Night Shift (Grizzly Cove Book 3) Page 10

  In the meantime, life beneath the waves was becoming increasingly perilous. Inhabitants of the sea were being hunted and had to be especially careful when they ventured near the shore, where the land peoples dwelled. But those who lived with a foot in both worlds had to be especially wary. The sea sirens and mermaids, the selkies and water sprites—they were all in particular danger.

  Especially those who dwelled in the waters off what was now called Grizzly Cove.

  # # #

  Thanks for reading Night Shift (Grizzly Cove #3). If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review.

  The next Grizzly Cove story is called Alpha Bear. Scroll down for a sneak peek…

  A complete list of all of Bianca’s books, separated by series, follows the excerpt. You can also check out Bianca’s website at WWW.BIANCADARC.COM. Or you can sign up for Bianca’s Newsletter to be alerted when new books are released.

  EXCERPT FROM ALPHA BEAR

  © 2015 Bianca D’Arc. All Rights Reserved.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Ursula and Amelia were settling in to their new apartment in their new town, but things were definitely strange here in Grizzly Cove. For one thing, the place was lousy with magic. Shifter magic, if she didn’t miss her guess, just like her grandmother had told her about.

  Nonna Ricoletti had taught her granddaughters all about the unseen world. The sisters hadn’t really believed most of what Nonna had told them until they got out into the wider world and realized Nonna wasn’t just some crazy old Italian eccentric. No, Nonna was a witch. A strega.

  And she was a Catholic too, but that was Nonna—a woman full of contradictions. She preferred to see the Catholic mother of God as the Mother of All. And if she mixed a little blasphemy into her daily devotions, in the privacy of her own mind, she figured it was between herself and the divine. No need to get some priest involved.

  Ursula missed Nonna, but her grandmother had played a large part in shooing Urse and Mellie out to seek their futures In this new adventure. And this new place. Teeming with shifters.

  Bears, mostly, Ursula thought. She didn’t have the strongest nose in the family, but Nonna had sworn they were descendants of one of the strongest of the Italian Alpha bears and his human magic-using mate. Nona was their great-granddaughter, and the magic had stayed strong in her line, while the shifting talent had passed on to other branches of the family that were now somewhat estranged.

  Both Urse and Mellie could sense magic. Mellie was better with potions and kitchen magic, as Nonna called it. Urse was better at straight-up spoken or chanted spellwork. Nonna had taught them as much as she knew, and when they’d progressed beyond her abilities, she’d brought in friends of hers from the magic user community for what she called visits, but were really tutor time for her granddaughters.

  There were more than the average number of mages in their hometown of San Francisco, but Nonna had brought in specialists from far afield, including a few from her native land. She’d spared no expense when it came to her granddaughters’ education, and they loved her for it—and for the fact that she was the most loving grandmother a kid could ask for.

  It had been hard to leave home—and especially Nonna—but she’d practically forced them to go. Nonna had a bit of foresight and had been known to make the odd prophecy now and again. The girls had learned to listen when she gave them advice and this time, she’d been adamant. She’d told them that their futures were waiting for them in Grizzly Cove and that they shouldn’t be afraid to embrace their destinies.

  The fact that she’d been so vague, while at the same time being so forceful meant that she knew a lot more than she was saying. But that was her burden as a clairvoyant, she’d always claimed. She had to balance how much to reveal of the future with what she called la forza del destino, or in English, the power of fate.

  Luckily that particular gift hadn’t manifested in either of the girls. Personally, Urse thought it would be a real pain in the ass to know what was going to happen and have to decide how much to say in order to arrange the best outcome. That was a little too much like playing the Almighty for her comfort. She didn’t trust herself not to mess it all up by saying too much or too little to the wrong person.

  Better such things were left to Nonna. She had years of experience and the purest heart Urse knew. Nonna could handle that kind of pressure way better than either of her granddaughters. What was probably why that gift hadn’t passed to either of them, though Nonna claimed it could manifest later in life.

  That was something Urse was definitely not looking forward to—if it should ever come to pass.

  Thankfully, her thoughts were interrupted by the tinkling bell that hung over the door that led to Main Street. Since they weren’t open for business yet, it had to be Mellie returning from her sugar run to the bakery down the street.

  “Thank the Goddess! I’m about to starve over here, Mel. Gimme one of those honey buns right now!” she yelled toward the front of the store.

  Urse had been stacking books all day, taking them from the back store room to the shelves out front, where she was working on their displays. Mellie was supposed to be helping, but she’d gone AWOL about twenty minutes ago, claiming she was just going to make a quick run to the bakery to get snacks.

  “I would if I could, but I’m afraid I don’t have any on me,” a deep voice said from the open doorway that led to the front of the store.

  Urse jumped to her feet, dusting herself off. She was a mess. Dammit. And in front of the hunky mayor of all people.

  “Oh, sorry, Mayor Marshall. I thought you were my sister, finally returning from the bakery down the block.” She smiled, hoping he didn’t notice how messy her hair was, or the fact that she was wearing zero makeup. Great. Just great.

  “Call me John. We don’t stand on ceremony around here all that much.”

  Except for maybe full moon ceremonies, she thought privately. She and Mel were still arguing over whether or not to come clean to the shifters about who they were and what they knew. Urse thought they should tell someone—probably the sexy mayor—before they went any further. If the shifters in town didn’t want two strega in their midst, that was their right, and Urse certainly didn’t want to stay where they weren’t welcome. She might be doing all this backbreaking work setting up the store for nothing.

  But Mellie didn’t agree. She wanted to keep their secret a little longer. She was enjoying ogling the handsome shifters a little too much, if you asked Urse. Of course, nobody was asking her, and Urse didn’t want to go against her sister’s wishes.

  Urse was trying to talk her around and for the moment, they were at a stalemate.

  Continuing with her work, in order to hide the real direction of her thoughts, Urse bent to pick up a heavy box of books. She was just getting her hands under the edge of the box, when two much bigger hands appeared beside her, shooing her away. John lifted up the cardboard box that felt like it was stuffed with anvils—Urse had tried to lift it before—like it was loaded with feathers.

  “Where do you want this?” he asked casually.

  “Just up on the workbench, please,” she said, unable to keep herself from admiring the way his muscles stretched out the fabric of his shirt sleeves. Hoo-boy. The man was built!

  He tossed the box easily to the work bench and stood back, just looking at her. She didn’t know what to say, which was strange for her. Urse was usually the more glib-tongued of the two sisters. But there was something about the way he was looking at her.

  Their eyes met…and held. Time seemed to stand still. The earth seemed to stop spinning. Just for a moment.

  And then the bell out in the front of the store rang cheerfully, and the world started turning again.

  “Hey Urse!” Mellie yelled on her way into the store. “I got the honey buns. Damn, those Baker sisters got lucky with their shifter mates. I can’t decide which one is hotter—or cuter when they’re running to keep up with their gals. I’ve never seen so many shifters in lurve
before—” Mellie’s explosion of words ceased the moment she stepped into the back room and realized they weren’t alone. “Oh, crap,” she blurted out, coming to an abrupt halt in the doorway. “Hi, Mayor Marshall.” The last came out on a squeak.

  John looked from Urse to Mellie and back again. “And just what would you two know about shifters?”

  To read more, get your copy of Alpha Bear by Bianca D’Arc.

  Coming in early 2016.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Bianca D’Arc has run a laboratory, climbed the corporate ladder in the shark-infested streets of lower Manhattan, studied and taught martial arts, and earned the right to put a whole bunch of letters after her name, but she’s always enjoyed writing more than any of her other pursuits. She grew up and still lives on Long Island, where she keeps busy with an extensive garden, several aquariums full of very demanding fish, and writing her favorite genres of paranormal, fantasy and sci-fi romance.

  Bianca loves to hear from readers and can be reached through Twitter (@BiancaDArc), Facebook (BiancaDArcAuthor) or through the various links on her website.

  Welcome to The D’Arc Side…

  WWW.BIANCADARC.COM

  OTHER BOOKS BY BIANCA D’ARC

  Paranormal Romance

  Brotherhood of Blood

  One & Only

  Rare Vintage

  Phantom Desires

  Sweeter Than Wine

  Forever Valentine

  Wolf Hills*

  Wolf Quest

  Tales of the Were

  Lords of the Were

  Inferno

  Tales of the Were ~ The Others

  Rocky

  Slade

  Tales of the Were ~ Redstone Clan

  The Purrfect Stranger

  Grif

  Red

  Magnus

  Bobcat

  Matt

  Tales of the Were ~ String of Fate

  Cat’s Cradle

  King’s Throne

  Jacob’s Ladder

  Her Warriors

  Tales of the Were ~ Grizzly Cove

  All About the Bear

  Mating Dance

  Night Shift

  Alpha Bear

  Guardians of the Dark

  Half Past Dead

  Once Bitten, Twice Dead

  A Darker Shade of Dead

  The Beast Within

  Dead Alert

  Gifts of the Ancients: Warrior’s Heart

  Epic Fantasy Erotic Romance

  Dragon Knights

  Maiden Flight*

  The Dragon Healer

  Border Lair

  Master at Arms

  The Ice Dragon**

  Prince of Spies***

  Wings of Change

  FireDrake

  Dragon Storm

  Keeper of the Flame

  Hidden Dragons

  Science Fiction Romance

  StarLords

  Hidden Talent

  Talent For Trouble

  Shy Talent

  Jit’Suku Chronicles ~ Arcana

  King of Swords

  King of Cups

  King of Clubs

  King of Stars

  End of the Line

  Jit’Suku Chronicles ~ Sons of Amber

  Angel in the Badlands

  Futuristic Erotic Romance

  Resonance Mates

  Hara’s Legacy**

  Davin’s Quest

  Jaci’s Experiment

  Grady’s Awakening

  Harry’s Sacrifice

  Print Anthologies

  Ladies of the Lair

  I Dream of Dragons Vol. 1

  Brotherhood of Blood

  Caught by Cupid

  The Beast Within

  * RT Book Reviews Awards Nominee

  ** EPPIE Award Winner

  *** CAPA Award Winner