Cougar's Eve (15 page)

Vale was right there to comfort me when I got home frazzled and crying. He’d been willing to allow me to use my magic on him to gauge and control my ever-changing abilities. Still, I had to be careful, even with him, because a couple in love has to have a few private moments to themselves, too.

We’d discovered I had to shield my magic from him at times or I’d end up summoning his cougar by accident. The first time it happened, we were both asleep and I was having a nightmare. Vale had needed to wake me to stop me from using my magic in my dream because it had bled into the real world. The strangest part about that night had been seeing the animals gathered on my back deck, staring at us from the other side of the sliding glass door. It was at this point I’d begun to meditate every night before going to bed in an attempt to close off my magic and seal it in.

My grandfather had lost his phone when he’d been called to Edwardsville, Illinois, to cleanse a house of evil spirits. He promised he’d left messages on my cell phone, but oddly, they never appeared. We had no idea whether that had something to do with my magic or my encounter with the entity.

When I confronted him with the image the entity had shown me of the younger version of him, he instantly paled. He explained that there were always beings who would attack those who possessed magic and that he’d had an encounter with one long ago. Though I asked him to tell me more about it, he declined, saying it was best to leave the past in the past. He believed discussing an evil creature would give it power, so I dropped the subject, albeit reluctantly. I knew there was more to the story due to his relief, but I respected my grandfather. He might not want to share his secrets but I would press him for more details later.

Grandpa suggested using items to ward myself from ghosts, as well as to help keep my magic contained within my body. I wore a small iron cross pendant with a clear quartz crystal in the center at all times. It seemed to tone down my magic, though I didn’t like relying on an object that could easily be removed. I was always worried it would fall off or catch on something, and then I’d be right back to square one, without control.

I also began to use salt to create an additional boundary on the inside of my wrought-iron fence. This way, if my magic was weakened, the salt would be there to prevent ghosts from barging onto my property. It was annoying and not terribly attractive to have dead grass surrounding the inside of my fence, but it was better than being invaded by spirits.

Grandpa Evan instantly liked Vale and vice versa. The two men were incredibly protective of me, even though I knew that with my magic, I could kick about anyone’s ass if they dared mess with me—case in point, the recently shredded shade.

Bud told me the police had identified Carter Parsons as the alias for a criminal wanted for murder by the name of Jasper Carmichael. I still had no idea who he was and what he wanted with me. Having a were-cougar living with me definitely made me feel safer, though. Still, I always kept one eye open just in case I felt the presence of the shade. I still had no idea of the reason I was the focus for a malicious entity as well as a murderer on the run. However, I knew in my gut that the two were somehow tied together, even though I couldn’t prove it. I had looked everywhere, had even enlisted Bud to look for a link between Carmichael and me, but came up empty.

I glanced over now at Vale as he set the table. He insisted on feeding Murrlin before we ate, saying it kept the peace between the two felines in my house. Though, I wasn’t sure that made any sense, I was happy they got along with each other well.

Vale and I were slowly building a solid friendship to go along with our intense attraction for each other. After two months, I now knew where he’d grown up, the high school he’d attended, that he’d been a track jock in college, that he hated mushrooms on his pizza, that he preferred the right side of the bed, enjoyed the heat but didn’t like the cold—not good, because I felt the exact opposite, but we’d get through it—that he tolerated Bud but didn’t foresee a friendship with him, but mostly, that he loved and adored me. Through all of our differences, the latter was the most important, and I was definitely willing to live with that.

About the Author

KellyAnn is a hopeless romantic at heart. When she is not writing sizzling paranormal romance, she is curled up by the fireplace reading hot romance, sipping extremely sweet wine, and snuggling with her amazing husband, her knight in a tie.

A proud geek, KellyAnn loves RPGs, playing video games on her Xbox 360, and watching old 1960s Star Trek episodes because she has the hots for Mr. Spock.

KellyAnn loves to talk to her readers and can be found at
[email protected]
. Visit her blog at: kellyannlong.com.

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