Excerpt: Magical Midlife Rogue

Chapter 1

 

Jessie

 

“Are you sure this is wise?” Kingsley asked over the cell phone loudspeaker. The phone was sitting on a particle board coffee table in front of a faded green couch with suspicious brown stains.

Austin slouched in a faux leather chair with glued-on patches. He rubbed the stubble on his face and hunched over, his eyes losing focus as he considered the implications.

“Sure, what choice do we have?” Niamh asked. She leaned against a tobacco yellow wall that had probably started out white a few decades ago. This was the best room available in this ramshackle motel on the outskirts of nowhere. Only a few wayward truckers stopped along this route, servicing a collection of towns that people were born in and then moved away from. At least, that’s what the thriving shifter population would have Dicks and Janes think.

This tiny town was the last stop before the paved country road turned into a gravel lane that led into the deep woods. Haunted woods, if the urban legends could be believed. And of course, they couldn’t.

In actuality, the woods were a buffer between the Dick world and a shifter territory run by one of the most ruthless original alphas anyone had heard of, an alpha so volatile he was said to kill visitors who looked at him crosswise. He cut down travelers that darkened his doorstep unannounced and populated the alpha rumor mill with threats about what would happen to anyone who even thought about coming for his territory, now nearly a decade old.

“He’s had positive fitness reports from anyone who has checked out his territory,” Austin said, dropping his arms to his knees and leaning over. “His people seem happy. The territory has grown and appears to be thriving.”

I stood by the window, looking out at the lush green foliage on the other side of the road. The dense canopy of trees shifted and swayed in the wind, charged with electric energy in dark gray skies. Despite the threatening late-April storm, the air hung hot and heavy in a way I wasn’t used to.

“This place doesn’t have tornados, right?” I murmured.

“Of course not, miss,” Mr. Tom told me, handing me a cup of what I could only assume was instant coffee. The town didn’t give us a lot of options. “Someone would’ve warned us if we were traveling into Doppler doom.”

“The people checking out the validity and safety of his pack have not been alphas nor necessarily powerful,” Kingsley said. “He is wary of other alphas.”

“He’s wary of other alphas that want to take over his pack and cash in on his hard work,” Niamh said. “Austin Steele does not.”

“What does that mean, about the fitness reports?” I asked, turning from the window and heading to the couch.

“Miss, no!” Mr. Tom hollered.

I started to sit down and froze. Austin’s head snapped up in alarm.

“What is it?” Kingsley asked through the phone, his voice louder now. He must’ve been leaning closer. “What happened?”

“Don’t you dare sit on that horror show of a couch without something under you!” Mr. Tom admonished, bringing me a blanket. “Have you no self-preservation? It looks like people have bled out on that fabric. You’d be lucky to only get a staph infection. People have likely gotten gangrene from less. With a couch like that, one open wound and you’re a goner.”

I rolled my eyes but waited for him to drape the blanket on the couch, then plopped down as he half-shoved me on top of it.

“Ye nearly made me spill me tea, ya donkey,” Niamh groused.

“Now you I wouldn’t mind sitting on that couch,” he countered. “I’ll even give you the wound to get you started.”

A knock sounded at the door, and Mr. Tom spun across the room to admit Tristan and Broken Sue.

“Tristan.” Mr. Tom brought himself up to his full height. “I regret to inform you that I do not have any decent coffee, only the instant dredge we were able to procure from the Quickie Mart at our last stop.”

“That’ll be fine, Mr. Tom, thanks,” Tristan replied.

“We’d need to be knocking down a wall to fit in all this muscle, like,” Niamh murmured. “Jaysus, mind yer elbows.”

Broken Sue glared at her as he passed by, taking my spot by the window.

Tristan looked down at the empty cushion next to me on the couch. “Got another blanket?”

“There. See?” Mr. Tom brought one over. “He has sense.”

“More than I can say for ye,” Niamh told Mr. Tom.

“Fitness reports are the shifter way of ensuring a pack is doing things properly,” Austin told me. “Pack standing in the shifter world is a little like the gargoyle world. Any alpha who wants a place with their peers will be concerned about the wellbeing of their people. A thriving pack should be a nice place to live, with prospering businesses, safety for children, education—everything a well-run town boasts. To prove their pack has these things, and that they are an upstanding alpha in the community, they will allow others in the shifter community to check in on them.”

“And that person types out a report?” I asked in confusion.

Austin hesitated. “Not a report, as such, but…”

“Gossip,” Niamh said. “They go and have a gawk, and then they tell everyone.”

“Allowing people in to see the territory is also a way to show off,” Kingsley said. “With established packs, like mine, we would invite other prominent alphas to visit. When they did, we’d pull out all the stops, taking them to our best establishments and showing off our worth in various ways to prove we have a thriving pack.”

“It’s to measure their willies,” Niamh drawled.

“Yes, fantastic. Crass language in the morning.” Mr. Tom sniffed. “Maybe we should go find a dive bar for you to reside in, some place you’d fit in a little better.”

“I already found one,” Niamh replied. “Doesn’t open for another hour.”

Austin ignored them. “It is also to ensure the alpha is providing a safe space for the people. Remember the alpha we had to tear down?”

He was referring to a month or so ago when we’d tried to get Kingsley’s friends on board with the convocation, and they’d had us take out a sad excuse of a man who’d been terrorizing a town. We’d dealt with him and his cohorts in short order, freeing the town of their influence.

Austin nodded, seeing my acknowledgement. “An original alpha who wants to rise in the ranks allows people, or invites people, into his or her territory to prove all of that. Prove he has the safe space, prove his territory is growing, show it thriving, things like that.”

“And this alpha did that,” I surmised.

“Yes,” Austin said. “In the beginning of his pack, he invited people in twice a year, allowing that person or persons free rein to walk around and talk to the residents. For the last few years, it’s been once a year, but his territory is said to be growing. His people are happy. He is a madman.”

I shook my head, thought about leaning back, and caught Mr. Tom’s glare. Best not.

“If he was a madman, his people wouldn’t be happy,” I said. “Obviously he’s just posturing and putting on a show. People thought you were unhinged, Austin, and that’s only because they didn’t know you.”

Kingsley snorted.

“Do ye hear her, like?” Niamh asked no one in particular. “He’s still unhinged, girl. You just don’t care because he’s a big oul teddy bear with you.” She paused for a moment. “But listen, she’s right. He brought people in twice as often in the beginning for checks and balances. He was making sure he was doing things the right way. Not because of alpha ballyhoo, but because he wanted to do right by his people. We can all agree there.”

“Can we?” Tristan asked. “That seems like a leap—”

“And now that he is somewhat established, he doesn’t need as much governing. He’s confident. He’s secure. But he is still opening up his territory for inspection. That seems like a level-headed sort of bloke who’s interested in the wellbeing of his people, that does. Now…” Niamh sucked her teeth for a moment. “Not relaxing the way he is perceived…that’s another thing. Not caring about fitting in…”

Her voice drifted off. She was thinking. Working things out. She did that a lot now.

“There is a reason he has only invited in lesser powered shifters,” Kingsley said. “That speaks of insecurity.”

“I beg to differ, alpha,” Broken Sue said respectfully, turning from the window. “This is possibly the difference in being a successful generational alpha and being an original. I was technically an original alpha. I challenged into my old pack, and I had zero standing or experience. Zero training. The people of the pack welcomed me—wanted me there—and I had lineage connecting me. My biological father had been loved. Even still, I had a great many dick-swinging alphas come in and try to take over.”

“Oh, joy, everyone has descended into crass language,” Mr. Tom muttered. “Well…I guess it fits the establishment.”

“The challenges grew less,” Broken Sue went on, “but they did not stop. Not until we started having mage problems. That pack had a lot of experienced enforcers with a thorough knowledge of the territory. The enforcers were essentially generational pack members. They greatly helped me. If this alpha has started this pack, in a new setting, then he might be trying to cut down the amount of work for him and his enforcers, and the danger to his pack. There is always going to be someone bigger and stronger, someone that might tear the pack away from him and jeopardize the people in it. I’ve seen many examples of it.”

Niamh nodded, her eyes slightly narrowed in thought. “It’s nice to see ya using what’s between yer ears once in a while, boyo. Yes, that is the missing piece. The danger. Sure, Austin Steele, ye know yerself the sort of danger that waltzes into a new territory. Ye saw a lot of it in the early years in O’Briens, and that wasn’t even an established pack. Ye weren’t tryin’ to do feck-all with the place. It was just a bunch of derelict shifters mixed in with Dicks and Janes. Then, after ye made it into something, ye saw all sorts trying to cause a hassle. This alpha is tryin’ to protect his people. He can do that best with the rumors and the posturing and whatever else.” She nodded to herself. “He’s a good sort. We want him on our side.”

“I agree with Tristan, I feel like we’re jumping to conclusions rather quickly here,” Kingsley said slowly. “Regardless of his motivation, he is in fact opposed to strong shifters within his territory. There is always someone bigger and stronger, as you said, and Austin might very well be that person. In nearly a decade, this alpha has always attacked first and asked questions later.”

“Then let him attack,” Tristan growled.

“You might have one or two who are bigger and stronger,” Kingsley countered, “but they’ll have a whole pack ready to protect their own. I’ve heard they are vicious and effective. People don’t leave that territory with a heavy dose of fear for nothing, and they were invited.”

“We were invited,” Niamh said.

“You were admitted passage with strict rules, including greatly reduced numbers for a meeting of this type.”

“Admitted passage after another original alpha told him about us,” Niamh fired back. “Terence in L.A. arranged this meeting, let’s not forget.”

Terence was the alpha we’d met when I had visited my family for Christmas. He’d found us in his cafe and met us at his offices. He hadn’t been able to join our convocation, but he hadn’t dismissed us, either. He’d connected us to his sister and brother, both generational alphas, whom we hoped to meet in the coming months, and he was doing everything in his power to open lines of communication with other packs of interest. He was helping the best he could, and we were very lucky for the happenstance meeting.

“Terence in L.A. made the connection possible,” Kingsley said. “The connection possible. Austin arranged the meeting, and even though we now have many reputable alphas who agree that the rumors surrounding Austin and Jessie’s convocation are true, a great many people still do not believe it. This alpha might not know the power that’s on his doorstep, but even if he does, hearing about it is very different than what walks through the door. You will be a threat, Austin, and this alpha does not take kindly to threats.”

Tristan opened his mouth, and Broken Sue turned a bit to speak, but Austin held up his hand. The room fell silent, and even Mr. Tom stilled.

“I will be seen as a threat, yes,” Austin said. “So will the mages. Kingsley is right to be concerned. This is an incredibly dangerous situation with an alpha that barely plays by the rules. He talked to me directly on the phone, which is not usual in these situations, even for him. From what I’ve heard, at any rate. He will have no problem burying us in the woods if we step out of line. He made that abundantly clear.”

Austin rubbed his chin with his thumb, troubled.

“But the facts are,” he finally said, “we need him. Him specifically. Terence is not thoroughly admitted into the original alpha network because his family pack is generational. His territory is new, but his roots are not. He had seed money, and he has help. He’s considered ‘privileged’ in those circles and his opinions discounted. And while Kingsley has been invaluable and the alphas we’ve recently met are firmly behind this endeavor, they are not enough to sway the more entrenched generational alphas. Those alphas simply do not want to budge. Not yet. I will need to provide more assurances. In the meantime, I need power. There is no one stronger than Drex of the Stonefang pack. No one. He holds great sway with the up-and-coming alphas, and if he is half as ruthless as everyone says, he’ll help bolster our team. He is a cornerstone. We must try.”

“Like I said, what choice do we have?” Niamh finished her cup of tea. “He’s a good sort. I have a hunch. We just have to keep from making bags of the situation and ending up in an unmarked grave.”

“Sage advice, as always,” Mr. Tom muttered.

“Will you take Jessie?” Kingsley asked.

Everyone glanced at the phone before their gazes turned to me. I didn’t comment, because Austin knew exactly where I stood on this topic. There was no way in hell he could leave me behind to “protect” me. I was co-leader and part of this team, but also, if he died, there would be no protection for me. To defeat Momar, it would take both of us and all our team besides. This only worked if we did it together. All of it, including walking into a highly dangerous situation, outnumbered, to meet a volatile alpha shifter.

“Yes,” he said grudgingly. “It turns out, she’s a lot more stubborn than anyone gives her credit for.”

 

 

 

Chapter 2

 

Two days later, I stood with Dave and the basajaunak just outside the motel. A few of our vans and SUVs had doors or trunks open, waiting for the last of our luggage to be loaded in.

“We should be going with you,” Dave told me, and the rest of the basajaunak nodded or grunted their agreement. “Something doesn’t feel right about the trees in this wood. The mountain is unsettled, and it doesn’t seem to be regarding that pack. Something is wrong here, Jessie. You shouldn’t go without us.”

“The alphas specifically said you guys had to stay behind.”

Butterflies filled my stomach as I looked out at the trees. I knew what he felt, a strange sort of wrongness about the area, though I couldn’t put my finger on why. Maybe it was simply nerves about what was to come, or maybe it was something else.

“They won’t be able to see us if we go on foot,” he pushed.

“Any decent shifter would feel your presence, or smell you, and Austin suspects there are a few of them in this pack. We agreed to their terms, and so we need to fulfill our end of the bargain.”

“But…” He shook his head and looked at the ground. “If you get into trouble, and we stay here, we’ll be too far away to help.”

“I think that’s the point.”

The butterflies turned ravenous. It wasn’t just Austin that might cause this alpha to balk. Or Broken Sue, who would go, or even Tristan. Nessa and Sebastian, our resident mages, would be going as well. Our numbers were greatly reduced, but he was giving entry to some of our biggest power players, people who could do damage from a distance.

Why would the alpha allow the mages but not Dave? Austin couldn’t figure it out.  Hollace was allowed, but not Cyra. Niamh and Mr. Tom, but not Edgar.

Although, if the alpha had heard how weird Edgar was, that made sense.

Indigo had to stay behind, which also made sense. If he planned to take us down, he wouldn’t want our healer with us, but Fred got an invite. She was a Jane and couldn’t get a reading on this pack via technology, reaching the conclusion that they were off grid. Magical people were fine living disconnected? A die-hard tech nerd, Fred was flabbergasted, so I told her to stay behind. She wasn’t needed and this was dangerous.

Apparently, Fred disagreed because a few minutes earlier, I’d noticed her sneaking into the back of a van, and she wasn’t overly stealthy about it, either. I considered yanking her back out and decided why bother? Waste of time. Niamh would sneak her back in and do a much better job concealing it. Better to know where Fred was, I decided, and look out for her than not know and have her do something surprising and stupid at the worst possible time.

Jasper and Ulric had gotten a pass to go, but no other gargoyles. Six shifters would be allowed, chosen by Austin. Everyone else was told to remain at the motel in case the alpha had someone watching them to make sure they stayed put.

We hadn’t seen a soul all morning, not even the cleaning staff. The front desk was unmanned, and the sidewalk outside was deserted. Not all that uncommon, but there were no cars on the highway.

“You have to admit, the situation is odd,” Hollace said, walking over. He wore his cream suit from the alpha meeting with a red square tucked in the front pocket. We would mostly follow shifter protocol until things got dangerous.

“More than odd,” I murmured, scanning the trees. “Where the hell is everyone? The town is tiny and there hasn’t been much activity the last couple days, but there has been some. It seems suspicious that the day we leave you guys behind is the day everyone disappears.” Sweat beaded on my forehead. “What if it isn’t us who is in danger at all, but you guys?”

“We are in no danger,” Dave growled.

“He has a point,” Hollace said. “Those shifters wouldn’t leave the basajaunak here with a phoenix and then try to take them out. They’d divide us up better than that.”

I shook my head as the rear doors closed, and shifters took their positions next to the vehicles they’d be traveling in. They were waiting for my crew.

I took Dave’s hand and looked into his eyes. “You be careful, do you hear me? Stay safe. Keep everyone safe.”

The other basajaunak pushed in closer. Phil was wearing his kilt, a construction vest, and hardhat. He put a large hand on my shoulder.

“I can sneak in if you need me to,” he said. “I can blend in.”

He didn’t seem to realize that more than his clothes made him stand out. Normal people weren’t ten feet tall and had hair all over their body.

“Thank you, but you stay here, okay? Don’t let anyone follow us. They might get picked off before they get to us.”

“This is the least fair thing of all the unfair things,” Cyra said, walking up. “Even if they attempted to kill everyone, I can’t die. It’s safer for everyone if I go along.”

“Which is precisely why you didn’t get on the approved list,” Hollace told her. Grinning, he sauntered to the nearest van. He was rubbing it in. Cyra pouted as she watched him go.

Niamh waited beside a beat-up Jeep with scratches along the sides. It was a rental, in the lot right beside a moving truck and three clean and polished passenger vans. We hadn’t bothered with insurance.

“Well,” Niamh said by way of hello. She insisted this peculiar setup had been staged for dramatics. I sincerely hoped her “hunch” was right.

“Miss, watery dredge posing as coffee for the road?” Mr. Tom stopped beside me with a thermos. “I do not understand a town without a coffee shop, but then I also do not understand a town with three morgues and scarcely as many people.”

I frowned, gazing at the deserted highway leading into town. I hadn’t noticed the morgues. That did seem odd.

Austin strode over. He wore a tailored suit jacket and slacks, a dress shirt unbuttoned at the neck, and a pair of loafers without socks. He hadn’t bothered with a tie, cufflinks, or any bells and whistles. He expected to shift and so was keeping up a minimum pretense. Not like I was that much better. I wore a pretty but expendable flowing dress with a stretchy belt around my waist and slip-on shoes. I could shed this in a moment or tear my way out of it.

“Jess.” He wrapped his fingers firmly around my upper arms and looked down into my eyes. “Stay safe, do you hear me? If the worst happens, you fly out of there. You slam them with magic, and you fly. Do not take any chances.”

I smoothed my hand down his hard chest and soaked in those beautiful cobalt eyes. They were filled with concern and love, and they sparkled with unspeakable violence. My accidental pulse of magic felt like a call to arms.

“We’re going to be okay.” I was good at assurances by now. I should be. I said them often enough. “It’s going to work out, you’ll see. We’ll be fine.”

I wished I believed it. I had a bad feeling we were about to find out what was plaguing this mountain.

Austin walked around to the driver’s side door and climbed in. I followed suit.

“Undo that seatbelt, Jess,” he told me. “You might need to get out in a hurry.”

And I would get out in a hurry if he hit a stump and I was ejected from the moving vehicle.

I did as he said. Sometimes it was not easy to override my Jane training.

Austin started forward, leading the procession.

“I forgot to tell Edgar to stay out of trouble,” I murmured, watching the trees rush past. “Or say goodbye to Indigo.”

“I did.” Sebastian reached around the seat to pat my arm. “Indigo was worried, and Edgar gave me an odd smile and possibly a wink.”

“Possibly a wink?”

“One of his eyes randomly closed, which also happens. I think he might be physically falling apart. Is that possible?”

Anything was possible with that vampire.

“I haven’t felt any presences.” Austin directed the Jeep into the center of the road, which had narrowed to a single lane. “If they were watching us back there, they were doing it at a distance.”

“The gargoyles didn’t see anything,” Tristan said. “Though it would be easy to hide from them. I kept them confined to the skies above the motel. How much do you think this pack knows about us?”

“More than enough if they really wanted to.” Austin braced one hand on the wheel and the other on his thigh, his eyes scanning our surroundings.

“A lot of those are rumors, right?” I asked. “As far as they are concerned, I mean.”

“Rumors that have been backed up by many trustworthy sources. I guess it depends on what he’s willing to believe. The more they know, the better. We aren’t trying to hide anything.”

I nodded, sending out a spell to see if anything waited in the woods. Small animals so far, out in the distance. Birds and things in the brush.

“But like…why allow Niamh and Mr. Tom, but not Edgar?”

“Maybe he has something against vampires?” Tristan replied. “They can be incredibly deadly when in their prime. Unpredictable and without loyalty. They are always a wild card. This alpha might not know our vampire is half senile.”

“More than half,” Sebastian muttered.

“Why my gargoyle crew but not any others?” I pushed. “Why not the usual team of gargoyles we bring to match the shifters. You’d think they’d want to know their story.”

Austin shook his head. “Maybe he doesn’t think it matters.”

I bit my lip. “Which would insinuate he doesn’t care about our setup, and he wasn’t planning to join up anyway.”

“Right,” Austin growled. “In which case, why allow us in? He can’t possibly think I would leave my growing and prosperous pack for his. That math just doesn’t work out.”

“Curiosity?” I offered. “He invited Hollace. He’ll get to see a mythical, spectacular being that isn’t as dangerous as a phoenix.”

“Or maybe he wants to pit himself against the biggest, baddest alpha out there,” Tristan said in a low tone. “He wants to see who’s the king of the mountain.”

“Bingo,” Austin said.

I sent out another spell to detect anyone lurking in the trees as we passed.

“Are you getting anything, Jessie?” Sebastian asked.

“Small animals, mostly. And birds.”

“Yeah.”

The sky boiled with clouds, but no storm had come. No rain, either. The dense wood cut down on the available light. The air was heavy and humid and rich with the scent of damp earth, pine, and wildflowers. The edge of a felled tree jutted out into the lane, forcing Austin to slow to go around.

Nothing of note interrupted my spell. Still, my gargoyle started to churn. I held out my hand to stop Austin but didn’t give the command. The urge to go airborne suddenly gnawed at me.

“What is it?” Austin asked, working the Jeep around the log.

Using my gargoyle’s connections, I checked on the people we’d left behind. I sensed worry and frustration, but no cause for alarm. Those in the vehicles behind us were watchful and alert.

“I’m still getting nothing,” Sebastian said.

I shook my head. Me, too. Except this gnawing need…

“Stop,” I finally said.

“What’ve you got?” Austin asked as Tristan leaned forward.

Nothing, that’s what I had. Absolutely nothing. Except…

I looked at the sky as the Jeep idled. My hand reached for the seatbelt release before I remembered I wasn’t wearing one.

“I’ve still got nothing,” Sebastian said.

I released a breath. I was jumping at shadows.

“Yeah, I—“ Two shapes appeared within my spell.

“I got something,” Sebastian barked. “Three—no five—eigh—“

“A team, coming in fast in shifter form,” I said, throwing open my door. “Highly organized, flanking us. At a distance right now but closing in.” I counted them as I readied more spells in my mind. The grisly ones popped up first, but I discounted them. No one tended to walk away from those, and this might not be as bad as it seemed. “Nearly twenty-five—no, thirty in shifter form surrounding us.”

“I count forty,” Sebastian said.

Yeah, I did now, too. Or near enough.

Austin peeled out of his clothes, as did Tristan. I glanced back. My team had exited their vehicles and were readying for the attack.

My connections fired with emotions. “Everyone is wondering if they should shift,” I told Austin. “The gargoyles are asking if they should go airborne.”

So was I.

“Hold,” Austin said as the resident shifters slunk in, closing the circle around us.

I rattled off their positions. Their uniformity was damned impressive.

“I got three more,” I said, feeling them enter the spell. “On the road in front of us. Human form, one a little in front of the others. The welcome party, I’d wager.”

“Some welcome,” Tristan murmured.

Austin placed himself in the middle of the road, feet planted and shoulders squared. He’d shift at a moment’s notice.

I didn’t stand with him. This was a shifter matter, and my presence would only make him unbalanced. He’d place my protection above diplomacy, and things would escalate quickly. Besides, it would be Tristan who fired me into the air if this got underway in a hurry.

A man walked toward us, a hunk of muscle, brawn in spades. He looked like he was carved from rock, but he moved like a swimmer, fluid and with ease. His white-blond hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, and I clocked him in his late twenties. Hard to tell at this distance. He was a smidge taller than Austin’s six-two and slightly less robust. His muscled arms swung from wide shoulders, swishing against the fabric of his purple muumuu.

Wide-eyed, I glanced at Tristan. He didn’t return the look, so I turned to Sebastian.

“That cannot be a coincidence,” Sebastian whispered. “That is something Elliot Graves would wear in this situation to taunt an enemy.”

Yes, it was.

A man and a woman flanked Mr. Muumuu. They were dressed in pristine suits, sparkly jewelry, and expensive shoes, and they looked every bit the part of one of these meetups, except for the location. They scanned our gathered people—those they could see—but Mr. Muumuu only had eyes for Austin. The alpha’s beast moved behind those gray eyes, the color of wet stone, and power pulsed from him like a second heartbeat.

From some unseen or unheard cue, those gathered around us started to close the circle.

“Their timing with the alpha is perfect and precise,” I murmured to Austin in a low voice.

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