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  Shadow of the Wolf

  ( Heart’s Desire - 1 )

  Dana Marie Eberharter

  Christopher Beckett is tired of being alone. His wolf is howling for his mate, and Chris knows it is only a matter of time before his needs override everything else in his life.

  He casts the spell all the Becketts have used to call their mates to them. What he wants is a woman of an older lineage, of power to equal his own. And she has to accept the one aspect that sets him apart from almost every other wizard: his wolf.

  What Chris gets is Alannah Evans, a powerful witch of the Evans Coven. The petite, dark haired woman has no problems with the wolf. What she does have a problem with is the fact that Chris is a wizard. Since wizards and witches don’t get along very well, neither should they, but the sparks flying between them can’t be denied.

  Chris isn’t taking no for an answer. When it becomes clear that an old enemy has targeted them both Chris will wind up engaging his enemy in a duel that could cost him his life.

  Or worse: Lana.

  Shadow of the Wolf

  Heart’s Desire - 1

  by

  Dana Marie Bell

  Prologue

  Christopher stared down at his preparations, mentally checking and rechecking each and every one. All of the runes were aligned properly within the circle, spelling out his intent. The incense was burning sweetly, its cinnamon scent filling the air and making him think of home. The small fire he’d created in his cauldron burned merrily. Colored candles were lit and placed in the proper alignment. A rose for love and an iris for wisdom, stems braided through an emerald ring sacred to Venus and used for this purpose for generations, waited for him to begin the chant. Every item held a piece of the spell. The words would merely cement it, bringing the pieces of his magical puzzle together into one cohesive picture that would send his call out into the world.

  Everything was as it should be. Not one single thing was out of place, or forgotten.

  He took a deep breath, mentally placing himself in the frame of mind necessary to cast the spell. This was it, one of the defining moments of his life. His ancestor’s spell would determine the course of the rest of his life. He closed his eyes, concentrating on his perfect mate. She should be of an older lineage, someone born from power, with magic to complement his own. She should be petite. Christopher had a fondness for women who were smaller than he was. Hair and eye color didn’t matter to him, though he had a preference for blondes. And she needed to be able to accept the one thing that set him apart from most other wizards. That, more than anything else, was important.

  He was so very tired of being alone. Not even his brothers could ease the loneliness that had begun to plague him. He fingered the blue piece of paper waiting for the fire and visualized everything he hoped for. Everything his soul cried out for.

  He could feel the power building within him. He’d written down his wishes in red ink, the color of passion, ready to be burned in the cauldron.

  Christopher reached into the pocket of his purple silk robe and pulled out a wand crafted of oak, especially created just for this ritual. He slipped the sheet into the flames, watching it catch fire before dropping it into the cauldron. Raising his arms high, he began his chant. The paper burned, and he concentrated with every ounce of will he had on the meaning behind the words. Without intent, the words would be useless, gibberish muttered in the dark.

  “I call on forces higher than I,

  To awaken the dreams that I hold inside.

  Venus, grant me the love that I lack;

  With this spell my mate attract!

  This candle for her,

  This candle for me.

  When they touch,

  United we'll be.

  Kindle the love,

  Kindle the flame,

  When we meet, she’ll know my name.

  By the power of earth and fire,

  Bring unto me my heart’s desire.

  By the power of air and sea,

  As I will so mote it be.”

  As he chanted, two candles, both red, one carved with the symbol of female, the other marked with the symbol for male and bearing a lock of his hair, shifted slightly towards one another. Christopher fought his smile.

  The ritual was working.

  Abruptly the candles stopped. He repeated the chant two more times, invoking the power of three, and felt the spell settle in his bones. The last of the paper burned to ash in a puff of red smoke, and Christopher smiled triumphantly.

  It had worked. His mate was coming to him. He would watch the candles. When they touched, he would begin scrying for his mate, using the clear crystal globe on his desk to show her image to him. Alasdair would alert him when she came close to his property, passing the detection wards he had in place. Now all he had to do was wait for her. He snorted, amused now that the spell was done. He’d always waited for her and hadn’t known it until the howling loneliness threatened to engulf him. It had taken a long talk with his father to show him exactly what was happening, and what he could do to fix it.

  Once he’d touched the emerald ring, all other possible options were put aside in favor of the one he knew would work.

  He needed the other half of his soul to finally be complete.

  He carefully extinguished the rose candles, watching carefully until the flames in the cauldron slowly died down. The incense he allowed to burn, enjoying the scent of cinnamon. The runes and symbols he left untouched. He would perform no other works until his mate was at his side.

  With a yawn and a satisfied smile, Christopher pulled off his robe and hung it neatly on the peg by the door. It was late, just past midnight, and he was in dire need of a run.

  He always felt pleasantly tired after finishing a spell, like he’d given both his body and his mind a good workout. Running would ease any last, lingering tension left behind, leaving him pleasantly relaxed and ready for bed.

  Opening the back door, he quickly reactivated the wards against intruders. He stripped off his pants, shirt, shoes and socks, and laid them carefully on the glass topped table on his stone patio. With a sigh of relief, he allowed the change to take him, shaking his coat in primal joy. His mate would be here soon, and he would no longer be a lone wolf.

  He ran into the darkness of the woods, unaware that the two candles had begun to inch closer together.

  Chapter One

  Lana banged her head repeatedly against the steering wheel of her car, muttering under her breath. She turned the key for the umpteenth time with a swift prayer to the Lady. Again, nothing happened, not even the grinding sound of the starter. Her poor little Beetle had up and died in the middle of the night on a deserted highway, with a thunderstorm threatening to break over her head.

  Wonderful. I get to be a cliché. It wouldn’t be the first time her car had broken down, and it probably wouldn’t be the last, although she could honestly say this was probably the worst time her car had ever chosen to stop running. I really should just give up and get a new car. Kerry, her best friend, had mentioned it that night at the bridal shower, but she’d once again brushed off Kerry’s concerns over the clunker Lana drove. Usually when the Bug died on her she was able to get it up and running again with a quick call to Triple-A and a stop at the mechanics, not an option in East Bumblefuck, PA at two o’clock in the morning. Keeping the Bug running was usually a labor of love.

  Nothing quite like unrequited love, is there? She knew she wasn’t out of gas; she’d filled up just before leaving the small town the Naughty Nights Club had been in. It couldn’t be the alternator. She’d just replaced that. And the starter was only six months old. The car had died while running, so it couldn’t be the battery. Could it?


  Lana wasted a moment wishing Kerry had followed her, but her friend had been flirting with a very hot male stripper, and Lana hadn’t wanted to interrupt. If she’d known that the small spike of unease she’d felt just before heading out would lead to a broken-down car in the middle of freaking nowhere, she would have plastered herself to Kerry’s side. And no matter how badly she wanted to, she couldn’t just “zap” the Beetle no matter how much she might want to. She stood a good chance of doing even more damage that way. “Fixing” anything mechanical usually ended in a disaster of epic proportions, especially since she had a bad tendency to get angry when it didn’t work.

  Anger and witchcraft just didn’t mix well.

  And why the fuck had Kelly, Kerry’s twin, picked some place so far off the beaten path to have her bachelorette party anyway? Who heard of a male strip club so far out in the boondocks? Kelly the Crazy, that’s who. She just hoped Kelly’s fiancé didn’t get wind of the lap dance Kerry had bought for her, because odds were good it wouldn’t be Kelly who got into trouble. Dennis and Kerry got along about as well as dogs and fleas.

  Kerry lived to annoy the straight-arrow Dennis, and Dennis tolerated Kerry only for Kelly’s sake.

  One thing she could say about the man, he did love Kelly more than anyone or anything. That, and the happiness she saw in her twin’s eyes, made Kerry much more pleasant than she could be towards the man. The last guy Kelly had dated hadn’t fared nearly so well. She’d put an entire fifteen ounce bottle of Jean Naté after bath splash into the man’s Listerine.

  It had gone downhill from there. Kerry had the pictures to prove it.

  A shock of thunder caused her to jump. With a sigh, she pulled out her cell phone.

  Hopefully she’d be able to get a tow truck despite the storm and the late hour. Hell, if Kerry was still available, maybe Lana could pry her away from the prime beef she’d been plastered to long enough to lend a hand.

  She flipped the phone open and stared at the distinct lack of phonage. How could the battery be dead? The stupid thing was plugged in! Lana made sure to keep it in the car charger… She fumbled around, finally finding the end of the cord in the pitch black car.

  Well, shit. The plug was loose in the outlet. It may have been in the charger, but it sure hadn’t been charging.

  Isn’t this the part where the spooky music is supposed to start?

  With a weary groan, Lana opened her door. The heavens opened up above her, pouring rain down on her outstretched arm, soaking it in seconds. Oh yeah. Cue the music. All the night needed was a scary black figure at the end of the road.

  She glanced back, unable to help herself. Road clear.

  Reaching into her back seat, she pulled out her umbrella. It refused to open. When she finally forced it open, the wind plucked it right out of her hands and sent it flying into the dark, wet night.

  Lana glared up into the storm. “Are you trying to tell me something? I mean, you’ve got my attention!”

  Lightning, quickly followed by thunder, answered her.

  No car, no phone, no umbrella, and a nice long walk back to the strip joint in the pouring rain. Maybe I should stay put and wait for a cop. Isn’t that what they say to do if your car breaks down? And isn’t that what I’d be yelling at the screen right now?

  Of course, I’d also be thinking that the poor girl was pretty much toast either way.

  Especially if this was the beginning of the movie, cause that would mean I wasn’t the heroine. She wasn’t the heroine. Whatever.

  Once again, lightning and thunder answered her. There was a definite Move! vibe to the air that had her instincts howling at her much like the wind was. And one thing Lana almost always did was listen to her instincts.

  She glanced around the dark interior of the car. Because this is what happens when I don’t. Thunder rumbled overhead, ominous, the air heavy with the threat of the next lightning strike.

  Okay, okay, I get the message!

  Lana grabbed her purse and keys and got out of her car. She started walking, heading away from the night club. Why she was being prodded in the opposite direction she had no clue, but she was done ignoring the fates tonight. With any luck the powers that be would eventually let her know where she was going, but she wasn’t about to hold her breath. Apparently she’d done something to piss off the Karma police. She just hoped her punishment was nothing worse than a bad cold.

  * * *

  Christopher returned from an early evening run, refreshed and oddly jubilant. He loved running in the woods, but tonight somehow felt different.

  He felt his familiar’s tug when he crossed the boundaries of his property. He stepped, naked and human, onto the back porch. Reaching for the jeans he’d left on the glass topped patio table, he stopped at Alasdair’s meow. The heavens opened up and drenched him before he could even finish unfolding them. Shivering in the cooler air, he quickly abandoned the damp jeans and stepped into the house.

  Alasdair appeared, his tail quivering high in the air. He rubbed himself against Christopher’s calf before running towards the crystal Christopher used for scrying. A quick peek into his workroom showed that the two candles were finally touching.

  After a month of waiting, his mate was finally here.

  Christopher sat at his desk, swallowing to calm himself. She was here, within his reach. For the first time in his life his hands were shaking from nerves. He stared at the crystal ball, eager to finally see his mate. All of the preparation spells for scrying where already long in place, just requiring an activation spell. With a wave of his hand, he muttered,

  “By the power earth and fire,

  Show to me my heart’s desire.

  By the power of air and sea,

  As I will so mote it be.”

  Mist swirled briefly within the ball, clearing abruptly. Christopher’s eyes widened when he saw his chosen mate for the first time.

  Goddess, she’s beautiful.

  But the more he watched, the more he knew something was very, very wrong.

  * * *

  Lana slogged through the woods, grumpy as hell. She’d followed the road for about half a mile before the urge to leave it had overcome her. Following her instincts she’d gone to the right, into the woods, rather than to the left, where the ground was more open.

  Something felt very wrong about being in the open right now, something that would leave her … vulnerable. Enough so that she was willing to go into a wooded area during a thunderstorm.

  Not your brightest move to date. If the lightning didn’t get her, whatever was hunting her would.

  She was thoroughly soaked, her shoes squished when she walked, her hair was a bedraggled mess, and she knew her mascara was running down her face. She wiped the moisture away, not that it did any good. With any luck she’d strike just the right note of pathetic to get some help. Hopefully, someone was nearby who would take pity on such a sucky night and give her a hand. Or a phone. Or a hand holding a phone.

  Hell, while we’re wishing for miracles, a cup of hot chocolate would be nice, too.

  Lana shivered, her teeth chattering in the cold autumn rain. Her booted feet kept slipping on the wet leaves, the three inch heels definitely not meant for hiking in rain-drenched forests. She was lucky she hadn’t broken her ankle yet, but she had to keep moving. Her internal trouble radar was pinging like mad, urging her forward, her fear spiking until all she wanted to do was run.

  She was being hunted.

  She didn’t hear, or see, a thing, but she knew something was behind her. Something that meant to hurt her.

  Why didn’t I hear the spooky music, damn it?

  She picked up her pace, but running was out of the question. It was black as pitch, and her night vision was bad on the brightest nights. Tonight she couldn’t see a thing except during those brief flashes of lightning. The rain, wind and thunder muffled any sounds she might have heard, so tracking her stalker that way was impossible.

  Whatever chased her kept
pace. She considered throwing up a witchlight but the damn thing would be a beacon to whoever was behind her.

  When the fifth branch in fifteen minutes smacked her in the face, Lana started to mutter under her breath. She clutched her purse to her, her eyes wide and afraid. She searched the darkness around her even more certain she was being hunted.

  And then she felt it. A second presence. There was someone nearby, someone who could help. Her instincts were never wrong. Two people stalked her in the night; one meant safety, the other did not. Now she just had to figure out which one was which.

  Guessing wrong would be very, very bad.

  * * *

  Christopher watched his mate pick up speed, her face full of fear. He felt the sense she had of being stalked, and it worried him.

  Could Cole be out there? Would Cole have sensed Christopher’s call for his mate?

  Would Cole hurt Christopher’s mate just to challenge him?

  Christopher couldn’t take that chance. With a last, lingering glance at the dark-haired female, he stalked to the back porch. He glared at the rain-drenched yard and changed shape with a shudder.

  Christopher hated getting rained on.

  He darted into the night, his wolf eyes much more suited to the darkness than the man’s had been. Sniffing the wind, he quickly found the scent of the female. His female, his mate. And something else, something elusive, something that stalked her. Something familiar that he hadn’t smelled in a long time.

  Cole.

  The wolf paused, growling, sifting through the scents and the sounds. His woman smelled incredibly delicious. Baked apples and warm sunshine, she tugged on his senses in a way he hadn’t expected. He moved swiftly and silently through the damp forest, that wonderful scent leading him straight to his prey. He stopped in front of her, confident he was hidden in the dark trees.

  Soaking wet jeans molded to one of the finest asses it had ever been his pleasure to see. High heeled black boots slipped and slid on the wet leaves, nearly landing her on said ass. He couldn’t tell what size her breasts were because of the bulky knit poncho she wore, but if it matched her ass, she’d be a truly pleasant handful. Her dark hair lay plastered to her skull, the color impossible to tell. Porcelain skin glowed even in the dark night. She blew on one strand of wet hair that flopped into her eyes with an impatient sound and a roll of dark eyes that had the man inside the wolf grinning.