Surge Of Magic (29 page)

Just then, Randy came over to them. “That was incredible.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much magic at one time,” Teagan said.

Kip stuck his hand in his pocket. “I’d like to create a little magic of my own.”

She cocked her head. “What are you planning to do? Skip some electric current across the lake?”

“No, this,” he said as he got down on one knee. He lifted a blue velvet box from his pocket, and then opened the case.

Her heart did a stutter step. Inside was the most beautiful ring she’d ever seen. Two pink quartz stones flanked a huge diamond. “It’s gorgeous.”

“I’d contemplated putting red onyx on either side, but I didn’t want to take any chance you-know-who would try to steal it.”

“Heaven forbid.”

Kip lifted her hand. “Will you, Teagan Pompley, be my wife?”

Tears of joy streamed down her face. “Yes!”

Kip stood and embraced her, and the kiss that followed would put the ceremony they’d just watched to shame.

The End

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I hope you enjoyed Teagan and Kip’s story. To keep up-to-date on my releases, enter contests, and receive some books for free, sign up for my newsletter:

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Next up is Ainsley Chancellor and Jackson Murdoch’s story—
The Bear’s Forbidden Wolf
. Below is the first chapter!

F
or the first
time in years, Ainsley Chancellor felt safe and was jonsin’ for a run. Her wolf hadn’t been let free in way too long. Ever since moving to Silver Lake, Tennessee two weeks ago, she’d been eyeing the hills on the edge of town. The problem was that her roommate told her Changelings roamed the area, and they were the last people she wanted to run into. It didn’t matter she was one.

She unlocked the front door to her apartment and dropped her canvas purse on the kitchen counter. After grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, she headed over to the red sofa to enjoy a few minutes rest after her long day at work. Her feet hurt from standing since nine a.m. and her bones ached. Twenty-seven never felt so old.

As an acupuncturist, not only did the work require a lot of concentration when placing the needles in her patient’s body, she spent much of her time assuring each of them that she could help manage the pain. While she loved her job, to hit the precise spot took energy—energy she hadn’t had today.

Her roommate and coworker, Blair Murdoch, came in waving a stack of envelopes. Ainsley didn’t know how she always looked so good, even in her blue slacks and white shirt with the Silver Lake Wellness Center logo on the pocket. Her long auburn hair that never looked a mess brought out her green eyes and porcelain skin.

“You got mail!” Blair said.

Ainsley’s pulse shot up. She’d only moved to Tennessee two weeks ago and was staying with Blair until she could find her own apartment. Mail was the last thing she expected. She prayed her brother hadn’t learned where she lived. Nothing good could come of that. “Maybe it’s from the school.”

“Nope. Stamp’s from Scotland. It was forwarded from Atlanta.” Blair handed her the letter.

Hearing the location had her heart pounding. When she checked the return address, her pulse slowed. “It’s from Shamus!” How had he found her?

“Who’s Shamus?”

A wonderfully kind friend who I didn’t do a good job keeping in touch with.
“Shamus and I go way back. In fact, he’s a bear shifter.”

“Ah, like me.” Her roommate kicked off her tennis shoes, set down her purse then disappeared into the kitchen. The refrigerator door opened. “I thought you said bears and wolves didn’t get along over in Scotland,” she called out.

“They don’t get along the way they do here, but Shamus has been my best friend since fifth grade—until I met you, of course.” She and Blair spent the last four years in Georgia as roommates—two as undergraduates and then two as graduates. “He kind of protected me against a few jerks who didn’t treat me well.”

Blair returned with a yogurt cup and a bottle of water in hand. “Protected you?”

“Let’s say he stood up for me. And I stood up for him too. I told you our town was a lot like yours in that the humans didn’t know about shifters.” But that was all she’d said. Now that she’d basically disappeared—hopefully where her family couldn’t find her—it was time to come clean. “Where I lived, the bears came to the area long before the wolves did, but eventually, the werewolves grew in number and decided to take what they wanted. Don’t get me wrong. There were good wolves, but the bad ones seemed to be more prevalent. I’m sure I mentioned that my stepfather was the werewolf Alpha—making him the biggest ass of all.”

“You did. That must have been hard on you.”

“It was, which is why I’m across the pond from my family.” Ainsley picked up her water and chugged part of it.

“Finish the story.”

“The land that belonged to the bears was valuable in that it had the stone that helped the wolves stay strong. So we pushed them out.” During their four years together, Ainsley hadn’t wanted to discuss her Clan—make that her Changeling Clan. She was too embarrassed to let anyone know, except Blair, what she was. Now that Ainsley was safe in her new town, it would do her soul good to let it all out.

“That pushing out stuff sounds like what the white man did to the Native Americans a long time ago. I hate to say it, but your Changelings sound exactly like ours.”

“Genetics don’t change because of geography.”

“True.” Blair peeled off the yogurt lid and dipped in her spoon. “How did you deal with it? I know you never wanted to talk abut it, so I’ll shut up if you tell me to.”

“No. It’s time to air the dirty laundry, so to speak. Actually, it was way past time. No one in my family will find me here, so it’s safe to finally tell you. I should have given you all the sordid details long ago, but I didn’t want you to think badly of me.”

“I never would have.”

Ainsley wanted to believe that, but she’d never been willing to the chance she was wrong. “You wouldn’t have been scared thinking that I might…oh, I don’t know—rip out your throat in the middle of the night or something?”

Blair moved next to her on the sofa and set her food down. “I knew from the moment I met you that you had a good heart.”

Heat rose up her face. People didn’t compliment her very often. “Thanks. So what do you want to know?”

Facing her, Blair sat cross-legged on the sofa then brushed back her hair from her face. “A billion things. Like did your parents make you do terrible things against your will?”

That was a legitimate question giving how bad Changelings were. “No, but that might have been because I was a female and young. They kept me pretty much in the dark about their evil ways.”

“That’s good, I guess.”

“I always attributed my father’s Wendayan genes for keeping the evil lurking inside me at bay. It wasn’t until I was maybe thirteen that I overheard my brothers talking about some things they’d done—and it wasn’t pretty. It made me realize what Shamus had been saying all along about my Clan was true. At first, I thought he was just jealous of my family since we had money and his didn’t, but he was just trying to open my eyes.”

“What did you do when you learned your brothers weren’t nice people? Did you go to your parents and tell them?”

Ainsley held up a hand. “That’s a big fat no. I never liked my stepfather, and my mom wasn’t much better once she married him. Remember, they were both Changelings. One didn’t complain to either one of them and expect sympathy.”

Blair blew out a breath. “I know you said you didn’t have a real good home life, but I didn’t know it was rather loveless.”

She shrugged. “I didn’t know better. At least my real dad was great—until he died.” Ainsley looked off to the side, refusing to get all teary eyed. She was stronger than that. “The one good thing to come out of being raised a Changeling was learning how to fight.”

“Fight? How is that a good thing? When I grew up, I learned that I could count on my brothers to defend me.”

“You’re lucky. My two brothers went through the training with me, but I don’t remember them coming to my rescue. Teaching all of us to do battle was my family’s way of keeping the wolf population strong.”

Blair unfolded her legs. “Who did you have to fight? Other wolves I hope. Heaven forbid, if you had to go against a bear.”

“Just other wolves. They broke us into female and male groups at first. I had an affinity for battle, so I moved up in the ranks rather quickly.” Ainsley hadn’t told anyone this before, but she didn’t want to have any more secrets. She was tired of them. The burden on her soul had already taken a big toll. “I had a special talent that I would use if I had to.”

“Special talent?”

She inhaled, fearing this might be the one thing that made Blair pull away. “Remember my dad was Wendayan.”

“Yes.”

“When I was maybe five, he was right in front of me laughing and then the next thing I knew he was gone.” She snapped her fingers. “Poof.”

“Was he a magician?”

“Close. As you know, all Wendayans have some kind of magic. My dad could disappear—though it was only for a short time. Mind you, he was still there. It was just that no one could see him. If I reached out, I’d be able to feel him.”

Blair sucked in her breath. “Really? I’ve never heard of anyone being able to do that.”

“I didn’t know anyone could either until I saw him do it, but apparently, I inherited that talent too.”

“Are you shitting me? Show me!” Blair clapped her hands.

Ainsley shook her head. “I haven’t tried it in years. Besides, it really wipes me out.”

“How come you never told me?” The hurt in Blair’s voice cut her.

Ainsley looked around, trying to come with a good reason. “It was something I did in Scotland. I came to America for a fresh start, which is why I haven’t practiced it.” She leaned forward. “I tried to tell you many times, but I then I chickened out. I thought you might think I was some kind of freak. It was bad enough that I belonged to a group that was your Clan’s sworn enemy, but being able to disappear made me even more of an anomaly.”

Blair clasped Ainsley’s hands. “I never would have thought less of you. Your magic doesn’t define you. I just never thought a shifter had magic—unless she or her had mated with a Wendayan.”

“Mixed breeds are a strange lot.”

Blair glanced to the side, as if trying to assimilate all the new information then nodded to the letter. “Are you going to open Shamus’s letter or what?” She grinned. “Do you think he’s writing to profess his undying love?”

“Hardly.” Ainsley was happy that conversation was over. In truth, it went a lot better than she could have hoped. As she ran a finger along the edge of the envelope, she spotted the date stamped on the outside. “Crap. He mailed this like three weeks ago.” She ripped open one end then shook out the letter. When she spotted his beautiful penmanship a warm, fuzzy feeling filled her. Ainsley held it up and smiled. “Pretty, right?”

Blair whistled. “A man wrote that?”

“We were schooled in calligraphy, but Shamus in particular enjoyed writing. He’s such a gentle soul.” She held up a finger. “Don’t get me wrong. When provoked, he would fight and do a damned fine job. In fact, even though he worked in a bank over in Scotland, he helped train other shifters so they’d be prepared if and when they had to fight the Changelings.”

“Wasn’t that a conflict of interest between you two, since you’re one of them?”

“Not really. Shamus could see through to the real me.”

Blair picked up her yogurt cup. “You sure you aren’t hiding some big romance from me?”

“No. I’ve told you everything. As for Shamus, we’re just really good friends—friends who haven’t seen each other in ten years. Now do you want to hear what he wrote?”

Blair leaned forward. “Absolutely. I love juicy stuff.”

Ainsley shook her head but failed to keep the smile from her face. “Dear Ainsley, I hope this letter finds you well. First, I must apologize for not writing sooner, but it seems you forgot to give me your address in America.”