Authors: Vella Day
Tags: #Paranormal Erotica, #Paranormal Werewolf Romance
A Magical Shift: A Hot Paranormal Fantasy Saga with Witches, Werewolves, and Werebears (Weres and Witches of Silver Lake Book 1)
Weres & Witches of Silver Lake
Book 1
Vella Day
Copyright © 2016 Vella Day
A MAGICAL SHIFT
Copyright © 2016 by Vella Day
Kindle Edition
Cover Art by Jayccee DeLorrenzo
Edited by Rebecca Cartee and Carol Adcock-Bezzo
Published in the United States of America
E-book ISBN: 978-1-941835-19-7
Print book ISBN: 978-1-941835-20-3
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief questions embodied in critical crane articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any *crane resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.
Without a doubt, this series would not exist without the help of my good friend, Carol Bezzo. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. And to the best beta reader—Tammy Thompson.
Excerpt from Catching Her Bear
Beneath the calm and shimmering surface lie intrigue, power, magic, and danger.
Welcome to Silver Lake—where appearances can be deceiving, and what you see isn’t truly what lies below.
‡
O
wen Chancellor couldn’t
believe his good luck. For the past few days, he had been stalking the beautiful Isadora Berta. Together with her long flowing red curls, creamy skin that had a light sprinkling of freckles, and deep blue eyes, she had enough sexy curves to make any man stop and stare.
This past hour, she’d traveled toward Westhaven, Scotland and then driven down a muddy dirt road, deep into the forest—alone. She then headed out on foot toward the cove bordering the North Sea, making her imminent capture a sure thing.
He couldn’t wait to take this fair lass home to his family to be his wife. The fact that she hadn’t even met him yet was a mere technicality. Once she saw him, she’d swoon as all the ladies did. He was taller than she was by a few inches, and his auburn hair and fair complexion would complement her looks rather well.
Loser indeed
. He’d show his parents that he was worthy of their praise. Owen would train her to be a good and regal wife who would stand beside him at every occasion. He’d make sure she was honored by all.
He parked his four-wheel drive near hers, removed his clothes, and shifted into his wolf form to avoid leaving traces of his scattered clothes later on. He then scurried to the water’s edge; it would be less obvious sneaking up on her as an animal. Once he spotted her, he slowly edged closer, hiding behind trees or the thick brush to make sure she couldn’t see him. He then watched her prance around in her flowing white sundress.
Isadora, Isadora.
Once you are mine, I’ll have to teach you not to be so careless.
Just as he was about to make his move, he noticed the strange marking on the back of her shoulder. The blue circle with a green vine growing through it was new to him, so very different from his red moon encased in a black circle. He had sensed she wasn’t a shifter, but the intricate pattern must be a symbol for some group. But which one?
His future bride then bent down and lowered her hand to hover over the sand, and within seconds, a swirling cone erupted from the ground. Glancing upward, she giggled, the sound like small bells chiming. Despite her voice being light and airy, it wouldn’t be appropriate for someone who was about to be a part of his prestigious clan. It was one more thing he’d have to change about her.
As she rose, the small force grew, and its sudden billowing size mesmerized him. How the hell was she doing that? As the cone of sand turned into a small twister, Isadora spun around and laughed. He’d never witnessed anyone with such powers. She had to be some kind of witch.
Fascinated and a bit unsettled by this new development, he decided not to capture her today; he needed to see the extent of her abilities. He didn’t have long to wait. With the sand still spinning, she raised her arm and pointed toward the deep blue green sea as if commanding her creation to cut through the water. Dear goddess in heaven, the now rather massive sand storm actually parted the sea, cleaving it right down to the sandy bottom, and his respect for her grew significantly. This witch was far more than he had hoped.
With her calf-length dress hiked up to her knees, she walked into her self-made trough, the water never touching her. Owen blinked a few times wondering how this redheaded nymph had tricked him. She’d seemed rather ordinary before.
All of a sudden, she shot a ball of fire from her palm that bounced across the water, and he had to control himself to keep from howling. For a second, he was tempted to break cover and demand she tell him her secrets, but then reason intruded. His original scheme of capturing her in an effort to earn his rightful place in the family suddenly disintegrated. Joy surrounded him at the thought of what the two of them could accomplish together. To win her over though, he would have to resort to using his infinite charm.
Not wanting her spooked by a looming wolf, he decided it would be best if he left. Just as he turned around, she glanced over her shoulder in his direction, acting as if somehow he had disturbed her. While he couldn’t be certain if she’d seen him or not, he quickly darted back up the path, excited at his new discovery. He wasn’t sure how he’d accomplish his new goal, but one way or another Isadora Berta would become his.
*
Izzy had done
it! For the past four years, she’d studied under the finest of her kind in Italy, France, and now, Scotland. Today was the first time she’d been able to literally part the sea. Not that her work was done by any means, but soon, she could return home and contribute to her family’s safe keeping. Another two months of practicing, and her powers would be sharper than ever. Izzy’s mentors had complimented her on her ability to control the wind, but her talent with fire definitely needed more work. One mistake could prove deadly, or at the very least, costly.
As she stood at the shoreline and admired the earth’s beauty, a strange feeling of being watched washed over her again, but she shook it off. Several times this past week, she’d had the sense that someone was following her, but every time she looked over her shoulder, no one was there. It didn’t really matter. It wasn’t as if anyone could harm her.
With her tests complete, it was time to return to town. As she trekked back to her four-wheel drive Jeep, a strong vibration rattled her chest, causing her heart to pound and her body to shake. Recognizing the sensation, she stopped and waited for the imminent discussion from above.
“Izzy, your family needs you at home.”
The thought entered her conscious mind.
Family. Home
. Her pulse tripped at the thought of what she’d given up to come here. She missed Silver Lake, Tennessee, but if she’d stayed, she never would have learned so much from the great witches of the world.
She hadn’t heard from the moon goddess, Naliana, in over two years, and an unease spread through her at hearing those words. She looked up at the sky. “
May I ask why?” she telepathed.
“No, my dear. Do as I say and return quickly, but let your arrival be a surprise.”
Almost as soon as the tightening in her chest appeared, it was gone. One never disobeyed the moon goddess since she was the one who gave the Wendayans their powers in the first place. Izzy and her ancestors would have remained human with no powers had Naliana not interfered and bestowed magic to each of her kind.
A bit unsettled by the sudden command, Izzy hurried to her vehicle. As she was about to slip in, she spotted another set of tire tracks next to where she’d parked, along with some wolf paw prints. While it was interesting, she didn’t give it much thought as her mind was still on the command. She slid onto the front seat and gripped the wheel, worried sick that something had happened to her parents or her sister. Why else would Naliana have summoned her? Not telling her folks she would be returning home before her studies were complete also concerned her, but they would be delighted by her unexpected arrival nonetheless.
Naliana was all about being mysterious. She loved to have fun with people, often at their expense. As much as Izzy had been looking forward to working with another Wendayan who had mastered the art of fire, her family came first—as did the command from above.
As Izzy headed out of the forest, more deep gouges ran alongside her old ones in the muddy road—gouges that hadn’t been there before. A chill tripped up her spine, reminding her of the eerie sensation she’d had back at the water’s edge of being watched and the paw prints by the car. She purposefully shook, trying to push that thought out of her head. If the humans found out about her powers and her kind, her life as she’d known it would never be the same.
*
