Free ROMANCE: BBW PARANORMAL ROMANCE: Bear Prince’s Witch Bride (Bear Shifter Royalty Military Arranged Marriage Romance) (Paranormal Alpha Male Fantasy Romance) by Liza Lightwood

eyes. Her eyes veer to Laithe and she smiles. “I know you, don’t I?” She smiles and her laugh lines become apparent. “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you before. You are the one that took down the great magician, am I right?”
    I look at Laithe in shock and take a step away from him. “No, ma’am. That wasn’t me,” he says wearily. I assume he is revolted by the accusation.
    “You sure, dear?” She asks.
    “I wouldn’t go within a mile of one of those things,” he says convincingly.
    “All right. Well, it will be six coins,” she repeats, looking at me.
    “Uh,” I start, feeling inside my pockets for coins I know won’t be there. We don’t use money at the academy.
    “Here, Snow,” I hear Domino say from behind me. She tosses six coins onto the counter with a wicked smile.
    “Have a nice day,” the woman says with a bitter smile. I nod as we leave the comfort of the shop, yet remain under the outdoor awning. It protects us from the rain pouring from the sky. Laithe holds the unnecessarily purchased mermaid tail and I stare at the droplets of water as they beat on the pavement a few feet away. I can’t leave the dry area.
    “Domino, how did you get six coins?” I ask, trying to buy myself time.
    “Being a pixie is useful, sometimes,” she says. I grin and shake my head. For a twelve-year-old, she’s incredibly smart. Though, that doesn’t say much. It’s in a pixie’s nature to be cunning.
    “So how are we going to get a spell book? There is no way we’ll be able to take on a witch,” Keagan says, pulling his eyepatch up and wiping away the sweat that beads down his forehead. The sight of his missing eye is gruesome and I feel immediate sympathy toward him.
    “Guys,” Domino says, biting her bottom lip. She pulls a small, leather-bound book from under her shirt and my mouth drops. Laithe looks at her in shock and Keagan groans. “I think that woman was a witch.” I look back into the store and see her smiling at another customer.
    “We need to go,” I say. Kole grabs an umbrella from alongside the building and opens it for me. I take it from his hand. It was likely left by the customer inside. I walk into the rain, using very little power to usher any drops away from my body.
    The academy isn’t far. I’m happy about the close proximity, but at the same time, I dread going back. The world around me is dreary and filthy. The people all wear saddened faces and likely hate their lives, but out here we aren’t categorized. In the school we are lucky if we can see other species, let alone befriend them.
    But somewhere in the depths of my mind, my instincts are telling me something is very wrong. I look at each of my newly acquired acquaintances and furrow my brow. I want to accuse one of them of treason against the academy, but who? And are my instinct correct?

Chapter 8
    “Do you want to know what I find funny?” Domino asks. We look at her curiously and she continues. “We could have just gotten the troll’s tooth from that store, but instead we went and took on a mighty troll. I’d bet the Headmaster expected us to find the store, not an actual troll. Do you know how dangerous that was?” She asks. For who was it dangerous—us or the troll?
    We approach the academy quickly and I can’t help feeling something is amiss. We had three days to gather all the ingredients, but we did it in only a few hours, almost all of it from a simple shop. Why were we given three whole days to be away from the Academy? Something didn’t quite add up. My thoughts are interrupted by Keagan.
    “You guys are all right,” Keagan says, casting a quick glance at us all. He turns and exchanges a few words with an invisible presence. I’m sure it is one of his resident spirits.
    “Snow,” Kole says. “A few words?”
    I nod and stop walking as everyone else continues. Once we are far enough from everyone, we begin walking in the same direction as the group, only this time, we are far