A Shifter's Yearning

by Evelyn Lederman

  Annie sat beside him and leaned into his body. “I understand there’s bad blood between father and daughter. I overheard Chase talking to Pati this afternoon when I was in the mercantile store.”

  Chase, a werewolf, had married the female alien. Almost immediately, she announced her pregnancy.

  “Harmony’s terrified of animals,” Billings shared. “Can you imagine what will happen if her babies turn into wolves?”

  “Fortunately, werewolves don’t have their first transformations until they’re teenagers,” Annie added. “But with this pairing, you never know.”

  Marc sat back, clearly amused by the conversation Billings had with the vampire’s soul mate. Annie had changed Marc’s solitary life. He couldn’t help but be jealous of what the couple had.

  Trolls lived lonely lives. Scorned by humans and supernatural beings alike. It would take a miracle for his life to change for the better. His vision pretty much eliminated any chance of that ever happening.

  Chapter 3

  Elle gawked at the number of supernatural beings walking the streets of Magic while her Uber driver searched for a parking spot. No one seemed to look twice at the gargoyle who crossed in front of them. He actually waved.

  Her human driver didn’t seem at all impacted by the encounter. Something appeared very different about Magic.

  He found a spot not too far from where she’d meet her landlady. Because of the last minute decision and the popularity of the quaint town, she couldn’t find a standard hotel room. Through supernatural backchannels, she found a room being let in a private residence.

  She’d paid the driver the agreed upon price at the airport. He had another fare heading to Albuquerque and retrieved her luggage from the trunk. Before heading to the restaurant, she inhaled a deep breath to calm her nerves.

  The hostess met her as soon as she walked through the door. Each table had a gingham tablecloth and a single rose in a bud vase. She could tell the type of food the establishment served without looking at the menu.

  “I’m here to meet—” A woman with a hand full of menus cut her off.

  “Right this way,” the hostess said.

  Rather than challenge the self-assured woman, Elle followed. The front room bustled with activity. Her eyes surveyed the occupants looking for a woman who sat alone.

  The hostess opened a door at the rear of the room and directed her inside. A second room of patrons occupied a similarly decorated area, but the clientele was quite different. Dwarfs and elves populated a number of the tables. The human-appearing beings must have been shifters and witches. Quieter conversations were held compared to the room occupied by tourists.

  As she and the hostess neared a table, a brunette stood. “Hi, I’m Prue. Welcome to Magic.” She extended her arm and the two women shook hands.

  The hostess left her a menu and walked away without another word. Most hostesses would have at least wished their customer a nice meal.

  “Don’t mind her,” Prue said as if reading her thoughts. “Tonight is a full moon and her husband is a werewolf. He’ll have certain appetites if you know what I mean.”

  Elle didn’t. She’d lived her whole life in Eclipse and hadn’t ventured outside the Sierra Madres. She knew other supernatural beings existed, but knew nothing about them. Eclipse shielded shifters, protecting their secrets.

  “How can you live in the open like this?” Elle couldn’t hold back asking. She couldn’t believe Jeffrey regularly visited this odd town.

  “We’ve got a protection spell surrounding Magic,” Prue informed her. “To humans, they only see other humans, not their true forms. Since you’re a supernatural being, you’ll see us for what we are.”

  “Are you a shifter?”

  Prue shook her head. “I’m a mage.” She continued with an explanation after taking in Elle’s blank expression. “You can consider me an elemental witch, if that’s easier. Rather than compiling potions to cast spells, I use the power of Earth’s elements.”

  She couldn’t understand why Prue wanted to meet at the restaurant, unless she needed an excuse to eat out.

  Elle leaned forward. “Is there something about your house I should know?”

  A light laugh escaped Prue. “The house, no. My husband, absolutely. He’s an alien.”

  “From South America?” Elle had been disappointed by Prue’s answer. She thought maybe her husband carried the werewolf curse, and tonight being a full moon, other arrangements would have to be made for her.

  Contagious laughter came from Prue this time. “He’s not an illegal alien, although, I guess technically he is. My husband is an extraterrestrial being.”

  Her jaw dropped at the news. She’d imagined a variety of creatures, but not an entity from another planet.

  “I thought it best to warn you,” Prue said. “It’s not the kind of thing you can put in an e-mail.”

  She nodded, still not capable of speech. To cover her discomfort, Elle picked up and studied the menu. As she expected, salads, finger sandwiches, and quiches dominated the offerings. Not a single fried item, not even a hamburger.

  Like many horse shifters, Elle maintained a vegetarian diet. The grilled vegetable platter struck her fancy.

  When she looked up from the menu, Prue’s eyes were focused on something behind her. Automatically, she turned and groaned at the sight of the man heading in their direction. He dwarfed everyone and everything in the room.

  The black haired hunk of a man stood before their table. She couldn’t tell the color of his eyes because of the dark sunglasses he wore.

  “Elle, this is my husband Dreyden. He’s from the planet Glacier.”

  Dreyden removed his gloves and offered his hand in greeting. “I’m glad we were able to accommodate you. We were spared getting into a family squabble once you became our guest. Harmony’s father will stay with them.”

  The alien sat and removed his glasses. His eyes were light blue and shimmered. With the protection spell, she wondered why he covered his beautiful irises.

  “My husband exaggerates,” Prue said, “but we’re thrilled to be hosting you. There’s a female alien in Magic. Harmony works at the space port with my husband. Her father is coming for a visit. The poor thing has been on edge about it.”

  With aliens living in Magic, she shouldn’t be surprised a space port existed. Did the protection spell extend into the atmosphere?

  Her problems associated with Jeffrey now seemed awful small. She had a hard time taking everything in. It overwhelmed her.

  Three glasses of wine were delivered. She didn’t know who ordered them, but she’d be happy to drink it. A third of its contents was gone by the time she placed her glass on the table.

  “Do you understand why I wanted to meet here?” Prue winked at her before she took her first sip of wine. “After lunch, I thought we’d stop by the mercantile store so you can meet Pati and Danyal. He’s the pride leader of our jaguar shifters. I understand Eclipse is home to a variety of shifter clans and I thought it would be nice to know you’re not alone. Dreyden will take your suitcase to the house.”

  She was touched by Prue’s consideration. These people weren’t her friends yet, but she no longer felt isolated. She hoped they weren’t close to Jeffrey’s mistress.

  When their waitress returned, they ordered and continued to drink their wine. She turned down a second glass. For the time being, she wanted her wits about her. After the confrontation, she’d get plastered before heading home.

  Within forty minutes, they were served and consumed their meals. Conversations flowed easily, not forced. In an odd way, she felt at home.

  Prue led them across the street and down a block after leaving the restaurant. The sign in front of the shop just said Mercantile Store. She guessed if the business changed hands, they wouldn’t have to put up new signage.

  After they entered, Prue led them directly to a large black man with a warm smile. Danyal had an accent she couldn’t quite place. Since she wasn’t planning o
n spending any significant time in Magic, she didn’t ask him where he hailed from.

  A loud booming voice from behind captured her attention. His tone reverberated, as if they were in a cave.

  “I wish Billings wouldn’t gossip about Harmony’s father’s visit to Magic,” Prue commented. “She’s already on edge. I dread to think what would happen if the gossip got back to her.”

  Something inside Elle snapped. The gossip brought her back to when she first learned the truth about Jeffrey.

  She charged around the corner and entered the aisle where a large, hulking man shrouded in a robe stood and conversed with a short blonde. His size didn’t surprise her because of the characteristics of his voice.

  Elle reached up and slapped the man across the face. She gazed at startled gray eyes. Through those eyes, she felt she saw his soul.

  Chapter 4

  Billings’s cheek barely felt the woman’s slap, but sensations cascaded through his body at her touch. He’d fallen in love with countless women, but no one impacted him in this fashion. It took him a moment to recover from her assault.

  The woman stared at his face. She appeared captivated, not repelled. By this point, most women would be screaming and pulling back in terror. Not this one.

  “Do you realize how your gossiping impacts others?” She pointed her finger at him, letting it bob back and forth during her tirade. He felt like a wayward toddler.

  Her light brown eyes lit with passion. He couldn’t pull his gaze off her. What would she look like at the height of pleasure?

  The woman possessed a complexion kissed by the sun, bringing out the darker brown flecks in her eyes. Although he continued to stare at her face, he’d noted her long legs as she approached.

  He picked up her distinct scent to determine what supernatural community she belonged to. Either way, she had to be a new arrival. Billings would have remembered if he’d seen her before.

  There had to be a story behind her attack and it had nothing to do with him. Someone had hurt this woman and she had unresolved issues. He’d become the focus of her anger.

  She glared at him, not the troll before her. He found the concept refreshing. In all likelihood, she would have attacked a handsome man as well.

  “Leave poor Billings alone,” Prue said.

  He hadn’t noticed the mage. If he had, he would have left the mercantile store immediately. Billings found it hard to be in the same room with her. She projected massive amounts of elemental power.

  His assailant’s eyes widened with the realization she’d attacked a perfect stranger. She became unsteady on her feet. He still didn’t know her name.

  Her chestnut colored hair glistened in the artificial store light. He wondered how it would look in the sun’s rays. Everything about her fascinated him.

  When she stepped away, Billings grabbed her arm. “Please, I must know your name.” He berated himself because of the pleading nature of his delivery. He didn’t want to convey his desperation.

  Prue stepped between them. “I don’t know what type of enchantment you’re under, but my friend has set something off. The air is charged with elemental energy. Based on what little I’ve heard about your history, I assume it’s a love spell.”

  Billings stood frozen in place. Prue’s aim had been perfect. Part of the enchantment that cursed his life involved him falling in love with women who could never return his feelings. He’d changed his name to commemorate the last place he’d succumbed to the spell, hoping it would remind him to tread carefully.

  The mage grabbed her friend’s hand and walked toward the exit. She turned to give him one last piece of advice. “Stay away from her. She’s my guest and I won’t have her harassed by magic.”

  He hadn’t realized the spell re-activated until Prue’s words woke him to the fact. The favorable thoughts he had toward the woman had been forced upon him. In all the years that followed being cursed, he could never differentiate between how the spell affected him and his own feelings or observations.

  A warm arm wrapped around his shoulders. He craned his neck to see Danyal Zabare, the powerful jaguar pride alpha, stand beside him. “You did nothing to be ashamed of. I consider your control after the slap to have been admirable. A lesser man would have returned the attack.”

  “You wouldn’t have,” Billings replied.

  Danyal smiled. “I’m not a lesser man. The woman’s name is Elle Thomas. She’s from a shifter community in California. That’s all the information I have on her.”

  He knew something else. The woman hated gossips. When he found himself in her company, he’d have to watch his mouth. Regardless of Prue’s warning, he planned to spend as much time as he could with her.

  Curious, he asked, “What type of shifter is she?”

  “A horse shifter,” Danyal replied.

  The answer shook him to his core. Images of a horse and energy orb re-emerged from his subconscious. His visions normally meant chaos would soon descend on whoever would be adversely touched by fate.

  Still shaken after assaulting a stranger, Elle mindlessly followed Prue. Her first several hours in Magic had been memorable and she hadn’t laid eyes on Jeffrey’s mistress as of yet.

  “That poor man,” Elle muttered to herself. “How can I ever face him again?”

  Prue stopped walking and the mage’s probing eyes settled on her. “If you’re lucky, you won’t. There’s something wrong with that troll. I’ve just never been able to figure out what.”

  Whatever Prue said didn’t register in her mind. “Did you say Billings is a troll?”

  Her companion frowned. “You didn’t notice what he was?” Prue scratched her head. “I guess you’ve never seen one before.”

  To her recollection, she’d never come across a troll, but all she noticed about Billings were his eyes. All the other characteristics of his face were lost to her. Not knowing Prue well, she didn’t confess the extent of her observations or the lack thereof.

  A wave of homesickness swept over her. Elle felt like a fish out of water. Maybe if she got settled in her room, she’d feel better.

  “Is your house far from here?” she asked.

  The size of Magic’s downtown seemed comparable to Eclipse’s, but most of the shifters lived in the surrounding mountains. It appeared Magic’s residents lived in town rather than the desert.

  “About four blocks away,” Prue replied. “We can head over there now if you’d like.”

  She nodded her consent. The short walk would help to clear her mind.

  Her errant thoughts continued to return to Billings. She struggled with why she hadn’t seen a clear image of his face. His dark gray eyes bewitched her. When the sky was that color, she knew a storm would soon descend.

  There were various shops they passed along the way she’d like to explore before she headed home. Her shoulders tensed after they passed the clothing store Jeffrey’s mistress owned. She kept her gaze forward, not wanting to get a glimpse of the woman.

  Before she confronted her, she wanted to have everything scripted in her mind. She’d written and discarded several drafts already. It proved to be a thin line between outrage and playing the victim. Jeffrey’s mistress could never know how much she’d hurt her.

  They turned off the main drag and after another block of shops and offices, they entered a residential neighborhood. A variety of adobe-style and frame homes populated the street.

  After two blocks, they walked up the drive of an enormous frame dwelling. A large porch furnished with cushioned wicker furniture made the house inviting from the start.

  “My grandmother lived her,” Prue shared. “I moved back to Magic a year ago. Originally, I planned to sell the house and return to Chicago. A variety of factors caused me to stay.”

  Prue didn’t elaborate and Elle didn’t ask. Unlike her hostess, she had no plans to remain in Magic.

  But she couldn’t get her mind off Billings. His eyes drew her in. She didn’t understand her attraction to the suppose
dly ugly troll.

  Like many women, a handsome face blinded her to certain character flaws in men. Had signs been there regarding Jeffrey and she hadn’t noticed them? Elle believed she had a pleasant face, but Jeffrey turned women’s heads. Her ignorance made her believe he didn’t look back, let alone sleep with them.

  They headed up a wooden staircase to the second floor and Prue showed her the room she’d temporarily call home. Her suitcase sat on a luggage rack, ready for her to unpack. A glass of red wine had been placed on the night stand.

  “Looks like Dreyden got you all settled before he headed for work,” Prue said. “Dinner will be at six. It will just be the two of us. I’m making vegetable lasagna. You’ll want to unpack and relax after a day of traveling.”

  Elle pulled her lingerie from her suitcase and opened the top chest drawer. Flowered paper lined the old wood. She doubted the elemental witch had bug issues some innkeepers struggled with. There were ample hangers in the closet to accommodate the few items that required hanging.

  After she finished unpacking, she placed her luggage in the closet. She pulled out a pad of paper and pen from her tote. An antique desk stood in the corner and she made herself comfortable on the accompanying cushioned chair.

  Instead of writing, she stared at the blank tablet. Words didn’t flow from her mind to the pen she held. She found it hard to concentrate on what she’d say to Jeffrey’s mistress.

  She’d come to Magic for a reason and she’d confront the woman in the morning. If she arrived at the shop when it opened, there’d be fewer customers to overhear what she had to say.

  Elle sipped the glass of wine Dreyden had left her, hoping for inspiration. Every time she thought of Jeffrey, his image morphed into Billings’s eyes. She had a mission and the troll continued to sidetrack her.