Page 2 of 3 Shifters to Break a Curse

Once getting dressed for her day, she followed her normal morning routine and had forgotten all about the ritual that would lead her to the one thing she desired the most.

Until she bumped into Savannah.

Toni smiled and greeted her best friend with a hug.

“So, how did it go?” Savannah asked her.

Toni stared at her friend confused. “How did what go?”

Savannah chuckled, believing her friend to be pulling her chain. “You know.”

Toni shook her head. “Not really. What are we talking about?”

“The ritual?” Savannah said with a smile. She bobbed her eyebrows which made Toni chuckle.

“Seriously, what ritual?” Toni asked. A tug in the back of her mind let her know she was missing something. Something she couldn’t pull from her memory. It was as though the event was locked away in the vault at the back of her mind.

“The one that highlights the path to your true love,” Savannah said, but her words came out sounding like a question. Her eyebrows had pulled together, and a light of worry filled her eyes.

Toni shrugged. She recalled the setup still sitting in her room. “I don’t remember.”

Savannah’s eyebrows drew together. “Weird. I’ve never heard of that happening before.”

Toni shook her head. “Yeah, it is kind of weird. Guess I wasn’t supposed to remember, huh?”

Her friend smiled warmly at her. “Suppose not.”

“Well, if I end up remembering… and now that I think of it, I sort of recall doing something, but not exactly what… I’ll let you know.”

“You better,” she said.

Toni and Savannah got to work, letting go of the strange topic of a forgotten ritual. She hadn’t thought about the conversation since, joining the missing clay figure in her lost memories.

* * *

A little over a week later, she was out for drinks with Savannah. It was a girls’ night out, and she needed the break from her work at the coven. She had gotten so few nights out since Savannah and her men helped to rescue all their coven sisters.

While she stood at the bar of the dance club her and Savannah went to, a man approached her. He was tall, handsome, and had shoulder-length brown hair and dark brown eyes that swallowed her whole. Sparks ignited between the two of them.

He smiled at her, nearly taking her breath away.

“Can I buy you this round?” he asked.

Toni smiled. Warmth filled her cheeks. From over the man’s shoulder, Savannah held her thumb up and nodded, mouthing “oh yeah.” She returned her attention to the man. “Sure. Thank you.”

“My pleasure,” he said and then held out his hand. “I’m Jared.”

“My name is Toni,” she said, taking the man’s hand.

He gave a firm shake and released her hand, almost hesitantly.

Toni forgot all about girls’ night. She became wrapped up in Jared. In the way his eyes held her captive. In the smile that dazzled her senses.

They spent the night talking, laughing, and sharing stories from their lives. When it was over, they exchanged numbers and he walked her to her car. Before leaving, he gave her a long, mind-blowing kiss goodbye.

She went home to the coven, but Jared was never far from her mind. She was excited, buzzing with sensations she never felt before. There was something about him that felt right.

And as she crawled into her fresh, soft sheets, she thought about what his hands would feel like on her bare skin. Once she settled in, her fingers dipped between her legs, and she rubbed herself in slow, gentle circles… the way she imagined Jared would touch her.

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