by Kimber White
Said item currently hung around my neck. Whatever it was, it was dormant now save for its constant warmth against my skin.
I pulled it out from under my shirt, taking care to shield it from any prying eyes with my hand. It really was sort of ugly. A jagged, gold crescent broken off from a larger piece. It was only an inch long and half as wide. The metal had dulled and scratched. It had scorch marks along the edge. It looked like junk, really. It was hard to believe it held any power at all.
I knew better than to underestimate it though. The thing had been stolen from a powerful organization known as The Ring. For the last few years, they’d been running a shifter mate trafficking ring and doing serious harm to our kind. They’d nearly gotten a hold of my brother’s mate, Nova using that magic inside this hunk of jewelry to immobilize her. It held other strange powers too, but we’d so far found no way to tap into it. Or destroy it.
So, now it was up to me to find out what this broken medallion really was and where it came from. We feared there were more like it. Until we understood its magic, we had no hope of defending against it.
“It’s probably nothing,” Payne said. “I know this has felt like a wild goose chase. Just, stick with it. If you’re sure you’re not sensing any real shifter or mage activity, just go on in and rule it out.”
“Then what?” I asked, dreading his answer.
“Then...we’ll worry about that bridge when we get to it. You want back up for this one?”
“No,” I said. “I’ve done a hundred of these places. I know the drill. I’ll check in after I know something.”
“Good,” Payne said. “Watch your back.”
“Always,” I said, then clicked off the call.
“Shit,” I muttered under my breath. God, I hated magic shops.
I crossed the street and opened the door. I damn near choked from the scent. Oh, there was a mage in here somewhere. There was supposed to be a way to tell the difference between their sources of power. Some subtle changes in their scent. Earth. Wind. Fire. Water. I don’t know. To me it all just smelled foul.
It wasn’t that I thought all witches were bad. My cousin mated with one and she was one of the best people I knew. And mages were under just as much threat from the Ring as shifters were. It was just...I don’t know. Maybe I was just straight up allergic to magic or something.
“Can I help you find something?” A lilting, female voice came at me from behind a bookshelf.
Ah. There was the witch. She couldn’t have been more than four foot ten. She had springy black curls and wide eyes. She wore thin, metal bracelets up each of her arms that clanged together as she gestured.
“Ah,” I said. “I’m here for…”
She narrowed her eyes. “You’ll be wanting a reading,” she whispered. She put a finger to her lips then came closer.
Her eyes went up and up as she took me in. “You’re in luck” she said. “Madame Zendra doesn’t usually take new clients without an appointment. But, I can see you’re a special case.”
“Madame Zendra?” I said, trying to suppress a smirk.
So this was their racket. Whoever this Madame Zendra was, how lucky I was to just happen to catch her on a good day.
“Sure,” I said, figuring this would be good for a laugh.
“Come,” the woman said. She put a hand on my arm and started to lead me to the back of the store. We passed rows of tarot cards, crystals, candles.
I stooped to clear an alcove and pushed through hanging plastic beads. Oh, they set the scene all right. I imagined the tourists ate this shit up.
The walls were lined with shelves holding candles of every color. The drop ceiling was painted black with little holes cut out. Behind it, lights twinkled through making it look like the night sky filled with stars. Soft, new age music played from some hidden speaker.
And there was that smell. Heavy incense. My head started to pound.
“Have a seat,” the shopkeeper instructed. “Madame will be here in a moment.”
I took a seat on a folding chair at the small, round table draped in purple velvet. I was surprised not to find a crystal ball on top. Maybe Madame Zendra brought that out with her.
I turned to say something to the shopkeeper, but the woman had vanished. A nice little trick. The hanging beads were still as if she’d just vanished into thin air.
I waited for a minute. Then two. After three, I was done.
“Enough of this shit,” I muttered about to rise.
“Thank you for your patience,” the voice said. It was raspy and brittle. I jumped.
Madame Zendra seemed to come straight out of the shadows in the room. How the hell long had she been standing there? I never scented a thing.
She practically glided across the room. She wore a thick, black robe, a hood all but covering her face. She sat across from me and folded her hands on the table. They were gnarled and old with thick purple veins.
And she was...faceless. I tried to peer into the hood but saw only shadows.
She held out one hand, palm up. “You may place the item in my hand,” she said.
“The what now?” I asked.
She let out a sigh. “You’ve come a very long way,” she said. “I don’t wish to waste your time. They were right to send you here.”
I did a double-take. Did she know? Had Payne’s contact finally given us some good intel?
No sooner had I thought it, when I felt a creeping sensation up my spine. This was all a trick. A con. And I wasn’t some hapless tourist.
But, there was...something. My wolf sensed it at the same time I did. The medallion piece around my neck began to burn my skin. I felt it lift.
“What the hell?”
Madame Zendra closed her fists and drew her hands back to her chest. She sensed something too.
“You’re not,” she started. “Aren’t you...who are you?”
“Who are you, lady?” I asked.
I had my hands resting on the table. A tremor went through me. I opened and closed my fist on my right hand to try and stop it.
No, I thought. Not now. I felt the hairs rise on the back of my neck. My vision dimmed a bit.
My wolf was coming out.
I cleared my throat and tried to slide my chair back. I couldn’t damn well shift in the middle of the magic shop. Only, I couldn’t seem to control it.
“It’s all right,” she said. “I’m not afraid of you.”
“You should be,” I said, my voice coming out more like a growl. I felt my fangs drop.
Dammit. I had to get the hell out of here. Fast. Only every instinct in me told me this lady knew something about this cursed medallion.
I raised my trembling hand and tried to grasp the medallion beneath my shirt. I couldn’t make my fingers close. My claws started to come out.
“You’re sick,” she said. “It’s okay. I think I can help.”
Her voice changed. She sounded...young.
I rose, staggering backward. No. It was magic. Some spell. My wolf strained to get out.
Madame Zendra got up and took a step toward me.
“No,” I said, my voice ragged. “Stay back.”
“You need help,” she insisted. “You can’t go out there like this.”
Then, she crossed the distance between us. Her hood dropped.
She wasn’t...she wasn’t old at all. She had to only be in her twenties. She had long, platinum hair that spilled over her shoulders. Her eyes changed color, going from deepest blue to brilliant violet. Her skin was flawless ivory. High cheekbones. Full lips. The robe fell open a bit at the collar and I could see the swell of her breasts.
Hunger roiled inside of me. She would taste sweet as honey. Her gasps of pleasure would echo through me. Oh, my wolf wanted to come out and play.
She reached for me. Gone where the gnarled hands. She had long, elegant fingers. She closed one around my wrist.
Light. Heat. An electric pop. I saw a flash of lightning that narrowed to a pinpoint. It c
ircled me then slammed into my chest.
Madame Zendra disappeared.
I took a step forward then crumpled to the ground, my body no longer my own.
The point of light went in me and forced the air from my lungs.
TO BE CONTINUED IN SECRET OF THE FAE
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About the Author
Kimber White writes steamy paranormal romance with smoldering, alpha male shifters and kickass heroines (doormats need not apply). She lives on a lake in the Irish Hills of Michigan with one neurotic dog, her sweet, handsome son, her fire-breathing warrior-princess of a daughter, and the most supportive husband any writer could hope to have (seriously, he just took said son, daughter, and dog out for a boat ride so she could finish this book in peace!).
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Books by Kimber White
Wolfguard Protectors
Shift of Fate
Echo of Magic
Kiss of Midnight
Heart of the Wolf
Secret of the Fae
Dragonkeepers Series Page
Kissed by Fire
Tempted by Fire
Marked by Fire
Claimed by Fire
Freed by Fire
Mammoth Forest Wolves Series Page
Liam
Mac
Gunnar
Payne
Jagger
Wild Ridge Bears Series Page
Lord of the Bears
Outlaw of the Bears
Rebel of the Bears
Curse of the Bears
Last of the Bears
Wild Lake Wolves Series Page
Rogue Alpha
Dark Wolf
Primal Heat
Savage Moon
Hunter’s Heart
Wild Hearts
Stolen Mate
Claimed by the Pack Series Page
The Alpha’s Mark
Sweet Submission
Rising Heat
Pack Wars
Choosing an Alpha
The Complete Series Box Set
