Mated To Magic (Stark Creek Shifters Book 1)

by Barb Shuler

  The pounding in my insides was growing. The bond that proved she was my mate tugged me closer. I had to touch her. I leaned down, my hand outstretched.

  “Come to me, precious.” I shook my head and growled at my wolf. Mine! “Mia,” I ground her name out through my teeth.

  “Dalton!”

  I heard the warning and the worry in Liam’s voice, but I ignored him and reached for Mia.

  Shockingly cold water hit me right in the face. I slapped my hand to my face, sputtering. As easily as I’d jumped up on the bar, I slid off when I overcorrected.

  I hit the floor with a hard thud, taking three bottles out with me. I lay at Mia’s feet and looked up to see Jayden pointing the glass sprayer at me.

  I hated to admit it, but she’d stopped my wolf from completely taking over. Wolf – 0. Cat – 1.

  “No one likes it when Mommy and Daddy fight,” Jay said, her voice shaking. Worse, her whole body was shaking. I quickly sat up and scooted away from her, ignoring the glass digging into my hands.

  “Fuck!”

  Deep breath in, deep breath out. I had to get the fucker inside of me to chill. He’d almost had complete control.

  “Liam…”

  “Boss?”

  “Get them out of here, please. I need…a minute…”

  “Dalton,” Mia started, and my heart hurt. The bond twisted me tight. If I didn’t solidify it, bite her, bind us together soon, my wolf would do it for me.

  “You need Ty—”

  “No,” I said, cutting Liam off, “just get them out, please...escort them to the office.”

  “Okay, boss.”

  14

  Mia

  When Dalton came charging into the bar, I knew by the look on his face that I would have some doors that would need replacing. I didn’t care about that, though. I was more concerned with the shifter standing beside me, shaking as she hosed him down. I didn’t want to leave when he asked Liam to escort us to my office, but I knew not to push my luck today. I wasn’t sorry for what I did, and this just proved that Jay isn’t ready to deal with his guys. I don’t give a shit what he demands.

  “Mia, what did you do?”

  I closed the door behind us when we got to the office. I wrapped my arms around her, my hand rubbing her arm as I tried to get her to relax. One pissed off shifter was enough. I didn’t need a cat and a wolf running around here.

  “What I had to do. No shifter can enter this bar with the exception of Dalton, Liam, and you. Him finding that clearly means one of his guys has tried to get in here tonight.”

  Jay nodded and rested her head on my shoulder. I let my touch try and soothe her. I had hoped that he would stay on the other side of the bar, but his wolf took over, trying to get to me. I knew the minute his eyes turned golden that it wasn’t going to end well. Thankfully, Jay defused the situation, but it was taking all that I had not to go back out there to check on him.

  “Would you be able to drive me home? Dalton dropped me off and he needs a time-out right now.”

  Jay chuckled.

  “That, and he has a door to fix,” I added.

  “Come on, let’s get you home. Do you need me to stay with you tonight?”

  “You can if you want to. D will have someone watching the house until he gets home.”

  “Okay, I’ll stay till he comes home, then I’ll leave you two to talk.”

  I nodded and stood up. Taking my bag from the bottom drawer and locking it up, I stepped out into the hall. Liam was standing there.

  “Can you tell him Jay is taking me home? He has a door to fix before I want to see him. If he sends one of you, you are to stay hidden.”

  He gave me a nod. I knew I was being a complete bitch, but I needed him to know that he couldn’t order me around. I wasn’t his pack; I was his mate. We walked through the bar to the back entrance without seeing Dalton, so we kept going to her car. The boys had made themselves scarce, so obviously they were with him. Jay unlocked her car and we got in. We both relaxed a little when she pulled out of the parking lot and headed for our house.

  “Are you okay?”

  Jay gave me a nod. “Better now that I’m out of there.”

  “I’m sorry, I was trying to avoid that.”

  “It’s not your fault he’s a big ogre.”

  I chuckled softly. “No, maybe not, but I don’t help. We seem to push each other’s buttons a lot these days.”

  “Yeah, but isn’t that healthy? You fight, then make up, and do it all again. You never go to bed angry, do you?”

  “No, we make sure to sort it out before we go to sleep.”

  ‘Then you have nothing to worry about. Maybe just stop fighting in front of the children?” She gave a grin and I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Okay, we’ll try.”

  “Good.” She pulled into my driveway and parked behind my car so that Dalton could park beside me. Taking the keys out, we went inside. Grabbing some muffins I had made and drinks for both of us, we sat down on the couch and watched a movie.

  A couple of hours later, Jayden left to go home to bed. I had just turned the television off when I heard the front door. A defeated looking Dalton walked in and met my gaze.

  “We need to talk.”

  “Let me just go take a shower and we can.”

  I nodded. He went into the bathroom; I cleaned up the glasses and plates from the coffee table and set them in the sink. I was too tired to deal with them now, so I would take care of it in the morning. Taking my seat again, I laid my head back against the couch and closed my eyes. I heard his throat clear and Dalton came out wearing sweats.

  “You should go to bed.”

  “I will in a minute. I need you to sit down, shut up, and just let me talk for a minute. I can’t say too much, but you need to understand why Jayden is the way she is. Tonight, you saw a small glimpse of what’s hidden beneath the surface. That’s nothing compared to ten years ago when I found her.”

  “I’ll listen. I’m sorry, I never meant to scare her. My wolf is unpredictable with everything going on with you. We just want you safe.”

  “I know you do, but my safety doesn’t trump Jayden. When I first found her, she was a wreck. Physically, mentally, all of it. She was hanging on for her life, so I took her home, nursed her back to health, and got her strength back up. She had nightmares. I had to make her something that would put her into a dreamless sleep. She still takes it today but not as frequently. I can count on her taking it tonight, though.”

  “What happened?”

  “The Alpha of her pride wanted her for his own. She didn’t want that. She felt that would be like cheating on her mate, because she believed that he was out there. The Alpha didn’t like that, and he made her pay for it. Got his minions in on it too. After I found this out, I tracked them down one by one and lit them on fire. I encased them in a tomb of fire and listened as their screams echoed through the forest where I had found her. All but two.

  “She is hidden through spells and protection amulets. Plants she thinks are just decoration. Now, the club. No shifter will be allowed in that club unless invited by me. I will not do so without her okay. I will not be ordered to lift it, so don’t even try and make me. There is no way around it. You understand me? Do you see why I had to do what I did? I understand that our safety is involved, but stop them coming in and we won’t have an issue. You and Liam are more than enough inside. I am not being unreasonable, especially after what she saw tonight.”

  Dalton

  He was going to get me skinned alive, set on fire, disemboweled, disowned, something. The fleabag needed to get his shit together. Excuses aside, something needed to change and fast.

  I was soaking wet, pacing the back parking lot and the alley, trying to stay out of sight. I was not a fan of being wet; my clothes were rubbing and sticking to me in places I didn’t like. Jayden hadn't missed her chance to take down the Alpha. If I wasn’t so pissed that Mia locked out the men here to protect her, I’d laugh.r />
  Jayden didn’t know it, but she saved me, no, my wolf from snatching Mia up and marking her right then and there. He needed that extra connection the mate bond would give him, us.

  “Yo, boss.”

  I kept pacing and growled at Max. I tried to ignore him, but he was like an annoying gnat; he kept buzzing until I acknowledged him.

  “What?”

  “Liam told me what happened in there. Dude, you got taken out by a girl…a little one at that...” he laughed.

  I spun, growling at him. “Don’t you have work to do?”

  “Waiting on Kody to get back with a door. You tore out the frame and all, Hulk.”

  I stalked closer, ready to throttle him, but stopped when Ty rested a hand on my shoulder. I hadn’t even seen him move from his perch. He said nothing; he didn’t need to. I noticed Liam had stepped forward, ready to toss Max out of my reach if need be.

  “Boss, you have to agree, it was a little comical,” Liam added, coming out of the opening where the back door previously was. It helped that his voice was calm and not full of laughter.

  Max, on the other hand, was laughing hard enough to make himself cough. Fuck my life. If Liam told him, then Kody would know the moment his big ass got back in this lot. I may have to kill half of my pack tonight.

  “Dalton, let me look at your hands. They’re still bleeding, I can smell it.”

  That brought Max to attention and Liam’s nostrils flared. His eyes locked in on my left hand. I knew it was still bleeding. I had been pushing the piece of glass embedded in my palm deeper. I needed the pain to think with a clear head. The asshole couldn’t take over if I did that.

  I didn’t want to lose it again. I never wanted to see the fear I just saw in Jayden’s eyes, her posture. No woman should ever be afraid of a man. Mate or not. I took in a deep breath and shook my head when Ty tried to take my hand.

  “It’s fine, leave it.”

  “It’s not fine. You’re being an asshole. Don’t make us take you down to look at your fucking hand.”

  His growl was met with one of my own, but it died in my chest. He was determined to take care of this because it was something he could control. I got that. I felt so out of control, I wasn’t sure what to do. I pushed the glass deeper into my hand as the asshole cat jerked me to the back of his truck. I can’t say having that shard ripped from my palm was pain free, but I can say I deserved that extra bite of pain. So much has happened lately, I was losing it. Tonight, I needed to talk to Mia about everything. If I didn’t, I risked losing her for good, and that was not something I would survive.

  Three hours later, or maybe it was four, we were done with the doors. Liam and I fixed the one inside; Kody and Max fixed the one outside while being supervised by Ty. It was all up and working properly, with the alarms and everything hooked up again. Liam had run scans and we tested them each out to make damn sure it was in full working order.

  I drove home and sat there in the driveway. I was nervous to go inside. I’d overstepped lines she had drawn, and I promised I’d never do that, but the fleabag made me stupid.

  Finally, I headed in. I could see it on her face. She was mad. Probably wishing she could set me on fire. I didn’t blame her. She wanted to talk, which was fine with me, but I needed a few minutes. I asked for that and went to shower. My mind was full of so many thoughts and needs. It all meant nothing if she was going to skin me. I had to suck it up.

  I made it back out to the living room, watching her as she told me to sit down, shut up, and let her talk. So I did. The beast inside of me roared back to life with her story. The look on Jayden’s face, the golden rim around her eyes, the fear… I shook my head and stood up, pacing the area between the sofa and the TV. My hand was burning where I dug my fingers in the cut that was trying to heal.

  “I’m sorry. I can’t say that enough. The fleabag…no, I’m not even blaming it on him. I need you to be safe. It’s my job as your friend, your lover, your mate to do that. Mia,” I said her name, pleading for her to understand what I was about to say. “You are my mate. You know what that means.” I fell to my knees before where she sat on the couch. My hands rested on her thighs. “The bond is a powerful thing. It’s a being all its own.” I took her hand and rested it on the space above my heart. “I need to know, the wolf needs to know, that you are ours. It will help me keep him in control.

  “Dalton…”

  “I love you with every piece of my being. I want you to be my forever. Will you allow me to claim you?”

  I looked up, met her gaze. There were tears in her eyes. I’m sure they matched the ones in mine. I could feel the burning desire inside of me, pulling me to her.

  “Yes…” she breathed. I pulled her to me, kissing her hard, claiming her mouth. My growl made her shift against me. The evidence of my arousal was obvious.

  “Mine,” I growled as I stood, her legs wrapping around me. I walked us to the bedroom, slamming the door. As soon as I sank my teeth into her, we would be as one.

  15

  Dalton

  My wolf was finally content. He’d gotten to have his mate, fully. He was able to taste her, ravish her, and bring her to the point of shattering more than once last night. The burn that had been coursing inside of me was settled and I could breathe again. I hadn’t felt this free or light in years. I shouldn't have waited this long to tell her she was mine.

  I pulled her closer to me, her body encased by mine. I kissed along her neck, breathing in her scent. My tongue darted along the mark I gave her on her neck. The almost invisible outline of my teeth in the juncture was a beacon to any Supernatural that she was mine. It was one of many ways I planned to mark her and make her mine. Her warmth filled the space around us as she slept. I smiled as I brushed stray hairs from her face. Her eyes fluttered, but she didn’t wake.

  Three years of carrying her to bed, watching her sleep. Now, I didn’t have to sit across the room and wish to be in bed with her. It was a reality. I’d had all night to think and had a plan brewing in my head. One that would work for me and the guys and keep Mia’s rules in play. My boys wouldn’t be in the club, other than Liam. I wouldn’t push her with this. No need to argue, I had it all sorted, I just had to put it in play.

  Placing a kiss to Mia’s cheek, I smiled and slowly slid from the bed. I tucked the covers around her and moved to the doorway, looking back again at her before I picked up my discarded sweats and slid them on. In bare feet I padded down to the kitchen, pulled my spare phone from the drawer, and put the SIM card from the one I broke into it. It needed a few minutes to boot up so I used that time to fix the coffee pot. My little witch was addicted to the crap, so I would make sure it was ready for her.

  I pulled my cell closer to turn it on, grabbed my earbuds, and connected the Bluetooth. Ty was my first call.

  “You calling to tell me you're alive or dead?”

  I chuckled. “Alive for now. I have some groveling to do. And I have a plan that may or may not piss off my little witchy mate, but it doesn’t break her rules…technically.”

  “Dare I ask?”

  “She said you, Max, and Kody are not allowed in the bar. There is a reason, but I am not at liberty to say why. I just need you to trust me. It wouldn’t be a good mix; that was confirmed with my own eyes last night. Liam and I are allowed in, but even we will be doing what we can to stay out of sight. Again, I can’t say why.”

  “Fair enough. I trust you. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”

  I knew that to be true.

  “Let me get the other two on the conference call.”

  I hurried to add Kody and Max to the call.

  “Boss, you still in the doghouse?”

  “He’s probably trying to hide since he got beat up by a girl.”

  I really was going to kill them both one day.

  “Shut up, we have business to discuss,” I growled out.

  “Go ahead, Dalton,” Ty sounded amused.

  Assholes, the lot of them.
r />   “Let me add Liam to the call.”

  “Hey boss, you missing any skin?”

  I sighed as Max and Kody let out booming belly laughs.

  “I’ll have Mia set your hides on fire, keep it up.”

  “What is it you wanted to talk to us about, D? I got an appointment in thirty minutes.”

  “Alright. Tonight, I want you and Kody working the front door, Ty. Outside of her barrier. Company shirts, I want you to be there in the official capacity. If they look shady, tell them to fuck off. If they’re carrying anything, they don’t get in. Max, you’ll be running perimeter, two feet, four, I don’t care as long as you’re invisible. Liam, you’ll be in the back. Simon and his team will stay inside. Two in the bar and one on the back door.”

  “Is Mia going to fry our asses if we step in like this?” Max asked, all amusement from earlier gone.

  “No, if anyone gets fried, it will be me. We’re not breaking the rules she set forth. We won’t have shifters in the bar area. Liam will be on monitor duty and I plan to stay out of sight if at all possible. Just trust me when I say this is for the best of us all.”

  “I trust you, boss. I just want to make sure to wear a fire suit if she is feeling sparky.”

  I snorted at Max.

  “It will be okay. We’ll play by her rules until things change. Just let me know if there’s a problem outside. If I’m not inside, call Liam. We all need to be tight lipped, on task, and eyes open. Things aren’t as they seem.”

  “What’s going on?”

  I’d already clued them all in on a few things, but now it was time to let them in on the entirety.

  “Liam, go ahead, tell them everything.”

  The talk with the pack made me feel a lot better. We were all on the same page, ready to do what we needed in order to keep Mia’s bar open and running smoothly. Our main priority was keeping the riff raff out and the girls inside safe. Tonight Jayden, Melody, and Nix would be working the bar, so I would make sure they had all eyes on them in one way or the other.