“Just stay down, Andie,” she ordered.

  Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to listen to the possibly familiar stranger for a minute and see what happened. If Charlie really did know my dad’s sister, I could get answers to the questions I’d been trying to avoid for the last few months.

  Or maybe things were only about to get worse. I couldn’t be sure either way, but as my hands began to warm to an uncomfortable temperature again, I had a feeling I didn’t have much of a choice in the matter.

  2

  ANDIE

  The air became increasingly cold around us, and my breath came out in visible puffs. I searched for the people who I’d been leery of before Charlie had arrived. Fortunately—or maybe not so much if they were merely in hiding—they were no longer anywhere I could see.

  Warning bells began to go off around me, and I tried to pull away from Charlie while she seemed distracted with her glowing hands, a sight I tried to tell myself wasn’t familiar to my subconscious or normal or real.

  Except the longer I stared at her, the more warmth filled me. Warmth of understanding and family and home. Something I hadn’t experienced in much too long.

  Charlie looked back at me, and her eyes instantly softened. “I wish we weren’t meeting like this, but everything is going to be okay, Andie.”

  Maybe my warning bells weren’t directed toward her.

  “What’s going on?” I asked while once again looking for the lurkers who seemed to have vanished into thin air.

  All I’d wanted was to go home and distract myself with mindless TV until I fell asleep in my comfy bed. Maybe I’d already fallen asleep and whatever was happening was nothing more than a bad dream.

  Fat chance of that, my subconscious tittered.

  Charlie’s lips parted as if she were about to answer me, but then something that I couldn’t hear must have caught her attention, because she raised a finger and turned away from me to scan the surrounding area again.

  I moved from my bruised knees to my feet but stayed bent down behind Charlie. Another gust of wind passed over us, causing my skin to tingle with energy and my breathing to become harder. I closed my eyes, trying to focus and get a hold of myself, but it was as if something invisible pressed down on me, trying to suck the life from me.

  “What is that?” I groaned when my head began to pound.

  “Dark magic. Push back and it can’t hurt you,” Charlie said without looking at me.

  “Dark magic? Push back? What does that even mean?” I snapped. The stress of whatever situation I’d landed myself in was making my irritation rise. I might believe magic existed inside of me, but that didn’t mean I knew what the hell that actually meant or what to do with the energy.

  Charlie sighed, reaching for my shoulder once her hand stopped glowing. “I’m sorry. I’d have thought you knew more, but none of us could find you after—” Her words cut off without warning.

  “After what?” I asked as she tensed, peering behind me.

  No answer came from Charlie. Instead, a force strong enough to knock me back on the ground slammed into us. This time I ended up on my ass, which didn’t hurt as bad as I’d expected, given that I’d already jammed my hip and bruised my knees all within the last ten minutes.

  Charlie grunted, standing up and grabbing my hand without seeming fazed. “If you can’t protect yourself, we’re going to have to run to buy a little time.”

  She pulled me to my feet, and we picked up the pace, heading toward the alley. I wasn’t sure that was a good idea, but given that Charlie seemed to know who—or what—was after us, I let her lead the way.

  “Where’s your house?” she asked.

  “About five more blocks away.”

  “The address, Andie. I need to know where I’m going.” She jerked us left, then right, and left again before shoving me forward. An explosion sounded behind us, and I glanced back. Where we’d been standing just seconds before was now nothing more than dark green smoke with swirls of black whipping around the cloud.

  Charlie’s hand covered my mouth. “Don’t get sick, please.”

  Before I could question why she’d say that, the world blurred around us, and my stomach dropped like I was on the world’s worst roller coaster. My knees gave out when my feet touched the ground again only a half-second later, but Charlie was prepared for that and had a hold on my arm, keeping me upright.

  Once I had my bearings, I glanced around and realized we were a street away from mine. I had no idea how she’d done that for two reasons. One: I’d never given her my address. Two: teleportation wasn’t supposed to be freaking real.

  “Are we closer or farther away?” Charlie asked, repositioning me behind her before she moved her hands around in the air in front of us, causing more white swirls of magic to appear. This time, they had tendrils of yellow moving within the swirls.

  “One more block,” I answered with a bit of awe in my voice. The longer I watched her, the more my freak-out was diminishing. I became entranced with whatever she was doing, making me forget all the reasons I should have been running for my life.

  At least, until she yelled in my face.

  “Run, Andie!” she demanded, giving me a hard shove.

  Something dark and shadowy flew over my head, and my heart rate spiked again. Without wasting another second, I did as Charlie commanded and didn’t ask any other questions. When I scurried out of the alley, I caught sight of something mystical shooting from Charlie’s outstretched arms and wrapping around the shadowy thing that had flown near my head just moments before.

  Come on, feet. Don’t fail me now, I chanted internally as I lengthened my stride.

  With extra care, I sprinted toward home, hoping like hell that I wasn’t going to trip and get taken by some crazy, shadowy person. Or at least I hoped they were technically a person.

  Before I could let my thoughts be overrun with fear, I cut through Mrs. Pearson’s yard, knowing she didn’t have a fence around her property that was catty-corner from mine. The wet grass seeped through my Converse, but I kept running at full speed, dodging all of the flowerpots she had scattered about.

  Though, no matter how careful I was, I still ended up face-first in the cold grass thanks to a black hose I hadn’t seen in the dark. I rolled over, trying to make a quick recovery, but my situation didn’t improve after I’d kicked the hose off me.

  Dark mist moved around my legs, keeping them pinned together. The same man from the street—at least I assumed he was since I hadn’t gotten that close of a look before—appeared above me, grinning as he tilted his hat up and revealed midnight eyes, a scar on his left cheek, and dark hair hidden within the shadows.

  “Hello, Andie.” His voice was deep with a slight accent I couldn’t place.

  His trench coat fell forward when he reached for me. Without hesitating, I grabbed both sides of the coat as tightly as I could and shoved him to the side. My legs might have been bound, but I could still bend them and attempt to fight back.

  He reached for me, and his lanky, tawny fingers grasped my long, light-pink strands, yanking hard until my body was forced closer to him.

  His dark eyes leered at me. “That wasn’t a smart move, Andie. Now I’ll have to show you what happens to witches who don’t do as they’re told.”

  He lifted me up by my hair, and I winced and yelped loudly as I tried to get my feet under me again. Grabbing my shoulders, he sent a wave of energy through my body that felt like that of an electric fence.

  Holy crap, that was painful. Still, my instincts had me fighting back as soon as my body stopped seizing, displaying senses I hadn’t even known I possessed.

  My head slammed forward, right into his chin since he was a half-foot taller than me, and I shoved my hands into his chest, falling back onto my ass at the same time since I still couldn’t separate my legs.

  My palms broke my fall, but my wrists paid the price and agony shot up my arms. I rolled over, resting on my elbows for a moment, then pushed up onto my knees just in time to see Charlie appear in Mrs. Pearson’s yard. The fact that my neighbor hadn’t woken up yet with all this ruckus shocked the hell out of me.

  Charlie’s hand slammed into the stranger’s chest, her palm connecting directly with the top of his ribcage. White and gold flashes of light with wisps of the shadowy mist flashed between them, making popping noises while small sparks flew toward the sky.

  The guy had smoke rising around him, but he didn’t seem capable of moving due to whatever Charlie was doing to him.

  “You have no claim to her. She is part of our coven. If you come for her again, just remember, I don’t give second chances.” Charlie released the man, shoving him back several feet.

  He stumbled, sneering at her and then me before he disappeared into thin air. Yeah, that wasn’t normal. Once again, I had too many questions circling inside my mind, along with a truckload of panic, making all my internal alarms go off.

  Charlie bent down behind me, lightly touching my shoulders. Before I could ask what she was doing, the binding around my legs was gone. I got to my feet in the next second, brushing the dirt and grass off me while assessing my aches and pains. “What the hell just happened?”

  “That man and woman were hunters attempting to use you as their ticket into a coven they shouldn’t want anything to do with. If they’d succeeded in taking you, it would have had a tsunami of an effect on our community,” she said.

  “Coven?” I’d only heard that word in fiction and from the whispered stories Aunt Junie had told to me on the nights she’d visited. Tales of witches and magic and a home unlike anything I’d ever known.

  Witches. Magic. Coven. The episodes I’d been having. I was beginning to realize they were all connected, and much more problematic than I’d previously thought.

  “You don’t remember any of it, do you?” Charlie asked, a trace of pity in her words.

  “Remember what? I’m still trying to process how the magic I was only beginning to believe I could use is more than parlor tricks. And what happened to the woman with the guy who was trying to kill me? Where did you come from and how did you know I was in danger?” I rapid-fired questions at her and did my best to ignore the heat in my hands that had begun to build up again.

  “That guy wasn’t trying to kill you, but he was trying to kidnap you. Something he would have succeeded at if you hadn’t put up a fight. I admit, after realizing you didn’t know how to use your magic, I’m impressed you fought back instead of letting the fear paralyze you.” Charlie’s tone wasn’t condescending, but it wasn’t super friendly, either. I wasn’t sure what to make of her yet.

  She wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “Come on. We need to get inside your house, call Beatrix, and then get you out of here as soon as possible.”

  I pulled out of her hold, paranoia igniting inside me. “You’re not taking me anywhere. Where’s Aunt Junie?”

  Charlie grimaced, looking at anything but my face.

  “What happened?” I demanded.

  “She, um, died a few months ago. We tried to find you, but we couldn’t until I got lucky today.”

  No. No. No. Aunt Junie couldn’t have been gone. I hadn’t seen her in over a decade, but knowing she’d been out in the world somewhere had always given me a sense of comfort that I wasn’t completely alone. I’d thought I could find her again. I’d thought I had more time.

  “I’m sorry, Andie. We’ve had every witch in our coven searching for you, but she hid you away too well and didn’t leave instructions for us regarding you in the event of her passing.”

  Aunt Junie had hidden me? That couldn’t have been possible. I’d chosen to come to Montana. To basically hide myself. Though, I’d never really understood why or from what. Something that should have been weird, but I’d been raised by a mother who’d done odd things all the time.

  Had the answers I was beginning to see I needed been right there in front of me this whole time? Quite possibly, but I was going to find out for sure just as soon as my pulse stopped racing.

  3

  FOSTER

  My wolf raced through trees, chasing the unknown. We’d been sent on a hunt for our mate months ago, yet she was nowhere to be found. I’d been ready to go back to our home weeks ago, but he was insistent we stay. I was beginning to think my wolf was losing his damn mind, something neither of us could afford.

  My mind is perfectly intact. Yours might be something we want to evaluate, though. As for our mate, she’s close, and we’re going to find her soon, my wolf said through our mental connection.

  ‘Close’ and ‘soon.’ Two words you’ve been throwing around a lot lately, I grumbled, ignoring his attempt to rile me up.

  I hadn’t even wanted a mate. I’d fought my wolf, wanting to stay right where we’d been. In a pack that allowed me to be alone without being on my own. Our life had been just fine before our creator, the Moon Goddess, made an unexpected appearance and gave us a scent to chase, stating we’d find our mate if we followed.

  Now, we were in a forest outside of Los Angeles. A city I hated with a dark passion. One that was loud and busy and filled with selfish humans who cared nothing for the world beyond themselves.

  They’re not all bad, my wolf said.

  He was annoyingly positive while I was jaded. Neither of us had yet to convince the other that our outlook on life was better. At least our stubbornness was something we had in common.

  We should go to the pack, he suggested, guiding us nearer to the local wolf territory.

  I knew my wolf wanted a pack and a home we could be close to, but we’d had both of those already. Had them and watched them be ripped away from us. I couldn’t go through that again. It was enough that he’d convinced me to find this mate of ours. Joining a pack that wouldn’t allow me to do as I please was too much to ask for. Not after what we’d been through.

  Holden, the alpha of the local pack, knew I was in the area thanks to a witch named Beatrix that I’d had a run-in with during my first week in L.A. She’d found me in the supernatural club called Warlock. I don’t know why she’d thought my presence was any of her business, but she’d had no problem asserting herself into my personal space, something I hadn’t forgotten and easily recalled.

  “Who are you?” she said with an air of disgust.

  “None of your damn business,” I replied with matching annoyance.

  “You don’t belong to the local pack. Does the alpha know you’re in his territory?” she asked, and I didn’t miss the underlying threat.

  “I won’t be a problem, so there is no reason to tell him,” I replied before taking a long drink of my beer, hoping she’d go away.

  She scoffed. “You’re a rogue wolf. I don’t believe for one second that you’re not going to be a problem.”

  I really had no desire to share my personal business, but more than that, I didn’t want to deal with this witch any longer. Knowing mates were a sacred thing to most supernaturals, I decided to tell her the truth.

  “I’m looking for my mate. Once I find her, I’ll be gone.”

  Her lips thinned. “How do you know she’s here?”

  “I just do.”

  “Right. Well, I’ll be keeping an eye on you, Wolf. I don’t like strangers around here any more than the alpha wolf does.”

  I’d thought if I kept my head down that would be the last I’d see of the witch, but she had more than “kept an eye” on me. She not only involved the local alpha but had also tried to get me to go to a pack in Texas where I might be more “comfortable”.

  Only Beatrix had underestimated my wolf’s want in finding our mate. When the woman from the Texas pack had shown her face, I lost control of him and shifted. Ever since then, I’d been mostly left alone. Though, with every passing day and the scent of our mate getting fainter, I was ready to move on.

  Our mate will find us here. I know it, my wolf said, listening in on my thoughts.

  I hated to admit it, but after all these weeks, a part of me hoped he was right.

  The idea of having a mate terrified me, but the thought of leaving my mate unprotected, in a world that sought to destroy everything good in it, was unacceptable. My innate responsibility was stronger than my fear of letting people in again.

  As our claws dug further into the forest floor, picking up speed, I let out a sorrowful howl. Releasing just the slightest amount of pain that I still held inside me helped keep us moving forward, but nothing would ever soothe the jagged edges of my heart.

  Not even a mate?

  Had I mentioned my wolf was annoyingly positive and persistent?

  I ignored his question, and we raced through the forest toward the highest mountain top. It was our favorite place to think and watch for any signs of this supposed mate.

  When we got to the top, Holden, the alpha wolf, was standing there with arms crossed, looking out over the city. He was older with fine wrinkles curving around the edges of his face. He had short, dark, reddish hair and light-green eyes that saw too much each time we were around him.

  I shifted so we could talk, assuming that was why he was there. Energy rolled through my arms and legs, sending shivers down my spine as I pictured my golden skin, shoulder-length russet hair, the facial hair I was overdue on shaving, and my nearly six-and-a-half-foot height.

  Soon enough, my ebony fur disappeared, replaced by my tattooed skin and the jeans and black T-shirt I’d been wearing previously.

  Holden nodded at me. “Good run tonight?”

  “Yep. Did something happen?” I asked, given he didn’t often come out of his way to find me now that we had an agreement about me staying in his territory.

  “Not that I know of. We just wanted to check on you. We haven’t seen you in a while. Beatrix said you’ve been in the city a lot more. I was surprised when I heard that.”