Page 1 of Israel

Chapter 1

It was happening again.

Ashley Silver sat in her dressing room, going through the small stack of fan mail the stagehand had brought in. Most of her fans emailed her or followed her on social media, but there were still a few that liked old-fashioned snail mail.

Especially if they wanted to send her keepsakes. She’d gotten everything from nude photos to Lego replicas of her and the band. Some of it was sweet. Some of it was weird, but that didn’t bother her.

Most of the time.

Her fingers hesitated as she came to an envelope that was thicker than the others. Lavender stationery, holding a faint trace of lilac perfume. She could feel the outlines of two small hard objects through the paper.

She put the other letters aside and held this one in her hand, staring at the neat, angular handwriting. Just her name; it must have been hand-delivered. And like the others, most likely no one would have seen how or when it arrived, or who had brought it.

Just looking at it brought a cold, crawling feeling to the pit of her stomach. She wanted to fling it across the room, rip it up without looking at it, take it outside and burn it to ash.

But that was the coward’s way out. All her life she’d been a coward; she’d only ever done one brave thing, and that was defy her family to become a country singer.

You can’t go out into the world, they said.

You won’t be able to hide who you are.You’ll risk exposing yourself. You’ll risk exposing us.

That was the part they really cared about.

She’d cried and stormed and demanded and ridiculed—acted like the spoiled princess she was. Told them their rules were from another century, and the world no longer held danger for any of them. She just wanted the chance to use her talents, not keep herself locked away where her music could touch no one.

Other shifters hid who they were. All these centuries, and humans still hadn’t found out about them. If they could do it, so could she.

She’d convinced the Elders they were wrong—or maybe she’d just worn them down. She’d agreed to any conditions they asked, as long as they let her go.

And now she was holding evidence they might be right.

She ripped open the envelope with one savage movement. Inside was a folded sheet of matching lavender notepaper. The stench of the perfume was stronger now, as if he’d drenched the entire paper in the horrible stuff. It smelled like somebody’s great-grandmother had died inside the envelope.

She closed her eyes briefly, then took a deep breath, opened the paper and began to read.

My one and only love,

I was mesmerized by your performance last night. You looked so beautiful, your auburn curls lit up like an angel’s halo.

Barf, Ashley thought. Not only was this guy a creepy stalker, but he was a terrible writer too. She was nobody’s angel.

I was so excited when you sang “Be Mine Forever.” I knew you were singing it for me and me alone. I can’t wait until the two of us are together forever. Soon, love. Soon.

A chill went down her spine. She knew that lots of celebrities had fans who imagined their fantasy relationship with the star’s public persona was real. Most of them were harmless, but a few were dangerous—even deadly.

Especially when they didn’t get what they wanted.

In her normal state, Ashley would be able to defend herself against almost anything a human might try to do to her. But in order for her to come out into the world, she’d agreed to have her powers bound, her shifter nature hidden so deep inside that she reacted to nearly everything as a human. Even her accelerated healing had been slowed down.

It was the price she paid: giving up part of who she was in order to fulfill her dreams. She felt the loss every day, except when she was onstage. Onstage she felt whole, complete. Free.

She tilted the lilac envelope and two small silver charms fell out.

They were letters: an “M” and an “E.” She’d received three others—an “R,” a “U” and an “N.” Run, which was what her family would say she should do. Run away from everything, back to her life in a gilded cage, where she’d be safe and under their control.

But she had a feeling that wasn’t the message her unknown stalker was trying to send.

And it wasn’t what she wanted to do. She’d fought hard for this chance—to come to Nashville and make a career for herself in the music industry. Her first album had been a hit, and this tour of the southern states was her first big chance.