A cooling, tropical breeze blew the leaves of the palm trees overhead, and Silvana stuck her toes in the warm sand as the sun beat down on her. Waves slapped the shoreline several feet ahead of her, and she reclined into her comfy beach chair. "I can't tell you all how happy I am," she said, "to be away from the snow and the cold." She sipped from a giant margarita that had been put inside a hollowed-out coconut with a large pink straw. "I'll stick to the shade," the pale Angus said, hiding underneath the large, canopy-style leaves from the trees. He was working shirtless at a grill, spreading out lemon slices on top of freshly caught fish. "Oh my god," Amelia said, a cocktail shaker in her hands. "Can you imagine my big Angus with a tan?" Angus peppered some potato salad, laughed, and said, "You all enjoy the sun. I'm hot enough as is at the grill. Amelia pulled down her oversized purple sunglasses, observed Angus's tight rows of abs and murmured, "Hot is right."She gave
Silvana Sparks hadn't expected to blow up the house on her 21st birthday. Pots and pans from the wooden cabinets flew around the kitchen while the refrigerator door slammed open and closed. A massive purple ring of fire blazed on the tiled floor, and Silvana rushed about, having no clue how to fix it. She was young, fit, and gorgeous, but she should have obeyed her father and studied harder for this spell exam. Every birthday, a witch needs to prove their abilities by casting a spell that conjures a cake with candles that the witch needs to blow out and make a wish upon. Although she'd been casting the birthday spell for two decades, her wish never came true. The spell got harder to cast each time, and with each passing year she was meant to become stronger. Except, she hadn't cared about strength for a while now. What Silvana wanted and wished for each year was love, and to be in the arms of a handsome, powerful, protective man. Of course, Silvana's father Solaris, the town's G
Silvana's head pounded and the murky voices of people crying out in horror filled her ears. More bolts of crimson lightning slammed down on the carnival, destroying rides and prize booths in a flurry of yellow sparks. The Ferris wheel unhinged and in a shrieking screech landed in front of Silvana, crushing the wire link fence beside her. Lightning hammered mere feet from Silvana, sending her flying in an explosion of dirt and fire. For a second, she had felt as though she was hovering, her body numb and ears ringing. Then she cracked against the fallen Ferris wheel, and as trees and grass burned in a crimson flame around her, she patted her bloody stomach. She had been sliced open deeply on her abdomen, and she was losing blood fast.Silvana groaned but doing so shook her entire body. She started sweating. Every breath was like needles in her lungs, and she watched as everybody in the carnival ran and dodged past more red lightning.She watched as everybody left her behind.Bloo
Silvana blinked in shock. "Werewolves and witches are at war," she said. "I don't understand. Why would you save me?" Headlights shone through the window in the room. "Your father is here," Bruce said, his eyes lingering on Silvana's rosy lips for a long second. She felt his warm breath and saw his sharp fangs when he said, "Let me help you to the car." Silvana was speechless. To be Guardian Witch meant to work against the werewolf families. Her father had trained her to despise werewolves, even taught her spells to kill them, and here she was, draped in the arms of a giant one guiding her through his cozy house and out the front door. She didn't feel ready to leave. She rubbed the scratches on Bruce's back and asked, "What about you? You're hurt.""I'll be fine," Bruce said defiantly. Silvana believed him. His touch made her senses go wild, and she had trouble believing that anything could even hurt somebody so powerful. The two exited Bruce's home, stepped down the stairs,
It was late into the afternoon when Silvana awoke the next day to her best friend Amelia showering her in gifts. Silvana had been given a potion to accelerate her healing from her worried father, but she was still weary and weak, so she smiled brightly at the sight of her stunningly beautiful friend clasping the handles of a dozen shopping bags. Amelia set the bags down on the bed beside Silvana, and Amelia's long, straight brown hair curtained over her shoulders. She wore a form-fitting scarlet wool dress that fell above her knees, and her wrists were covered in silver and gold bangles."Your dad told me everything," Amelia said quickly, blowing a pink bubble with her gum, then sipping from an iced coffee. But Silvana knew her father hadn't told Amelia the truth. Her father would never admit that a werewolf saved his daughter's life, especially to another prominent witch like Amelia. "I'm so happy you're okay, and that your dad got to you in time," Amelia said, reaching insid
It was a little after eight at night when Silvana tiptoed out of her house. Before Amelia had left, she had helped to make Silvana look dazzling with a sage green wool dress, black stockings, and knee-high brown boots. "I'm going to make you look irresistible," Amelia had said, brushing mascara onto Silvana's eyelashes. Silvana was so excited she hardly felt the pain from her wounds as she clipped her seatbelt and drove off onto the highway. The lights from the city buildings gleamed as she sped by. Would Bruce even be home? She hoped he would.The drive was fast but felt like forever, and as Silvana pulled off the highway and into the gravel driveway inside the forest that Bruce lived in, she second guessed herself that she was arriving at the correct place.As she stuck her car into park she heard a loud rustle in the leaves nearby, and saw a slender gray wolf with amber streaks in its coat rush into the woods. It was gone as soon as it came, so Silvana thought nothing of i
The figure of the man stepped out from the doorframe and into the light of Bruce's room. He had shaggy, cider-colored hair stuffed beneath a red knit hat, and he wore a sleeveless dark, denim vest, straight black jeans, and steel-toed boots. What Bruce had in strength this man had in agility, and his slim body let him move fast when he unfolded his arms and closed the door behind him. Silvana went on the defensive. The man's nostrils flared twice. "I don't like your scent," he said. Silvana grounded her feet and raised her hand, preparing to cast a spell. She asked, "Where's Bruce? Who are you?" "That stings," the man chuckled, walking slowly around the room and in front of Bruce's investigation wall. He added, "You seem to know my older brother so well, and yet he hasn't even mentioned me to you?""No, he didn't," Silvana snapped. "We must've had more important things to discuss."The man sniggered and then it really hit Silvana how wreckless this all had been. What did she
Amelia was already outside Silvana's house when Silvana pulled into the driveway. Amelia's hair was up in pink curlers, she had a green cucumber face mask on, and even her purple and gold silk pajamas were extravagant. She held two steaming mugs in her hands. "Oh!" Amelia shrieked gleefully, careful not to spill her drinks. She handed one to Silvana and said, "Pumpkin Spice and Rum lattes that I whipped up in your kitchen, along with a few daiquiris for your father. I figured some rum might help your daddy sleep so we can chat uninterrupted."They clinked mugs in a cheers to their friendship. Amelia ran a hand down Silvana's dress, so proud of how amazing Silvana looked. Amelia picked up a trussel of Silvana's strawberry-blonde hair and said, "Your hair's a mess and your makeup is streaked. Am I taking this as a sign that you found Mr. Hunk and spent some quality time together?"Silvana took a large gulp of the spiked latte and through a foamy smile licked her lips and said, "Ye