Page 1 of Shifted Existence

PROLOGUE

“Magick Mirror on the wall,

tell me who is the fairest of them all.”

If all he’d ever given her was flattery, he wouldn’t be where he was—lost in the darkness and separated from the light, with only occasional glimpses into the lives and souls of those outside the Void… outside of time and space. But it is here in the inky blackness that he belongs, for he helped her with more things than just flattery. Many believe the tales of Snow White are fantastical and untrue.

They are wrong.

He believed her when, time and time again, she said someone was cruel or heartless and that only his magick could defeat them and keep her safe. He believed, and so he cast those accused into the Void. He did her bidding, but it wasn’t those she pointed her bony finger at who were evil.

When he realized her treachery, he thought to take the coward’s way out and cast himself into the Void. But it seemed destiny would not allow him to vanish quietly into the darkness. He was tasked with helping those who were fated mates to find one another. He couldn’t participate physically in their world to influence the outcome. He could only show them the possibilities of what could be and allow destiny to weave its web.

And so it is he lingers in the Void, waiting for redemption in the guise of love.

CHAPTER1

Eclipse Province

Talon was trapped. Trapped by tradition and circumstance. He’d never felt trapped before, and he didn’t much care for it.

Even during the prolonged War of the Void, Talon had never been captured, and the losses from his Storm Rift Pack had been far fewer than that of many others. Two wolf-shifter societies from two different realities had fought a long, violent, and bloody war between their two realms. The conflict between the two sides had decimated both. Proud and strong warriors had been lost, many of them she-wolves who fought alongside their brethren.

Realizing they were sowing the seeds of their own extinction, both sides put aside their differences, made peace, and came together with two common goals: find a realm with suitable breeding stock to conquer, and unite in their defense against third parties. They also had forbidden females who could bear offspring from fighting. Strong as their females’ spirits were, their ability to bear future generations was now considered their most sacred responsibility. When those same females had been subjugated, they had rebelled, and their male overlords had created a heavily male dominated society to keep them in line and ensure their existence.

Mages and scientists worked together to establish a stable portal between the two dimensions, something that was only possible if they lay along the same axis in the Void and were in close proximity to each other. The further the distance between the two realities, or if the realities lay along parallel axes, the more likely the portal was to collapse or become unstable and shift to a different reality. And as not all realms within the Void were aware of the multiverse, neither were acceptable options.

Even a stable portal had its shortcomings—traveling twice through the Void was considered extremely safe. Those passing through the same portal more than twice risked having their DNA compromised. A fifth trip through the same passageway almost always resulted in death or expulsion into the Void itself, which amounted to the same thing. The number of realms that could be visited was virtually unlimited, but the number of times you could journey to a specific realm had its limits. The two former adversaries worked to create a way to communicate in order to keep the peace and expand their strength and knowledge.

When the first fissure opened and revealed a reality that was ripe with females, the two societies joined forces and invaded. Earth, as they had called themselves, had not anticipated an invasion force. Up until the first troops had opened multiple portals and stormed through them, Earth was one of the realms unaware of the existence of other dimensions. They had been blithely arrogant in assuming theirs was the only dimension or reality in existence. When their scientists had first begun to suspect, it turned their thinking upside down and they had thrown caution to the wind. Their need for restraint had come too late as the New Moon Expanse and the Eclipse Province had come through the Void and decimated the Earth’s forces. The pitched battle had been brief, with the wolf-shifters winning the day. The Conquered Realm, as it was now named, had wisely sued for peace and a deal had been struck.

A permanent peacekeeping and defense force would be left behind to keep the Conquered Realm safe from other invaders. In exchange, the Conquered Realm agreed to provide a limited number of healthy human females of breedable age to be taken back through the portal as brides for those on the other side of the Void. Those from the New Moon Expanse chose to have females brought to a central holding facility where they would be chosen by warriors who had won the right to a mate by lottery. The females then spent months being trained to serve their new mates.

Women who refused to be a part of the lottery system were deemed feral and forced into the wilderness to survive the best they could. Anyone providing them with support or shelter could be arrested and sent to the mines on the New Moon Expanse. “Ferals,” as they were called, were outcasts.

Talon’s dimension, the Eclipse Province, had chosen to cling to their own traditions and the ways of their ancestors. Warriors believing they had been called to their fated mate would enter the Conquered Realm and hunt among the ferals for their mate, claiming her regardless of her thoughts on the matter. Talon had never thought to be called to a fated mate. He was convinced he would rule the Storm Rift Pack, and when he could no longer do so, another wolf would take on the mantle of alpha. It turned out never was a lot shorter time than he’d thought it might be.

So, now Talon had no choice but to journey to the Conquered Realm to honor the tradition of his ancestors—hunting his own fated mate and running her to ground. She was one of the ferals—those women who had chosen to make their way in the wilderness rather than be captured and claimed by one of his kind.

Hunting in the forests outside of their village was one of the few solitary pursuits he could enjoy. It was also one more way he could provide for his people. It was important to him that those who were unable to hunt did not go hungry.

“Alpha!” called Blitz, the pack’s beta and Talon’s closest friend.

They had not always been friends. At one point he and Blitz had been adversaries for leadership of the pack. Talon had won, and in a surprise move aimed at keeping the pack strong, had named Blitz as his beta. Blitz was wise enough to accept that Talon was the better wolf to lead the pack, and grateful not to be banished as was the norm. Determined to prove his worth, Blitz had worked hard to gain Talon’s trust and respect, and now they were the closest of allies.

The deer Talon had been about to take down with his bow darted away at Blitz’s call. He would need to either track it or find another. The pack’s stores were down, and they needed to replenish them.

“You spooked my deer,” he said in a mock accusatory tone.

“You’ll find another. You always do. But you, my brother, have another sort of game you need to set your sights on.”

“Oh, god— there aren’t a bunch of wolves headed our way with she-wolves they deem suitable for me to mate, are there?”

“Not after the last time. But the Hunt of the Wolf Moon opens tomorrow on the Conquered Realm. You should consider looking there.”

Talon furrowed his brow as if considering it. “I would, but as of yet, I have felt nothing from the other side of the Void. Should I waste one of my two trips so all you meddling busybodies can feel better about yourselves?”

Blitz didn’t take Talon’s snarling tone amiss. He knew Talon’s feelings on the subject. As alpha, he was supposed to take the production of offspring as a serious business. As he had not inherited his position, though, he didn’t share the pack’s feelings on his need for an heir to pass his title on to. Someone else would rise. If Dani, Blitz’s mate, produced a son, he could name him heir to get everyone off his back.

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