Page 1 of A Roar for Magic

PROLOGUE

“Ispy with my little eye...” Banner’s deep voice filled the Tesla’s interior as they wound along the mountain road toward Mystic Hollow.

“We’re not playing I Spy again.” Rook shot his best friend an exasperated look. “What are you, twelve?”

“Someone’s grumpy.” Banner grinned, completely unfazed. “But seriously, how many times are you going to check your phone? The spa’s construction plans won’t magically change in the next five minutes.”

Rook slipped his phone back into his jacket pocket, ignoring both Banner’s knowing smirk and his own tiger’s restless pacing beneath his skin. The familiar scents of pine, mountain air, and magic grew stronger as they descended into the valley, stirring memories he’d spent years burying in boardrooms and business meetings.

His tiger rumbled at the thought of home, more animated than it had been in months. The beast had grown weary of their carefully structured city life - the endless meetings, the sterile office environments, the superficial dating scene where women were more interested in his bank account than any real connection.

“One week,” Rook muttered, more to convince himself than Banner. “We check on Grandmother, launch the spa project, then back to civilization.”

Banner snorted. “Right. Because your grandmother, sister, and that matchmaking tiger of yours will just let you slip away that easily.”

Rook’s tiger perked up at the mention of finding a mate, and he ruthlessly squashed the hopeful flutter. “The tiger can want what it wants. I have a business to run.”

“Keep telling yourself that, buddy.” Banner’s voice softened. “But maybe it’s not just the tiger that’s tired of being alone.”

Before Rook could respond to that uncomfortably accurate observation, his phone buzzed with a text from Sabine:Wait until you meet my new friend! She’s AMAZING - you two would be perfect together. No arguments about coming to dinner tonight.

“See?” Banner leaned over to read the message. “Your sister’s already plotting.”

“Sabine’s always plotting.” But Rook couldn’t quite suppress the tiny spark of curiosity. His sister might be overenthusiastic about matchmaking, but she also had an uncanny knack for reading people.

They pulled over at Fuller’s Ridge, the unofficial welcome point where the valley opened up to reveal Mystic Hollow below. The late afternoon sun painted the Victorian buildings in shades of amber and rose while enchanted lanterns began to bob along the cobblestone streets. The lake shimmered with its characteristic otherworldly glow, and wisps of magical energy danced through the air like the Aurora Borealis.

Rook’s tiger drank in the sight hungrily. Here, magic flowed freely through the streets instead of being carefully contained in corporate boardrooms. Here, shifters could run wild in thesurrounding forests without fear of discovery. Here...here, they might actually find?—

Rook cut that thought off before it could fully form. He hadn’t come home to find a mate. No matter how much his tiger yearned for that deep connection, that sense of belonging he’d never quite found in his meticulously planned life.

“Still beautiful,” Banner murmured, his usual joking manner vanishing. “Remember when we used to race our bikes down this hill?”

“Remember when you crashed into Mrs. Peterson’s enchanted rosebushes and they chased you around town?”

“Those roses held a grudge for years.” Banner rubbed his arm reflexively. “Pretty sure they’d still snap at me if I walked past.”

The Tesla’s navigation system crackled with magical interference as they continued down into the valley. A Mystic Moment rippled through the air, temporarily turning their sleek black car a shocking shade of hot pink.

“Don’t.” Rook pointed at Banner without looking. “Not one word.”

Banner held up his hands in mock surrender, but his shoulders shook with suppressed laughter. By the time they reached the wrought-iron gates of the Katz estate, the car had returned to its proper color and Banner had mostly contained his delight.

The gates swung open at their approach, and they drove past gardens where enchanted roses turned to track their movement. Rook’s mother, Azella, waited on the front steps with Mrs. Fontain, both women beaming at their arrival.

“My baby!” Azella rushed forward as Rook emerged from the car, enveloping him in a hug that belied her elegant appearance. “You’re too thin. Are you eating? Banner, is he eating?”

“I try to force-feed him occasionally,” Banner replied solemnly. “But he’s very stubborn about everything - food, sleep, dating...”

“I’m a grown man running a multinational corporation,” Rook protested but hugged his mother back. A tiny part of him had missed this - the warmth, the casual affection so different from his carefully maintained corporate image.

“Clearly not grown enough to take care of yourself properly.” Azella pulled back to study his face. “Those circles under your eyes! All work and no play makes for a very lonely tiger, darling.”

His tiger rumbled in reluctant agreement. The beast had been pushing lately for more than their ordered, solitary existence - more connection, more passion, more...everything.

“Speaking of play,” a new voice called from the doorway. Sabine bounded down the steps, her honey-blonde hair flying. “Just wait until you hear about my new friend! She’s absolutely perfect?—”

“No.” Rook tried to step around his sister, but she was surprisingly quick for someone in four-inch heels.

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