A Touch of Harmony: Magic's Destiny: Magic, New Mexico, #11

By Evelyn Lederman

All they need is a touch of harmony…

Harmony Neutron's new assignment brings her to Magic, New Mexico, where a devastating threat looms over the town. Her mission goes from bad to worse when she is forced to confront her greatest fear – of animals! She is sure that some cosmic force is laughing at her when she discovers that her Chosen One is none other than Chase Bishop – a werewolf.

Chase has been the unfortunate subject of his two best friends' unsuccessful attempts at matchmaking. Determined to stop their meddling in his life, he is shocked when a woman from the stars appears – and changes everything. Unfortunately, recognizing the woman is his mate does nothing to calm her fears of his werewolf.

Frustrated and helpless, Chase does the unthinkable and asks for assistance from a powerful witch to help ease Harmony's fear of his animal side. He doesn't have much time to convince her they belong together. A rogue governmental agency is after Harmony and determined to catch her at any cost. Will the spell give Harmony the time she needs to accept that their love is real, she can trust him, and he would never hurt her – before it is too late?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evelyn Lederman
• Release date: Jul 24, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386243045

Book preview

One

The Planet Glacier

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The visual splendor of Glacier never ceased to take Harmony Neutron’s breath away. Glacier’s vast sheets of ice were as deadly as they were lovely. From experience, she knew better than to judge a planet by its ethereal beauty.

Rather than docking her Tridbarrian transport immediately after contacting Glacier Space Command, Harmony circumnavigated the planet several times. It had been years since she had been home. Her job as a Space Ranger kept her off-world--mostly by choice.

Her father still lived on Glacier. Unlike her, Geo Neutron did not like to travel. Although he had married a woman from another planet, Geo never left the world of his birth. Father and daughter were as different as night and day.

Harmony did not have a permanent home. With all the travel her position required, it seemed a waste of credits to maintain her own quarters. The few belongings she possessed barely took up any room in her ship’s cargo hold. She had minimal material goods for a twenty-eight-year-old.

Figuring she had procrastinated long enough, Harmony guided her craft into one of Icela spaceport’s slips. Since Icela was the capital city, it had an enormous port. The facility was centrally located and attached to Glacier Space Command, as well as Space Ranger Headquarters.

A chill ran down her spine. Harmony was not sure if it was due to her cockpit’s temperature falling or being home again. She had a feeling it was not associated with how cold it became.

While she was on Glacier, she would be staying with her father. As soon as her dad had discovered she had been called back to headquarters, he contacted her and demanded she reside with him during the interim. If she was lucky, she would get her new assignment this afternoon and leave in the morning. She loved her father, but could not bear spending time with him. There was just too much history between them.

After the slip’s clamps adhered themselves to the ship’s hull, Harmony turned off the engines. She punched in the code for the post-flight diagnostic report. If any issues were detected, the Icela facility was the best place to get her craft serviced. A green light flashed, indicating no problems were found.

Harmony released her chair’s harness and rose to her feet. Normally she stretched her long limbs every several hours, but not this trip. Her legs were unusually tight. The cockpit was too small to perform any stretching that would relieve residual stiffness.

She was half-Titian. The Titian people had substantially more type-two muscle fibers than other species, making them the fastest race on foot in the known universe. Harmony was able to sustain her speed, since her Glacierian genetics allowed her to burn fat longer before her body started to breakdown sugar. There were very few outlaws who could outrun her.

Before Harmony left the cockpit, she grabbed the small duffle she packed with several outfits and toiletries for her short stay on Glacier. It also contained a small trinket she had purchased for her father. She had missed his last two birthdays.

The ship’s central walkway echoed with the thud of her boots as they moved along the metal grates. Her ship was usually quiet and her ears took in the clanking noise as an awakening. Maybe she should listen to music or training audios while she traveled from planet to planet. She had to admit, she enjoyed the peacefulness of silence.

Open, she said as she climbed the ladder leading to the forward hatch. The voice activated release option she had installed turned out to be well worth the additional credits she paid for the ship. A second exit was located in the cargo hold.

The openness of the port and the clean energy standards Icela required to dock within the city resulted in air not polluted with toxins. Her nose was not assaulted with noxious fumes she was accustomed to on some of the more backward planets she occasionally visited. She always preferred space stations and generally only accepted jobs requiring the apprehension of fugitives from such facilities.

Harmony nodded to a male Space Ranger she recognized, but did not recall his name. She did little socializing when she was on assignment and sought solitude when she was on vacation. Needless to say, she had very few friends.

Once she exited the port, Harmony walked down a hallway connected to a passageway to her father’s domicile. Where the docking facility was made of steel, the buildings were constructed of ice. Like other Glacierians, she had the ability to regulate her body’s temperature.

She passed a variety of people engaged in conversations. They laughed, smiled, and chatted with each other. The people seemed so at ease. Harmony felt like an alien. It was useless to feel sorry for herself. She chose to live a life in isolation, traveling from space station to space station. The sacrifices she made resulted in the universe being a safer place for others.

When Harmony reached her father’s building, she took the passenger conveyance to the third floor. The planet’s core energy powered the lift. Temperature resistant coating prevented the ice around the power source from melting. All Glacierian technology functioned in a similar manner.

When the doors opened, she walked directly into her father’s unit. She had grown up here. It was where she saw her mother waste away from a virus only the Titian race contracted. Harmony’s mixed heritage protected her from the debilitating disease.

Geo Neutron entered the hall and stopped in his tracks. Her father knew she did not like to be touched. Taking down an alien was part of her job, but any type of affectionate embrace was too difficult for her to accept. She had lost so much and could not handle losing anything more.

You look well, Harmony, her father said in greeting after surveying her.

Her father looked healthy and robust. He stood six-foot-six and possessed the muscle mass characteristic of Glacierian men. His light blue eyes shimmered. Harmony had inherited her father’s eye color, but not the glistening effect. She also had her father’s black hair, although his had begun to gray.

Father, it is good to see you, Harmony awkwardly responded.

She walked to her father, leaned over, and gently kissed his cheek. No other part of her so much as grazed her father’s body. Harmony swallowed with difficulty. How she wished she could show her father how much she loved him. It hurt too much. Echoes of her mother’s screams of pain still haunted the apartment. She caught a slight whiff of vanilla, her mother’s favorite scent. Harmony was not sure if she imagined it or if her father still used the fragrant candles her mom used to burn.

She placed the trinket she had purchased on the table next to him. The last thing she wanted was any fanfare related to the gift. Her father had ignored her birthdays since her mother’s death.

How long will you be staying? Geo asked. It would be nice to spend some time together. I cannot remember the last time we actually talked. All you seem to do is run away.

My job requires I travel a great deal, Harmony answered defensively. It was the standard response she gave her father. Her rote answer prevented her from falling into the trap of having to defend her lifestyle choices, yet again.

Very convenient. Her father’s brief response barely disguised his anger. That way you never have to get close to another living soul and run the risk of developing feelings. Are you still afraid of animals?

I have a meeting with my supervisor in an hour, Harmony informed her father. She needed to end this conversation now. That leaves me barely enough time to bathe and change clothing.

Harmony walked toward her room, not bothering to answer her father’s question. Her hands shook with anxiety from the small exchange, as it was. Bringing up the incident that altered her life forever seemed like a bad idea. She needed to be in top form when she met with her supervisor.

Space Ranger HQ was within the Glacier Space Command facility. Aliens from all walks of life could be seen socializing in the main hall, as well as, conducting various business transactions. Anything dealing with coalition space occurred here. Similar facilities were located on each planet and space station within Coalition territory.

The main hall was massive. Her ears were assaulted with the roar of conversations taking place. She was used to the quiet of her ship. Rather than loitering, Harmony headed straight for her meeting.

Her boss Flautron was a retired Space Ranger. He had been injured trying to apprehend a particularly nasty Learian. Flautron still bore the scars of the alien’s sharp teeth across his face. Although he could have had his facial skin replaced, Flautron bore the disfiguration as a badge of honor.

His office had Coalition banners covering the ice walls. It made the room seem warmer, although the heat pumped from the planet’s core made the room comfortable. Harmony did not have to adjust her body’s temperature.

What is up? Harmony asked. There had never been any semblance of a supervisor/subordinate relationship between the two of them.

Her boss rose from his desk and stood before her. He was tall, like her father, and just as bulky. Even after retirement from active duty, Flautron continued to start each morning in the gym.

I have an opportunity for you, her boss replied.

Harmony looked into Flautron’s glowing blue eyes. She did not like the way he said opportunity. Her suspicions were proven true when Flautron broke eye contact first.

We have known each other for too many years to play coy, Harmony remarked. You trained me. No one knows me better than you do.

Flautron’s eyes roamed her body. She knew his hungry look all too well. Harmony kept her eyes glued to his face rather than at his growing erection. Her so-called boss knew how to fulfill her sexually without all the pawing men generally tried. He helped her fulfill a physical need, not an emotional one. Sex with Flautron was a good workout.

"I thought we would have