Bewitched Arrows: Warriors of the Underworld, #0.5

By A.C. Wilds

The Witches of the Moonbeam Coven have gone missing.

Izel is determined to unravel the mystery of the witches' sudden disappearance. Three sexy as sin Warriors of the Underworld are sent to aid in her mission. With an instant attraction between the Protector and the Warriors, their mystery takes an unexpected turn.
The UnSeelie Queen has an investment in the case and there is nothing that will stop her, not even the child of her former lover. The Changer is coming and all she can do is wait until the time is right, but Izel's promise is to protect the witches, not participate in a destiny of a child she knows nothing about.

 

Bewitched Arrows is a multiple partner romance. Please note there may be triggers for some - use caution. If you don't have any triggers, welcome to the dark side. This series is a spin-off of the Changing Fate series. Izel makes an appearance in Book 3 - Death Reigns. Izel will be getting her own series in 2023! Join my newsletter to be kept up to date - link in the back of the book. 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: A.C. Wilds
• Release date: May 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9798215058022

A.C. Wilds

A.C. Wilds was born and raised in New York City. She lives in an outer borough with her husband and two girls. She loves horseback riding, mythical creatures, and everything books. When she isn't at her desk writing the next great escape, she can be found with the blankets over her head reading a steamy paranormal tale.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

The dead of night is when I’m at my strongest. Everything is quiet, as I walk the perimeter of town. The only sounds that can be heard are animals scurrying about, trees whistling in the breeze, and my footsteps across the jungle floor.

Predators are out here, but I’m the deadliest of them all. Armed with my magical bow and arrow, it can take down almost anything, including the wolves who have been attacking my town.

Women from my coven are missing. There’s been little evidence and no known motive. All of them were gone — on my watch.

I’m the town’s protector tasked with everyone’s safety. Losing these women has become personal. I must find out what happened to them.

My eyes track any movement as I push my senses out to see if there’s anyone out here with me.

The most recent victim, Violet, went missing last night. She was walking back to her cabin from doing her wash. Somewhere in between, she was taken. The only thing left behind was her laundry basket and a lock of unusual hair. It wasn’t human in nature; it smelled of man and wolf. This could only mean one thing — a rogue pack has come to town.

A twig snaps and my ears perk up. My bow is at the ready. The sound came from my right, but I know not to give it my full attention. If wolves are at play here, they like to hunt in packs, and a juicy, pink-haired witch is something they would very much like to have.

I throw out a locator spell, to see what exactly is out there. The spell responds quickly, revealing three beings in the trees -- shifters. All male, and all huge. Two are wearing their animal form, and one is in his human form.

I walk slowly backward toward a large tree, keeping all three shifters in my line of sight. The bark rubs up against my hunting leathers, and a sigh of relief from the thousand-year-old tree seeps into my magic. I’m an elemental witch, able to control all five of the elements. I use Mother Earth to protect us, should we need it, and right now we do. This makes me the best protector our town has.

I spell my arrow to spark with lightning, and the night lights up. The three shifters come into view. Two of them are large cats, but it’s too dark to tell which kind. The man is tall, around 6’5" and built like a tank. He smirks at me as if my lightning won’t affect him. Oh, how he’s about to be proven wrong.

You have three seconds to tell me who you are, what you are doing here, and why I shouldn’t kill you right now, I shout. The worst thing you can do is show fear to a shifter; they eat it up.

I don’t think you are in a place to make demands, says the giant, as he takes a few steps forward. His brown hair falls in waves around his ears, and his eyes glow the yellow of a cat. It occurs to me that I should be more wary than I am.

I guess you’re taking the rough road, then, I say, bringing my arms up and aiming the arrow right at his heart. Just because he isn’t a wolf, doesn’t mean that he isn’t working for them.

Wait. He smirks, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender. A chuckle on his lips like I’m the funniest thing he’s seen in a while.

His arms stretch his white t-shirt to the max, and something in my core ignites. Something that hasn’t happened in a very long time. I pause my shot but keep my arms up and ready.

Start. Talking, I bite out. My patience wears thin.

I’m Acalon, and these are my brothers-in-arms, Zolin and Tenoch. We are Jaguar Warriors from the Underworld Council. They sent us here to take care of the rogue wolves that are suspected of abducting witches for breeding, he says, pointing to each of his partners.  

Zolin, on his left, has golden eyes and a coat the color of a traditional jaguar, yellow with brown spots. He is huge. The powerful muscles in his chest ripple as he stalks closer to me.

On the right, Tenoch’s coat is much darker than his partner. It’s a dark brown, almost black, the color mirroring the night sky. His aqua eyes are shining with intelligence and curiosity.

My eyebrows shoot up as I snap out of a hypnotic state, catching the last thing he says. What do you mean breeding? And why send you now? My questions come out in a flurry.

I’ve been requesting help for weeks from the Council, and all I have gotten is radio silence. Now out of the blue, three Jaguar Warriors show up —the elite branch of the Underworld's military.

We have reports saying the wolves are trying to breed to increase their population. Humans aren’t taking to the venom like they used to, something about too many chemicals in the blood, and so they are branching out to find other supernaturals that can handle their bite. The witches are one of them.

Where’s your ID? I demand. His eyes flare at my tone, but I don’t give a shit. My bow is still focused on them, and with a twitch of my finger, all three could be dead on the ground before the first jaguar jumped.

He slowly reaches into his pocket and pulls out a wallet. He flips it open, and I can see an amber badge with the U logo on it. No two badges are the same and the amber is magically created. These guys are legit. I lower my bow, counter the spell and place my arrow back in its quiver.

Walking over to them, I extend my hand to Acalon. The two cats around him growl at my approach. If they try something, my lightning magic will just fry them to death. It’s a great little built-in defense mechanism.

"I’m Izel, but everyone calls me Izzy. I’m the lead