Shifting Magic (Shifted) (2 page)

“You two can wait in here,” s
he ordered while taking Rory by the hand to a wheelchair June, another of the nurses, had wheeled into position. “Has Maverick been contacted?”

“Maverick
, your husband’s name is Maverick?” Nina asked. It was an unusual name but one she had heard before.

“Yes
, and trust me the name suits him. Thanks for your help Nina.”

“No problem. If you don’t mind
, I’ll hang around just to make sure you’re alright.”

“I’m fine
, but thanks,” Rory said wincing again.

“Okay
, enough chit chat. This baby wants out.  Xavier, sit down. You look a little green,” Faith said tossing him a sly grin. Men were such babies.

Nina sat next to the hulking man
and looked at him for the first time. He was huge and built. No wonder he had been surprised she had been able to get the best of him. Nina had confirmed her own suspicions when Rory had said her husband’s name was Maverick. Werewolves. No wonder the man’s ego had been bruised. Werewolves were among the most powerful species of Shifters. She smiled to herself. Not as powerful as she was apparently. Sure, she had caught him off guard and used a little bit of magic to hold him there. He might have bested her if he had had any idea of what she was.

Her fat
her didn’t much like Shifters, but he did respect them. She could see why. They were strong, and the rumors of their total devotion to family had just been confirmed.

“You
might want to put your head between your legs, Xavier.”

“I’m
fine. You don’t need to stay.”

“
And miss all this fun? No way!”

“
Fine, stay. I don’t even care.” Xavier just sat looking at the door Rory had gone through. If he looked any harder, he might burn a hole in it.

Nina knew she
should let him off the hook. He obviously thought she was just some little human.  She was just about to tell him who and what she was, feeling just a little sorry that she had deceived him, when the doors came crashing open.

Xavier stood to greet the sea of
impossibly handsome men that flowed in the door. Nina counted six in all. Damn, why hadn’t she noticed how fine Shifters were before this? Two women, one blonde and about her size, followed by one that was taller, with caramel colored hair, came in the door as well. Both women exuded a power that matched that of the men.

“Faith
took her into the back.” Xavier was speaking to the man she assumed was Maverick Cheveyo. The name had been tossed around the dinner table enough. Her father had been wondering what a change in the Alpha status would mean for the community. He held a great deal of respect for the Alpha, but word was his oldest son was taking the Alpha role so that his father could join the council.

She w
atched as the blonde followed Maverick without asking through the doors and the other men relaxed.

Nina sat back and felt
the energy that had amped up in the room. It was delicious. A full rich power that energized her. She absorbed it like the sun’s rays.

“Nina
, is that you?” Nina snapped her eyes wide open at the sound of a familiar voice.

“Sam?”

“Yes, what are you… how did you...?”

“She
drove us here,” Xavier admitted while shaking his head.

“Okay
, sounds like there’s a story behind that. Why did you drive them here?”

“Well
when hotshot here blew by me doing 70 on Rte. 5, I chased him. The rest is history.”

Xavier was surprised Nina had cut the story short
. He was grateful she hadn’t elaborated on the fact that it was only after she dressed him down like a Christmas turkey that she realized he was rushing to an emergency.

“
Well, okay then.”

Willow came out to give the men the update. Rory had kicked her out of the delivery room by saying that she was making her nervous. Willow didn’t understand what exactly it was that she was doing to make her nervous. Rory was snapping at every one so she didn’t take offence. Reluctantly, she followed her sister’s request to give the others an update.

“
She’s fine. Maverick says it won’t be long,” Willow felt Ryder pull her in next to him.

“Oh
, and get this, she said that a cop kicked Xavier’s ass,” Willow grinned at Xavier. It was then that she noticed the cop. A woman no bigger than she was, with raven black hair, was still there in the waiting area standing next to Sam.

“Nina
?” Sam asked, trying to withhold a laugh.

“I
thought he was resisting arrest,” she shrugged.

“Nina is it
?” Royal, the Alpha of the Cheveyo pack, moved toward the woman he hadn’t noticed in the chaos. “How is it you managed to kick my son’s ass, as Willow so delicately put it?”

“Mag
ic,” she answered honestly. Reaching out confidently, she took the man’s offered hand.

“Magic is a myth,” Royal
looked at the woman who stood only as high as his chest. This little thing had downed one of his sons?

“
Werewolves are a myth as well, sir,” she replied. The room fell silent.

Royal
held the woman’s gaze as she stared back, waiting. Her pulse didn’t quicken. Her breathing remained steady and calm as he tried to formulate a response.

“
You do have a point,” he finally said. He was suddenly unsure if it was wise to continue the conversation.

“Royal, this is Nina Black
well. We served together on the force." Sam wasn’t sure that that bit of information helped, but he felt the need to defuse the situation.

“Blackwell
?” Royal raised an eyebrow.

“Yes
.”

“Malcolm Blackwell
’s daughter?”

“
That’s me.”

“Dad?” he heard one of his son
’s question.

“Malcolm
Blackwell, he’s a Mage. Correction, he is
the
Mage. She wasn’t kidding when she said she used magic to take him down.”

“
That would explain it,” Xavier chimed in. “I seriously thought I was losing my touch.”

“
No, I would imagine she had the advantage,” Royal smiled. “Thank you for assisting my family. Rory is very precious to all of us.”

“I didn’t know you were part of the Alpha
’s family Sam,” Nina smiled. She had always suspected he was a were.

“My
wife is Royal’s daughter.” Sam was flanked by both Emory and Hank. “This is Emory my wife, and Hank our husband,” he added, acknowledging his unconventional relationship with pride.

“
Nice going Emory. Two for the price of one. I’m impressed.” Nina’s reaction made Emory laugh.

“I like her,” Emory
said to the group. “This is Willow. She’s Rory’s sister and she’s mated to my brother, Ryder.”

“
Keeping it all in the family I see,” Nina quipped.

“Yes
I am,” Willow continued the introductions, “You’ve met Xavier I take it. And that leaves Ranger… Ranger,” she looked back to see her best friend glaring. “Come on, she doesn’t bite,” Willow said jokingly.

“I
wouldn’t count on that Ranger,” Xavier groaned as Ranger moved extending his hand.

“
Hi, I’m Ranger,” Ranger stepped closer and took the woman’s hand in his. “I’m your mate,” he added without hesitation the second their hands met.

Nina didn’t know what to do with the enormous man in front of her. She was vaguely aware of the gasps coming from the others in the room, but that awareness paled to the feelings pulsing through her with the mere touch of his hand. He was tall. She needed to tip her head to look at his face. A face that far outshined all the handsome faces she had seen before, and with the Cheveyo males all being so hot, you could combust. That was saying something.

She knew a little bit about
werewolves. She knew what a statement like, ‘Hi, I’m your mate’, meant. It meant she was his mate. She didn’t doubt it for a second. She felt it, a connection like a missing piece sliding into place. If the room wasn’t full of people, she just might take him to the ground and make him back up that statement with action. She had never wanted a man so purely. Yup, she was his mate. Now what?

“
Yes you are,” she finally replied as soon as her brain came back on line.

3

Ranger had known what her touch would feel like the second he saw her. He was oblivious of the conversations whirling around him. He tensed when his father took her hand and didn’t let it go. The hard lines of his father’s face, as it fell, were punctuated by the silence that engulfed the room. Had she just said werewolf? He wasn’t sure. Damn, he should have been listening.

He
watched as others were introduced to the officer. She was about Willow’s height. The light coming in from the window shone on her midnight locks, picking up silver and blue highlights. She smiled as if being in a room full of Alpha males had no effect on her. Even humans tended to back away. Although, they couldn’t give a specific reason for their unease.

The sheer impact of her presence was riding him hard. He had no urge to run
, no urge to deny his mate. He just wanted her to be near. He prayed that he had heard correctly. She knew what they were. That was half the battle right there.

“Ranger?” he heard Willow call. Again he wasn’t paying attention. “
Come on, she won’t bite,” Willow said.

He didn’t register Xavier’s snide retort because he was thinking that he would like to bite her. How would she react? How should he handle this? His thoughts went back to Rory’s words she had said to him when Ryder finally returned and told Willow why he had run. She had said, “Do me a favor and when your mate shows up just tell her”.

“
Hi, I’m Ranger,” When reached out to her a flood of awareness hit him. It was nothing like he had expected it to be. It was more. “I’m your mate.”

There was a silence like a bubble that encased only
them. Her face didn’t falter. She didn’t try to pull her hand away. Then finally, she smiled. “Yes you are,” she responded swamping him with such a feeling of relief. He whooshed out the breath he had been holding.

“Hol
y shit!” Xavier said breaking the spell.

“
Intense, huh?” Willow said hitting his shoulder.

“
You could say that, yes,” Ranger stuttered. “Nina, can I speak to you for a second, privately?”

“
Yeah, I think that would be good,” she agreed. Ranger pulled her with no resistance out the front door.

“
Okay, so to tell you the truth, I don’t know exactly what was said in there. I wasn’t really listening.”

“
What do you want to know?”

“
My father.”

“
The Alpha.” She was trying to help him along.

“
Okay, that answers that question. My father seemed to recognize your name.”

“My
last name. He and my dad…well...”

“
They don’t get along?”

“
No, it’s not that. Let’s just say they are on different sides of the same fence.”

“
You’re a Witch?”

“
Yup and you’re a wolf.”

“
Yes, we established that. Nina, what do you know about werewolves?”

“
A lot I guess. You mean specifically about mating, or Weres in general?” He had to hand it to her she was right to the point.

“Mating.
”

“
Well, wolves are like anybody else. They date, fall in love, and have kids. Some just get married, but mating is a whole different thing.”

“
Yes, go on,” he as he pulled her toward him. He needed her closer.

“
First, let me ask you, when you said I’m your mate, that wasn’t some Shifter pick up line, was it?”

“
No.”

“
Okay, that’s what I thought. Well, if I’m your mate, then I’m your mate. That’s kind of predetermined by the universe, right?”

“
Something like that. So what about you?”

“Me
? I have to say that would be the first time I had ever wanted to strip a man down and ravage him in public.”

“
You felt the connection?”

“That would be an understatement
, Ranger. More like I became the connection. Dad’s going to love this.”