CHAPTER TWO
5 Years Later
“Congratulations, Robin Chesley. You’ve just achieved your goal of being one of my best students.”
Red Denver’s voice sounded proud and cheerful, and the words reverberated in Robin’s ears and had her standing up straighter. Red wasn’t much for giving out compliments, mostly because she wanted her students to work harder at what they practiced—which meant this compliment, despite how simply it was said, was one that was sincere and could never be doubted.
Robin smiled in response, thanking the older witch. “I couldn’t have done it without a great mentor.”
Like Red’s compliments, Robin’s smiles were rare. But she kept giving it now, feeling her body vibrate as they walked the halls of Red’s home. It was actually an extension of the home of Henrik Mikhailov, who was one of the few dragon shifters left in the world and the dragon clan’s leader. He was also Red’s mate and husband. Henrik and Red had opened this extension up just a few kilometers away from Henrik’s house in Africa, hidden by a charm that prevented ordinary people from seeing it. Along with Robin, there were many other witches residing here, too, practicing their magic for the purpose of good.
Robin knew that hadn’t always been the case, considering just less than ten years ago, most of the powerful witches around the world had been enemies of the shifters and vampires and had tried to do them harm. One of the leaders had been Red’s mother, Gloria, who started a group and encouraged them to kill and hurt, claiming that their enemies needed to be eliminated—when in reality, she really just wanted to be the most powerful being left in the world. Red had been on the run then for being accused of killing a shifter clan leader, but she’d teamed up with shifters and some vampires to eliminate the threat. She then gathered all the redeemable witches she could and stayed in the Altai Mountain to shelter them and give them a home, and it had become a turning point for the change of heart of their kind.
After a few years, Red had then built up a second home in Africa for the young witches who wanted to improve their craft. She picked up more witches along the way, and Robin had been one of those lucky enough to be picked up at eight years old. Robin didn’t remember much about her earlier life, except she had a witch father who was a drunkard and liked beating people up.
This life was definitely better.
When they reached the end of the hall, Red turned to her again, her gray eyes sparkling. “I will be giving you your first solo mission soon.”
“I would love that.” Actually, she’d have loved to be given one sooner, but she guessed their peaceful world at the moment didn’t really provide much opportunity.
“In the meantime, don’t you have other plans? I heard you wanted to travel. Maybe you can go on vacation while waiting. I can always contact you when I need your help.”
Robin nodded, and they parted ways soon after. Red was right—she did want to travel but hadn’t really gotten the opportunity as she was just so determined to master her craft. She remembered talking about it to a certain boy in her past—a wolf shifter named Simon, who had been her mission partner for three years when she’d been lent to the shifter clan for experience.
She wondered how he was doing now.
As she passed by yet another hall in the stone-built establishment, Robin looked around at some of the other witches milling about. She tried to envision in her mind who she wanted to take with her to travel among them. Then she realized that in her busy schedule practicing day in and day out, she hadn’t really made any friends here.
Simon’s face came to mind again—a kind-looking boy who always tolerated the fact that she was different and insisted on being her friend, anyway. It had been five years since she’d last seen him…would he actually still consider her his friend? Would he be agreeable to a travel trip or two with her?
There was only one way to find out.
*****
Her return to New York via a witch portal got her even more revved up than usual. But by the time she got there, Robin felt overwhelmed at how busy everything was. When she’d been training in Africa in that remote forest area, she accepted some side missions that took her to some towns there, handling investigative work more than anything—and those had been nothing compared to the hustle and bustle here. She didn’t think walking in shifter headquarters unannounced would be appropriate, and she didn’t know Simon’s actual home address.
Deciding to just de-stress for the night and try to find Simon in the morning, she checked in at a motel in Brooklyn and left her bag there, then went to the nearest bar in the city. If she wanted to get used to crowds again, which was often a necessity to blend in on missions, the bar was definitely the place to be. The one she entered had a young crowd who were drinking and dancing to the upbeat music, and the noise was decidedly loud. It felt like a club more than a bar, and Robin steeled herself as she squeezed herself in the throng and found a spot on the long bar. The drinks were unfamiliar to her, so Robin ordered the safest one: orange juice.
She sipped on it when it arrived, then thought about how she was going to budget her money for the travel. Planes were expensive, and she didn’t really want to spend everything she saved up from all the missions she took. Not all missions paid, of course, and she wondered if she needed to get a job while waiting for her next paying one. Realizing she was thinking about serious stuff again, Robin shook her head and downed her drink, then ordered another—a margarita, to be bolder. She then looked around and used a basic spell to enhance her hearing, to see if there was something interesting around to keep her occupied.
It was mostly mundane conversation and lots of heavy flirting, and soon Robin found her cheeks turning hot at all the dirty words being tossed around so freely. She wasn’t really acquainted with the dating world and frankly wasn’t very interested in any certain guy at the moment, so it felt a bit awkward to listen in on such intimate stuff. At the same time, she couldn’t help feeling fascinated, focusing on the women’s words more as she noted them down in her mind.
Who knew? She could probably use some for espionage work.
I’m actually looking for a very special woman. Her name is Rosie, and I think it’s you.
Oooh. What’s special about Rosie?
She has certain…charms that lure people in. And a beauty unlike any other. I can’t be mistaken that you’re that Rosie. You’re gorgeous and your charm is so…arousing.
I can show you my charms.
Oh yeah?
Oh yeah. I can show it better down the back alley.
Robin scoffed inwardly. Now that was cheesy flirting at its finest. She turned her head to glance in the direction of the moving couple.
She froze.
Just because she hadn’t seen Simon in five years didn’t mean she wouldn’t recognize him in an instant.
He looked the same, yet insanely different—taller, definitely, with the same dark brown hair and lightly tanned skin that he always had when they were younger. He’d filled out, and instead of the lanky dude he was before, he had…muscles that were more defined now, though he still looked like he could sprint fast.
His gray eyes were the same—dreamy, light and so clear that she could see every emotion in them. Right now, they were sparkling and looking all bedroom-y, and she deduced he must really be into the woman he picked up.
Unable to resist, Robin extended her magic to feel the woman out. Her senses touched something normal on the surface…and something dark underneath.
The woman wasn’t human.
Robin frowned, remembering Simon telling her before that he always wanted to marry a fellow wolf shifter someday. Had that changed?
But then again, this didn’t look like mating. It was more like casual sex in the alley.
She was just trying to decide whether she should talk to him about the non-human woman when he glanced in her general direction. Their eyes met, gazes holding as a flicker entered his and turned those gray irises darker. She attempted a smile, sure that he recognized her.
He turned his head back and broke the gaze.
Robin frowned, sure now that something was wrong. It was like he’d been charmed. Was the woman a witch, then?
There was only one way to find out.
Downing her margarita, Robin stood up.
Then she quietly followed them.