Page 90 of Bitten Shifter

I sit straighter, bracing myself.

“The good news is the shifter DNA has locked in. Your shifter and technomancer traits have merged and stabilised, so you are a magical shifter.”

“So… no vampire fangs if I get bitten?”

“Correct,” he says, smirking slightly.

“Good to know.”

“The Ministry of Magic will definitely want you to do some training,” he adds.

I shrug. “Do they know what part the wizard’s house played in my change?”

“No. They are baffled. There’s no record of a wizard’s house ever being linked to a shifter. The Ministry suspects distant magical lineage might connect you to it, but that’s only speculation. There’s no precedent for a magic user being turned into a shifter.”

“So, it’s all guesswork,” I murmur.

“For now. We will know more tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” I ask, taken aback. “So soon?”

“Yes,” Merrick says. “We’re going to the Magic Sector. You have recovered from wolfsbane poisoning, we have dealt with the rogue Human First chapter, and the Ministry has already given us as much time as they are willing. They need to ensure you are not a threat. We can’t risk a war.”

“And Leonidas? The vampire?”

“We will travel during the day, so there’s less risk. By night, we will keep you behind a strong ward. I’m taking a small, highly trained team. If I arrived with half the Shifter Sector, it would look both aggressive and insecure. I won’t let them think I don’t trust the Ministry of Magic to protect you. That said, I’m not leaving your side.”

I force a smile, but unease coils in my stomach.

This does not feel right.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

For obvious reasons,I’ve never visited the Magic Sector before. Determined not to embarrass Merrick, I accept several business-style outfits made from spell-and-bite-proof material. Riker wasn’t joking about my mate’s obsession with wrapping me in magical bubble wrap.

In this case, I’m all for ‘power dressing.’ If I end up meeting that vampire again, I will take whatever protection I can get before he tries to drain me dry.

I hadn’t thought about how we’d actually travel there—my mind’s been busy ignoring the visit altogether. When we climb into a car and drive to the nearest airport, it finally hits me: we’re flying.

For some reason, I’d assumed we’d be on the road for hours.

Our country isn’t huge, and the jet is barely in the air for an hour and a half before we begin our descent into the Magic Sector.

Riker clears his throat, his tone sharp. “Listen up, boys and girls. Once we hit the ground, it’s full lockdown on all communication. Keep conversations to a minimum. Assume everything is monitored and recorded. Code words only. Understood?”

A murmur of agreement ripples through the group, but I turn to Merrick, leaning in to keep my voice low. “Do I need a code word?”

“No.”

I narrow my eyes and drop my voice further. “If I tell you I’d love a cup of tea, just know the shit has officially hit the fan.”

His lips twitch, a hint of a smile crossing his usual stoicism. “All right. Tea means trouble. Got it.”

I grin.

From above, the Magic Sector looks deceptively like any Human Sector city. Only as we get closer do the layers of magic and illusion reveal themselves. The security team—eight highly trained shifters—arrange themselves into a precise formation I don’t pretend to understand. My nerves are on edge, and I’m glad they are with us as we step off the plane.

The moment my feet touch the tarmac, the ley lines slam into me like a bolt of magic. My knees wobble, and it feels as though every hair on my body is standing on end. Even the sensory band on my wrist goes haywire, blasting me with waves of sound that fade as quickly as they appear. The world tilts.Shit.

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