Page 53 of Secret Shifters Next Door

“To get close?” Steff asked.

“None of the Alphas I spoke to remembered anyone else being involved with the missing shifters. They had a couple of reports of a random woman, but that was it. If I had to guess, that woman was probably Emily,” Miles said.

“Maybe they didn’t have a mate,” I said with a tightness in my chest. “She’s my mate. That’s a much deeper connection than just a random part-time girlfriend or something.”

“Right.” Steff nodded. “If she’s a hunter, then she would know about the mating bond. She could have somehow figured out that Tate and Harley are connected like that, then used it to gain access to his life.”

Emily was no match for me, at least, I didn’t think so. I’d never fought a witch before, but now that I knew what she was, I was certain I could take care of myself. The problem was that she wasn’t just targeting me. If it was me against her, I’d throw down and go to battle anytime. She was coming at me through Harley, though. It made the situation sticky and difficult to control.

“All right, guys, I’m pulling in the lot. See you in a second.” Miles’s line went dead, and we all sat in silence as we waited for him.

Seconds later, the intercom buzzed, and Kennedy’s voice came over the line. “Mr. Kelly is here.”

“Thanks, Ken,” Steff said.

Miles walked in a few seconds later. A woman trailed behind him. She looked older and gave off the scent of old magic. She was an elder witch, for sure. I’d never met one, but I could tell instinctively.

“This is Siobhan. I helped her a long time ago, so I called in a favor. She’s here to give us some help and a little guidance.”

I pointed at the jewelry. “Can you tell us about this stuff?” I dumped it all out on the desk.

The woman stepped forward and glanced at it, then at me. “This was given to you?”

I shook my head. “No.” I hesitated. “To my mate.”

She touched each item in turn, slowly, almost lovingly. She placed them back after handling them. After she was done, she glanced at us and smiled.

“There is magic in these, but it is not harmful. It’s more like simple charms. Spells for luck.” She pointed at the opal necklace Harley had almost put on. “That one has a protection spell on it.”

Had I heard that right? Protection? “So, this Emily woman is trying to protect Harley and her daughters?”

Siobhan stared at me for a long time without answering. It was like she’d not even heard my question. She just held me with her eyes. For a minute, I was certain she was reading my soul, or my mind.

Finally, exasperated, I asked, “What the hell are you staring at?”

Siobhan took a deep breath. “The town. There’s a spell on the entire town.”

A stunned silence fell over us. Shocked silence was more accurate.

“The entire town? What does that even mean?” Miles asked.

She looked at him like he’d asked the dumbest question she’d ever heard. “It means what I said. Someone has cast a spell over the whole town. Don’t ask me what kind of spell, I can’t sense that. All I know is that as soon as we crossed over the Lilly Valley city limits, I felt it.”

“Is there any way to figure out what it is?” Blayne asked.

She sighed, as though she were tired. “Let me focus. I can try my best.”

She stood in the center of the room and held her hands out at her sides. We gave her complete silence to help her focus. After a few seconds, I felt a prickle along my arms, almost like static electricity was playing across the hairs of my forearm. I’d never felt anything like it. She seemed to be changing the energyin the room. Her hands vibrated slightly, but not like she was doing it, more like some force encircling her was influencing the movement. Eyes closed, Siobhan winced and flinched. As calm as she looked, it also looked like she was working really hard. At last, when she looked ready to collapse, she opened her eyes and wobbled on her feet. Miles jumped up to steady her.

She took a breath, then said, “There’s definitely a spell.” She moved her finger around the room, pointing at all of us. “And the threads of the spell are all attached to the four of you. Threads that come from the epicenter of the spell and center on you all.”

Blayne looked at himself like he would be able to see what Siobhan saw.

“No, boy. You can’t see it. It’s all I can do to make it visible to myself. It’s like a wispy golden vapor rising off you in a thin stream. As for you…” she nodded at me, “…your thread is attached to someone down the hallway. I can see it turn the corner there.”

My heart stuttered. Harley was down the hall. This spell was somehow attached to us. How could this be happening? Why was this happening?

“What does all this mean? What will the spell do?” I asked.

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