Chapter 7
Alaric
My mate is Snow White in raven form.
With a certain amount of humor from me, and a lot of grumbles from Everly, we’d made our way to one of the streams on my property that was fully gushing now that spring was here, and were now on our way back.
Along the way, Everly had acquired a few... admirers.
It had started with a wolf cub, and then the wolf mother, seemingly resigned, followed her cub from a distance as the cub followed Everly.
From there, it had progressed to an arctic fox following her, then a mountain goat, then a deer.
Just now, a family of red squirrels joined the throng trailing us.
Everly had insisted she be allowed to walk, and was now awkwardly trotting with her head on a swivel, goggling at the animals following us like she couldn’t understand what was happening.
A gaping raven was quite funny, but I understood my assignment, and did not laugh. But oh, how I wanted to. It was only a few days in, and I was finding my mate to be positively delightful.
Everly stopped. The animals stopped. She started walking again, and they started walking again. After a while, she got frustrated and started squawking at them. They stopped politely to listen.
I choked on laughter, but hid it in a cough, then looked away when she glared at me. I couldn’t help it. She wasn’t trying to be funny, but she didn’t really have to try, I was finding. She just was. It was in her movements, and the expressions on her face.
I didn’t think this animal thing had anything to do with her being my mate. My sense was that it had everything to do with Everly. But just in case, I called Shay. I’d ask him to take another look at her—hopefully, he could figure out whatever it was.
I held my phone to my ear, pretending not to notice a moose join the throng and fold its legs beneath its body to lie down near where Everly had stopped again.
“My date is going to think I’m having an illicit affair,” Shay said, answering his phone.
“You managed to find someone who pities you enough to go out with you?” I said drolly.
Shay snorted and I knew he was rolling his eyes at me. “I know you may find this hard to believe, but people actually like me, and women find me handsome and interesting.”
I raised my eyebrows, casually stepping between two foxes that were getting pushy. “Please tell me you didn’t just say that in front of your date.”
“Of course not! As soon as I saw that it was you calling, I stepped outside.”
“Hmm.” Probably a good protocol to have for our conversations. “I called to ask your advice. Everly is... having a bit of an issue here.”
“Oh?” He sounded intrigued. “What kind of issue?”
“Her magic seems to be drawing animals to her.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“You heard me.” I held out a foot toward a poisonous snake, keeping it from joining the group.
I didn’t think it would hurt her—none of the animals seemed dangerous to Everly—but I also didn’t want to tempt fate.
The snake hissed at me, rising on its tail.
I stared it down. It hissed again, then slithered away.
I swear it felt like it was pouting. As a dragon shifter, I could sense what other shifters and animals were feeling, and that snake was now among the tall grasses, pouting that I hadn’t let it join us.
I shook my head, part in awe at my mate’s abilities and part in frustration. “We went on a walk. There are currently fourteen animals following us home.”
Shay got a good laugh out of that, and I rolled my eyes until he finished.
Yes, yes, it was hilarious that my mate was an animal magnet.
Just then, an animal even less cuddly than a snake entered the fray, and I moved instantly to intercept it.
The polar bear looked at me as if I were denying it a month’s worth of fish and tried to keep rambling toward my mate.
I sighed in frustration, letting my dragon fire flash through my eyes in warning.
The bear stalked off, snorting and grumbling.
“It’s not funny. I just had to deny access to a polar bear.”
Shay stopped laughing and cleared his throat, likely chagrined.
“Yeah, I can see now how this situation could become dangerous. It’s not what I was picturing.”
“Well, until the polar bear, it was probably exactly what you were picturing.”
“I’m sorry for the danger, but... did you laugh at her when this all started? Be honest.”
“Of course not.” I wanted my mate to actually fall in love with me, not peck my eyes out.
Shay chuckled, able to read me, even through the phone. “You laughed a little, I can tell. Alright, I’ll come by again to see if the spells around her have morphed a little. I didn’t notice anything that would draw other animals to her. To be honest, it could be her connection with you.”
I sighed. “Whatever it is, we’ll tackle it together. We’ll be home soon. Thanks, Shay.”
“What are friends for? Now I just have to gracefully exit this date without her wanting to curse my ancestors.”
I smirked. “Just hand the phone to her and I’ll tell her you have a terrible rash that’s infectious.”
“Funny. Sooo funny.”
“I thought so.”
Everly
Alaric and I had been back at his house now for a few minutes, waiting for his friend Shay again.
He sat on the couch with me, and placed the pillow I liked to rest on in his lap.
I settled into it, sighing internally as I did.
Was it strange that I was essentially sitting on a stranger’s lap?
Yes, if I thought about it for too long, but I was too unnerved by what had just happened to care.
Our walk had been a disaster.
At first, I’d thought the animals were following Alaric because he’s a dragon shifter, but then I’d realized they were following me. I still couldn’t figure out why.
In bewilderment, I’d unintentionally played red light green light with them: go, stop, go, stop, until finally, I’d told them to leave me alone and return home. None of them seemed to speak raven, though. Or maybe they just didn’t speak Everly.
All of the “safe” animals that Alaric had allowed to join us were currently camping on Alaric’s porch. They’d at first wanted to come inside with us, but Alaric had quickly disabused them of that notion. Most of them were pouting.
Shay came in without knocking, bundled up from the cold and shivering. He gawked at the menagerie outside, then went to shut the door. But before he could, someone knocked briskly.
Alaric stiffened, then three men walked in.
“The council’s here,” Shay said.
“I see that.” Alaric’s tone was ice cold. “They can wait until Everly is taken care of. She’s the priority.”
“Of course, as she should be,” the man with curly hair said with a slightly Italian accent. “We’ll wait over here.” They all found seats opposite us, and then every eye was suddenly on me. I felt like I’d suddenly joined a circus and was the headlining act.
Shay cleared his throat. “Well, Everly. Let’s see what trouble you’ve found today.”
I glared at him. It wasn’t like I was trying to find trouble. I didn’t have to try. Trouble found me.
“Everly, if you don’t mind, I need to touch you to ascertain if the magic has changed.” He reached for me, but Alaric scooped me up from the pillow and held me against his chest, frowning.
“You can touch her while I’m holding her.”
Shay eyed him. “Don’t be an idiot. I’m not going to harm her.”
“It’s not harm that I’m worried about,” Alaric muttered. One of the men on the sofa snorted and looked away from us toward the painting on the wall over the fireplace. It was a forest scene, dark and mysterious, with a castle on the edge of a cliff.
The man who’d snorted was large, maybe Alaric’s size, and I wondered if he was a dragon shifter as well.
“Alaric,” Shay growled, putting his hands on his hips, “I need to hold her or my magic won’t be able to read her. Hand her over.”
Alaric ignored him. Grumbling internally, because we were getting nowhere, I pecked Alaric’s hands until he reluctantly let go of me, then hopped onto Shay’s outstretched hands. I had no idea why Alaric was being testy about this. It was probably a private disagreement between the two of them.
Shay sat on a nearby recliner as he checked me over with his magic. It was softly luminescent—I could see it with my raven vision—and it felt warm and soothing. I almost nodded off, forcing myself to stay awake by staring curiously at the three… men?… on the couch.
One of them was average build, though a little tall.
He was the one with the Italian accent and had very curly hair.
His eyes were disconcertingly sharp, as if he missed nothing.
The one in the middle had armor on, and twin curved swords peeked from behind his back.
It sounded like they were... singing? I blinked, staring at them.
Yes. They were singing. Okay... that was interesting.
The third man, the man who I thought might be a dragon shifter, was already staring at me when I shifted my eyes to him. Suddenly, a starburst of light flashed brightly in his eyes, and I flinched back against Shay in shock.
Alaric growled, literally, and the man held his hands up.
“Peace, dragon shifter. I was just curious.”
Curious about what? And how did… whatever he did…
assuage his curiosity? I shivered. What kind of supernatural had starbursts in their eyes, anyway?
Unnerved, I looked toward Alaric. He didn’t even notice my gaze—he was too busy contemplating the man who had flashed his starburst eyes at me like he planned to heave him over a cliff later.
Shay finally settled back into the cushioned recliner, sighing.
“I don’t think it has anything to do with the magic laid upon her,” Shay said after his examination. “It might have something to do with... other things, though.” Here, he gave Alaric a very pointed look, but Alaric just shook his head.
“It can’t be that. There’s no precedence for it.”
“And things never happen without precedence,” Shay said sarcastically.