Shifter's Moon: A Celia Winters Novel Book 3

by Harrison, D. L.

  Shifter’s Moon

  A Celia Winters Novel (Book 3)

  Author: D. L. Harrison

  Copyright 2016. This is a work of fiction. Names, Characters, Places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission.

  Table of Contents:

  Prologue

  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

  Afterword:

  About the Author

  Other books by D. L. Harrison:

  Book Description

  Prologue

  Five weeks ago, approximately one week before the full moon where the Albany Coven raised a demon to possess a vampire.

  Jake Collins growled as he paced, a scowl on his face, “Is it down yet?”

  Manny, Jake’s beta, shook his head, “Not yet sir, the bitch said it would take time though.”

  Jake ground his teeth, his violent rage barely suppressed. He was the alpha of a pack of wolves that lived near Kissimmee State Park in Florida, about ninety minutes east of Tampa. He had short brown hair, and his brown eyes showed nothing but anger, hate, and a desire for vengeance.

  Manny was his second, black hair, steely blue eyes, and was barely holding back either. He had really shown himself to be a boon to his alpha over the last couple of weeks, and had turned out to be far more sadistic and inventive than Jake expected.

  All to the better.

  His pack used to be eighteen strong, until the witches attacked for no reason he could discern. Nor did he care anymore, about anything except vengeance, since both his mate and son had died in that attack. It had taken time to conceive a plan for revenge, and watch for an opportunity to enact it. Finally, a couple of days ago, one of the younger witches in the coven had been foolish enough to leave the protection of the coven house with only her six-year-old son as company.

  They’d taken them both easily, using the son as a hostage for leverage. She caved pretty fast under duress, so fast in fact that Manny had been disappointed. Still, he allowed Manny to have fun with the witch, he wouldn’t have been able to stomach lying with the treacherous bitch, but to each his own.

  Regardless, Karina was more than willing to create a magical object that would eventually drain the anti-shifter wards that protected the rest of the witches from werewolves, as well as the other were species, just to ensure the safety of her son Carl. He didn’t trust the witch at all, though she did seem to tell the truth about it, but it was taking longer than he liked, and he wouldn’t rest until every witch in that damn coven were dead for what they’d done.

  The truce was a joke, his dead mate and son was a testament to that fact. The rest of his pack, what remained of it, eleven wolves, were poised around the house to take action as soon as the wards went down. He was getting worked up thinking about it again, what they’d stolen from him, his mate, his child, and five others in his pack that he was responsible for keeping safe, that he would never see again.

  Some part of him was aware he was risking the secrecy of their world doing this, but he really didn’t care anymore. He wondered for a moment if he was even sane any longer.

  Manny said, “Boss, the ward appears to be down.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Manny nodded with a twisted grin, “The scout reported no more headache from his position.”

  He growled as his mind went red with rage, he could finally let it all out, “Shift, and kill them all.”

  What followed was fast and brutal. The witches were caught by surprise with their primary defense against werewolves completely failing, and were too slow to respond to the lightning speed of the wolves’ attacks. They were caught unawares, not expecting an attack. One was showering, a couple was in the middle of making love, some were on the couch. A few were reading.

  A couple tried to put up a fight, those with combat based primary abilities, and he lost a couple of more wolves to the fire and earth attacks, but in the end the coven was overwhelmed. He had nine pack members left, and there were fourteen dead witches, the entire coven save that bitch Karina and her whelp.

  His anger didn’t extinguish, his family’s killers were dead, but he felt no satisfaction, or lessening of the rage in his heart. Vengeance felt like ash on his tongue. That was not the way of wolves. Once the threat was taken out to territory or pack, that should have been the end of it. But his mind tore and he was only angrier. Unsatisfied.

  Manny asked, “It’s done. Can I take care of that bitch now, and her son?” with a disturbing gleam in his eyes that almost made Jake flinch.

  Jake shook his head, and at Manny’s surprised face he said angrily, “Finished?”

  Jake growled low, fanning his insane rage, “We’re just getting started.”

  Chapter 1

  Present, three days before the next full moon.

  Berny said plaintively in a jealous voice, “That’s so not fair, no wonder witches hate you evil shifters.”

  Kelly winked at Berny outrageously while making a huge production of taking the next bite of her huge ice cream dish. Two burger wrappers, and a very large basket of fries sat empty there as well.

  Celia Winters was actually having fun. She was at the mall with Tina and Sarah from the wolf pack, and Kelly from the local bear shifter family, and to make it interesting, Berny and Mia were here as well from the Rock Hill witch coven. A group that would have been unthinkable just a few months ago.

  She laughed at the interplay, somehow she doubted the fact that witches had to watch their figures was the cause of animosity between the races. She was also amazed at how well her friends got along across those lines, witch and shifter lines that is. Of course, the easy friendship among the six of them was still the exception to the rule. Many in the coven and packs didn’t like the new trend toward amiable cooperation that Celia had been trying to foster.

  She’d become resigned to being both a point of cooperation and division at the same time, so far all the leaders were falling on the cooperation side, hopefully that would last. Ironically, the division she created was more within the packs, and within the covens now, rather than across race lines, since many didn’t appreciate the new level of amiable relations.

  The last month had gone particularly well, once Sally had met her end, the assassins had dried up as predicted, and things had been relatively calmer. That fact hadn’t stopped Ed from continuing to stay over most nights, and so far she wasn’t tired of him at all. It had been explained her tiger shifter nature made long term relationships virtually impossible, but despite that they’d just grown closer over the last month. Either way, she’d decided if the day ever came, she would ask him to go before engaging in a tryst with anyone else. If serial monogamy was the best she could accomplish, that’s what she would do.

  Still, there was a part of herself that hoped they were wrong. It had occurred to her that tiger shifters really only dated their own, and that meant their independent streaks would eventually clash, and cause everything to fall apart. But she was with Ed, who was a witch. She was also half witch herself, she barely admitted it to herself, but she was hoping she was the exceptio
n because of those differences. Especially since he gave her the space to shift and go off running on her own when she needed to.

  Somehow he was both protective of her, and not stifling at the same time, only time would tell if that would hold true.

  Paul was still out of town, but was due back very soon according to his sister Ella. She was a little nervous about that and wondered how that reunion will go. She didn’t think she’d drop Ed for Paul, since she cared about Ed too much now, but she remembered the strong instinctive feelings of lust and attraction between them. Ed made her feel wonderful, and his touch could make her feel like molten lava was running through her veins, he could warm a fire in her belly with a look. Paul had been… a consuming fire that felt out of control, despite nothing actually happening between them. Either way, she vowed not to betray herself and her personal morality, no matter how much Paul sets her on fire when he gets back.

  No matter how much Silva whined about it. Her alter ego and inner tiger didn’t agree on those points, monogamy was incomprehensible to her alternate nature, but it wasn’t like they fought about it either, Silva didn’t understand, but didn’t fight about it past the obvious confusion. Not really.

  One of the worst things over the last month were that there was a great amount of fallout in the Charlotte coven, which she apparently was a part of, a split in the ranks so to speak. A great many in Charlotte believed Sally should have been left alone, instead of being put down like she was. Luckily, divisiveness hadn’t effected the Rock Hill coven, which was where her friends are from, and where she lived and worked at her store. Fran, her old family friend and the head of the coven, was currently watching the store for her while her and her friends were on a shopping expedition.

  Sally’s replacement in the coven, and on the council, was a witch named Sue Mariner. Or at least she would be after the full moon celebration in three days, which Celia was supposed to attend, half weretiger or not. She was a solid three now on her internal magic scale, sometimes Silva could tolerate a four as well. She’d been working hard the last month, and it meant she could cast some of the battle spells now. The most devastating ones, that could hit multiple targets, were a six or seven on that scale and still way beyond her, as well as controlling large storms.

  There were useful spells she thought she might have occasion to use. She could cast the battlefield healing without slowing down now, or the tracking spell for someone she knew or had seen. There was an immolate spell, which was admittedly, a little redundant having control over fire. There were a few really nasty ones that she couldn’t see a reason to ever use, like shatter, which would literally shatter the bones in a target’s body. Another of the really nasty ones was a crushing telekinetic force from opposing directions, that would literally turn the target into paste.

  There were also spells related to the other elements, much like immolate. There was a water spell that ripped the water out of a victim’s body, an air spell that would cut up an enemy with thousands of small whip like cuts, and an earth spell that would send spikes of earth up into an enemy from below.

  They were all rather violent, and she hoped she’d never have a reason to use the more violent ones, she had enough offensive capability with air and fire, not to mention her physical prowess. Of course, this was battle magic, created in the midst of war, so she wasn’t all that surprised that some of it was particularly nasty. Especially considering they were designed to take out shifters, who could not only heal at a faster than normal rate, but could take a lot more damage to begin with.

  Still, despite being able to handle a four on her internal scale, at the full moon celebration she’d be surrounded by a lot of active magic, and she just wasn’t sure if her other half could handle it. It worried her, what if Silva ran for it, or worse, attacked out of mindless fear. The first one she wouldn’t be able to explain, the second would most likely spell her end.

  Celia still hadn’t made up her mind yet, on if Sue was a good replacement or not. So far Sue was a very no nonsense person and as far as she could tell, had no sense of humor or warmth whatsoever. On the other hand, she wasn’t prejudiced either, and held no animosity toward her. It would take time for things to calm down in the coven, she just hoped it did settle, and didn’t create a schism to the point where the coven split. So far, that hadn’t happened, and hadn’t even been mentioned either.

  Not that her opinion about Sue meant anything to anyone other than herself. She just wasn’t sure if she could trust her or not yet.

  Something, some sense of being watched made her look up, a couple of men were staring at their table with disgust on their faces. They looked like shifters to her, although she couldn’t catch their scent from here, but there were other clues like their bearing, and the way they moved. She didn’t recognize them at all, but maybe they were from the Charlotte pack? She hadn’t really met them yet outside of their alpha, Allen, who was on the shifter council.

  “Tina, do you recognize them?” she asked in a low voice, pointing her finger at them outside of the shifters’ view, but where Tina could see.

  Tina looked over at the men and lost her smile, “No… they aren’t from any of the local packs.”

  She was hoping for a little subtlety, but that was a lost cause as she heard her friend start to growl and stare back. She should have known better, strange wolves on Tina’s territory, of course she’d react that way. So much for subtle.

  Kelly cleared her throat, “I don’t recognize them either,” as Sarah joined the stare down.

  Berny and Mia looked a little uncomfortable, probably wondering if the werewolves were going to snap. She had to admit she was wondering the same thing. She wasn’t sure if the two strange male wolves meant them harm just then though, her fire elemental was silent.

  A week after getting her air elemental, she’d gone ahead and summoned one for fire as well. The mental contest had been brutal, and had her in tears before it was done, but now she had one of each. After the contest though, she wasn’t sure she would ever want a third. She continued to use her air elemental as a spy, not much need of that had come up recently, and she used the fire elemental as a guard of sorts.

  Not as a physical guard, that would be insane, and dangerous. No, she just used it to identify threats in case she missed something with her nose and other senses.

  At first it had been annoying, she’d asked the fire elemental to warn her of any negative or violent emotions pointed her way. It had been an intense few minutes until she narrowed that down to something more specific, violent emotions, and in a much smaller area around her than what the elemental was capable of. It wasn’t warning her that the two men had bad intentions toward her, but they were sitting far enough away that she wasn’t sure if they were in her more tightly defined distance of not. It was too close to call, since they were all the way on the other side of the food court.

  To her surprise, the two men got up with a sneer and walked off.

  She said in disbelief, “That’s weird.”

  Not the disgust part, she was used to random supernaturals showing disgust for her half and half nature. It was that they shouldn’t have backed off like that, unless they weren’t wolves. At the very least there should have been some tense introductions, not a simple retreat.

  Tina stopped growling and said shortly, “I agree.”

  Whatever that had been about, it’d sucked out the joy of their shopping day. They were planning on calling it after lunch anyway, they all had shopping bags around them from earlier. She was annoyed now, it’d been a fun morning, and now not so much. There was a certain awkwardness as well between the witches and shifters, and of course, she was stuck in the middle.

  Well, it wasn’t the first time, and she knew it wouldn’t be the last. She hoped not anyway.

  Kelly made a considering noise, “I’m guessing whoever they were, they didn’t contact the council to let you know they were in town?”

  Celia of course was one of the council enforcer
s, for both shifters and vampires. A go between, and more bluntly, it was a way for both worlds to keep an eye on what she was up to. Although after two months, she hoped that was changing a bit to both of them seeing her as a pure asset, not a potential enemy.

  She grunted, “Not that I know of yet, I haven’t heard anything from the council or your mate on any new shifters in town.”

  Josh was Kelly’s mate, also the shifter, bear in this case, who Celia had been partnered with the last month while Paul was out of town.

  Celia made a face and added, “I suppose we should get going then? I need to call this in. They could just be passing through I suppose, but I didn’t like the way they were looking at us.”

  Mia frowned, “Yeah, we should head back soon for Fran anyway.”

  Everyone agreed, though they took a few minutes to finish eating, no one wanted to interrupt a shifter’s meal after all. The atmosphere was already a lot less tense, and she wondered if Berny and Mia were finally getting used to the occasional growling a shifter does. Luckily she didn’t have that whole dominance response herself. Not that she didn’t growl on occasion, but it was usually in a protective way which meant it didn’t happen all that often.

  She was a lot more passive aggressive that way. As a tiger she didn’t see the need to challenge a wolf trying to be dominant, it was enough to simply ignore it and do what she wanted.

  They cleaned up their trays, grabbed their shopping bags and went toward the mall entrance. She kept her eyes out for the two shifters, but didn’t see either of them as they got into their cars and took off. Celia, Mia, and Bernadette had taken a separate car, meeting Kelly, Tina, and Sarah at the mall. It wasn’t about the race thing either, it was simply because no one had a vehicle big enough to fit six.

  Celia pulled out onto the road, the mall they went to was close to Charlotte although not in the city, and they headed back toward Rock Hill. She took a moment to pull out her phone and call Josh. He was fairly patient about listening to her story, considering his mate had been involved, and she hung up when he agreed to tell the council.