Mated To Magic (Stark Creek Shifters Book 1)

by Barb Shuler

  Mia: No reason… Must have been distracted when I was entering them.

  Jayden: That’s not like you. Is it a major difference?

  Mia: Less of the stuff we have been burning through this week. I might have to see if I can get another order delivered later tonight.

  Jayden: Okay… Let me know if I can help.

  Mia: Will do! See you soon. xox0

  Dalton walked in and gave me a look. “Are you okay?”

  “Any of your guys good with computers?”

  “Yeah, Liam is our tech genius, but most of the guys are good. Why?”

  “I think I might need to add more protection to my computer and this office.” Dalton growled and moved to make some calls. Letting out a sigh, I closed my eyes and leaned back against the chair. Today was so not going to end well.

  9

  Dalton

  The morning started out good. I felt much better now that Mia and I had sorted things out and she knows exactly how I feel. It helps to explain why I acted like a neurotic, hormonal teenager…mostly. She knows I love her, and I do, but I still need to explain this mating pull I have toward her. That she is the one-in-a-million person that was made just for me. Though, I’m sure my little witch knows that already.

  When we arrived this morning, I checked the building from roof to storage rooms. Nothing was out of place, and yeah, I knew that because I’m a stalker. I knew this place like the back of my hand. Each area had its own set up and place for this and that, whatever was needed at the time.

  I didn’t touch anything…much. I left a little surprise for Jayden. She was forever growling at anyone that went behind the bar and moved things on her end. She literally had everything from the liquor to the glasses she used in a particular order. Labels on the bottles all faced the same way…or they did until I moved a few of them, turning the bottles backwards. It was a harmless prank, one that would probably get a glass tossed at my head, but it was done in fun. I’d leave her a good tip later.

  I walked from the main bar back toward Mia’s office. I gave her a look when I came in. I could feel her unease as she looked between her order forms, the monitor, and the print out she had. The woman was nothing if not methodical. She had everything lined up, in triplicate. Seriously. She ran a business like a well-oiled machine. Something was obviously not matching up. When she asked me about my computer guy with that look of betrayal on her face, my wolf went on high alert.

  I left her office, going out into the parking lot to make my call. Hopefully Liam could come over this morning before Jayden got here. I don’t know what her aversion to the shifter was, but I’d do what I could to not make her freak out or fret. If she got upset, Mia would get upset.

  “Yeah, boss?”

  “I need you at Mia’s club, pronto. Bring your laptop and whatever you need to do your computer hacker nerd stuff.”

  “What’s going on?”

  I heard him moving around and sighed, darting my eyes back over at the door.

  “Mia has a possible issue… I need you to see if her hunch is right or not. I need you in and out before her employees get here.”

  “Be there in eight minutes.”

  The line went dead. I shook myself and sent Tyson a text.

  Dalton: Meet me in the bar parking lot in an hour.

  I hit send and rubbed the back of my neck. I had no way of knowing what Liam would find in Mia’s system. Nor was I sure what Mia was going to tell us about last night, but something had my wolf pacing. I wanted to check the entire security system by the time this place closed tonight. I wanted to make damn sure no one was messing with that too.

  My phone buzzed in my hand. I nodded at his reply.

  Tyson: I’ll be there.

  I took in a deep breath and paced the lot until Liam pulled up. I met him at the back door and led him inside to Mia’s office.

  “Come on, baby, we can meet the others in the bar area. Let Liam do his thing. If someone is in your system, he’ll find them.”

  “And stop them,” he supplied.

  “I need the computer to show what happened last night.”

  I nodded and waved to Liam. “Alright, he can use the other office, then.” I walked him the five steps to the other door and used my key to open it. “I set up a spare monitoring system in here.” I shrugged when he gave me a ‘you’re dead’ look. “She knows it’s here, so shut it. Plug in and find whoever is fucking with my girl.”

  Once he was settled in, and knew that he was not to come out of the office until I came to get him, I left him to do his work and went back into Mia’s office. I was propped up against the wall when Jayden came in. I watched as her pupils dilated. Mia moved to her and whispered into her ear. I didn’t listen. If she wanted to clue me in, she would. I greeted Angus and Nick as they came in.

  I silently gave them both the once-over. Angus, I liked. He’d been one of the first men hired on here and he had his shit in a straight row. He worked well with the girls, even if Jayden tried to scalp him more than once, and he seemed to be a stand-up guy. Josh and Nick, the other two, were iffy to me. But, I know Mia likes to do things in her own way and I’d give her the space to do that. Plus, I like my balls attached to the rest of my body.

  “Thanks for coming in early, everyone. I wanted to discuss what happened last night.”

  “You mean the fact that your security fucked up?” Jayden said, a growl in her voice.

  I gave her a hard look when I noticed her eyes were starting to bleed into the gold of her cat’s. A silent command passed between us and she lowered her head.

  “I don’t know how he got in with that knife. I got a text from Nick to come to the doors, but I was dealing with a chick fight. The next thing I know, that kid had his arm around you and a blade to your neck.”

  “I’m glad you mentioned Nick texting you. I reviewed the security tapes last night. I saw when he came in.”

  “I see now I should have said something when I thought Josh wasn’t doing his job right. That’s why I messaged Angus. I was dealing with an asshole who was trying to bring in drugs. By the time I got him out of the door, Josh had let two people in. I questioned him, but he told me to fuck off.”

  Nick sounded as angry as Angus about what happened. That was good for him. He’d be staying in one piece for now.

  Mia flipped the monitors on and the security cameras came up. She hit a few buttons and the video from last night played. With a few more buttons, she forwarded it to the timestamp ten minutes before the incident.

  Jayden’s low rumble had me clearing my throat as I came to stand at my full height. I watched as Josh allowed the guy in, fist bumped him, and went right back to the next guy. Not only did he not use the wand in his hand to check for weapons, he didn’t even charge him to come in.

  “Roll that back three frames.”

  I moved closer to the screen, watching it again, my eyes glued to the man’s hands. As quick as a blink, I saw something move from hand to hand.

  Son. Of. A. Bitch!

  This was a bad idea. My wolf was all but crawling out of me. I could feel my muscles quiver.

  “He slipped something to Josh to get in here. I’m willing to bet you it was at least a C note.”

  If the doorman was up to no good and had an attitude that said, ‘I don’t care if I get caught’, someone was going to get hurt.

  He’d fucked up on the wrong night, in the wrong bar. He’d let that man in, leading to Mia being hurt. It not only lost him his job, it signed his death certificate.

  “He let him in, without even a word!”

  I pulled my cell from my back pocket. I knew Liam could hear everything, but I wasn’t ready to play that hand yet. No one else needed to know he was in the next room.

  Dalton: Scan the tapes. I want a name, address, and full report. Yesterday.

  Dalton: I want Josh’s address. It’s hunt time.

  A second later my phone buzzed in my hand.

  Liam: Already on it. Sending Jos
h’s info in two.

  Until my phone buzzed again I paced, which meant I took two steps, pivoted, and did it again.

  Liam: 7455 Calder Rd Unit 3

  Liam: He has a record. Mostly misdemeanors. Nothing in ten years though.

  Dalton: We did a BG! How did we not see that?

  Liam: Josh Sanders isn’t who he says. His name is Josh Ludlow.

  I growled and ran my hand through my hair to gather my wits.

  I loved my pack. I turned and leveled my gaze on both Angus and Nick. I tried to remind myself that I couldn’t shift and rip their arms off. Not yet. They were the good guys. My wolf didn’t care, but I didn’t want to piss off my little witch.

  “You both work the doors tonight. No one comes in without a thorough check. I’ll be calling in a few guys to help with bar security. You have any trouble, you let them deal with it. They’re trained to deal with assholes.

  “Starting tomorrow at seven a.m., you two will be here to learn a few things from those same men. We will make sure that this bar is a safe place, no matter how many asses I have to kick.”

  I saw Angus nod. Nick looked a little green.

  “I did a full perimeter check when I came in. Everything is locked up right as of now. It should always be that way.”

  I held up a hand when Mia went to say something. “Please, baby, I need to make sure you and the girls are safe. This is the only way to do it. If I have to bring in my guys…” I stressed the words “my guys,” meaning my pack. If they had to be brought in, shit would definitely be changing. I wasn’t sure she was ready for that level of crazy. Ty and Kody gave no second chances. If someone started shit, they’d most likely end up in the alley trash can or in pieces.

  She met my gaze and nodded. She got it. She knew this was a struggle for me. I wanted to keep her and the girls safe. I knew she could take care of herself and there was a shifter in here to help, but that wasn’t enough.

  I really was trying to NOT take over her business. I. Was. Trying. I had a feeling, just a gut tightening ‘something really isn’t right, there’s more to this’ kind of feeling. I needed to alert my guys. They may not be in the bar tonight, but someone would be watching. At the first sign of real trouble, they’d jump in to help.

  It took all I had to calmly move to Mia, lean in, and softly kiss her lips. I dropped my voice. Jayden would hear, but not the humans.

  “I’m going…hunting. I’m leaving Liam in the monitoring room for a bit. He’ll leave through the back when he’s done. Be careful until I return to take you home.”

  I kissed her again.

  “Okay. Be safe. I love you.”

  “I love you too. I’ll be fine.”

  I stepped back from her and met the gazes of both men. Angus stood a little taller. Nick was still green, but holding up okay.

  “The man I’m sending to see you will have two others with him. Their names are Simon, Guillermo, and Chance. They work for North Pack Security.” At their nod I returned it and turned back to Mia. “Liam will let them know what the deal is here and they’ll do what needs to be done.” My voice dropped again so only she and Jayden could hear me. “They’re human,” I met her gaze, “but work for my company. They’re the best alternative for now. I need a few hours to get them here.”

  “Okay. Just don’t have them making enemies.”

  I chuckled, leaned in to kiss her forehead, and wrapped my arms around her, giving her a tight squeeze. When I stepped back, I caught Jayden shaking her head. I poked her in the side as I walked by. She jerked and swatted at my hand. I wanted to tell her to have fun with her work area later, but I wasn’t ready to die. I wanted a good head start out of here before she saw I had messed with her bottles.

  “You two,” I gave both Angus and Nick a hard look, “keep my girls, erm, the girls safe. One hair out of place before I return,” I paused to keep the growl in before I continued, “and you will both be looking for a new job.”

  “Understood.”

  I gave Angus another nod, winked at Mia, and walked out. I had ten minutes to meet Ty in the parking lot. Ten minutes that I hoped Jayden spent in Mia’s office. She could be as scary as Mia when she wanted to be. I chuckled as the back door opened. I was going to hear about this later.

  10

  Mia

  As Dalton left, I couldn’t help but laugh as he poked Jay’s side and she pushed his hand away. He was the only shifter she was comfortable around, with reason, but I knew he was trying to keep her relaxed. Knowing Liam was in the next room would be making her uneasy, and I have to say, I relaxed when Dalton said that he was bringing these guys in before we resorted to the big guns. I didn’t want to think about that. I would put Jayden on leave before I forced her to deal with that before she was ready to.

  “Lou should be here with the order for the bar soon. Can you guys give him a hand, please, then get to work?” They gave me a nod and went to it. Jayden took their vacated seat and kicked her boots up on the desk. “Are you okay?”

  “Are you ever going to not ask me that?”

  “Not while I’m still breathing and D plans to keep that happening for a long time to come, so talk to me.”

  She made a face and shrugged. “I dunno. I’m a little on edge with him next door, but nothing too bad. I’m trying to remember that he’s a good guy and that dumbass would never do anything to put me in harm's way.”

  “No, he wouldn’t. Which brings me to the other thing. Are you gonna be okay if he needs to bring his pack in? I’m going to do my best to hold him off for as long as I can, but he isn’t going to muck around when it comes to you girls.”

  “I want to say we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

  “It’s not one of those situations, though.”

  “No. It’s not. I don’t know, maybe we should just up my dosage of Xanax or something.” She laughed. Shaking my head at her, I noticed that she relaxed a little.

  “Do you want to meet him? So you know who you are dealing with if you cross paths?”

  She was quiet for a minute, biting down on her lip before she nodded. I stood up and buttoned my jacket up. I took my phone from the desk, trying to ignore the fact that I was missing Dalton already. I knew he and Ty would be fine, but that never made it easier. Just like he knew I was fine here, last night being out of the ordinary, but he never relaxed until I was back home.

  “Oh, will you quit thinking about dumbass.”

  I swatted her arm. “I’m not.”

  She snorted and rolled her eyes. “You are, you’ve got a distant look on your face.”

  “Oh, bite me!”

  “No, thanks, I’ll leave that to the wolf.”

  I knocked on the door to the second office before I unlocked it. I didn’t want to just walk in there on him. I went in and Jay followed behind me, sticking close to the door.

  “Liam, sorry to disturb you, I just wanted Jayden to meet you. She’s my second in charge and bar manager. If she growls at you, don’t take it personally. She’s had to put up with D for three and a half years.” Liam chuckled and stood up, holding his hand out to Jayden. She slowly stepped forward and shook it.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Jayden. Don’t worry, unlike bossman, I’m the strong and silent type. He likes to keep me hidden in dark corners because he’s jealous of my good looks.” He winked at her and flashed me a smirk. Jay just laughed. She wasn’t completely relaxed, but she would get there.

  At least this way, if Dalton did bring in the boys, we could put Liam in the bar and hopefully keep the other ones away. I really wasn’t looking forward to that. I hoped that Dalton had the sense to talk to me before that happened so I could at least warn Jay and give her the option to take a night off. I also knew I was going to have to tell him why she is the way she is with other shifters, but it wasn’t a story I liked to repeat. Anytime I thought about how I found her, I wanted to go on a killing spree. I don’t really think that was a side he needed to see.

  Battling his ow
n monster was enough without dealing with mine too.

  “I am gonna tell him that you didn’t deny that, Mia.”

  “What’s that, Jay, you want me to go and swap your glasses around?”

  She glared at me. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “Try me, sweetheart.”

  Liam chuckled and took his seat. “He’s got his hands full with you two. While I have you, Mia, I need you to pick some new passwords. I’ve put an extra layer of firewalls that are impenetrable, but it needs a code, which will be your fingerprint, as such. That way if someone does try and get in, we can track it via theirs. I’m gonna keep looking through everything to see if I can find anything out of the ordinary.”

  “Alright, thanks, Liam. If you need anything, I’ll be next door or in the bar with Jay and the girls.” He gave me a salute and I turned to leave. “Come on, before the boys start putting the stock away and you can’t find anything.”

  Jay growled then turned and left the office. She headed straight for the bar while I went out to see about Lou. I wanted a copy of the order he brought so I knew what we actually got, and I needed to talk to him about a second delivery. If he couldn’t do it tonight, I hoped we had enough of everything and he could come back first thing tomorrow.

  Carrying the order back to my office, I heard cursing coming from the bar. Detouring there instead, I saw Jay at her end.

  “Mia! I am going to kill that son of a bitch and string him up by his toes!” I blinked and was a little taken aback.

  “Wait, which son of a bitch are we talking about before I sign off on that?”

  “YOURS!”

  I let out a small groan. “What did he do now?”

  “All my bottles are around the wrong way and the glasses have been moved! He steps foot in this bar, I’m going to kill him!”