A Magical Shift: A Hot Paranormal Fantasy Saga with Witches, Werewolves, and Werebears (Weres and Witches of Silver Lake Book 1) (12 page)

“Slim. What would you like me to do?”

“If I had a photo of him, I’d suggest we put his face all over town, but we don’t have one yet. Izzy confirmed he was about five feet ten or eleven inches, lacked muscle tone, had auburn hair, a thin nose, and pale skin.”

Kalan tossed back his beer. “He sounds hard to miss. After he stabbed you, I asked the others to keep an eye out for someone with a Scottish accent. Having his description should help.” He leaned forward. “You said there were two things. What was the other?”

“I’m ashamed to admit this, but after she drove me home, Izzy leaned over and kissed me. It was probably her way of saying thank you.”

Kalan’s brows rose. “Why would that be shameful? Sounds like a great thing to me.”

“Because that one kiss turned into something else.”

His friend laughed. “Don’t tell me you did the dirty?”

“No, but I was this close.” He held his thumb and forefinger a half inch apart.

Shaking his head, Kalan set the bottle on the coffee table in front of him and leaned back. “I bet when you stopped it pissed her off.”

Rye hoped not. “I explained myself.”

“You are a piece of work. What are you waiting for? She’s your mate.”

“That is exactly why I want to give her time to get used to me. I can’t afford to mess this up.”

“When are you going to see her next?”

“Tomorrow.” He explained how he needed to make certain she arrived home safely. “I don’t trust that ass not to follow her again.”

“What makes you think he’s not at her house now? If I’d been tied up in a vine, I might want a second chance at her.”

“Oh, shit.” Rye’s blood nearly boiled. He jumped up and raced to his phone then set it down. “I don’t have her number.”

“Then call Mrs. Berta and ask her for it.”

“Good idea.” Rye wasn’t thinking clearly. He dialed Izzy’s mom, and when she answered, he explained that he needed to ask Izzy something but didn’t know her cell number. Telling her mom the whole truth might cause more issues. He considered asking her dad to check on her, but what could Mr. Berta do against a werewolf?

She gave him the needed information. “Thank you for being so good to my daughter.”

“You’re welcome.” If he’d been truly good, he would have checked her house out first before having her drive him home. He glanced over at Kalan. “Got it.”

Just as he was about to punch in the number, he wondered if Izzy would be upset that he doubted her ability to take care of herself considering she’d told him numerous times how competent she was.

“What are you waiting for?” Kalan asked.

“I don’t want her to think I’m hovering.”

Kalan picked up his beer and tipped it back. “Why would she think that? Her stalker stabbed you for fuck’s sake. If he’s good enough to do that to someone who’s trained to hear every crunch of stone, think what he could do to Izzy.”

Rye dragged a hand over his head. “You’re right. If I thought she’d say yes, I’d ask her to stay here.” He dialed her number, trying to think of what to say.

“Hello?” She sounded out of breath as if she’d run to answer the phone. Shit. In the background, water was running, probably in the tub. An intense visual formed in his mind’s eye.

“Izzy, hey it’s me, Rye. I wanted to make sure you didn’t get any more surprises when you arrived home.”

“Aw. That is sweet of you to call, but it’s all clear here.”

The churning in his stomach lessened. “Great. I just wanted to check. I’ll see you tomorrow then. You have my number now, so call if you need me.”

She chuckled. “I will. Good night, Rye.”

The image of her naked in the tub kept flashing in his mind, forcing him to hang up quickly. He couldn’t tell if she appreciated the call or thought he was being too overprotective. He ran his hands through his hair, needing a moment to compose himself.

“So?” Kalan asked. There was way too much humor in his tone.

“All’s good.”

Kalan waved his beer. “I’ve never seen you like this before.”

“Like what?”

“Unsure of yourself and second-guessing your every move. That’s not very Alpha-like behavior.”

If anyone other than Kalan had said that, it would have been a reason to shift and fight. “This whole mate thing has thrown me for a loop. When she told me how that Scotsman had stepped foot on Wendayan land and threatened her, I lost it.”

“You felt helpless.”

That was a good word for it. “Yes, and I didn’t like it one bit. That’s why I’m going to take her home tomorrow after work and stay for as long as she lets me.”

Kalan grinned. “Just don’t bite her when you make love.”

His stupid pulse soared at the idea. “We aren’t to that stage yet.”

“Sure.” Kalan stood then set his bottle on the counter. “Let me know how that goes.”

Rye gave him the finger, and they both laughed. As soon as Kalan left, Rye headed to the shower, needing a real cold one tonight.

‡

W
hen Izzy went
into work the next day, she was still glowing from Rye’s kiss and amazing touches—and from the phone call. Rye checking up on her meant a lot to her. Until she showed him her extensive control over the elements, she’d have to go along with his protective nature.

She wasn’t so naïve to believe that she was invincible. Last night, when she’d pulled into her driveway, she’d carefully looked around before leaving her car, fearing that creep might have come back. Yes, she could have asked her dad to come over to check out the place with her, but then she decided she could summon the wind to push her stalker away. Her father would have used fire and probably scorched the hair off the man’s head. She never realized how talented her father was until she’d tried to mimic his precision—and failed.

Izzy parked in front of the spa just a few minutes before it was to open. The storefront window hadn’t changed much since before she’d left to study in Europe. Hell, she bet her mom hadn’t even switched out the candles or the crystals in all that time. Good thing Mom didn’t run a clothing store or everything would be out of style. In the long run, if the display brought in customers, that was all that mattered.

When she stepped inside, both Missy and Teagan rushed up to her.

Missy threw her arms around her first. “Mom told us what happened. You should have called me. Do you really think that guy will come after us?” She stepped back.

After hugging Teagan, Izzy walked behind the counter and placed her purse and keys in the cabinet. “I wish I knew. He wants something, but I have no idea what it is. I fear that if I don’t give it to him, he might use one or all of you to get to me.”

Missy and Teagan looked at each other. “I don’t sense any evil hovering nearby,” Teagan said. “If I do, I’ll be sure to let you know.”

“I’d appreciate it.” Teagan’s ability to foreshadow the future had just come into full power from what Missy had told her and seemed fairly accurate. Knowing that Teagan would watch out for them made Izzy feel a little better. The tension in her sister’s face lessened too. “But just in case, be on the lookout for someone who looks obviously Scottish. He won’t be wearing a kilt, but his auburn hair and pale skin will make him stand out.”

“Thanks. We’ll be keeping an eye out for him,” Missy said. “Speaking of men, Mom said you brought Rye over to the house. What’s up with that?” A shine glinted in her eye.

“Don’t look at me like that. There’s nothing going on.” Yet. Too bad the words came out slowly, implying she was trying to formulate a lie.

“Uh-huh. Why were you with him then?”

“When that Scotsman showed up at my house, I feared he might harm me, so I wrapped him in a vine then rushed over to Rye’s place. I figured he would know what to do.”

Teagan glanced to the ceiling and inhaled. “Did Rye wrap his arms around you and tell you not to worry—that everything would be okay?”

Izzy laughed at their antics. “No, but just so you know, he’s insisting on following me home for a few days to make sure I’m safe—or until we catch this guy.”

The girls shot a knowing glance at each other. Fortunately, the bell above the door rang and saved her from any further discussion. An older woman she didn’t recognize came in.

Missy rushed up to her, chatted, and then escorted her to one of the rooms in back. Four years ago, Izzy had known everyone around here. Now, it seemed as if she was a stranger in her own hometown.

Izzy leaned against the counter while Teagan straightened the candles, lotions, and crystals on the shelves on the far wall. “Missy wrote that you and Kip are dating. How’s that going?” Kip Landon was another Wendayan, and while he was a few years older than Teagan, Izzy was happy they were together. They seemed like a good match.

“We are, but we want to take it slowly.” Teagan faced her. “Don’t get me wrong. The sex is out of this world. I’m mean when we’re together, the whole room seems to be cast in blue, but let’s say we conflict over how I handle my visions.”

For some reason, that didn’t feel like the real reason they hadn’t mated. “Are you intimidated by his powers? Is that it?”

“Me? No. I mean he can control things like electric motors and anything to do with power. I’ve even seen him shoot electricity out of his palm that I bet could fry a person.”

“That talent is nothing to sneeze about.”

“I agree, but I’m learning to move items with my mind, and I think my lack of control bothers him.”

So that was the crux of the conflict. “He said that? That your talents bother him?”

Teagan glanced to the side. “Not in so many words.”

“Back up a minute. Can you really move things with your mind?”

Teagan nodded. “Yes, and I discovered it by accident.” She glanced at the ceiling and a sparkle came to her eyes. “We were fooling around, and I was so excited that I swiped my hand in the air, and a book flew across the room and nearly hit Kip!”

“Wow.”

“It happened again one other time, only then I was angry.”

Her heightened emotions seemed to be causing the added abilities. “Can you move things at will?”

“So far, I’ve succeeded with only small items, and even then, I can’t even move them far, but I’m working to improve my skills.”

Stunned, Izzy pushed off from the counter and moved closer. “Show me.”

No one was in the street to see her, so Teagan nodded. “I’ll move this tea candle.”

Izzy might be able to control the forces of nature, which in affect was moving things like vines, sand, and wind, but when she’d attempted to move a glass across a table, she’d completely failed.

Teagan narrowed her eyes as if she were focusing some kind of projected light beam on the object. Seconds later, the tea candle moved an inch. Her cousin’s shoulders dropped, and she faced Izzy with a grin on her face. “It wasn’t much, but I’m getting better every day.”

“That’s fantastic. And you say Kip’s not supportive?”

“He says he is, but I’m not sure he’s really happy about it.”

Izzy nodded, but she was convinced there was more to the story. “Men definitely have egos.”

“Amen.”

Another customer came in wanting to purchase some crystals, and Teagan took care of her. Feeling unneeded, Izzy motioned she was going next door to her dad’s cell phone store to make sure he was okay. When she entered, two people were wandering around checking out the different phones while her dad was helping another customer. She waved to him and he held up his finger for her to wait. When it became evident that his conversation would take a while, she smiled, waved, and returned to the spa, happy her father was fine.

For the rest of the day, Izzy rang up customers and checked on her dad, but each time he was busy with someone. At the spa, she was called upon to give one massage, and that was when Teagan and Missy were busy.

All in all, her day kind of sucked. Not only did she wonder about her stalker, she had hoped Rye would have called to make sure the Scotsman hadn’t stopped by. If nothing else, he could have asked how she was holding up since her incident. Most likely Rye didn’t want to be a pest.

About ten minutes before he was due to pick her up, she wanted to check on her father once more. This time when she entered his store, the place was empty.

“Hey,” she said. “You’re actually free!”

“It has been a busy day, but it’s time to close up shop. Mom called and wants me to take her out to dinner.”

“Nice.”

“Mind doing me a favor?”

“Not at all,” she said happy to be useful.

“I didn’t have anyone in here for about a half hour so I shredded some documents. Do you mind emptying the trash while I close out the cash register? The two large bags of material are by the back door.

“No problem.” Izzy stepped to the back, picked them up, and headed out to the alley. The dumpster was located at the end of the strip mall past the spa.

Despite the alley being unpaved, the air smelled sweet and the breeze made the temperature nearly perfect. As she neared the dumpster, someone stepped out from behind it, and her heart nearly jumped out of her body.

It was
him
. Shit. All she could think of was that this stalker was within a few feet of her sister, cousin, and dad. At the moment, they were the only two people in the alley, but hopefully that would change shortly.