The Spellcaster's Trap (The Familiar Curse Book 1)

by C. L. Bright

“Stay away from the south end of the Black Channel, and you should be able to avoid any hunters today,” Dante told him. “If you’re recaptured, there could be problems for both of us.”

  The shapeshifter hesitated.

  “What’s your name?” I asked.

  “Alaric. Your name is Juliet, right?”

  I nodded. “That’s right.”

  “You should come with me.” It was more command than a suggestion. “Nothing but death awaits you with the spellcasters.”

  “I’m the one who saved her,” Dante snapped. “It’s your kind who betrayed her.”

  “It’s true,” I told Alaric. “Well, not the rebels, but people from the Heathergate Refuge.”

  “Interesting,” Alaric mused. “Did you commit some crime?”

  I shook my head. “It was a power play.”

  “Why are spellcasters protecting a shapeshifter?” Alaric asked Dante.

  “The others think she’s a witch,” Dante explained.

  Alaric quirked an eyebrow. “A witch? How did you pull that off?”

  “Unless I change forms, there’s no difference in how we look,” I reminded him.

  “Have you considered how you’ll handle that issue?” Alaric asked before turning his attention to Dante. “I assume you know she has to change into her animal form, and you also know she can’t stay with you very long.”

  “You should get moving before someone spots you,” was Dante’s only response.

  “Perhaps I can help you with your problem.” When Dante just glared at him, Alaric shrugged. “Fine, you don’t need my help, but I’d still like to offer some advice.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “You saved my life,” Alaric replied. “I was prepared to die today. It was a better alternative to continuing my life as a slave.” A tremor ran through his body as he visibly struggled to compose himself. “I owe you both. If you ever need a place to hide, Juliet, you can find me.”

  “How would I find you?” I asked.

  “There are many of us around,” he replied. “Just tell any shapeshifter you come across that you’re the one who saved my life. Come back to this area, and they’ll be looking for you if they’re on patrol.”

  “Why can you communicate with me telepathically while I’m in human form?” I asked. “Can you still do it now?”

  “Only when I’m in wolf form,” he replied.

  “Even that shouldn’t be possible with a shapeshifter I don’t know well.”

  “In most cases, that’s true,” he agreed. “There are some more powerful shapeshifters who can connect telepathically with any of our kind.”

  “I wonder why no one ever told me such a thing was possible,” I mused.

  He shrugged. “Maybe none of your people can. I hope you’ll consider my offer. You’ll never be safe among spellcasters.”

  He turned and sprinted into the woods.

  “Am I the only one who finds his comment about how easy it would be for the other rebels to find you strange?” Dante asked.

  “It’s not just you,” I replied. “I find it hard to believe one of the rebels would just come across me if I returned here. Thank you again for saving Alaric.”

  Dante sighed and looked around before walking to a nearby tree and leaning against it. “What are you doing to me, Juliet?”

  “Me?” I asked. “I’m not doing anything to you.”

  He pushed off the tree and stalked toward me. He looked intense, though not angry. “I never would have considered releasing that shapeshifter. He was dangerous and out of control. It was my job to kill him. Those are the rules, and I don’t break the rules.”

  My laugh was a little nervous, his intensity making me uneasy. “You seem like a regular rule-breaker to me.”

  “Is that so?” he asked as he stood toe-to-toe with me. “Are you saying I have a certain bad boy quality?”

  Dante was so close that his scent wrapped around me. I felt the heat from his fingertips as they trailed lightly along my cheek.

  “We shouldn’t do this,” I whispered.

  “Do what?” he asked as he leaned in closer until his lips nearly touched mine.

  “We shouldn’t kiss again,” I whispered, leaning into him anyway, needing to get closer.

  “You’re right.” His thumb brushed against my lower lip. “I shouldn’t kiss you, but I’m going to anyway.”

  Chapter 16

  Dante’s lips brushed against mine, and I gasped as his magic heated my skin.

  The power between us sizzled and zapped. I’d never been so acutely aware of my magic before.

  Shapeshifters are powerful. How else could we change between two forms of vastly different sizes? Supernatural forces were definitely involved, but our abilities were mostly limited to shapeshifting.

  This was different, more dynamic.

  Dante pulled back to gauge my reaction before he kissed me again. One of his hands moved to my lower back while the other remained on my cheek. He didn’t push for more, simply savored my lips, stoking the flames of our magic.

  I’d been kissed before, but no shapeshifter had ever made me feel the way Dante did. He wasn’t pushy, and his kiss remained gentle and controlled. His magic was another story; he seemed to have less control over the energy flowing between us. I gripped his shoulders as I gave in to the heady sensation of Dante’s kiss.

  He finally broke the kiss and rested his forehead against mine as he stroked my hair. “What are we doing?”

  “Acting foolish?” I suggested as I cuddled closer.

  “Do you regret acting foolish?” he asked, pulling back slightly to meet my gaze.

  “No, even knowing this is a mistake.”

  “It’s not a mistake,” he argued.

  “We can’t be together,” I reminded him. “I have to return to my old life. It’s not as if I could stay here, even if I didn’t need to go back home. Someone will find out what I am eventually.”

  “I still haven’t found a way to help you,” he reminded me.

  “I know,” I admitted with a sad smile as I stepped back. “Even if you can’t find a way to help me, I still can’t stay with you indefinitely. I need to change forms, and that will make it more likely I’ll be found out.”

  “Why not do it now?” he suggested.

  “Now?” I asked.

  He nodded. “It will buy you more time, right? You’ll be able to go longer before I have to get you home. It will be hard to find a place for you to change in Azuredale.”

  “I guess. Is it safe for me to run around in cat form here?”

  “Safer than any other place I can think of,” he replied as he looked around. “I’ll be close by in case there’s a problem with a shapeshifter.”

  “And you already said there are no hunters out this way,” I mused.

  “That’s right,” he agreed. “This seems like a good time.”

  “Maybe,” I hedged.

  “What’s holding you back?” he asked.

  “Promise you won’t laugh.”

  His lips kicked up into a smile. “I can’t make that promise, but I’ll try.”

  “You’ve never seen my cat form, and it feels very personal,” I admitted.

  “Are you worried I’ll think less of you after I see you in animal form?” he asked.

  “Why would I think that?”

  “Because of what I am,” he replied.

  Was I afraid of how he’d view me after seeing I was the very thing he hunted?

  Dante knew I was a shapeshifter. It’s not as if he’d be shocked by my change, yet I was somewhat afraid of his reaction.

  What I’d said about it being very personal was true, but I wouldn’t have felt awkward around Alaric or any other shapeshifter.

  “I suppose I’m worried it will all seem more real to you. It’s a lot easier to say you’re okay with me being a shapeshifter when this is all you’ve seen.” I gestured to myself. “I look like a witch.”

  “But you’re not, and I know t
hat every time I touch you,” he reminded me.

  “Can you honestly say you won’t feel differently once you see me as a cat?” I asked.

  “No,” he admitted. “That’s not the answer you want, and I wish I could give you more reassurances. We barely know each other, yet I feel a strong connection to you. I like you, and I’m incredibly attracted to you.”

  “But that might change if you see physical proof I’m a dirty shapeshifter,” I added.

  “I never said that.” He sounded a little angry. “I didn’t insult you.”

  “Thoughts of being with a shapeshifter would have disgusted you before you brought me back to Azuredale.”

  He blew out a frustrated breath and ran his fingers through his hair. “Yes, but a lot has changed. I’ve changed.”

  “People don’t change that quickly,” I argued.

  “Sure they do,” he insisted. “All it takes is a catalyst, and you were that catalyst for me. Now, you only have two choices, unless you don’t really need to shift into your animal form very often.”

  “I do,” I replied.

  “Then, your choices are simple. Either change here, or we’ll have to try to find another place soon. I doubt we’ll find a better spot.”

  “You forgot the third option,” I pointed out.

  “What’s that?” he asked.

  “I can leave you here and try to find Alaric again.”

  Chapter 17

  Dante’s jaw clenched, and it looked like he was grinding his back teeth. He didn’t like my suggestion, but he had to see that it made sense. I didn’t like thinking about the possibility that I’d never return to my home, but I knew it was a real possibility.

  The spellcasters would discover my secret eventually, so I might be safer with the rebels. Of course, that would mean giving up any chance of stopping Nidia, and I wasn’t sure I could do that.

  “Are you going to say something?” I asked after several heartbeats of silence passed.

  “Yes,” he replied in a clipped tone.

  “When?” I asked.

  “When I can trust myself not to say something rude about your going off with some strange shapeshifter.” His jaw muscle ticked. “I’m not quite there yet.”

  “I already went off with some strange warlock.”

  “You didn’t have a lot of options,” he reminded me.

  “I still don’t have a lot of options.”

  “And you think Alaric can take better care of you.” There was no missing the anger in his voice when he said Alaric’s name.

  “Are you jealous?” I asked.

  “No.” He paused before blowing out a frustrated breath. “I’m not jealous of Alaric. Neither of you did anything to make me jealous. Why would I be jealous?”

  “I wondered the same, but you are a little too angry about the idea of Alaric helping me,” I replied. “Jealousy is the only explanation I can come up with.”

  Dante blew out a frustrated breath and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m not ready for you to leave. That sounds even worse than jealousy.” His gaze locked with mine. “You intrigue me.”

  “I guess I can understand that,” I admitted.

  “Are you saying I intrigue you, as well?” he asked.

  “A little,” I replied.

  “More than a little,” he argued as he moved closer.

  “Fine,” I relented. “More than a little. This situation is insane. I don’t want to like you, and I shouldn’t trust you.”

  “You’ve already mentioned that you had no choice but to trust me,” he pointed out.

  “If I had wanted to go with Alaric, would you have let me?” I asked as I met his gaze.

  Hot magic rushed out and glided along my skin. “Does it feel like I’m holding you captive?” He gestured around us. “Do you have any sort of binding spell on you? Have I tied you up? Beaten you? Threatened you?”

  “I’m not saying you’re holding me captive, but you are acting strange.” I shook my head. “Maybe I’m wrong and this isn’t unusual for you. I say I don’t know you, and then I pretend to know how you normally act.”

  “I am acting strange,” he agreed. “When I think about you leaving with Alaric, it makes me crazy. Part of it’s jealousy, but the other is more complicated. My magic craves the connection with yours. The thought of losing that connection makes me feel edgy and want to lash out.”

  “But you know I can’t stay with you.”

  “Yeah, I know,” he replied. “We should get out of here if you aren’t going to take advantage of this time to change into your animal form.”

  “Yes, it will probably look suspicious if we stay out too long.”

  “This day hasn’t gone at all like I planned,” he said with a sigh.

  Despite all the stress, I laughed.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked as he opened the driver’s side door for me.

  “I’d already figured out this wasn’t how you’d thought your day would go,” I explained. “Who expects to pretend to kill a shapeshifter?”

  “That was a first for me,” he admitted. “I shouldn’t have brought you with me to deal with Alaric. It was stupid and risky.”

  “I can take care of myself,” I assured him. “Besides, you wouldn’t have been able to do this without me. Had he woken up with just you there, he might have panicked.”

  “You’re probably right,” he agreed as he slid behind the wheel. “I’m still worried someone from the disposal area will mention your name to one of the Shadow Walkers.”

  “Anyone from Azuredale could also talk to them about me, right?” I asked.

  Dante started up the truck. “Yeah, but I’m more worried about Juni telling someone. Erik might even mention you, though he’s much shyer.”

  “All the more reason to figure out how to get me back to my home sooner rather than later,” I stated. “We didn’t have any choice today if we wanted to save Alaric.”

  “You wanted to save Alaric,” he reminded me.

  He drove in silence for several minutes as we both considered our situation.

  “Do you think this is what it was like before the rebellions?” he asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do you think this connection we have is what spellcasters felt with their familiars before the spell changed?” he asked. “Do you think it was a natural bond that caused them to be drawn together rather than the forced connection most feel now?”

  “Maybe in the very beginning,” I replied. “From what I’ve been told, my people felt like slaves even before the spell gave them the power to change into this form. That’s what we’ve all been told. Of course, no one is alive from back then.”

  “I wonder what we could do if we ever entered into genuine partnerships. Do you suppose it would enhance both our power?”

  “Isn’t that part of what happens when we trade?” I asked. “You give us supplies, and we give you access to some of our magic for your spells.”

  “It’s not the same as bonding with a familiar.” He cursed under his breath before continuing. “Sorry. I keep saying I’m not going to refer to shapeshifters as familiars again, but then I do it. It’s harder when I’m talking about the bond.”

  “I guess old habits are hard to break,” I replied.

  “Yes, but I’m trying.”

  “I know you are, and I’m not angry about your slip up,” I assured him.

  “Maybe I’ll get it right before you leave me,” he replied. “It would be nice to go a short time without you getting irritated with me.”

  “I’m a little edgy.”

  “No surprise there,” he replied. “A lot is going on.”

  “I probably should have taken the opportunity to change into a cat,” I admitted. “It feels too personal, but I know it would take the edge off.”

  Dante took a sharp turn onto a narrow dirt road.

  “This isn’t the way we came here,” I told him.

  “I know,” he replied. “There’s a go
od spot at the end of this road.”

  “A good spot for what?” I asked.

  “For you to change into your animal form,” he replied in a curt tone.

  “We don’t have to stop. We already agreed to wait. I can last longer,” I assured him.

  “How much longer?” he pushed.

  “Maybe a week.” That would be hard for me to pull off, but I could do it.”

  “But you already said you’re edgy,” he reminded me. “It’s only going to get worse.”

  “Fine,” I snapped before taking a deep breath. “You’re right.”

  “Can I watch?” He sounded hopeful. “As I said, I can look away.”

  “I’d rather not have you watch me change forms,” I replied. “It’s okay if you want to see my cat form after I change.”

  He smiled. “You don’t need to worry about what I’ll think of you. I’m looking forward to seeing this side of you. I want to know all of you.”

  “Let’s see if you feel the same in five minutes.”

  Chapter 18

  Once we reached the end of the dirt road, Dante parked and looked over at me. “I’ll get out of the truck so you can have some privacy to undress.”

  “Thank you. It’s hard enough having you see me in my cat form without you seeing me naked.”

  “Is the idea of me seeing you naked worse than me seeing you as a cat?”

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “My reasons for each are different.”

  “That makes sense since you have fur covering every part of your body in your animal form,” he mused.

  I schooled my features into a serious expression before asking, “What makes you think I don’t have fur over most of my body now?”

  Dante’s eyes widened before he let out a bark of laughter. “I can’t believe I almost fell for that. I’m sure I’d have felt that when I touched you. I’ve also seen you in just my shirt. I’ll secure the area. What do you look like in cat form? I need to be able to recognize you.”

  “I’m a small black cat with the same green eyes.”

  “All right,” he said with a nod.

  We both stepped out of the truck, and Dante started checking the area around us while I stripped out of my clothes.

  “This may not be a good idea,” he called out. “Something is off.”