Of Shadows and Ash

by Dana Marie Bell

  The Van Helsings would never touch his mate again.

  His tree shook, the leaves bustling without wind. It was just as pissed as he was that Selena had been taken and harmed. It wanted her safely in the Throne, under its branches, bonded together in the way of the dryads.

  Soon, he whispered in his mind, and his tree calmed. Soon Selena would be under the branches of the Throne, tucked away in their secret home. But until that time came, they would have to obey Selena’s wishes and watch her from afar.

  That, his tree approved of.

  “Gideon and his witches are doing fly-overs, and Lore is coordinating with the psychics. So far, the ones with precognition have been a little worried, but we have nothing concrete.”

  Damn. It was a bad sign when the precogs were getting itchy. The precogs had it rough. Because they rarely saw anything in definites, they were often ignored or mocked for their visions of future danger. A simple change in direction when crossing the street could alter the future, so their predictions weren’t reliable. It was why most of the town was shy of utilizing them (and why they weren’t eager to step forward with information). Now that the town had been under attack multiple times they were coming forward, freely giving Lore their information. Lore was determining what was relevant and what was not, and then relaying that information to Dragos.

  It wasn’t a job Ash envied. Constantly seeing things and five minutes later getting a nope, never mind feeling had to be infuriating. He was amazed most of the precogs weren’t locked up in insane asylums, constantly twitching.

  “It’s not that bad.” Mina chuckled. “Most of them learn to deal with it.”

  It was creepy the way his queen could read him. “I still wouldn’t want that gift, if you can call it that.”

  Ash managed not to jump in surprise when Greer landed in front of him. Greer waved jauntily. “Yo.”

  Ash scowled at his brother. “You look like three day old dog crap.” There were dark circles under Greer’s eyes, and his hair was limp and lifeless.

  “Thanks, darling.” Greer struck a pose, popping his hip and going limp-wristed. “I just had my hair done.”

  “Seriously, has he been sleeping at all?” Ash turned to Mina, startled at the change in Greer. He’d looked fine when Ash had left to take care of Selena, but now he seemed almost...withered.

  “I’m right here, asshole.” Greer tapped Ash on the forehead. “And yeah, I’ve been sleeping.”

  “Only when ordered to.” The deep, gravelly voice of Noah Wulfenbach, the Alpha of the local Pack and ruler of the shifters of the United States, was full of sarcasm. The man himself was sprawled under Iva’s tree, quietly reading a book out loud to the dryad within.

  The alpha hadn’t had that much to smile about recently. His mate was injured, possibly permanently, and hadn’t come out of her tree since she’d first entered it at the end of June. Now, three weeks later, she still hadn’t emerged.

  Noah made it a practice to stop by the Throne every day, rain or shine, aware his mate Iva would feel his presence and know he was watching over her, protecting her.

  Ash could understand the need to protect a damaged mate. Too bad his was so stubborn she refused his offer to watch over her while she healed. But now was not the time to worry about Selena. As she so eloquently put it, she could take care of herself. Now was the time to bond with his family and figure out what was wrong with Greer.

  “I’m fine, I swear.” Greer glared at Noah. “Who’s the healer around here anyway?”

  Noah’s answering look was filled with his alpha power. “Don’t lie to me. I can smell it.”

  Greer threw up his hands and turned back to Ash, ignoring the werewolf still staring at him. “So, how’s Selena?”

  Ash snarled. “She kicked me out.”

  “Harsh.” Greer patted Ash’s shoulder. If Ash hadn’t been used to the other dryad’s unusual strength he would have hit the dirt. It made the healer one hell of a fighter, and someone Ash had no trouble patrolling with. “No smexy times for Ashton, huh?”

  Ash swiped at Greer, unsurprised when Greer easily danced out of the way. For all he was the healer of their group, he had some mad combat skills.

  Ash was the one everyone feared. Greer was the one none of them saw coming.

  “How’s Mollie?”

  The smile dropped from Greer’s face. “I hate you.”

  Ash smirked back.

  “Down, boys.” Mina stepped between them. “Ash, go on patrol. One of Noah’s wolves will go with you.” Noah nodded in acknowledgement and howled, summoning one of his enforcers. “Greer, tend to Iva, then get some sleep. I’m going to head into town, see if there’s anything we can do to—”

  “Not alone.” Never alone, never again. None of the women he loved would ever be hurt again, not on his watch.

  “Of course not.” Mina waved at someone over his shoulder.

  He turned, smiling as Dominic Davis—the town’s treasurer and possibly the most powerful person in Maggie’s Grove—stepped carefully into the Throne. The trees bowed before him, much to the man’s obvious annoyance. Ash managed not to bow as well before the rare shifter. “Hello, Dom.”

  “Ashton.” Dom flicked a piece of nearly invisible dirt off his cuff. “Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll be accompanying Mina into town today.”

  “Thank you. That eases my mind greatly.” He meant that whole-heartedly. There was very little Dom couldn’t take care of if Mina came under threat, but the man was so self-effacing no one would look at him twice. Very few of the residents knew that Dom was special, and from what Ash could tell that was just the way Dom wished to keep it.

  “We’re going to have lunch and catch up on gossip.” Mina took hold of the arm Dom offered her, grinning up at her escort. “Let Dragos know I’ll meet him at the mansion tonight.”

  As if Dragos wouldn’t know where his sotiei was the moment he awoke. “Of course.” Ash bowed to his queen. “Have a good afternoon, Mina.”

  “Ashton?” Mina’s tone firmed.

  “Yes, my queen?” When Mina spoke in that tone, Ash was forced to comply.

  “You will stay within the forest until I say otherwise.”

  He gritted his teeth, but he would obey. “Until Selena summons me, I will remain, my queen.” Or until he felt his mate was in distress. Nothing would hold him back if that were the case.

  Until then, he’d just have to bide his time, and wait.

  Chapter Two

  Selena blew her bangs out of her face and took a sip of coffee. “I love you so much.”

  “Are you talking to the muffin or the coffee?” Janice Young, the owner of Mucho Latte and a member of the local coven, propped her head on her hand.

  “We’re in a ménage,” Selena replied, taking a quick bite of a muffing full to bursting with blueberries and topped with sugar. “Mm, baby, the things you do to me.”

  Janice laughed wickedly. “If Ashton Ward could only see you now.”

  Selena smirked, but secretly she wondered what exactly the dryad would do if he caught her moaning over another woman’s muffins. “He’d probably want to watch.”

  The bell over the door jangled, signaling another customer walking into the shop. “Watch what?” Leila Abrams, another coven member and the head librarian at the town’s large public library, walked in, her arms full of books. She plunked them down on one of the empty café tables and marched up to the counter, her sneakers squeaking on the tile floor. “Extra large cappuccino and a lemon scone.” She smirked at Selena. “Add in one of the muffins. Apparently they’re orgasmic.”

  Selena held her bitten muffin in the air. “Hell, yeah, baby. Testify!”

  “Ooh, muffins!” Selena’s muffin was snatched out of the air as Charla Moody, a powerful white witch with a strong connection to the earth, settled across the table from Selena. Before she could take a bite of her pilfered treat Selena took it back, licking it from stem to stern. Charla laughingly shuddered. “Ew.”

 
; Selena took another massive bite of muffin. She was going to have to make sure she got some extra to take home with her, because dayum.

  Charla got up and got her ass in line with everyone else as the coven of Maggie’s Grove slowly filtered into Mucho Latte. It was their favorite gathering spot for impromptu coven meetings. When Gideon took over, he’d refused to change that, insisting that the tradition continue. While formal coven meetings were held in his home, an informal bullshit session like this one always seemed to wind up here. Today was just a simple status meeting, so formality was out the window.

  Soon the coffee shop was filled to capacity with men and women of all ages, each one swapping tales of their families and neighbors, the tone light and filled with laughter. It was good to hear again. The coven was healing, and there hadn’t been a hint of the Van Helsings in weeks.

  It wasn’t until Gideon stepped in and had greeted everyone with a quick wave that people began to settle down, watching as Gideon ordered his own coffee and treat.

  Gideon settled himself at the table reserved for the coven leader, where Selena was sitting. “Selena. How are you feeling?”

  She shrugged, unwilling to go into details with the entire coven watching. “Still having some issues, but so far, so good.”

  He nodded as if he accepted that, but she could tell he was going to keep an eye on her. He clapped his hands, turning his attention to the coven. “All right, people. Let’s get started. Anyone have any personal concerns to address that you don’t want aired in front of everyone else, come see me after the meeting.” He settled back, sipping his coffee. “Any word on our healing members?”

  “We’re having some trouble stabilizing their magic, but physically they seem to be doing much better. We’re not certain how long their mental wounds will take.” One of the local doctors—a gray witch by the name of Inigo Andreadis—flipped through the notes he’d brought with him. His pale blue eyes were dull with exhaustion and his dark brown hair mussed. “The labs are going to take some time to come back. There’s no way our people can go through that much blood work that quickly, even with the rush we’ve put on it.”

  His fellow doctor, a black witch named Webster Whittaker—and didn’t Selena feel bad for him, his parents might as well have named him Moon Moon or Chucky—was also flipping through pages of notes. “One thing I’ve noticed is recurring nightmares of their ordeal. The psychic trauma is causing some psychosomatic illnesses that are popping up in those who were held the longest.”

  “Poor Iva.” Selena shook her head. “No wonder she’s still communing with her tree.” Selena could attest to the nightmares. She’d had one or two herself. “What about the power problems? Have any of the kidnapped witches managed to reconnect to the earth?” Almost all witches connected to the earth...except for the witch doctor. Selena connected to the spirit world, marking her as different.

  “Most, if not all, have.” Web pushed his glasses back up his nose. His name might be unfortunate, but the man himself was hotter than hell, with thick black hair and blazing hazel eyes. “It has helped with their mental trauma.”

  “And their physical trauma as well.” Inigo held up a sheaf of papers. “All of these have completely healed in the past month, at least on a physical level.”

  “On a mental level, we have a little farther to go, but we’re getting there,” Web added. “The earth link is helping stabilize their magic, and that in turn helps stabilize their psyches.”

  “Good.” Gideon held up his hand. “Keep me posted. I want reports on those who don’t seem to be responding the way you two expect. When the labs come in, I want those reports as well.”

  “What’s the hold-up? Why are the labs taking so long?” A young witch named Quinn, barely through the Rite of Passage, held up his hand. Selena remembered holding his hand the day he turned twenty-one and walking him to Mel, the previous coven leader, who’d initiated him into the coven. Mel had been killed during the Van Helsing invasion, and Gideon had taken her place. Selena’d mourned for Mel and been concerned about a black witch taking over the coven, but Gideon had more than proven himself not only a valuable ally but a good friend.

  “For a few reasons,” Inigo replied kindly. While Quinn might be a full coven member, he was still so new he squeaked when he cast spells. “One, our small labs are used to dealing with routine medical issues, not something on this large a scale. Two, we can’t exactly farm this out to someone else. And three...Dr. T.”

  Selena bit her lip to stop from laughing. She’d heard of the infamous doctor. Not someone she wanted to tangle with if she could help it, but the man knew his job and did it well.

  “We’ve heard nothing about the Van Helsings,” Inigo continued, “attacking any other supernatural communities, either here or in Europe or Asia. Third, the sheer amount of blood work that needs to be processed, how it needs to be processed, and whether or not we have all of the instruments we need in order to do this ourselves is all slowing us down.”

  “Add in the fact that we simply don’t have the man power to go through all of those labs quickly. It’s simple logistics.” Web shrugged. “Dr. Douglas, the man in charge of the lab work, is working as fast as he can. I can tell you one of the lab techs has already wound up in the hospital from exhaustion and dehydration, straining our resources even further.”

  “Oh.” Quinn blushed, his expression hesitant. “Is there anything we can do to help them?”

  Web got up and actually hugged the young witch, making the blush flare brighter. “You come see me or Inigo, and I guarantee we’ll find work for you.”

  “Dear goddess, yes, please.” Inigo banged his head on the table. “So. Much. Paperwork.”

  The room erupted into laughter.

  Gideon watched them all, and Selena watched Gideon. She’d wind up working closely with him once her own health issues were completely dealt with, but she still didn’t know much about him. He was a black witch—one who chose to accept the consequences of his actions in favor of using his magic to actively defend the coven rather than passively defending it. He would lead his witches in battle, using his power to inflict damage on their enemies. If the gods felt he’d used his powers for ill, he would be punished threefold. It was a risk all black witches took, one they felt was worth it.

  So far, she liked what she saw.

  “Penny for your thoughts.”

  She blinked, startled to see he was now watching her instead of the coven. “Just wondering how we’ll work together.”

  He smiled, his gaze once more going to the coven. “We’ll be fine.” He pointed with his chin toward where the young witch was getting a noogie from an older coven member. “Him, on the other hand...” He shook his head.

  “He’ll be fine too. He’s getting his first real taste of coven life.” Selena watched as the adults around the young witch included him in their discussion, making sure his voice was heard.

  “Like family, we’re the only ones that get to beat on you?”

  “Exactly.” Selena finished off her coffee and took the last bite of muffin. She tossed the empty cup toward the trash can, sure it was going to go in, but at the last minute it hit the wall and bounced onto the floor. “Damn.” She got up and put the cup in the can. “There goes my NBA career.”

  Gideon chuckled softly before clapping his hands once more. “All right, people.” The coven settled quietly once more. “Selena is in the group that hasn’t fully recovered from the Van Helsing abductions, so go easy on her. What questions or concerns do we have for our resident witch doctor?”

  One hand immediately flew into the air. “Yes, Darla?”

  “When is Ashton coming to town?” She batted her lashes. “Because I intend to enjoy the view both coming and going.”

  “He may be taken, but we ain’t dead,” one of the other witches yelled from the back.

  Selena grumbled under her breath as the females began debating who had the better booty, Ash or Greer. Meanwhile, the men were eyeing the l
adies and keeping to themselves, some of them getting up for fresh coffee.

  “I think Gideon’s butt is finest.” Charla’s voice rang out tauntingly.

  The entire room went dead silent as every single woman turned and stared at the coven leader.

  Gideon, much to Selena’s amazement, stood, turned in place, then settled back down and calmly saluted the crowd with his coffee cup.

  The women of the coven cheered. One went so far as to hold a dollar bill up in the air.

  Gideon leaned over and spoke softly in her ear. “You think I should have dropped it like it’s hot?”

  Selena sighed happily. “Don’t encourage them.”

  * * *

  Ash silently stalked through the forest, moving from tree to tree too quickly for the mortal eye to see. He paused briefly, his hand pressed to the bark of one of the towering trees, listening with more than his ears as the forest whispered its secrets to him.

  The forest was still in the process of healing the damage the dragons had done with their flame attacks, but already new growth was beginning to replace that which had been lost. Where the undergrowth had been completely seared away flowers had already bloomed and young trees—some inhabited with new dryads—were beginning to grow. The animals were returning, encouraged by the shifters.

  It would take time, but the forest would return to normal.

  Ash began moving again, keeping all his senses alert for anything out of the ordinary. So far, every patrol for the past month had been quiet.

  Just like Selena.

  For the past two weeks he’d been forced to keep watch on her from afar, using the dryads of the town to his advantage. So far, he knew she’d been to town a few times, but she still seemed tired all the time. The dark circles under her eyes had become huge, and she’d lost weight.

  If it went on for even one more week Ash would talk to Mina. If the rumors he was hearing were true, that her magic still hadn’t returned, things were getting out of hand. His mate needed him, and he was stuck here, denied his right to help her.