by M. L. Briers
“Probably not, no,” J.C shrugged again.
“I vote the vampire leaves,” Chance offered with a smirk.
“Someone’s labouring under the illusion that this is a democracy. This is my territory,” J.C said. “You can’t just go pee-pee up a bush and claim it as yours.”
“You are really starting to get on my last nerve,” Luke bit out, turning his attention away from the pantry door to where the vampire stood across the room, but he snapped his head back around when his mate spat out a burst of laughter.
“He does that a lot,” Sage muttered.
“Yeah, but you still love me,” J.C offered back.
“Love me!” Luke exclaimed at the thought of the vampire and his mate together. That damn image was just so wrong…
“Needy – very needy, man,” J.C offered back. “Why don’t you just shift, flop onto your back with your paws in the air, and whimper until she rubs your tummy?”
The sound of Sage bursting out laughing again didn’t exactly thrill her mate. It was as if she was taking sides, and not his.
Luke growled long and hard. He turned his whole body towards the vampire, lifted his hand, and pointed a finger at the man.
“You’re crossing a line,” he growled.
“Is it one that can’t be uncrossed?” J.C put his palm against his chest in mock horror.
“Don’t test me, vampire,” the beta growled back, his top lip twitching in annoyance.
“Yeah, I’m guessing you didn’t do well at school,” he grinned back.
“Enough!” Josh growled. “We need to be wooing … not fencing words with this …” he narrowed his eyes on the man.
“No, please, go ahead, insult me – talk about me like I’m not here,” J.C folded his arms across his chest and gave the alpha an expectant look.
“If only you weren’t,” Josh dismissed him with a glare.
“Can we all just take a step back?” Marley declared. When Josh brought his attention back to her she raised just the eyebrow. “You take a really big one.”
Josh debated it for a long moment. He had his mate in his arms – that, as he saw it, was half the battle to wooing her, right there. The fact that she wasn’t exactly happy and giddy about it was a different matter entirely.
He needed to woo her not miff her off.
Josh reluctantly relinquished his hold on her and did as she asked – taking a step back – a small step. He considered that to be a good compromise on his part.
“Well, okay then,” Marley nodded as if she’d been taken by surprise.
It was the strangest feeling that dwelled inside of her, but she actually felt as if something was missing, as if she wanted to reach out, grab a hold of his shirt, and yank him right back there in front of her again.
That would be wrong!
That would be … awkward…
She practically shook that feeling away. Then she turned her attention towards Geri and the beta that was still draped over her body as she lay on the counter.
“A little help here,” Geri lifted a hand and pointed a finger at the man that was caging her in. Chance flicked his gaze towards Marley then back to his mate.
“Me?” He asked with an innocent look on his face.
“Oh yeah,” Geri agreed.
For one long moment she didn’t think that he was going to make a move anywhere. His dark eyebrows looked like they were in the midst of doing a Mexican wave as they rose and feel over his eyes, and then he slowly withdrew, pulling himself back to his full height, but not moving another muscle…
Geri lifted her hands and shooed him backwards. She had no intention to move until he was a safe distance away. He sighed, pouted at the thought of being that far away from her, but obliged.
“Okay,” Marley turned her attention towards Luke. The man scowled at her. “Your turn, back away from the door.”
“Will she come out?” Luke asked.
“Hmm, play hide and seek with her shifter mate, or come out and face her future. What are the odds?” J.C chuckled, and Luke shot him a glare.
“Better if he’s on the other side of the damn room,” Marley bit out.
“Fine,” Luke huffed, turned on his heels and stomped across the room. Far enough away to do as they asked, but close enough to move fast and make a grab for his mate should she chose to try disappearing back in the panty again.
“Sage, stop being a killjoy … you deserve to suffer like the rest of us – as you brought the wolves to the door.” Marley folded her arms across her chest and waited. “Or I could just call every spider in there out of their webs to sit in your hair.”
The door flew open and Sage practically threw herself out into the room. Then she pulled up short, placed her hands on her hips, raised her chin in defiance, and gave her mate an icy stare.
“You ran from me,” Luke lifted his hand and pointed a finger of accusation at her.
“You don’t say?” Sage tossed up a hand. “Perhaps it was the fact that you were practically slobbering down my neck that did it.” She huffed.
“I was not slobbering. I was scenting you,” Luke shot back with indignation in his tone.
“Same thing, drool boy,” Sage cut her eyes at him and looked anywhere but where he was.
“Bib time,” J.C sniggered.
Luke growled, biting down on the need within him to punch the vampire’s lights out.
“You’re really getting on my nerves,” He growled harder in warning for the man to stop getting involved with his snarky comments as he dismissed the vampire and turned back towards his mate.
“If you can’t take the heat get out of the kitchen!” J.C tossed back, pleased with himself for that one.
“I wasn’t going to bite,” Luke tried to assure her.
“Sure, you weren’t,” Sage tossed him a death glare.
“I have honour,” Luke growled harder at her accusation.
“Sure you do. That’s why you took me to bed, knowing I was your damn mate,” She growled right back at him.
“But I didn’t bite. I didn’t even mark you as mine,” Luke protested.
“Oh, whoopty – bloody – do!”
“We need to talk,” Josh said, resisting the urge to step back towards Marley again, as his instincts to get her back within his arms tried to override what he knew to be her wariness of him.
“We need to mate,” Chance grinned at Geri.
“Excuse me?” Geri snapped her head back on her neck and scowled at him. “Does anyone have a leash for this one?” She demanded, folding her arms and turning her nose up at the man.
“What’s not to like?” Chance asked, expanding his hands and letting her get a good look at all of him.
Geri’s lower jaw sagged downwards as her head sagged forward on her neck and she stared at him in disbelief.
“There are no words,” she hissed back.
“I’ve got a list,” J.C muttered.
“Can we lose the vampire?” Josh shot a look at the bloodsucker over his shoulder. The man wasn’t exactly helping in the all matters relating to the wooing of their mates, and that was the prime directive now.
“I live here, you leave,” J.C shot back.
“How does he live here?” Josh asked Marley, and she opened her mouth to reply, when Luke beat her too it.
“And who is he sleeping with?” Luke tossed that hand grenade right into the sudden silence of the room,
All three shifters growled in unison.
Now the cat was really among the … ferocious wolves.
CHAPTER SIX
~
“What!” All three witches hissed out at the same time.
“Well, vampires don’t just hang around witches for the lively conversation,” Chance offered, stepping in to back up his brother’s chain of thought and give some validity to his views.
“You’d be surprised,” J.C muttered on a small shrug off his shoulders.
“You might as well tell us,” Josh offered. “It’s not
like you won’t be forgiven…”
“Forgiven?” Marley scowled up at him. “For what?”
“For sleeping with the enemy,” Luke offered.
“Nice,” J.C shook his head. “Poor downtrodden, misunderstood species that we are – sure – why not blame us for climate change, political unrest, and the Kennedy assassination while you’re at it…?” he let his thoughts trail off with a shrug off his shoulders.
He was enjoying this.
“Why’s he the enemy?” Geri bit out, confused.
“Exactly, thank you – the sister has a point,” J.C tossed a hand up in her direction.
“Sister? But, you’re black…” Chance looked confused as he looked from the vampire to his mate, back to the vampire, and then his mate again, “Is he a stepbrother?”
“Are you serious?” Geri bit out. J.C sniggered.
“Sadly the beta was only blessed with looks,” the vampire muttered.
“He said you were his s-i-s-t-e-r,” Chance said slowly as if he was talking to a child or a person of limited intelligence.
“Oh boy,” Geri rolled her eyes and then her body away from him. “Why’d I get the mate that’s punch drunk?” She shook her head as she turned her eyes back on him. “Did your mother put you in one of those baby bouncers where you head-butt the doorframe … like … a lot?”
“Now …” Chance lifted a finger and pointed it at her.
“Oh hell, no you don’t,” she snapped back on a scowl. “I’ve got one of those that works – wanna see?” she lifted her hand and wiggled her index finger at him as if it was a finger puppet, but he knew well what kind of a power that finger could wield.
Chance snapped his hand down and his head back on his neck. He scowled at the thought of her magic.
He’d already been knocked out by a vampire and hit with a door – he really didn’t want to go into round three with his mate of all people … it wasn’t as if he could fight back.
“Not really – no,” he admitted as he shook his head, just in case she didn’t understand his words.
“So are you three sisters?” Luke asked, puzzled.
“This one took a turn in that baby bouncer too,” Sage rolled her eyes. “Black hair, redhead, and a blonde,” she pointed out, “hmm, what are the odds that we’re sisters?”
“Then who’s his sister?” Chance demanded. His mate planted her face in her hands and groaned long and hard.
“Okay, and only because this is getting painful …” J.C offered. “Sister as in witchy spiritual sense, they’re white, I’m black, you do the math, and … I think I’ve been a little old for the past few hundred years to be adopted.”
“Whose house is this?” Josh demanded. To him they were getting nowhere fast.
“Mine,” Marley said.
There was another low, rumble from the alpha’s chest, and then he nodded solemnly as he tried to bite down on the urge to rip the vampire limb from limb … Again – considering his mate in that equation – that would be bad…
“His loss is my gain,” Josh announced, thinking himself the better man, and mentally patting himself on the back for his restraint in not ending the vampire there and then for laying hands on his mate.
Marley’s left eyebrow shot up towards her hairline.
“I’m not exactly losing…” J.C started, and the alpha went to take a step towards him on a growl that turned decidedly ferocious very fast.
“She’s my mate,” Josh growled back.
“Hold on there, sparky,” Marley shot between her mate and the vampire.
Josh’s eyes were fixed and loaded with deadly intention on the vampire. He’d danced with the man once already and she’d intervened then too … it was getting old fast.
Marley rolled her eyes, took a breath, and then zapped the alpha to get his attention. Just a little one. It worked – his eyes snapped down to hers on a scowl.
“You’re sticking up for your … lover,” he growled as his top lip curled in distaste.
“Oh boy,” Sage chuckled into her hand.
“This should be …” Geri didn’t get any further than that … Marley lifted her leg and brought her knee up; hitting him hard in the balls…
And then all hell broke loose.
~
~
~
Josh’s brain registered the pain that shot through him.
His gut twisted.
He felt nauseous.
His balls exploded in a ball of fire.
His knees went weak.
Sweat broke out on his forehead as his blood heated with the fever of the pain that swept through him.
His hands went to his balls…
And then he dropped to his knees on the floor as his face showed, first shock, and then twisted in pain.
“Ooooo!” Luke bit out twisting his face in a grimace.
“That had to…” Chance bit down on his brother’s pain.
“Touchdown!” J.C chuckled, but he still winced.
All three men had experienced that pain at one point in their lives, and it was a pain that they could never forget.
“Feel better?” Sage asked as she raised her eyebrows up towards her hairline and regarded Marley with a look that berated her.
“Better than him,” Marley said as she placed her hands on her hips and blew her hair from her eyes.
“That’s … err …” Geri scowled at the alpha as he fell face first against the kitchen tiles and rolled back and forth in place… “That happened.”
“You little … witch,” J.C gave her a teasing, wicked smile, and she lifted her hand and pointed a finger at him.
“Don’t start with me,” she bit out. She pointed from him to the alpha and back at him again, and he more than got her point.
“Me?” He placed his palms against his chest, “with you?” He looked innocently back at her – then down at the alpha, “I’ve learned over the years never to mess with a witch or her knee.” He grinned hard.
“I think the alpha just learned that lesson,” Geri shrugged. Chance shot a look at her and she pulled her head back on her neck and scowled at him. “Wonder how long it takes for beta’s to catch on?” She bit out dryly and watched as he slowly raised his eyebrows back at her and swallowed hard at the thought.
“Loud and clear,” he assured her.
“Good,” she turned her nose up at him. Then she found that she needed to literally drag her eyes away from that man mountain in order to stare down at the spectacle of the alpha, still holding his balls, and now rocking back and forth on the floor.
“Well,” Marley blew out another breath. “I could use a drink.” She sidestepped the man and started for the living room.
“Castrating a man is thirsty work,” J.C agreed.
“I want one,” Geri sidestepped her mate to follow her.
“I’ll take that drink and a bottle on the side,” Sage went to follow, but Luke stepped in front of her. “Seriously?” she demanded.
Luke held in place as he stared at her – taking her in – trying to gage her mood. When her chin started to lower and her eyes narrowed on him; he moved to one side to let her pass.
“Do not run from me again,” Luke warned and she scowled at him.
“I intend to be too damn drunk to be able to move, let alone run,” she snapped back.
~
~
~
“Now what?” Sage demanded on a whisper as she practically snatched the glass of wine that Marley offered and huffed in annoyance mixed with misery.
“We stick together,” Geri offered back.
“Kinky,” Sage snapped back with a wicked grin of mischief on her lips and teasing in her eyes, and that look made Geri groan.
“We’re mates, they aren’t giving up, giving in, or going away,” Marley cautioned.
“So, assume the position?” Sage snorted, then she raised the glass to her lips and drank thirstily, both women watched as she finished the whole glass of wine in record time,
even for Sage, and breathed out a long breath like a dragon.
Geri shrugged and did the same, figuring that her friend might just have a point. Maybe sober was not be the best way to approach the whole mating problem.
Marley was more measured, sipping at her drink as the wheels turned in her mind. She’d like to figure a way out of the situation that she’d found herself in, but she couldn’t do that if she was drunk.
Sage snatched up the open bottle and refilled their glasses, even Marley’s, and she hadn’t drank that much.
“You already did.” Geri pointed out, much to Sage’s annoyance. “But which position are we talking about, because there are so many to choose from?”
“How many do you know?” Sage teased her with a wiggle of her eyebrows.
“You want me to count – now?” Geri shot back, berating her with her tone.
“Meh,” Sage shrugged at the thought, before starting back in on the alcohol in her glass.
“Ooo, maybe we can kill them with poison,” Geri hissed on another low whisper, and Sage choked on a mouthful of wine.
“Do not become a sprinkler from your nose on my carpet,” Marley frowned as Geri lifted an absent hand and thumped her friend on the back several times…
“I like my spine where it is,” Sage twisted away from Geri’s heavy thumps. “Poison? Really?” She berated her with a scowl.
“W-e-l-l … a little wolfsbane wouldn’t go amiss … maybe some Belladonna…?”
Geri gave a hard shrug, bringing her shoulders up around her ears and looking decidedly sheepish as she offered her solution to a problem that she couldn’t figure another way out of.
CHAPTER SEVEN
~
“Nobody is poisoning anybody,” Marley sighed, berating her friend with just a look.
“Oh, but a swift kick to the nuts is fine,” Geri reminded her, and waited as she grimaced.
“He annoyed me so,” Marley bit back. “I’m not proud of it, but I’d definitely do it again.”
“And a kick to the nuts is a lot less permanent than poison. Where do you get those ideas?” Sage offered.