by M. L. Briers
“And judging by last night, you’re not exactly a lady!” he chuckled … right up to the point where she reached out with her magic and sent magical volts of electricity through his body…
Luke’s body snapped to attention from the onslaught of pain. His lips parted as he bit down hard…
“Birth right of a mutt and the manners to boot,” Sage hissed. “If you’re going to act like a dog, might as well be one.”
Luke yelped as her magic shot through him, but when she turned on her heels to leave, at least she took the pain with her. He twisted his head to one side and watched her go with a hard growl rumbling within his chest…
The woman had no sense of humour when drunk!
~
~
~
“How many more times?” Chance grumbled as he followed his mate into the kitchen. “I was scenting you, there was no intention to bite!”
Geri snorted her contempt for him. So much for them sticking together, Marley had taken off, and Sage was nowhere to be seen either…
“Says you,” Geri grumbled, but the outside door to the kitchen being flung open, and Sage tripping over the doorstep on her way into the room snatched her attention.
The witch looked fit to kill…
“Where are my car keys?” Sage demanded as her eyes flicked around the room…
“Maybe in your hidey-hole?” Geri scowled back at her. “But you’re not driving in that condition…”
Luke appeared at the doorway and scowled at his mate as she started towards the panty door … then he opened his mouth to agree with Geri and only barks came out … he snapped that right off…
Chance’s head whipped around and he eyed his brother … Luke’s eyes snapped towards the man as he pulled his head back on his neck and looked confused, and somewhat mortified…
“Dude, did you just … bark?” Chance had a snigger in his voice that he couldn’t hold back.
Luke lifted his hand up and pointed a finger of annoyance towards his brother, but when he went to issue him with a verbal warning, he just barked like a dog some more…
“Better … no?” Sage grinned before she wrenched open the cupboard door and stumbled inside in search of her keys. Geri covered her mouth with her hand and couldn’t help but chuckle…
“It’s …” Chance gave a slow shake of his head. “Your witch is mean…” he didn’t know whether to crack up laughing or commiserate with the man.
Luke opened his mouth again and found that his words were lost to the sound of yaps that, no matter how hard he tried to silence them, to find his human words, it just wasn’t happening for him.
“Did he just bark like a dog?” J.C chuckled as he sauntered into the kitchen and propped up the kitchen counter with his hip. Luke growled in annoyance…
“Well, he was acting like one…” Sage said, almost pitching head first to the floor as she bent over to retrieve her car keys…
“That’s just…” Chance folded his arms across his chest and lifted his hand to snigger behind it.
Luke growled long and hard at his brother…
“Sage, you can’t leave him like that,” Geri chuckled.
“Sure, I can!” She rounded on her heels and held up the keys in her hand. “In fact, I’m doing it right now…”
Luke opened his mouth without thinking and spoke in dog … then he growled long and hard, and eyed her with contempt.
He lifted his hand and pointed a finger at her keys, then he shook his head fast, but Sage just grinned.
“Use your words, puppy!” She teased back as spluttered laughter filled the air.
Boy, did that serve him right!
CHAPTER TWELVE
~
“Do you have a dog?” Josh sniffed the air. He couldn’t scent any fur in the house apart from what lay under his and his brothers skins, but he could certainly hear barking…
“You mean apart from the three strays that came in this morning?”
“That’s not very…” He slowly shook his head on his neck, but his attention was captured again by the sound of barking… “I kind of know that bark … oh … no.” He grumbled.
“Pound to a penny that whatever it is; Sage had something to do with it,” she said, heading for the door with her mate already enroute towards the kitchen.
“What’s happening?” Josh asked his brothers and gave the vampire a quick double take. He was never going to get used to having a bloodsucker around that he wasn’t supposed to be trying to kill.
“Yeah, Luke, tell the alpha your news,” Chance chuckled.
Luke growled in annoyance at Chance. Josh waited with an expectant look on his face as the betas stood there eyeing each other.
“Well, I’m outta here,” Sage announced with a giggle that sounded decidedly wicked.
Luke put himself in front of her. He bit down on the words that he wanted to say because he knew what was going to happen when he opened his mouth to speak them…
“Puppy got your tongue?” Sage said, babying him.
Luke twisted his head on his neck and pressed his lips together in annoyance. He really did want to tell her a few home truths, but how the hell was he supposed to do that when all he could do was bark?
“She’s not very good with …” Marley stalked across the room and wrapped her hand around Sage’s upper arm, while snatching the keys out of her other hand, and spinning her back away from her mate.
“Hey! Give them back, I’m going home.” Sage scowled at her friend.
“You’re drunk!” Marley snapped back and Sage took a moment to consider it.
“Y-e-a-h…” She screwed up her face and gave a long drawn out sigh. “But at least I’m not barking mad!” She sniggered as she tossed a look back over her shoulder at Luke, and the beta growled again. “Words!” She snapped out.
“Sage, fix your mate,” Marley berated her.
“But he’s so much better like that,” she chuckled, and then leaned in towards Marley to whisper, but her voice didn’t get any lower. “And he’s acting like a mutt … so…” she tossed up a hand and let gravity take it back down again.
“Somebody needs to go nighty-night to sleep it off,” J.C chuckled and Sage scowled at him.
“Who me?” She asked, snapping her head back on her neck and scoffing at his words. “I’m fine!”
Luke opened his mouth without thinking and the first word from his lips was barked out … Marley shot a quick look at the man, and the look on her face was a cross between amusement and disbelief…
“Sage!” Marley berated her friend and Sage sniggered again.
“It’s kind of cute, like a little puppy…” Sage chuckled.
“Fix him and then bed!” Marley snapped.
“When you say fix …?” Sage said, leaning in again. “Do you mean like neutered?”
Luke’s eyes widened in surprise and he wanted to speak, he really did, but he growled long and hard instead…
“Because he sounds like a mean one, and they get the old…” she lifted her hand and made scissors, and Luke’s face was a picture to behold…
“Wow,” Geri bit out. “I think she’s finally gone a little…” she lifted her hand and drew circles next to her temple…
“Hey!” Sage bit out. “That’s mean…”
“So is neutering your mate!” Geri snapped back.
“Well I didn’t do it yet!” Sage bit back and Luke barked once and drew everyone’s attention to him. He groaned and dropped his head on his neck as he shook his head.
“Okay, nobody is getting neutered,” Marley hissed out. “And if you don’t fix him I’m going to make sure that you are a spider magnet for the rest of your life.”
“You wouldn’t!” Sage snapped her head back on her neck and gasped in shock as her mouth dropped open in disbelief.
“You know I would,” Marley offered back, and it might have took Sage a long moment to think about it in her drunken state, but then she grunted in annoyance and snapped her f
ingers in Luke’s direction.
“There… neutered!” She said and everyone gasped as Luke’s hands went straight to his balls… “Kidding…” Sage said on spluttered chuckles.
Luke groaned and rolled his eyes back within his head. The man thought he had a sense of humour right until that very moment in time – now he wasn’t so sure that he’d ever have one again.
“Damn, Luke, your mate is scary!” Chance chuckled and Luke rolled his eyes down from the ceiling at his brother and growled once more.
“Ya think?” The beta bit out, never realising how good it would be to hear his own voice again.
“Don’t bark at me man!” Chance chuckled back and the beta took one long step towards him on muttered curses, but Josh had had more than enough.
“Luke, take Sage to bed…” Josh said, as all eyes turned towards him.
“Hello?” Sage’s eyebrows reached for her hairline and Luke grumbled some more.
“I really don’t feel like it right now,” Luke shook his head.
“Oh man up while you still have your balls,” Chance tossed back at him and the beta grumbled another growl.
“You really are asking for me to punch your damn lights out, man…” Luke warned him.
“Chance, enough,” Josh growled a warning at both men.
They were supposed to be wooing their mates not winding each other up or fighting like idiots.
“I’d say his bark is worse than his bite,” J.C offered with a smug grin for the alpha as the man turned his attention towards him.
“Don’t you have something better to do?” Josh still didn’t like the man, and he certainly couldn’t get his head around Marley letting him live with her like that.
“And miss out on the festivities?” J.C offered back with a smirk on his lips. “Now what kind of a friend would that make me?”
“One that doesn’t live here anymore,” Josh growled back.
“You see, I have a bed in a bedroom … you don’t even have your boots under your mate’s bed yet,” J.C offered back and Josh bit down on the need to pick the man up and toss his backside out of the door…
“J.C!” Marley had a little growl all of her own.
“Well, he’s coming in here, giving orders, and last time I looked this was your house…” the vampire shot back.
“Well, I’m taking my mate back to pack land, so I hope you’ll be very happy in your bedroom, in your bed, all alone.” Josh said.
Marley grumbled something under her breath that he didn’t quite catch. The alpha turned his attention towards her and she was looking anywhere but at him…
“She said, try asking…” J.C offered and the alpha snapped his head back around to glare at the man. “Vampires…” he shrugged. “Better hearing than wolves.” He added on a satisfied grin.
“I heard what she said,” Josh lied. Then he turned his attention back towards his brothers. “Let’s go…”
“Now wait a minute,” Geri’s eyes widened at the thought of spending any time alone with Chance, let alone going onto pack land to do it. “I’m not leaving with him.” She snorted her contempt for her mate.
“You’ll be in a car with Marley and me too,” Josh offered back.
“But still…” Geri scowled back.
“I never said I was going anywhere with you either,” Marley scoffed at the thought of it.
“Me either!” Sage added and followed it up with a hiccup. “Oops.” She tried to look all wide eyed and innocent.
“She’s drunk…” Marley said motioning to Sage, then she turned her attention to Geri, “she’s fearful…” she turned her eyes to the alpha and stopped there, but he wanted more.
“And what are you?” He asked.
“Uncertain,” Marley offered back in a dry tone.
“So we have drunk, fearful, bashful, dopey, barky, and growly… all we need is the seventh dwarf…” J.C offered and Sage snorted a chuckle.
“That’s funny…” Sage offered.
“Didn’t they bury the seventh…?” Luke growled at the vampire and Sage gasped as she put her hand to her chest…
“Nooo,” she said on a frown, “who died?”
“Wow!” Geri bit out. “Are you sure she’s just drunk?”
“I’m not drunk … I’m just … numb…” Sage offered back.
“Okay,” Geri shook her head. “Coffee for you, black, and tar like.” She frowned as she set off for the coffee pot.
“Kind of like how you usually make it,” Sage scoffed.
“Do you really want to stay here with him here?” The alpha said as he gave a sideways nod towards the vampire.
“Oh, because I didn’t get the gist of that…” J.C rolled his eyes to the ceiling again on a thoughtful pose.
“Stop pouting,” Marley hissed at the man.
“But he’s being mean and he doesn’t want to play with me,” J.C offered back, babying his voice.
“Dear God,” Josh growled as he grumbled something under his breath.
“J.C, you’re not helping,” Marley berated him again.
“You want me to help him woo you? Okay, well, she has a fondness for chocolate and keeps a stash in that cupboard. Her favourite music is…”
“J.C!” Marley groaned out.
The vampire took delight in shrugging his shoulders. Those dark eyes of his were filled with amusement at her expense, but she was in no laughing mood.
She was in a zapping one.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
~
“You want me to stop helping now?” J.C gave her an innocent look and she sneered back at him.
“Ya think?” Marley snapped.
“I’d be the only male in the room that did,” he shrugged and got three warning growls back in return. “See.” He offered.
“I’m really…” Josh took a long step towards him.
He’d more than had enough of the vampire’s antics and he was ready to do something about it, but Marley stepped in between them.
“Let’s not, and pretend we did,” she offered to the alpha.
“I’d rather we did and never talked about where I buried the body,” Josh offered back.
“Ouch!” J.C gave the alpha a teasing smile.
“You’ll feel pain, but out of respect to Marley, I’ll make it quick,” Josh grumbled.
“A stake then.” Sage offered with a nod of her head. “Silver is better, right through the heart…” She even motioned with her hand.
“Whose damn side are you on woman?” J.C shot her a glare and she had to think about that one for a moment. Then she shrugged.
“I have no idea.” She said as she tittered over to the stool on her heels and climbed up the kitchen side to get to the seat, even then as she tried to find the seat with her backside; she almost missed it.
Luke rushed forward to help her and she lifted her hand and wagged a finger at him. Narrowing her eyes at him…
“Not you. I don’t like you…” she scowled back at him. “Although, Geri’s right, you do have the kind of eyes a woman could get lost in while…”
Chance’s deep growl rumbled within his chest. His eyes snapped towards Geri, and hers widened in return.
“You like my brother?” The beta growled in disbelief.
“What?” Geri shot back, surprised and confused. “No.”
“That’s not what you said this morning…” Sage shook her head and Geri balked.
“That’s…” she looked back to Chance and gave him a helpless shrug… “I didn’t even know you existed this morning.”
“Not the point!” Chance growled back.
“Is too…” Geri snapped. “And why am I explaining myself to you?” she bit out in disbelief.
“I’m your mate!” He snapped back.
“That’s not my fault!” She hissed back and Sage chuckled.
“The course of true love never did run smoothie … I mean smoothly.” Sage grinned.
Everyone’s attention was drawn to the sound of chat
ter that was coming towards the house. Marley eyed the back door for a long moment and then rolled her eyes back in her head.
“I so do not need this right now,” she dropped her head on her neck at the sound of knuckles wrapping on the back door.
“You’re expecting company?” Josh asked as he eyed his mate.
“Oh, Marley loves Sunday company,” J.C said, as he folded him arms across his chest and smirked back at the alpha like he had a secret with his mate that he didn’t want to share…
Josh’s body snapped to attention. He stalked towards the back door and yanked it open. The sight of the two human’s, clutching bibles made him want to growl and recoil from the sight of them, like an old version of a vampire in a black and white movie, and he groaned inwardly.
“Good Morning. We’re from the Church of St Mary’s spreading the word of…”
“No…” Josh tried to keep his beast from his voice. The woman’s smile only grew brighter…
“Have you been to church lately…?” She asked.
The woman’s bright doe eyes seemed to be holding out some hope that she could get him to engage with her. The man beside her wasn’t much better. He hated the God Squad…
“Why, did you forget where you left it?” Josh grumbled.
“I ... no,” she looked a little confused.
“Church people, no sense of humour,” Sage said shaking her head on her neck as she leaned over the counter top.
“We’re here in Jesus name…” The woman tried again.
“Did he ask you to come?” Josh grumbled.
“He …” she looked momentarily stunned. “Died for…”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Josh grumbled back.
“He died for all of us…” she offered back.
“Well, I’m not taking the blame for that one,” J.C said and Sage cackled with laughter.
“So that we could all live…” the woman looked more than flustered.
“Did he stop a war?” Josh asked on a frown.
“He doesn’t intervene in earthly conflicts on a personal level but works through all of us…”
“So … he’s an alien?” Josh asked and the woman’s head snapped to one side. “I think you might need help…”