by C. L. Bright
“How can they try to seek peace when you’ll trap them and force them to stay in animal form if you see one?” I asked. “I don’t know if there are any who would want to negotiate peace, but how can they, even if that is their goal?”
“You may be right,” he agreed. “It’s a complicated situation since the war between our kind has been going on for so long.”
“I feel like there should be more done to make peace. At the very least, my people should offer refuge to other shapeshifters. It seems wrong that no outsiders are ever welcome in the Heathergate Refuge.”
“Your people are safer that way,” he pointed out. “If you invite outsiders in, what’s to say they won’t cause problems and violate the terms of your agreement with the spellcasters? They could also stir up trouble with others in your community. Outsiders are dangerous.”
“Do you consider me dangerous?”
Dante stopped the truck and looked over at me. He reached out to stroke my cheek with the backs of his knuckles. “You’re the most dangerous shapeshifter I’ve ever encountered.”
My laugh was a little shaky as the tingling of his magic glided along my skin. “I seriously doubt that. The wolf in the back of the truck is far more dangerous.”
He shook his head as he reached down and undid his seatbelt so he could lean closer. When his lips nearly touched mine, he whispered, “If I was just dealing with him, I’d have had no problem. He’d already be dead. You have the power to make me behave completely out of character. I’m risking my own life for you.”
“You barely know me.”
“Yet, I’m still willing to risk it all for you, Juliet.” His lips brushed against mine once before he pulled away and put his seatbelt on. “We’re almost there.”
“You don’t feel like a stranger,” I whispered.
“Because your magic recognizes mine,” he stated. “It’s as if my power has been reaching out, trying to find yours. Even before we met. Being with you feels right.”
I wanted to argue because there was no way it could be right for us to be together. It was an impossible situation, so why would nature create such a match?
There was no denying my reaction to him. It went beyond finding him physically attractive; I was drawn to Dante on a much deeper level. After less than a day with him, I knew I’d miss Dante when I returned to my old life.
“It doesn’t seem to matter, does it?” I asked. “I can’t stay with you, and you can’t come with me when I return to my old life.”
He released a tired sigh. “You’re right. Neither of us is welcome in the other’s world. Do you have a plan for dealing with your stepmother?”
“Not really,” I lied.
I’d considered my options, and there was only one way to keep this from happening again. Nidia would always be a danger to me if I allowed her to live.
“You should kill your stepmother,” he stated. “After what she did, she deserves to die.”
“It’s not so much about her deserving to die as it being the only way to stay safe,” I pointed out. “It’s either kill her or banish her. I’m not sure I could convince my father and the entire council to banish her even after what she did.”
“Can you convince them to let you kill her?”
“I’m not going to ask.”
Chapter 14
The place where they disposed of shapeshifter bodies loomed just ahead, and it was much more intimidating than Azuredale. There was a high fence along the front with barbed wire on top. Six guards stood at the gate.
I felt a buzz of energy emanating from the area. It tugged at my skin, and I had trouble resisting the urge to rub my arms. Since Dante didn’t seem bothered by it, I suspected it was a spell meant to only affect shapeshifters.
Not wanting to look suspicious as we approached the gate, I struggled to pretend I didn’t notice the spell. I felt the magic pressing against me, forcing me to remain in my human form. I suspected it could also cause a shapeshifter to change from their animal form.
It seemed like a strange spell to use since spellcasters wanted to keep my kind in animal form, but it probably made it easier to identify any approaching shapeshifters.
“This is one of the more dangerous places for us,” Dante began. “We share it with the Tulureans since we don’t need two disposal sites. The people working here are all Azureans, so we only have to worry if any Shadow Walkers are disposing of bodies. They don’t normally talk to us, but if they see your eyes, it could attract attention.”
I nodded. “I’m glad you don’t kill enough shapeshifters to need two facilities.”
My focus returned to the spell that was starting to feel like pins and needles on my skin. I remained so focused on the spell that I wasn’t listening to what Dante said to the guards.
“She doesn’t look like a Shadow Walker to me,” one of the guards stated.
I turned toward the warlock, wondering how Dante planned to handle the situation, but he didn’t need to say anything.
The warlock flashed me a grin. “Oh, yeah, you’re a Shadow Walker.”
“Why would I make that up?” Dante demanded.
The warlock shrugged. “I figured you might be messing around with someone your family doesn’t approve of and trying to keep her identity a secret.”
“I’m the daughter of an ex-mistress.” I decided to repeat the lie Dante had used.
The warlock gave me a nod and a sympathetic smile. “You should consider staying in Azuredale. We don’t care about that sort of thing like the Tulureans.” He tapped the hood of the truck. “You can head on in.”
Dante drove through the gate and parked outside a small building. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. They didn’t mention any of your family being here, so we should be fine.” He hesitated. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, it creeps me out when people say I look like a member of the Shadow Walker family—my eyes anyway.”
“I hadn’t even noticed until after I told everyone you’re a Shadow Walker.”
“You seemed distracted with other things when we first met,” I replied.
Dante let out a humorless bark of laughter. “Yes, I was distracted with other things. I feel like I’m in a constant state of distraction around you. That may explain my strange behavior.”
Despite our situation, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, so you’re going to blame me for your insanity?”
“You do make me crazy, Juliet.”
He stepped out of the truck and headed inside.
Without the distraction of Dante’s presence, I was all too aware of the wolf in the back of the truck, and that added to my stress. His heartbeat was getting stronger, and I suspected it wouldn’t be long until he woke up from whatever spell he was under.
I didn’t know if Dante realized how close the spell was to wearing off, but I suddenly regretted talking to Dante when time was running out. The wolf could cause a lot of problems.
I wondered if the spell by the gate had caused him to change forms. He was a powerful shapeshifter who could possibly fight the spell while conscious. I didn’t know which would look more suspicious since shapeshifters nearly always changed to animal form when they died.
“Don’t wake up,” I whispered as I looked down at my hands.
Only another shapeshifter would be able to hear me. The quiet response surprised me.
“I’m already awake, but I’ll play this game a little longer.”
The spell had worked and forced him out of animal form.
Rubbing my hands together, I took a deep breath and looked up, only to find a warlock staring at me through the driver’s side window. Hitting the button on the center console, I opened the window and asked, “Is there a problem?”
He was attractive with long golden hair, deep blue eyes, and full lips. It seemed more fitting to say he was beautiful in a nearly feminine way.
A witch with similar features came up beside him and smacked him on the back of the head before saying, “Sorry, my co
usin is attracted to you, and he decided to come over here and pretend to check on you to give him an excuse to strike up a conversation.”
“Juni!” the warlock hissed. “Do you have to embarrass me in front of every witch we meet?”
Juni snorted. “You do a good job of that on your own, Erik.”
“Are you okay?” Erik asked me with a shy smile that revealed his twin dimples.
“I’m fine,” I assured him with a smile. “Don’t I look fine?”
Juni answered for him. “You look a little freaked out. I told Erik you probably weren’t thrilled about coming here. You seem young for a hunter. Have you even killed a familiar yet?”
Juni didn’t appear to have an ounce of shyness or much in the way of an internal filter; I’d been accused of lacking one myself. Among the Azureans, I acted more reserved because I didn’t want to get myself killed.
“Stop interrogating her,” Erik told her. “You’ll make this harder on her.”
“I’m just tired,” I assured them. “I was expecting to spend a relaxing day with Dante, and then we needed to take care of this situation.”
“We can dispose of the body for you,” Erik offered. “Then you can get back to your relaxing day with your friend. Or is he your warlock?”
“Very subtle,” Juni said with a laugh.
“Is he your warlock?” Erik pushed.
“It’s complicated,” I replied honestly.
“Relationships usually are,” Erik said with a smile. “What’s your name?”
“Juliet.”
“Well, Juliet,” he began. “What do you like to do in your spare time?”
“He wants to know if he can see you again,” Juni added.
“I’m not available,” I replied, continuing when his face fell. “You seem like a nice warlock, but complicated or not, there’s something between me and Dante. I’m just not in a position to see another warlock.”
When had I started worrying about the feelings of spellcasters? My life had changed drastically in the last two days.
“My offer to take care of the dead familiar still stands,” he told me. “We don’t have that much going on here today.”
“It’s okay,” I assured him. “Dante wants to take care of it himself.”
“Is there a problem?” Dante demanded as he approached the truck. His lips were pressed together in a thin line as his attention shifted between the cousins.
Erik grinned. “It seems Dante doesn’t find your situation quite so complicated.”
Erik didn’t sound nearly as shy now that he wasn’t coming on to me.
“Are you hitting on my witch?” Dante asked incredulously.
“This is Erik you’re asking,” Juni reminded him. “You know he’s too shy to actually hit on any witch.”
“I came over because she looked distraught,” Erik explained.
“It’s been a rough day for her,” Dante replied, gesturing for them to move so he could get in the truck. “The sooner we get done here, the sooner she can get some rest.”
“I offered to take care of this,” Erik stated. “Juliet turned me down. She said you want to take care of it, but surely you’d rather get her home.”
Dante shook his head as he slid behind the wheel. “This is my responsibility. Nicolas would hear about that, and you know he’d tell my father. My brother loves getting me in trouble.”
“Nicolas is a troll,” Juni muttered. “I hate it when he slums and does his own disposals.”
“We all do,” Erik agreed. “It was nice meeting you, Juliet.”
“It was nice meeting you, too,” I replied.
Dante waved and drove away.
“Does anyone like Nicolas?” I asked.
“Other than my father? Not really,” Dante replied. “I hope we can get away from here before the shapeshifter wakes up.”
“He’s already awake,” I told him.
“How do you know that?” His fingers tightened on the wheel, and his eyes shifted to the side as if he were fighting the urge to turn and look in the bed of the truck.
“He heard me whispering and responded,” I explained.
“But he’s still in wolf form,” Dante replied.
“I thought the spell at the front had made him change forms,” I replied with wide eyes.
“The spell used on him in Azuredale prevents him from shifting from his animal form,” Dante explained.
“I could have sworn I heard him, but I must have been mistaken.”
I heard the soft chuckle from the bed of the truck. “You have a lot to learn,” the shapeshifter told me.
“Did you hear him?” I asked. “He just spoke again.”
Dante shook his head. “Your sense of hearing is much better than mine. I didn’t realize shapeshifters could speak in animal form. Or do you mean he’s speaking to you telepathically?”
“That must be it,” I replied thoughtfully.
I didn’t want to go into it with Dante since I didn’t think his people needed to know too much more about my kind. We communicated telepathically while in animal form, but I should only be capable of receiving telepathic messages from those I had a connection with in this form. I was almost sure I’d never met this shapeshifter before.
Something very strange was going on.
Chapter 15
We drove several miles before exiting through a gate on the other side, only stopping so Dante could throw a blanket over the shapeshifter in the back.
Dante waved at the guards, and they opened the gate for him. They didn’t seem as concerned about who left the area as they were with who entered.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“About ten miles from here is a spot where we should be able to release the shapeshifter,” he replied.
“Are you sure he’ll be safe there?” I asked.
“Not completely,” he admitted. “We don’t normally hunt in that area, so it’s less likely he’ll be recaptured. It’s hard to say if he’ll be safe since I don’t know if he’ll end up crossing any of our hunting grounds while trying to get to wherever he came from.”
It was the best he could do, and I appreciated all the effort he’d put into rescuing the shapeshifter. Dante could have dropped him off closer rather than finding a safer place.
He finally stopped at the end of a long winding path.
“Get out on my side,” he told me. “It drops off sharply on that side.”
I nodded and scooted to his side as he slipped out of the truck. I stretched my arms above my head, only then realizing I’d been in the truck for well over an hour. I wasn’t used to sitting that long.
Dante reached out to open the back of the truck, and I caught his hand, speaking when he looked at me with a quirked eyebrow. “I should probably let him out.”
“Someone had better let me out,” the wolf called out.
“Did you hear him that time?” I asked.
Dante shook his head. “I didn’t hear anything.”
When I opened the back of the truck, the wolf scrambled out, still not quite steady on his feet. I immediately dropped to my knees and wrapped my arms around him to help support him. The wolf snarled, and I felt Dante’s magic flare behind me.
“He’s not going to hurt me,” I assured Dante. “Can you take the spell off so he can change forms?”
“Only if he’ll let me get close enough to remove the band around his left leg.”
“Can I do it?” I asked.
“It has to be me,” Dante replied.
“I won’t bite his hand off,” the wolf assured me.
I turned to Dante and nodded as I stepped to the side so he could get to the wolf’s leg.
“Maybe a little bite,” the wolf remarked. “It won’t hurt much.”
“Don’t even think about it,” I hissed.
Dante’s lips twitched. “I take it your friend is considering attacking me.”
“I think he’s joking,” I replied. “It’s hard to say since I don�
��t know him. I’d recommend getting your hand out of there as quickly as possible.”
Dante nodded, and his hand hovered over the wolf’s leg before his power flowed out along the cuff. The cuff released and floated into Dante’s hand.
I felt the instant change in the wolf as he began to change forms. It didn’t usually take long to make the shift, but it was harder after prolonged periods in animal form, from what I’d heard.
I released him and stepped back as the power moving along him started to zap me like an electric current. Dante pulled me against his side, and I leaned into him.
Once the change was complete, the shapeshifter took several deep, shuddering breaths as he hugged his knees to his chest. He was around six feet tall with a lean, muscular build, gray eyes, and messy, light-brown hair.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He nodded as he took the shorts Dante handed him and got to his feet, looking more energized already. After slipping on the shorts, he asked, “What’s going on here? I don’t get why you’d rescue me.”
“It seems I’ve lost my mind. I should have killed you back in Azuredale,” Dante admitted.
“That’s what I expected,” the shapeshifter replied before his attention went to me. “I’ve never seen you before. Where are you from?”
“I’m from the Heathergate Refuge.”
His expression said he didn’t believe me.
“She’s telling the truth,” Dante stated.
“It’s a long story,” I added. “Dante is trying to figure out a way to get me back to my home.”
“Why would he help you?” the shapeshifter asked as he took two steps back to put more distance between us. “He’s your enemy unless you have one of those fancy bands.”
“That’s another complicated story,” I replied.
“But it has something to do with why he let me go,” the shapeshifter pushed.
“It’s none of your business,” Dante said in a cold tone.
Before the shapeshifter could argue, I asked, “Does it matter why he helped you? You’re free.”
“That’s it?” the shapeshifter asked. “You’re letting me go and asking nothing in return?”
