Fated by Shadow and Magic: The Fae Queens Circle of Dragon Shifter Mates, #0.5

By Angela Edgehart

Alura is the first unicorn shifter the realm has seen in centuries, and the dark mage's hunters are after her.

 

My aunt made me promise to never step foot in the woods surrounding the dark mage's fortress, but when I shift for the first time, I'm chased to the place I vowed I'd never go. Afraid and alone, I come face-to-face three daunting wolves. I learn that, like me, they are fae shifters trying to escape this awful forest full of monsters and hunters.

The spirit called Fate has brought me to these three gorgeous males for a reason. Sterling, Quartz, Abyss, and I realize I'm the only one with the power to defeat the dark mage. The choice is mine. Run and hide, leaving her to darken the realm piece by piece, or stay and fight even though she may destroy me.

Authors Note: For mature readers. This is a why choose romance novella that contains scenes with MM and high steam.

*This novella is available for free when you sign up for Angela Edgehart's newsletter.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andrea B. Lamoureux
• Release date: May 27, 2024
• ISBN: 9798227597281

Book preview

Chapter 1

Alura

Ididn’t know what type of shifter I would become. We fae don’t shift into our beast form until full adulthood, which is usually around the age of twenty. We almost always take after one of our parents, but I never knew my mother or my father. When I was old enough to understand, my aunt Muriel explained to me they were killed the day I was born, and she wasn’t truly my aunt. She’d found me, alone and crying, on the porch of my abandoned home. She never knew my parents, but she raised me as if I was her own family.

I hummed the tune Aunt Muriel always sang to me, swinging the woven basket in my hand as I reached up and picked a red apple off the tree in the orchard behind our little but homey cottage. Tomorrow was my twentieth birthday, and my aunt promised to make me her famous, delicious apple pie if I brought her the fruit.

I counted the apples in the basket. I only needed a couple more. There were no lower-hanging ones left to pick, so, hooking the basket’s handle over my forearm, I climbed up the tree a little. As I reached for the fruit, the shadowy forest in the distance caught my eye. I shivered and grabbed two apples before jumping down to the ground. My aunt made me promise to never enter the place called Nihila where the dark mage ruled. A line would appear between her dark brows every time she told me about the creatures lurking within those woods.

The leaves on one of the branches quivered as a tiny yellow bird landed on the apple tree.

Well, good day there, little fella. I smiled at it as it cocked its head to listen to me.

The bird let out a series of tweets and then flew off.

The grass rustled behind me. I spun around expecting to find the bird. Nothing was there. That’s strange, I thought. It must be the wind. A thick cloud drifted in front of the sun, blocking out the late afternoon warmth. I pulled my sheer white cloak tighter around my body. I couldn’t explain it, but something felt off. The flesh on my arms and shins tingled. Time to go back inside. I took one step forward and, without warning, my body changed. The basket of apples fell to the ground. It happened as fast as a flash of lightning. There was no pain or discomfort. One moment, I was a fae, the next, I stood on four legs—hooves, actually. I stamped one tough, sharp hoof against the ground, amazed by my transformation. I’m a horse? I didn’t think fae shifted into horses or pegasi. Perhaps I’d read that wrong during my lessons. Aunt Muriel had bought me books to teach me all sorts of stuff. She’d taught me to read and write and had shared with me all of her knowledge. Bless her heart, but could I be certain everything she’d taught me was right? Judging my new body, I decided probably not.

Believing the unease I felt had been due to shifting, I lowered my head and munched on one of the spilled apples. I almost fit the full thing into my mouth. Sweet juices trickled across my tongue as I crunched down on the fresh fruit. I’d never tasted anything so delightful. So swept up in my treat, I barely heard the click of the weapon being loaded. I let the rest of the apple fall as a crossbow was fired. Panic flooded my mind as my flanks flinched and I bolted from the orchard.

Everything appeared different in this equine body. My peripheral vision was better, but I couldn’t see as well between my eyes. I didn’t have a destination in mind as I fled. Instinct took over my new powerful muscles. Where I went didn’t matter, as long as it was away from the danger in the orchard. I galloped, covering more ground on four legs quicker than I ever had on two. My heart hammered inside my chest. Someone wanted me dead. I didn’t know who or why, but that bolt had been meant for me. So many questions rattled around inside my head.

When I finally slowed down to take in my surroundings, my aunt’s cottage was nowhere in sight. I pivoted my hips, crossing my front legs as I awkwardly figured out how to point myself in another direction. It’d take time to become used to this body. Thick, gnarly trees blocked out most of the light. A frigid breeze howled through interlocking branches. My withers quivered, and not from the cold. Terror gripped me. I was in the forest outside Nihila, the place Aunt Muriel begged me never to tread. I arched my neck and tossed my head. It wouldn’t do to be in this body. It was too big, too hard to hide. I longed to be back in my familiar fae form. With that thought, effortlessly, I stood again on two legs. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to shift.

I gasped, my hands flying to my chest as I peered down to see if clothing covered my body or not. Thankfully, the long white dress and cloak I’d donned this morning had shifted back with me. Now that I was fae again, I felt small. I let out a whimper, unsure which form would protect me more. I didn’t have any more time to consider it because a deep growl sent me racing deeper into the woods. I ran so fast and hard my chest burned from exertion. Spotting a wide tree trunk, I slid in behind it and lowered myself until I sat in the dirt. I tried and failed to quiet my shallow, quick breaths. My shoulders shook uncontrollably. Peering through the trees, I tried to find some sign of light. I needed to escape this forest, but all I saw was more darkness. I had no idea where I was or how to find my way home. Tears soaked my cheeks as I covered my face with both hands. I wasn’t going to live to see my twentieth birthday. Aunt Muriel would never know what happened to me.

A branch nearby broke. I pulled my hands away from my face, begging the spirits to save me. Shadows appeared around me, dark and elongated. I leaped to my feet and took off again. I sucked in breaths and forced my legs to keep moving. The forest grew even darker, and I realized the sun beyond Nihila was saying farewell to the day. Without the light of the day, in my race against my hunters, I almost hit a low branch. I barely missed it, but as I ducked, I tripped on a protruding tree root. At my hurried speed, I didn’t stand a chance. I tumbled forward and smacked my head on a stump.

I couldn’t move. The world went black. One thought rang out in my head before I slipped away. This is it. I’m dead.

Chapter 2

Sterling

WE’D MADE THE RIGHT choice by leaving the pack. We just had to get out of these damned woods before Abyss’s father, our old pack leader, found out.

*Hurry,* I said to my two pack mates through the bond we used to communicate with each other while in wolf form. *They’ll be after us, and if they catch is they’ll rip us to shreds.*

*I’m moving as fast as I can, Sterling,* the white wolf called Quartz grumbled.

*Move faster," Abyss growled, nipping him in the butt.

Quartz snarled but picked up his pace.

It’d been Abyss who’d come to me and asked if I’d desert our pack with him. Where I went Quartz followed. The three of us didn’t agree with the way his father was running the pack as of late. We’d survived on our own, neutral, until the leader decided to side with Sanya, the dark mage who’d taken over our lands a few years ago. She offered safety and food in exchange for the lives of the fae who challenged her. It wasn’t right. The fae had lived in peace until she’d come along and decided she wanted to conquer all of Faerah, the realm made up of the six fae kingdoms.

We set off right before dusk, before the pack awoke for the night. Nihila was a cruel and unforgiving territory. Escaping it wasn’t easy. We were lucky to have only earned a few scratches from the one beast we’d come across. Quartz had been dragged quite a ways by