Free Enchanting Her Alpha (Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Romance) by Joanna Wilson

 
    Enchanting Her Alpha
     
    To help the days to go by quickly, I filled much of my time learning the management of our Coven and the history of our people. I spent the rest of my daylight hours learning and perfecting my practice of the magical arts. I spend hours in the kitchen making salves, ointments, potions and decoctions to cure every ailment, both physical and emotional. I’ve cast spell upon spell, altering either the physical world itself or just another’s perception of it. I’ve thrown myself into learning and mastering these skills, and found that once I allow myself to focus, they come easily to me.
     
    The nights, however, go by so slowly. I have time to think at night; time to think about Brandon, and time to miss him. Tonight, standing on the balcony outside my bedroom, I face yet another sleepless night. I can’t stop thinking of him. I can’t stop longing for him. I am alternately angry and sad, prideful and heartbroken.
     
    I stare at the lights of his community and wonder again what he is doing. I have hidden notes in the dividing wall every morning this week, hoping that he will relent and leave a reply. Each day, I am disappointed when I remove the stone and find my missives, still neatly folded and unread. This morning when I pulled the stone out of the wall and found that, once again, he had not been there, my grief was overwhelming. I needed the strength and reassurance of feminine energy I could only find in my small sanctuary.
     
    I shouldered my way in through the narrow opening and down the short path into the nurturing womb of Mother Earth. I stood there a moment, enveloped in the darkness, and breathed evenly in an attempt to soothe the pain of hurt and rejection before making my way to the niche in the wall that held my candle and lighter. The lighter was the only concession to the modern world I brought here; a flashlight seemed too intrusive, and I felt a need deep within me to respect this primordial energy.
     
    I set the lit candle onto the small ledge and slid down the wall until I was sitting in the small circle of light. I was beyond heartbroken; I was bereft. I mourned the loss of Brandon from my life and the ease with which he had turned his back. I could feel the sting of angry tears welling behind my eyes and fought them, not wanting to give in to the pain crushing my heart. I heard a small noise to my right and I looked up sharply to find a pair of red eyes looking back at me.
     
    The creature got up and trotted into circle of light, revealing itself to be a small female red fox. The vixen stopped a few inches away and sat down, looking at me steadily. She tilted her head as though wondering why I was sad. I reached a slow hand out to her and she placed her furry head in my palm. I knew, beyond a doubt, that my familiar had found me.
 
    I picked her up and scratched her behind the ears like a cat and knew intuitively that her name was Mynx. A feeling of peace came over me and soothed my broken heart like nothing else had. She nestled her head under my chin and my pain, while still fierce, receded. My head cleared, and I found myself thinking, “Are you a witch or what?” I knew what I was going to do.
     
    This was what brought me to my balcony tonight. In my hand I held a maple leaf with Brandon’s name written across it. I stared at the lights across the lake concentrating on my desire to talk to him; on my need to talk to him. I took all the pain, anger and want that I was feeling and put it into that leaf, said the words of power and let it go. It fluttered toward the ground for a few seconds and I momentarily thought my spell had failed, but then a wind kicked up and caught it. I watched as it floated away from me and sailed on the breeze, northward at first. As I continued to watch its progress, I realized it was slowly turning east toward the dividing wall.
     
    I continued to watch it, fascinated, as it flew in a more and more easterly direction, until