Breaking Traditions: The Shifter And The Mage

by Madilynn Dale

  "I can agree with that. If the campus were any bigger, I probably would not have chosen to attend it. Do you want another drink? I am feeling thirsty." He says, pointing to my cup, which is now empty.

  "Oh, I didn't even realize I drank it all. Sure, that would be nice." I look at my cup again and then offer it to him.

  Taking the cup, he says, "Okay, I am going to step over here and fill it up. You can watch me if you would like. I promise not to mess with it or anything. I have sisters, and I would hate for someone to do that to them."

  "Oh, I hadn't even thought of that. I am not much of a party goer usually. Thank you for being honest."

  I watch as he moves back toward the kitchen. He seems like a nice guy so far, and I get this strange yet comforting vibe from him. Not having much experience in the dating department, I can't decide if that is normal or not.

  After a few minutes, he returns with drinks in hand.

  "Thanks," I say, reaching for my cup.

  "You are most certainly welcome." He smiles. "So, what type of magical abilities do you have? Is that too forward of a question?"

  I laugh then sip my beer. "No, that question is fine. I am a wolf shifter, so I have your typical heightened senses and strength. What about you? I can't sense that you are a shifter."

  He laughs, breaking out into that gorgeous smile again. "You are right. I am not a shifter but a mage. I have some unique abilities that classify me as an Animagus but nothing over the top."

  "Oh? What can you turn into?" I ask with my eyebrows raised in curiosity.

  "Well, that is a secret, if I tell you I might have to kill you."

  I laugh at his awkward attempt at flirting.

  "Really, though, I can turn into a snowy owl. It is something my grandfather taught me how to do when I was younger."

  "That is interesting. Is it similar to how shifters change forms?"

  "Hmm, I don't think so. Does it hurt when you turn into a wolf?"

  "It did for the first few times I did it, but after that, I blocked it out. Does it hurt for you?" I shift my weight as I stand and lean into the wall beside us.

  "No, but it takes a lot of focus and concentration at first. I have to clear my mind to allow myself to change. If I lose focus, it just stops."

  "So, you get stuck in half shift then?"

  "No, unfortunately. My body just stays torqued into odd angles without animal features. It is not comfortable when that happens. The idea of being able to shift and have my wings partially would be awesome, but for some reason, an Animagus is unable to do that."

  "Well, that sucks. I guess that is one of the things that sets us shifters apart from an Animagus. We can partially shift, see."

  I lift my left arm and hold my cup with my right. I call out to my inner wolf, and within seconds my hand is covered in fur, and my fingers have elongated into claws.

  "That is amazing!" He exclaims, reaching out to touch my hand. "I can touch you, right?"

  I laugh and find his fascination entertaining. "Yeah, you can touch it. I won't bite, too hard anyway."

  I continue to chuckle as he pets my arm. He has a light blush to his cheeks as he does it, but I know his curiosity wins out over his discomfort.

  After petting my arm for a few seconds, he steps back and looks up at me. I let my arm return to normal and smile at him.

  "Thanks for letting me do that," He says with a slight flush coloring his cheeks. "I have always been curious about what it feels like to feel a real shifter's fur."

  "Well, now, you know." I take another sip of my beer and notice one of the members of his little group slowly approaching us.

  "Hey man," he addresses Alex. "We are going to head back soon. Are you going to ride with us, or do you have other plans?" He sweeps his gaze over to me. "Sorry, I am Eddie, by the way. I am one of his roommates."

  "Eddie, this is Natalie, Natalie, Eddie," Alex says, quickly introducing us.

  "Nice to meet you."

  "Eddie, I can meet you guys out at the car in a few minutes."

  "Sure, thing, man," Eddie responds, and I watch his lean frame walk back toward the group. Eddie is tall and lanky like a bean pole with a head of blonde hair and brown eyes.

  "Is your friend a mage?" I turn my attention back to Alex.

  "Yeah, all my roommates are. We met and bonded our freshman year and have been close ever since."

  "That is great. I hope I can have that with my roommate Addy. I should probably try to text her again to check on her. I may be calling it a night soon if I don't get any response."

  "That may be a good idea to check on her. It is getting late. I hope she is okay. Would it be okay if I got your number?"

  I smile at his blatant switch in conversation. "Yes, I will gladly exchange numbers with you."

  We both pull out our phones and pass them to each other. I plug my information into his phone, and he does the same. We both hit save and pass them back.

  "Well, Natalie, I have enjoyed talking with you tonight. Would you be up to meeting me for coffee on Sunday? There is a small coffee shop called Mocha Loca’s that makes great lattes." He asks me, fiddling with his now empty cup.

  "That sounds fun. I would love to," I respond. "Plus, I love their lattes. I visit them at least once a week regularly."

  "Oh, great! So does six p.m. work for you that day?"

  I take a minute to think over my schedule for the next week in my head. "Yes, that works out perfectly. I will meet you then."

  He smiles before grabbing my hand and squeezing it. "Well, I better go catch my ride before they leave me behind. I will text you tomorrow. Be safe tonight."

  "I will. Be careful as well. I will talk to you tomorrow." I squeeze his hand in return, and he turns with a wink to walk toward the kitchen.

  I feel excited, and like I am floating on cloud nine from our encounter. I love the feeling. I glance down at my drink and see that I have a little bit of beer left. I chug what is left and then check my phone for any messages. I pull up the one I sent to Addy earlier and notice that it still has the unread notification next to it from her. I sigh and then make my way back into the busy kitchen to dispose of my cup.

  After that, I squeeze my way back out to the front of the house and out the door. I take in a deep breath of the cool night air and notice that it has rained some since I arrived. Thankfully, it has stopped, or there is a pause, so I take off at a fast walk in my car's direction.

  Arriving back in my dorm room several minutes later, I notice that Addy's bed is still empty. It worries me that I haven't heard from her, so I shoot her another text.

  Me: Hey, I am worried about you. I hung out at the party for a bit, but I never saw you. Let me know that you are okay, please. See you tomorrow.

  I don't expect a response, so I plug my phone in and prepare for bed. Hopefully, my body will let me sleep in tomorrow morning, but knowing my normal sleep and wake schedule; I doubt it will happen. I may have to pick up a coffee in the morning anyway or better yet pick up a coffee pot for our room.

  I let my mind replay my visit with Alex as I drift off to sleep. I can't wait to hear from here tomorrow.

  2. Alex

  Leaving the party, I feel like I am floating on a cloud of emotions. Natalie was a beautiful and intriguing surprise tonight. I found her curvy body and long dark curls appealing, and her personality magnetic after talking with her! I mean, wow! She seems perfect. It was so easy to get lost in our conversation tonight. Oh, and the whole partial shift thing blew me away.

  Since I grew up predominantly in the natural human world, I missed out on a lot of things that the magical world provides. I hail from a family of mages, wizards, and witches. My mom and dad decided to forgo their upbringing and put me in regular school. If it weren’t for my grandfather, who lived with us for most of my childhood, I probably wouldn’t know anything about my heritage. Mom was so strict growing up about us not using magic in the house. She finally caved when my older twin sisters accidentally ble
w a hole in their wall with a spell. It was then that I showed her what grandpa had taught me.

  I revealed that I could turn into a giant snowy owl. My owl form is larger than a lot of regular snowy owls and actually resembles that of owl shifters. After that, mom signed me up for an online magical education that led me to earn a scholarship for the Academy. I am here on a full ride, and I am very proud of that. I still have to work a side job to manage other bills, but it is worth it.

  Growing up, my family didn’t have a lot of money, so I know a thing or two about savings and using my money responsibly. I started working as a school janitor after school when I was fourteen to start saving up. Now, I work as a manager for a small mom and pop restaurant down the road from our rent house called Claribell’s. They specialize in gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches and soups. They work great with my class schedule.

  Pulling my head back into the present, I realize that I am almost to the car. I can see Eddie, Lainee, and Derick leaned up against the silver Ford Focus. As I get closer, I notice that Stevie is sitting in the driver’s seat. I am glad she volunteered to be our DD tonight. She is not a massive fan of drinking; she knows Derick, her boyfriend, loves to get sloppy when we go out.

  Stevie is a short busty girl with blue dyed hair. She is studying to be a Veterinarian of Magical beasts. She has a dark skin tone, which makes her hair stand out. Her counterpart Derick is of medium build and thick. He is studying in the same field.

  Lainee and Eddie, who are also a couple, are studying business with me. They have been together since high school. Lainee is thin and athletic with long blonde hair and grey eyes. She is much shorter than her bean pole of a boyfriend, Eddie. He has brown eyes and blonde hair and is literally the tallest person I know. If you ever get lost in a crowd, just stand next to him, and he can point you in the right direction.

  Walking up to the group of mages, Lainee is the first to speak. “It’s about time you make it out here, lover boy. We all had a bet going that you would end up going home with that shifter. She was pretty hot.”

  I roll my eyes at her. Lainee has always been the most brutally honest person in our group. Everyone else laughs as we pile into the vehicle.

  “She was pretty hot, man,” Eddie says, slapping my shoulder as I slide into the backseat next to him. “Are you going to see her again?”

  I smile at him and notice everyone is looking at me as I respond, “yeah, I have a date with her on Sunday. Why? Is there something I should know?”

  At that point, Stevie turns around in her seat to look me in the eye. Everyone seems to still as she speaks. “Well, normally shifters stick to dating their own species. Wolves are very finicky because once they decide on someone, that is it for them. They mate for life.”

  “Oh,” I say, leaning back into my seat. “I didn’t know that.”

  “I figured you didn’t,” she says, turning back around to start the car. “Just be careful. I don’t know many mages who have dated shifters.”

  Everyone mumbles an agreement as we pull out into the road. We all ride in silence as the time of night seems to hit us all. It is late, and none of us typically do the party thing that often, but we thought it would be great to bring in the new school year. I feel like this semester is going to be different, especially now that I met Natalie.

  There is just something about her that calls to me. I can’t put my finger on it. I know we are different beings, but essentially, we both have a human side. I don’t know why that gets overlooked by some, but I am not going to let that stop me from trying to date her. Something about her is special.

  After several minutes we pull up and park in front of our rented house. It is not much to look at on the outside, but it serves its purpose well. It is a decent-sized home with five bedrooms, three baths, an attached three-car garage, and a small backyard. The garage has extra space with a little apartment set up above it. The outside is made of dark brick with black trim that could use another layer of paint in some areas. There is even an extra-large den where we can watch tv and study as a group.

  We leave the car outside in front of the garage as we all pile out to enter the house. Making our way up the concrete sidewalk, we take the steps one at a time to mount the small porch situated at the front of the house.

  Entering the house, we all head off in our designated directions toward our rooms. The girls have been living with us for some time, and we are all literally like family. We got past the awkward stage of them being here that first year of school, and now they have no issue wandering around the house braless under their t-shirts.

  I walk across the carpeted floor of our living area toward the back hall that leads to my room. I find my door and push it open after navigating through the darkness. My room is a decent size with carpeted flooring and a queen-sized bed. I am terrible about making my bed, so the blankets are thrown back in the position they ended up in when I got up this morning. There is a small nightstand next to my bed, matching the chest of drawers against the wall. There is a small wooden desk in the corner by the window covered with dark blackout curtains. My closet is open with clothes strung out next to the chest of drawers.

  I quickly strip down into my boxers and prepare for bed. I plug my phone in and check to see if I have any messages. Thinking about Natalie, I pull up her number and decide to send her a goodnight text. I hope that she doesn’t find it weird. It has been a couple of years since I dated someone, so I am sadly out of practice when it comes to the dating scene.

  Me: Hey, I loved talking with you tonight. I hope you made it back okay. Goodnight!

  I set the phone down and pull my sheet and comforter across my middle. As I am snuggling down into the soft mattress, my phone vibrates on the wooden surface of my nightstand. I pick it up and see that Natalie has texted me back.

  Natalie: Hey, I did make it back safe. I enjoyed it too. Talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight.

  I smile and set it back down. I can’t wait to see where this goes. I fall asleep with visions of her beautiful brown curls wrapped around my fingers.

  3. Natalie

  The next morning, I find myself headed to my parent's bakery, Sweets Eat’s, despite their requests for me not to worry about working and focus on school. I have helped out with various tasks at the bakery since I could walk. It is ingrained in me, and I just feel weird, not being there. I tell myself that I am just going to stop in for a bit, say hi, and leave.

  I park behind the bakery and slide out of my car. The back is grungy but not disgusting. My dad had several lights installed years ago that keep it lit up at night to allow employees to make it to their vehicles safely. The door to the back of the bakery is a solid green color, and a large dumpster is placed not too far from it.

  Nearing the door, I pull out my keys to let myself in the back. For safety reasons, my parents have always kept the back door locked at all times. If a new employee does not have a key, they are required to come in through the front. The front is a lot nicer than the back for obvious reasons. We don't want to run customers off.

  The front of the building is made of brick with white trim. There are small tables clustered underneath the huge awning that extends from the building. It is there for customers to sit and enjoy the weather with a sweet treat. There are huge windows in the front where customers who choose to sit at tables inside can have plenty of natural light. The inside of the bakery has a white tiled floor and several small black tables. There is a black counter with a massive display case filled with goodies. There is also a basic setup for coffee behind the counter for customers, but it is nothing as fancy as you would find in a coffee house. Our focus has always been on baked goods, although it would be a good move to add fancy coffee to our menu.

  Pulling the door open, I am blasted in the face with the scent of sugar and fresh bread. The smell is terrific, and I take in a deep breath. It instantly releases the tension I didn't realize I was holding, and I step into the back room of the bakery. I move over the cubbies place
d along the wall to deposit my bag. Having it stowed away; I grab an apron from the hooks next to it. The backroom and all the other rooms have the same white tile as the front. It is a non-slip tile thankfully but is a pain to mop.

  I push through the back door into the kitchen to see my dad and another employee, Stan working on different tasks. Stan is mixing ingredients in a bowl while dad is pulling a tray of cupcakes from the huge oven. I can feel the warmth of the oven from across the room.

  My dad is a tall man with a bit of a belly. He is scruffy looking this morning, and his dark brown hair is sticking out in random directions. He has blue eyes that, unfortunately, did not get passed on to me.

  "Morning!" I chirp as both of them whip their heads in my direction. Stan just raises an eyebrow at me. Having worked with my family for a long time, he knows that I am supposed to be focusing on school, not showing up at the bakery to work. Dad's blue eyes look tired.

  "Hey, sweetie," dad says, setting down his tray of cupcakes. "What are you doing here this morning?" He pulls a small white towel from his back pocket to wipe the sweat from his brow.

  "Oh, you know, just popping in for a bit," I say with a sweet smile on my face as I move over to hug him.

  He hugs me back, "as much as I love seeing you, sweetie, we told you not to worry about work while focusing on school. You should be out hanging with new friends or studying."

  I roll my eyes at his comment and respond, "dad, this is part of my normal habit. I promise I won't stay too long. Is mom upfront?"

  He raises his eyebrow at me. "Yes, she is. We have been pretty steady this morning."

  "Okay, I am going to pop my head out there and see if she needs help. Will you let me know when those cupcakes you pulled out are ready to decorate?"

  He sighs with defeat because he knows there is no arguing with me about work this morning. "Okay, and yes, I will save them just for you to decorate."

  "Great,"

  I slip through the swinging door that separates the kitchen from the front of the house. I notice mom at the cash register with a steady line of customers.