VS: As promised, this week’s snippet will be between Princess Mairi and Cade the wolf shifter, in my novella The Swan and Her Wolf, which is in THE SWAN PRINCESS REIMAGINED along with a novel from my daughter Eli Donovan.

Cade is an ambassador to the court of the Witch Queen and Mairi has journeyed there to pleade for help with her curse. The two have been spending time together but until now Cade didn’t know what her problem was…

There was a stir in the forest around him, and the scent of wounded prey came to his nostrils. As he sniffed the air he stiffened—there was magic of some kind involved. Curious to know more, he trotted in the direction of the scent, which took him to the vicinity of the large lake. As he approached the shore, he heard a thrashing in the brush and a forlorn honking which almost sounded like a cry for help. Carefully, he stuck his snout through the stand of the tough grass and found a magnificent swan lying there, an arrow through one wing. She hissed at him and attempted to fly but crumpled in a heap of bloody feathers and lay sprawled on the grass.

Pity for the magnificent bird rose in his heart along with anger at the unknown careless hunter. He shifted into his true form, arriving fully dressed as he pulled on his power as an enforcer, and drew his belt knife, intending to give the poor creature mercy. There was nothing else to be done for the wild, wounded bird. She didn’t act scared of him in his human form and, as he drew closer, she made a soft keening noise, like a cygnet would do. There was no resistance as he grabbed her, ready to plunge the knife into her heart and end the suffering, but he checked abruptly as she rubbed her beak against him and rested her head on his shoulder. The bird was the source of the faint hint of magic he was sensing, and her behavior was so unbirdlike he was seized by an incredible suspicion.

Not a bird then, but a swan shifter.

The idea was hard to accept. Azrimar wasn’t known to harbor shifters among its population, and he’d never heard of a swan shifter, in any case. Eagles yes, in the far-off mountains, but not swans. As if to quell his doubts, the bird raised her head and stared at him, her dark eyes knowing and full of mute appeal. The longer he looked at her, the fewer doubts he had, and he slapped the knife into its sheath, appalled at how close he’d come to ending a fellow shifter.

“Why don’t you change?” he asked the bird. Shifters could heal wounds by changing form. Perhaps she was in shock. Or maybe the arrow was retarding her ability to resume human form. “I’m going to help you, understand? But not here, out in the open.”

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Gathering the unresisting bird into his arms, he rose and headed toward the castle, weighing his options. Certainly no one in that forbidding heap of stones was going to know what to do for a wounded shifter better than he did. The witches could probably do magic, but their brand of sorcery was alien to his kind, and there was also the issue of secrecy. Clearly, this shifter was flying under the notice of anyone in power, if the gods would forgive the pun, so he needed to preserve her secret if possible. What a time for Lady Nadelma to be absent from Azrimar. She’d know what to do, with her powers based in the earth and the elements.

He altered course, heading for a secluded area at the rear of one of the oldest wings of the castle. He knew of a sanctuary there where the necessary next steps could be taken. Easily bounding over ornamental hedges in his way despite the thirty pounds of bird in his arms, he ran tirelessly through a private garden, stopping only when he reached the bespelled gate. Reciting the short phrase he’d been given as an honored guest, he stood aside as the gate opened silently for him and then hastened through more neat rows of herbs and medicinal plants to the small cottage set at the rear of the area, sheltering under an ancient tree.

Cade had to speak another short phrase to gain entry to the cottage but, once he was inside, he held the swan in one arm and cleared off the long table with a sweep of his other hand. Luckily, the owner hadn’t left much of anything on the surface. He laid the swan down with great care. She made a series of soft sounds and watched him with uncanny attention as he washed his hands in a basin fed by a cold mountain stream.

Returning to the table, he spoke to the swan. “I’m going to have to pull the arrow out. It’s going to hurt so the less you struggle the quicker I can get it done, understand? I’m hoping you can change to your human self then, and we’ll figure out next steps from there.”

She ran her beak along his arm then lowered her head to the table, closing her eyes.

Bracing himself, Cade got a good grip on the arrow and pulled it smoothly out of the wound. The bird convulsed, squawking as she beat her wings against him, but he’d been prepared for this reaction. He let the arrow fall to the floor and caught the bird as it lost consciousness. There was a shimmer in the air, and a ripple of magic, which passed through him, exciting his wolf, and the swan shifted into a woman.

Mairi.

“By the gods—” He bit off an oath and stood motionless in disbelief.

She was unconscious and naked, the wound in her bare shoulder already healing as the shift between forms exerted its positive influence. Cade took one incredulous look at her beauty and laid her head gently on the wooden surface, looking desperately around the cottage for a blanket or anything to cover her with.

A large purple-checked shawl hung on a hook beside the small pot-bellied stove, and it was but a step or two for him to grab it, grateful for the size and the weight, and drape it over Mairi.

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THE SWAN PRINCESS REIMAGINED by Veronica Scott and Eli Donovan

***The Swan and Her Wolf by Veronica Scott – An exciting new novella from USA Today Bestselling author Veronica Scott! Princess Mairi has been cursed by an unknown enemy, forced to turn into a swan at random times of the day and night. Desperate to be free of her affliction, she goes to the Witch Queen’s court to beg for help. An all important marriage of state is pending for Mairi, and her family is counting on the rich suitor’s bride price to fill their coffers. But the would-be groom would never marry her if he knew of the curse. Wolf Shifter Cade senses something uncanny about Mairi when they meet at Court, and he’s fascinated by the charming princess. His attempts to learn her secret and then to help Mairi with her troubles bring the two of them dangerously close together. His wolf insists she’s his fated mate, and Mairi finds him irresistible…but her duties as princess stand in the way of any true happiness. Will the curse be lifted? And will the couple be able to achieve their Happy Ever After?

***The Swan’s Prince by Eli Donovan
An irresistible new short novel in the beloved fairy tale world of Eli Donovan…

On a remote island, the swan-shifter Odette grapples with her father’s dark schemes as he forces her to use her magic for his own ends. When he steals her power to sink a ship and kill almost all hands onboard, she resolves to thwart his future plans by any means necessary.
Meanwhile, Tristan, a nobleman from a neighboring country, survives the uncanny shipwreck and soon finds himself entangled in Odette’s world of mystery and danger. Odette is irresistibly drawn to Tristan, but she’s cursed to be a swan by day and a human only by night. How can they possibly be together if she’s living only a half-life as a human? As their bond deepens, they must confront their pasts, trust each other with their secrets and, hopefully, find their way toward a future together.

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