by R. E. Butler
When she walked into her mom’s home, her mom called from the kitchen, “Let’s take my car, sweetheart, so we can have the trunk space.”
Valerie joined her mom in the kitchen. “Muffins, yum. What kind?”
“Lemon-blueberry. I packed a bag. We’re going to Lombard’s Market first, and it’s an hour drive.”
Valerie filled up a travel mug with coffee and climbed into her mother’s sedan, grabbing a muffin from the plastic container as soon as they were on their way. While they drove, Valerie shared all the details about the rehearsal dinner, the wedding, and the spa.
“You’ll find someone when the time is right,” her mom said, patting her knee.
“I just wish I knew where he was so I could find him.”.
“The reward is sweeter when you have to wait for it.”
“You should put that on a pillow,” she said, teasing.
“Maybe I will,” her mom said, giving Valerie a wink.
The flea market was held under several large tents. After paying for parking, they walked through the main gate and into the first tent. Her mother had a sixth sense for finding things. Valerie liked to pick up the odd piece of jewelry or kitschy home decor piece, but she really didn’t collect anything. Except romance novels. And ever since she’d gotten her e-reader, she no longer had to find a place to store all the books she bought. Although she loved her e-reader, she still enjoyed holding a real ink-and-paper book in her hands from time to time. Especially the books her grandmother had given to her when she was little; old dog-eared copies of Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov.
Valerie turned her attention to her mother, who was haggling with an older gentleman over the price of a porcelain teapot. Her mother collected them, even though she didn’t drink tea, which was just part of what made her mom fun and quirky. Leaving her mom arguing for a lower price due to a hairline crack in the handle, Valerie walked down the main aisle, sweeping her gaze back and forth over the tables.
Something tickled her awareness as she passed by one table, and she turned to face a woman sitting behind a plastic folding table covered with colorful silks and antique jewelry.
“See something ya like, honey?” the woman asked, a cigarette dangling between her lips. Her voice was rough, like she’d smoked far too many cigarettes and chased them with bottle after bottle of whiskey.
Valerie opened her mouth to that say she wasn’t interested in buying any jewelry, when a necklace caught her eye. For one moment, her vision narrowed and her heart stopped beating as she stared at a medallion on a golden chain. The medallion had the image of a tiger on it, caught mid-roar, fangs flashing. She moved to the table and grazed the metal with her fingertips. Electricity shot up her arm, and she swore she could hear a tiger roaring.
Glancing over her shoulder but finding nothing out of the ordinary, she lifted the chain and laid the medallion in the center of her palm. Her hands tingled, the sensation intensifying as she rubbed the surface with her thumb.
“How much?” she asked, without lifting her eyes from the necklace.
The woman didn’t speak for long enough that Valerie lifted her head and stared at her. The woman’s pale gray eyes were now bright gold. She tipped her head to the side, her cigarette falling to the ground, and said in a clear, high voice, “For you, fifty will do.”
Valerie was entirely weirded out by the strange woman with the color-changing eyes and odd voice. Glancing at the medallion, she thought she saw the tiger’s jaw move, and the roar sounded in her ear again. It wasn’t a furious roar, but one of longing – sad, almost. Hopeful.
Her heart squeezed so painfully that she thought it might burst. Inhaling and exhaling, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the money she’d brought. Dropping it into the woman’s outstretched hand, she wrapped her fingers around the medallion and let out a sharp breath as her palm began to burn.
“There are many things that cannot be explained in this life, and it is a good thing to follow your instincts in all matters. This necklace was meant for you alone. You must put it on before the moon rises tonight, or he will be lost to you forever.”
“He? He who?” she asked, taking a step back to distance herself from the strange woman.
“Your soulmate. Don’t forget…by moonrise tonight.”
The woman’s eyes flashed brightly for a moment and then returned to gray. She exhaled loudly and slumped in her chair. Her hand clutched the money Valerie had given her, and she asked with her rough voice, “You paid for that?”
“Yes,” Valerie said, frowning. “You said fifty and I agreed.”
Valerie opened her hand enough to show the woman the medallion. Her hand had stopped burning, but it still tingled.
“I don’t…you got that here?”
Valerie nodded, thinking the woman had clearly lost her marbles. “I’m going to go now. Thank you.” She fled, hurrying back in the direction she’d left her mom. Her heart was hammering in her chest, and her mouth was dry.
Shaking, she clutched the necklace and held it against her chest.
“You look white as a sheet,” her mom said as she watched the teapot she’d successfully bartered for being wrapped in bubble wrap.
“There was the strangest woman,” Valerie said.
“And?”
“I saw this necklace, and she…” she paused, looking at her mom.
“And she what?”
Deciding her mom wouldn’t believe her anyway, she shook her head and opened her hand. “Nothing. I bought this.”
“Oh, pretty!” Her mom reached for the necklace, and Valerie pulled her hand out of reach. For some reason, she didn’t want her mom – or anyone – to touch it.
Chuckling to hide the awkwardness she suddenly felt, she pushed the medallion into her pocket and said, “So you got the teapot?”
Her mom’s frown disappeared as she wiggled her brows. “Of course. I know you didn’t doubt my powers of persuasion.”
Valerie laughed. “Of course not.”
“I hope you got a good price on the necklace,” she said as she accepted the package from the vendor.
“I did.”
“What do I always say?”
“Never accept the first price.”
Valerie opted not to tell her mom that she hadn’t haggled; she didn’t want her to be disappointed. It actually hadn’t occurred to her to ask for a better price. The woman had asked for fifty, and that happened to be the exact amount that she’d had in her pocket. Weird didn’t even begin to describe how she felt, but she also was extremely happy to have the beautiful necklace.
They stopped at a small picnic table in a common area, and her mom went to buy hotdogs from a vendor. She returned a few moments later with cold sodas and hotdogs topped with shredded cheese, relish, and yellow mustard. Valerie popped the top of her soda and took a long drink.
“Why don’t you put the necklace on?”
She found that her hand was resting unconsciously over the pocket that held the necklace. Valerie considered her mother’s suggestion, but she had a strange feeling she should wait until she was alone to put the necklace on. Her mom stared at her for a moment, shrugged, and then began to share details of her triumphant bartering with the teapot seller. Valerie didn’t share her mom’s interest in antiques, but she enjoyed the way her navy-blue eyes lit up when she spoke about things she wanted to find.
After discarding their empty plates, they wandered around the flea market for a while. Valerie carried her mom’s purchases and watched with bemused pride as she haggled over everything that caught her eye. When dinnertime approached and Valerie’s stomach began to growl, her mom agreed it had been a full day and they could leave.
Antsy for a reason she couldn’t explain, Valerie pulled the necklace from her pocket, holding the medallion in her hand and wrapping the golden chain around her fingers. She could think of nothing else but getting home and putting the necklace on.
“Do you know when the moon rises?” Valerie asked.
“Can’t say that I do. Isn’t it one of those things that’s different every day, like the sunrise and sunset?”
“I think so.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and opened the browser, typing in ‘when does the moon rise today’ into the search bar. She hummed. “Seven twenty-three.”
“Why do you want to know?”
She opened her mouth to tell her what the strange woman had said about putting the necklace on before the moon rose, but she decided against it. While Valerie had always loved science fiction and fantasy, it was a love they’d never shared. Her mom believed in reality. When Valerie was twelve, she’d wanted to stay up late to watch a science fiction movie marathon. Her mother had said no. It wasn’t that Valerie wasn’t old enough to stay up late; her mom hadn’t thought the movies were worth watching in general, let alone worth losing sleep over.
Valerie had always liked supernatural things. Her interest had been piqued at a young age by a neighbor who had created a ‘fairy garden’ in her flower bed. The tiny house and furniture had captivated Valerie. She’d spent many hours just staring at the adorably small items in hopes of seeing the flutter of fairy wings. Her mom hadn’t wanted anything to do with the fantasy world that Valerie had spun in her mind, which involved a fairy family who lived in the house. Valerie hadn’t been disappointed as much as sad that her mom didn’t believe in magic.
“Do you believe in fate?” Valerie asked.
“Not really. I think we make our own choices, and that means fate isn’t really a real thing.”
“So you don’t believe in love at first sight, or finding something unique in the world that’s meant just for you?”
She arched a brow. “Is this something from one of your animal romance stories?”
Wrinkling her nose, she said, “Mom, no, that’s not at all what they’re about. The characters can change into animals, but they’re still human.”
“Whatever,” she said, chuckling. “You always liked books and movies that weren’t based in reality.”
“Reality’s boring.”
“It’s what’s real.”
“So you’re saying if you had the chance to shift into an animal, that you wouldn’t want to?”
“It’s not going to happen, so I don’t really see the point of wondering about it.”
Sighing, Valerie said, “I clearly get my practical side from you. Who do I get my romantic fantasy side from?”
“My aunt. Mary-Grace loved to read romances. She devoured them.”
When her mom had parked in the garage, Valerie leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Thanks for lunch, I had a great time.”
“Me, too. I can’t believe you only bought one thing.”
“Well, I didn’t have anything specific I wanted to look for.”
“Enjoy your night. I’ll talk to you soon.”
As she headed home, all her thoughts were of putting the necklace on as soon as possible. Instead of stopping for something to eat, she suddenly felt as if wearing it was the most important thing she could do. Before the moon rose. Glancing at the clock, she saw that moonrise was a mere twenty minutes away. She pressed her foot to the gas pedal, aware that she’d never felt so strangely connected to anything.
This is absurd, she thought, as she opened her front door and walked to the kitchen. She laid the medallion on the counter. It’s just a necklace, for goodness’ sake. It’s not as if it could possibly be made just for me.
Lifting the chain, she let it slip through her fingers until the medallion was resting in the center of her palm. Rubbing her finger along the tiger’s head, she paused. Had she just heard a roar? Again? No, of course not. She shook her head at herself with a laugh that sounded far too forced in her own ears. She had clearly been reading too many paranormal romance novels about shifters if she thought she was hearing roaring because she’d stroked a necklace.
She reached for her cell to call Bethany so her best friend could tell her how silly she was being, when she remembered she was on her honeymoon.
Peering at the necklace, and then at the clock to confirm it was still before moonrise, she said out loud to no one in particular, “No harm ever came from putting on a necklace,” and undid the simple clasp. Fixing it around her neck, she took a step toward her bedroom to look at herself in the mirror on the back of her door, when her knees turned to jelly and her vision blurred.
Stumbling, she caught herself on the kitchen counter, barely stopping before she crashed to the floor. Her ears rang, and her pulse raced as she gasped for air. The thick scent of woods filled her nose as her vision tunneled. A dark forest loomed before her. Her home faded around her as she fell forward, landing not on the floor, but on dry grass.
Chapter 4
Charisma padded through the trees, his belly full from a successful hunt and his mind set on his soulmate. He wondered about her: if she came from a large family; if she wouldn’t mind living in the middle of butt-nowhere with him; if she liked cats.
His whiskers twitched as he smiled at the thought. He doubted that his soulmate would be a dog person. That would just be too weird to contemplate.
A pained feminine grunt reached his sensitive ears. Without thought, he turned in the direction of the sound, which was coming from near his home. As he moved swiftly through the trees, he glanced up at the sky and saw the pale white orb of the moon. He hadn’t realized he’d been out running past moonrise. Elation ran through him. Had the spell worked? Had the necklace brought his soulmate to him?
A roar escaped his throat as anxiety and need twined inside him. He’d never run so fast in his life. He flew through the trees, skidding to a stop as a woman’s fearful scream cut right through him.
The bright light of the full moon cast a pale glow around her where she sat on the ground, her body frozen and the scent of her fear filling the air. She rose unsteadily to her feet, her voice high with fright. “Shit.”
He could hear her heart beating rapidly. He was afraid she’d run into the woods and get lost, so he let go of his hold on his shift and changed into his human form.
Her mouth opened and her brows furrowed.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said.
“You…just…what?” She spoke haltingly, as if her mind couldn’t quite make sense of what she’d just seen. Then her eyes rolled back in her head and she tumbled to the ground. Charisma growled at himself for not realizing she’d be frightened at seeing him shift. He’d been so consumed with getting to her that he hadn’t thought to shift in the woods before he reached her. He lifted her into his arms and carried her into his cabin.
Kicking the front door closed, he carried her to the master bedroom and drew the covers back. He laid her down and brushed a lock of golden-brown hair from her forehead. Turning on the small lamp on the nightstand, he saw a glint of gold around her throat. The medallion twinkled in the soft light, and he breathed out a sigh of relief. Just seeing it on her neck made everything inside him quiet.
Glancing at the clock, he marked the time in his mind. He had twenty-four hours to convince her that they were meant to be together. Touching her skin, he noticed she was chilled, so he tugged off her shoes and set them on the floor and then laid his softest blanket over her. She didn’t move at all aside from the rise and fall of her chest. He stepped into the closet and dressed, then headed into the kitchen to make her something to eat in case she was hungry when she awoke.
Checking the fridge, he removed items to make her a sandwich. As he set the packages of sliced ham and colby cheese on the counter, a sharp pain lanced through him. Gritting his teeth, he pressed his palm to his stomach and waited for the pain to pass. When it eased after a long moment, he lifted his shirt to see if he’d grazed his skin during his hunt, but found no outward source for the pain.
After he made the sandwich, he cleaned up the kitchen and put a pot of water on the stove to boil for tea. Turning his attention to the family room, he walked to the fireplace to add a few logs to the low-burning flam
es. Then he carried the plate with the sandwich back to his bedroom to wait for his soulmate to wake up.
* * *
Valerie’s head ached. She groaned softly as she rubbed her eyes. Blinking a few times to clear the haze, she stared at the ceiling, which looked nothing like her apartment ceiling. This one was made of rough-hewn wood, not painted wallboard. The last thing she remembered was…a tiger! Sitting up with a gasp, she found herself in an unfamiliar bedroom, staring at a handsome man who was leaning against the wall with his arms folded.
He looked immediately familiar. Her mind raced, flashing through images of the tiger changing into a man. This man!
“I’m dead, right? I…this is not possible. Where the hell am I?” she asked, clutching the blanket close to her chest.
She couldn’t stop herself from noticing how gorgeous he was. Pale blond hair and piercing blue eyes, full lips and a set of broad shoulders that led to a tapered waist. He smiled, showing a dimple in one cheek, and said, “My name is Charisma Gains. You’re in my home, and you’re safe here.”
She couldn’t place it, but there was something familiar about him, and it wasn’t just that she’d seen him before she passed out. She felt like she’d known him her whole life. But that was insane, since she’d never met him before.
Swallowing hard, she ripped her gaze from his kissable mouth and said, “I’m Valerie Winters. How did I get here?”
He straightened and moved slowly to the bed, stopping when her knuckles cracked as she gripped the blanket more tightly. Keeping his distance, he said, “Where did you get the necklace?”
“I found it at a flea market. The woman I bought it from told me to put it on before the moon rose on All Hallows’ Eve. I did, and then I heard a tiger roar and I fell.” Shaking her head, she pushed the strange images out of her mind. There was no way that she’d put on a necklace and then woken up in a stranger’s bedroom.
