by R. A. Boyd
CONTENTS
The Shifter’s Possession
Other books in the Ghost Shifter series
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Up Next in the Ghost Shifters Series
A note from the author
Other Works by R.A. Boyd
Find out more about R.A. Boyd here:
The Shifter’s Possession
The Ghost Shifters Series, Book 7
R. A. Boyd
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locations is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.
ASIN: B07X44ZK5Y
Text copyright ©2019 R.A. Boyd
All Rights Reserved
Other books in the Ghost Shifter series
The Shifter's Wish, Book 1
The Shifter's Dream, Book 2
The Shifter's Salvation, Book 3
The Shifter's Fight, Book 4
The Shifter's Soul, Book 5
The Shifter's Secret, Book 6
The Shifter’s Possession (YOU’RE ABOUT TO READ ME!!!)
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Chapter 1
“So you’ve been asleep for the better part of two months, Winston? Two months? Why didn’t you contact Sariel or me as soon as Samiyah came to the catacombs?”
Willow took a deep, steadying breath and counted to ten. Then she counted to twenty. She would get to the bottom of this crap before she left to visit the Salvatore Ghost shifters. Rest wouldn’t come easy if she didn’t figure out how this happened, and finding out that one of the new Coven of the Fallen members was partially responsible for Samiyah’s kidnapping of Ronin soured her stomach.
Winston shrugged as fear and heartbreak clouded his face. “I never thought that one of our own would do something like this. He said it was time to wake Ronin and see if he was ready to be free. That’s the last thing I remember.” He shook his head, causing a tuft of cinnamon-colored curls to fall into his brown eyes. He brushed it away, along with a stray tear. “I’m responsible for what happened to the Ghosts, aren’t I?”
Winston was too trusting. Most newly Fallen were. Depending on what type of angel you served as before your fall, life was peaceful, and trust was second nature. That shit was a hard slap in the face once you experienced life on Earth.
Rubbing her fingers over the back of her neck to soothe the tension, Willow looked around the catacombs and sighed. They needed more light down here. It was kept dark for those who slept, but it wasn’t required. The high stone ceiling and grey stone walls looked nothing short of ominous with the lack of light. It seemed to be more of a dungeon than a place where powerful supernatural creatures were sent to rest. The back wall was lined with sturdy oak shelves that held ancient grimoires and books that contained the history of the fallen angel sects.
Giving Winston a tight-lipped smile, Willow reached across the desk and touched his hand. “No. Samiyah has been planning this for decades. Answer me this,” she said, leaning forward in her chair. “Who helped you? It takes three of us to break the sleeping spell. Is someone else locked away that we need to find?”
Or was one of their own helping Samiyah? Willow had suspected for some time that one of the other Fallen members were in cahoots with Samiyah.
“Oh, yes!” Winston screeched as if the thought was summoned forth by her words. “That’s why I didn’t call for assistance. Remus was here checking in on the others who are sleeping. When Samiyah asked to check on Ronin, I said I would get you or Sariel, but Remus was down her looking through the texts. He offered to help. Said he would let you know once we’d finished.”
Remus. Fucking Remus. Even his name sounded shady. What angel would pick the name Remus?
Willow cut her eyes to Sari, who leaned against the wall with a knowing look on her face.
Sari crossed her arms over her full chest and shook her head. “I knew he sucked. That yellow-eyed cretin is in for a world of pain. And sleep. But,” she said, putting her hands on her wide hips. “I haven’t seen him in a few weeks. He left for an assignment and hasn’t been back. He sent a message saying he was taking off some time to live as humans do.” Understanding crested in her eyes as realization set in. “And you left me in charge and I never bothered to follow up.”
“Don’t,” Willow said. “One of us taking a break isn’t unheard of. How could you know?”
“I’m sorry, Willow.” Sari wrapped her arms around her middle and leaned forward as if the weight of what she’d done pulled her down. “I was a poor replacement for you while you were gone. Want me to find him and kill him?” She perked up and seemed to take joy at that idea.
They had rules against killing their own, but Willow would make sure he would be down here sleeping with the rest of the supes who were either too powerful or didn’t know how to control themselves.
Willow rolled her eyes closed and shook her head. “No. You know you can’t just kill him.” She sucked in a deep breath and let the air fill her cheeks. She did not have time for this. Turning her attention to Winston, she said, “Go on and rest. No one here blames you. You were duped by the people, brethren, you should have been able to trust. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”
More tears built in Winston’s eyes as his gaze shot back and forth from Willow to Sariel. “Please do something for me.” He stood and pushed his chair under the table, being careful not to drag the legs along the hard, stone floor. “Tell the Ghosts I’m so sorry. And that if there is anything I can do…” His words trailed off as he sniffed.
“I’ll let them know,” Willow replied, forcing herself to soften her smile. Her emotions showing on her face was one of those things she had to work on. She was stressed and worried, but it had nothing to do with Winston. “I know you’re new here, but you’ll learn that most of us stick together. Samiyah and Remus are bad apples.”
“Yeah,” Sari said as she put her arm around his shoulders and led him to the door. “We have each other’s backs. Ghost shifters, Coven of the Fallen, and the Deva. There just happen to be a few of us that really suck.”
Willow snorted out a laugh at Sari’s words. “Your words are pure and delicate,” she said jokingly.
Still, it was true. Every angel, fallen or not, had the power to do significant damage on this plane of existence. Whether they were guiding a group of assholes to do their bidding, like Samiyah and the Rogue pack, or causing the trouble themselves. Angels were breathed forth by the Creator and had the force of raw energy moving around inside them. Yep, they were going to have to find a way to permanently banish Samiyah’s ghost that now resided in Ronin’s body and stop Remus.
“So,” Sariel murmured once Winston left the room. She closed the door and turned back to Willow. “Give me the skinny. I need to know everything that’s happening.”
Humor played in Sari’s large dark brown eyes. Her milk-chocolate ski
n didn’t shine like it usually did, and her coily hair sat in a low ponytail. On most days, she wore it out and let it frame her beautiful face and head like a dark halo. Sari may be trying to lighten the mood, but Willow could see the exhaustion lining the edges of her friend’s features. She felt responsible for this. None of this was Sari’s fault, and Willow felt the need to comfort her long-time confidant.
Willow sat down in her chair and crossed one thick, skinny jean-clad leg over the other. Her gaze traveled down the dark denim to her boots. She frowned when she noticed a scuff mark on the brown leather, high-heeled boots. Damn-it. These were her favorite pair.
“Well,” Willow began. “The Ghosts are fine. Their mates are coming, and they are growing in numbers and power. Ronin— the one who killed all those people in Ireland about seventy years ago and the one whose chamber Winston has been sleeping in— is possessed by Samiyah. But lucky for us, he’s now locked in the magically warded cells beneath the Ghost shifter community center. I came here to find a spell to free Ronin of Samiyah” Her words rushed through her lips as she fought to clamp down on the frustration that had completely taken over her life. “Oh, and bonus. I’m Ronin’s mate. Thought you should know.”
Sariel’s eyes went wide, and she instantly perked up. “What the entire hell? Willow, you should have led with that. I was tired and thinking of sneaking into one of the containment cells, but you have totally given me a purpose to be inspired again.” She slumped against the door, and when her head thunked against it, she winced and gave Willow a tight-lipped smile. “Sounds like you’ve been having a blast. Me,” she said as she motioned her thumbs toward herself. “You left me in charge, and this is what you return to. I was not a good ringleader, and the circus performers are losing their shit. I’m sorry. My failures can only add to what’s going on in your life. I’ll do everything I can to help.”
Willow blew out a raspberry and ran her hands up and down her thighs. She was tired and needed a break. Life had been hectic since going to live in New Rose with the Ghost shifters. It was crazy there, but she enjoyed every minute. But now, finding out she was mated to Ronin monkey-wrenched her plans. Watching the Ghosts find their mates had been fun to watch. Now, she was part of the shit-show and didn’t find it nearly as entertaining.
Still, that was on her. Not Sariel.
“Are you serious? None of this is your fault. You did the best you could. I’m the one who left, promising to come back within a week. That was what, six months ago?”
Sari scoffed and rubbed the back of her head. “Are you serious? Everything happens for a reason. You know that and so do I.” She walked over to a wall of books and started scanning them. Sari cleared her throat and put her finger on a large text and pulled it out. “So. Does Ronin remember you? From Ireland?”
Willow shook her head and crossed her arms on the table. “I don’t think so. He wouldn’t have looked so happy to see me if he did.”
Willow was pretty sure he didn’t remember her. The fact that she was his mate might not have gone over well with him if he did. Her heart clenched in her chest as she pictured Ronin’s face after he touched her. Relief had taken over his handsome features when he realized what she was to him. Maybe he thought she could save him from what was being done to him. Perhaps he thought her presence in his life would calm the beast that probably still raged war in his head.
Hell, Willow knew deep down in her soul what Ronin would think of her if he remembered what she’d done to him all those years ago.
Swallowing a few times to clear her voice, Willow rubbed her hands over her face and up into her hair. She massaged her scalp and sighed. “No, Sariel. I’m damn sure he does not remember me.”
What would he do if he did?
“If he remembers—”
“When he remembers,” Willow interrupted.
“Fine,” Sari said shortly. “When he remembers, he should understand. Things got really out of control. He killed a lot of people and did some serious bodily damage to his own brethren. If he’s sane enough to stay topside and out of the catacombs here, he should know why you did it. Oh, lookie.” Sari sat the old, tattered grimoire on the table in front of Willow. “You have a lot of stuff to get to dispossess Ronin. Technically the spell doesn’t even exist, but with some tweaking, we can use this one to build on. Your mate should be fine.”
Her mate.
Ronin was her mate, and she was his. Did the Creator hate her guts, or was this some cruel joke being played on her because of what she’d done to him in Ireland?
Both. It definitely had to be both.
Willow wanted to hate that she was Ronin’s mate, but everything inside of her rebelled against that idea. The moment they touched would forever be written across her brain. And her heart. Back in the garage where Emma handed Ronin his ass, fire and electricity had crawled along every inch of Willow’s skin when she touched his forehead. Thinking back, she couldn’t even remember what had caused her to clear away the dark strands of hair from his brow. She hadn’t meant to touch him. Not really. But some unknown emotion deep inside her had marveled at his handsome face when she looked down at his unconscious bleeding form.
Something had called to her, practically forcing her to touch him and make sure he was okay. As soon as she’d made contact, his eyes fluttered open and locked in on her. His hand flew up, and as he gently wrapped his fingers around hers, Willow felt a rush of desire and concern for him. All she wanted to do was heal him and make sure he would be free of the two entities that held him captive in his own body: Samiyah, and Ronin’s own crazed saber-tooth.
Damn-it. Sari was talking, and Willow hadn’t heard a word she’d said. Willow stood and leaned over the book, her shoulder-length wavy hair brushing along both sides of her neck. She tucked her hair behind her ears and looked to the paragraph her friend pointed at.
Sari quirked her lips to the side and slowly shook her head. “You have no idea what I just said, do you? Thinking of your mate, eh?”
“Shut up.” Willow looked down at the spell and immediately wanted to punch someone in the throat.
Casting this spell was not going to be fun. The incantation was long, detailed, and required a lot of components. Her eyes zeroed in on the last two ingredients. She groaned inwardly at the thought of going to Salvatore, Maryland. The Salvatore Ghost shifters were horrible.
Willow feigned crying sounds and started rubbing her scalp again. “I don’t want to go. They are mean. And dangerous. And they always make me want to beat them up.”
Maybe she didn’t need to go to where the Salvatore Ghosts lived. If they cared anything about Ronin, there was a huge possibility they would go to New Rose. The spell required the blood of ten fallen angels, and New Rose already had eight. She only needed two more of them. That was a weight off of her shoulders.
“Want me to go, and you can stay here and wrangle the angelic drunk babies?”
“Sari,” Willow muttered, “First off, I don’t think I’ll have to go to Salvatore. And second, I’m sure the other coven members would not like it if they heard you call them that.” But, that term was spot on.
“Well, that’s what they act like. We are freaking ageless angels, and this is a coven. They behave more like a group of kids the morning after a frat party. You should have picked someone else to be in charge.”
Willow took another look at the spell and then focused on her friend. She rested her elbow on the table and then put her chin in her hand. “No. I picked the right person. They are a bunch of drunk babies, but you have the guts to stand up to them. Most of them think they are better than everyone else and shouldn’t be questioned. They think they should be in charge, and that’s exactly why they are not.” She stood up and walked around the table and leaned her hip against it. “Sister. I wasn’t picked by the Creator to lead the coven because I’m a pushover. I was chosen because I give the others exactly what they need. Someone to tell them that they can’t have their way and that they need to fall in l
ine. You are powerful and humble, and you know that we are all equal here. And that’s why I’m making you the interim coven leader of the Fallen.”
“I won’t accept it.”
“Then I’ll ask Micah.”
“Ew. No.” Sari frowned and shook her head. “He’s a dick, and he can’t even be in charge of gathering ingredients for a decent potion, let alone lead the coven.”
Willow wouldn’t dare pick Micah, but it was the only way she knew to get Sari to agree. Micah was indeed a dick, but he knew the rules of the coven backward and forward. He would uphold the laws of the coven, too. Still, he was a jerk.
“Sari, I can’t make you accept the position. I just don’t know how long I’ll be gone. This spell might seriously hurt me. It could also kill Ronin. You and I both know what will happen if I kill him.”
Willow now understood more than ever why Zeke tried to fight his bond with Audra. A bond between someone as powerful as Willow and someone as crazed and powerful as a Ghost shifter would be detrimental.
“If I kill him or if his insanity takes me over…” Willow couldn’t even finish the sentence. It was too frightening and painful even to imagine what would happen to her if she couldn’t save him.
The thought of her failure weighed heavy in her chest. She loved this existence. Being an angel was beautiful, but this life she lived here on this planet was just as splendid. The wind through her hair, the sun shining in her eyes even when her lids were closed. Pajamas and coffee and sleeping in bed until you were ready to get up. It was lovely.
But more importantly, she had friends now. Real friends who accepted her for who she was. Real friends who wanted her to be happy.
Life at the coven house was nothing compared to that of living with the Ghosts. Sari and Zeke had been her only friends here within the Coven, but she would give all of this up to stay in New Rose. If she could have a mate. But if Ronin died or Samiyah won, life as she knew it would implode on her and everyone around her. She couldn’t let that happen.