Christy glanced around her tent, surprised to find Ronan not there and sensing he wasn’t nearby.

A sweet scent caught her attention. Glancing down at the floor, she saw pink rose petals scattered everywhere. What the hell? she thought then smiled.

Getting up, she headed out, following the trail of petals out through the camp until she reached the small cove.

Ronan sat on a wrinkled blanket. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“Well, I figured if we’re going to be married soon then we should have a real date in public – well, as public as we can get,” he remarked. “Plus we never got the chance to celebrate your birthday.”

After years of dating in secret, it felt good to be out in open like this.

“You’re considering being mated then?” Her cheeks flushed at the thought. Despite dating for over two years, they’d never had a sexual relationship. They’d both been too afraid cross that line, knowing what the repercussions would be.

“I don’t want us to be together out of obligation – even if it saves us both.”

Christy flopped onto the blanket beside him. “Ro, we’ve been talking about this for years.”

“Yeah, but sometimes I thought it would never happen.” They sat and ate dinner together.

“Ro, I need to go back to the witch village. Something there…I need to find out why I was taken there.”

Together they headed up the steep path to the clifftop.

“I figured this would be a good place to try the spell,” Christy said, pulling out the crystal Magda had given them.

Ronan laid the picnic blanket down on the ground. “I hope we do this right.”

“Magda told me how to use it.” She sat down beside him, placing the crystal on the ground between them. She and Ronan held hands as she recited the spell. The crystal pulsed with light which expanded outwards.

Christy’s eyes snapped shut as the house faded. Instead she found herself standing inside a different room.

Ronan appeared beside her.

“Where are we?” she asked. “I don’t recognise this place.”

“I think this is Magda’s memory.” Ronan glanced around. “This must be what the house looked like before it was abandoned.”

“I thought Magda said…”

A woman dressed in a blue robe with long chestnut hair and sharp green eyes appeared.

A loud explosion reverberated through the building. Christy grabbed Ronan’s hand. “What’s going on?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know.” They followed the girl outside.

“Ronan, I think that’s Magda,” she gasped, staring at the woman rushing over to a group of robed people. “We must be witnessing her memories.”

He cringed. “Are we going to see everything she’s ever been through? That’s a lot of memories!”

Christy shrugged. “I think she’s only showing us important ones.”

They watched the crowd as more screams echoed around them. A howl rang out as a group of large wolves swarmed into the village, tearing people down. Bursts of light without the night sky.

“Stop this!” Magda screamed, hurtling a bolt of red lightning at the lead wolf. “Why are you doing this?”

The wolf howled in pain, shifting into the form of a man, who looked very much like Henric. Blood gurgled from his mouth as he sank to his knees. “You did this. You…killed my father.”

Magda knelt beside him. “No, it wasn’t us. We would never kill an alpha. That’s not our way.”

“You did this…you attacked the clans.”

The battle faded.

“That’s my grandfather,” Christy realised. “Lucas. I’ve seen pictures of him.”

As she spoke the scene around them changed. Again, a younger Magda appeared, this time standing beside an older woman, her long grey hair fell past her shoulders. The woman stood stirring a cauldron.

“The shifters cannot be allowed to harm us again. They’ve grown too powerful,” the woman said. “We should never have taught them to use magic. With that and their other abilities, they’ve become too strong.”

“But Mama, all shifters have magic in their veins,” Magda protested. “You can’t take that away from them. Their power comes from nature, just like ours does.”

“They’re too much of a threat to us. I don’t know who killed the alpha, but they blame us. If we don’t do something the clans will overrun us,” Magda’s mother said. “We must do something so they can never harm us again.”

“The clans have declared war on us and eventually they’ll do the same to each other,” Magda said. “I think we should leave the island. It’s not safe here for witches anymore.”

“We won’t have to worry about that now, daughter.” The crystal turned black. “We created this island as sanctuary for Magickind. I won’t let shifters destroy everything we have built here.” She dropped the crystal into the bubbling cauldron. “By the alpha’s blood no shifter shall use magic again, at the turn of each full moon they will stay in their wolf forms.”

“Mama, you can’t cast a curse on them. How will you power it?”

“This island is a power source, it will be enough to keep the curse in place for generations to come,” she said. “The shifter clans can fight and destroy each other. At least now they can’t hurt our people in the process.”

They watched the crystal vanish into darkness.

“I had no idea the witches did this,” Christy murmured. “How can you and I use magic then?”

“Let’s find out,” Ronan replied.

They saw a different Magda, older now, with only a few tinges of grey in her long hair.

“Mama!” a voice called as another woman came bounding into the kitchen.

Christy stifled a cry of alarm. It was her mother, Olivia. She looked young and beautiful.

“Mama, I’m getting married!” Olivia gushed.

Magda’s eyes narrowed. “To who?”

“To Henric of course. I’m so…”

Magda shook her head. “No, you cannot marry a shifter. Witches and shifters don’t marry each other.”

Olivia snorted. “Una married a shifter, the leader of the Amara Clan, no less.”

“That’s different. Una isn’t very powerful or the daughter of a priestess. Nor is her husband an alpha. You can’t marry Henric, I forbid it.”

“You can’t stop me, Mama, he loves me. After so much war and bloodshed, maybe it’s time for shifters and witches to stop fighting each other.”

“The clans will never accept you either. They’ll never let their alpha mate with a witch.” Magda folded her arms.

“The clans are dwindling. People are leaving the island, both shifters and witches alike. It’s time for a new start,” Olivia said. “A new era is beginning.”

Magda scowled. “What if you have children? Witches and shifters have never been able to have offspring – if they do, the children die soon after. You could die too. It’s against the laws of nature.”

“Una is already pregnant with her son. I’ve foreseen it will be a strong healthy boy. More shifter than witch.”

Christy said nothing as she gripped Ronan’s hand, and waited for the next memories to play out.

This time they saw Olivia lying on the floor bloodied and bruised as flames started to engulf the room around her.

“Olivia!” Magda screamed as she rushed over to her side. “Who did this? Where’s your child?”

“She’s safe. Mama, I called Ronan. He’s her mate,” Olivia rasped. “Take care of my daughter. Oren knows she is the key to ending the curse. A shifter with alpha and witch blood…”

Magda gripped her daughter’s hand, muttering a spell to avert the flames as she dragged her Olivia’s body outside and sobbed.

“Magda?” said a small voice.

She turned to see Ronan clutching a crying baby. Magda kissed Olivia’s head, muttered a spell so that her body disappeared into the earth. “Ronan, give me the baby.”

Ronan clutched baby Christy tighter to his chest. “No, she’s mine. I need to keep her safe. My parents are gone…” Tears filled his eyes.

“It’s alright. I’ll keep you both safe.” Magda wrapped her arms around both children.

Christy wiped away her own tears as she opened her eyes. “God, why didn’t Magda tell me she’s my grandmother?”

“It explains a lot. Maybe she wanted you to be raised as a shifter.” Ronan held her close.

She rested her head against his chest. “You wouldn’t let me go.”

“As I said then, you’re mine. I’ll never leave you. Handing you over to Magda and watching her take you away was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”