Warlock's Mage

by D. R. Rosier

  Lilith said, “The attack failed, and they already lost one of theirs. Maybe a message, a non-lethal but very pointed one, would be best.”

  I nodded, “I’ll think about it, and if either of you come up with something let me know.”

  Lilith smiled, and Julia kissed my cheek. I took that for yeses.

  I frowned as another thought occurred to me, “It’s probably a bad idea to take Katia out somewhere, isn’t it?”

  Julia said, “I wouldn’t recommend it, not with vampires trying to kill the two of us.”

  I asked, “Lilith, do you think you could come up with a romantic dinner for two in the dining room tonight?”

  That would have to be romantic enough to pop the big question, otherwise it would just have to wait.

  Lilith agreed, and to my relief neither seemed jealous or upset by the idea of Katia and I getting married as I explained what it was about…

  Chapter Six

  Samantha was furious. It also had nothing to do with her attraction, her quite possibly inappropriate attraction, to the handsome young warlock with a big…

  She shook her head to stop that thought, unfortunately that didn’t prevent her visual.

  Point was, the council had her followed, interfered with her investigation, and quite possibly colluded with the vampires to have him assassinated. That latter one might have been Jake only, but if it wasn’t they’d left her in the dark, turned her into a patsy. Either way, they’d made her look like an idiot, and a liar. She didn’t appreciate that at all, not even a little bit.

  She stalked down the street, and then slid into an alley. She released a few spells to make her invisible, hide her scent, and dampen her magical signature. Then she waited. Sure enough, a few minutes later Jake crept into the ally looking around in a confused manner.

  Jackass.

  She used telekinesis and slammed the dumpster against him, which sent him flying into the wall, hard. She felt satisfaction when all his spells fell as he lost concentration. She nailed him with a mind spell, it would prevent him from thinking straight, which meant he wouldn’t be able to use his magic, he’d also be rather susceptible to questioning.

  She dropped her three concealment spells, and glared at him.

  He leered at her, “Heya doll, I was just looking for you.”

  She asked, “I know, what are the council’s orders again? I forgot.”

  He smirked, “You always was a flighty little hen. I’m supposed to catch you doing something wrong, anything really, a technicality that would give them leverage over you.”

  She frowned, “What about the warlock, who told you to tip off the vampires?”

  He shrugged, “Edith.”

  She fumed for a moment, that’s what she got for showing mercy. She’d really screwed up, now she was in an impossible position.

  “Did the whole council want that done?”

  He looked confused, “Edith gave the orders in private, I assume so.”

  She frowned, she knew Edith had suggested killing the warlock in her presentation first, could she have gone behind the back of the other councilors? She had to find out the truth, because if so things might be fixable, if not… the whole council had hung her out to dry.

  “Let’s go talk to the council.”

  He looked her up and down with a creepy look in his eyes, “You sure we can’t stop off at my place for a while first?”

  She shivered in disgust, and knocked him out with a sleep spell. Then she regretted doing it, she’d have to carry him the whole way with telekinesis. Nah, that was better than him being conscious.

  She recast her concealment spells, this time on him, and headed back to mage headquarters with his dumb ass in tow. She worked up her mad all the way back, and tried to calm down before she went inside. Chances were though, this would be bad, or worse, there were no good options involved. Still, she had to know the truth, she couldn’t just run, her research and investigative work was her life, it was all she had.

  Her family was… overwhelmingly obsessed with status, and annoying to be around. None of the men who’d tried to court her were worth a damn either, and her friendships had always soured when she wouldn’t share her latest spell work. Jealousy and anger had poisoned those relationships. No, all she really had was her work, magic and investigation. It was no wonder she’d fantasized about the warlock, he wasn’t like any of the mages she’d ever met, and… she’d seen far more of him than a lady should, and had very much liked what she saw.

  She marched through the building to the council chamber, and dropped her concealment spells as she walked in. There were several others in the room, and everything got quiet when they saw her dragging Jake behind her, unconscious and floating. She dropped him in the empty space between the curved council desk, and the seating in the room.

  Carlos cleared his throat, “Please clear the room, councilors and investigators only. Give us… a half hour.”

  There was some grumbling, but about fifteen mages filed out giving her and Jake curious looks. The doors closed, and she turned back to the council. She also dropped the spells she had on Jake. He looked pissed as he got to his feet, but kept his mouth shut.

  Edith said harshly, “What is the meaning of this display.”

  She frowned at Edith, and then looked at Carlos.

  “Edith ordered Jake to share the warlock’s location with the vampires, who then set up an ambush. Do our laws mean anything Carlos, please tell me she acted alone.”

  Carlos grimaced, and she had her answer. Devastated didn’t quite cover it, but she couldn’t continue to work for a council that didn’t trust her, feared her, and undermined her efforts on their behalf.

  Carlos said, “It’s not that simple, and you’re being naïve. Moore is a danger, an imbalance to the city’s power structure, and he’s a rival. He already has a treaty with the cat shifters, which means they’ll never hire us again. He suborned a whole pack, or pride as the case may be. He’s an interloper, and as one man doesn’t qualify for our neutrality.”

  She scowled, “You’re an idiot. He could have been another customer, and I just verified, as I said I would do, that he only got involved with the cat shifters because of his guardian pact. It was part of her price to serve him. More than that, he has no interest in moving in on our market. You agreed with me yesterday, until…” she shook her head in disgust. She couldn’t work with them if they wouldn’t even follow their own laws, and were too afraid and paranoid to trust her.

  She said, “I quit. I’ll send you my last report when I get it typed up.”

  It broke her heart to do that, but this council didn’t stand for what she thought it had, and what she believed in. She turned to leave.

  Jake said smugly, “Not so fast darling, there’s the small matter of you assaulting an investigator in the course of their duties.”

  She glared at him, “You piece of…”

  Jake interrupted her, “Council, I’m pressing charges.”

  She turned around, slightly alarmed, and felt the powerful wards in the council chambers close around her. She was a powerful mage, perhaps the most powerful in the city even at her young age, but without time to prepare she was no match for the wards that had been built and maintained over many years, wards that were controlled by the nine mages on the council. Her shields were overcome quickly, and then… darkness.

  Julia asked, “Are you sure?”

  She felt… hungry, as the demon that gave her power stirred within. Normal food wasn’t doing it, she needed to go hunt, take down an animal, and feast on raw flesh. Fortunately, that didn’t sound bad to her at all, since it was how she’d always eaten in her tiger form during a hunt. Unfortunately, Andrew would be out of her sight.

  Andrew nodded, “Of course, I’m staying inside for that dinner with Katia, and if there’s an emergency I can send a demon to get you. You might be immune to elemental mage scrying, but I can trace our infernal pact through the magic and find you anywhere, now go hun
t.”

  She bit her lip, “Was that an order?”

  He laughed, and spanked her, “Go.”

  She grinned, stole a quick kiss, and let the shadows take her away. She’d only gone as far as the master bedroom, and stripped out of her clothes and hung them up. At first, she hadn’t been all that sure about wearing them, she was accustomed to casual jeans, t-shirts, and on occasion a tight sexy dress. Business attire was a new experience for her, but when she saw the look in Andrew’s eyes, she’d decided maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.

  She also felt tingly at the spank, and couldn’t get her mind off the sex they’d had a little while ago. The only word she could use to describe it properly was primal. She’d never felt so free, or so possessed, so wild, or so controlled, never so powerful, nor so weak, she’d loved the way he’d taken her when he’d lost control. It was… elemental, and all consuming. She didn’t like the fact the vampires had almost killed her, but it had revealed to her how much Andrew cared, and feared losing her.

  It also had showed her just how much she loved him. She felt like two separate women, his protector, advisor, and servant, but also his lover, the first by pact, the second by the choice of her heart and mind. Of course, even the pact had been her choice, but she’d imagined being useful and valued, she hadn’t even dared to imagine being cherished, and respected. She bit her lip, she shook off the thoughts, she’d be home soon enough. Right now, she needed to hunt.

  She shifted and let the shadows take her to the large forests and mountains north east of Seattle. She went deep into the forest, where it was doubtful she’d run into any other shifters, far from the pack houses. Then she started to prowl for prey. It took her a little while to adjust so she moved silently, she was bigger, and weighed a lot more. Outside of the fight with Joseph she hadn’t been in her new animal form much.

  There was even a quite embarrassing incident where she took to the trees, and discovered some of the branches that would have supported her in the past, no longer would. She’d have to stick to only very thick branches from now on. She was glad no one was around to see it, and didn’t plan on telling anyone about it either. She was still in full control, the demon was not being overwhelming about its hunger, and she wanted to avoid that from happening, ever.

  It was about fifteen minutes later when she picked up the scent of some deer, along with the scent of water. She enjoyed the hunt as she moved as silently as a whisper, and closed in on her prey. Her nose picked out the oldest among the group of deer, and she continued to creep forward, keeping downwind of her prey.

  She knew with vampire speed, she could have just rushed in there noisily and killed it before it could jump even once, but what was the fun in that? Her enhanced speed had no place in a hunt.

  She crept closer and closer until she was barely twenty feet away, and when the deer froze sensing danger, she lunged forward, wrapped her paws around the deer and bit down on its neck. Blood filled her mouth as she twisted her head violently to snap its neck, and she accidently tore its head off.

  Damn, she thought she had her new strength figured out, but apparently only in human form.

  She roared as she tossed the head to the side, and then sliced deeply into the deer, and feasted on the meat she craved.

  She looked up at the sun as she finished, it was still mid-afternoon, and she teleported to her old room at the Pride house on a whim, and shifted to jump in the shower. She knew Andrew would want privacy with Katia tonight, at least at first, so why not catch up with Gina, and see what was going on. Once the blood was all washed off, and she felt clean, she grabbed a pair of yoga pants, and long clingy shirt that she’d left behind, and threw on a pair of sandals.

  She took a sniff, and followed Gina’s scent to the front room. When she walked in, she ignored the fact that Cindy was bent over the couch’s arm, with her face in the cushions, getting plowed hard by a wolf shifter. It happened on occasion, they lost control and couldn’t wait, she was glad she had Andrew now. Sure, shifter males got the job done, but they were usually so consumed with lust they didn’t give a shit for their partner’s pleasure. Andrew usually gave her two to three orgasms even before his cock was put to use, she was actually feeling pretty spoiled about it. The only thing that would make it more perfect would be a true mate bond, but that was impossible.

  She walked over to Gina with a smile on her face, and gave her a tight hug and chaste welcome kiss. Mostly chaste.

  “How’s things?”

  Gina said, “Some changes, where’s Andrew?”

  She said, “Back home, I just went out to hunt, and thought I’d drop by. I love working for him, and being with him, but I miss my sisters on occasion. Especially my old alpha.”

  Gina winked, “You can visit anytime, even if you aren’t under my authority anymore, you’re still my sister.”

  She scented him coming up behind her, and turned her head. She recognized the look in his eyes, and by his scent he was a bird shifter. Not that the latter point mattered all that much.

  She said in a soft voice filled with authority, “Pick someone else.”

  The shifter blinked in confusion as the compulsion took him, and he turned and walked toward Dana.

  Gina laughed, “You’re kind of scary.”

  She shrugged, “I belong to Andrew, which is very much a good thing. I figured compulsion would save some blood spilled and broken pride.”

  Gina snickered, “But it’s less fun. News, new alphas. Jeremy Cahn is the new wolf alpha, and Carl Zander is the new bear alpha.”

  She asked, “New Head Alpha?”

  Gina replied, “Not yet, I’m actually leaving soon for the Alpha’s meeting on it. My guess would be either Jeremy or Damon, Carl is too much of a loner to want the job.”

  She nodded, “I don’t know Jeremy at all. Which one is better?”

  Gina shrugged, “They’re both stubborn jack asses, but neither of them are sadistic, and I don’t think either of them will try and seize power like the last idiot. I think Damon could probably do a better job though, he’s honest, and snake shifters are calmer than the rest of us, which is good when dealing with mages or vampires. Want to come?”

  She frowned, “Is that allowed?

  Gina nodded, “Every alpha can bring a witness, in case a challenge is made and a death happens, it’s prudent to have someone around trusted by the pack to explain it after.”

  She said, “Sure, can I borrow your phone? To check in.”

  Gina gave her cell phone, and she typed out a text message status update, and what she was up to.

  She snorted, “Damned autocorrect.”

  She fixed it, and then sent the message and handed the phone back.

  “Where is it?”

  Gina said, “South, by the bay. There’s a decent clearing for it in a small park.”

  Right, water shifters get whiny when they get too far from shore.

  Chapter Seven

  They were on their way in a car, Gina didn’t want to teleport for some reason.

  She felt self-conscious about the next subject that she planned to bring up, but she’d promised Lilith she’d give it a shot.

  “Gina, this is going to sound weird, but could you not flirt so hard with Andrew next time we come?”

  Gina frowned and looked over at her incredulously, “Sure, should I stop breathing too?”

  She giggled, “It’s complicated, you know how humans are with sex. All that ridiculous angst and drama around something natural that feels good. Andrew isn’t good at… it’s weird right, I don’t really get it myself.”

  Except, that wasn’t quite true, she’d learned just how much better and more powerful sex was with deep emotional ties. Still, she wouldn’t have thought anything about fucking that bird shifter, one way or the other, she was just happy she didn’t have to. She wouldn’t, and she was Andrew’s, who more than sated her appetites, but she could have and it wouldn’t have bugged her one little bit, for herself anyway, for Andrew
she’d have felt guilty of betraying him. If that makes sense. It was just pleasure after all. Even if she loved Andrew, what did it have to do with sharing pleasure with others? Of course, she was happier the way it was, she only wanted one partner, it was more intimate and satisfying.

  She shook her head, “He’s afraid if you keep knocking boots, he’ll feel proprietary feelings for you, which will cause jealousy and make things… rocky.”

  Gina snorted, “Knocking boots? I’ll just go barefoot. No promises, but I don’t get the problem, he could just say no. He also didn’t seem to mind.”

  She said, “I agree, and he did enjoy you very much, but I promised Lilith I’d at least run it by you, I kind of like the idea of sharing him with you, it wasn’t my idea.”

  Gina smirked, “Me too, he’s… good.”

  What a weird conversation. Humans were nuts, and she felt like an idiot for saying anything about it. Next time she’d say no to the succubus, Andrew was his own man and could handle it himself.

  “Did you hear about casualties from the vamp attack?”

  Gina shook her head, “I think we’re going to talk about it at the meeting.”

  Gina pulled the car into a parking lot, and they got out and entered the woods at a brisk jog. It was only about a mile in, and they entered a clearing with fourteen others from the seven other packs. Wolf, bear, bird, snake, dolphin, sea lion, and shark. Two from each, alpha and witness.

  Damon didn’t waste any time, he stepped forward and cleared his throat.

  “I claim Head Alpha, does anyone want to challenge me for it?”

  She looked around, and no one moved or spoke. She could scent resignation from some, and jealousy from others, but apparently no one wanted to challenge him.

  He said, “Good. The packs are all separated because they’re different. I won’t be repeating the same mistakes. I’m here to represent and speak for the packs with the mages, and to organize us against the vampires. I want revenge for what was done to us last night, but I lost over seventy shifters last night to that bastard’s surprise attack before we could drive them off. I’m also aware the wolves lost a similar number, and some others were lost. A total of one hundred and sixty-two shifters as far as I know.