Page 19 of Unbearable Attraction
"Which worked for about two hundred years before someone dropped the ball," Luka observed.
"Someone or several someones." Leenah pointed toward a barely visible path branching off from the main trail. "Grandmother's map shows the ceremony grounds this way."
The secondary path was overgrown and difficult to follow, winding through increasingly dense forest where ancient oaks and towering pines blocked most of the daylight. But Luka moved through the terrain with the kind of natural grace that suggested he was genuinely comfortable in wilderness settings.
"You do this often?" she asked, watching him identify the safest route across a fallen log that blocked their path.
"Often enough." He offered her his hand to help her navigate the obstacle, his grip warm and steady. "Bears aren't exactly city dwellers by nature. I spend a lot of time in these woods."
The casual mention of his shifter nature reminded her that despite his human appearance, Luka carried the instincts and abilities of a powerful predator. It should have been unsettling, but instead she found it oddly comforting. If they encountered anything dangerous in the deep forest, her research partner was more than capable of handling it.
"There," she said suddenly, pointing toward a cluster of stones barely visible through the trees. "That has to be it."
But as they approached what looked like a natural rock formation, the air around them began to shimmer with subtle distortion. Glamour magic, layers of fae enchantment designed to make observers see nothing but ordinary forest. Leenah's necromantic abilities stirred in response to the old magic, recognizing the spiritual significance of whatever lay hidden behind the veils.
"Can you see through it?" Luka asked, his voice dropping to a whisper that suggested he understood they were approaching something sacred.
"Give me a minute." Leenah closed her eyes and let her necromantic senses expand, feeling for the spiritual currentsthat would reveal the glamour's weak points. "There. Just to the left of that big oak."
She stepped forward, pushing through what felt like walking through thick curtains, and suddenly the hidden grove revealed itself in all its ancient glory.
The stone circle was magnificent with thirteen massive granite monoliths arranged in a perfect ring around a central altar carved with symbols that predated written language. The air hummed with accumulated power, centuries of ceremonial magic layering the space with spiritual energy so dense it was almost visible.
And then her necromantic abilities surged without warning.
Power flooded through her like a tidal wave, every spirit who had ever participated in ceremonies at this site suddenly pressing against her consciousness with desperate urgency. Dozens of voices speaking in overlapping languages, memories of sacred rituals and broken promises cascading through her mind faster than she could process.
She stumbled backward, overwhelmed by the spiritual onslaught, and felt herself falling toward the rocky ground. But instead of hitting stone, she collided with Luka's solid frame as his arms closed around her, pulling her against his chest with reflexes that spoke to supernatural awareness.
The moment their bodies connected, something electric passed between them. Not just the spiritual energy crackling through the ancient grove, but something purely physical and breathtaking. Heat bloomed where his hands pressed against her back, and she found herself looking up into amber eyes that had gone molten with awareness.
"You okay?" he asked, his voice rough with concern and something deeper.
"I think so," she breathed, though she made no immediate move to step away from the warmth of his embrace. "The spirits here... there are so many of them."
"Can you handle it?"
The question held no doubt about her abilities, just genuine concern for her wellbeing. And standing there in his arms, surrounded by centuries of accumulated magic and the weight of supernatural expectations, Leenah realized she didn't want to handle it alone anymore.
"With help," she said quietly. "I think I can handle it with help."
The admission felt like crossing a line she'd spent years defending, but looking into Luka's understanding eyes, she couldn't bring herself to regret it.
14
LUKA
Luka felt the moment Leenah steadied herself in his arms and began to pull away, though every instinct he possessed wanted to keep her close where he could shield her from whatever spiritual forces were pressing against her consciousness. But this wasn't about his protective urges. This was about watching her do what she did best.
"I'm okay," she said, stepping back but staying within arm's reach. "Just need to adjust to the energy levels here. It's like... imagine trying to have a conversation at a rock concert."
"How many spirits are we talking about?" he asked, scanning the stone circle that looked empty to his non-necromantic senses.
"Dozens. Maybe more." Leenah moved toward the central altar with obvious purpose, her earlier disorientation giving way to professional focus. "Generations of Cherokee shamans, the original supernatural settlers, and... others. They're all trying to communicate at once."
As if her words had been a signal, the air around the stone circle began to shimmer again. But this time, instead of glamour magic hiding the sacred space, ethereal figures startedmaterializing between the ancient monoliths. Translucent at first, then growing more solid as Leenah's necromantic abilities reached out to bridge the gap between worlds.
Luka had seen plenty of supernatural manifestations during his years in Hollow Oak, but nothing like this. Spirits from different eras flickered in and out of visibility, their clothing and appearance spanning centuries of history. A Cherokee medicine woman in traditional dress stood beside what looked like a colonial-era witch, while the ghostly figure of a nineteenth-century gentleman in a top hat gestured urgently toward the altar.
