CHAPTER 1
DAHLIA
Willowberry Plantation presented an illusion of serenity in the soft glow of morning light. My favorite part of the place was how the grand old oaks swayed gently in the breeze. Their branches seemed to exchange whispered confidences. I imagined what they were saying to one another as I lounged on the back porch, savoring my energy drink. I was determined to enjoy this fleeting moment of peace. It was so rare these days.
Upstairs, Lucas was still knocked out cold, his giant limbs splayed across our bed like he owned the damn thing. Technically, the plantation belonged to me and my sisters, but he and Noah had basically moved in and taken over security detail like the place was their own personal kingdom. Classic alpha shifter behavior. Mark their territory, then guard it and everyone inside with their lives. Given all the supernatural crap we'd been dealing with lately, none of us were about to complain about the extra muscle.
Truth be told, I was pretty impressed Lucas hadn't pulled that macho ‘the woman moves to the man's cave’ BS. Most alphas would rather eat glass than bunk in their mate's place, especially with my sister and her mate, Noah, right down thehall. But Lucas? He'd just tossed his clothes in my room and made himself at home, ego intact. That was one thing that made him different from the other power-hungry shifters. He was secure enough in his alpha-ness that he didn't need to prove it by being a territorial jackass about living arrangements.
He'd been pulling triple duty between helping with our cases, his clients, and the pack, which was why I'd slipped out and left him sleeping. I could use the alone time. Carnival season was still in full-swing and we had two new weddings on the books. Plus, the Aegis Council hotline had been blowing up and we’d been getting calls every five minutes over the last few days since the midnight masquerade. It had been so busy that our other three sisters had permanently camped out at the plantation. I swear since we’d become magical, quiet moments were rarer than an honest politician.
The Monster Ultra felt like heaven going down. I closed my eyes, savoring the caffeine hit. That's when the smell hit me. Rotting flowers. Vegetation turning to sludge.
"What the—" I muttered as I opened my eyes and scanned the garden for the source. Nothing seemed amiss, but the stench intensified. It burned my nostrils until my eyes watered. Oh, shit. I had barely set my drink down before the world tilted sideways.
The vision slammed into me like a freight train and yanked me under without ceremony. Between one breath and the next, I was standing in an abandoned cemetery. Not the touristy, well-kept ones in the French Quarter. I was in one of the forgotten graveyards on the outskirts of New Orleans. Headstones tilted drunkenly, and mausoleums crumbled under their own weight. The air shimmered with unnatural light. It took me a second to realize the light came from specters. Dozens of them. They were drifting between graves like smoke.
These weren't normal ghosts. They moved with purpose. It took me a second to realize they were circling inward toward a central point. Ducking around a crypt, I caught sight of one of the figure standing there in a hooded cloak. They were muttering incantations. Their tone was masculine while also being feminine. It was incredibly deceptive. The words weren't familiar, but they raised goosebumps on my arms. Gris-gris bags hung from the figure's belt. The look and feel of the vision made me think they were filled with grave dirt and blood.
The ghosts converged. Their wailing grew louder as the figure raised a crooked staff. Ancient symbols etched into headstones began to glow with an eerie blue light. The figure turned, and?—
"Lia? LIA!"
I snapped back to reality with a gasp. My heart was pounding against my ribs like it was trying to escape. Lucas was crouched in front of me. His amber eyes were wide with concern. His hands gripped my shoulders, steadying me.
"Jesus, Lia. You with me?" His voice was gruff with worry.
"Yeah." My own voice sounded foreign and was rough around the edges. "I had a vision."
He relaxed marginally and settled onto the porch beside me. "Same shit, different day, huh?"
I managed a shaky laugh. "Something like that." I reached for my Monster, but my hands trembled too much to grip it. Lucas grabbed it for me, pressing the cold can into my palm.
"What was it this time? End of the world? More demons? Tax audit?" He was teasing, but the concern burned into his gaze was undeniable.
I appreciated his attempt at humor, but the lingering images from my vision made it hard to smile. "There were ghosts. A lot of them. Someone was doing some ritual in a cemetery."
Lucas's expression hardened. "That's... actually in line with what I was coming to tell you."
"That doesn't sound good." I mentally braced myself.
"It's not." He ran a hand through his dark hair, a sure sign he was troubled. "My shifters have been reporting territorial disputes all over the city. Something's disrupting the natural order, especially around the cemeteries. Their wolves are getting edgy."
"Edgy wolves and restless dead," I muttered. "Sounds like a recipe for trouble. I thought we would get a short break."
“That was wishful thinking, Flower.”
“I have a better chance of winning the lottery,” I quipped and stood. I was feeling steadier. "I need to check the hotline. Maybe someone's reported something."
Inside, the plantation hummed with early morning activity. Dre was already in the ladies’ parlor, tapping away at her laptop with a scary intensity. Phi sat cross-legged on the floor. She was surrounded by ancient tomes. Dea, Dani, and Kota were nowhere to be seen. The scent of coffee and something delicious wafting from the kitchen suggested one or more of them were handling breakfast duty.
"Morning, sunshine," Dre said without looking up. "You look like hell."
"Good morning to you too," I replied, dropping into a chair and pulling my phone out. The Aegis Council app showed seventeen new reports since midnight. Thank the gods, Dani’s son, Ashton had created the thing. It had reduced the number of calls we were receiving. It also allowed the entire council to monitor what was happening. "Where are Dea, Dani, and Kota?"
"Kota's helping Jeff unload supplies for the garden expansion. Dani's in the shower. Dea’s making breakfast."
I scrolled through the reports, filtering for keywords. "Huh. We've got multiple ghost sightings across the city." Iangled the screen toward Dre. "Seven different locations, all reporting similar phenomena. Spectral figures that vanish when approached but leave behind a smell of decayed vegetation."
