by Bianca D’Arc
When the pleasure swept her up and cast her among the stars, she screamed his name, pouring out her rapture to the heavens. She felt John’s body tighten within her, joining her in ecstasy.
It was perfect.
And it was devastating.
Why would the Mother Goddess let her touch such perfection on earth, if she wasn’t meant to be with him? Would the Lady be so cruel? Or would some solution to their little magic problem show itself and allow them to be together?
Urse didn’t know what to think. All she could do for now was hold on tight…for the rest of their stolen night.
*
At the appointed hour the next day, Urse cast her circle on the other side of town. As before, John was at her side and stayed in the circle with her while she worked. Unlike the day before, she now knew what it was to be with him, and that knowledge flowed through her every action. Just standing next to him as she worked seemed somehow more intimate now.
Everything about being around him was both more comfortable and somewhat exciting. Even the most innocent touch made sparks run up and down her spine. Sparks of magic? Or sparks of desire? And with him—unlike any other man she’d ever gotten close to—were they one and the same?
He was so intensely magical it almost took her breath away. His magic shone through in everything he did, now that she knew it so intimately. His magic made her feel warm, and it sparkled against hers in a joyful way.
The casting of the circle went a lot faster due both to the smaller size of the circle and the easy cooperation between herself and John. He knew what to expect this time and was ready to help her even before she knew she needed help.
When the sun hit the highest point in the sky and was at its strongest, she cast her magic. As before, John had added his own flavor of magic to her spell, and she thought the blending of energies made her spell stronger. It added shifter magic to her wards that would, in all likelihood, make the protections easier for the shifters to deal with. Knowing how magical bear shifters were now, Urse had realized that many of the bears would probably feel the tingle of the wards as they went about their business.
It probably wouldn’t bother anybody, but the added dimension of John’s shifter magic would make it easier—more comfortable—for the shifters who might notice it. That was probably an important thing to consider in a town full of shifters.
When she released the spell, the leviathan put up a show of thrashing around as it was pushed back from the part of the cove she’d just managed to ward, but it wasn’t quite like what had happened yesterday. Urse wasn’t going to complain, but it definitely made her wonder. The smaller creatures acted about the same, but the big kahuna wasn’t fighting the way she’d expected.
Nevertheless, she saw the spell through to the end. The ward set, and Urse broke the circle, lowering the shield between John and her and the rest of the world.
John touched her shoulder, drawing her attention. She turned to him, meeting the concerned look on his face with one of her own.
“Did that seem just a little too easy?” he asked quietly.
She squinted up at him. “I didn’t want to say it, but…”
“Yeah.” John put his arm around her shoulders, and just the warmth of that move made her feel better. “Let’s check with my guys. They were watching too, and they’ll be scouting to test the results of this afternoon’s work.”
She walked with him toward the small gathering of men, which included the sheriff, Brody, his deputy, Zak, and Peter. All three of them looked skeptical, which meant they’d realized something was a little different too. Urse’s heart sank.
Urse and John joined the threesome, and they all seemed to wait for John to speak. Even Urse was waiting for the Alpha, which struck her as a little funny.
“I can tell by the looks on your faces that you saw what we did,” John began. “We need to check why that critter was so damned cocky today.”
“The spell set as it should. I could feel it,” Urse put in.
“Early reports say it took effect just like yesterday, but we’ll do more testing, of course,” Brody said, lifting his walkie-talkie. “At least we were able to verify that electronic comms don’t work inside the circle.”
Urse hadn’t realized it, but apparently, John and his men had been trying to communicate over the radio headset John had worn. She wasn’t surprised it hadn’t worked. Magic had a tendency to interfere with mundane things every once in a while.
“We have our work cut out for us then,” John said quietly, eyeing each of the men who reported to him. They started discussing logistics and who was stationed where and doing what.
Urse felt herself drooping. The energy output had been the same as the day before. It was a little easier to handle but still incredibly tiring. Urse just wanted to get horizontal and unconscious for a few hours, until her energy had a chance to regenerate.
“I’m going to head back to the bookstore,” she put in when there was a break in the conversation. She stifled a yawn. “The whole area near Main Street should be safe now. I’m not sure where the ward ends. You’ll be able to tell me that after you do your tests,” she said, gesturing toward the men. “Be careful. That creature is up to something. I have no idea what, but be on the lookout for anything strange.”
“Good advice,” John seconded as her voice trailed off into another yawn she couldn’t quite hold back. He then turned to her. “Do you need help getting back to the store?”
“No, I’m fine. Like I said, this area is warded. I’ll be okay from here to the bookstore. It’s not that far, and Mellie’s waiting there for me. I’m going to sleep for a few hours.” She reached up without thinking to kiss John’s cheek before turning to walk away.
Only then did she realize what she’d done when she saw the raised eyebrows on the sheriff, deputy and their friend Peter. Oops.
She’d just outed their change in relationship. Maybe. Urse had a hard time finding the energy to care. She would apologize to John later, in case he hadn’t wanted anyone to know about them yet. And of course, she’d have to come clean with Mellie sooner rather than later.
But she’d talk with Mel after she took a nice long nap. Frankly, she didn’t have the energy to do much more than go to the store, fumble her way upstairs and find her bed.
Ursula had kissed him. In public. Just a peck on the cheek, but it was so out of character for him and the women he dealt with day to day, every one of the guys noticed.
“So…you and the strega, eh boss?” Peter said with a speculative gleam in his eye. “Nice.” The approving nod that accompanied his words surprised John.
“Really?” John would have squeaked, if his basso profundo voice had been capable of making such a sound.
“Hell yeah, man,” Zak said casually. “She’s a pretty gal, and her magic is pure. If you could see it the way I do…” Zak trailed off, and John saw the way his gaze unfocused.
“Golden sparks and healthy green swirls?” John supplied, wondering if the only one of his men who could actually perceive magic with his eyes saw the same thing John did when he was standing inside the magic circle with Ursula.
Zak’s gaze snapped back to John. “Yeah. That’s exactly what it looks like. Pure gold, which is one of the highest forms of energy, and healthy green, which means growth and nurturing. That’s a heady combination.” Zak nodded, giving his own approval. “She’s the real deal, mon ami. Her wards are permanent, and mixed with your strong Alpha magic, they’ll protect this town and its shifters forever. That’s some powerful mojo. She’s good people.”
John was thrilled by the response, but Brody hadn’t said anything. Zak was one of his most trusted men, as was Peter, but Brody was his second in command. His opinion held a little more weight than the others.
“And you?” John asked Brody directly, wanting to get it over with. If Brody didn’t like the idea that the Alpha was getting involved with a magic user, his opinion would hold a lot of weight with the rest of the guys
. “What do you think?”
Brody held his gaze and stood casually, but John knew he was fully alert, as he always was. Brody was a soldier’s soldier, as were most of his men, but Brody was the XO, the one who could be relied on to act when and if the Alpha wasn’t around. Next to John, Brody was the default leader of this powerful group of fighting shifters.
“Are you serious about her?” Brody asked quietly, not giving anything away.
John hadn’t expected to have to come clean this way, but maybe it was best to get it over with, so he knew where he stood. So be it.
“Yeah. I think she’s my mate.” There. He’d said it out loud. Whew.
Brody made him wait for a heartbeat more, then his face split in a grin. “Well, hot damn. I can’t say I ever expected we’d have magic users in this town, but if it’s the Ricoletti sisters, then it’s okay with me. Both of those gals are on the right side, and they wouldn’t intentionally hurt a fly. My mate and her sisters love those girls, and I think they’ll squeal in happiness when they realize you’ve been snared by one.”
Brody went one step further and stuck out his hand. John took it and received not only a shake, but a manly bro hug and a few pounding slaps on his back. The gesture was repeated by Zak and then Peter, in turn.
John was floored. He hadn’t expected to get such an easy pass from his guys. He thought at least some would object to the idea of allowing the witches to not only stay in town, but for one to become mate of the Alpha. Of course, this was only three of the group, but they were an important three. Judging by their reactions, the rest of the group might not be so bad.
“I already decided I’d step down as Alpha if I had to. A true mate is more important than anything else. If we have to leave town, I’ll do that too,” he revealed, glad of the immediate denial he could see in his friends’ faces.
“I don’t think there’ll be any need for that,” Brody said quietly. “Everybody can see what Ursula is doing here, and how much she’s giving of herself to do it. If that doesn’t earn her a place in our hearts, and in our community, then I don’t know what else would.”
John felt his heart warm as he realized that his guys hadn’t disappointed him. He’d been willing to give up his dream of this town for the dream of a true mate, but now, it looked like he might just have a shot at having it all. His town and his mate. The best of both worlds.
John’s warm and fuzzy feelings were cut short as his cell phone rang. He removed the small device from his belt and looked at the number. It was Amelia’s cell number. John frowned and pushed the button to answer.
“Hello?”
“John, is Urse still with you?” Amelia sounded worried.
“No.” John frowned. “She left a few minutes ago. She should be at the bookstore by now.” John started looking toward the street where Ursula had disappeared. A few hand signals had the other guys looking as well.
“She’s not here, and I can’t get out. The damn ward is still up, and she has to be the one to set me free. John, I’m worried. She wouldn’t have had much energy left after casting that spell. She should’ve come home to sleep it off.”
“That’s what she said she was going to do,” John agreed, even as he began searching the street. “I’m on it. I’ll find her. Sit tight. I’ll phone when we have her.”
“Find her fast, John. She’s in no state to be out on her own right now when her energy is so low.”
John ended the call, cursing himself for not going with Ursula. He should have seen her safely back to the bookstore. Dammit!
Brody came up to him, waiting to hear what John would say.
“Ursula is missing. She didn’t make it back to the bookstore, and she locked her sister in magically. Amelia can’t come out until the wards come down, so she can’t help. I’m going bear to see if I can sniff her out.” John was already stripping, handing his wallet and electronic gear to Brody. “Put everyone on alert. Keep checking the extent of the ward she put up today and make notes, but have everyone keep an eye out for Ursula. She couldn’t have gotten far.”
Brody nodded, putting all of John’s stuff into a net bag that had been in one of his cargo pockets. They walked into an alley as John stripped completely bare. He left his clothes for Brody to take care of and shifted quickly to his grizzly form.
Chapter Ten
Where was that singing coming from? Urse stumbled a bit on her way back to the bookstore as an eerily discordant melody flowed through her from all over. Or was it coming from over there?
Urse followed the tones of the song, wanting to know more. She was at her lowest ebb of energy and perhaps not thinking too clearly, but something made her follow the siren song she heard with every fiber of her being. It was alluring. Luring.
Something was wrong.
No. The song was calling her.
Urse left the sidewalk and went up one of the alleys between buildings. There wasn’t much to Main Street. Just a strip of galleries and stores, some with alleys that led to the back. Behind that, only the woods. Thick woods. Pines and mysterious Pacific Northwest growth. A few mighty redwoods were found deeper into the forest, but Douglas fir and more common pines populated the area behind Main Street.
Urse found herself walking into the forest, following the song as it pulled her to the left, through the thick undergrowth and around the edge of the cove, hidden in the woods. The pitch of the song changed, and she followed it, yawning, but unable to break away.
Her feet dragged through the undergrowth, and she was vaguely aware of her skin being scratched by branches and brambles, but she didn’t really feel it. She didn’t feel much of anything. The song was all-consuming.
It drove her. Dragged her. Gave her just enough energy to pull her tired body through the forest.
Something was wrong.
No. The song was all important.
No. Something was wrong.
Her consciousness rose as her steps faltered. The song raged louder, calling her even more vehemently.
That wasn’t right. Her head cleared a little as the wrongness of her actions penetrated the fog around her mind.
She stopped walking but found she couldn’t move away. She could only go forward. Her feet were frozen if she tried to move back the way she’d come.
Oh, yeah. That was definitely wrong.
Her head cleared more as panic set in. She couldn’t move. Now that was a problem.
And magically, she was at her lowest point. Her internal energies would need time to regenerate. The song still sang in her ears, but she recognized it now. It was a siren song, though she doubted any sea siren was at the root of it. No, this was the leviathan singing in its inhuman, magical voice, luring her to come to it so it could destroy her.
Panic was a mild word for what she was feeling.
She strove for calm. And she began to pray. She prayed as she had never prayed before, asking for the Mother of All to send help and if not help, then a quick and painless end.
A throaty growl sounded from behind her along with the sounds of a big body crashing through the undergrowth. It had to be a bear, but was it a regular ol’ bear or one of the shifters? And if it was a shifter—which was likely—who was it? Was it someone who would help her? Or was it someone who really hated magic users and would rather see her gone?
A tear worked its way past her eye and down her cheek as she waited to learn her fate.
John whuffed a sigh of relief when he found Ursula standing in the forest. But something was still wrong. She wasn’t moving. He approached cautiously.
He’d followed her trail easily enough. She hadn’t tried to hide her steps. It had been a puzzling trail though. She sort of meandered through the woods until she turned sharply toward the cove, following a parallel path northward around the upper arc of the cove itself.
She had stopped at the point where she was turning toward the water. Her parallel path had brought her around the cove to an area that wasn’t covered by the ward of protections she�
��d cast today and yesterday. If she approached the beach here, the leviathan and its minions could still get to her.
What was she doing? She had stopped, so if the leviathan’s evil magic was drawing her in, she was fighting it. She looked frozen in place, unable to move.
He growled a question, wondering if she’d understand.
“Whoever you are, I can’t move. So either be merciful and end me fast, or come over here and show yourself.” Her voice shook with emotion, but he admired the way she was standing tall, facing her fate.
He walked up to her on all fours, placing himself in front of her. Would she recognize him in this form?
“John?” Her voice was tentative, but a thread of relief sounded through her tone. He sat on his haunches, trying to look non-threatening. “John, that is you, isn’t it?” He nodded his bear-shaped head, and she sighed in relief. “Thank the Lady.”
He shifted, flowing from his bear into his human form. He might be naked and unarmed, but he figured she needed his words of reassurance more than anything else right now. And he was a strong enough bear that he could shift back into his more lethal form—or the most dangerous form of all, the half-shift battle form—in the blink of an eye.
“Are you all right?” He wanted desperately to take her in his arms, but he wasn’t sure if that would cause more problems right now. Whatever was holding her in place, it had to be magic, and she was the resident expert on that stuff.
She solved his dilemma by launching herself into his arms. He caught her with a small oof of expelled air as she hit him, but his arms went around her and held tight.
“I couldn’t break its spell, but your shift—the shifter magic interceded and cut the cord that tied me to the leviathan. Thank the Lady you came along when you did.” She was speaking rapid fire, near panicked as she hugged him tight and placed little kisses of relief all along the side of his face. “I don’t know if I could have held out for much longer.”