The Purrfect Stranger

by Bianca D'Arc

  “She trusts you. Even after only one night. That says a lot, knowing my cousin.”

  Bill set bacon and eggs on the plates and took a seat at the table next to Suzy. His silence drew Keith’s attention. Bill was just sitting there, watching him.

  “What?” Keith prompted.

  “She’s the one, isn’t she?” Bill asked the question Keith had only just come to terms with himself.

  Slowly, he nodded.

  “Oh, wow.” Suzy spoke, her eyes lit with excited joy.

  “But she ran and I don’t know where she went. Matilda thought of you, Suzy, when I asked her, and here I am. But Valerie’s not here.” He knew he sounded hopeless, but he wasn’t handling this well. His mate had rejected him. It hurt deeper than any wound he’d ever been dealt.

  “She probably wanted to come here, but saw Bill’s truck in the driveway. She wouldn’t intrude on our time together. She knows how special Bill is to me and how new our relationship is.” Suzy’s tone held a banked sort of joy of its own. Could it be his cousin had also paired up with a witch?

  A questioning glance and a slight answering nod from Bill gave Keith his answer. They’d both mated magical women. Goddess help them all.

  “If she didn’t come here, then there’s really only one other place I can think of where she’d go,” Suzy said, oblivious to the silent conversation between the male cousins.

  “Where’s that?” Keith felt hope rise in his chest.

  “My parents’ house. She always goes to my mom and dad for advice. Her own parents are pretty much useless unless it’s a magical matter. Their abilities and duties have their heads in the clouds most of the time. My parents are a little more down to earth and they sort of adopted Val back when we were kids. I bet she went there.” Suzy jumped up and grabbed the phone hanging to one side of a cupboard. “I’ll call and find out.”

  Short minutes later, Suzy had her answer and Keith didn’t like it. Valerie had gone home to her own parents, not Suzy’s. From her reaction, this was more serious than any of them had thought.

  “Why would she go there?” Suzy voiced the question in his mind as she sat at the table. “Unless it’s a magical problem…” Suspicious eyes turned to him. “What exactly happened last night?”

  Keith cleared his throat. “Uh.”

  “Not sexually,” Suzy snapped, concern in her gaze as she pinned him in place with her accusing glare. “Magically. What did you do to her?”

  “Nothing.” He held up his hands palm outward, deflecting the visible waves of her anger away from him.

  She jumped from her chair. “What did you just do?” She made some kind of warding sign in front of her. Keith could see the magical glyph floating in the air even more sharply than he usually perceived magic.

  “I deflected your magic away. It was angry and I didn’t want to deal with that on top of everything else.”

  “You can sense magic?” Suzy looked shocked.

  “I can see it.” Keith stood from the table and headed for the door. He’d find out where Valerie’s parents lived and stalk his prey like the cat he was. No way was she getting away from him. Not now. Not ever.

  “Jeez, Keith,” his cousin swore. “Don’t go off half cocked.”

  Everyone was standing around the table now, tension running high.

  “Have you always been able to see magic?” Suzy’s tone was accusatory.

  “Yes,” Keith bit out.

  “Can you?” She shot her question at Bill.

  “No. Never. It’s not a shifter thing.” Bill looked to Keith for direction.

  “As far as I know, I’m the only cougar who can. It’s not something I use often.”

  “Did you use it last night?”

  “Not intentionally.”

  “But you saw something, right?” Suzy was calming down. “What did you see?”

  “Magic. Twining together.” He heard his voice go all nostalgic when he thought back on the night before. There was no controlling it.

  “Sweet Mother of All. You bonded with her?” Suzy fell back into her chair, clearly stunned.

  “Why shouldn’t I? She’s my mate.” The cat wanted to growl and pounce, but Keith held his other half back, under tight control.

  “Your what?” It was clear that Suzy was utterly shocked by the idea. No wonder Bill hadn’t gotten around to breaking the news to his own mate yet. “Did you tell her that? Does she know?” Suzy’s voice was a mere whisper.

  “I didn’t get a chance. She ran away before we could talk.” Keith’s hurt at the thought sounded through his voice though he did his best to suppress it.

  “Sweet Goddess,” Suzy breathed. “Okay.” She lowered her palms to her sides, banishing any magic build up that had gathered on her hands. “This is what we’re going to do.”

  Chapter Seven

  An hour later, Keith rang the doorbell at an upscale mansion in an affluent part of town. The old-world mansion was Valerie’s family home. It wasn’t as creepy as it could have been, but the guy who opened the door was right out of an old horror movie. A starched up English butler who did his best to look down his nose at Keith though he was a few inches shorter. He didn’t say anything, didn’t greet Keith in any way, just simply waited with that hoity-toity look on his face.

  “I’m here to see Valerie.” Keith had no patience for dominance games.

  “And you are?” The words were frosty with disdain.

  I’m her mate, dammit. Keith wanted to shout the words and proclaim for all and sundry that he would not be kept separate from his mate. But these weren’t shifters. His Alpha status had little pull in this house. He’d have to tread lightly.

  “Keith Redstone. Please tell her I’m here.” With that, he muscled his way past the snooty butler and into the vestibule. The butler seemed shocked. “Oh, you’re wondering why the shield didn’t keep me out?” Keith felt the need to needle the man. He’d felt the shield as he entered—the same as at Valerie’s house. “I don’t intend anyone here harm. I just need to see Valerie and I will not take no for an answer. Go tell her that, won’t you? And we can speed this process along.”

  Keith made a shooing motion with his hands. The obnoxious man wasn’t so certain now. The shield had admitted him and he was clearly aware of it. So was he a mage or wasn’t he? Keith wasn’t about to enlighten the servant. Whatever he was or wasn’t was between him and his mate. And possibly her family—if they gave her any trouble about mating a shifter.

  The butler still looked shaken and uncertain. “Go,” Keith shooed him again. “I’ll stay right here.” At least until you’re out of sight, he thought privately. He wouldn’t promise not to move. In a magic house, promises carried weight. If he had to, he’d prowl all over this gargantuan home until he sniffed out his wary mate. Then he’d spend as much time as necessary getting her used to the idea that she was marrying a shifter.

  A shifter with magic. Magic that was stronger this morning than it ever had been before. They’d have to figure out what to do about that interesting development together. In time. But first they had to be together. Keith wouldn’t allow her to run from him. Not ever again. He had to make her see that she was his as much as he was hers and they belonged together, now and forever.

  The butler finally scurried away with a confused expression on his face. Keith stayed put for a few moments before impatience got the best of him. He began to sniff the air wafting from the different corridors that led from this main vestibule. The house was so big, there was any number of directions Valerie could be hiding in.

  There. A faint hint of his mate. But it was an old scent. She had been there, but was no longer. He tried another spot and found a fresher trail through what looked like a sitting room. With a glance back to be certain nobody had come into the vestibule while he was snooping, he edged into the room.

  His nose told him exactly where Valerie had been sitting, not too long ago. He followed the trail of her delicious scent out through another corridor and deeper i
nto the house. It was mingled with two others—another female and a male. Possibly her parents? Only time would tell. He’d remember these scents and if and when he met her folks, he’d be able to match them up. Or not. It didn’t really matter. What mattered now was finding Valerie.

  The cougar inside was going crazy without its mate. It paced in his soul, screeching to be let out, but Keith held it under tight rein. He placated the cat, sharing the knowledge that the animal would not be welcome here in this magical house and would only harm their cause more if he refused to cooperate.

  Keith knew this in his heart. Magic users seldom had a good opinion of shapeshifters and vice versa. Only rarely did the two mix and then, usually out of necessity. Well, the mating imperative had just created a necessity and Keith would have to tread lightly in order to preserve whatever family relationship his new mate had with her relatives. He didn’t want to start their life together by causing some unbridgeable rift between her and her folks. Things were going to be hard enough for them as a mixed couple without alienating her parents. He knew that from firsthand experience.

  With a little more tracking, he found the room. He heard her voice inside and knew she was in there with the other two people. He knew he should wait, but he couldn’t hold himself back anymore. His mate was on the other side of that thin wooden door and he had to be with her. Now.

  Keith knocked. The tones of conversation inside the room died.

  Valerie herself opened the door and his heart lifted to see her. The expression on her face wasn’t exactly welcoming. He’d clearly shocked her, showing up like this out of the blue.

  “How did you find me?” Her tone was curious more than accusing. Keith took that as a good sign.

  “I will always find you, Valerie.” He could no more stop the words than he could stop the sun from shining. He held her gaze, trying to communicate his love through their bond, which flared up even without touching. Magic swirled between them, gaining strength.

  A noise within the room broke the spell.

  Valerie moved back and gestured for him to enter. “Keith Redstone, these are my parents.” Now he knew how the Christian felt being pushed into the lion’s den. “Chancellor Edmund Faber and my mother, Louisa Faber.”

  Keith offered his hand and to his surprise, her father and then her mother shook his hand politely, though their curiosity was clearly piqued.

  “I’m sorry for barging in like this.” His apology was met with a raised eyebrow. “I had to see Valerie. You see, she is…” He didn’t know how else to do this but straight out. “She’s my mate.”

  Valerie’s gasp drew his attention. He took her hand when he saw the dewy expression on her face. She wasn’t rejecting him. Far from it. She was happy, if her expression was anything to go by.

  “We were just discussing how a shifter could have possibly bonded on a magical level with our daughter,” Edmund said quietly, observing their hands and the magic the swirled around them as they touched. It was clear her father was using magesight to follow the progress of the magic as it twined up their arms and around them both.

  “I am the Alpha cougar in this region,” Keith confirmed, facing her parents, Valerie’s hand still firmly held in his. “I was raised among my father’s Clan after my mother died. Had she lived, I believe she would have taught me more about her family and abilities. As it is, I’m a cat shifter with poorly trained magical abilities.”

  “Who was your mother?” Louisa asked, a hint of urgency in her voice.

  “Andrea Thomasina. From what I was told, her parents disowned her when she married my father. They were mages.”

  And there it was, his deepest, darkest, family secret. He wasn’t a pure blooded cougar, yet he’d risen to prominence in his Clan. He’d overcome his heritage to prove himself smarter and stronger than the other Alphas who ruled over their own small families. He was the Alpha they answered to around here. The direct link to the Clan, where his cousin, Grif Redstone, led them all. It was an important position. One he’d fought for both physically and mentally.

  Never magically. In the fight for dominance, his magic had been a hindrance, not a help. Shifters didn’t trust magic users and vice versa. Keith had to ignore the magical part of his nature in favor of being all cat, all the time. The strategy had gotten him where he was today, but perhaps he’d have to amend it if he wanted to keep the peace between his new mate and her family.

  “I knew Andrea. We were at school together,” Louisa admitted. “We were friends for a time. I never knew what became of her. I’m sorry to hear she has left this world.”

  No doubt about it, Louisa Faber was a spooky witch. Her eyes saw too much and not all of it on this plane of existence.

  “Clan Thomasina is a proud one,” Edmund added with a frown. “Too proud at times. It is hard to believe they would deny their own daughter on the basis of who she fell in love with.”

  “I’m glad to hear you say that.” Keith took the opening and ran with it. “I didn’t expect this to happen, but Valerie is my true mate. I cannot be happy without her. If she feels the same…” He turned his gaze to hers and was immediately trapped in the liquid blue of her gaze. She had tears in her eyes, but a smile on her face. The magic around them swirled higher, engulfing them in sporadic little tingles of zinging light.

  “I think that’s our cue to leave you two alone. I believe you have much to settle before we speak about the family ramifications of this union.” Edmund took his wife by the hand and led the way out of the room, closing the door behind them.

  Keith barely noticed. He was caught up in his mate’s gaze, her presence, her very essence.

  “We bonded last night,” Valerie spoke in whispered tones. “I wasn’t sure if you realized it.”

  “I knew the moment I tasted your skin that you were my destiny, kitten. I will never stray from your side… If you’ll have me.” Uncertainty entered his voice and he waited in fear for her answer. Keith sank to one knee before her, holding her hand and gazing up at her. “I love you with all my heart, Valerie. Will you marry me?”

  “Yes.” The smile that lit her face beamed with the light of her happiness. Tears glistened on her cheeks as she tugged on his hand, urging him to stand. She stepped into his embrace, pressing close. “I love you too, Keith. And the kernel of love we share now will only grow in time. We are bonded together on a soul level. One cannot exist without the other.”

  He pulled back from her a few inches, so he could see her face.

  “Then how could you leave me this morning?” He didn’t mean it to be accusing, but rather something that he needed to know. The cat needed placating and hearing her reasons might help ease the pain he had suffered.

  “I needed advice and instruction. That’s why I came here. You see, when I went to bed last night, I had no real magic of my own and what little I had was sporadic. Sometimes it worked. Most of the time, it didn’t. I was a failed witch in every way. No power. No control.” Her expression broke his heart. “This morning, I woke up and suddenly…it was all there. A deep reservoir of magic I’d been told about all my life but never quite understood. It was you, Keith. You and me together.” She stroked his chest as she gazed up at him, incredible happiness in her eyes. “I figured I needed some instruction before I fried us both with too much out-of-control magic. I thought I’d be back long before you woke, but learning how to bottle this energy isn’t something easily grasped or mastered. Dad has been working with me all morning and I only just got the hang of it.”

  “You know, we’re both going to have to get used to being part of a couple. A mated—or bonded—couple. That’s going to mean being together a lot. For shifters, during the first few years of mating, it’s hard for mates to be parted. I can tell you from this morning’s experience, that my cat side did not like waking up to find you gone. My human side didn’t either.”

  “I can imagine you as a cougar. You must be magnificent.” Her hands stroked over his shoulders in a soothing motion.
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  “You’ll find out soon enough. Next time you make me hunt you, I’ll do it in my fur.” He squeezed her close, knowing she understood he was teasing. They were so closely in tune now, he knew she wouldn’t misunderstand.

  “I can’t wait.” She tugged his head downward to meet her lips and he lost himself in her kiss for the next little while.

  Magic swirled around them, engulfing them, tingling along nerve endings in a delicious way. It was stronger than it had been the night before. Less primal and more refined. Like fairy dust in the air, forming a mini tornado of sensation around them. It felt wonderful. Like velvet stroking along his whole body. The velvet touch of his lady’s magic.

  Their shared magic, if he didn’t miss his guess. Could be his mother’s heritage was awakening inside him and would require attention. When the kiss ended, they were both breathless. He had a joy inside him that made him feel happier than he had ever been.

  “I suppose I might need some magical training before all this is said and done.” He watched the motes of light dance around the room and she followed his gaze, giggling in a joyful way that mirrored the feelings in his heart.

  “Good thing this room is shielded,” she observed. “We came in here to work on my control. It’s a magical work room, in case you hadn’t noticed the décor.”

  Keith took his first good look around and realized he’d never quite seen a room like this before. It was circular and filled with strange implements. The crown molding was bigger than any he’d ever seen and it glowed with strange glyphs. His eyes went to them, drawn by the glow of magic that was clear to his special vision.

  “Protective runes. Father is a specialist at protective magics, among other things. He is the Chancellor of the Faber Magic School and one of the strongest mages in this generation. He’s also one of the best teachers. That’s why I came to him. You understand, don’t you? Magic like ours, out of control, could be dangerous. The protections on my house are strong, but they’re mostly designed to keep magic out, not hold it in. We could’ve fried the whole neighborhood last night.” She laughed at the image, but he understood the real concern she’d had.