Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Solan hadn’t been to a Wiccan celebration as a security escort in years, but the bluffs still looked the same.
Torches lit the path from the dirt parking area up to the flats that overlooked Lake Erie.
It was a cool evening now that the sun had set, but the wind off the lake made it seem even chillier.
Solan and Linus walked up the path and greeted the shifters around the perimeter of the open space—two bears, two falcons, two white lions, two dragons, and two tigers.
Then he and Linus took their places on the lookout for danger and turned away from where the witches would be performing their spells and blessings for the coming few months.
Linus shivered. “Do you feel that?”
“The wind or the power?”
“I don’t know,” he said, rubbing his arms. “It’s like static.”
“It’s the power of this place. The witches call it harmony, as if the land holds memories of all the spells cast, and it makes the ground hum. It feels like pressure to me, like the air before a thunderstorm.”
“It’s wild.” Linus blew out a breath. “What are we looking for?”
“Each shifter group is on guard for anything that looks dangerous or out of place. If you see something strange, mention it, and we’ll investigate.”
“Has there ever been anything strange or dangerous happen during one of these? And aren’t the witches powerful enough to deal with anything bad anyway?”
“They’re busy and distracted,” Solan said. “So we watch their backs. And I have no idea if anything bad has ever happened.”
Glacier, one of the falcons, leaned past Linus and said, “I guess you weren’t here a few years ago when that storm appeared out of nowhere, and it turned out to be a small warlock clan trying to take over.”
“No,” Solan said, shaking his head.
The big male rocked back on his heels, his black, feathered wings rustling in the breeze. He wore a sword strapped to his back, as did his brother, Frost. The males looked intimidating and ready for anything, which made Solan wish he had a weapon. At least he had his wolf’s claws, though.
“It was wild,” Glacier said. “There weren’t many of them, but they had tapped into dark magic.
The witches had to stop their ceremony and fight them, but we managed to help take out a few of them and drive the others away.
Nothing since then, though. That was the last time Frost and I were here.
Our leaders asked us to step in this time and give the regulars a break. ”
“It’s been years for me, too.”
Solan felt a hush fall over the bluffs and knew the witches were on their way up. He looked over his shoulder and saw the coven. There were a few dozen females, all wearing black cloaks. He was about to turn his gaze back to the lake and the moonlight dancing on the surface when the wind shifted.
He picked up the faint scent of sage and honey.
His whole body froze.
He inhaled, more slowly this time, and his wolf went nuts inside him.
Turning, he faced into the wind and saw her.
She stood near the outer edge where the dragons were watching. She wasn’t part of the circle, but on the outside of it, wearing a cloak with the hood down to reveal long, dark hair.
Her gaze met his, and the world stopped.
Recognition hit him like lightning right in the chest.
Her.
His wolf howled mine before he could even form the word in his head.
His truemate was here? On the bluffs, a stranger with the witch coven on the very night he’d been asked to stand in place of another guard?
What were the damn odds?
Not daring to blink, he walked toward her. Linus whispered his name as the coven began their spell casting for the Equinox, and magic hummed loudly beneath his feet.
He drew closer, the smell of sage and honey growing stronger with each step.
His wolf was crashing against his bones like it would tear free of his body at any moment.
The female’s eyes turned brilliant amber, and her skin glowed.
A bright red light flared around the witches, and they cried out in alarm as the bonfire erupted and the lit candles toppled over.
The female threw her hands out, as if she were trying to stop whatever was happening.
One of the Corners shouted, “Kaeli! Stop!”
The wind roared, and the earth shook under his feet, lightning streaking brilliantly across the sky.
Solan didn’t think; he just moved.
He ignored the sting of magic like biting ants on his skin as he raced toward the female. The only words in his head: protect, shield, claim.
He reached her just as the air split open in a rush of wind and pouring rain. Her hair whipped across her face, and her mouth was open in a cry of pain and terror.
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him, covering her from whatever was happening.
The world went suddenly silent.
No more wind, rain, or earthquakes. The sky was dark and lit only with stars, and the bonfire had returned to normal.
Kaeli collapsed against him, trembling and crying. Her hands curled tightly into his shirt like she was anchoring herself to him.
He lowered his head and breathed her in, sage and honey. The scent felt like home. And so did she.
“I’ve got you, Nightling,” he whispered. The nickname was one he hadn’t thought of in years, a name his father had called his mother.
“You stopped it,” she said, her voice hoarse. She tilted her head to look at him, her eyes no longer glowing amber.
“I don’t know what I did,” he said. “Are you okay?”
He felt someone drawing near, and he spun with a growl and tucked Kaeli behind him. It was Lorene, the North Corner. She lowered her hood and said, “Hello, Solan.”
“Lorene.”
“Kaeli is a visitor. And you are her catalyst.”
He felt Kaeli lean around him to look at the head witch. “He’s why my magic flared? And then stopped?”
She nodded. “I believe so. We told you, dear, that fate would bring your catalyst to you when the time was right.”
“What’s going on?” Solan asked.
“I’ll leave her to tell you the details,” Lorene said. “As long as you’re touching her right now, her magics are under control. If you could…keep that going until we’re done? That would be great.”
Lorene returned to the circle, which the others were setting up again. He turned slowly and faced the female.
“I’m Solan Keane, and I’m part of the wolf pack. You’re Kaeli?”
She nodded. “Kaeli Shaw. I don’t belong anywhere.”
Something softened inside him. “I think you belong with me. Do you feel connected to me?”
She inhaled, and her eyes flashed pale bronze for a moment. “You’re mine. But how is that possible? I just got to Ohio yesterday.”
“Fate has a strange way of making things happen,” he said. “I normally don’t stand guard during the ceremonies, but I was asked to fill in.”
“I’m… you should know that I’m a little broken. A lot broken.”
“You don’t look broken to me.”
She smiled, a ghost of one that tipped up the corners of her mouth. “Solan Keane, I think you might be biased.”
The witches got back to the business of their spells and blessings, and Solan stayed right by Kaeli’s side. She had one hand twisted in his shirt like she had to be touching him in some way, but her gaze was longingly set on the witches.
He mulled over the words he’d heard—catalyst, magics. It seemed that something was different about his Kaeli, and it wasn’t just that she was gorgeous and made his wolf want to roll over and show his belly.
When the coven was finished, Solan and Kaeli made their way down to the lot and stopped next to his truck. She looked around like she was lost, and hoping to find some direction.
“So tell me what’s going on with you,” he said.
“I don’t think there’s enough time in the night for that,” she said with a grimace.
“I’ve got all the time in the world for you, Nightling.”
“I like that name,” she said. She inhaled and then exhaled slowly.
“I was kicked out of my coven for not being able to control my magic. I came here by bus, and Lorene and the Corners helped me discover that I actually have two magics inside me—North and South—and they’ve been fighting each other, so my magic is wild and unpredictable. ”
“You need a catalyst? What does that mean?”
“A bridge to bind the two magics together. You’re that catalyst. My…” she didn’t say anything for a long moment, just gazed up at him, heat simmering in the depths of her eyes. “My truemate,” she whispered.
He inhaled sharply as his wolf howled in his head. He hooked his hand at the small of her back and drew her close until her lush curves pressed against him. He could feel that she was his, that they were meant to be together. It was a strange and almost reverent feeling.
But she looked wary and sad at the same time, and he didn’t want to be pushy.
Kneading her skin lightly, he said, “You’re my other half. I’ve been waiting my whole life for you.”
“I didn’t know it, but I’ve been waiting for you too.” She touched his jaw, and he reveled in it. “What happens now?”
“I want to take you home with me.”
She blinked rapidly. “Home?”
“If you want.” The words came out harsher than he intended, but he didn’t want to go home without her. Because right now, in this place, he felt like he’d found home with her.
“I have a suitcase in a house in the coven’s neighborhood,” she said. “If you would take me there first, I’d like to go home with you.”
“I’d take you anywhere, Nightling.”
“Home sounds like a good place to start.”