Twice Bitten (Love, Lust & Magic #1)

Pruitt

“Come quick, guys! You will not want to miss the fight happening at Witch’s Brew!”

Echoes of a commotion competed against the sounds of Campustown’s lively nightlife scene as upperclassmen reconnected with old friends.

A handful of onlookers gathered around the front of the venue, a larger bar with two oversized glass-paned windows at its front. A magic-themed decal, complete with a small bubbling cauldron and a happy orange tabby cat, displayed the words Witch’s Brew Pub & Apothecary.

“Probably just some drunk freshmen with fake IDs,” scoffed a sorority girl in the crowd. “Let’s go somewhere else.” Almost in response to her underwhelmed statement, a barstool shattered one of the tavern’s windows. The chair flew across the street and into the adjacent bar’s window, too.

“Hold on,” another girl replied excitedly as she whipped out her phone. “This is gonna be great for my socials.”

and Uriah had started off on a surprisingly cordial note that evening. Unsurprisingly, however, Uriah was now inches from a sharp slab of glass still attached to the bar’s window frame as wrapped his hands around his neck and squeezed.

At first, they paid no mind to the audience their quarrel had attracted. The flashing of cameras finally took them out of the moment.

“No photos, ladies, please ,” Uriah quipped, his voice strained from the asphyxiation. “Actually, hold up. You’re going to want to get a candid of this one.”

His attention back on his infuriated attacker, Uriah used his arms to leverage his weight as he delivered a one-two kick into ’s stomach and chest. Grabbing the quarterback’s shoulders, he pulled himself up just in time to connect with his skull. Both men grumbled at the pain of the shared head butt as they distanced themselves from each other.

“Don’t make me destroy all of Campustown to get my point across, Uriah,” barked a very serious, very annoyed .

“Oh, come on,” Uriah took a playful tone as he nursed himself out of dizziness. “It’s not like I ate somebody… This time, anyway.”

wasn’t having it. Gnashing his teeth together—teeth that appeared sharper and longer than usual—he stepped forward and snatched Uriah up by the nape of his neck.

“Hey now!” Uriah called out. “Don’t pick me up as though I’m some mangy little mutt like you are.”

As though obliging to Uriah’s request, heaved him against a nearby wall, pinning his body between his own clenched fist and the partition. With his spare hand, he snatched up a barstool and smashed it into a dozen pieces just mere inches away from Uriah’s head.

Uriah’s eyes widened as he saw what remained of the stool: a jagged wooden leg barely connected to the base of its seat. “Uh, sorry! Look, mate, I-I think I misspoke. Did I say mangy mutt? I think what I actually meant to say was handsome, well-groomed thorough-” the sound of the makeshift stake in ’s hand connecting with the wall mere inches from his chest interrupted him, “-b-b-bred.”

“Listen to me, Uriah, and listen carefully,” warned . “I don’t know what exactly is happening here in Mystic Hollow. Neither do you. What we both can distinguish, however, is that something—I don’t know if it’s supernatural or otherwise—is drawing us to this kid.”

“Wait, you mean Gabe?” interjected Uriah, some sarcasm in his voice. “He’s eighteen. Totally legal.”

“ Griff ,” was quick to respond. “I think the best course of action is for us to stay far away until we figure out what’s going on. The last thing we need is you getting all excited and draining mystery boy dry.”

“Now, are you talking blood, or are you talking?—”

“Shut up,” howled before loosening and finally releasing his hold on Uriah.

“ Oh ,” exclaimed Uriah, raising his voice to draw attention. “You mean don’t talk about that whole ‘I’m a vampire, you’re a werewolf’ thing in public, right?”

reached again to slam Uriah against the wall, but a quick counterattack by the vampire surprised him. As found himself in a headlock, Uriah used this opportunity to embarrass him.

“Hey, everybody, look!” Uriah called out as he dug his knuckles into ’s head. “A vampire giving a werewolf a noogie. Check it out!”

Despite their destruction and dramatic scene, Uriah was surprised to discover that their entire audience had vanished. Everyone in Witch’s Brew continued to talk loudly, drink merrily, and congregate near the venue’s back stage and wide oak bar.

“Anyone!? Bueller?” Uriah sighed, relinquishing his hold on .

“Are you done padding your fragile masculinity yet?” scoffed as he stepped back.

“Coming from the werewolf who I just caught ogling a freshman—emphasis on the man part of freshman—I find that statement to be quite ironic,” quipped Uriah. “Besides, if anyone asks, it was you who made the mess. My band plays here every week, so I suppose I better not let you get me all wound up if I wanna keep that gig.”

fumed. “You’re a class act, you know that?”

Uriah purposely brushed past and made his way to the nearest empty spot at the bar. “Fine, I’ll consider your suggestions. Now, you gonna join me for a drink or what, pretty boy?”

huffed. Is this really how I’m spending my last night of freedom before classes start? he asked himself.

“Yes,” Uriah spoke again, as if he was answering ’s thoughts. “Yes, it is.”