Chapter Two

Uzzi Stregovich grunted happily as he opened the box of sweet-smelling, fresh pastries.

"I promise, liebling, I will only have one,” he said aloud to his dearly departed wife.

Betty understood him well, and his love for sweets was no secret. Ah! How he missed the scrumptious little spiced cakes she used to bake for him on special occasions. Filled with currants and nuts, they were simply delicious. No one made them quite like her.

But it wasn’t spiced cakes that had him salivating now. It was a box full of tasty treats from the flagship Bear Claw Bakery store in Barvale, New Jersey.

“Hank?” he called to his driver. “Are you sure you don’t want?”

“No thank you, Uncle Uzzi. Better keep my eyes on the road,” his driver replied.

Hank was one of his favorite honorary nephews, but the man did not know what he was missing.

Hmmm, Hank. No, no. That is for another time, Uzzi told himself.

His Magic buzzed around the small cab in the back of the limousine, but he was able to quiet it as he opened the thin cardboard box and peered inside. Sugary goodness wafted in the air, and Uzzi inhaled and sighed enthusiastically.

“It’s been awhile, you know,” he explained to no one in particular.

Hank was focused on the road, and no one else was there with him, but Uzzi peeked around before snagging a delectable Bear Claw napoleon from the box.

“Oh! Perfection,” he mumbled around a bite of custard filled, chocolate and vanilla glazed goodness.

The Bear Claw Bakery was one of the best in the entire country.

Hands down.

Once that one was gone, Uzzi grinned and dove for the fresh honey almond pastry, whose fragrance tantalized and tempted, even though he knew he should not have another. Not yet anyway. But how could he resist?

“I’m only human, liebling. Well, mostly,” Uzzi said, conversing with his beloved Betty again.

He grinned, looking over the goodies and rubbed his hands together. What to try next? Such a big decision!

Wunderbar!

He thought and took another one from the box. This one dusted in powdered sugar and topped with a ripe strawberry slice.

Mmmm.

The pastries were just wonderful. There was nothing like the infamous Devlin brothers’ sweets and Uzzi should know. He was a self-proclaimed pastry connoisseur.

The flagship store was a good hour out of the way from where he was headed, but worth it. So worth it.

They had the very best of what the brothers had to offer, in his opinion. Sometimes they were even made by one of the brothers themselves.

Like tonight. Lucky Uzzi.

That special little sixth sense he had told him that would be the case tonight. Magic had always been a friend to Uzzi Stregovich. When he asked Hank to make the detour, Uzzi hadn’t been surprised to see the Alpha Black Bear of the Barvale Clan himself wiping his big hands on his apron before coming out to greet him.

He’d been friends with the Bear’s father since back in the day. Marcus Devlin might have met his mate by chance on vacation, the Bear knew Uncle Uzzi’s offer to consult with any members of the Clan was good for any time in the future. So long as Marcus promised to provide Uzzi with his decadent pastries whenever the old Witch was in town.

Like tonight.

Uzzi opened his cell phone while he took his first decadent bite of his third, or was it fourth, pastry? The famous black forest bear claw, he moaned and sighed. Cocoa powder and cherry filling had been added to the delicious morsel, making it a sinfully delicious way to end his gorging.

No more after this, liebling, I promise.

Just as he’d expected. The old Witch took another bite and reread the email he’d received earlier that week.

“Well Hank,” he said aloud. “It seems the big bad pussy of Maverick Point has finally admitted he needs Uncle Uzzi’s help to find a mate. Ha! What do you think about that?”

“Sounds like Hunter Maverick is making sense to me, boss,” Hank replied.

Well, it wouldn’t be the first time a pussy cat needed a Witch’s help. Still, this was a special case. The Neta, or Alpha of the Maverick Tiger Pride, was having an issue with controlling his inner beast. That was never a good thing since Shifters, well, the whole supernatural world at large really, were kept secret from the humans, or normals as they were called by Magical beings.

This was not good. Rumors were spreading in Magical circles that Hunter’s ability to control the Pride was waning. If whispered in the wrong ears, challenges would be issued. With challenges, came war, and how could anyone expect to keep a war secret in this technological age?

A problem, for sure! But Uzzi knew this was something that could be solved by finding the Neta his mate. A mated Tiger was a powerful, controlled Tiger. With something as precious as that to lose, no one would stand a chance against the naturally dominant male.

As it was, word had gotten around that the unmated Tiger was losing ground within his inner circle. Rumors were spreading that he was too weak to lead. Hunter’s beast was on edge, and he was looking to Uncle Uzzi for help.

Shifters usually did at one time or other. A male Witch with a gift for matchmaking was rare for any age, but Uzzi had taken to his talents like a pro. He loved his work, and almost anyone would agree, it was a very interesting job. Besides, he could trace his roots back to the Goddess of Love herself.

Shifters operated a little differently than Witches, but not much has changed in the past hundred years far as Uzzi was concerned. It was troubling that so much talk was going on about the Neta of the Maverick Pride.

“Hank, correct me if I am wrong, but are open challenges still the preferred way for a Shifter to go after leadership of a Pack or pride?” he asked.

“Far as I know, yes,” the driver replied.

“Hmm. Interesting. So if a Shifter has a leadership position, what is it based on?”

“Dominance for one,” Hank explained. “Our animals can sense when a beast is more dominant. Challenges typically arise when two or more Shifters in the same group exhibit the same level of dominance.”

“And if the position was inherited?”

“It doesn’t matter, Uncle Uzzi. You only keep power if you can beat everyone else. It seems pretty base, but there it is. Only the strongest earn the right to rule.”

“I see,” Uzzi replied.

It was all quite fascinating, and very different from how covens were run. Now, the way he saw it, the person, or persons, who started these rumors were not following typical protocol. That in itself was worrying.

Worse was the fact that since these whispers had started circulating, the Neta had been forced to ignore his business. Maverick Development was the largest demolition and construction firm in the area. It accounted for ninety percent of the Pride’s income.

If forced to deal with the younger, and increasingly disrespectful, Pride members, to dispute these rumors, which Hunter had no choice but to do, then he was losing focus on the business. The firm needed to renew state and county contracts else take a pretty severe hit financially.

It was almost as if someone was gunning for the man and the pride. Uzzi snorted. The entire situation was no good. Bad business all around, he thought, and wished he hadn’t eaten all of that last pastry.

Of course, Uzzi wanted to help. Mount Maverick was a special community. A place Shifters were known as sort of an open secret. He didn’t want anything bad to happen to the wonderful little town or the Maverick family.

That said, he’d asked Hank to drive him to South Jersey Pride to get a feel for the Neta’s needs. By nature, Tigers were secretive, even in the Shifter world.

It was very telling that Hunter had come to a Witch with his problems at all. Serious business, indeed. Uzzi had dealt with his fair share of Tiger Shifters before, but he knew this situation would require something different.

Not that he was worried, of course. Uzzi trusted he could do the job as he had with countless other couples. The only thing that troubled him was the Tiger had not bothered talking about love, just mating.

Hmm.

That wouldn’t work, but it was a detail Uncle Uzzi was sure he could iron out with the big guy. He already had a few prospects in mind for the striped pussy already, but he was still contemplating it.

“Excuse me, Uncle Uzzi?” Hank looked at him through the rearview mirror.

Uzzi never bothered to raise the partition between them, but he jumped all the same. Sometimes, when he was deep in thought, Uzzi was easily startled. A clap of thunder sounded overhead, and he gasped again.

“You okay, sir?”

“Yes, Hank, don’t mind me. It happens with increased age,” he replied grimly.

“Oh, well, um⁠—”

“Yes, Hank? Spit it out, man,” Uzzi wiped his mouth on a napkin and met the man’s eyes.

“Well, I think I see someone walking on the side of the road,” Hank said, slowing the car and leaning closer to the glass of the windshield.

“In this weather?” Uzzi asked, mouth open as lightning flashed in the sky.

“Yes,” Hank said, slowing down even more.

“It appears to be a woman. She has no umbrella, either.”

Uzzi paused for a moment. His Magic was alert and zipping all around him excitedly. Whoever this damsel was, she needed his help. Uzzi had never failed to offer aid to a lady, and he sure as heck would not start now.

Is this your work, liebling?

A small smile teased the corner of his mouth. Uzzi’s beloved wife, Betty, had always been able to spot a mate faster than old Uzzi ever could.

“Well, let’s stop this thing, and see if the lady needs a ride before she drowns out there!”

Uzzi inched towards the window and peeked out, using his Magically enhanced vision to catch sight of the female his driver had spied.

Yes, she was a woman, alright. Soaking wet, but nicely shaped. He did not mind pointing out the obvious physical attractions of the female, with all due respect, of course.

Uzzi was a widower, a Witch, but ultimately, a matchmaker. Looks were important, not as much as what was on the inside, but important still, at least to his clients. Shifters especially had physical demands that were not for the faint of heart, or hip, he thought with a mischievous chuckle.

Ah! What could be better than this? Helping others find love, to celebrate life, and to live in peaceful harmony until the end of days.

So yes, he looked her over with the discerning eye of a matchmaker. The female was curvy and cute, just the way Shifters preferred their women. As the car inched over to the side of the road, Uzzi lowered his window and put on his most friendly smile.

Big brown eyes blinked down at him, rapidly against the fat drops of rain that seemed determined to get in her way.

“Hello there, young lady, it looks like you could use a lift,” Uzzi said kindly.