by M. L. Briers
“I don’t know,” Monty offered from above. “He might have liked Dwight’s backside so much that he sticks around for another taste.”
“Come down here and damn well say that,” Dwight growled.
“Sorry, your backside holds no interest whatsoever for me. I’m off to see if I can catch me the rogue that bit your ass.”
“Can we not talk about this ever again?” Dwight growled.
“That sounds like a good idea.” Nathan turned away.
“Once we’ve shared it with the whole pack,” Samuel chuckled hard before he shifted back into his wolf and took off on fast paws.
“I hate you guys,” Dwight growled.
Rick’s broad shoulders lifted and fell in almost silent humor as he stood guard over his friend, just in case the rogue came back before the man had a chance to heal fully.
“This reminds me of the time…” Rick grinned wide.
“We don’t talk about that either,” Dwight bit out, eyeing the man with a glare of a warning.
“You keep telling yourself that – while the rest of pack chatters behind your back.”
“Damn it,” Dwight grumbled.
~
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~
Pamela had to wonder if she had done the right thing in trying to talk her granddaughter out of leaving the Inn and her mate behind.
She had to admit that the thought had crossed her mind more than once, but she’d been the catalyst for this whole trip because she had a stupid notion of finding love. Well, she‘d found it alright, but Summer was young – maybe too young to settle down. Although, she’d had Summer’s mother when she was pretty young.
Maybe the Grandmotherly thing to do would have been to help the girl pack her things and see her on her way. But the witch inside of her said that it was wrong on so many levels to walk away and leave her mate with the possibility of going rogue hanging over his head.
Grandmother on the one hand, and a witch on the other – it wasn’t exactly a case of which to choose – being a grandmother won hands down every time – kin came first – family was everything.
But still, that whole one true love thing led to another dilemma – shouldn’t she guide Summer to realize that this was it – the one – the man that was right for her in every way?
“Don’t sweat it, the decision will ultimately be hers,” Angela offered her the sage words of advice as she sat down beside her on the wooden bench that ran just outside the front door of the Inn, and sat in the sunshine of the day that had changed her life forever.
“I should be up there offering her advice, and not just demanding that she stay put,” Pamela muttered, folding her arms and becoming defensive against her previous stance.
“The young do not always do what is best for them,” Angela said with a small shrug of her shoulders.
“Do any of us?” Pamela snorted her contempt for her own life and the wrong paths that she had taken, all because she thought that she knew best.
“Probably not,” Angela nodded in agreement. “But, doesn’t it miff you off when you find those smart asses that do?”
Pamela chuckled. She dropped her hands to her lap, and the tension eased a little from her shoulders.
“I feel stupid,” Pamela swayed in towards the elder witch and admitted.
“Don’t we all?” Dorothy offered, as she padded out from the front door and sat down with a huff of breath on the other side of the woman.
“The difference is, Dorothy, not all of us put the butter in the dishwasher and the milk in the oven on a regular basis, and don’t even get me started on that spell you did the other night,” Angela rolled her eyes.
“It’s called getting old, you should know, you’re rushing head first towards becoming an ancestor yourself,” Dorothy shot back.
“Oh, go shake those wide hips of yours for your mate and watch the old fart drool on himself,” Angela shot back.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
~
Summer eyed the escape route. It was a drain pipe that led down onto a half sloping roof that would inevitably lead her to the ground.
While she wasn’t tremendously fond of heights, and she had taken her grandmother’s words on board, she still felt a need to get out of the four walls that she was in, and take some time for herself.
It wasn’t as if she was running away – more becoming lost in her musings for a while.
Summer eyed the drainpipe and told herself not to be stupid. There were perfectly good doors to walk through, and yet, there were also eyes everywhere.
At least this way, she could get out, sight unseen, and be gone before anyone berated her. Just for a while.
Where was the harm in that?
~
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~
“Look at the big, strong men coming back from protecting us poor, weak witches,” Dorothy declared, eyeing her mate as he padded back up the drive, replacing his shirt, with Lark and Randy at his side.
“Yes, the little dears,” Angela offered in a dry tone as she rolled her eyes at Dorothy’s sudden vigor and excitement at seeing her mate with his shirt off. The woman was still gushing like a schoolgirl despite her many years.
“Doesn’t it make you want to mate?” Dorothy was a little zealous with her elbow against Pamela’s ribs, and the woman’s upper body shot forward as she caught her breath and waited for the sharp pain to dull a little before she released that breath.
“Not really, no,” Pamela bit back, eyeing the elder as if she’d just grown another head.
“Sure it does,” Randy joined in with the teasing. A wide, wolfish grin spread his lips, and those soulful eyes were smiling back at her.
“Watching two butterflies getting it on would make you want to mate,” Pamela muttered back.
“Men don’t even need that much encouragement,” Angela chuckled – her mate certainly didn’t.
“Hank gets Randy at the drop of a hat…” Dorothy said, and the two witches turned to eye her, as Lark cracked out a burst of loud laughter.
“I wondered what you two got up to when you went fishing,” he chuckled, pointing a stubby finger at Randy and Hank.
“I think you might need to rephrase that,” Angela beamed a smile.
“My, that does bring an image to mind,” Pamela chuckled.
“Now you two hold on a damn minute,” Randy grumbled.
“What you two get up to is no concern of mine.” Pamela raised her hands to her chest like she was surrendering, but she couldn’t stop the fits of chuckles that escaped her lips.
“It’s not like that,” Hank grumbled.
“Do tell,” Angela spluttered laughter, and she didn’t even have the good graces to hide it behind her hand.
“Silly name,” Dorothy bit out, trying to look innocent as she looked anywhere but at her mate.
“Let’s have a séance so I can inform my parents that they named me wrong,” Randy grumbled, turning his head sharply and eyeing Hank when the man got too close for comfort.
All three witches cackled away, but Randy and Hank were both grumbling and muttering with each step.
“Now you’ve started the grumpy old farts off,” Lark chuckled. “Probably won’t hear the end of that one for a while.”
“Already forgotten,” Dorothy rushed out with a certain amount of hope.
“Not this side of forever,” Lark shot back.
“It’s not that funny,” Randy grumbled at his mate, as he took a slow walk up the stairs and eyed her with mixed emotions.
Hell, he loved to see her laugh – she had a right pretty smile, and her eyes lit up like stars in the night sky, but, he wasn’t so fond of the reason for her good humor.
Pamela nodded her head. She was still spluttering laughter in fits and starts, and that only led to more brewing inside of her.
Dorothy pushed up to her feet. For one long moment she eyed her mate, and then she turned and started for the front door.
“I think I’ll put on a nice pot o
f tea,” she muttered. Angela’s chuckles burst out once more, and Pamela joined her.
“I’m going round the back,” Hank grumbled.
“I’ll join you,” Lark chuckled, and Hank shot him a look back over his shoulder.
“That sounds dirty,” Angela chuckled.
“Fine.” Hank grumbled. “Just don’t get too damn close.”
“Don’t worry, Hank, I’ll chaperone,” Angela giggled, and she started after them, leaving Pamela alone with her mate.
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~
“What’s she doing?” Hank twisted his head to one side like a curious beast, and regarded the witch that was trying to shimmy down the drainpipe, unaided by a safety wire.
“Oooh,” Angela groaned out.
“I think she’s escaping,” Lark said, twisting his head the other way like they were bookends on either side of Angela.
“Making a right hash of that,” Hank said.
“Yep,” Lark shot back with a small nod, but he didn’t take his eyes from the woman for an instant.
“What’d we do?” Hank whispered.
“Don’t scare the hell out of her would be a good place to start,” Angela sighed. “One of you do that mind mesh thing and warn Samuel that his mate is scaling the side of the building like Spider…wo…man.”
“I got it,” Hank whispered.
“I’ll do it,” Lark said at the same time. “You always have to be the first to do something.”
“You always were too slow to keep up,” Hank shot back.
“Ah, geez, would one of you just tell Samuel…” Angela bit out.
“Tell Samuel what?” Samuel asked as he stalked around the side of the building and his eyes followed theirs upwards.
His lower jaw almost hit his chest as he stared up at his mate. There was a low rumble of a growl within his chest, and that sound reached Summer’s ears a few seconds later.
Summer froze in place – not that she was getting very far very fast. She was practically pooping her panties at the thought of falling off the damn roof, and she was in no rush to get down.
Nope, the moment that she’d stepped out onto the sloping roof and grabbed hold of the drainpipe, letting go of the window ledge, she’d pretty much hugged it with everything that she had, including her breasts, and she’d been trying to figure out the next best move.
Up, sideways, or down – preferably a slow climb down and not a rush to the grass below her. She hadn’t wanted to look, and now that there was a growling sound coming from down below – hell, she definitely didn’t want to look and confirm her second worst fears – she’d been busted.
Her worst fear was of letting go and falling, but right then she, sort of, wanted to try to climb back in her window, curl up in a ball in the corner and forget that it ever happened.
“Now, Samuel…” Angela whispered, trying to placate the man and not scare the young witch into doing something rash.
It didn’t work.
“You were running from me!” Samuel growled out, and Angela flinched the second that Summer jumped in place.
The younger witch let out a little squeal as her feet lost purchase against the slippery tiles, and it looked for one breath taking a moment like she was going to fall towards them.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
~
“You idiot, what are you trying to do, scare her to death?” Angela bit out, watching in horror as Summer’s feet ran in place against the tiles, trying to find purchase.
“That was not my intention, but she…” Samuel growled out each and every word.
“Go away!” Summer bit out, tossing a look down at the three elders and her mate, all of whom were standing there glaring up at her, and her heart pounded within her ears.
Geez, I can’t even escape right!
I need to get back in the damn…whoa…!
Summer let out a long squeal as her foot slipped sideways and she crashed down onto one knee. That action wrenched her hands down the drainpipe, and she tried to grip a mossy wet patch, but without much success.
Then she was waving her arms around as she started to slip backward down the roof, looking for a sense of balance when the world was being pulled out from beneath her. She didn’t like it; no control meant – no way to stop herself from falling.
“She’s coming in for a crash landing!” Lark bit out.
His hand reached for Angela, and he spun his mate to the side of him, where she wobbled on her legs for a moment as the world turned around her.
“That I didn’t need,” Angela bit out, trying to focus on Summer as the witch desperately tried to stop herself from falling.
Magic, Angela thought, trying to stabilize her head from spinning and come up with an instant plan, but it was too late – Summer had run out of roof and was falling through the air.
Samuel reached out and snatched his mate up into his strong arms with a half-grunt from the elbow that he’d received, and he grabbed her against his chest.
“Nice catch,” Angela bit out, “thank the stars.”
“She’s not as heavy as she looks,” Samuel muttered.
The sound of Summer’s gasp of disbelief rang more than a few bells inside of his mind, and he revisited his words, knowing that he’d done wrong the moment that he’d said it.
“Oh, I’m not, am I?” Summer’s eyes narrowed on him, and she could have given Medusa a run for her money.
“That’s not what I meant to say,” Samuel started, but the sniggers that came from Angela were a little off-putting, and he regretted taking a moment to collect his thoughts because that gave his mate time to jump into the space that he’d left by his silence.
“You’re just the most despicable…” she started, but Samuel had more than had enough of being berated by her.
“Despicable to catch you?” he demanded on a low, deep growl that rumbled between them.
“Well, no…”
“Despicable to save you from falling on your head…?”
“No…”
“Breaking some bones?”
“I said…”
“Despicable, yes. I heard you.” Samuel’s growl became louder.
“Well, I meant…”
“It’s annoying when people don’t get the chance to explain themselves, isn’t it?”
“You said I was a heifer,” she bit out, scowling hard and shooting daggers from her eyes.
“I did not say…”
“Ok, you implied…”
“Not in so many words…” Samuel growled back.
“Which words?”
“Which words what?”
“Which words weren’t implying that I was, what? Big boned?”
“You are just trying to put words in my mouth and deflect from the fact that you were running out on me,” Samuel growled harder.
“Was not!”
“Oh really?” Samuel’s eyebrows went upwards for the first time as he questioned her.
“Yes, really,” she sneered back.
“So, you often take the drain pipe from your bedroom window when there’s no fire and a set of perfectly good stairs?”
“Put me down!” she demanded.
Samuel did just that. He let go of her legs, and they swung downwards, surprising her, and making her grab for his broad, naked shoulders to keep from falling. Skin to skin, she felt the tingles rush over her body and kick her womb into gear.
“Tell me you are not naked!” she bit out.
“Unlike some people, I don’t lie,” he tossed back.
“Much,” Angela shrugged. “Everyone tells a few little fibbers now and again.” She reasoned as her mate turned his attention on her for a moment.
“True,” Lark nodded in agreement.
“Really? So, tell me…what have you lied about?” Angela hit him with her best Miss Marple stare, and the man caved.
“Me? Not a thing,” he rushed out.
“Good. Keep it that way,” Angela shot back.
; “Kindly removed your naked body from mine,” Summer practically hissed the words up to her mate.
“You’re the one holding onto me, sweetheart,” he tossed back, and she snapped to attention, her back going ramrod straight, and she snatched her hands from his shoulders.
Summer immediately regretted the loss of contact and the feelings that it provoked inside of her.
“I really don’t like your attitude,” she grumbled.
“Ditto,” Samuel bit back. “But, you wanna go. Feel free.” He lifted one large hand and motioned to the great big wide world that awaited her.
“I wasn’t running off,” she bit out.
“Just taking a stroll…on the roof,” Angela mumbled, but they all heard her.
“I wanted to be alone, and you try getting some alone time with elders everywhere,” Summer snapped out.
Then she turned on her heels, huffed, and stomped away.
“Tell me,” Samuel turned towards the elders. “Is it me?”
“Usually,” Angela shrugged again. “But, surprisingly not this time.”
“Thank you,” Samuel growled out. “I think.”
“I also believe…that your mate wasn’t running.” Angela offered and watched as Samuel considered her words as he watched his mate stomping off over the grass.
“Fine,” he sighed. “I’ll go and apologize.” He grumbled.
“Only for the heifer thing,” Angela offered to his backside as she watched him walk away. There was a low rumble of a growl from her mate, and she rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. Like you wouldn’t look if there was a twenty-something babe walking naked across the lawn.”
“Can I?” Lark grinned.
“No,” she snapped back.
“So damn much for sexual equality,” Lark grumbled, folding his arms across his chest and huffing.
“Fine. You can look,” Angela chuckled. “But keep the drooling to a minimum, say, about what you do when you’re eating.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
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