Moon Curse (BBW Shifter and Witch Paranormal Short) (Shifting Magick Trilogy Book 1) by Lia Davis

Chapter One
     
     
    Bottle of wine. Check .
    Two boxes of tissue. Check .
    Sappy-cry-your-eyes-out chick flick. Check, check .
    Another Friday night with no flowers, no hot guy pampering her, and no friends to help her feel sorry for herself. Correction. No single friends to feel sorry with her. Of course, her non-single friends had asked her to come hang out with them. No, thanks . She wasn’t in the mood to watch the happy lovebirds enjoy each other’s company while she pretended not to notice.
    It’d only add to the heavy weight on her heart and mood. It didn’t seem right to call her sisters, either. Ever since their grandmother had told them about the Kelly curse, they’d made it their mission to find out a way to break it. A task that had become too emotionally draining. She didn’t have the energy for it. The curse would be there tomorrow and the next day.
    Each of their curses was different, but they all involved mating. Audrey, the middle sister, had to mate someone who’d been kissed by a god. Diana, the youngest, had to mate with her true half before midnight on her thirty-third birthday.
    Olivia’s curse was to find a man who was a descendant of Artemis, goddess of the moon and the hunt. Olivia had no idea where was she supposed to find this demi-god. She’d already tried consulting a time traveler and got laughed at.
    Whatever . She didn’t need a man. Living alone allowed her to do whatever the fuck she wanted. Besides, there weren’t many guys who liked a short, curvy woman over age thirty-five. No, they liked them thin and young. Not to mention, she came from a family of crazy witches.
    Settling into the corner of the sofa with a glass of wine in one hand and the boxes of tissues within reach, she clicked the play button on the DVD remote. “Ahh, the joys of being a cursed, mateless witch. I’m so pathetic.”
    About ten minutes into the movie, she heard scratching at her back door followed by a soft meow. Glancing around the room, she spotted Midnight, one of her two black cats, sleeping in the window near the front door. Sam was nowhere to be seen.
    With a heavy sigh, she sat her glass on the end table, pushed pause and stood. “How the hell does that cat get out?”
    She padded through the kitchen to the rear entrance. When she opened it, she frowned. It wasn’t Sam; it was an orange tabby. The poor thing looked hungry and cold.
    When she scooped the cat up, it hissed and growled at her. “Now, that is uncalled for.”
    As if her voice calmed the little beast, it stopped its verbal protesting and peered up at her with gorgeous gold eyes. A quick peek under its tail told her that the cat was a male. He slapped at her, and she tssked . “Behave. I had to check to see if I needed to lock you up separate from my boys, but since you’re not female, you should be fine.”
    “Are you hungry?” She opened the cabinet and pulled out a can of cat food and a saucer.
    After setting the cat on the floor at her feet, she opened the can and dumped the contents onto the plate. She then placed it on the floor in front of him, but he didn’t want it. Olivia shrugged. “That’s all I have, bud.”
    Picky-ass cat. As she re-entered the living room, the phone rang. Now what?
    “Hello.”
    “Oh. You’re home.”
    Olivia rolled her eyes at her grandmother’s cheerful tone. “Where else would I be, Grams?”
    There was a brief pause before her grandmother spoke again, making Olivia suspicious about what the crazy old witch had been up to. She loved Grams like a second mother and would do anything for the woman. However, Grams wasn’t all there at times. At the age of four hundred fifty years old, she was the oldest witch alive.
    “I wanted to see if you needed company. There is a new spell I want to show you.”
    Olivia rolled her eyes. Even through the phone she could tell Grams was lying. But why? “No, Grams. I was just about to go to bed. I had a long day at the shop.”
    The shop was called