“Ahh . . .” Fiona nodded. “And they accused you?”
Jo took a sip of tea, remembering the awful scene. Bianca had been standing there, tall and stately as ever. She was over six feet and had long, black hair Jo was quite certain she dyed. Her eyes were faded emeralds in her wrinkled face, though Jo knew she used firming and tightening agents and potions on her skin constantly.
Miranda used to say that Bianca was fighting the hands of time—she refused to age gracefully as the other Elders did and looked with jealousy on the younger sister-witches at Avalon.
“You!” Bianca had thundered, staring down at Jo from her great height. “You have been practicing dark magic, Jocasta! How else could your hair be growing darker and your face younger?”
“I’m not! I swear I’m not!” Jo had exclaimed. She had been aghast at the sudden accusation, though she supposed she ought to have expected something like it. Before Miranda had died, she had warned Jo to be wary of Bianca.
“You have true power, child,” she’d said to Jo. “And you have beauty that defies time. Bianca will covet both—you must be mindful of crossing her.”
Following her mentor’s warning, Jo had done nothing to upset the older witch—nothing on purpose, that was. Yet, before she knew it, Bianca had declared her in violation of the magical rules of Avalon and had gotten the other Elders to agree to expel her from the only home she’d known for the last twenty years.
“That morning everything was normal, and by that night I was out in the cold with almost nothing to eat, not much to wear, and nowhere to go,” she explained to Fiona and Reese.
“Bianca should pay for what she did to you—turning you out in the cold with nothing for no damn reason!” There was an angry growl in Reese’s voice that surprised Jo. Why would he get so upset at a woman he’d never met?
“You’re surprised at Reese’s protectiveness?” Fiona said, speaking her thoughts aloud. “Why should you be, my dear? His Fox has already laid claim to you, as you may well know. He feels you are his to protect and to avenge if need be.”
“Fiona . . .” Reese shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “We just met yesterday.”
“The length of a relationship isn’t nearly as important as the intensity of it,” Fiona said tranquilly. “Anyway . . .” She made a “go on” motion at Jo with one hand. “Please, do continue. What happened next?”
“Well . . .” Jo took another sip of tea, trying to put everything in order. “It was a full moon that night . . .”
She told about the group of Shifters and how they’d started to attack her before their leader stopped them—or at least held them back.
“Jase Saunders,” Fiona said and nodded. “He’s a good male—a powerful Alpha—I know him well. You’re lucky he had enough control over the other dire wolves in his pack to give you time to run.”
“I needed all the head start I could get,” Jo admitted. “Because the minute the moonlight touched my skin I started having this horrible pain.” She shivered. “Like something was trying to rip me apart from the inside out.”
“Oh, my dear,” Fiona put down her delicate china teacup and sat forward. “I see what happened now—you are one of the Unformed!”
“The what?” Jo frowned. “I though you said I was a ‘Juvie’? And Reese seems to think I might be a Shifter like him. But I’m not,” she added quickly.
“No, but you must become one if you want to live.” Fiona shook her head. “I don’t understand how you withstood your first full moon when you were in total Rejuvenation without a male to breed you and keep you from dying!”
“I found a white ash tree that had been struck by lightning,” Jo said. “I rubbed the ashes on my skin to cover my scent so the, uh, dire wolves couldn’t find me.”
“Ah . . .” Fiona nodded. “The ash is a holy tree. Its essence must have helped hold you together during what should have been your first Shift as well as masking your scent.”
“So that was the gray stuff you had on you,” Reese remarked. “It covered your Juvie scent almost completely. I had no idea you had the Shifter Gene until after you took a bath and washed it off.”
Jo frowned and put down her own teacup.
“Please—don’t you start telling me I’m a Shifter again, because I’m not. I can’t turn into an animal and I don’t want to either. I’m a witch—that’s all I am.”
“No, my dear—for you are doubly blessed,” Fiona said. “‘Twice brilliant, doubly blessed, rare as diamonds, Lady Moon’s best,’” she recited. “’The Goddess calls and gives at last, power to Shift and power to Cast.’ That’s a little rhyme my own mentor taught me, oh . . . so many years ago. For you see . . . I too was doubly blessed.”
Reese frowned. “You were a Shifter, Fiona? I thought you were just . . . that you just stayed in Cougarville to look after us Shifters and make medicine.”
“Indeed I do, my dear, because I feel for you. For I was one of you, for a single brilliant, blessed year.” Fiona sighed. “It’s not common, you know—to find a witch with true natural power who also has the Shifter Gene. I was one and I have never met another until now.” She nodded at Jo.
“So what . . .” Jo frowned, not knowing if she believed this. “What kind of, uh, animal did you turn into?”
“A Saiga Antelope—there aren’t many left, you know. And my mate—the male who claimed me—was one of the last.” Fiona’s large, dark eyes grew sad. “Only a year after we were mated, he was killed in a hunting accident—shot while he was in his Shifted form.”
“I’m sorry, Fiona.” Reese reached forward and touched her arm gently. “I never knew.”
“Oh my dear, it was long before your time—long before your father’s time as well,” she assured him. “After that, I brewed a potion to dampen the Shifter side of myself and concentrated on healing medicines instead.” She shook her head. “I knew I never wanted to be mated again, but I couldn’t live on as a Shifter without a mate to help me with my monthly cravings. So the potion was necessary.”
“Wait—” Jo put up a hand to stop her. “So you’re saying that if you are, uh, ‘doubly blessed’ as you called it, you can get rid of the Shifter side just by drinking a potion?”
Fiona frowned. “Not ‘get rid of’, only dampen so that you no longer need to Shift during the full moon or endure your monthly cravings. But the potion is only effective after you have had your first Shift. So it would be of no use to you now, my dear.”
Jo shook her head. “I don’t know why I’m bothering to ask since I am absolutely not a Shifter.”
“Well, well . . .” Fiona looked at her thoughtfully. “A skeptic, are you? I suppose we must work a little harder to try and convince you. Now listen, my dear . . .”
She told Jo about the legend of how Lady Moon had made the first Shifters by consecrating a holy cave where brave warriors could come and draw the animal they desired to be on the wall. Then she spoke of the Shifter Gene which ensured that females who had it would rejuvenate back to youth at a certain time and how the Rejuvenation process brought on a state of extreme lust and hyper-fertility.
Jo had listened with interest to the legend—as she had told Reese, she loved learning new lore. But the part about hyper-fertility and monthly lust cycles made her distinctly nervous. She couldn’t help feeling like the throbbing between her thighs was getting worse—almost in proportion to the dull ache which was growing stronger in her temples. And the way Fiona had explained that a Rejuvenating female would suddenly become twenty years younger seemed to fit her own situation a little too neatly.
Still, she didn’t want to believe she could be a Shifter—that she might turn into an animal every full moon. It was a frightening prospect.
At last, the older woman stopped speaking and stared at her. Jo stared back, her heart pounding and her mouth too dry to talk.
“Do you see now?” Fiona asked at last, after a long moment of silence. “Your increasing powers—which are normal for a doubly blessed one at
this time—your suddenly much younger body, the scent you exude. You’re in Rejuvenation, my dear, and ready to be bred by a male. In fact, you’re past due, which means you’ll be suffering a great deal of sexual need and painful lust if you aren’t already. Are you?” She looked at Jo directly.
Jo shifted uneasily in her seat.
“You don’t understand,” she burst out. “Yes, I’m . . . uncomfortable but that’s because of the spell I worked last night. It went wrong—really wrong—and it affected me strangely.”
“Spell?” Fiona frowned. “Tell me all about it.”
Haltingly, Jo explained her original intention and how the spell had been interrupted before she could reverse it.
“Hmm . . .” Fiona frowned. “And you say you felt an outside power which interfered?”
“There’s something out there—something in the woods.” Jo shook her head. “It chased me here—chased me to Reese’s house. I barely got out of the forest and onto his land just in time.”
“So you were chased to the house of a Shifter when you yourself have the Shifter Gene and are going through Rejuvenation,” Fiona said musingly, as though she was thinking aloud.
“I know it sounds crazy but it’s true,” Jo said quickly.
“It doesn’t sound crazy,” Reese said quietly. “I saw something out there too. Don’t know what it was but it didn’t feel very friendly. It was there one minute . . .” He snapped his fingers. “And gone the next. Just like that.”
“I call it the shadow creature,” Jo said in a low voice, glad he believed her. “I don’t know what it is—maybe some kind of a demon. It’s been hunting me since I left Avalon but the night before last it almost got me. That’s why I can’t . . . don’t dare to go out in the woods again.”
“You don’t have to go out there, darlin’,” Reese murmured. “You can stay with me where it’s warm and dry and safe.”
“I can’t keep living on your charity,” Jo protested. “I’m used to making my own way in the world.”
“Which is why you need a job,” Fiona said briskly. “And I have just the thing. I’ve been looking for a knowledgeable young person to help me catalog my inventory. As I’m sure you can see, it’s going to be quite an undertaking.” She nodded at the shelves overflowing with ingredients.
Jo frowned. “You mean it? You want to give me a job?”
“If you’ll take it.” Fiona threw up her hands. “I know it’s something of a mess in here.”
“But a wonderful mess,” Jo exclaimed. “I’ve never seen so many rare artifacts and ingredients all together before in my life.”
“Then you’ll do it?” Fiona asked, looking at her hopefully.
“I’d love to,” Jo said honestly. “But you really don’t know me. Are you sure you don’t want to do some kind of a background check or something?”
“No need, my dear.” Fiona gave her a mysterious smile. “I know more than you guess. I only have one condition.” She raised one beringed finger as if to illustrate her point.
“And that is?” Jo arched an eyebrow at her.
“That you continue to stay with Reese here and live under his roof. Now the reasons for this are twofold,” she continued, clearly seeing Jo’s mutinous face.
It wasn’t that Jo didn’t like Reese—it was that since her disastrous spell, she liked him too much. She didn’t want to forget herself and have a repeat of last night’s shameful performance. Just remembering his kiss . . . his mouth on her breasts . . . the way he’d stroked and filled her pussy with his fingers until she moaned and begged for more . . .
Stop it, Jo, she told herself firmly, aware that the throbbing in both her temples and between her thighs had become almost unbearable. Stop it, you can’t think like that! You have to forget it ever happened!
“What are your reasons?” she asked, trying to pry her mind away from the dirty details of her encounter with the big Shifter who sat watching her quietly, sipping tea from the delicate china cup Fiona had handed him. It looked tiny and breakable in his big hand but he handled it with gentleness and grace that belied his size.
“You need to stay with Reese, firstly for protection,” Fiona said. “You may not want to believe that you’re a Shifter female in Rejuvenation, but you are, my dear. The Juvie scent you’re putting out right now means every male in your immediate vicinity will be drawn to you. You need to be with an Alpha like Reese who can control his impulses. Without him to protect you, you’ll be in constant danger here in Cougarville.”
“So . . . you’re saying that scene in the coffee shop wasn’t just an isolated incident? That men—Shifters—would be coming up to me all the time and, uh, trying to . . .” She couldn’t finish the sentence—it felt like her throat was closing up as memories of the past came rushing forward.
“Afraid so,” Reese said, frowning. “Your Juvie scent is pretty overwhelming right now, darlin’. Letting you run around town on your own is kinda like taking a plate of fresh chocolate chip cookies past a bunch of starving men and expecting them not to try and take a bite.”
“All right.” Jo sighed. “I understand about the need for protection. But you said you had two reasons for me to stay with Reese—what’s the second?”
“You’re going to need the touch of an Alpha, my dear,” Fiona said quietly. “Eventually your cravings will become too much to bear and someone will have to help you. And when Lady Moon becomes full again, you’ll have to be bred—you can’t go through another cycle without a mate. It would kill you.”
“What?” Jo put down her teacup with a tinkling sound, splashing lukewarm Earl Grey over the side into her saucer. “What are you talking about? I can’t . . . I won’t . . . My chastity is vowed to the Goddess!” she got out at last.
“The Goddess—or Lady Moon as we call her—has called you to other things,” Fiona assured her. “She made you a Shifter—she will not also require your chastity. The two are incompatible.”
“I don’t believe that. Breaking my vow would be the worst thing I could do. And besides that I just can’t. Can’t do that.”
“Jo was . . . attacked some time ago,” Reese explained delicately to Fiona. “It’s made her, uh, kind of shy of males, not that I blame her,” he added, casting Jo a compassionate glance.
“I see.” Fiona nodded. “I thought I sensed something like that when I touched you. Well, know this, my dear,” she said to Jo. “When Lady Moon waxes full and you have a male you trust and care for by you, the past will melt away to shadows in the heat of your need.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of!” Jo exclaimed. “That this . . . this need inside me will overwhelm me and make me act like . . . do things I normally wouldn’t do.”
“You will do many things you normally wouldn’t do,” Fiona said tranquilly. “Including Shifting at the full moon. But lust is not the only problem Reese can help you with. There are other pains only the touch of an Alpha can allay. Tell me—how long have you had the headache?”
“What?” Jo half raised a hand to her temple. “How . . . how did you know about that?”
“It’s a common symptom of Rejuvenation. Only the touch of an Alpha can alleviate it.”
“The headache comes and goes on its own,” Jo protested. “It doesn’t have anything to do with if Reese has, uh, touched me or not.”
“Oh no?” Fiona raised her dark auburn eyebrows. “Tell me, my dear, when was the last time you were pain free?”
“Well, last night after . . .” Jo stopped, biting her lip. The throbbing in her temples had disappeared briefly the night before after she and Reese had been all over each other. And before that, it had left briefly after he touched her in his Fox form.
“I want to show you something,” Fiona said. “Reese, put out your hand to Jocasta if you please.”
Silently, Reese held out one large hand. Jo couldn’t help thinking that for a mechanic, he had extraordinarily clean hands and fingernails. They were large and well formed with long, artistic fingers that
looked more suited to painting or sculpting than rebuilding engines.
And you know from experience how good he is with his hands, whispered a little voice inside her head. Jo tried to push it away but she couldn’t help remembering the gentle but urgent way those long fingers had circled the swollen bud of her clit and then pressed deep inside her pussy . . .
Stop it! With a fierce effort, she pushed the memory away.
“Take his hand, please, Jocasta,” Fiona said to her. “You need not do anything else—just take Reese’s hand and hold it.”
Jo really didn’t want to—it felt dangerous to touch him, somehow. As though once she started touching him, she might not want to stop. She hesitated, looking for an excuse.
“What if I, uh, blast him again?” she asked. “Like I did in the coffee shop? I’ve never done that before—never had that power. I don’t know how to control it.”
“Your growing power is simply the sign of a twice-blessed one in Rejuvenation,” Fiona said patiently. “It manifested unexpectedly because you felt threatened by a strange male and needed to protect yourself. You have no need to protect yourself from Reese—he will not harm you.”
“Well . . .” Jo couldn’t think of any other excuses. Reluctantly, she placed her hand lightly on his outstretched palm.
A shiver ran through her—a feeling of pleasure so strong she almost yanked her hand away at once. Reese seemed to feel it too because his eyes were suddenly half-lidded and he gave a little grunt of surprise.
“Hold just a minute more, my dear,” Fiona said to her when Jo would have pulled away from the contact. “That was simply a telling sign—it will pass. Just hold Reese’s hand and concentrate on your headache.”
Grudgingly, Jo did as she was told. Closing her eyes so she wouldn’t fall into Reese’s chocolate-brown gaze, she focused her attention on the throbbing in her temples. Only . . . in just a few seconds, there was nothing to focus on at all.
The pain in her temples was gone—magically erased as though it had never been there in the first place.
Jo’s eyes flew open in surprise. “He . . . you . . .” She looked back and forth between Fiona and Reese.
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