Love Spells Full Moons and Silver Bullets
Love Spells, Full Moons, and Silver Bullets
Cameron Allie
© 2022 Cameron Allie
Love Spells, Full Moons, and Silver Bullets
Published by Cameron Allie
Images: 123rf & Depositphotos
Cover Design: More Than Words Graphic Design
Formatting by: EmberLust Press
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person or use proper retail channels to lend a copy. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of these authors. To obtain permission to excerpt portions of the text please contact the author.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
All the characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination. No part of this story is based on any true events or anyone’s life. If any MC names are used by any real, or true person, it is coincidental and in no way based on them or any real-life human being, living or not.
Contents
Foreword
Autumn
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Winter
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Spring
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Summer
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Autumn
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Epilogue
Afterword
Bonus Materials & Excerpts
Acknowledgments
About Cameron Allie
Also by Cameron Allie
Foreword
Maizemerized
In autumn of 2020 I proposed an idea to a few author friends, suggesting that we all write separate stories with some common elements, and themed for a holiday. These books we could write at the same time, beta read for one another, and market together.
Thus, the idea for Maizemerized was born.
We decided on a corn maze. Each corn maze would have a portal within it that allowed us to get creative with our stories. We’d each write a paranormal romance and release them for Halloween of 2021. It was also decided that each maze would have a creepy gatekeeper scarecrow type character with a similar physical description, although you’ll find I ended up changing this to better fit the series I ended up developing.
The stories were all supposed to be novella-length, but again, you’ll notice mine differs from that agreed-upon length. At first, this was supposed to be a simple, shorter story, but as it developed, it grew, and then grew some more. So, while Maggie, D.S. and VJ’s stories all came out in autumn of 2021, mine got delayed to the spring of 2022. I hope it’s worth the wait, and I hope you enjoy the blurbs I’ve included for Maggie Blackbird’s Born for This, D.S. Dehel’s Nine for a Kiss, and VJ Allison’s Eternity’s Gamble. We all strived to bring you unique paranormal romance stories and I think you’ll be pleased with the results.
* * *
Born for This by Maggie Blackbird
She’s always been obsessed with her ancestors, and now he’s offering her a chance to live with them…forever.
* * *
Second-year university student Edie Whitecrow gobbles up each course on Indigenous studies. If only she could experience the lives of her Anishinaabe ancestors instead of reading about them. On her way to a Halloween party, decked out as a historical Ojibway maiden, she spies a corn maze in a spot known to be barren.
* * *
A scarecrow figure beckons Edie to enter with the enticing offer of making her biggest wish come true. She jumps at the chance and finds herself in the past, face-to-face with the man who haunts her dreams—the handsome brave Thunder Bear. He claims he’s spent twelve years waiting for Gitche Manidoo to send her to him.
* * *
Life in the eighteenth century isn’t what Edie romanticized about, though. When her conscience is tested, she must choose between the modern day or the world of her descendants—where the man she was born for resides.
* * *
Nine for a Kiss by D.S. Dehel
Just one perfect day.
* * *
Nothing has gone right in Sadie Lyons’s life since the accident, but she’s trying her best to get back to normal. She’s just not sure if the trip to the old apple orchard was the best decision, and the creepy corn maze run by the even creepier owner confirms her fears. Inside, the maze is even worse, and she’s soon lost in a never-ending labyrinth that twists and turns but goes nowhere.
* * *
When a raven joins her as a guide, she feels better, but like the maze, the raven is not what he seems, and the news he brings her changes everything.
* * *
Love and loss intertwine in this tale of the endings and beginnings we all face.
* * *
Eternity’s Gamble by V.J. Allison
Can love beat the odds, or will the dice decide their fate?
* * *
Expecting the usual entertainment at the local Nova Scotia exhibition, Charles Hazard is less than impressed by the secluded corn maze his long-time friend and secret crush, Tiffany, drags him to. The repulsive state of decay, and the creepy dummy guarding the entrance of the maze have Charles anxious to leave, but his sense of self-preservation wars with his desire to make Tiffany happy.
* * *
Tiffany Morrow doesn’t think much of the tarot card reading she had only days before the annual exhibition, and has all but forgotten the prophet’s words and how she drew the Death Card when she comes across a spooky-looking corn maze. There’s only one person she wants to explore the stalks with. She’s been in love with her best friend, Charles, for as long as she can remember. His level head, introverted tendencies, and unique ginger sexiness call to the most intimate parts of her.
* * *
Their fun quickly takes a dark turn when the maze morphs into a game of life or death. From a quiet sunflower field, to a treacherous walk across a volcano’s cone, to an encounter with a
creature out of horror legend, each roll of the dice forces them to work as a team or perish in a way they most fear.
* * *
Amidst the danger-filled labyrinth, they delight in small, stolen moments and find the soul mate they have been searching for. However, as with most games of chance performed at a devil’s will, there is more to this sport than there appears. Could they really be the only ones within the walls of their confines, or are other creatures lurking?
* * *
In a terrifying twist of fate, their chances at forever could be ripped away from them by a single roll of the die…
* * *
Victory may linger out of reach, and a curse of eternal agony and loneliness could be their fate. Or just once the die might roll in their favor. But what are the odds of that?
* * *
Love Spells, Full Moons, and Silver Bullets by Cameron Allie
What do you do when your ex’s werewolf boss wants to feast on the mortal you’ve sworn to protect?
* * *
Quinn was unaware of the love potion her meddling cat dumped into her tea, so when Ian Hannigan ends up injured on her property, she thinks she’s dealing with another mortal, not the man who can help mend her heart. Her life becomes a balancing act as she attempts to keep him safe while hiding secrets better left buried with the dead.
In a realm filled with things that go bump in the night, Ian didn’t expect to find security and happiness in the arms of a green-skinned witch, yet for the first time since his parents’ tragic car crash, he’s found some measure of peace. The rumors he hears in Clayridge aren’t pleasant, but Ian knows there’s more to Quinn than what people would have him believe. If he’s placed his trust in the wrong hands, he’ll be paying with more than just his heart. He’ll pay with his life.
To Maggie, VJ, and D.S.
Also, to my husband who had to hear about this book nonstop for months. Thanks for letting me bounce ideas off you and for your constant support of my dreams.
Autumn
Chapter One
“What happened to my shelf?” Quinn demanded.
Lucifer wiped his paw across his face, forgetting for a moment that it was coated in slick moisturizer. Flinching, he shook his paw before glancing at his mistress as she wrapped her palms around a wide teacup and pulled her grandmother’s quilt over her body. Her gaze had landed on the shelf that lay crooked in the cupboard.
Lazily, Lucifer stretched before curling his body into a tight ball on the worn, old blanket, his back pressed up against Quinn’s leg. He cast his gaze in the same direction and played dumb. “That shelf?”
“Yes, that shelf,” she confirmed with a huff.
Lucifer settled his head between his paws. “I knocked it down.”
“On purpose?” The accusation was clear in her tone.
His head shot back up. “Of course not! But I was getting that herb you like for your tea, and it fell when I stepped on it.”
“Maybe I need to cut back on your table scraps.” She’d muttered the words under her breath, but not quietly enough.
“Don’t you dare!” he hissed. “See if I flavor your tea again.”
Quinn smiled and scratched his head in that special spot close to his left ear. “I wondered why it tasted so good tonight. What did you put in it?”
“That herb, you know, the one that tastes like strawberries.” Lucifer didn’t admit to the reason why he’d placed it in her drink. It was there to disguise the taste of something else, something powerful and life-altering. “I may have knocked over a few bottles. Some broke.”
Quinn sat up straighter. “My potions? Damn, Luce, my inventory will be all messed up now.”
“Sorry. I cleaned it up as best I could, but without opposable thumbs, there wasn’t much I could do.”
She sighed. “So after my tea, rather than crawling into bed, I have to clean up your mess?”
“How is that different than most days?”
She rolled her eyes. “What bottles broke?”
“Hum…” He pretended to think about it, though the demolition had been a deliberate effort on his part to cover up the item he’d needed. “A couple bottles of pixie repellent, a jar of skin moisturizer, a cough suppressant, and whatever was in that tiny red bottle.”
Her hand stilled on his head. “That was a love potion, and you know it. You’re lucky I have a few of those in stock. The purple herb I need for that is difficult to get this time of year.”
“I’m more worried about the moisturizer. It’s still on my paws.”
“Do you need a bath before bed?”
Adamantly, he shook his head. “Nope. Nope, not me.”
“I’ll wipe them with a clean cloth, at least.” She ran her nimble fingers down his back, and as she stroked, they fell into a comfortable silence. She continued to sip her tea, and Lucifer drifted into a light sleep.
Ever since Quinn’s grandmother had died, their lives had changed even if it might not seem like it from the outside. Quinn still sold her potions, spells, and enchantments. She still went to town to read fortunes and sell her products in person once a month. Their day-to-day life hadn’t changed much, but their souls were aching. Lucifer knew Quinn missed her grandmother fiercely. As Quinn’s only living relative, her grandmother had been her sole guardian since her mother had dumped her at the age of six. Quinn had idolized her only family member. She’d followed in her footsteps, taking on the role as the town’s leading potions and spells supplier and spending most of her time nestled in their little cabin in the woods.
Lucifer could feel her pain. As her familiar, they were joined, and often he felt her emotions. He was sad for her and knew her grief had settled in the cabin like a cold chill they couldn’t chase away.
“The portal opens tomorrow night.” Quinn’s soft voice roused Lucifer from his slumber.
“Yes.” Lucifer snuggled closer but didn’t say more.
He knew when the portal opened, and the days that followed were difficult on Quinn. She loved mortals and hated to hear them suffer, but like every year, some poor unfortunate souls would cross into their realm only to become victims of werewolves, vampires, and other things that went bump in the night.
Of course, a few of them would make it further than the forest. They may make it to town, where they could find protection with other mortals. Some might become a sort of pet to a creature of the realm and live a comfortable, although unconventional, life.
The gatekeeper normally allowed several mortals through, but only for twenty-four hours as humans celebrated their Halloween.
In the woods, creatures would wait for them to arrive. Occasionally, their screams would echo through the trees, and Quinn would be unable to escape the sound.
In previous years, a few lucky mortals had ended up on her property and were therefore protected by her magic. She would cast a spell for them, giving them added protection for the rest of their journey to town. She couldn’t directly interfere with the hunt that happened, not without enraging the other races who enjoyed the chase, but she could save those who crossed on her territory.
“I wish they’d leave those poor people alone.”
Lucifer glanced up. “It’s just their nature. Kind of like when I bring you a dead mouse, and you refuse to eat it.”
Quinn laughed and took a sip from her cup before swirling the tea bag through the remaining liquid.
“Or when you kill those slugs to make pixie repellent.” Lucifer mentally shuddered. He hated the wet noise it made as she ground the green and brown slugs.
“I can stop making pixie repellent, but it’s my bestseller, so we’d have to stop buying that special tuna you like every time I go to town.”
Lucifer conceded with a sigh. “Fine. Kill the stupid slugs, but I don’t like it.”
She patted his head once more. “I’ll never understand your attachment to all things slimy.”
“And I’ll never understand your fixation with mortals.” Lucifer cursed himsel
f for bringing it up again.
Predictably, Quinn’s gaze went to the darkened window.
“Who do you think will be out there waiting?”
It could be any number of things. Maybe an ogre or a couple of goblins had crept out from their cave dwellings in hopes of a mortal feast. Or perhaps a harpie might nab them. A satyr or demon could lure them back to their home for whatever dark purpose they desired. Though, the most likely culprits were vamps and werewolves.
Lucifer didn’t voice any of those ideas, instead he nudged Quinn. “Are you done that tea? I’d like this stuff off my paws so I can go to bed.”