holding Levi back from pursuing a relationship with me and I wasn’t about to give it all up now.

And Levi might be a minotaur, but I came from a long line of humans who were as stubborn as an ox. I was ready to take the bull by the horns. I was… running out of bull sayings.

And, as much as I was now even more concerned about Nana and Finley being in Willow Lake, their arrival had some unexpectedly good outcomes. I now knew the secret of Willow Lake, and that, I decided, finally made me an official insider.

And, more importantly, Levi had revealed he cared about me. He’d tried to protect me. I just prayed he cared enough to slam his mouth against mine in the near future. And maybe he could rip my clothes off then, too. My body vibrated with anticipation.

Nothing bad could happen now. I wouldn’t let it.

13

BECOMING AN HONORARY SUPE

PARKER

Van narrowed his eyes at me.

And let me tell you, his eyes were scary as fuck.

What had happened to his eyeballs? Were they literally on fire? And if they were, why was he so calm? I was sure a flaming eyeball or two should hurt like a mother. But he was acting like nothing was wrong. If this was a normal, uh,situationfor him, how had I never seen it before?

I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t. It was like I was in a horror movie. If I took my eyes off his, God only knew what would happen next. Would his face melt off? Would his jaw open unnaturally wide as he tried to swallow my head?

“Are you finished panicking now?” Van asked.

I winced. Yeah. Laughing in Levi’s face hadn’t been my best moment. I needed to make that up to him later. But if I explained about the gnomes who’d been dancingjigs in my head, maybe he’d forgive me. Fuck, I hoped so. Because I really needed to kiss him.

My next fantasy about him was going to involve this office and that desk and… Phew. Was it getting hot in here? What had we been talking about again? “Uh… Yeah? But…” I waved toward his face. “Are you?”

Van’s forehead crinkled, betraying his confusion. I waved at his face again. His eyebrows lifted as if he suddenly understood. He blinked a couple of times and drew in a few deep breaths. The fire ebbed until his eyes no longer looked like they were trying to cook his brain. The flame was a mere flutter in his dark, but more human-looking irises.