The Muses

Chapter 1

Beep. Beep. Beep. My eyes snap open and I see the most white, blinding light. I closed my eyes quickly and groaned, my whole body hurt. I try to remember what happened. The last thing I remember was getting into my car after work. I slowly open my eyes, blinking a few times to clear my vision. I saw the white room of the hospital I was in. I slowly sat up looking around and I saw it was dark out. I can hear people talking in the hallway so I try not to make a sound.

“Doctor, I don’t understand, what do you mean her DNA is different?” An unknown voice said behind the door.

“What I mean Jace is that she has sorceress blood in her but she also has 2 different kinds of shifter blood and an unknown DNA. We have never come into contact with this one before.” Another voice said. I stopped wondering why they ran my DNA and how they knew about sorceresses and shifters.

Their voices got farther away and I laid back on the bed looking up at the ceiling confused about what happened. The last thing I remembered was getting in my car after work. I ended up falling asleep and when I woke up the next morning there was now a handsome man in my room sleeping on the couch in my room. I studied this mystery man, he was tall, possibly 6 foot 3 inches with dirty blonde hair. This man was very muscular, he could be confused for a God. He was wearing a gray t-shirt, a leather jacket, dark jeans, and black combat boots. I sat up and cleared my throat. The man jumps awake and pulls out a sword ready for a fight. I jump, a bit surprised now seeing he has bright green eyes.

“Excuse me. Where am I? What happened?” I ask, looking at him matter-of-factly.

“Oh. You’re in the hospital. You were attacked in the parking lot of the bar in town, The Haunted Moon.” The man said, sitting down and putting his sword away.

“Attacked?” I say looking down at the bed confused trying to remember what happened.

“Yeah. A bunch of witches attacked you, but we don’t know why.” He said, looking at me. My head snapped up when he said ‘witches’.

“Witches?” I ask again. He nodded and tilted his head to the side slightly.

“What is your name?” He asked. All of a sudden my hospital door slammed open. 5 men in similar clothes to this mystery man, “Dad? What are you doing here?”

“Jace. Leave now.” The biggest man says. Jace got up and looked at me before looking at his dad.

“Dad, I will be leading this Coven soon. I should be here for this. Plus I’m the one that found her.” Jace said, folding his arms behind his back. So this man who stood a few inches taller was his dad?

The larger man sighed and motioned for his 4 other goons to leave. When my door shut the men looked right at me like they were waiting for an answer to a question that was never asked. “Alright. Now. Who are you, Miss?” The older man asked.

“My name is Anastasia and what are your names?” I answered looking between the two of them.

“I am asking the questions, Anastasia, now what are you doing in this town?” The older man asked.

“And I’m not answering any questions until I know who I’m talking to,” I say crossing my arms across my chest.

“I’m Jace Moore. This is my father Collin Moore. We run the town.” Jace said with a small smile. Collin has his arms crossed glaring at Jace.

“Well, Jace and Collin I just moved here. I didn’t realize there was a coven of witches here.” I said looking at the two of them. They looked very much the same.

“Jace. Leave.” Collin said not taking his eyes off me.

“No Dad, I’m not leaving. What I saw yesterday was Anastasia here was leaving the Haunted Moon bar where she works now. When she got to her car all of a sudden Valentine’s witches grabbed her and pulled her into an alley where they beat the crap out of her and she fought back but it was 4 on one and she didn’t last long. They ran off when they saw me and dropped various needles like they wanted her blood so when I got her here I had Dr. Andrews run a test on her.” Jace looks at me, “Would you care to explain why you have 2 different kinds of shifter blood, sorceress blood, and some kind of unknown 4th thing? We have never seen anything like this.”

I look down and try to think of what to say, “My mom is a dragon shifter and sorceress. My dad is a serpent shifter. I took after my mom. I favor the dragon shift and I practice the Shadow Craft like her but not often.” I said looking at them. I didn’t lie, I just didn’t tell them the whole truth.

“And this ‘Unknown’ thing?” Collin asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I have no idea. My dad bailed on my mom and me when I was a baby.” I shrugged. Again not the whole truth, “Can I please use the bathroom?”

They both nod and I slowly get up out of bed. I almost trip while walking and Jace catches me quickly. I give a small smile when I feel the tingles. When shifters find their soulmate you feel almost like electricity is running through your body. Jace slightly jumps and looks at me for a moment. Collin clears his throat and Jace walks me to the bathroom. In the bathroom I looked in the mirror and saw my braided brown hair falling out, my bright blue eyes seemed slightly duller than usual and my tan skin looked paler. I use the sink to stand up to my full height of 5 feet 9 inches and thanks to my accelerated shifter healing I am just sore at this point and have no marks. It feels like I worked out at the gym for a few hours. I use the bathroom and splash some water on my face. I slowly walk out using the wall for support until Jace rushes over and helps me again. I give a quiet thanks and I sit on the edge of the bed.

“If I am going to be interrogated any further can I do so in my clothes and not in a hospital?” I asked, looking at Collin. Collin gave a small nod and stepped out of my room. Jace still stood there and I gave him a look so he turned around and walked out the door as well. That’s when I decided to make my move. I got dressed in my jeans and red shirt, and I quickly fixed my braid. I look around the room and I look out the windows real quick when I hear someone clear their throats. When I turn around and look. Collin is back in the room with his 4 goons.

“And what do you think you’re looking for?” Collin asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Just for my bag, it had my wallet and phone in it,” I say lying. I was looking for an easy way out so I didn’t have to go with witches.

“We have it. It’s ok.” Collin motions for the goons and they surround me. I get wide-eyed, and kind of scared because these people are huge. They lead me out of the hospital and I start to worry where my life will be going from here.