by M. L. Briers
“Try taking a playful bite out of her and she’ll knock your damn fangs down the back of your throat,” Janette warned him.
“That I’d like to see,” Maverick grinned and split just his bottom lip back open this time.
“Shut up or I’ll black your other eye and make you a full racoon,” Callum growled out to more chuckles from the group.
~
CHAPTER THREE
~
“Janette…” Malcolm, the bar’s owner, called out her name like a warning from behind the bar, and she stopped in her tracks with an apologetic look.
“Call it an early break, boss?” She shot back with a hopeful smile, and he raised just one eyebrow at her.
“You took all your breaks,” he shot back.
“For… my next shift,” she offered with the kind of cheeky grin that made Malcolm shake his head and chuckle to himself. He flicked the dishrag over his shoulder before waving an absent hand in her direction.
“I’ll remember that,” he offered and she sighed with relief. That meant she was going to keep her job. It was all good.
“Get the pack and the clan a round when you’ve got a minute,” Justice asked and she nodded.
“I’ll get right on that.” Janette headed towards the bar and Morgan followed on her heels.
Callum was already back on his barstool at one end of the bar and Tyler was at the other. She thought the bear a far safer option considering the way Callum had spoken to her, and strolled up to the counter on his side to get a drink.
Tyler sniffed the air as if he was looking for his supper and she flicked him a scowl.
“Did you just sniff me?” She curled her top lip in disdain.
“No,” he said quickly, then looked anywhere but at her.
Morgan rolled her eyes and moved down the bar a little way away from him. Another big, strapping bear shifter slapped his giant hands down on the counter top beside her to get Janette’s attention as the woman pulled out pints behind the bar. He didn’t say a word until she acknowledged his presence.
“Need a round of beers,” Marshall announced, eager now that the entertainment of the fight was over to get back to the drinking part of the evening.
Marshall pulled on the air around him, and his nose led him towards Morgan. She snapped her head around at the sound of the bear sniffing, and she groaned.
“Really?” She practically growled at the man, offering him a death glare as she sidestepped down the bar a little more.
“Think of it as a compliment,” Marshall grinned as his eyes took a slow wander down her body and then back up again.
“Think of what it would be like never to scent anything ever again,” she shot daggers from her eyes and malice from acid tongue, and the man twisted his head on his neck for a moment, considering her stance, before he scowled and snapped his gaze off of her.
“Beer,” he turned back to Janette, demanding, eager to end the confrontation with the witch before she had a mind to carry out her veiled threat.
“Already on it, Justice is buying,” Janette informed him as she added the last two pints to the tray and pushed them towards him across the counter.
Marshall’s hands reached for the tray and he lifted it as if it weighed nothing, and with a quick look at Morgan and a grunt in her direction, he turned and strolled off.
“If you don’t like so much attention you really shouldn’t have come to a shifter bar,” Callum chuckled from close beside her, and she rolled her eyes towards him as her head followed, not realising that she’d stepped that close to him.
“I came to find my friend. You guys should learn to keep your snouts to yourself,” she eyed him for a long moment, and he slowly leaned in towards her. “Don’t even think about it.” She warned.
“It’s just a little sniff,” he grinned at her. The sparkle of amusement within his eyes was kind of catching, at least it felt as if her mood was lifting a little, but she was determined to put him in his damn place along with the rest of them.
“It’s insulting,” she shot back, and Callum twisted his head on his neck as his smile widened to a teasing beam.
“Want me to tell you what you scent of?” he offered playfully, eager to take her scent, but savouring her mood.
“Want me to punch you on your snout?” She offered back, and a little part of her meant it.
“If that’s what floats your boat, sweetheart,” Callum wiggled those dark, playful eyebrows at her, and Morgan’s heart fluttered along with the butterflies in her stomach.
Damn, not totally immune to his charms… She told herself, wanting to put a stop to that right there and then. Complications were just extra baggage that she didn’t need to be dragging around with her when she left.
“Tempting,” she had a sing-song quality to her voice that ran over his skin like a caress.
“Yes, you are,” he informed her. “And that’s probably why every shifter in this place wants to take your scent.”
“Except you,” Morgan said. Then she narrowed her eyes on him. “Or did you already do that?”
“Not yet. I was kind of waiting for a time when all of the stinky armpits weren’t getting in the way,” Callum chuckled. It was deep and velvety smooth, and heaven help her, but she liked it.
“Then I guessed you missed your chance,” she went to turn away from him with the intention of hightailing it out of his personal space, but she almost jumped out of her skin when his fingers locked around her wrist and he held her in place.
Morgan felt the tingle that radiated from his touch and raced up her arm and over her skin in a matter of seconds. Her eyes snapped up to his and she held her breath as she watched his eyes change to jet black…
“Now, wait a goddamn minute…” she warned, and heard another deep rumble, but this time, it wasn’t a chuckle, but a growl and it was lodged firmly within his chest.
Morgan slowly let out the breath, and was about to drag in another one as her screaming, burning lungs demanded, when, with a quick yank on her arm, she found herself gasping in a breath at the sudden impact of her body colliding with his. She was caught between heaven and hell as she found herself pressed up against his hard muscles…
“Don’t!” She snapped out the warning as fast as she could, but it was already too late – Callum was dipping his head towards her neck, and the brush of his cheek against hers made her snap her head back on her neck, inadvertently opening it up for his sniffing pleasure, and her one free hand palmed his chest to try to keep him at bay…
There was the feeling of the rush of air against her skin as he dragged in a long hard breath that made her skin tingle even more. She almost closed her eyes as her stomach took to riding the rollercoaster of excitement, and the tension that had been wracking her body for what had felt like forever slowly melted a little… before it increased with the realisation of what was happening.
There was a low rumbling growl that got stuck within his chest, thunder just hanging in the distance waiting to roar out, but she could feel it vibrating through her too. His cheek brushed against hers once more as he lifted his head and his hot breath caressed her ear.
“Cinnamon and apples,” he whispered, and it took her fuddled brain a moment to catch up. “You scent of cinnamon and apples… and you are all mine.”
Those were the last words that she’s ever wanted to hear.
“Get your damn paws off me,” she bit out between clenched teeth as a wave of heat washed through her body from the inside out.
When he didn’t immediately let her go, she lifted her foot and booted him in the shin. Callum yelped, growled, and bit down on the pain that resonated up his leg.
“That’s not very friendly,” he bit out.
Still pressed against him, and with an arm that might as well have been made of pure steel wrapped around her body, locking her in place, Morgan had nowhere to go.
She wanted to step back, pull away. Run like the damn wind and never look back, not once, not even for a sec
ond…
She was running anyway. What did it matter how many people were chasing her?
She’d had enough of alpha type men and their controlling ways. Although this one wasn’t an alpha – he was still dogmatic and a pure Neanderthal.
She couldn’t go there again. Back to that place where there were rules to follow and stalky men that wanted to keep you under their thumb.
The only difference between Victor and this one was that she knew, deep down inside of her, that Callum wouldn’t lift a hand to hurt her. That didn’t mean that he wouldn’t clip her wings and ground her spirit, crush it underfoot with his male chauvinistic rhetoric…
“Well fur and fangs is not my thing,” Morgan hit back – not just with words but with the best part of her elbow to his ribs, and knocked the wind right out of his lungs when she added a little magic to it.
The pain that shot up her arm into her shoulder, and simultaneously down into her hand, was a small price to pay when he finally let her go. She heard him gulp in a breath and bit down on the urge to zap him until he saw stars.
Morgan wasted no time in turning on her heels and starting across the room for the door. Janette called out to her, but she didn’t turn her head to look, didn’t answer- she was blinded by the need to just get the hell out of there and never look back.
~
~
~
“Not so damn fast,” Callum growled as she reached for the driver’s door of her old car with the intention of wrenching it open, throwing her body behind the wheel, and hightailing it out of town…
She’d gotten as far and yanking the door open when one large hand palmed the window with a thud and slammed it shut again, wrenching the handle out from her closed fist.
Callum growled a warning. She heard it and tried to ignore the way that it made every hair upon her body stand on end. He didn’t need to growl to get her attention, her body knew his well enough with the mating pull pecking at her shields and a tingle against her damn skin that she couldn’t ignore, as much as she might want to.
“When you gotta go…” she bit out, twitching her nose and letting her magic loose on him – not to hurt him – just to incapacitate him for a minute or two as she made her escape.
Callum felt the itch up his nose. It clawed, it made his eyes water, and it signalled the biggest sneeze in the history of damn sneezing that he’d ever felt before.
Janette was second out of the bar only to Justice – he’d seen most of what had happened with the witch, and when Callum had stormed towards the door on the witch’s tail, he knew something was up. Now he was watching in amused amazement as his brother sneezed, and sneezed, and sneezed again…
Callum couldn’t control it. One sneeze after another wracked his head and his body until he was getting somewhat dizzy. His eyes were glazed over, but he could still see his mate through the tears…
He reached out a hand and tried to snag her arm, but she dodged him.
“Pepper?” Justice frowned long and hard as his brother practically doubled in half with each new sneeze.
“Magic,” Janette informed him as she pushed past the alpha and started across the parking lot towards Morgan, who had the car door open again and was about to step into the space to climb inside when Callum sneezed so hard that his head butted the side window, slamming the door closed to a curse of annoyance from his mate and a yelp of pain from him…
“Damn!” Callum reached up to rub his forehead, but he sneezed once more, doubling over and growling like an angry wolf whose tasty snack was avoiding him.
‘Somebody get my damn mate!’ Callum growled out into the link. He could see fuzzy shapes but nothing more.
He reached out and wrapped an arm around a soft body.
“Gotcha!” He growled and yelped again when a hard sting ripped through his body.
“You got me,” Janette hit out at the hand that he had pressed against her stomach, and he growled and released her.
“Where’s my mate?” Callum bit out before sneezing again and almost butted heads with Janette. She jumped back, and threw her hands out in front of her to protect herself, hitting him in the chest, and with a little added magic, she knocked him down onto his male pride.
“Take a damn load off,” she hissed.
Morgan had the car door open again and she was just about to step into the opening to climb into the car, when Janette used her magic to slam the door shut.
“What are you doing?” Morgan demanded, scowling back at her.
“You can’t run from your mate!” Janette tossed up a hand in absent frustration, she knew well enough what happened when you did, she’d run from her mate and that almost didn’t end well.
Morgan wrenched the door open once more to the sound of another hearty sneeze and then a curse from Callum.
“Watch me!” Morgan hissed.
“Don’t run…!” Callum ground out, crawling on his hands and knees towards the sound of her voice – just as Rowan rolled his pickup into the parking lot and hit the brake.
His head popped out of the open window as his eyes took in the scene. His eyebrows clawed up towards his hairline.
“What the hell is going on here?” He growled, amused and confused by the sight of Callum on his hands and knees, sneezing like he’d snorted a bowl of pepper.
“He found his mate,” Justice called from just outside of the bar; where he stood watching the spectacle with his arms folded across his chest, a chuckle on his lips, and amusement lighting his eyes.
“Don’t run…!” Callum growled out again, before his forehead almost butted the ground as another sneeze doubled him over.
“What’d she do, pepper spray him?” Rowan chuckled.
Morgan wrenched the door back open and Janette tossed it closed once more with her magic.
“Will you stop doing that?” Morgan hissed in her direction.
“Err,” Janette snorted her disbelief and rolled her eyes, “no!”
“You’re supposed to be my friend.”
“Your friend – His pack – and I get the impression that you’re a mate,” Janette offered and Morgan gasped.
“Don’t say that word!” She shot back.
“It’s not like he doesn’t know,” Janette shrugged.
“It’s not him that I’m worried about. I don’t want to hear it.” Morgan hissed.
“Too bad,” Janette chuckled. “You’ll get used to it.”
“No – no I won’t, because I’m not staying around long enough to hear it again.” Morgan used her magic to open the driver’s door and as hard as Janette tried, she knew that she couldn’t break another witch’s spell to toss it closed again.
With a look of triumphant relief on her face, Morgan dropped her backside into the old cushioning of the seat behind the wheel. The sight of Callum, crawling on his hands and knees towards the car caught her attention and held it for just a moment; when he sneezed again, and roared at the indignity.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Callum growled – then sneezed and cursed once more.
“I’m not?” Morgan had to chuckle as she shoved the key into the ignition and went to turn it…
“You’re not,” Janette announced as she clicked her fingers and the front tyre popped with a loud bang that signified the end of Morgan’s hopes for a speedy getaway.
Morgan gasped in disbelief. Poking her head out of the open door; she stared at the shredded tyre and groaned.
“That’s so not gonna get you on my Christmas card list,” she bit out. Her eyes narrowed on Janette, and all the woman did was give a helpless shrug off of her shoulders, and give her a smirk.
“If this sneezing doesn’t stop…” Callum sneezed again, grunted, growled, and gave his mate a death glare, or what he hoped was his mate, it was kind of hard to tell through the tears. “I don’t think you’re going to make it to Christmas.”
~
CHAPTER FOUR
~
“Threaten me again and we’ll se
e who makes it out of this parking lot,” Morgan had a full on death glare going on, it was just a shame that her mate couldn’t make it out.
“Feisty, spell happy, snappy, witch… couldn’t tell that she was a mate,” Rowan chuckled as he rested his backside against the wing of his truck and folded his large arms across his chest. He nodded in appreciation of what had come to pass.
Callum’s mate had arrived and Rowan more than welcomed it, because all his damn brother had done since he’d met his own mate was niggle and jibe at him for every little thing.
“Who’s got the ball and chain on their ankle now, brother?” Rowan teased and waited for Callum to sneeze like a man possessed once more before the man turned his eyes on him and growled long and hard.
“Not me.” It took everything that Callum had to push up to his feet and stretch out his back. After all that sneezing he felt as if his internal organs were practically melded together, and his brain felt a little scrambled egg like within his skull, but he’d get over it.
“We’ll see,” Rowan snorted in amusement.
“Do you have this, Callum, or should we hold your hand some more?” Justice growled out as a pang of jealousy shot through him. Three brother’s had found their mates and there was no sign on the horizon of his own.
“I’ve got this,” Callum growled out a low rumble that sounded like distant thunder to Morgan’s ears. She snorted her contempt for him.
“You don’t have this, and you never will,” she assured him.
“Never say never,” Callum closed the distance between them. He yanked open the door and one large hand rested against the top of her car and the other gripped the top of the door. “It’s a challenge to my wolf.”
“I’m sure deciding to go left or right is a challenge to your wolf,” Morgan snapped back as she pushed her back into the cushioned seat and folded her arms across her chest in defiance.
“Now you’ve gone and hurt his feelings,” Callum lied. The wolf didn’t much care one way or another, it was just damned happy that she wasn’t running.