Wolf Spell: Shifters Bewitched #1

somehow, my bare feet were warmed by the stones.
“There’s a hot spring below the courtyard,” Anya whispered, as if sensing my confusion. “Lucky, right?”
Damned straight it was lucky. I wasn’t sure how long I would have lasted without it. My wet hair already felt like it was forming long, chestnut icicles in the breeze.
We met up with a bunch of other girls, forming a semi-circle around the courtyard. More women joined us until the whole courtyard was encircled in white-robed students.
There was a kind of hush over the group, as if we were in a church. The only sound was the breeze rustling our cotton robes, releasing the scent of crisp clean air and just the lightest hint of soap.
At last, Headmistress Hart joined us. She stood outside the circle, watching over the assembled students.
More women, who I assumed were teachers, lined up against the back wall of the castle to oversee the event. They watched silently as a few more students joined the circle.
When the last of the stragglers had taken their place, the headmistress began to speak.
“We gather together here in the sacred circle,” she said, her clear voice ringing out against the stones. “We perform a sacred duty.”
“We perform a sacred duty,” the students chanted back.
“The library shares her sacred knowledge with us,” the headmistress went on. “We protect her.”
“We protect her,” we all echoed.
I was getting the hang of this.
“The library shares sacred knowledge, the witches give their gifts to protect the library,” she went on. “The guardians protect the castle.”
“The guardians protect the castle,” we repeated.
“The guardians give their strength to protect the castle,” she went on. “We entrust our fates to the guardians.”
“We entrust our fates to the guardians,” I repeated with the others, even though this part sounded a little more mysterious.
Without warning, a shiver shot through me, as if I had touched a live wire.
I was standing completely still, but my heart began to race like I was doing jumping jacks.
Something is coming.
The headmistress and the others were still calmly reciting their words. They didn’t seem to notice that anything was amiss.
But deep inside me, in some primal part that was usually kept locked away, an awareness was rising.
My pulse pounded like I was running for my life.
The monster is almost here.
He was coming for me. I was sure of it. He was coming to rip my heart out of my body and gorge himself on it. My chest already ached like it had been hollowed out.
There was a rustle of motion in the boxwood maze, followed by the sound of footsteps, causing Headmistress Hart’s voice to break off mid-chant. As one, we held our collective breath. Even the breeze seemed to stop in anticipation.
The guardian stepped out of the labyrinth, eyes blazing.
He was taller than any man I had ever seen. His long, dark hair brushed his bare chest and skimmed along the enormous muscles of his upper arms.
His bearing was that of a predator, confident and cagey. But it was the expression in those pale blue eyes that held me captive.
I could barely breathe, and my heart drummed in quiet desperation.
“Go on,” he growled.
His deep voice seemed to reverberate in my bones, warming and softening me.
Headmistress Hart hurriedly began the chant again, but her calls and the students’ responses sounded like they were coming from far away.
All of my senses were entangled in the guardian, attuned to his every move.
He began to stalk around the circle. He paused in front of one girl, and her voice began to quiver as she chanted.
He kept moving. He had begun on the other side of the crowd, but he was slowly coming closer to me.
I focused on my breathing, wishing I could scream or run. But something held me fast to him, like an invisible wire was pulling taut between us.
He stopped in front of another girl, who was blinking back tears, but he moved on faster this time.
His gait was graceful, like an animal’s. He was close enough now that I swore I could smell him - woodsy and complicated, like the forest itself.
He was closer now. Close enough that I could no longer bear to look at him.
I stared down at my hands, which were clenched into tight fists. I felt him move to me, sensed him stopping directly behind me.
Electricity filled the air between us. The tiny hairs on my arms lifted. I could almost feel his breath on my neck. I held my own breath as my heart crashed in my chest.
He put his hand on my neck, signaling me to face him.
I felt myself obey instantly.
His blue eyes were so bright it almost hurt to look at them. He touched my cheek, his rough hand surprisingly gentle.
I fought the urge to close my eyes and lean into that hand.
“You,” he said.

7
Luke
She trembled at my touch, her whole body weak with need as I drank in her delicious scent. It was like a soft rain falling on my parched senses.
But her eyes were frightened.
I would take away her fear. Take away everything but the pulse of her need and the hum of her pleasure.
She was the only thing I could think of from the moment I ended my hunt. I had paced away the hours until the ceremony.
The moment I emerged from the labyrinth I saw her energy pulsing for mine.
But they were expecting a show - these silly witches and their ceremonies. Besides, I didn’t want to throw myself at her like a desperate pup. So I made my way around the circle, feigning interest here and there until I reached her.
She stilled under my hand, though I could feel the heat of her blush.
She was ready.
She was mine.
“Are you coming with me now?” I growled. “Or are we playing out the whole silly charade?”
She blinked at me, her eyes were darkest blue, like the depths of the ocean.
“Lord Protector,” the headmistress’s voice invaded the private bubble that had encircled the girl and me. “Bella is new