Fated: Myra and Ryan's Story (A Keeper of the Flame Novella)

by Lila Kane

  Willow looked surprised, like she wasn’t expecting the conversation to take this turn. “Wait‒you want to open a business?”

  Myra nodded. She’d been keeping an eye on the stores downtown, thinking maybe there was something there, but she hadn’t decided until last night that it was the step she wanted to take.

  “Here?”

  “Yes.”

  “In Shadow Hill?” Willow stood, confusion etched on her features. “But…”

  “What? Because I’m stuck here? Because I’m too young? Because I’m a vampire and I might be the same age forever? Or is it just that my baking really does suck and‒”

  “No.” Willow frowned. “No. Not that‒not your baking.”

  “Because of the vampire thing.” Myra laughed, amused with Willow. “I see.”

  “No. I’m not‒now you’re offended. That’s not what I meant.”

  “I’m not offended. I need someone with a good head on their shoulders to make me see all sides of this. But there’s also the possibility I’m going to be stuck here a while. I like to bake and I need something to do‒something normal and productive and something that makes me feel like me. After everything that’s happened…after being sick for so long…I need to feel like me.”

  She really, really needed to feel like herself. She needed something for her.

  “I get it,” Willow said.

  “And?”

  “What? It makes sense. I say go for it.”

  This was too easy. “You’re supposed to try to talk me out of it. It isn’t supposed to be this easy.”

  She continued on, pretending to try to talk Myra out of it, but Myra could tell she was excited, too. It was something she knew Willow especially would enjoy. Would help her with, hopefully.

  “If you have questions about the business side of things, you can probably ask Ryan. He’s good at all that with the properties he owns.”

  Ryan, huh? Myra nodded. “That’s probably a good idea.”

  In fact, she kind of liked the idea. Yeah, sure, they pushed each other’s buttons but she didn’t want him to be on her bad side. And there was something about him, all tortured and serious, she was finding hard to resist. Maybe because he seemed as lost as she felt sometimes.

  And then she saw the blackbird. At the same time, Willow’s phone dinged with a message. The bird flapped its wings, swooping over the structure of the house and perching in the tree.

  Myra stepped in front of Willow, body tense, while she checked her phone.

  “It’s Cheyenne,” Willow said.

  “What’s up?”

  “She wants to make sure everything is okay. She probably felt something.”

  “It’s just sitting there. Watching.”

  But after Myra said it, the blackbird fluttered from the tree and made a wide arc over their heads before diving down behind the nearest boulder.

  Willow’s phone dinged again and Myra took a sharp breath as someone stepped from behind the boulder.

  She recognized him right away. The shapeshifter Kane had had with him in the garden yesterday.

  Logan raced to them and they stood united, both in silent agreement they needed to keep Willow safe.

  “Hey,” the man said, holding up his hands. “I’m not here for a fight.”

  “Then what are you here for?” Myra asked.

  Willow stepped up to join them. Though Myra could feel the tension coming off Logan, she was proud of Willow. She was pretty defenseless against a vampire, but she was still holding her own. Of course, with fire at her fingertips, she did have some sort of weapon.

  “Just doing my job,” the man said. “I’m Wes.”

  “You’re working for a vampire,” Willow said. “Isn’t that against everything your kind believes in?”

  What did that have to do with anything? Myra found herself thinking about Ryan and realizing he was nothing at all like Wes. He seemed bent on making sure vampires and witches weren’t working together. But in this case, they had to. And apparently, Kane had convinced his shapeshifter he had something to offer him, too. Like immortality. Was that how it worked with shapeshifters, too? What did they gain if the curse was broken?

  “We all have to make sacrifices for the bigger picture,” Wes said.

  “What’s the bigger picture?”

  “Don’t tell me you’re not curious how powerful you’d be as a full witch. Or your vampire friends. Don’t you think they’re curious what it would be like to live forever?” He looked at Myra. “To never get sick.” Then Logan. “To be able to do anything you want whenever you want.”

  Of course, it was appealing, but at what cost? Myra would go back to being sick if that meant saving the town. She would, wouldn’t she?

  Logan crossed his arms. “Not everyone is like Kane.”

  Wes shrugged. “Sure. If you say so. I’m still here to protect the witch. It looks like she’s not keeping very good company.”

  Willow stepped toward him. “It’s not your business‒or Kane’s business‒who I hang out with so you can just tell him to go to‒”

  “Willow.” Logan pulled Willow behind him. “Stop. It’s not worth it.”

  “Screw that!” Willow hissed.

  Myra could hear the low voices of the tour group at the remains of the house. All her senses were heightened and if she wanted to, she could tell exactly what they were saying. She prepared to do damage control if it came to it. She had to learn how to influence people sometime, right?

  But then Wes flashed an amused smile at her and returned to the boulder. Seconds later, the blackbird flew out and perched in the tree again.

  “Logan,” Willow hissed. “You hurt me.”

  Keeping her eye on the bird, Myra let Logan and Willow have a moment. Logan was too tense, too worried about Willow. And his powers were getting stronger. She knew it because hers were, too. Her teeth throbbed around the canines and her hearing was heightened. She was faster. And blood, well…she didn’t want to get started on that. She wasn’t craving it exactly, but it did weird things to her when she thought about it.

  Logan returned to his group and Myra gave Willow a sympathetic smile before saying, “That’s just like him.”

  “Logan?”

  “No, Kane. It’s just like him to get someone else to do his dirty work. What did you mean about that shifter guy being on the wrong side?”

  “Shifters are typically enemies with vampires. They’re supposed to help the witches.”

  “Then why is your shifter helping us?” Myra asked, brow furrowing. She grabbed her backpack and hiked it on her shoulders, heading toward Logan’s group as they left the house.

  “He’s not my shifter.”

  Willow said it casually, but there was something in her eyes that said there was more to it. Myra knew they’d had something together. And now she knew they were just friends. But there was still a link between them, something that made her curious.

  “He’s very loyal,” Myra said. “Ryan.”

  “He is. And he’s trying to help. Because that’s what shifters do. They try to help witches. Which is why it’s screwed up that Wes is helping Kane. He must want to be a full shifter pretty bad.”

  “I wonder why.”

  Willow nodded in her direction. “Me too.”

  Back in town, Myra checked out the storefronts again. Both signs still sat in the windows and she wrote down the numbers to contact the landlords. Across the street, the door to the library was open, and Myra looked both ways before jogging over to say hi to Cheyenne.

  She smelled a whiff of soap and spice and felt him before she saw him. Ryan. Walking over from his truck he’d parked a block down. He must have just taken a shower. His dark blonde hair was still damp around the ends and he looked more relaxed than he had yesterday at her house.

  Good. She wasn’t sure why, but she didn’t want him to hate her. She didn’t want him to think she was the enemy, even if tradition said he was supposed to.

  Myra offered him a
smile. “Finished with work already?”

  He shrugged, his eyes a little wary. “I took off early. I wanted to see if you guys needed help with anything.”

  “It’s not my fault you know,” Myra said.

  He rested his hand on the door to the library, strong fingers clenching around the wood. “What’s not your fault?”

  “Being a vampire.”

  He lifted his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, I was born with vampire blood. I didn’t choose this. And I know you hate my kind or whatever because you’re supposed to be protecting the witches, but I didn’t ask for this.”

  There. She’d said what she wanted to.

  He opened his mouth like he wanted to answer, but nothing came out. After another moment, he turned his back on her and walked inside.

  Well. That was rude. But at least he knew how she felt. It wasn’t her fault. Just like Logan, she hadn’t wanted vampire blood running through her veins. She already had enough on her plate to deal with.

  But she had to accept it. Just like Ryan was going to have to accept that they were on the same side. That they all wanted what was right for Willow and the town. That they all wanted to stop Kane because if they didn’t, things were only going to get worse.

  Myra walked inside with her chin high. Ryan’s gaze skimmed hers but he didn’t say anything. Cheyenne smiled at her, though, and she felt a moment of triumph. See? She could get along with the werewolf. That had to be worth something.

  “What’s everyone doing here?” Cheyenne asked.

  “I wanted to see if there’s anything I can help with,” Myra said before Ryan could answer. “Willow needs to put that spell back into place, and there’s got to be some way I can help. I’ll look through books or whatever you need me to do. I want to help.”

  Ryan’s eyes flickered to hers again. That’s right. She wasn’t against him–they were on the same team. He’d see that soon enough.

  Cheyenne nodded to a pile of books on her desk. “That would be helpful. Anything new with Kane?”

  Myra sat on the other side of Cheyenne’s desk. “He sent his shapeshifter, Wes, out this morning. He caught us by the hotel–”

  “Was Willow there?” Ryan asked, his whole body tense.

  Myra turned to him, keeping the expression on her face cool. “Yes. And she was fine. Both Logan and I were there. Protecting her. Just because we’re vampires doesn’t mean we don’t know the difference between right and wrong.”

  Cheyenne made a noise low in her throat, her expression amused. “O-kay,” she said. “Do we have something we need to clear up here or can we start working?”

  Myra shook her head. “I’m good. What about you, Ryan?”

  He frowned and folded his arms before turning his attention back to Cheyenne. “No, nothing to clear up. Let’s work.”

  Chapter 3

  He spent yesterday afternoon at Willow’s place with the rest of the group, trying as hard as he could to ignore Myra. It didn’t help that she’d stood up to him earlier in the day. That she’d made a valid point–she didn’t choose this.

  They were the same words he’d thought to himself more than once. He hadn’t chosen to be a shapeshifter. He’d been born that way. His bitterness was probably left over from fighting with her brother. But being around Myra made him feel out of control again. Because he couldn’t stop the feelings that bloomed in him every time he saw her. And that wasn’t his fault either.

  It also wasn’t something he wanted to give into but it was getting harder and harder.

  When he walked into the library the following morning, it was cool and Cheyenne was alone. Good. Maybe he could just…kind of casually bring up imprinting. After all, she was a werewolf. It was something her kind dealt with. Maybe she would know if the feelings would go away once the spell was back in place. Or if he could make them go away some other way.

  “Hey,” she said, glancing up from a book on her desk. She pulled off her glasses and stretched. “You’re here early.”

  “Couldn’t sleep.”

  “There seems to be a lot of that going around lately.”

  “Yeah?”

  She nodded to the door when voices reached their ears. “Yeah. Myra and Willow, too.”

  Shit. So much for talking to Cheyenne. And so much for keeping his distance from Myra. She walked in wearing tight jeans that left little to the imagination. In fact, they made his imagination go wild. Her dark hair waved around her face and even though she looked tired, she gave Cheyenne a wide smile. She only nodded at him.

  He turned his attention to Willow and cleared his throat. “What’s up?”

  Then he noticed the rings under her eyes, followed quickly by the bruises on her arms. “Holy shit‒what happened?”

  “Uh…”

  “What happened?” Cheyenne demanded.

  “It was an accident.”

  “What kind of accident?” Ryan asked. He straightened, the thought hitting him right away. “Where’s Logan?”

  Cheyenne’s head snapped up. “I swear if that asshole did anything‒”

  “Hey.” Myra clenched her hands at her sides. “She said it was an accident. He thought she was Kane, and‒”

  “What?” Ryan interrupted, reaching for Willow. “He couldn’t tell the difference? These are fingerprints, Willow. He’s been grabbing you hard enough to leave marks.”

  Willow pulled away from him and it took everything he had not to leave the library and hunt down Logan.

  “That’s not what’s going on,” Willow said. “He‒his powers are getting stronger‒it’s not like he did this intentionally.”

  She was defending him. Great. Like there was any excuse for him leaving marks on her.

  “Then where is he?” Ryan asked.

  Cheyenne’s face softened immediately when Willow dropped her chin. “What is it?”

  “He…he told me Kane killed my father.”

  Ryan drew a sharp breath. He folded Willow in a hug and glared at Myra. “Did you know about this?”

  “I didn’t know,” she said, returning the glare. “I should’ve, though. Willow‒I’m sorry. Really‒”

  “Sorry isn’t going to help us now,” Ryan snapped as Willow pulled away.

  “Ryan,” Willow whispered.

  Myra stepped right up to him with fire in her eyes. He was surprised by the electricity that crackled between them, and he found himself almost taking a step back because the link between them was so strong.

  “Don’t start with me, shifter,” Myra said.

  Ryan clenched and unclenched his hands. He didn’t want a fight–or at least not with her. But how was he supposed to wind down? He had a quick flash of him kissing her. Just surging forward, shoving his hands in her hair and backing her against the bookshelves so he could take her mouth. So he could glide his fingers down her sides and squeeze her hips–

  “We could take this outside,” Myra said, gesturing over her shoulder.

  “You don’t want to see what I could do to you‒and besides,” Ryan said, “you can’t hurt me.”

  “Wanna bet?”

  He’d like to see her try. Vampires could try to hurt shapeshifters, but it hurt them just as much, if not more. It was a wasted fight.

  Cheyenne rolled her eyes. “Seriously?”

  “Come on, no one is going outside. We’re on the same side,” Willow said.

  Myra didn’t move, but Ryan shifted on his feet and tried to find perspective. He wasn’t going to fight Myra–and there was no way in hell he was going to kiss her, even if his body was trying to convince him otherwise–so there wasn’t much else to do.

  “Fine.” Willow turned. “I’m going to head out to the cave behind Shadow Hill Hotel. So just give me a call when you’re done here and we can figure out what to do.”

  Ryan called after her and Myra was so fast, she blocked Willow’s way.

  “Hold on.”

  “What?” Willow asked.

  “You c
an’t go out there.”

  “But you guys can fight in here? How’s that productive?”

  Ryan sighed. “Willow. Just wait a minute. Why do you need to go to the cave?”

  “My mom. I need to help her‒to keep her safe. If I get the amethyst, I can put some in her room at the hospital and maybe Kane can’t bother her that way.”

  Cheyenne nodded. “That’s a start.” She pointed to some books on her desk. “We need to check your Book of Shadows, but I’ve been doing some research and I think we could probably come up with some spells to keep her safe‒and you safe‒while we figure out the rest.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You should come to my house tonight. I don’t want you staying alone.”

  Myra folded her arms, still looking riled for a fight. “She’s not alone, I’m staying with her.”

  Cheyenne shrugged. “Then you come, too. We’ll make it a girl’s night and stay in.”

  “I have an hour before I have to be in.” Ryan nodded to the door. He wanted to help Willow’s mom as much as possible. “You want me to go with you to the cave?”

  “You’ll come with me?” Willow asked.

  He smiled at her, realizing she still wasn’t used to people trying to help her. “Of course. I want your mom to be safe, too.”

  “I’m coming,” Myra said.

  Ryan tensed. That was a terrible idea. And yet something inside him wanted it. Wanted her close.

  They rode to Shadow Hill Hotel without a word. Ryan could feel Myra, waves of her trying to bowl him over. And she had no clue. She couldn’t, could she? Or could she feel something, too?

  Maybe that was why they were both so tense.

  When Willow shifted in her seat and murmured under her breath, he followed her gaze. Logan’s car was parked in the lot. “You want me to see if he’s here? I can ask him to leave.”

  “No.” She got out. “He might be working.”

  Myra stalked around to Ryan’s side, drilling a finger into his chest. “He’s not going to do anything and you know it.”

  “He already did,” Ryan growled. He gripped Myra’s finger and pulled it away from his chest. Her hand was electric beneath his and he almost flung it away. He glanced at Willow to see if she noticed, but she just turned at started walking.