The exhibit was a maze of displays tastefully placed about the warehouse, the lighting set in a way to bring out the best of each piece. I started with the watercolors, making note of which local artists were on display and what they did. I loved artwork, in particular those done in nature. I loved looking at the final project and scrutinizing it until I had all the thoughts of the artist out in the open. Every little decision teased out. My favorite part was finding the passion in the creation, bared for the entire world to see. Some pieces were nothing but emotions. Others felt more like a job.
My phone buzzed, and I grabbed it, glancing down at the text. Seeing Cecil’s name had me smiling.
Sorry, I couldn’t make it tonight! I swear, my coven knows when I have plans because they seem to always schedule our coven gatherings then.
I laughed and replied, It’s fine. I’ll catch you later, Baby-cakes.
A moment later, my phone buzzed. Make sure you eat.
I shook my head and tucked my phone away, going back to looking at everything.
After skimming over one piece that was beautiful but not to my tastes, I focused on the one next to it.
“You don’t like this piece?” A gruff voice asked. Landus stood right behind me, his heat and energy radiating off of him. He was lucky I heard him approach, otherwise, he might have found himself hurting. I didn’t respond well to sneaks.
I glanced at the piece he pointed to.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Everything here is beautiful. And you look like you know what you’re looking at. Why did you only give this piece a glance, while you spent at least a few minutes looking at the other ones around it?”
He didn’t seem offended so I knew he wasn’t the artist. Also, his name wasn’t Charlene, unless he was hiding something from me—though I had already seen him at his purest, and so he was definitely not female. He was all male. Charlene was not. It came out in her artwork. The softness around the edges, the delicate blending of the dark colors.
Landus continued to stare at me, waiting for my answer, as if truly interested in my thoughts.
“Stalking me now, Mr. Alpha?” I asked instead of answering him.
His eyes raked over my body, no doubt enjoying the way my black dress hugged my curves. “Just taking notice,” he murmured and looked back into my eyes.
Heat swirled through my body, and my legs were at risk of shaking with his words. Three words, and I was at the edge, ready to fall over with an orgasm.
“The work definitely belongs in the gallery. The blending is beautiful, the statement clear, but I’m not into industrial work. It’s harsh in its reality, but it isn’t a true representation. It’s a prediction of what I hope isn’t to come.”
“You don’t like technology.”
I shook my head. “It’s not that I hate it. I respect it. It gets what needs to be done, done, but I think there should be a limit to how far it can go.” I pointed at the artwork, my finger only inches away, not touching but close. “This is absolute domination. Industrialization. And not for the good. This is a dangerous beauty.”
“So what do you consider not dangerous beauty?”
I sighed and glanced around until I found the right section. “Follow me.” I strolled past everyone, ignoring some of the stares of the patrons who already knew me. I came to a photograph done from one of my favorite artists.
“This is natural beauty. Still fierce, but real and natural.”
“Death?”
I shrugged. “A harsh but beautiful one. It isn’t just about the dead body, but the woman mourning the death. Look at her expression, the rawness of it. These are emotions we have to deal with daily in our lives. Her suffering attracts us, just like how people slowly drive by a car accident to see what happened. They want a glimpse of a dead body and the artist gave us this. But the artist also gave us a glimpse of the aftermath.”
“What about nature?” he asked, his eyes still on me, trying to pull out all my little secrets. Too bad I wasn’t going to give them to him. Ever. Not even Cecil knew all of them.
“I love nature.”
“So this one?” He pointed to the photograph next to it.
I laughed, forgetting all about this piece and the ones that hung around it.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.” I shook my head. “It is beautiful. Breathtaking almost. But since I’ve seen the real deal, this photo will never be able to replace it.”
He was silent for a moment as I laid my hand on the wall, my fingers barely skimming the frame. The photo was a splash of intense colors. The trees were massive, stretching beyond what the camera was able to capture. The waterfall was gentle, falling over sparkling rocks. Yes, I saw the real place. One of my favorite sites to visit.
“Nys. Nyssa,” Landus mumbled as he read the black plaque underneath the photo. His eyes widened, and he turned to me.
“Yeah. I took this picture,” I said with a smug smile.
“You’re a photographer.”
I shrugged. “I travel a lot, so why not? I’m a regular contributor to this art gallery.” And the reason I had to come to this event.
“You surprise me, Nyssa.”
I glanced at him. He was turned to me, his gaze intense. My insides warmed up, and I imagined myself wrapped around him, feeling him against me, inside me. I inwardly sighed. He was their damn Alpha, or Prime, or whatever the hell his title was. I tried to stay away from those with power.
“Nyssa. Babe,” someone called, breaking the moment. I turned to the familiar voice and swore under my breath.
“Lyll,” I said respectfully as the tall, wiry man walked towards us. His brown eyes lit up as he took me in. “I didn’t know you attended these kinds of events.”
He shrugged and reached up to tuck a strand of his reddish-brown hair behind his ear. He had his shoulder-length hair pulled back in a low ponytail to keep it out of his face. “Rarely. My niece has a piece up.” He pointed in the direction he had just come from. “I’m her chaperone.”
“Tell her I said congrats.”
“Definitely.” He leaned over and kissed my cheek in a very familiar way. His woodsy scent washed over me. My body tensed until he pulled away from me. “I’ve been meaning to contact you. I was wondering if you would like to have dinner sometime.”
I sighed. Definitely not. “Lyll, you already know the answer to that. That isn’t how I work.”
His expression fell, and he looked over at Landus. His expression hardened as he looked between us. “Is he your next conquest?”
“That isn’t your business.”
“Would have been two weeks ago.”
“Even then, it wouldn’t have been. We aren’t anything. Accept it.”
“Really? That’s how this is going to be? Just a quick fling and then not even a goodbye.”
“I’m pretty sure I said goodbye.”
“You used shampoo on my mirror. You snuck off in the middle of the night without so much as a backward glance.” He got up into my personal space. Too. Fucking. Close.
I shoved him away from me and ignored a growl that came from the direction of Landus. “Do you really want to get into this, now, here? In front of your niece?”
He glanced over at the teenager who stared at us as if we were the latest reality show on TV.
“Forget it, Nyssa. You aren’t worth it.”
I laughed. “Glad you finally figured it out.”
He stomped off, and I turned back to the photographs, recollecting myself, drawing in my anger. How dare he? He knew from the beginning all I was looking for was a short fling. Give a man a few days, and he wants the rest of your life.
“So... Lyll.” Landus was trying to be carefully nosy, but he really sucked at it.
I snorted. “You say that like there is something between us. There isn’t.”
“Apparently he thought differently.”
“Are you going to get on my ass about relationships and people and blah
blah blah?”
“Nope. You’re an adult.” His eyes raked over me and my pussy clenched. His nose flared, taking in my aroused sent.
Before he could say anything else, someone tackled me from behind, small arms wrapping around my waist. The scent of jasmine and vanilla enveloped me. The tension in me quickly flew away. I almost flipped her over for sneaking up on me like that.
“Nyssa! Once again your work is all sold out!”
I grunted, patting her arm to get her to let go. When she did, I turned around with a warm smile. Alaina was one of the good humans. A tiny little thing with long, curly blonde hair and honey-colored eyes. She was my honey-bunny, radiating warmth and humming with energy practically twenty-four seven. In her early forties, she created a name for herself, which made it possible to build such a successful art gallery, attracting everyone from all over. Her gallery was a tourist spot for those who came to Teragona.
“That’s great, Honey-bunny,” I laughed as she practically jumped up and down.
When she finally settled down, she noticed we had company. Her eyes widened, her jaw dropped, and she slowly drank in the existence of Landus. It took her a while—there was a lot to take in.
“You’re new,” she finally said after shuddering in an orgasmic release. I knew how she felt. Every time he looked at me, I had the same reaction, and I’d only officially known him for all of an hour.
Landus smiled. “I’m Landus.”
They shook hands and then tapped her finger to her chin, whispering his name a couple of times. After the fourth time saying his name, recognition lit up her brain, and I could hear the sound of money as her eyes went bright. The other reason she was so successful was because of her skills as a saleswoman. She was a pro at selling, even to the stubborn ones. I’d seen her sell artwork to critics who had written bad reviews about said artwork.
I smirked and leaned towards him as she collected herself, already planning out her sales pitches. He leaned towards me, his energy playing along my skin in a gentle caress that only lovers did. I shivered but didn’t back away. If anything, I leaned closer.
“Better prepare your bank account. She’s going to have you picking out new pieces in a flash,” I said.
He chuckled and shook his head. “Maybe I should buy some of your pieces.”
“Her pieces have already sold, but I can show you similar ones.” Alaina grabbed his arm and tugged him away, to his surprise. I gave him a friendly wave before returning to my perusal.
The rest of the night was a success. I walked away with two new pieces, and I knew Landus had caved in and bought a piece or two. I saw him handing over his credit card as I was leaving.
I had just made it to my little car when a shuffle of shoes behind me caught my attention. Turning around, I crouched into my fighting stance, not liking how sneaky the person was trying to be as they approached me from behind. My hands were in position to tear apart whoever approached. I tugged on the warmth within, ready for a fight. The man took a couple of steps back.
“Nyssa, just me.”
Landus.
I straightened up slowly. “Don’t sneak up on me.”
He came closer and leaned forward, staring into my eyes, not even blinking.
“What?” I shuffled away from him, breaking eye contact first.
“Your eyes turned green. They’re normally a honey brown.”
“They do that when idiots try to sneak up on me.” And when I reached into that darkness within me and drew up the fire within it to help me fight, I wasn’t sure what the source of that darkness was. Most likely, it had to do with what I was. I just knew that when I used the warmth that came out of it, I could kick serious ass.
The corners of his mouth turned down as his eyes tried to find my secrets again. As a warning, I let my magic snap out at him. I didn’t want to play games with him.
“What are you?”
“A hopper.”
He shook his head. “Not what I mean.”
“I know.”
He scowled, his expression fierce. He leaned closer until I could feel his warm breath against my ear. “I will get your secrets, Nyssa. All of them.” His words were a purr and would probably make sense to me if I weren’t so distracted by the very scent of him. Something I hadn’t felt in a long time stirred inside of me, waking up from a very long slumber. When he backed off with a knowing look, I had to shake off the daze he put me in.
“Why are you trying to be a ninja in the parking lot?” There had to be a reason he was sneaking up on me like this.
His lips curled up in a smile, the amusement clear on his face. “I want your services.”
“Mine?” I eyed him suspiciously. The shifters never asked for my help. They were an extremely paranoid group and only trusted a handful of people outside of their group.
“Slade is very fond of you, and I’m confident in his opinions.”
I shifted gears, going into business mode. “And what do you need help with?”
“There’s a gate in our territory, and we can’t find it.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “How do you know it’s there then?”
“Because someone is getting into our territory, and as Alpha I know the very moment an enemy crosses our lines. These men are sneaking through somehow and using stealth to attack my pack.” His expression hardened, probably thinking about all his men who were hurt. Not dead though, because he wouldn’t be at an art exhibit. If there had been casualties, he’d be tearing his territory apart to find the gate and the men attacking them.
These intruders were gutsy. Even I wasn’t dumb enough to attempt to sneak into pack land. It was impossible, or at least should be. The shifters were old energy—very old energy— that had evolved into something else as the years passed. Nothing and no one should be able to make it past their barriers to attack the pack on their own land. While witches and mages were all about magic, shifters were about energy. Energy was their existence. It was as much a part of them as breathing.
“We’re having trouble tracking them.” He shook his head, the frustration coming out in the harsh movement. “They come in, hit hard and fast, and then disappear. They have to be using a gate. I want your expertise.”
“I don’t disagree with you about them using a gate.”
“So, will you help?” Was that hope in his voice?
I nodded. My sensitivity to gates would make the job faster and simpler. Plus, I really wanted to see their pack land. People went through a lifetime trying to see behind their barriers, but I was being invited right in. Connections really were a beautiful thing. I was sure if I wasn’t Slade’s bestie, then Landus wouldn’t have even bothered asking.
He grinned, his eyes sparking with something that sent a flutter through my stomach. He really was something. There were promises of my visit being more than just a job. I shook off the feeling and smiled back. No sex in two weeks made me horny as hell, and he looked like he knew exactly what to do with my little dry spell.
“See you tomorrow morning?”
He nodded. “Most definitely.”
“Great.” I turned my back to him and opened my car door, trying to hide the shaking in my hands, the anticipation humming through my body, and the excitement hammering at my chest.
A deep chuckle sent a shiver through my body as I climbed into my seat.
“Relax, Nyssa. I won’t let anyone eat you.”
I turned with wide eyes as he strolled back into the building. There was no pulling my gaze away from the way his jeans hugged his ass until he disappeared through the double doors and back into the gallery.
Shit. He was fucking with my senses and winning.
“Get a grip,” I growled to myself. I was made of tougher things than the mush he turned me into. No one, not even a mysterious and crazy hot shifter, was going to get me off my A-game. Two could play that way.
I got in the car and blasted the air conditioner, thoughts still on the way his eyes lit up as he flirted with me. Dam
n. He was smoldering, maybe too much. I pulled out of the parking lot, already looking forward to tomorrow despite it being for work.
Chapter Six
I remember crying. I was weak. My little hands were incapable of doing anything, and I hated that. I remember a man smiling down at me as he held a woman in his arms. He reached up to her head and twisted. A loud crack echoed through the air and imprinted itself into my memories.
—Nyssa’s Journal
The cast-iron steel gate to the pack land was only a front, just a reminder that I now faced the entrance. The real border was a barrier of old, watchful energy, waiting to deny anyone who didn’t have permission to cross or who held bad intentions. It stood about five feet away from the gate on the inside.
Only a few outside of the pack were allowed entrance. Cecil told me it was the highest honor to be allowed to cross into their lands. Shifters were hugely protective and territorial, their security the tightest around, surpassing even those of the High Council—a group of the top thirteen beings in Terra Firma who made the big decisions that affected those living among the humans. The shifters also made use of their location, the pack taking up the farthest land northeast of their territory. This made it easier to keep an eye on any incoming visitors because they were watched the moment they entered the shifter territory. The Woodlands sat on the other side of them. Spells kept the Woodlands beasts out, and no one was stupid enough to go into the Woodlands to try and sneak up on the shifters. Beings in this city weren’t that strong, and beings in the Woodlands didn’t care.
I still couldn’t grapple with the fact that someone was getting onto shifter land without setting off any of their warnings or traps. A gate was a perfectly good explanation, but they weren’t as easy to create as people believed. And then to create them through all the old energy of the land and hiding it. The creator had to be very powerful, someone to be wary of.
I waited in my car as the morning sun reached up into the sky, making the shadows in the woods even darker than before. The air conditioning ran just enough to keep the warmth from settling into my body. I already ran at a higher temperature than even the shifters, so more heat could get uncomfortable.
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