She stopped when she saw the shop, Midnight Magic, with a full moon on the sign. With the lights on inside, it looked to be open.
Bells jingled as she pushed the door open. The heady scent of incense filled the air, making her cough.
The room was dark except for two bright lamps that surrounded the small reception area. With only beige coloured walls, the place didn’t look like it had been open very long. She’d been expecting lots of colour, maybe a few crystals or some weird looking paintings.
Christy headed over, saw no one behind the desk. “Hello?” she called and looked at the name on the card: Merlin the Magnificent.
Jeez, cheesy or what? Maybe I have lost my mind! But it’s not as if I can call anyone for help and witches aren’t easy to come by in this city.
She knew most fortune tellers were quacks but a few did possess real gifts. Hell, she was a shifter. Proof magic existed.
“Is anyone here?” she called.
A figure moved out of the shadows. “I thought I’d be seeing you again.” He smiled. “How can I help you, my dear?”
“I – er – I don’t know why I came here,” she admitted, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
“You came here because you want answers. Come, let’s begin.” He motioned for her to follow.
Christy glanced around the other room as she followed him inside. Two chairs sat around a circular table with a crystal ball in the centre. The only light came from two candles that cast eerie shadows around the barren room.
She wanted to laugh, but she’d seen Magda use such tools before.
Her inner wolf remained silent, not detecting any threat.
She slumped into the chair, sighed. “I don’t know where to begin. I need more than one answer.”
“What is your most pressing question?”
She shook her head. “Is Ronan okay? He’s my boyfriend, well kind of. We’re not supposed to date.” Why am I saying these things to him? Ronan and I never talk about our relationship.
The man closed his eyes. “He’s fine, I sense him searching someone.”
She nodded. Maybe this guy was genuine after all.
“I did something…something by accident. Now he’s trying to clean it up.” She wrung her hands together.
“Give me your hand,” he instructed.
Her brow creased as she hesitated, could she even trust this man? Her wolf remained unusually silent, it would warn her of danger. About the only thing it’s good for!
He stared down at her open palm, brow creasing. “You’re very special. Gifted too.”
“That’s the thing. I don’t want to be gifted. I want to be normal,” Christy told him. “I’m tired of people coming after me, of having no control. I want to be human.” The moment the words came out she knew they were true.
“Be careful, those are dangerous words.” His dark eyes flashed in the dim light of the room.
“It’s what I want. The question is how?” She leaned forward.
He stared at her palm. “I sense a curse around people related to you.”
The alpha’s curse. The one thing that prevented any shifter from using magic – except her. It had never affected Christy, not even during the full moon when every shifter had no choice but to change.
“Yes. It doesn’t hurt me,” she said. “If you know what I am, how can I end it all?”
His smile widened. “I think I can help with that, princess.”
Chapter 3
Ronan stood on the street corner as the first rays of sunlight broke over the horizon. He’d spent the night dodging police questions, but thanks to some memory dust from the clan’s witch, anyone who’d seen Christy’s accidental magical mishap had soon forgotten it. All except the mongrel who’d attacked her.
He’d been hunting the mongrel’s scent all night until it finally led him to a block of flats. The grey stone building had seen better days and had graffiti covering most of the walls.
Ronan eyed the building. The scent had come to a dead end there.
Christy’s attacker was within that building, but Ronan knew he had to tread carefully.
Christy had already put herself in danger by using magic. Using magic wasn’t supposed to be possible for any shifter thanks to the curse that prevented them from using the natural elemental powers they all had. Christy’s father had forbidden all shifters from even trying to use any form magic at all.
Even Magda’s memory dust would incur the alpha’s wrath, but Ronan would protect Christy at any cost.
He stalked up to twelve flights of stairs that stank of cigarettes and piss until he reached the chipped blue front door.
Only one heartbeat inside.
Ronan pushed the locked door open. Locks meant nothing to shifters. The smell of burnt flesh hit him first. I’m in the right place.
Ronan walked in, kept his senses on alert. His wolf demanded blood from the one who dared hurt the person he cared about most, but he forced the beast down. He heard movement, and blurred through flat until he had the man by the throat.
The man’s face had turned black with angry red welts. One eye had swollen over, the other half open.
“Going somewhere?” Ronan hissed.
The other shifter struggled, snarled as its fangs protruded and he tried to shift.
Ronan clamped a hand around his throat, preventing the shift. “Oh, no you don’t. You’ve done enough to expose us to humans for one day, mate.”
“Wasn’t me, stupid bitch...”
Ronan squeezed him so hard the man’s eyes bulged. “Don’t you dare say a word against her. You attacked a royal. The alpha will have your head for this,” he snapped. “Tell me why you attacked her. Who sent you?”
The other shifter tried to wriggle free but Ronan was too strong. He had the strength of a true beta which made him the perfect bodyguard for Christy.
“He – no one sent me.”
“Don’t you dare lie to me. Tell me the truth or I’ll force it out of you.” Ronan cracked and broke the shifter’s finger for good measure.
The man howled, tears filling his eyes as Ronan did the same to each digit.
“I’m waiting. I know you’re mongrel, it wasn’t just coincidence that you ended up at the same club as the princess.” His eyes flashed with anger.
“I-I didn’t know who she was.”
“Bollocks! Any mongrel with half a brain can sense the power of a royal.” He yanked up the other hand.
Though the shifter would heal, it would still hurt like hell.
“Okay, okay, I was hired to watch her.”
“By who? Answer fast or I’ll move on to breaking bigger bones.”
“If I tell you he’ll kill me.”
“If you don’t, I’ll kill you and my way will be so much worse.” He tightened his grip.
“I don’t know who he was,” he choked out. “I was just supposed to grab the princess and take her somewhere to be picked up.”
“Where? When?” Ronan fought to keep his beast reined in as the animal demanded to be let out.
“I-I don't know, man. I just wanted some easy money. He told me if I did a good job I’d be welcomed into one of the clans,” the shifter whimpered. “That all I know. I swear.”
“Have you reported in to that person yet?” Ronan demanded. “Did you tell him any more about what Christy did to you?”
“When I tried to contact him, he told me it was over, that I screwed up. I’ve been trying to shake you off all night. I came here to fix my face, it hurts like a bitch!"
“Good.” Ronan snapped his neck in one swift motion.
The shifter slumped to the floor, dead.
Ronan held out his hand until fire formed. He didn’t know much magic, yet fire had always come easily to him. He only had limited power thanks to the curse, but it proved to be enough. He threw it at the shifter, watched as the body burned into ash.
Fumbling inside his jacket, he blew out a handful of blue dust to remove any traces of his
being there.
He pulled his hoodie up as he shut the front door, saw the red glow from the fire inside. He couldn’t risk either the humans or clans finding out what had taken place there. The fire would be contained, just enough to destroy any trace of the shifter, along with any of his possessions.
Magic had its perks.
Ronan had another problem – finding out why someone had used a mongrel to try and kidnap Christy again.
That would mean revisiting his past.
Ronan pulled his hood tighter, not because of the cool air but so people wouldn’t recognise him.
Just because he was away from the alpha’s island didn't mean one of the clans wouldn’t see him. Both the alpha and Alec had spies everywhere. He couldn’t risk being spotted with a mongrel – a shifter without a clan.
He stirred his tea, not bothering to drink it. He knew the risk of being seen with a mongrel but he had to know if there was a threat.
Bells chimed as the door swung open and a man dressed in a blue hoodie and muddy jeans entered the cafe. The stranger glanced around and checked behind him. He ran his hand through a mop of long dark hair, his brown eyes scanning every inch of the cafe.
Ronan recognised the scent of a shifter, motioned for the newcomer to join him.
“Jeez, Ronan, this is risky meeting like this. Alec has wolves all over London.”
“I know, but I had to see you, Josh.”
Josh wiped his hair off his face and thanked the waitress who poured him coffee. “Why? Have you decided to finally come back?”
Ronan shook his head. “No, you know I can’t. I’ve worked too hard to get where I am now.”
“Yeah, being the alpha’s lapdog,” Josh sneered.
“Don’t be like that. I had a chance to walk away from my past and I took it. You could have too. Working for the alpha isn’t so bad.” It meant being with Christy for one thing.
“I, unlike you, could never abandon our people. We spend every day struggling to survive while the clans rule everyone,” Josh snapped. “Why did you call me, Ronan? If you don’t want to join your true people, why am I here?”
“I won’t turn against the Stargaza clan. They are my pack too,” Ronan said. “I’m here to talk about a mongrel I tracked and killed. He attacked the princess and I need to know: did the other mongrels plan it? Are they making a move against the Stargaza?”
Josh gulped down his coffee, scowled. “You’re putting my life and the lives of our people at risk because of your girlfriend? Do you have any idea what danger I’ve put them in just by leaving the island?”
Ronan gripped the edge of the table to keep his anger under control. He’d eliminated Christy’s magical exposure, he couldn’t afford outing himself now either. “She isn’t my girlfriend, you know she’s already promised to someone else. I’m not just here for her, if there is a threat to my clan I need to know about it.”
“Yeah right! You know you can’t lie to me, Ro. The Stargaza hasn’t and never will be your clan no matter how much you suck up to them or moon over Henric’s little bitch,” Josh hissed. “How you turned your back on your true clan, your family, I’ll never know. To think I once called you brother.”
Ronan winced. They weren’t related by blood, but they had been close once. Josh was right, the Stargaza had never been his clan no matter how much he pretended they were. He’d never be one of them and he knew it. His jaw clenched. “I did what had to do to survive. Our old clan isn’t coming back no matter how hard you try to resurrect it,” he snapped back. “Do you know anything or not? I didn’t come here to argue about the past.”
Josh fell silent, glared the waitress away and studied the cafe’s occupants. Chatter filled the air along with the strong aroma of coffee.
Ronan checked too. Nowhere was safe from the clans’ spies. Not even here among ignorant humans.
“No, but I can’t say we haven’t talked about it. When your princess mates with the leader of the Imperious clan, there’ll be no hope for us outsiders. Henric is already hunting any shifter suspected of being a mongrel. There won’t be any of us left soon. If we don’t submit to the clans’ rule we die.”
Ronan flinched. Just because he didn't live among the outsiders anymore didn’t mean he didn’t care about what happened to them, yet there wasn't much he could do to stop it. The clans held all the power.
“I know the mongrels and even people among the Stargaza don’t want Christy to mate with Alec, but Henric is her father. The alpha’s word is law.”
Josh folded his arms, giving the waitress a look to go away when she approached. “Why don’t you do something about it then?”
He snorted. “Like what?”
“Like mate with her yourself. We both know you’ve been in love with her for years, and I doubt your relationship is platonic, is it?”
Ronan gripped the table so hard he felt the top half come loose. “I wouldn’t do that. Things will change. Henric is old...”
“Alec will be a worse alpha and you know why. They blame us for something we didn’t do.” Josh’s hands balled into fists. “The clans need a good excuse to rid the island of all outsiders and your princess marrying the Imperious’s beta will give them one.”
“Not all the royals are bad, Josh.” He thought of Christy.
“I see our discussion is going nowhere. Sorry I can’t help you with your princess problem. I will say this though, we won’t let the clans hunt us down like dogs anymore,” Josh stated. “The clans have held power long enough.”
“Josh, whatever you’re planning, leave Christy out of it. I mean it.”
“I take it back, you’re her lapdog too, not just the alpha’s.”
“Just stop whatever...”
Josh grimaced. “You know you can’t ask me to do that. You may have a cosy life shacked up with your princess, but we are forced to live hand to mouth. Struggling to survive, waking up each day wondering if it will be our last. Sooner or later you must choose a side.” Josh rose, turned to leave.
“Whatever the others do, tell them they’ll answer to me if anything happens to her.”
Chapter 4
Christy blinked, surprised. Did he really know who she was? Her heart started to beat faster.
“Don’t be alarmed, my dear, I am not here to harm you,” he told her.
“Just do it,” she said. “I need to be human.”
She felt her wolf whine at the edge of her mind, ignored it. This is for the best. I never chose this life. Without you, I’ll be free to make my own destiny.
“Are you certain this is what you want?” The psychic leaned forward, raising an eyebrow.
She nodded. “Yes. If I’m not a shifter any more, I’ll never have to go back to my father. I’ll be free.”
“Very well.”
Christy gasped, feeling an invisible hand around her throat. He pulled her into the air, lifting her off her feet. She felt her bones twisting, muscles popping. It felt like the time she’d first been forced to change forms.
The old man kept his hand outstretched, eyes flashing with power.
Her wolf screamed, thrashed, begging her to help. Her entire body radiated with light. She felt his power pulling at a part of her very soul.
The room became brighter as an image of an island with rolling green hills and a jagged barrier of rocks around it formed. The alpha’s island. Her former home.
“What are you doing?” she hissed.
“You’ll see, princess. I brought you here because you’re the key to finding something I’ve been searching for.”
The island glowed with power, next came the image of the mansion, its beautiful white walls glittered in the sunlight.
No! she thought.
People had tried to use her once before. They thought she was the key to ending the curse.
“I was right, you are special,” he said.
Her inner wolf howled, clawing to get out.
Put me down! She felt the magic tighten around her, closing
in on her. Her lungs fought for air, her wolf demanded out. No, I will not let you hurt me! With her mind, she pushed back, felt the magic moving away from her.
Christy grunted as she hit the ground, hard.
The old man blinked in surprise. “Impossible!”
Rage burned through her. The same rage she’d felt the day she’d first turned. This man tried to kill her, just like the one in her nightmares had.
Bone crunched, muscles popped as she felt her body starting to shift. Her wolf howled demanding to get out. This time she’d let it.
The old man laughed, fired a bowl of red lightning at her.
Christy stumbled backwards, her body screaming in pain from the interrupted transformation. She reached for her wolf again and felt nothing. Her wolf had retreated. There but not there.
“Foolish girl, you’re too untrained to defeat me,” he snarled.
Chains formed around her wrists, holding her in place.
“No matter. Everything will be as it should be once we get to the island.”
“Who are you?” Christy demanded. “Did my father send you?”
He laughed. “No, I am beyond the alpha’s control.”
“You have no power over me. When my father–”
He slapped her across the face. “Enough! Your father may be the alpha but there are far greater forces in this world than him. Let’s…”
Christy yanked at her shackles. He’d take her away, try to use her the same way others had tried to before.
She wouldn’t go back to the island. Not now, not ever.
The chains fell away as power roared to life.
She sent the old man staggering back with a burst of white light.
“Something else you should know about me,” she snapped. “My wolf isn’t my only power.” She turned and fled out to the busy street.
Christy spent the next hour wandering around, not knowing where she was going.
What had she done? She’d almost fallen straight into the hands of a warlock. That would have proved almost as bad as marrying Alec, who thought he could end the centuries old alpha’s curse by marrying her, and her father thought he’d make the clan strong again because of it.
The Alpha's Daughter: Shifter Clans Series Book 1 Page 2
