by Barb Shuler
Contents
Other Books by Barb Shuler
Other Books by L. Firminger
Acknowledgments
1. Dalton
2. Mia
3. Dalton
4. Mia
Dalton
5. Mia
Dalton
6. Mia
7. Dalton
8. Mia
9. Dalton
10. Mia
11. Dalton
12. Mia
13. Dalton
14. Mia
Dalton
15. Dalton
16. Mia
17. Dalton
18. Mia
19. Dalton
20. Mia
21. Dalton
22. Jayden
Dalton
23. Dalton
24. Mia
25. Dalton
Mated To Magic ~ Playlist
About Barb Shuler
About L Firminger
MATED TO MAGIC (Stark Creek Shifters; Book 1)
© Copyright 2021 Barbara Shuler & L. Firminger
Published by Barbara Shuler
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction which is only recommended for those 18 and older due to violence, strong language and adult content. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), places or actual events is purely coincidental.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
Cover Art: The Reed Files/Taria Reed
Cover Design by: Opium House Creatives
Edited by: Emily Maynard & Samantha Talarico
Formatted by: Lauren Firminger
Created with Vellum
Other Books by Barb Shuler
Shattered Lives Series
My Own Nightmare
Somewhere I Belong
Shatter Me Whole
Sparks Of Deception
Living In Your Hell
Edge of Danger
Finding Love in Burke
A Shattered Lives Short Story Collection
The Cowboy Way Series
Wrangled By Love
A Rescue Series Novella
A Marshal’s Courage
Her Savior
Flashpoint
Treachery
Rescuing Innocence
Primal Darkness World
Primal Darkness
Harmony Duets
Finding Harmony
Through The Eyes Of Madness
Shifting Shadows World
Shifting Shadows
The Oblivion Series
(Must be read in order - Part of the Shifting Shadows world)
Shifted
Ravaged
Consumed
Devilishly Wicked Dreams
(Prev. published in the Dirty Fairy Tales Anthology)
Unknown Threats
Crescent Room Novellas
Ultimate Control
(Prev. published in The Parlor: All Access Anthology)
MacIntyre Family Saga
Imperfectus
Coloring Books
Shaded With Love: A Coloring Book for a Cause Volume 5
Cooking With Love: Shaded With Love Volume 6
Other Books by L. Firminger
Angel of my Nightmare
Shocking Destiny
TITLES BY LAUREN FIRMINGER
Fated Love Series
Learning to Fly
Hell on an Angel
Let It Be Me
Reapers of Chaos MC Series
Raven’s Nightmare
Chaos’s Reign
JD’s Redemption
Havoc’s Temptation
Diesel’s Choice
Killing Me Softly (Novella)
Standalone
Three Words
For the shifter lovers out there… this one’s for you!
Acknowledgments
To my team (Emily Maynard, Kelly Graham, Jennifer Amerson, Annie Anderson, Mindy Seal & Samantha Talarico) THANK YOU! You ladies are fabulous and me loves you!Y’all make this a blast to do.
To my co-author/friend/partner-in-crime: Lauren, sweet lady, without you none of this would have happened. Who would have thought that chaos and creativity meeting one day, by the oddest of chances, would lead us here. That day a friendship was formed. One that has had its ups, downs and inbetweens to blossom into something special. We did it! Ten years and some days later here we are bringing one of our creations to the many fans waiting to meet the moody wolf and his little witch. (Your the chaos, btw LOL). Love you, Ducky!
To my best friend/co-author/co-conspirator: Barb, ten years on this crazy ride has gotten us to this point and I am so glad we have finally done what we have talked about all this time and putting these crazy misfits out in the world. They are all parts you and me and I wouldn’t have it any other way. You are the only one who could handle my chaotic way of writing and I love you for that. Love you, Petrie!
There's a reason why BF stands for boyfriend and best friend, as they should be one and the same. ~ Unknown
1
Dalton
Scrubbing my hand over the back of my neck, I tried to let go of the tension coiling in my gut. I had to. I had work to do after all. Worrying about Mia, as I always did, wouldn’t help me get a damn thing done. She was more than my best friend and roommate. She was the one my beast had claimed as his years ago. I’d never told her that. I wouldn’t rush her into making a choice that would change her life forever.
Once you mated a shifter, there was no backing out. It was a commitment, and to be honest, it wasn’t something one should take lightly. I wasn’t just a shifter, though—I was Alpha to a pack of misfits. It wasn’t unusual for shifters of different prides, packs, or sleuths to make a new pack; that was all dependent on the situation and if the alpha of the territory was willing to have others in his territory.
My pack was more than just a pack. They were my best friends. My brothers by love and honor. It wasn’t blood that made family, and they were my family through and through. We each brought something different to the pack dynamics. Everyone had their own secrets and reasons for not being in a pack of their own kind, and that was okay. No one had to explain why. It wasn’t important, either.
We were all functioning adults, well, most of us. Kody and Maximus were just oversized children who needed to be leashed, but we loved them, nonetheless.
Shaking my head, chuckling, I sat down in front of my open laptop. I had a proposal for a new security system to get done. I didn’t want to slack on it. It was difficult trying to build up a new business, but thankfully I’d had a great boss who had given me and the company a great referral. I happen to be that boss, but no one here in Stark Creek, North Carolina would know that.
I glanced at the clock again and let out a long breath. Mia wouldn’t be home for a few more hours. Her newly-opened bar was fast becoming the hot new place to hang in town and they were bu
sy. She had security guys, and I knew they could do their jobs. I’d done an extensive background check on them the moment she said she was hiring them. I may not have told her that, but I’d always have her back.
I’d not be able to sleep until I knew she was home - safe. So I guessed it was work or go hang out with the boys. I shook that off and decided to get some work done. I wasn’t up for the ribbing I’d get from those assholes, despite the fact that they knew how I felt about Mia. My wolf had claimed her and we’d always protect her. Always, no matter how hard it was to keep from taking her in my arms and telling her exactly how I felt about her.
Being in love with your best friend was hard, but I had it easier than some. I knew where she was at night. She slept on the other side of our house, tucked into her bed. It helped my wolf relax, knowing his mate was here so he could protect her.
I brought my attention back to my computer and nodded. I had to focus on work now. I turned the monitors on and pulled up the new system. I had to program the code and get everything in line for the upcoming installation. I had a time frame to stick to.
Three nights later, I pulled into an empty space at the pack’s new meeting spot. There were two other trucks already here, which meant the boys were here. I scented the air. Tyson and Kody…and they were already in their animal forms. This meant Liam and Maximus must be elsewhere. Either they were patrolling the other side of town or they were working.
We all have busy lives outside of being a pack and patrolling our lands. We all had real jobs and real bills to pay, so we were productive members of society. It was hard to imagine not being here for the rest of our - possibly very long - lives. But, the life of a shifter meant keeping a secret and not staying in one place for too long. I guessed we’d be here for about fifteen, maybe twenty years before we’d have to pick up and find a new place to call home. When people aged around you but you stayed looking the same, it made them start asking questions. Questions like that could get someone hurt.
I liked it here, though. It was a quiet mountain town that was not as populated as one would think. Tourist season would bring in more people and keep things interesting. I missed Wyoming. We had a good life there. I’d met Mia there and formed a friendship that was so unbreakable she moved here with us.
A large cat yowled in the woods. I took in the scents in the air again. Humans were out here too. Cursing, I hurried up the path that bordered the land of our new territory. We’d gotten reports from the local PD and the woman who was in charge of the land sale that there had been a group of kids coming out here. It was mostly older teenagers, starting bonfires and drinking. The problem wasn’t so much that they were out there, I mean, kids will be kids, but we needed to keep them safe and protect our territory from stupid accidents.
It had been dry lately. It would take only one ember to catch a nearby dry spot on fire. Forest fires raged quickly, taking down anyone and anything in their path—homes, people, and wildlife. Mother Nature was not a fickle bitch when she really wanted to be. She did what she wanted, however she wanted it.
We had a lot of land to cover tonight. I hoped that the clouds rolling in held some rain. It was needed, but I didn’t want to get caught in a downpour. My wolf didn’t mind the rain, but I did. Rain meant heading home in wet clothes and that is not any kind of comfortable.
Another yowl came from the tree line. I detoured and headed up the trail, rounding the small alcove that led to the watering hole where a small river ran down into a basin. It was one of the reasons we purchased this piece of land. It was a good place to camp out, make a good bonfire, and relax. It was also a good place to smoke weed and drink if you were underage and ignored the private property and no trespassing signs. Hence my apprehension of finding them out here.
If there were kids at the watering hole, then they hadn’t been too far out tonight. There were far more dangerous places for them to be in these woods at night. That was another reason for the no trespassing signs.
I made a mental note to put a few wildlife cameras on both trails and sporadically throughout the woods. We could rig them to send out an alert when movement was sensed, similar to the Ring doorbell system you can put on your house. It would turn on and take a picture, hopefully scaring them when the flash went off.
If we did this and got it to work right, maybe we would catch them before they got in the woods and did something stupid. That way I could document who was out here and when. If they were just high school kids out here being teenagers that was one thing; criminals coming out here would not end well for any of us.
If our pack was bigger, we could patrol more territory faster and not have to do this so often. Five shifters made do, though.
I came to a stop as I arrived at the clearing. A large deer carcass lay on the ground—what was left of it anyway. I felt confident in saying that it had been there for a day or so. Birds had been at it, as well as other creatures. Large chunks of its flesh and muscle were missing.
I lifted my head, catching a few odd scents but nothing that could tell me what happened here. I saw no unusual tracks, just deer, coyote, and a small set that looked to be from a fox.
I left the scene and went to the east trail, following Ty’s scent up the incline. Tyson, my beta and one of my best friends, was a large black panther, a Jaguar. He was the one I turned to the most with things that involved the pack and keeping our territory safe. Even if it wasn’t pack related. He had a level head and helped to balance out my temper.
I wasn’t your average Alpha. I had a good handle on my temper unless Mia or my pack were involved.
I jogged to the hilltop, the rocks under my shoes grinding into the earth. Ty stood just ahead, his tail flicking from side to side. I raised a brow as I looked up, following his line of sight. That’s when I saw it. Up on the hillside, a black bear scaled a piece of the hill. I could have face-palmed in frustration.
“What in the hell is he doing?”
Ty just looked back at me, his green eyes shining with annoyance.
“For fuck’s sake. He’s worse than a damn toddler sometimes.”
I took a few steps closer to the ledge where Ty stood then looked back over to Kody. How had he gotten… I saw a large tree toppled over the gap, its gnarled branches nothing but bark covered sticks now. I shook my head. The only good thing I can say for this act of total stupidity was that the drop to the river below was only about fifteen feet… It wouldn’t have killed him if his fat ass had slipped.
“Come on, let’s go around and see what he’s up to—”
A pissed off roar rolled across the open gorge. I saw three figures moving back down the ridge toward the old tree. I hurried to the tree. Last thing I wanted was for the big dummy to scare some kids and have one of them fall to their death.
I moved easily across the tree and met them on the other side. By the time I got them calm, Ty had joined us, redressed and wearing a scowl that made the girl in the group back away.
“Come on, before that stupid bear comes back.” Ty’s demand was quickly followed. Each of the three trespassers made it back across the tree safely. When they turned back to us, they were surprised by a bright flash.
“Hey! What was that for?” one of the boys asked, his face turning down into a frown.
“I needed your faces to give to the Sheriff. You’re trespassing on our property, scaring the stupid wildlife and making our busy night busier. If I see you out here again, I’ll let the bear eat you.”
I won’t lie, I had to turn away from them because I was laughing. Ty’s face showed absolutely no hint of anything but serious determination. Kody would never eat anyone, but he would enjoy chasing them through the woods. Which would be just as bad. Last thing we needed was hunters out here with rifles and no clue as to what they were really hunting. It wouldn’t end well and I just finished unpacking. I wasn’t ready to pack all of my shit back up and find another place that was suitable for all of us.
Once the kids were gone I shook myself
, threw off my clothes and shifted, letting my wolf free. It was time to run off all of my pent-up feelings.
2
Mia
Getting the run of this new place was taking some getting used to. We hadn’t been here all that long, so I didn’t really know anyone I was now managing. The security team that I trusted to keep me safe were new too. Could they step up to the plate? I guess only time would tell. I sat in my office, glancing over at the cameras every now and then, making sure that Jayden was okay with the team behind the bar before going back through the resumes on my desk. When I took over Bar None, I sacked a lot of people. This didn’t make me many friends, but I had put my hard earned money into the place. The last thing I needed was for it to go down the drain. It hadn’t happened yet and I would be damned if I let it happen now.
Resting my elbows on my desk, I let my thoughts drift off. When Dalton told me that it was time to move the pack to a new place, I had a mild freak-out. We had been friends for a while, but over time, I had developed strong feelings for him. The thought of him leaving made my chest ache. When I talked to Jayden about it, she told me that I needed to go with him. If Dalton was my best friend, Jayden was my sister. I couldn’t do without either of them. When she suggested I go with him, I knew she needed to come with me. She had been my right hand in every bar that I had owned and managed. While I ran the back of the house, Jayden would cover the bar for me so that I could focus. I trusted her with my life; as a matter of fact, we had been inseparable since I’d saved her life, so it made sense for her to come along with me.