by M. L. Briers
“Heavy as a boulder, flat as a board…” She took a breath and placed her hands on her curvy hips as she stared down at him. “Incapacitating you, der-er!”
“I can…” he strained once more as he tried to pull his body up to a sitting position. His face going as red as a scarf she once owned. Then he grunted and tried again. Not one muscle obeyed his command to move. “I can’t move!” He growled, snapping a look in her direction.
Chelsea drew her head back in mock surprise. Then she lifted just one hand and tapped her index finger against her chin as if she was contemplating his situation.
“Gee, I wonder why?” She frowned, rose her eyes to the night sky above, not worried by the slowing rainfall now, and then back down to him. “Magic – perhaps?” She shot him a victory grin, the winning smile of a woman that had better things to do than expend her energy or her magic on a bear shifter.
“Let me up!” Tyler growled. His attitude said kill, but his eyes said… really miffed.
“After spending good magical energy putting you down?” Chelsea shook her head. “You should have backed off when I told you too.” Chelsea regarded her nails – chipped – broken – she really needed one of those fangled manicurial things that girls were supposed to be excited about getting.
“You should have killed me when you had the chance,” he growled back and she gasped in mock surprise.
“A shifter with a death wish,” she snorted. “Well, there’s something that you don’t see every day of the week.”
There was something about the look on his face that made her heart jump within her chest. Guilt. Had she just hit the nail right on its stupid head?
“Well now, shifty, you want to share?” She lowered her tone and crouched down onto her haunches. Her forearms ran up her thighs and her hands swung loose over the edges of her knees, and she leaned in slightly, green eyes intent on his. “Hmm?”
“Don’t call me shifty,” he looked away. It wasn’t that he wanted too. The witch had the greenest eyes that he’d ever seen before – like a blade of grass when the sunshine hit it just right – he liked that, it called out him, drew his eyes to hers, and yet – they also felt as if they could see into his very soul.
That he didn’t like.
His soul was dark. Darker now than it had ever been in his life before. Even when he was a young cub, fighting and blooding everything in sight. His temper back then didn’t even have a fuse, it just self-ignited at the drop of a hat.
He didn’t want her to see that darkness within him, and yet he didn’t know why.
“Don’t act it then.” Chelsea lifted her hand and pointed her index finger at his chest. “I’d say… there’s a bear in there.” She teased as she ran her fingernail lightly down the wet hoodie that clung to his muscles. A chest packed full to the brim, almost overflowing with muscles that Chelsea wouldn’t have minded getting a better view of.
“Bingo,” He growled with a snarky curl of his top lip.
“You’re name is Bingo?” She snorted. “Bingo-bear.” She gave a little shrug of her shoulders as the amusement played in her eyes.
“It’s not-”
“Very manly?” She leaned in further and whispered over the pounding rain. A small chuckle was on her full lips and the fire of amusement sparkled within her eyes.
He hadn’t noticed the specks of amber within the green of her eyes until she got that little bit closer to him. He didn’t move, didn’t breathe as her eyes seemed to mesmerise him.
“What are you staring at?” Chelsea snapped her head back on her neck and Tyler rushed in a breath that he hadn’t realised he’d needed…
One moment the wind was swirling and the rain was coming down, and the next, it was as if everything had just suddenly quietened down. The air was still… and that breath that he’d breathed in was so full of her scent that he could have drowned in it… wanted too.
“You,” he whispered back. His brow furrowed and eyes widened in surprise, and she tilted her head to one side and regarded him as his face lost that guilt ridden look, the anger behind the eyes look, and suddenly became peaceful… just for a moment, just for a few seconds…
“No!” Tyler roared. There was panic then. Not just a rush of panic like he’d forgotten to turn the stove off, but panic as if he was being chased by the hounds of hell and running towards a whole pack of werewolves.
He struggled.
He grunted.
He growled.
He roared.
“Hey!” She snapped out. “Hey!” She tried to gain his attention, but the man was adamant about trying to break free from her magic. He was going to bust a gut trying though…
Damn fool!
Everybody knows that you can’t break a witch’s spell without killing the witch…
Oops, spoke to soon…
“Easy there, witch…” Connor had her in the kind of death lock that the bear looked to be under, only his death lock consisted of his drawn claws at her throat, and one arm wrapped around her body locking her back against his chest. “Let’s not do this the hard way.”
“Like I kill you?” Chelsea snapped back, readying her magic as she considered exactly how she was going to get out of this situation without letting the vampire open her vein and have her bleeding out all over the ground.
She guessed that if he wanted her dead then she would be already… that gave her an advantage – she just didn’t know what that was… yet.
“Oooo, feisty.” Connor teased. “Nope, I was kind of hoping that you wouldn’t make me kill you-”
“G-e-t – y-o-u-r – d-a-m-n – h-a-n-d-s – o-f-f – o-f – h-e-r!” Tyler growled, slow, long, hard, and as mean as hell.
For one long moment Connor stood in stunned silence. There he was trying to help the damn bear – who, most of the time didn’t want his help – and now this turn up for the books!
“O.” Connor nodded towards Tyler in a slow, understanding kind of a way.
Tyler’s fangs were starting to elongate. His claws were out and his eyes were jet black and trying to toss imaginary stakes right into Connor’s heart.
“I – will – kill – you!” Tyler roared.
“He’s not going to break free anytime soon, right?” Connor asked the witch and Chelsea had to snort.
“No, but he’s certainly going to do himself a damn mischief trying.” She felt Connor’s grip loosen around her body.
Stupid Vampire…
Just a little more…
Just drop the claws an inch or so and I’m good to go…
“I guess he doesn’t like you either,” she shot him a look over her shoulder and took him in with a quick glance that told her he was nervous, yes, but there was also an element of humour about him.
“Or he just likes you more,” Connor offered back to her.
He didn’t take his eyes off of the shifter – still on the ground like he was tethered there by invisible chains – still struggling to break free, but at least now Connor knew exactly what had the bear so damn miffed. He also guessed that the witch had no damn idea…
“He tried to kill me, which is why I put him down,” Chelsea bit out.
Vampires weren’t exactly her favourite supernatural being to go up against. They were fast. They were canny. And they could be soulless, killing without the moral compass that most supernatural beings possessed – except werewolves – they were the worst.
That was why she had come to white wolf mountain. She knew that there were shifters there – she’d been told. Bears and Lycans, but nobody had bothered to mention a damned vampire, or vampires… just that there might be werewolves in the area too.
“I like your style…” Connor grinned…
Tyler growled, snarled, and threatened the worst possible death for him with his eyes…
“Gee, I’m so glad you approve. My life would have been forever tarnished if you’d not…” Her tone was dry and unforgiving.
“Sarcastic to boot – why am I not surprised
?” Connor sighed.
“What? Did you think vampires had the monopoly on that one?” She flashed those green eyes at him in the hopes that he would be momentarily distracted…
“I’m not entirely sure which one of us you are trying to get killed,” Connor asked and took her by surprise.
“Huh?”
“Flashing those eyes at me when your mate is-”
“My what!?” Chelsea practically screamed like a banshee, loud and shrill, and that was all that it took for Connor to drop his guard as he winced and groaned at the sound ringing the bells within his ears and echoing around his brain…
~
CHAPTER THREE
~
Chelsea moved fast.
An elbow to the stomach – backed up with a lot of magic.
A stomp down on his left foot – with the weight of an anvil and the added advanitage that she had three inch heels on her boots.
And as his head came forwards… She slammed the back of her fist into his nose – with the force of a jackhammer.
Connor went down like a ton of bricks. His backside hit the floor, and he was sure he was now sitting in a butt sized dent in the ground.
Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong. She’d rung his bell like the Big Ben clock tower.
“W-h-o-a,” he dropped his back against the ground and tried to shake it off. “I see stars.” He groaned.
“It’s called the night sky, idiot. Hold…” Chelsea started…
“Don’t let her do that – that’s how she got me!” Tyler growled out.
Now that Connor wasn’t touching the witch anymore; Tyler felt a lot better. His bear wasn’t clawing and trying to rip itself free from inside of him, and he didn’t want to see Connor in the same predicament that he was in…
Connor groaned as he sprang to his feet, still trying to shake off the blows that he’d taken that had left him punch drunk with her magic, and now she was at it again, and there was no way in hell he was going to end up like slow-bear.
“Sorry, Tyler…” Connor bit out a second before he sprung upwards into the tree. His hands gripped and he tossed his body around the thick branch, flipping out and down behind her.
A heartbeat later and she was back in his arms with his claws pressed right against her jugular vein.
Tyler roared once more. He growled, grunted, and tried his damnedest to move just an inch, just a finger…
Then his bear burst from his body – the spell broken now that he was no longer a man – and all bets were off over who he wanted to kill first.
~
~
~
Connor took one look at Tyler’s bear and he knew that he could do only one thing… get the hell out of there. But he couldn’t find it within his conscience to leave the witch behind.
If Tyler didn’t kill her then she might just damn well kill him.
The vampire pushed down with his knees and then, taking her with him, he jumped into the tree, and balanced with her on the thick branch above the bear.
Tyler roared once more. One moment they were there and he wanted to kill someone, and the next, in one blink of an eye, they were gone. He lifted his snout and scented the air… confused…
“Get your damn hands off me!” Chelsea spat out, and the sound of the bear roaring once more took Connor’s attention downwards.
“Now you’ve given the game away.” Connor groaned at the sight of Tyler’s bear spinning circles beneath them as it tried to decide what the heck to do next.
Tyler’s beast started towards the trunk as fast as his paws could carry him. He hit it with the bulk of his weight, just below his shoulder, as his head curled sideways to miss the impact. The whole damn tree shock, and Chelsea shrieked as her boots lost their tread against the slippery branch.
“I don’t see a broomstick between your thighs, woman, behave.” Connor bit out a second before he swung them together onto the next branch as Tyler’s bear went in for a second hit against the trunk.
“He’s miffed,” Chelsea noted.
Grateful that the vampire had saved her from the bear. Happy that they were no longer in the tree that was taking repeated hits from a very unhappy bear, and relieved that the vampire seemed to be a friendly one… kind of like Casper the friendly ghost, but with deadly fangs and claws and a taste for blood.
“Ya think?” Connor shot back. “I do have his mate in a tree.”
“You gotta stop calling me that,” Chelsea bit out on a half-laugh of disbelief.
“I’ll call you Tinkerbell if you like, but the fact remains, you are his-” His breath left his lungs when her elbow hit him in the stomach again, and he half doubled over, moving her with him.
Chelsea shrieked as the underside of her boots skidded against the edge of the branch.
“Unless you want to see if a bear can catch a falling witch, I suggest you refrain from jabbing me with the bony, pointy damn elbow.” Connor bit out, tightening his hold around her waist, and stabilising her footing.
“How about I jab you with a sharp and pointy stick?” She hissed back, bringing Tyler’s attention up towards them.
He roared once more. The sudden realisation that he’d been hitting the wrong damn tree rushed through him, and he made a run for the one that they were in. Connor didn’t wait for the impact, he took them back to the first branch again.
“Can we stop playing musical damn trees?” She hissed over her shoulder.
“I’m game, just get your mate to stop playing a backwards version of whack a mole.”
“How do you even know what whack a mole is?” she hissed at him and Connor groaned.
“Does it matter?” He shot back. Chelsea bit down on that one.
“No.”
“Good.” Connor snapped back.
“Can’t you just get us out of here?” Chelsea hissed.
“And leave a pissed off bear to do what, without his mate, exactly?” Connor felt her take a long breath in, and then he heard her sigh it out.
“I’m too young to be a mate,” she bit out.
“You’re what? The wrong side of twenty five?” Connor offered back and she turned and glared at him with her bottom jaw hanging down.
“Seriously?” She snapped.
“How very un-subtle of me. Touch a nerve?” Connor grinned back.
“Noooo,” she hissed, screwing up her face and looking at him as if she’d just stepped in something nasty and he’d dropped it.
“Fate says you’re ready.” He teased her now that he knew she was more female than she liked to let on with her badass elbows, her slick moves, and her mean-girl magic.
“Fate can kiss my…” she stopped and shot another look back over her shoulder at him. Her eyes narrowed… “How do I know that he’s really my mate and not some bad mood, eat as many witches as possible, insane bear with a hatred for vampires, and a thing for butting trees?”
Connor raised just one eyebrow as he took a long moment to consider it. She was right. As far as he was aware Tyler hadn’t stated his claim to her yet.
“Let’s go ask him,” Connor grinned, and a moment later they were hitting the ground with Connor cushioning her landing and taking the jolt from the impact with the ground.
“Not a good idea…” Chelsea hissed as she struggled to try to break free of the vampire’s hold upon her – then the bear’s head snapped around and his jet black eyes locked solely upon her… and he growled like a bear possessed.
“Take us back up, take us back up…” Chelsea panicked, but a second later she realised that the vampire had released her and she was standing there, starring down the bear, all alone…
~
CHAPTER FOUR
~
Tyler started towards her on slow paws. This witch – his mate – was giving him a look that told him what he already knew, that if there was a Devil, then she thought that he was him.
The bear was more than agitated. It was downright aggressive and out for vampire blood.
His bear snorted and growled. Small shakes of his head from side to side as if he was arguing with himself over whether to eat her or not.
Chelsea didn’t like her odds. The damn thing was huge and not something that she wanted to mess with on a hand – to – hand basis.
Magic would do it. Much as it had with the man so it could also send the bear flying, but she didn’t want to strike prematurely, especially as she didn’t know if this was truly her mate or not.
It wasn’t that she wanted a mate. She was her own woman. She could come and go as she pleased and do whatever the hell she liked without thinking about another person, without thought or consideration for anyone else’s wants, needs, or even feelings.
A mate would complicate her life – to say the least.
But, she also didn’t want to blast thing guy into the back of tomorrow either. Her magic was for defence, and only offence when the need arose and it was her best course of action.
A witch had to be careful how she used her power or Karma would surely bite her in the backside.
Chelsea was a successful businesswoman. Her internet company, selling elemental products worldwide, was doing very nicely, thank you. But, she needed more in her life.
She’d succeeded in establishing a business that more than paid the bills, and then she’d become bored – handing over the day to day running of things to a team of trusted employees.
She’d liked the challenge of getting the business established against all the odds, and once the firm was a success, well, she had moved on to looking for something else, another challenge. The next mountain to climb and conquer.
Growing up in care homes and never having known what a real family was as she was shipped from one foster carer to the next, depending on how long they could put up with her brawling and trouble making; she’d learned the hard and fast rule that moving on never solved all of your problems – they still festered – and you always found new problems to solve.