Page 1 of Cursed Magic

CHAPTER ONE

The iridescent shadow that it seemed only I could see moved closer to the door of the small cabin where my sister had been held captive.

As I kept my eye on the enemy, a peculiar warmth jolted through my blood, but the cold fear this strange occurrence would usually trigger couldn’t take hold of me.

With each step away the shadow took, the intense pressure on my body lessened marginally.

Ryker groaned where he lay crumpled after taking the knife strike that had been intended for my sister. His three pack members stood in front of their alpha, snarling and growling, unable to see the threat that had moved to the opposite edge of the room.

Warm blood flowed down one of my hands and dripped from my fingertips to the cheap floor, another reminder that no one but me could see our adversaries. When I’d gripped the back of the shadow’s neck while it had been trying to kill Kendric, the shadow had managed to slash my wrist.

Thanks to the strange magic currently buzzing through my body, I couldn’t feel the pain.

All I knew was that Ryker had gotten stabbed badly enough to bring him down, and my sister had to be weak from captivity. This had to end now.

“You fucking coward!” I exclaimed as I balled my hands and allowed unbridled rage to consume me. Ever since my pack had been slaughtered, I’d relished the hard shell my adrenaline and fury gave me. “You hide behind shadows and refuse to reveal your face to us.”

The shadow flinched like I’d hit a nerve.

Good. I wanted to see which Blackwood pack member this person was.

I stepped in its direction, but Briar climbed to her knees and wrapped her arms around my legs the way she used to do to our parents when she was a child.

“Em, no,” she begged as the shadow inched toward us—in no hurry. Even though the shadow was still here, none of us could rely on our senses to track it because its scent was too faint, and being closer to it didn’t help.

I glanced down at Briar, seeing the greasy, light-copper hair on top of her head. “Let me go,” I muttered, needing to attack the shadow before it got too close. “It’s coming toward us again.”

Another groan came from Ryker as he straightened from the floor, the knife protruding from his side as blood spilled down his black shirt. His normally olive complexion was a shade paler, and his expression looked strained from what I was sure was pain. “Protect Ember with your life.”

My heart squeezed uncomfortably, but my feelings for him were something I could address only if we made it out of here alive. Unfortunately, the track record for people surviving these attacks was not in our favor. The only survivors I knew of so far were Briar and me.

The dirty-blond wolf on Ryker’s right—Gage—turnedhis huge head toward me and nodded. I didn’t have to pack-link with him to understand he would obey his alpha’s command. However, Kendric’s black wolf and Xander’s dark-brown wolf remained in place, flanking Ryker.

All four of these guys were idiots, and the shadow was once again right on us. “None of you can see it, only I can, so Briar, let me go, and the four of you get out of the way, or you’re going to wind up even worse off.”

The shadow’s shoulders shook as if it were laughing, making me want to claw its eyes out. Whoever it was didn’t mind being called a coward and enjoyed having power over us. After my fated mate Reid Blackwood had rejected me in front of both our packs, that motivation seemed in line with what was going on here. “He’s taunting me—everyone, stay where you are.”

Now the shadow was only five feet away.

I yanked at Briar’s arms, and she dropped her hands. I pushed her so she fell on her back, closer to Ryker, Kendric, and Xander.

My chest constricted, but keeping her alive and out of reach of the shadow was my priority.

“Dammit, Ember,” Ryker snarled, but Kendric and Xander closed in around him, preventing him from moving forward.

I had no time to deal with Ryker. The shadow moved toward me suddenly, and I pivoted to the right, away from Gage, not wanting him to get hurt.

Clearly, the shadow hadn’t expected that, and it ran into air in the place I’d been standing. It spun toward me, and I kicked it with my right leg, trying to push it away from everybody.

It stumbled a few steps and tripped over Briar’s legs.Gage kept blinking hard as if that would make the figure magically appear.

Briar screamed and swung her legs, sweeping the shadow’s feet from underneath it. It thudded to the ground.

Gage pounced just as the shadow got up quickly, causing him to land on the cheap laminate floor with a loudthud.

I dropped my shoulder and charged the shadow. I had to get it away from everyone.

“Ember, no!” Ryker exclaimed as he shuffled toward me.

---