Kelley Avalon's Page

Kiss of the Blue Moon

Chapter 1

Okay, so maybe my life is a little complicated, but on some levels, rather boring. I'm a witch; not like the old, ugly witches on Halloween decorations, but a real, down-to-earth witch. I'm not old either, I'm twenty five. My mother was from Ireland, so I have dark auburn hair and light skin, dotted with a few freckles. My name is Veronica Murphy, Ronni for short.
I run a little shop that humans come to when they are looking for a tarot reading. Supernaturals come here looking for other things. Potions are my specialty, I can cook up some pretty cool stuff. I sell shampoos and lotions to my human customers, the supernaturals are usually looking for something with a little more of a kick.
In fact, that's how I met Nicholas Kane, alpha of the local werewolf pack. We had a short affair, but I ended it because of his possessiveness. Only one problem, the potion he got from me he attributes to saving his life. According to werewolf tradition, he now owes me his protection. So it makes dating a little difficult with an alpha werewolf hanging around all the time. Not that Nick isn't easy on the eyes. He has golden-brown hair that just touches his shoulders, amazing amber-colored eyes and a rock hard body. Not too many guys wouldn't be intimidated by him. An alpha really exuberates a lot of pheromones, which means that women notice him as well. When he's around me, he doesn't notice at all. He's too busy trying to get me into his bed. Not that Ole Nick is going without. There are a few members of his pack that are more than willing to accommodate his needs.
I guess I should take a moment to explain the supernatural sex drive. All supernaturals (I call them “supers” for short) have strong sex drives, it's a need, like food. Just hopping into the sack with someone certainly doesn't constitute a relationship. In a werewolf pack, or a vampire kiss (that's a group of vampires led by one master vampire, it took a while for me to find that out!) it can be simply a way of reinforcing their bond. Witches are usually solitary, except for a few that live together but are also related, like mother-daughter, sisters, you get the idea. You might have noticed that I refer to witches only in female gender, that's because only females are witches and we don't usually give birth to boys, no matter who or what we get pregnant by.
I still turn Nick down, don't get me wrong, our sex life was amazing. When it comes to Nick, I just don't like to complicate things. Believe me, Nick can be complicated. The comparison may seem wrong, but sometimes he's like an unwelcome guard dog. He just doesn't get that witches are independent women. We don't always like a man to interfere with our problems, or do things for us. That is probably why most of us aren't married.
My store, The Blue Moon Emporium, takes up most of my time. My mother named it that because she said it had a “blue moon's chance of making it”. It has made it though, fairly well as a matter of fact. When my mother passed away, I came home from college to run it. I figured it would support me as well as anything else and I was right.
I sell shampoos, facial cleansers, and candles, along with an occasional tarot reading to my human customers. My supernatural customers are my real bread and butter. They need things like charms, power amulets, and potions. Their sales are totally off the books. I mean really, how do you tell the IRS that you are selling something that they believe doesn't exist? Besides, supers like anonymity, which is why they always pay in cash.
I used to wonder why my mother picked a little town in nowhere Illinois. But now I get it. The locals just think of me as 'the weird girl who runs the herbal shoppe, it's not her fault, her mother was a hippy'. Because apparently, if you are the offspring of at least one hippy, you can be excused for all kinds of weirdness. The plus side is if a few of my customers seem strange, no big deal, it's just because of the hippy affiliation.
Our town is also known for its many small antique shops, as well as a local winery. So, summertime is when I really make money, when all the tourists come through. My store is located on the old town square, which has been well maintained. I live above the store, no one else still does that. It works out for me, because at night, I'm the only one in town, except for the few night shift cops at the police station a few blocks away.
I must admit that sometimes it gets a little lonely, which makes Nick's evening visits welcome-sometimes. Tonight was one of those nights. Nick and I were sitting in my kitchen, sipping on a nice red wine from the winery and I was minding a batch of acne cream that was bubbling on the stove. That's when the buzzer rang. My supernatural business is all by referral, so everyone knows to go into the alley and ring the delivery buzzer. That is how I know that I have a 'special' customer.
As soon as the buzzer went off, Nick stood and puffed out his chest. Of course he intended to follow me downstairs. I sighed and rolled my eyes. I guess he never considered the possibility that someone, someday might mean to harm me when he wasn't here. I certainly wasn't going to point out that little observation to Nick.
When I opened the back door, there stood the sexiest hunk of a vampire I have ever seen. I could feel Nick bristle instantly. A long time ago, werewolves and vampires worked together. The werewolves guarded the vampires as they slept and the bonus for the werewolves was that other werewolves would think twice about trying to take over another alpha's territory. It was all about controlling a territory without too much actual confrontation. A few hundred years ago a war between vampire and werewolves broke out and now they can't stand each other. No one even remembers what it was about. Stupid, I know.
The vamp that now stood at my back door was dressed all in black; black jeans, black boots, and a tight-fitting black tee shirt. The ensemble was a good choice because it accented a really nice body. He wasn't tall, average height for a guy. His shoulders were broad, but he had a narrow waist, so his torso looked like an upside down triangle. He was well-muscled, but they weren't bulging like Nick, more of a natural, well-defined look. He had really long, shiny, black hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. His most striking feature was his eyes. They had to be the bluest eyes I had ever seen. They were more like an ice blue, they really jumped out at you.
“I beg your pardon, Miss. I was looking for Patricia Murphy.” He said with just the slightest hint of an accent.
“That would be my mother, I'm sorry, but she passed away a couple of years ago. Perhaps I could help you?”
“Oh?” He said with raised eyebrows. I knew why the look of surprise, supers live a long time and we don't get typical like humans. Trauma, on the other hand, can do us in if it is bad enough. All supers heal quicker than humans, but witches heal the slowest. Another witch can do a healing spell, provided that another witch is around.
“She was in a terrible car wreck.” I replied. I was gaping at him, I tried not to, to no avail.
“Forgive my manners, my name is Dominic Turner. I was a friend of your mother's. Is it safe to assume that you inherited all of your mother's talents?”
That is the neat thing about witches. We inherit all of our special talents through our bloodline. So not every witch can do exactly the same thing, unless they are of the same bloodline of course.
“Yes, I did and I am Veronica Murphy, you can call me Ronni. Please come in.” I held the door open for him. “This is my friend, Nicholas Kane.” I jerked a thumb at Nick, who nodded, but didn't offer to shake hands. “Let's go upstairs, I left something on the stove, which I need to check on and then we can talk.”
I led the guys back up the stairs to the kitchen. My mind was racing. Dominic was obviously a very old vampire. What could he possibly need a witch for? He probably had some awesome abilities of his own. Something told me that he wasn't here for my family's potion skills, he must be here for my other talent.