Paranormal Magic (Shades of Prey Book 1)

by Margo Bond Collins

  Pan had a weakness for redheads, but he'd learned his lesson in that regard. He needed to turn around and walk away, avoid looking back. Unfortunately, he'd never been very good at doing what was right. It was why he always ended up in the situations he found himself. He was pretty much doomed the moment he heard her beautiful laughter.

  The woman turned to her male companion and proclaimed, "That's the last of them." The man with her lowered his camera and hit a button on it while the woman spoke, "We spent the last two days talking to the locals and filming random spurts of narration. The birthplace ruins were great visual footage, but we really don't have anything to wow the viewers." She sighed. "We deserve an afternoon off. We'll check the camera traps in twenty-four hours, doing some walkthrough recording on the way to retrieve them."

  The man mumbled in agreement. Pan hadn't paid him much attention before, but he studied him then. The man was of a good, solid build. What most females would find attractive. He had a Spanish look to him, but his accent was southern. Pan speculated if the male was in a relationship with the female and decided the thought didn't please him at all. He didn't know why it mattered if these two people were together or not.

  Hell, scores of couples came into the Pine Barrens to fornicate. Though most of the time it was because Pan had compelled them to do so as entertainment. Sometimes watching was just as good as participating, and though he'd been celibate for so long, it didn't make him a saint. In some cases, voyeurism was much healthier considering the care, or lack thereof, humans took with their bodies in this century. Shudder. Luckily he couldn't catch any human diseases.

  He wondered if these two would be the down and dirty, sweet and slow, or wild and acrobatic kind. With that redhead? Pan would ride her so hard into the ground there would be a crater when they were done. She'd be down and dirty, he was sure.

  Curiosity getting the best of him, Pan followed behind them as they headed in the direction they had come from. Under his cloaking glamour, he could run circles around them while shrieking like a banshee, and they wouldn't bat an eye. They wouldn't see, hear, or smell him. They could stroll right through him like he was a ghost and not feel him. They damn sure couldn't taste him, though he wished the fiery-haired woman would do so.

  "It's a shame we haven't found anything we can use. Cindy doesn't think we have enough to work with to stay the whole two to three weeks," the male was saying. They had another woman with them? Pan's mind went briefly into a vision of two beautiful redheads. While it was a pleasant thought, he knew the one in front of him would be enough as he studied her nicely shaped ass through the trees. He'd done the multiple partner acts, and the thrill was gone. He preferred a single partner as he could give her his undivided attention. Nevertheless, it would serve him best if he stopped thinking about all the ways he could take her. He adjusted the crotch of his pants.

  She made an unladylike snort, but Pan found even that attractive. "Well, what did you expect? A bat-winged horse walking on two legs to step out and beg you to film it before showing you the location of his secret bat-horse-goat-cave?"

  He halted in his tracks. There was no further question as to what they were hunting in the woods. They were looking for proof of his existence, but they didn't believe they'd find him. Yet he was close enough he could pounce on them. Pan loved messing with skeptics. He tried, he really did, not to do it very often, but he was never one to let such a prime opportunity pass him by. Besides, it would give him a reason to focus his energy on something other than his arousal.

  All traces of his former boredom vanished. He'd put on a demonstration for her to give her a reason to continue her hunt for him. She'd have some interesting footage to show for it, but it wouldn't be enough to prove she actually found anything.

  Pan mentally adjusted his cloaking glamour so he could be heard while remaining invisible. The camera would pick up the sounds, but neither it nor the two humans present would see him. Half the viewers of their footage would claim it was tampered with; the other half would come to this location seeking a repeat performance. They'd find nothing. He was never one to willingly repeat history. There was a reason he hadn't been found in several centuries.

  And it would be a damned good reason not to have too much fun with the redhead.

  He galloped to their left through the underbrush. He tried desperately not to laugh when the humans' eyes widened and their heads whipped around at the sound of hooves thumping as they fell heavily, hitting dirt and roots, kicking up dried leaves. His legs shook the low bushes as he tore through them with vigor.

  "What the hell?" the male shouted.

  Birds scattered overhead, feeling the pull of Pan's power.

  "Look at those plants. It looks like a boulder tore through them. Turn your camera on!" The female pivoted and stood on tiptoes to glance behind her. Probably thinking another human was out here, not the very creature she sought.

  "Cindy, is that you?" She turned back to the man. "Would she actually leave the van to pull a dumb prank like this after the attack last year?"

  Pan pondered what she meant by "the attack," and experienced an urge to find the source of this aforementioned assault and harm it. The foolish male played with his toy, muttering in Spanish. Pan summoned the pair of dark wings from his alternate form, letting the leathery whoosh, whoosh startle his captive audience as he glided over them and into the treetops, kicking up dirt as he ascended.

  He was showing off, and he found it exhilarating. A rush of warm pleasure fired through his veins, making his lips split into a grin. The need to draw attention was a trait Pan had gotten from his father. Hermes had a knack for disappearing mid-conversation or running people over upon his arrival to deliver Zeus' messages. He grimaced at the thought of his father, glad Hermes was slumbering the years away on Mount Olympus rather than being a giant pain in the ass still.

  Below, the mortals frantically searched for the cause of the phantom noise, but of course they found nothing. They would flee soon, and he wasn't quite ready to lose his audience. For the finale, Pan grabbed hold of neighboring branches and shook them, bouncing lightly where he stood. Leaves rained down upon the two as they all but trembled with fear. Ah, yeah. I still have my talent for the dramatic.

  "Tell me you're getting this on tape," the female hissed.

  "I am, but I can't tell what it is. I see the branches moving, but there is nothing there."

  Pan fully cloaked himself once more and fluttered down, landing directly in front of them on his hoofed feet with a soft thud. His wings faded into nonexistence.

  Damn, the woman was stunning even when she was afraid. Pan leaned in and inhaled her scent. Her shampoo had left her hair smelling citrusy and tropical. She glanced around, eyes wide. They were pale blue, like a cloudless morning sky. Earlier, before he scared her, they had been slanted like a—

  "Kat, I think it's gone," the male said. How apropos that her name was feline in nature. Pan assumed it was short for something longer. He noticed humans had the tendency to minimize their names into single syllables. Some of the satyrs who were formerly human had done so themselves. Pan reached out a hand and brushed his fingers lightly against Kat's delicate pale cheek.

  She shuddered and rubbed at her face like she had felt it, even though it was impossible. Her hand went through his, but the contact sent sparks down his spine, straight to his groin.

  I have to have her.

  At least once.

  "Let's head back to the van and make sure Cindy is okay." The male shut off his camera before making the sign of the cross over his chest.

  Pan continued to admire his new female. Kat didn't wear a wedding ring, and the only jewelry she wore aside from the watch he noted earlier was a gold chain with a dainty heart hanging from it.

  Pan peeked toward the man's hand and noted he was wearing a wedding band. So were they, or were they not, currently warming the same bed? He found he had to know. Perhaps Cindy, the woman purportedly sitting in the van, was his wife. It
didn't matter; after noticing the ring and Kat's lack thereof, the man she traveled with became even less of a concern.

  Not that he'd ever been one to begin with. Definitely not a saint.

  "I'm not gonna argue. I feel like I'm being watched. Maybe I'm paranoid, but that was really damn weird."

  "Do you think it was the creature?" The male asked as their steps became swifter while they hurried to exit the woods. Pan watched the sway of Kat's hips and ass as he followed in their wake.

  "The Jersey Devil? Seriously? You just went there?"

  "Well, what else could it have been?"

  "A bird." She shrugged.

  "An invisible bird?" The male sounded unconvinced.

  "An invisible thunder bird." Her emphasis couldn't sound any less convincing. Pan had heard of the giant birds of prey the Native American people told tales about. Unfortunately, the only giant eagles left in existence lived on a hidden island off the coast of New Zealand, so her theory of explaining him as such was moot. He admired her effort though.

  "Pfft. And my mother is a turkey."

  Kat snorted. "I don't even want to know what kind of Thanksgiving traditions go on at your house."

  "Girl, pull your head out of the gutter and put some pep in your step. Hustle."

  Kat shook her head but jogged a bit faster. "I think you and I need to have a talk when we leave the Barrens. And it is gonna be about who is in charge around here."

  The man chuckled and glanced over his shoulder. Checking for monsters? "You can be in charge all you want, but if I beat you to the van, I'm leaving your ass."

  Chapter 3

  What was that back there? Kat wondered for the umpteenth time as they shuffled into her hotel room. Her mind registered that they needed to film a segment to go along with the weird footage they collected while the memory was still fresh in their minds, but first they had done what any sane people would have...

  They had sprinted to the van, yelling at a bewildered Cindy to start the vehicle as they threw themselves into it. Then they had sped all the way back to the hotel in order to hide, and Kat slammed the door and locked it behind them. She proceeded to close the curtains while Rick checked the ammunition in the licensed shotgun he usually kept in the van in case of emergency—like a repeat of the cougar incident.

  They just sat down on the beds in order to collect their thoughts, Cindy calling them superstitious and accusing them of overreacting, when a knock at the door had Kat rolling over the bed like a ninja and disappearing. When had she become such a coward? Rick aimed the shotgun at the door.

  A second knock. "Hello? Is everything okay in there? I'm Peter, from the room next door. I was walking back from the gas station when I saw you three running like bats out of hell."

  Kat motioned to Rick to hide the gun, wondering if Peter had seen him carrying it, as she checked herself quickly in the mirror on her way to the door. Her hair was wild as usual. No helping it without a shower, blow dryer, and a straightening iron. She unlocked the door, keeping the chain latch in place, and opened it as far as it would go.

  Holy hotness!

  The hottie hotel neighbor from next door wore a slight frown and his brow was furrowed. He appeared to be genuinely concerned about them. Or merely perplexed. "Hold on a sec. I forgot the chain latch." She closed the door and adjusted the twins, mouthing he's so hot at her friends. A girl's confidence was sometimes directly proportional to how much cleavage she could use to entice a hot guy without being downright slutty about it. And for a single lady who hadn't gotten any in over a year due to little issues like, say, recovering from an animal attack, Mr. Tall, Hot, and Neighborly might be just what the doctor ordered.

  Kat was still on a bit of an adrenaline rush from what happened in the woods, so her hormones were ready to jump on him and get busy. Or rather, that was what she told herself to avoid questioning her intense response to him. The events from earlier were unexplainable, at least on the surface. Even though she had cowered behind the bed when Peter knocked on the door, she had been steadily convincing herself what happened in the woods had been caused by a large bird or something out of sight. It had to be.

  The Jersey Devil didn't exist. It couldn't.

  She opened the door, smiled, and motioned for him to come inside. "Sorry to have disturbed you. We were kind of in a rush to return from filming."

  Peter stepped into the room and nodded once in acknowledgement to Rick and Cindy before he turned his gaze back on her. Eye to eye too. Oh, nope, score one for the cleavage. Back to her eyes again. His irises were forest green, twinkling mischievously, and Kat's imagination suddenly went to many different fantasy scenarios involving him, her, and his tongue trailing along where he had glimpsed moments before. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she was so turned on by only the sight of a man, fully clothed, and for some reason it didn't bother her as much as it should. Why is that, Kat? Concentrate. Peter's gaze dipped once more and she lost that train of thought all together.

  "Filming? Are you a movie star, then? And you didn't disturb me in the least. I was worried you were in trouble and wanted to see what I could do to help." His voice was the perfect timbre of masculine, deep enough to excite her with a slight hint of an exotic accent she couldn't quite place. Very Old World. She'd heard it before, but wasn't sure where. Perhaps in a movie or someone she spoke to recently. So instead, she observed the man before her. Peter was decked out in black jeans, equally dark shoes, and a white T-shirt with the red and black emblem for the New Jersey Devils hockey team on it.

  Wait. He thought she was a movie star? Rewind.

  "Oh, stop." She laughed and twirled a strand of her hair. Oh, God, I'm acting like a high school girl with a crush! Get it together! "I'm actually a zoologist. We're shooting some footage for a documentary in the Pine Barrens. But it was very sweet of you to come to our rescue." She'd leave out the part about his favorite hockey team's inspiration.

  "Beautiful and smart. I'm pleased to meet you, Miss..." He held out a hand to her. She took it in order to shake it, but he raised her hand to his lips and lightly kissed her knuckles. She might have imagined a slight brush of his tongue as well. Her throat went dry, and she had to clear it. His gaze met hers, and there was the mischievous twinkle to them again. Peter smirked as if he knew what he was doing to her.

  "Katerina, but everybody calls me Kat."

  "A pleasure, Katerina." The way his soft accent lilted over her name made her shiver. "And your friends?" He scrutinized Rick, who was the perfect picture of male posturing as he stood in the background with his legs braced apart ever so much, arms crossed, and a look of wary consternation on his face as he studied Peter's flirtations. Cindy, on the other hand, appeared to be ten seconds away from ordering popcorn and a Coke and becoming thoroughly entertained.

  Kat blushed, realizing her reaction to Peter was a public event. "Sorry, I'm being terribly rude. This is Cindy and her husband, Rick. They've been my partners on a lot of projects, and Rick's been my cameraman for years."

  "Pleasure," Peter said, nodding toward the other two once more. Rick's scowl became more defined. Cindy beamed at Peter before hopping off the bed to put her arm through Rick's still crossed one.

  "Come on, honey. We can unload the van and see if we caught anything on camera."

  Rick scoffed. "We still have to discuss what actually happened." He shot Kat a pointed glare.

  "What actually happened is you spooked yourselves. Plus, I want you to myself for a while." Cindy winked at Kat and murmured a farewell to Peter as she dragged Rick out the room. He had always acted like an older brother toward Kat, intimidating men who spoke to her.

  As soon as she believed they were alone, the door shot open and Kat jumped slightly as Rick wandered back into the room with exaggerated slowness and then rummaged through the closet. He retrieved his shotgun and made deliberate eye contact with Peter when he did it. The unspoken warning rang clear.

  Men.

  "Call me if you need
me," Rick said, squeezing lightly on her shoulder before he exited the room, leaving Kat alone with the sexy stranger behind closed doors.

  Peter was obviously addling her brain. She nearly forgot about the strange encounter already and it had just happened. She should be reviewing the footage with Rick and Cindy, not flirting with a stranger. But he was so...well...hot. Could she really be faulted for flirting a little? One time?

  "Ah, alone at last," Peter said as Kat claimed one of the two chairs at the table. She raised her eyebrows at the statement as Peter seated himself in the other.

  "An expression. I'm not going to attack you or anything."

  Yet she secretly wanted him to. Even though she wasn't a one-night stand kind of girl, she had the inexplicable feeling she could be one that day. Her body was heavily aroused. Sure, Peter was hot, but her reaction was odd. She'd never been so fired up over a complete stranger, but if Kat told herself the truth, she kind of liked not being overcritical and reserved for a change. She wondered how her laptop would handle being shoved to the floor so she could pounce on him across the table. But then she feared that would scare him away and decided to see what happened on its own. Ack! What is this? What is the matter with my hormones?