Juliet

Juliet slammed the wooden front door behind her, facing her Aunt Irma, who was half snoozing in her La-Z-Boy in front of the television. “Aunt Irma! I cannot believe you just left me back there! That man could’ve been a serial killer!”

Juliet didn’t actually believe he was. But geez! She’d spilled her drink all over him, and then what happened? A little electrical bolt shot between them. What in the hell happened back there?

Her aunt startled awake. “What?”

Juliet started pacing. She always did when she was upset. “That man. You didn’t even know his name. But apparently he’s one of the Bradwick people? That’s supposed to mean something to me? Except that he has money. Which I already realized. And you just left me there. Like bait. Possibly for dead, who knows? I mean, I’m not dead…” She was rambling. And she knew it. Every time she was upset, she rambled and paced. Her mother did the exact same thing, so it was probably her fault.

Aunt Irma rubbed one of her eyes and put her glasses back on the bridge of her nose. She had one of those chains that attached them around her neck, which was probably a good idea considering they were constantly falling off of her when she fell asleep. And that woman could sleep anywhere. Juliet had seen her once fall asleep in the bowling alley—Juliet turned around to tell her that she got a strike and she was all excited, doing an excellent happy dance, when she realized that Aunt Irma had passed out. She was kind of a buzz kill.

“I knew that you were fine, dear. That man is Cole Bradwick, one of the wealthiest men in Virginia. And I also happen to know he is very single. So I don’t know why you’re so upset, but will you stop pacing? God, you give me a headache when you do this. You’re just like your mother.”

“I will not stop pacing. This is entirely your fault, because he could’ve killed me!”

“He’s not going to kill you. Why are you so upset? I don’t understand! The man bought us a drink and then you stayed and had nice conversation with him, I’m sure. Or…” Suddenly, she sat up straighter, far more interested in the conversation. “Did something happen and it didn’t go well? I mean, I always assume a man that looks like that in a suit has got great things going on underneath it… But sometimes you don’t know about these things.”

Juliet abruptly stopped her pacing and threw her hands up in the air. “Aunt Irma! That is not what we’re talking about here.” Even though Juliet was absolutely positive that whatever Cole was packing under that suit was hotter than the sun. That man made her sweat. And then quoting Shakespeare? She could practically feel her sex aching for him. And she was just not a girl who felt those things. At least not in a long time.

“What were you trying to do? Are you admitting that you were trying to set me up with some recluse millionaire?”

“I never said he was a recluse. He has a very large family, and they’re all very nice people. His parents have been around for ages. As long as our family has been.”

“Are you sure? I mean, our family is kind of a different circumstance.”

Irma sat back again and began rocking in the La-Z-Boy. “I know exactly what I’m talking about. Those Bradwick people, they’re shifters. The whole lot of them. Bears, maybe? I don’t know. But they’ve been around just as long as our coven has been.”

Juliet rolled her eyes. She hated when Aunt Irma went into a speech about the good old days, when the coven was one of the most well-respected group of phantoms on the East Coast. Now it was just her and Irma, and neither of them really practiced magic. Occasionally, Juliet would say an incantation and light a candle or animate a broom to do some of the sweeping for them, but that was the extent of her powers. And Aunt Irma? She could barely do that.

“Shifters?” she asked incredulously. She sat on the couch opposite of her aunt. She didn’t remember anyone bringing up shifters before.

“Yes, shifters. They can change their figure at will. There’s bears, wolves, coyotes, and I think that there’s a badger? I don’t know, I remember hearing that my youth. Haven’t seen one in a long time, though. They pretty much keep to themselves and they’re very hush-hush around the humans.”

Juliet could hardly believe what she was hearing. Shifters in Crescent Valley? Was that why the Bradwicks owned such a large nature reserve? So that they could go undetected?

“Are the Bradwicks the only shifters you know about? What else have you been hiding from me?”

“Well, I was hiding from you that one time that I was a lady of the night. But that’s a story for another evening.”

Juliet shook her head. This woman made her head spin. “No, tell me about the shifters. Do you know of any others?”

Irma nodded slowly. “Well, there were the Windego wolves. And I know they were wolves because I saw that girl change her body into a white wolf when she was a child. Her father brought her to me because he didn’t think that she’d be able to shift. She’s a twin you see, they’re very uncommon. Hardly ever carry the gene. But she did it sure as heck, in front of a couple dozen people too. You can’t stop the gene once it activates. But they left town years ago. I haven’t heard anything about them since. Their father was a bit of a nasty creature in his older age. Some of our family didn’t like him much. Others liked him too much.”

Her face lit up like she’d just remembered something important. Juliet was used to that look—it meant that something bad was about to happen for her. “Speaking of family…”

“Irma, I told you I already spoke to Mom about New Year’s. She’s not upset about Christmas or the fact that you spilled that wine all over the carpet. Everything’s fine.”

“Oh honey, I wasn’t worried about that. I’ve spilled more wine and whiskey on your mother’s carpet that I have on myself, and that’s saying something. No, what I was going to tell you is that your cousin Maxine is going to come visit.”

Juliet’s mouth dropped open. “Maxine? Why the hell is Maxine coming to visit? And where is she going to stay? Irma, we’re in a two-bedroom house!”

Irma shook her head. “You worry too much. It’s fine, she’s just coming to stay for a few days. Something about Crescent Valley and feeling the need to be close to her ancestors.”

Great. More coven stuff. Exactly what Juliet was trying to avoid. And Maxine was deep into the craft. She was definitely going to have to brush up on her incantations, otherwise Maxine would just completely rule the house while she was here. To say she had a strong personality was putting it lightly.

“Does she have to stay here?”

Irma nodded slowly. Juliet knew that she was about to fall back asleep. “Irma, where’s the incantation book?”

“Still in the bathroom. You know I like to use it for a little bit of light reading while I’m in the john.”

Juliet sighed before standing up and crossing the living room. As she walked into the bathroom to find the leather-bound book sitting on the 1950s hot pink tile that her aunt had picked out, she knew that if she went back into the living room she’d find her asleep in her chair. Instead, she took the book and walked into her bedroom, shutting the door softly behind her. Maxine was coming. She definitely needed to brush up on her magic. And maybe there would be something in the book about shifters too. Nothing surprised her anymore.

But as she sat and paged through the book, the only thing that she could think of Cole’s chiseled face and his gray eyes staring into her soul as he recited Shakespeare. He was perfect in every sense of the word, his crisp gray suit matching his eyes perfectly, almost as if he’d had it made in just that shade. And he’d paid attention to her. She wondered if he knew that she was a phantom, or if he found out, what he might think of her. But she hardly knew him, so why did she care what he thought? She couldn’t put her finger on what it was about him that made her heart flutter. And there was still the spark between them to consider. What was that about? She thought about the magnetic feeling between them as she closed her eyes, hugging the book to her chest.