by M F Adele
He advanced, his shoulders bulking up in size as he tried to separate me from Murphy. But my twin was having none of that today.
My brothers were ridiculously protective of me. Normally it would bother me, but as the supe crowded me into the table behind me, I was thankful for their aggressiveness.
Murph sidestepped, making it look like he was trying to get away from the altercation. The henchman reached out to grab me, and my twin snatched a fork off the nearby table.
The moment the strange supe’s fingertips brushed my forearm, Murphy stabbed him. He sank the prongs of the fork into the soft flesh of his neck, and blood oozed out of the holes with every beat of the male’s heart.
We darted out of the restaurant, onto the busy footpath
“Millie, we need to call Palmer,” Murphy urgently whispered, peering over his shoulder.
He had a bruising grip on my left elbow, dragging me through the crowds as he steadily picked up our pace until we were running. I fumbled with the zipper of my small purse, finally opening it enough to pull my cell phone out.
Facial recognition was a magical thing, and as my screen came to life, I pressed the side button.
“Call George.”
I held my breath as the line began to ring.
Murphy tugged us into a boutique, scanning the corners for cameras as he smarted, “If my name is still Fred, I’ll leave ya here.”
“Shut it,” I hissed as the call connected.
“Palmer?”
“Hel—” Briggs started before registering the panic in my voice. “Millie? Is everything okay?”
“No.” I fought to not scream at him.
My twin snatched the phone from me. “What the fuck is Palmer doing? Some butch assassin-looking guy found Mills and me. He wanted to know where Palmer is.”
“He, uhm. He asked Sloane to burn some sort of tracker off his skin,” Briggs replied. “He can hear you.”
“Ma’s on a work trip in Russia, Palmer, so either we’re coming to you or you’re coming to us. This is about the angel, isn’t it?” I murmured into the speaker.
Murphy ushered me through the store and down a narrow hall to the back door of the building.
“Tell her we’ll be there before nightfall,” a woman whispered in the background. “We need to wait until you've heard a little more before we travel.”
“Who is that?” Murph asked, and I shrugged. How the fuck was I supposed to know?
“Your brother’s mate,” Briggs admitted. I could hear the smile on his face as he also confessed, “Our mate, but stop asking questions, Murphy. We can explain later.”
“Millie,” Palmer said, coughing before he continued. “Ya need to get to the guild. We’ll be comin’ through the Void.”
I heard a sigh before the woman said, “Tell them that Sloane King is coming and you have a meeting with her.”
“That’s it?” Murphy asked in annoyance. “Ye want us to just sit and wait for some woman to maybe show up?”
“No, arsehole,” Palmer bit out, his voice sounding stronger.
Her light laughter echoed around us so clearly that I wondered if it was from my phone’s speaker or in my head. Murphy’s eyes widened as he scratched at his jaw.
He’d heard it too.
The call ended abruptly, and I stared at my screen in a state of shock. That couldn’t be it. What if that male followed us to the guild?
I felt a tap in my mind, and Murphy jumped, knocking a stack of boxes over. We rushed out the back door of the boutique as a raspy voice filled our thoughts. I could almost make out the features of her face as she spoke.
“I want you to wait for me in my mother’s office, Murphy. Sneak past the reception area; go straight to the door with Amelia King’s name on it. There’s a book in there that I think you’ll find interesting, Miller. It’s out of place, though. Could you put it back where it goes for me?”
Her presence disappeared with a flash of pink light, and I wasted no more time. If Palmer trusted her, then that was enough for me. He had never led us astray.
I hooked my arm around Murphy’s elbow. As he opened the door, I pulled us into the Void. We stepped out inside the front waiting area, and the elder mage at the desk didn’t look up as she handed us a clipboard.
“We have a meeting with Sloane King. She said to let you know that she’s on her way.”
“Of course, she did. Please fill out the forms, and I’ll direct you to the department you need to talk to.”
My twin opened his mouth to dispute her, but I interrupted him. “Thank you, ma’am.”
“What are we doing, Millie?”
“Getting inside. Give me a minute.”
I used the clipboard to cover my hand, focusing on the screws in the desk chair. I twirled my index finger counterclockwise, straining my ears to hear the hardware hit the ground.
The top portion of her chair tipped over, and she tumbled to the ground. Murphy and I jumped, shouting, “Sorry,” as we darted through the door behind her.
Two elevators were positioned at the other end of the entry room. As we scanned the vague directory posted between them, the woman in the reception area shrieked.
I jabbed at the up button until the doors pinged open, then we rushed in. I hit the close button as the male with yellow eyes ran at us.
“What do we do?” Murphy asked, heaving breaths as he tried to calm himself.
“We go up, Murph. The top level wasn’t listed in the directory. That’s where the Kings’ offices will be.”
When we pressed the sixth floor, a computer animated voice asked for us to state our name. I turned wide eyes to Murphy, nodding my head for him to step in.
“Palmer Lynch,” he said into the speaker, and the elevator whirled to life, climbing to the top of the building.
The sixth floor hallway had exactly seven doors.
Only one was labeled.
We entered Amelia King’s office, immediately noticing that everything except her books were boxed up. They’d moved her things from the original building when they finished the construction on this one, but the boxes weren’t important.
I scanned the shelves, reading all the titles and looking for patterns or some sort of organization. An entire bookcase was dedicated to supernatural species, but everything was alphabetized and there were no gaps.
There was an empty spot on the shelf of dark magic books, so whatever I needed to put back in order must belong there… but what was it?
I browsed the spines, running the tip of my index finger over each and every book on the shelves until I found one that I knew was in the wrong place.
Murphy scoffed at me when I picked up the book titled Hard Men. “Now isn’t the time to be readin’ romance stories, Mill.”
“It’s not romance,” I remarked, rolling my eyes as I wiped the dust off the cover.
I turned my head, meeting my twin’s gray gaze as I whispered, “It’s an acronym for The History and Rarity of Dark Magic Enthralling Nightwitches.”
I eased the book onto the shelf, slipping the edges of the pages into the open slot. When it was in its rightful place, the bookshelf settled as if it were finally complete.
The seams between the two shelves began to glow with a blinding white light as they parted. I didn’t know where it led to, but I trusted Palmer with my life. And by extension, I would trust his mate.
I took a deep breath as I threaded my fingers through Murphy’s…
And we stepped into the swirling portal together.
Character Information
Sloane King
Hybrid - Druid Princess - High Coven Mistress - Third Devil - Supreme Alpha
York Briar
Druid - Druid Prince
Novak Malin
Vampire - High Coven Master
Stone Embers
Demon (Arch) - Third Devil’s Equal
Briggs Elliott
Shifter (Dire wolf) - Supreme Alpha
Palmer Lynch
&nb
sp; Mage (Light)
Vaughn Winterson
Winter Fae - Winter Prince
Jack Steed-King
Demon (Hellsteed) - Sloane’s best friend - Blaire’s mate
Grim
Grim Reaper - Jack’s boyfriend - Blaire’s mate
Atlas, Cronus, & Helios
Hellhounds - Sloane’s pack
Pete
Pedmar - Sloane’s pack
Franklin
Vampire - Sloane’s assistant - Weapons master
Samuel/Sam King
Demon-Angel hybrid - Second Devil of Hell - Sloane’s papi
Charles/Charlie King
Shifter (Dire wolf) - Previous Supreme Alpha - Sloane’s dad
Nathaniel/Nate King
Vampire - Previous High Coven Master - Sloane’s father
Lucifer/Lucy
Fallen Angel - First Devil of Hell - Sloane’s grandfather
Lilith/Lil
Mother of Demons - First Devil’s Equal - Sloane’s grandmother
Dolyn Drake
Demon (Incubus/Nightmare) - Weapons master - Ripley’s mate
Hyland/Hyde Drake
Demon (Succubus/Basilisk) - Third Devil’s Apprentice
Blaire Malin
Vampire - Novak’s older sister
Baylor Elliott
Shifter (Dire wolf) - Briggs’ younger brother - Blaire’s mate
Ripley Wallace
Shifter (Dire panther) - Briggs’ cousin
Ozlo Ness
Skinwalker - Ripley’s mate
Tiago Vilar
Djinn (Genie) - Ripley’s mate
Arwen Osman
Demon-mage (Necromancer) - Hyde’s mate
Farris Reynolds
Wraith - Private Investigator
Miller Lynch
Mage (Dark - Nightwitch) - Palmer’s younger sister - Murphy’s twin
Murphy Lynch
Mage (Dark - Warlock) - Palmer’s younger brother - Miller’s twin
Dead Characters
Reagan Winterson
Vaughn’s father - Winter Fae King
Jin Embers
Stone’s father
Dara Embers
Stone’s mother
Warren Elliott
Briggs’ father
Ruth Elliott
Briggs’ mother
Kelvin Moore
Vampire-mage hybrid - Kadence’s brother - Boss at campground
Taylor Caplin
Stalker - Son of CBP’s previous owner
Kadence Moore
Vampire-mage hybrid - Kelvin’s sister - Vampyre council member
Gideon
Vampire - Sloane’s ex
Satan
Demon (Arch)
Hannibal Steed
Demon (Hellsteed) - Jack’s biological father
Blue
Demon (Gorgon)
Katie
Mountain lion - Briggs’ ex
Anna Stanley
Dire wolf - Briggs’ ex
Also by MF Adele
The Chronicles of Sloane King
Druid Dreams
Vampire Visions
Demon Demands
Shifter Situations
Mage Massacres - Spring 2021
Book 6 - Summer 2021
Book 7- Late Summer 2021
The Royal Celestials
The Forge Queen - April 2021
A standalone co-write with R.L. Caulder
About the Author
M.F. Adele resides in the outskirts of the Rocket City in Alabama. She lives in her overactive imagination, often fueled by caffeine and no sleep. When she isn’t writing, M.F. is outdoors with her family, obsessing over spicy margaritas and cigars, or reading books by her favorite authors.
If you’re looking for M.F. Adele, you can find her on social media in her group:
M.F. Adele’s Hellacious Hybrids.
M.F. loves to interact with her readers, hear character theories, and share embarrassing stories.
Continue Sloane’s story in Mage Massacres - The Chronicles of Sloane King book 5.
Author’s Note
Congratulations!
You are now past the halfway mark in The Chronicles of Sloane King!
Can you believe it?
I can’t.
I’m going to keep this short and sweet.
Thank you for reading Shifter Situations.
Your continued support means the world to me.
If you found yourself entertained, please consider recommending this series to your reading buddies, friends, and family.
*Just kidding about the family part…
Unless they’re into this sort of thing… or you want me to send an “anonymous package” to your mother-in-law for shits and giggles.