Fated to the Wolf Special Edition Omnibus

My body started to tremble and the energy inside me lit up like wildfire. The flesh on my palms tickled as if flames physically licked up my skin, even though I knew my hands were safely hidden away in my jacket.
I tried to gracefully glance behind me when I turned the corner, but due to the klutz gene I’d inherited from my mother, I ended up ramming my side into the brick wall and seeing nothing helpful as I stumbled, barely staying on my feet.
Smooth, Andie. Real smooth, I thought, rubbing the sore spot on my hip.
I straightened and quickened my pace, but with every step closer to home, my apprehension grew. My palms were sweaty, and my heartbeat was quickening. I was halfway to my house, but the feeling of dread consumed me once again.
I pulled out my phone from my pocket and opened the ride-share app that was really only helpful during tourist season, but if a driver was near enough, I’d just stay right where I was, under the dim streetlight, until someone could pick me up and take me right to my front door. Yeah, that was the best idea.
As I started typing in my information, my phone zapped me, then the screen went black. I held the power button down, trying to turn it back on, but there was nothing happening.
“What the hell?” I muttered to myself, trying not to freak out again.
I looked around, wondering if the footfalls I’d heard before meant that someone who, with any luck, wouldn’t look like a serial killer was nearby and I could ask to borrow their phone.
Of course, I wasn’t that fortunate. Someone was definitely close behind me, but she didn’t scream friendly with her long, grey coat and dark hair shielding most of her face as she stiffly leaned against the nearest wall, acting like she didn’t see me.
When I turned to continue toward home, a second stranger suddenly loomed in the shadows at the opposite end of the block. I was pretty sure this one was a man, based on the short hair I could see peeking out from under the hat he had tilted down over his face, but he was dressed in the same type of long coat, concealing his body, so maybe I was wrong.
I quickly reassessed my situation. I couldn’t go back, but going forward didn’t seem like the best idea, either, so I decided to cut across the street and see what the two lurkers did.
Double-checking the road was clear, I darted across, thankful I wasn’t the type of woman to wear heels. Converse were the safest choice of footwear for someone prone to accidents.
As I stepped onto the sidewalk opposite from where I’d been, a woman who looked eerily familiar appeared in front of me. Almost as if she’d come out of nowhere.
She was tall, possibly close to six feet with the spike-heeled boots that she wore over denim-blue skinny jeans. She also had on a black leather jacket with a golden silk top underneath that matched her hair. Her appraising eyes were a light amber color with darker brown rings around them.
“Hello, Andie. I’m Charlie,” she said. “You most likely don’t remember me, but I need you to trust me. I’m a friend of Junie’s.” She looped her arm through mine, dragging me farther down the street.
I tried to jerk away, but her hold only tightened. “How do you know my aunt?” I demanded.
Panic rose inside me. I’d just been thinking about her and now some stranger was here saying she knew her. Something about that was too strange to be a coincidence.
“We don’t have time for that conversation right now. I just want to make sure you get home safely.” Her gaze avoided mine and she glanced around before urging us forward with more strength than I’d expected.
“Um, I can manage that on my own, but thanks.” None of my internal warning bells were going off with Charlie’s closeness, but I couldn’t ignore the rise of emotions swirling inside me. Things hadn’t been normal for longer than I cared to admit. I had to be careful who I trusted, even if it was with something as simple as getting me home.
Well, that was my thought until things escalated to a whole new level of insanity.
A flash of light flew toward us, and Charlie yanked on my arm, causing me to crash onto my knees. “What the…?” I started to snap at her, but the appearance of white, shimmering magic growing around her hands shut me right up.
“Just stay down, Andie,” she ordered.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to listen to the possibly familiar stranger for a minute and see what happened. If Charlie really did know my dad’s sister, I could get answers to the questions I’d been trying to avoid for the last few months.
Or maybe things were only about to get worse. I couldn’t be sure either way, but as my hands began to warm to an uncomfortable temperature again, I had a feeling I didn’t have much of a choice in the matter.