Wolf Spell: Shifters Bewitched #1

of the underworld,” he muttered.
I waited, terrified.
“The Brotherhood of the Guardians is an ancient organization,” he said. “But our kind is dying out.”
“Dying out?” I echoed.
“We live longer than you, but our kind is not as abundant as yours,” he said. “We have no females left.”
“What do you mean your kind?” I asked.
“We’re different from you, physically,” he said carefully.
“Bigger,” I said, feeling embarrassed almost immediately at the appreciation in my voice.
“Yes,” he said, and I could hear the smile in his. “But there are other differences too.”
“Your eyes,” I said.
“Everything about me, Bella,” he whispered. “I’m a beast.”
Beast.
The word hung in the air between us. That was the way I’d first thought of him, when he’d stalked into the courtyard like some kind of predator. But it didn’t make any sense. He was clearly just a man. What could he be talking about?
“You’re a man,” I said, voicing my thoughts as I stupidly gestured at him in the darkness.
“Would you like for me to show you?” he asked.
“Will you hurt me?”
“Never.” His voice sounded strained.
“Then yes,” I said. “I want to see.”
“Don’t scream,” he said.
Before I could ask why I would scream, there was a sound in the air, a sort of hush of movement.
My eyes strained against the darkness, hoping for some hint as to what was happening.
A heartbeat later, the cave was still and silent.
“Luke?” I whispered.
There was no answer, but I heard a huff, almost like a sigh.
I reached out into the darkness. Something soft and warm met my hand, like thick hair.
No.
Fur. It was fur.
I froze and then the dark shape butted against my hand, as if eager for more contact. It felt almost like a dog, but way too big and too high off the ground for that. Whatever Luke had become, his head was at my chest level.
I let my hand run up the top of the head and down the neck, where its fur grew shaggier.
I felt shoulders, and the slope of its spine.
It huffed at me again and head butted me in the hip.
The movement was slow and gentle, but the creature was big enough that I nearly stumbled.
“I can’t see you,” I said. “Move closer to the light.”
I stepped toward the mouth of the cave, to the place where the pinpoints of light that bled between the vines illuminated the cave floor slightly.
I looked back toward the creature I had touched.
It moved to me slowly, glowing blue eyes appearing first, and then I saw its full shape, its thick coat shimmering slightly in the moonlight, shoulders rolling with a fluid quality that suggested incredible power.
My heart leapt in my chest at the sight. But somehow, I was not afraid.
“You’re a wolf,” I breathed.

15


Luke
I slid quickly back into my man form before she could scream or cry out and give us away.
The wolf let me go without a fight, though he usually resisted without a hunt, or at least a run.
Or a fight.
But he knew how important this was. More important to him than to me, really. I had no desire for a mate.
Though tonight was changing that, in spite of my best efforts.
Bella stood before me, gazing at me in awe, but not screaming or cowering away. Amazingly, she didn’t seem frightened at all.
This girl was brave and interesting, not the spoiled witch I’d expected. I kind of liked her, even though it was hard not to resent her for caging me with her bond.
“Luke,” she said again, in wonder.
“So they didn’t tell you that part,” I said, wondering vaguely whether that violated the agreement.
It only seemed fair that both parties knew what they were getting into. Though, I didn’t actually remember anything like that being in the ancient contract now that I thought about it.
She shook her head.
Gods, they hadn’t told her much at all. They had sent her to my bed without knowing what she was going to find there.
“Fuck,” I said, slamming my fist into the wall, and wishing it was the face of the person who had put her in this position.
“Luke?” she murmured.
“They should have told you,” I said, spinning on her. “You shouldn’t have come to the school without understanding and agreeing.”
“Well, they didn’t tell me,” she said sadly.
She was trembling again, her arms wrapped around her small body once more.
I wanted nothing more than to hold her, to pull her close and drink in that intoxicating scent. I longed to warm her, comfort her, and press my body close to hers until she begged me to take her…
But she didn’t want to be here with me. It was all obviously too much for her.
Frustrated as I was that I would have to wait another night, so be it. A true mating could not begin with uncertainty of any kind. If I thought I wanted her now, it was nothing compared to how I would feel when she wore my bite. If the legends were true, my need for her would be a sweet agony.
I wanted her to feel it too, without reservation.
“You’re beautiful,” she said, so softly I almost missed the words.
I blinked at her.
“When you’re a wolf, I mean,” she said, looking down in embarrassment. “The wolf is beautiful.”
I wanted to tell her she was beautiful too, that looking at her made me ache with need. But I restrained myself, barely.
“You’re cold,” I said instead. “Let me warm you, in my other form. We’ll rest here for a while. He can make that more comfortable.”
“Really?” she asked, those dark blue eyes wide with wonder.
I nodded, and she smiled back at me.
Every fiber of my being told me to claim her, so I did the only thing I knew could stop me.
I closed my eyes and called on the beast once more.
Sleep, just sleep, I told him. Keep our mate warm and protect her.
I could feel his agreement as I faded backward, giving him room to take over.


16


Luke
I take in the scent of our mate. It is cool and