Shifter Romance: BODHI (LOST CREEK SHIFTERS NOVELLAS Book 4)

by Samantha Leal

  Fearing that this day would only bring with it the massacre of these people on this island, she rode on with a heavy heart.

  The road to the harbor was thronged with people surrounding them as they rode down to see the attacking fleet, where her brother awaited her. It had been arranged for them to parley on neutral ground on a small fishing boat not far off shore. As she approached the docks she could see the boat out near the harbor entrance.

  She boarded the simple vessel that would take her to him, Niyol by her side was all she needed. They left the loud cheering behind as they set off to the meeting with the Emperor, her brother. She wondered if she should trust this meeting, was it a trap? She had Niyol by her side but was she just leading him into danger too? If her brother was as powerful as these people believed, then they both may perish here today.

  The smell of the sea air and the wind on her face felt good, calming her nerves and somehow pushing aside her doubts. She liked the weather, all elements of it, sun, rain, wind and snow. She had always loved the feeling of whatever kind of day it was, in her modern world, weather felt so good on her skin.

  As they neared the rendezvous she could see a single figure stood on the deck of a boat. At last, there he was, and she was not impressed. He was not an old man, but nor was he a youth. Yet he carried his body like a young man. As they stood opposite each other, she could see the hatred in his eyes.

  “Sister,” he said, greeting her with the one word. “You are as beautiful as I have heard, I only hope you are also wise,” he threatened.

  “I cannot call you brother, as you don’t feel like a beloved brother,” she dared say to him.

  He laughed at her.

  “Nor can I call you Emperor,” she interrupted his laughter, “you are not my Emperor as I don’t have one,” she said, honestly. “I will simply call you traitor, and murderer,” she finished, not wanting this meeting to linger on.

  A deathly silence surrounded her, as those who could hear awaited the response of the Emperor. He looked at her and laughed again.

  “Such a shame that our first meeting should end in your death, and with it all the hopes of these foolish people gathered here. I shall kill you this day, sister,” he informed her. “Then you will not need to call me anything, as you will be no more.”

  With that he turned to go, but before he left he mumbled something under his breath and a dark ominous mood fell over her.

  “I leave you a gift, sister, I wish for you to see the people cower before me, before I kill you. I have cast the same spell that I cast on all of the islands, and I have you to thank for that. I have never been able to get so close to Citheera to enable me to enchant them fully, but now thanks to you, they will soon fall under my thumb. Observe, as your people all cower under my rule. Watch them,” he said, waving his hand at the island. “When you return I think you will find that you are, once again, alone.”

  Chapter 11 Discovery of Magic

  True to his word, the people had lost all hope as she returned to the island. His spell was spreading like a disease as she watched even the soldiers backing away. The people were leaving, they did not wish to battle any more.

  She turned to view the ships as they neared the harbor. This was it, this was how he simply took ahold of the people and its lands. It must use much of his energy to keep this evil deed going. Anger began to boil within her as she saw the self-same people, who only an hour ago were joyous and hopeful, become fearful and were now running. The elders remained unscathed by his spell, but what use would the old be in battle. Even Niyol remained untouched, yet he could not fight a battle single handedly, but she could.

  Yes, she knew now what she had to do. It was clear in her mind, so much so, that she wondered why she had ever been uncertain. The image of her parents came to mind, smiling over a new born baby girl, her. The kindness of her father’s face, the love in her mother’s eyes. For the first time in her life, she knew who she was, and what she was capable of.

  Now, it was time for revenge. She would rid this world of the evil Emperor, and no one would mourn.

  Niyol watched as his lover stood and raised her arms with an ethereal glow around her body, she emanated a power that had never been witnessed before. As she did so, the very air changed, the atmosphere felt heavy and clammy on his skin. The skies yellowed and black clouds suddenly covered the previously clear blue skies. The angry clouds surrounded the ships as lightening shot out of her raised fingers and into the darkened skies. He knew then what she was, and he knew that she would win this day. She was a Weather Mage, she could control the very seas, the skies, and the air within the world. It had been said that such mages were only myth, yet here he witnessed one, first hand.

  She stood on the harbor and controlled the skies. The waves began to rise, but not a single drop of water touched her body. The people witnessed their Princess as she crashed the waves into the Emperor’s ships, and he was powerless to stop her. His magic to control the minds of the weak would be of no use, with the forces of the elements crashing against his fleet. Niyol stood in the rain and rejoiced as he was drenched by the winds that howled around the harbor. Yet still, she stood in pure sunlight as she sank each and every ship, saving her brother’s until last. The people stood on the cliffs and watched in awe as the Emperor’s ship was risen in to the air by a huge maelstrom, and then it was spun around and around, until it smashed into millions of small pieces that fell across the sea. The Emperor was gone. Princess Tamara was truly their savior, how could they ever have doubted her?

  She collapsed onto the ground as the winds died down and the rains ended. The dark clouds dispersed instantly and the sun reached everywhere, hot rays cast a warm glow over the assembled people. Niyol rushed to her, bending down as he scooped her into his arms, before chanting his well versed words.

  The people witnessed her body guard lifting their leader from the ground, they gasped as they suddenly saw them disappear into thin air.

  ***

  Tammy awoke to the aroma of pizza. As she breathed in the wonderful smell of pepperoni and cheese, she could hear the television playing an animated film, one of her favorites. Lifting her head, she saw that Niyol was in the kitchen, singing along to the movie.

  She stood, her legs a little shaky, as she made her way to the kitchen and stood by his side. As soon as he saw her, he grabbed her in his strong arms, and swung her around and around.

  “You did it, by the gods you did it. The Emperor is no more, and the people are free.”

  “What about your world, Niyol, shouldn’t we be there celebrating?”

  “Our world, Princess Tamara, or should I say Queen Tamara? No, we are on holiday, leave it to the politicians to sort out the mess. We will be home soon enough. For now we have all the pizza we can eat, and you should see the supply of chocolate I have for you.”

  She leaned her head on his strong shoulder, she loved pizza and chocolate, but most of all, she loved Niyol.

  THE END

  Wanted by Aliens

  Samantha Leal

  Copyright ©2015 by Samantha Leal. All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  1.

  The restaurant was quiet for a Friday night and Chantel lazily loitered out the back of the fire escape, looking up at the stars. She had been waiting for almost half an hour, and even though it had been all over the news that there was supposed to be a meteor shower happening that evening, she hadn’t seen one shooting star as she watched the heavens.

  “You still skiving?” Ben said as he came out of the back door of the kitchen and lit up a cigarette. He was pretty cute for a man who spent most of his day surrounded by raw meat and cooking grease, but as Chantel had gotten to know him over the months she had realized there was more to him than met the eye.
Ben had a quiet, thoughtful side that allowed him to be ever so mysterious… and even though Chantel knew better than to get involved with someone from work, she quite liked to day dream that maybe one day her and Ben may have some kind of future away from the restaurant.

  “I’d hardly call it skiving, have you seen it in there? It’s dead,” she laughed.

  “Yeah I know,” Ben exhaled a plume of smoke up into the night. “Lucky us, at least we’re not being overworked as well as underpaid.”

  He winked and Chantel gave him a coy smile.

  She had been working at Carlo’s for around three months, ever since her parent’s had gotten a divorce and cut off her allowance. She was finally out on her own after years of privileged and uncomplicated living. She had worried at first about affording it all whilst still studying at college, but luckily her friend Sarah had managed to land her a waitressing job at one of the best known Italian’s in town, and even though the money was pretty terrible, she made sure that she always had a big smile on her face to ensure good tips.

  “Yeah I’m glad it’s quiet,” she said. “I’m tired tonight.”

  “What?” Ben laughed. “On a Friday? What kind of college girl are you? You should be leaving here in an hour, slapping on a high pair of heels and a tiny skirt and hitting the town!”

  Chantel laughed and shook her head.

  “If only my life was that exciting…” she trailed off and looked back up to the sky again to check if there was any meteor activity. A few stars twinkled brightly, but apart from that the whole black expanse above her was pretty clear.

  She sighed and brushed a strand of hair back into her ponytail.

  “Well,” she said as she slid down off the crates and smoothed down her skirt. “I better get back to it.”

  She slapped Ben playfully on the shoulder and smiled at him as she walked by. She could sense his eyes on her until she got inside and she felt a rush of lust creep up inside of her. It was obvious that their crush was mutual, and it certainly made her nights at work all that little more exciting.

  She made her way through the kitchen, past the rest of the chefs and out of the double doors into the restaurant. Carlo, the owner was sat up at the bar, drinking a bottle of beer and lamenting the poor turn out of customers.

  “If we carry on like this, I honestly don’t know what we’ll do,” he said miserably.

  “It’s nearing the end of the month,” Chantel said hopefully. “People are probably just waiting to get paid.” She didn’t even know if she believed herself, but she could only try and keep morale high.

  “I hope you’re right,” Carlo said as he turned to look at her. She smiled sympathetically and made her way behind the bar where she started stacking glasses into the dishwasher before wiping down the countertops. She didn’t even know why she was trying to reassure Carlo. She knew fine well that should trade not pick up she would be the first one to go. Last one in… First one out. That was how it went, and to date she was still the newest member of the team.

  “You hooking up with Sarah later?” Carlo asked from over the rim of his beer bottle.

  Even though Carlo was married, he and Sarah had been involved at some point or another. Chantel had never got the full details of their affair but she knew it hadn’t exactly ended well. Carlo had wanted to keep her on the side, but Sarah had had enough.

  “Umm…” Chantel stalled, unsure of what to tell him. “Probably when I get back to our dorm.”

  “It’s Friday,” he snorted. “Surely you girls have something planned?”

  Chantel shrugged and bit her bottom lip. She didn’t want to drop Sarah in it in case they were still seeing each other and she was out on a date. Or worse, if Carlo had suddenly decided to become possessive and track her movements. The last thing Sarah would want is to lose her job at the restaurant.

  “Well tell her I said hello anyway,” he yawned with disappointment. “You may as well get yourself home. No point in waiting around here in this ghost town.”

  Chantel checked the clock on the wall. It was only nine-thirty.

  “Are you sure?” she asked.

  “Yup,” Carlo took another swig of his beer. “See you tomorrow.”

  He slid off his stool and made his way toward the kitchen door.

  Chantel didn’t need to be told twice. Without wasting a moment she pulled off her apron, clocked out on her timesheet and grabbed her jacket and purse. As she ran through the kitchen she waved goodbye to Ben and he winked at her as she passed.

  They were definitely going to end up together. Even though she knew it was risky with them being colleagues, she decided right then and there that she was going to make him hers.

  2.

  “Ben the chef?” Sarah asked as she opened a bottle of wine and poured them both a glass. “Ew,” she said as she shuddered her shoulders.

  “What do you mean ‘ew’?” Chantel laughed.

  “I don’t know. He just doesn’t do it for me.” Sarah shrugged.

  “Oh what and older, boring, balding Carlo does?” Chantel rolled her eyes.

  “Shhh,” Sarah hushed. “We never mention him again.” she reached over and pulled a red lipstick out of her vanity case before she held it up to her lips.

  “He was asking about you,” Chantel said quietly as she took a sip of her own wine. “Wanted to know if we were out anywhere tonight.”

  “Oh I bet he did,” Sarah cringed. “He’s not exactly taking the hint.”

  “Well I didn’t tell him anything.”

  “Good,” Sarah smiled. “Especially seeing as we have a wild party to go to I suppose.”

  “Yep,” Chantel unrolled her last curler and flicked her hair.

  She hadn’t known about the party until she had left the restaurant and made her way back to the dorm. Sarah had been off work all week and had heard from one of the girls down the hall that there was a big house party off campus and that all of the girls in their year had been invited.

  “So who’s party is it?” she asked Sarah as she picked up her curling tongues and added to the gentle bounce of her blonde hair.

  “No idea,” she shrugged. “But I’ve heard that apparently whoever this guy is, he’s had them before and they’re pretty wild.”

  “Oh great,” Chantel laughed.

  Her life had been so quiet of late, she could do with some excitement.

  “It’s just what we need,” Sarah said as if she had read Chantel’s mind. “You’ve been saying lately how boring things are around here. Maybe tonight something exciting will happen.”

  Chantel smiled and wished with all of her might that Sarah was right. She had felt low of late and knew that letting her hair down and enjoying herself could lift her mood.

  She looked in her closet and ran her hands along the selection of dresses she had in the left hand corner.

  “Red or black?” she asked Sarah.

  “Red,” Sarah grinned. “For sure. With those blonde curls and this red lipstick you’ll be like a 50’s starlet.”

  Chantel nodded and took the lipstick from her roommate. If there was one thing she knew she could depend on Sarah for, it was a keen eye for what looked good and an honest opinion.

  As she slipped into her tight, red dress and strapped on her heels she felt sexier than she had felt in a long time. She was ready to go out, meet new people and have some fun, and she was determined to make the most of it.

  Life at college hadn’t been as exciting as she had hoped, but it was all about new experiences, so she was glad to be getting off campus and exploring a new part of town, with hopefully a new set of people.

  “Okay,” Sarah said as she picked up her purse and downed the last of her wine. “Let’s go, don’t want to get there too late and find out all the hot guys are taken.”

  Chantel laughed and followed her to the door. She pulled on her coat and then the two girls made their way out into the hall and down the stairs to the main door of their building. As they walked across the quad
Chantel felt a buzz that she hadn’t felt in a long time. She was excited and felt it was the kind of night where anything was possible and anything could happen.

  They hailed a cab, jumped inside and headed off campus and across town. When they pulled up at the house and paid the cab driver her anticipation was growing with each passing second and she couldn’t wait to get in there.

  The sound of music thumped out from the house and along the ground, in ran under their feet and made their whole bodies vibrate. They could see from the outside that the house was jam packed with people, and for a townhouse it lit up the whole street with the amount of lights bouncing around in each of the windows and shining different shades of pinks and blues.

  “God knows what’s going on it there,” Chantel laughed.

  “Well we’re about to find out,” Sarah grinned.

  She took hold of Chantel’s hand and led her across the street. As they began to climb the steps to the front door Chantel had an overwhelming feeling that they should turn and run for home. Even though she had wanted excitement, now that she had it right in front of her, she was nervous and didn’t know whether she had the confidence to walk into a house full of people she had never met.

  Sarah rang the doorbell and within a few moments the door opened wide and a handsome man with a tanned, muscular torso and an open shirt stood there with a glinting smile on his face.

  “Welcome girls,” he said smoothly. “Please, do come on in.”

  3.

  He was so incredibly good looking that Chantel was sure she saw Sarah’s jaw hit the floor out of the corner of her eye. The host led them inside and through a maze of hot bodies, into the packed kitchen and got them a drink of ice cold vodka and lime.