A Magical Shift: A Hot Paranormal Fantasy Saga with Witches, Werewolves, and Werebears (Weres and Witches of Silver Lake Book 1) (29 page)

Ryerson McKinnon, his Alpha, propped his feet on his wooden coffee table. “It’s not like it’s their Kryptonite. Only the massive amount of the stone at the bottom of Silver Lake seems to temporarily drain the Changelings’ powers when they enter our land.”

That made sense. “Do you think something the size of Izzy’s quartz crystals would have an effect on one of them?” He bet if a Changeling ever walked into this room, he’d feel his powers drain immediately.

“Not really, which is why we need to get closer to them and find out what they’re up to. Stop them before they can do more damage. You’re the cop. There has to be something you can do.”

“Not without attracting attention.” The sheriff wasn’t even aware shifters exist, so he wouldn’t be getting any support from the department. “Perhaps James can help.”

James, their resident immortal and husband to the moon goddess, Naliana, had a Changeling contact who had helped them locate Izzy when that Scottish Changeling Owen Chancellor had captured Rye’s mate.

“I don’t want to rely on him for everything,” Rye said.

“Asking for help a few times isn’t exactly relying on him. If you don’t want to go that route, what do you propose?” Kalan asked.

“Not sure. Izzy might have been joking at the time, but she suggested we find someone to go undercover to infiltrate their ranks.”

Kalan laughed. “Right. That would be a death sentence.”

“Not if we hire an out-of-towner, someone who has experience working undercover.”

“Good luck finding him. Our kind doesn’t exactly advertise in the Yellow Pages.”

“I can be patient.” Rye leaned forward, snatched his cup off the table, and tipped it back. “Did I mention Izzy’s birthday is in two days, and that we’re going to have a little get together here this weekend?”

Kalan had to assume the discussion about how to handle the Changelings was now closed so he tossed his pad on the lounge at his feet. “No. Then again, you’ve been a bit preoccupied.”

His best friend grinned. “I’m telling you, having Izzy in my life has been the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

Kalan could tell where this conversation was going, and he needed to nip it in the bud. “I’m happy the two of you are mated, but just so you know, I’m perfectly content being single.” As a deputy and part time detective in the criminal division of the sheriff’s department, he worked erratic hours. Sampling the women of Silver Lake whenever the need arose worked perfectly for his lifestyle. More importantly, now that he was the new Beta of the large clan of wolf and bear shifters, he didn’t need to be tied down to one woman. “What can I bring to the party?”

“Nothing. I’m barbequing some burgers and stuff. I think Izzy’s mom and sister are doing the rest.”

Kalan wasn’t the type to arrive empty-handed. He’d at least buy Izzy a gift. Easing off the lounge chair, he grabbed his empty coffee cup and walked it over to the kitchen and set it in the sink. “Gotta get back to work.” Before taking a step, his cell rang and he checked the caller ID. “Speak of the devil.”

Rye stood. “Go ahead and answer it. If our paths don’t cross beforehand, I’ll see you Saturday.”

“You got it.”

As Kalan left Rye’s, he answered his phone. “Murdoch.”

“It’s Phil.” Phil Smythe was his boss and the head of the Criminal Division.

“I was just on my way in,” Kalan said.

While the day was overcast, the warm summer air was scented with the sweet aroma of pine from the surrounding forest.

“Good, but first I need you to run down a lead. It’s regarding the Donaldson warehouse fire. We brought in the owner and he claims he was at a church social that night.” Phil gave him the lowdown.

“I’ll check it out.”

Kalan hopped in his freshly washed Jeep and headed into town. As he passed the colorfully painted Bloom’s of Hope flower shop, located across the street from where Izzy worked, an idea popped into his head. He’d check out the lead then buy Izzy a birthday bouquet. It seemed like a safe gift. Women liked flowers. Surely it would stay fresh for two days.

A mile out of town, Kalan parked in front of the white wooden church that was graced with a tall, beautiful spire. From the outside, it looked pious as hell, especially with the stone statue garden off to the side that included the heavenly family and a host of other saints. He’d always wondered if he hadn’t met a real goddess what his belief system might have been. Now wasn’t the time, however, to debate the validity of religion.

He eased out of his Jeep. Not wanting to be disrespectful, he drew back his wavy locks and secured it with a rubber band then headed inside. His eyes quickly adjusted to the low light, most of which was coming from the beautiful stained glass window above the altar. Kalan inhaled the rich scent of fresh furniture polish and let his muscles relax.

He had to admit the cushions on the wooden pews made it rather homey. No one was inside praying, or whatever a person did inside a church, but he had to believe the pastor was around somewhere.

Thinking the door off to the side of the rather austere altar might house some offices. Kalan went in search of the man, passing a series of religious photos on the wall. He located him at the end of the hallway.

The door to his office sat ajar and a man wearing glasses and a buttoned down shirt was at his desk. Kalan knocked and entered. “Excuse me.” He held up his badge.

The pastor slipped off his glasses and set them down, shoved back his chair, and then stood. “Yes, officer. How may I help you?”

“I want to ask you about one of your parishioners, a Jack Donaldson.”

“What about him?” His tone, along with slightly pinched lips implied he was ready to defend the man at any cost.

“I need to know whether he was at your church social on the 23
^rd
of this month.”

“He most certainly was. In fact, I spoke with him about his daughter.”

“What time was that?”

The pastor ran a hand over his chin. “I can’t say when our conversation occurred exactly, but the social ran from six to nine, and Jack Donaldson was there the whole time. He’s such a wonderful man. Never misses church.”

Well, that was a bust. The fire department said the blaze had been set around seven. Not that Kalan thought the pastor would lie, but he wanted to touch base with a few others to be thorough. “Do you have a list of the guests who attended?”

“They all signed in. If you give me a moment, I’ll make you a copy.”

“That would be great. Thanks.”

The pastor pulled open a desk drawer and extracted a book. He then made a copy on his scanner and printed it. “Here you go.”

Jeez. It was three pages of names. “Appreciate it.”

“Any time. Say, I haven’t seen you in church.”

“Been busy.” Kalan didn’t need to be discussing his habits and waved the papers. “Best be going. Thanks again.”

“Come again soon, son.”

Kalan didn’t respond. He glanced down at the papers again and hoped one of these names could provide a lead. Because most of these folks would be at work for another few hours, he decided to purchase the flowers for Izzy then head into the station.

As he drove closer to the Blooms of Hope flower shop, a parking space freed up in front, which he considered good karma. As Kalan passed the display window, he slowed, spotting the perfect gift for Izzy. It was a vase of pink, red, white, and orange wild flowers behind a cute stuffed wolf. Izzy and her wild, magical ways would love it. That was easiest present he’d ever found.

When he stepped inside the fragrant smelling shop, that ease he’d just experienced totally disappeared. His heart fluttered and his incisors lengthened. Holy shit. He didn’t detect a shifter close by, so there was no need for his body to go into fight mode. Something was seriously wrong.

A girl about twenty, with her hair in a braid and more tattoos on her arm that there were flowers in the shop, stood behind the counter placing pink roses in a long box for a customer. Nothing about that should have triggered his unwanted reaction. A large glass cooler filled with flowers of every kind lined one wall, but as a bear shifter, he wasn’t allergic to anything related to the outdoors, so he shouldn’t be feeling light-headed.

The clerk packaging the flowers for the customer turned her head toward the back. “Elana, customer.”

Elana, Elana
. He mentally snapped his fingers. Izzy’s friend was named Elana. When he was at the Emergency room the day Rye had been injured, he’d also had a strange feeling that he couldn’t identify. He recalled his only thought was that he had to get out of the waiting room. Hell, he’d been so flustered he’d walked right into the closed glass door.

“Hello,” Elana said stepping out from the back, her voice like a smooth malt whiskey.

Dark hair with hints of red lay loose around her shoulders. This time she’d let it hang loose instead of pulling it back in a ponytail, and boy what a different that made. Her soft, blue eyes looked dreamy, almost as if she’d been sniffing too many flowers and had gotten high.

His heart nearly stopped when his gaze lowered to her perfect pink lips, the exact shade as the rose petals her assistant was stuffing into the cardboard box. As he let his eyes roam from her eyes to her chest to her legs and back up to her face, his nails began to grow and totally freaked him out. What the hell was wrong with him? She was a mere human.

But what man or rather shifter could resist drinking her in? The top of her head was no higher than his chest, and if he took a guess, her tits were probably a D cup, enough to fill his big hands. And her lush hips? Man they were made to cradle a man in ecstasy. Where the hell did those thoughts come from?

Say something, you oaf.
“Hey there. I, ah, heard you gave Rye a lift back from the Emergency Room. That was really nice of you. I would have driven him but I was called back to work.”
Babble, babble.

Not only that, it was bull and totally lame. He didn’t even receive or make a call when he was there.

“I did. How is he?”

“Healed up great.” She’d know if she’d spoken with Izzy. However, her friend might not have told her Rye’s wolf helped him heal quickly.

Kalan might have elaborated, but every word in his head seemed to have evaporated. Even concentrating took effort.
Focus
. He couldn’t. Something was happening to him that scared the shift out of him. Kalan Murdock was always in control—unless he was in the presence of Elana it seemed.

“Are you here for some flowers?”

“Flowers? Yes. I saw a wild flower display in the window along with a stuffed wolf that would make a perfect gift.”

She smiled, but her eyes didn’t light up. In fact, she appeared to be in pain. For the life of him, he couldn’t think of what he’d said to make her so sad.

“I’ll make one up for you.”

He wanted to say he’d take the one in the window as that would hurry things along, but when she rushed over to the flower cooler, he didn’t want to make things worse for her. As soon as the first customer left the store, the girl working the register stepped into the back. Alone with Elana, his senses heightened. Kalan placed a hand to his forehead thinking he might be coming down with something.

Elana brought the fresh flowers and vase to the counter and began to arrange them. Mesmerized by her agility and care, Kalan slowly lifted his gaze to her face. While not classically beautiful, Elana Stanley was a striking woman who made his libido pound with unwanted desire—or at least it was unwanted at this moment.

“Here’s the wolf,” the girl from back said waving the stuffed animal. “You want me to ring him up, Elana?”

Her smile seemed to wobble. “Sure.”

It then hit him like a stampede of wild boar. “You’re friends with Izzy. Do you think she’ll like this for her birthday?”

As if the sun peaked out from the clouds, she grinned. “Absolutely. In fact, a while ago she was admiring one like it in the window.”

Relieved he’d picked something his Alpha’s mate might like, he withdrew his credit card and handed it to tattooed girl at the counter.

“Are you going to Izzy’s birthday party?” he asked. She was Izzy’s best friend, so it made sense she would be.

“Yes. You?”

He had come in for a present, but he could always say he’d purchased the gift because he wasn’t able to make it. “I’m hoping to. I work long hours and I get called into work all the time.”

He didn’t want Elana to think he was looking to hook up. Given she was his Izzy’s best friend, he wouldn’t even chance asking her out, not even to the movies. It could only end in disaster.

She set the bouquet and wolf on the counter. “Here you go. We’re open Saturday until noon. If you stop in, I’ll give you a helium balloon to attach to the vase.”

Elana was too nice. “If I have time.”

Kalan couldn’t wait to leave. He was battling this unwanted attraction again, and if he shifted in a public place, the world would never be the same. As soon as he signed his name, he swiped the vase of flowers and wolf off the counter and rushed out. As he reached the door, the wolf slipped from his fingers and dropped on the floor. Damn. He swore Elana giggled.

Face heating, he bent down, retrieved the gift, and hurried out. No way in hell, he was going to that party and subject himself to being near her again.

Training Their Mate
(book 1)

Claiming Their Mate
(book 2)

Rescuing Their Virgin Mate
(book 3)

Box Set
(books 1-3)

Loving Their Vixen Mate
(book 4)

Fighting For Their Mate
(book 5)

Enticing Their Mate
(book 6)

MONTANA PROMISES
(Full length contemporary)

Promises of Mercy
(book 1)

Foundations For Three
(book 2)

Montana Fire
(book 3)

Hart To Hart
(book 4)

Burning Seduction
(book 5)

Montana Promises Box Set
(books 1-3)

ROCK HARD, MONTANA
(contemporary novellas)

Montana Desire
(book 1)