The first thing I noticed was that there were initials carved on the inside of the lid: C.O.
“ ‘C.O.’? Who’s that?” I tried to remember my family history, but nothing stood out. Of course, this might have belonged to someone who wasn’t part of the family, but it would be odd that the trunk would be among my parents’ belongings.
Inside the trunk, the contents were wrapped in green velvet. The material lined the chest and had been folded over whatever was inside. I cautiously opened the top flaps, only to find myself staring at a dagger in a sheath, a leatherbound book, and a ring. The silver ring had a bear’s head on it, and it was exquisitely detailed. The eyes of the bear were inset emeralds, and as I reached for it, a humming made me stop.
“What is it?” Killian asked, craning his neck to see.
“I don’t know—there’s strong magic in this chest,” I said. I picked up the ring out and automatically slid it on my right index finger. It fit perfectly, and I instantly felt a glow of protection and fierceness surround me. Next, I lifted the dagger and slid it out of the leather sheath. The hilt of the dagger was made of bog oak. The hilt fit my hand perfectly, and I raised the blade, which was at least thirteen inches long and made of polished bronze. The dagger sang to me, and I felt something shift as I held it.
“Who owned this?” I whispered.
“Maybe it’s in the book?” Killian asked.
The black hand-tooled leather felt smooth under my fingers as I lifted the book out of the chest. I opened the book to the first page and there, in a curving script, I read “Colleen O’Leary Fletcher.” I flipped through the pages briefly but I already knew what this was.
“This belonged to my great-grandmother Colleen—who helped found Moonshadow Bay,” I said. “This is her dagger, her ring, and her book of shadows.” And right then, I knew that I had found a treasure beyond riches.
Chapter Two
Killian carried everything downstairs. While he arranged the things I was donating in the garage, I sat at the kitchen table with my great-grandma Colleen’s diary, dagger, and ring. Finding them had taken me aback. I wasn’t quite sure what to think. Why had my mother kept them locked away instead of using them or displaying them? And it seemed odd that these things had been packed away up in the attic, since Colleen had been one of the founders of Moonshadow Bay, and the items might be better off displayed at the local museum.
But the moment I thought about it, I blew off the idea. That seemed terribly disrespectful, given they were ritual gear.
“Are you going to read it?” Killian asked, returning from the garage. The timer interrupted him and I set the dagger and the book where they wouldn’t chance getting splattered. I retrieved the lasagna from the oven, popping the cheesy French bread under the broiler for a few minutes before taking it out. Killian set the table and opened a bottle of red wine I had on the counter, filling two goblets.
“I want to…but I feel oddly shy.” I shook my head. “I can’t tell you why, but it feels like the moment I open that book, I’m going to be dragged into something I won’t be able to stop.” I dished out a hearty serving of lasagna. “So, how did the clinic go today?”
Killian was a veterinarian who loved his work. The fact that he cared about animals so much endeared him to me even more. And even though he was a wolf shifter, he had a predilection for cats. He adored my pair, and they took advantage of that every time he was over.
“It was hard,” he said, shrugging. “We had to put down a dog today. The poor thing leapt the fence and ran out in the road just as a truck came long. The driver tried to stop, but couldn’t, and the dog…well…sometimes there’s no fixing the damage.”
I winced. “That’s so hard. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, so was I. The owner tried—the fence was sturdy, but the dog was a good jumper and I guess he saw something he wanted to chase. These are the days that make it difficult. But I help when I can, that evens things out.” He leaned back, taking a long sip of his wine. “So, remember a couple months ago when I told you my sister wanted to come visit once she was up and around?”
I froze, my fork in midair. “Yeah…?” Killian had also told me she wanted to meet me and spend some time getting to know me.
“She’ll be here on Monday. I thought we could take her to dinner Monday night.”
Even though I wanted to meet her, part of me was afraid to. Shifter Packs and Prides tended to frown on intra-marriage—marriage between different species, so to speak—and some of them were even against intra-dating. But I couldn’t tell Killian that. I didn’t want him to think I was expecting a proposal, or that I didn’t want to meet his family because I was a snob.
“Sure. What kind of food does she like?”
“Tally’s got fairly simple tastes. She’ll be happiest with a burger and fries.” He grinned. “Made in the USA, so to speak.”
“Then we can go to Lucky’s. They make the best burgers in town.” I forced a smile.
“You’re upset,” Killian said. “I can smell the shift.”
Damn it. Shifters, especially wolf shifters, could smell the differences in body chemistry when their mates were upset, amorous, or afraid. Over the past couple months I had started to feel as though I was a living mood ring.
“No, not upset…” I paused.
“Then what? You can tell me,” he said, frowning.
“I just… I know how some shifter families don’t take to intra-species dating. I’m witchblood, you’re a shifter.”
“My parents and my sister aren’t going to dislike you just because you’re a witch and not a shifter. Trust me, please. I wouldn’t ambush you like that—not if I thought Tally was going to be rude or anything of the sort.” He sounded grumpy and looked grumpier. “Give me more credit than that. I’m not going to set you up for a fall.”
I blushed. “I’m sorry, I never thought that. But you told me to tell you why I’m worried. Don’t bite my head off when I do.”
“I just… I thought you’d trust me more than that.” Now he sounded hurt and that irritated me.
I let out a long sigh. “Don’t twist my words. My worries have nothing to do with you. I’m concerned about how your relatives will feel about me. I have no fears that you’re planning to ambush me or set me up for a fall. The fact is that I’ve got a history of bad interactions with in-laws, remember? Ellison’s family hated the fact that I was witch-blood, so I’m already skittish about this whole meet-the-family thing. I’d feel the same way if you were human or a puma shifter or whatever else is hanging out there in the woods.”
Killian shrugged, but I could tell he was still grumbly, and I felt my appetite vanish. We seldom argued, but now and then we had run across a definite difference of opinion. I had no desire for a volatile relationship, and he was usually pretty easygoing, but we were both stubborn and neither one of us was dewy fresh and new to the world of relationships.
“Fine,” he said, toying with his lasagna. “You don’t have to meet her.”