A Magical Shift: A Hot Paranormal Fantasy Saga with Witches, Werewolves, and Werebears (Weres and Witches of Silver Lake Book 1) (18 page)

“You cause me do it.”

He grinned. “Let’s get dressed so we can finish eating. We don’t need to be caught in a storm.”

He’d feel hurt if she tossed the food, though by now the ants and bugs might have attacked it. “Are you asking me to actually sit up? None of my muscles seem to be working very well.”

“No.” With that, he slid her off of him and sat up. “I just thought you might be hungry.”

She sat up. “Actually, you filled me up so much I’m good.”

Rye laughed and Izzy sighed. Life with this man just might work out.

*

Izzy and Rye
spent the evening at his house playing silly card games and laughing. It was when he brought the chess set out that she called a halt to game day. “It’s bad enough you beat me at pool, I don’t need to be humiliated at chess.”

“I can teach you,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

“I say we watch a movie and snuggle.”

He grinned. “I’ll let you have your way tonight, but only because I took advantage of you today.”

Izzy wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that if he hadn’t asked to take off her clothes, she would have stripped him naked.

No surprise, Rye let her pick the movie. She chose a romantic comedy, and the poor soul fell asleep halfway through. He looked so cute with his head on her shoulder, snoring away that she didn’t have the heart to wake him since he had to rise earlier than usual tomorrow.

Due to his change in schedule, he agreed to let her drive her own car to work tomorrow. While they were fairly convinced her powers would be at full strength by morning, she had to promise to park in front of the spa instead of on the side near the alley.

Around eleven, she was ready for bed. As much as she wanted to cuddle with him, she let Rye snooze on the sofa. She even set his phone on the coffee table so he’d hear his alarm.

By the time she rose the next morning, Rye already had left for work. A note on the table said how much he enjoyed their night together, and she had to chuckle. Ten bucks said he had no idea the name of the movie they’d watched.

After changing into her a blue button-down shirt and jeans, Izzy headed into work, arriving in town without incident. She was beginning to wonder if that terrible man had finally realized it was best if he headed back to Scotland, since his window of opportunity had closed. Those forty-eight hours without her powers had been the scariest in her life.

With a bounce to her step, she entered the Crystal Winds Spa.

“You look happy,” her mom said.

“I am.” What Mom had said was true. Izzy should count her blessings that she had the chance to be mated to a McKinnon. After her talk with Rye about what that would entail, she was even more thrilled. Soon, she’d complete their mating ritual.

She’d called her mom last night to give them the good news that her powers were nearly at full strength. That might have been a slight exaggeration, but her parents’ over protectiveness was wearing on her nerves.

“Did you learn any more from Rye?”

She probably meant about the mating. “I did, though Rye’s not sure whether my powers will be affected or not, or if I’m even able to shift. To be honest, I don’t want to take a chance on losing what I have.”

Her mom rubbed her shoulder. “I’m proud of you.”

Izzy hugged her quickly. “Thanks, Mom. That means so much to me.”

Last night, while in bed, Izzy tried to picture what it might be like if the two of them could romp in the woods together. That image faded when she remembered her own ability to perform magic might be lost. She just hoped Rye wouldn’t be disappointed if she decided not to be a shifter or if the gods willed it so. He’d have to be content to enjoy her wind swirling, water parting ways.

Unless… She spun to face her mom. “Do you think it’s possible that when Rye bit me he could have received some of my Wendayan traits? It seems only fair.”

Her brows furrowed. “I have no idea, but there’s only one way to find out.”

It would be so much fun to see if he could manipulate the elements. “I guess we’ll have to see what he can do!”

With that thought, Izzy remained invigorated for the rest of the morning. As lunch drew near, she decided to see if Elana wanted to join her—safety in numbers so to speak. They had so much to catch up on.

“I’m going across the street to see if Elana is free for lunch,” Izzy said.

Her mother finished making an entry into the computer and looked up. “Be careful.”

“I will.”

Earlier this morning, during a lull, she’d slipped into one of the back rooms. To her delight, Izzy had been able to force the air to lift a pile of sheets and send them swirling. Of course, it meant she had to pick them up afterward and fold them, but it had been worth it to prove she was at full strength once more.

Before Izzy stepped into the Blooms of Hope florist shop, she stopped to admire the display in the storefront window. A vase with three red roses and some baby’s breath was prominently displayed. Attached was a helium balloon with a birthday message, and in front was a cute bear holding a heart. Aw, that was so sweet. Next to the bear was another display of wildflowers in a lime green vase next to a stuffed wolf. For some reason, her thoughts shot to children and she wondered what their kids might be like—though that was a long way off. Would they be magical and a
Were
, or just magical, or just a
Were
? She sighed.

Elana opened the front door and smiled, “You going to stare at the display or come inside?”

“Whoops. You did such a great job with this. Maybe you can give mom some pointers.”

Elana laughed. “If she wants any.” Elana held the door open and Izzy passed through. “I didn’t expect to see you today.”

“I wanted to see if you’d be up for lunch.” The cooler on the right side of the store was jammed with colorful flowers, and several uncut ones sat on the counter.

“I’d love to. I take it your jailers are letting you out?”

Elana was well aware of how protective her parents had become. Izzy glanced around to make sure Elana’s assistant wasn’t close by. “My powers are back, so I’m able to leave, but only in the company of others,” she whispered.

Elana did a fist pump. “Yes. I want to hear everything that’s been going on. I live vicariously through your wonderful adventures.”

“Well, having a stalker isn’t exactly a good adventure.”

Her friend glanced at the ceiling. “It is when someone as hot as Rye McKinnon comes to your rescue.”

“True.”

Just as Elana put away the rest of the flowers, Izzy’s cell rang, but she didn’t recognize the number. “Hello?”

“Izzy, this is Kalan Murdoch.”

Her heart jumped a notch by the concern in his voice. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Rye. He was inside a building putting out a fire when it partially collapsed.” She grabbed onto the counter for support. Werewolves healed quickly she reminded herself. “Is he okay?”

“He’s been taken to the hospital. I’m on my way there. I thought you should know.”

“Thank you,” she said, the two words sticking in her throat. As soon as Kalan disconnected, tears brimmed on her lashes. Her emotional calm had totally evaporated.

Elana grabbed her arm. “What is it?”

Izzy slowly faced her best friend. “Rye was in a burning building that collapsed.”

“Oh my God, how is he?”

Her brain fogged. “I don’t think Kalan said, other than Rye’s at the hospital. I need to go to him.”

“Then I’m driving. You’re in no condition to navigate.”

Elana was right. Normally, Izzy was cool under adverse conditions, but right now she was falling apart. “Okay.”

Elana told her assistant she might be gone for the rest of the day, but she’d call with an update. Izzy and Elana darted outside. Thinking about Rye, Izzy didn’t even look around. If her stalker had been out back, he might have been able to capture her without a fight since she wasn’t sure she could even focus enough to use her powers.

“You should call your mom to let her know,” Elana said once they were in the car.

Oh, crap. “You’re right. I can see it now. If I didn’t come back from lunch, Mom would call every shifter in town to search for me.”

The phone call was short because Izzy didn’t know much. Thankfully, her mother was supportive, telling her to take as much time as she needed.

By the time Elana pulled into the hospital parking lot, Izzy was a jittery mess. Her friend parked and together they entered the Emergency Room.

“You might not be able to see him right away, you know,” Elana said. “You’ll have to be patient.”

“Patient my ass. I might be able to help.”

Elana grabbed her arm. “Doing what? He doesn’t need any more fire. Unless he’s burning up and you can provide a cool breeze, you need to let the doctors do their job.”

Rationally, Izzy understood that to be true, but emotionally, she wanted to help him anyway she could. She sucked at waiting though. Izzy rushed up to the nurses’ station and asked about Rye with Elana right behind her. “He’s a fireman and was brought in a little while ago.”

As the nurse typed in the information, Kalan stepped out of one of the curtained rooms and strode toward her. “Izzy, hi.” He glanced over at Elana and stilled.

Oh, no. It was bad. Izzy placed a hand on his shoulder. “Tell me. How is he?”

“He’s going to be okay. He’s in room 4 if you want to see him.”

She spun around to Elana whose smiled had faltered. “Don’t worry. I’ll wait in the lounge.”

Izzy was about to ask Kalan if he could look after her friend, but that would have been dumb. Nothing would happen to Elana in a hospital. Her thoughts in a scrambled mess, she rushed into Rye’s room and halted at his prone form, an oxygen mask over his face. He must have sensed her for he opened his eyes, removed the mask, and smiled.

“Hey. You didn’t need to come here.”

Was he crazy? “Kalan called and said you’d been trapped in a burning building.”

He pushed back on his elbows and patted the bed. “Have a seat.”

Being so close to Rye would mess with her head, but she needed to make sure he was okay. “Put the mask back on.”

Rye clasped her hand. “I’m fine. No burns either. The paramedics overreacted. Even if I had told them I wasn’t suffering from smoke inhalation, they never would have believed me. This mask is precautionary. Besides, I didn’t need to be advertising that I have some powers of my own.”

Hearing Rye so calm helped settle her down. She rubbed his arm to give him assurance and suddenly hair sprouted. “Seriously?” she whispered. “What are you thinking about?”

His cheeks dimpled. “What I’m always thinking about—you.”

She swatted at him. “You have to concentrate on healing.”

He rubbed her leg. “Sex is what will help me heal the most.”

She chuckled. “You’re incorrigible.”

“That’s why you like me.”

It was one of the reasons. “Get better first. Then we’ll see.”

He clasped her hand and sobered. “You know you didn’t have to come all the way out here. You could have just asked me how I was.”

He wasn’t making any sense. “What do you mean?”

His mouth opened then closed. He then stared at her as if she was supposed to figure it out.

“You could have asked with your mind.”
That thought just floated into her head. It was almost as if Naliana had spoken to her, only it was Rye’s voice even though his lips weren’t moving.

She looked around as if someone had spoken then returned her gaze back to a smiling Rye. “I swore I heard your voice in my head.”

“In my haste to discuss what it meant to be mated to a shifter, I totally forgot about our ability for mental telepathy. It doesn’t matter that you haven’t given your complete consent.”

She would. Later. Her pulse soared. “Are you kidding? I mean Naliana and I—”

“It’s just like that.”

She had so many questions. “Can every shifter communicate this way?”

He laughed. “Only mates can.” He held up a hand. “I take that back. Kalan and I can because I’m soon to be the Alpha and he’s my Beta. Prior to a few weeks ago, we didn’t have that link. My dad said that under extreme circumstances, once I’m Alpha, I’ll be able to send out a message to our collective clan.”

“I didn’t know that about
Weres
. Have I had my head in the sand all this time?” Izzy must have been focused on perfecting her talents too much to notice. “Are my parents aware you can do this?”

He shrugged. “You’ll have to ask them. As for you communicating with me, you just have to picture us together and direct your thoughts.”

That seemed easy enough. Izzy closed her eyes and remembered being on her back on the blanket by the lake, and the memory of intense pleasure filled her. “
I want you,”
she telepathed.

“I want you too,” he said out loud.

Izzy opened her eyes. “Oh, my goddess, it worked!”

“It did. See how cool it is to be my mate?”

She didn’t have the chance to respond because the doctor strode in, and Izzy jumped off the bed to give him room. Thankfully, he didn’t ask her to leave. After he checked out Rye’s breathing, he scribbled something on a pad.