by M. L. Briers
“Oh, trust me. I did not cause that roar.” Connor smirked and Justice bit down on the irritation within him. He hated the mind games that the vampire liked to play.
“I’m not begging for information.” Justice growled out.
“But you spend so much time down on your hands and knees, it comes as second nature to you, no?” Connor shot back and Justice took one menacing step towards him.
“Do you want to die?”
“Which time?”
“This one.”
“Oh,” Connor took a long moment to consider it as the alpha growled and fidgeted in place. “Not really. I like this jacket and these pants, and they go so well together, don’t you think?”
“I try not to.” Justice growled back.
“Noted.” Connor beamed him another smirk.
“Vampire,” Justice growled longer, deeper and harder as the anger bubbled and boiled within him.
“Oh, you’re using my species instead of my name, it must be serious.”
“You know what?” Justice started off on fast feet right on by him.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you…” The melodic tone was heightened by the sing-song quality of his voice.
“You are not me.” Justice growled back over his shoulder.
“His mate won’t appreciate it either,” Connor watched the alpha grind to a halt as if he’d hit an invisible wall. His body tensed and he slowly turned back towards him, Connor grinned and wiggled his eyebrows in amusement.
“His what now?”
“M-a-t-e. I guess you’re not familiar with the mating roar of a bear.”
“The bear has found his…” Justice took a deep breath, his chest puffing outwards, and he held it as long as he could as the news sunk in, and then he expelled it on a long groan.
“Shocking, isn’t it?” Connor offered and Justice’s eyes snapped back towards him.
“Good for him.” Justice growled.
“Bad for you.”
“How so?” Justice felt the rush of guilt for the moment of disbelief and jealousy that he’d felt towards the bear for finding his one.
“She’s a witch.” Connor didn’t sugar coat it. Justice’s shoulders sagged.
“Another one.” He groaned.
“We’re getting quite the collection.” Connor chuckled, a second before his eyes snapped towards the sight and sound of someone moving not too far from where they stood.
Justice grunted in response. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the number of witches that had been mated into the pack recently. He just wanted to find his own damn mate out there somewhere.
“Well, I’m going to get some sleep,” Connor announced.
“Hanging upside down from the rafters by your feet no doubt,” Justice snorted.
“I’m not batman,” Connor shot back and Justice snorted a chuckle.
“Connor,” Justice eyed the man for a long moment.
“I know I have immortality, but…” Connor shrugged.
“What you did for the bear was a good thing,” Justice announced and Connor eyed him back.
“A moment of weakness. It won’t happen again.”
“Unlikely.” Justice chuckled before his wolf burst back out of him once more. Connor scowled.
“Unlikely it was a moment of weakness or unlike to happen again?” Connor asked and the wolf snorted. If wolves could smirk then Connor was sure that the alpha wolf was doing it now.
It took off on fast paws and he took off in the other direction, following the scent in the air and the sound of footsteps moving away from him. A heartbeat later and Mari ground to a halt in front of him when he appeared as if out of thin air.
“You can run but you can’t hide.” Connor assured her.
“The only reason I’m not burying my claws in your damn throat is because you saved my life.” Mari growled.
“Ooo, feisty,” Connor pretended to shiver and she snorted at him. “Lucky for me I’m so generous with my blood.”
“Careful more isn’t spilt right here tonight.” She curled her top lip and sneered at him.
“Is that a come on line?” Connor teased and she growled longer and harder back at him. “My, we have no sense of humour tonight.” He berated her.
“And why would I? With Tyler being mated to a witch.”
“Ah yes, a witch. You do seem to have a stick shoved up your backside about them, don’t you?”
“Bite me,” she sneered back.
“If you’re offering. I could do with a top up, I’ve been busy of late with Tyler.” Connor grinned at her showing just a little fang.
“I wasn’t.” she snapped back.
“And after everything that I’ve done for you.” He teased.
Mari took a long breath in and sighed. She rolled her eyes to the morning sky and grunted. Holding up her arm and yanking her shirt away from her wrist she sighed again.
“Fine. Have at it.”
“Well, if you offer all of your dinner guests the invitation so nicely…” Connor snorted and she couldn’t help the amusement that went through her. The corners of her mouth lifted into a smile, no matter how she fought against it.
“Shut up, Vamp, and take my blood.” She shook her head in amusement.
Connor stepped in and wrapped an arm around her waist, yanking her body up against him. He hooked one finger under her chin and lifted her eyes to his.
“Sure?” He asked, the amusement flaring within his darkening eyes.
“You don’t hurt, if anything, I could use the distraction.” Mari shrugged and Connor smirked.
“You mean you want to feel the pleasure?” he whispered against her ear.
“Don’t get any ideas about poking anything other than those fangs in me.” Mari growled.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Connor scowled.
“But a little pleasure along with the pain wouldn’t be a bad thing.” She admitted
“Vibrator out of batteries?” he whispered and she punched him, hard in the shoulder.
“Just feed, and we both get what we want.” Mari growled harder.
“Your wish is my command.” Connor swept her hair away from her neck and savoured the throbbing of the vein. He liked this best, the anticipation of the taste of blood on his tongue… he knew the taste of her blood would satisfy his cravings, and yet that anticipation was like a mini orgasm to his body, and it had been a while since he’d taken a lover down his length.
He was rock hard and needy, but that would have to wait. Mari was a friend and he didn’t think of her that way. That wasn’t to say that he wouldn’t have gone there if she’d asked him – just to say that it would have been awkward between them afterwards.
“Last chance,” he teased against her neck and she growled. “Fifty-fifty, phone a friend?”
“Just do it.”
“So romantic,” he teased once more before he sliced down into her vein with his fangs and heard the painful gasp from her lips, a moment before she growled gently with the pleasure of his first sip.
There was something to be said for a good takeaway meal.
The End.
BROTHERS
Pack Special
MARI
BY
M. L. BRIERS
Copyright © 2016, M L Briers
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced whatsoever without written permission of the author, except for brief exerts in reviews. Any unauthorised reproduction or distribution of the material herein is illegal and may result in criminal proceedings. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded to the internet or distributed via electronic or print without prior consent.
Note from the Author;
All names, places, and incidents contained herein are purely fictional and have no basis in actual events or linked to actual Humans, Witches, Vampires, Werewolves, Lycans, Werebears or persons living, dead or undead.
~
CHAPTER ONE
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C
ole wasn’t best pleased with how his day was going and the fact that Marshall, the most troublesome bear shifter in the clan, was having one of those days; when if you so much as dropped a fart within ten feet of him he’d want to call you out and blood you, and it was only looking to get worse.
In a way he kind of envied Tyler getting out when he did.
It had stung like a witch on a zapping spree when Tyler had left the clan to go and live in the middle of pack land with a load of wolves – kind of felt like a sucker punch right to the gut, a betrayal, to watch one of his clan brother’s walk away – but maybe Tyler had been right. Maybe his clan was just so screwed up that there wasn’t any coming back from that.
Cole thrust one hand deep into the front pocket of his faded jeans and held the little brown bag that the nice elderly lady in the chemist had stashed his purchases inside with the closed fist of the other. As he nodded to one of the locals.
Every time that he went in that shop for condoms that sweet little old lady behind the counter had a glint in her eye and a brown bag waiting. Like he was ashamed of them or something. It would have been funny if it wasn’t so ridiculous.
Cole liked woman, and women liked Cole, and he certainly wasn’t ashamed about not wanting to put a cub in some poor unsuspecting human’s belly that was for sure.
Cole yanked the keys to his truck out of his pocket and took a slow walk along the pavement to where he’d parked, when he spotted trouble. He’d know that beat up old truck that was starting to reverse in front of his anywhere – it was pack property, and if he wasn’t mistaken it belonged to one of the she-wolves. But by the way the driver confidently swung the rear end of the truck into the space and the flawlessly pull the front forward in the gap, he guessed there was a male driving it today…
That was right up until the point where the tyres spun, the engine squealed and the back end slammed into his front bumper with the loudest metal on metal clunk that rattled his nerves, hurt his ears, and really pissed him off.
“Damn it to hell!” Cole growled out, and then remembered where he was – in a town full of humans, and checked that rumble at the door.
Picking up his pace, he stalked towards the collision like he meant to do someone harm, as his bear raised its ugly head and grumbled rather than growled while he muttered one curse word after another.
He’d only had the truck a few months and the bank still owned most of it, although, he guessed he owned the dented bumper now.
That was when she stuck her head out of the window and pulled him up short. Her eyes were blazing with fire and amusement, like it was payback for something that he’d done…
Hell, if he’d slept with a she-wolf and didn’t remember it then he needed to knock off downing so much beer. His fists tightened around the objects in his hand as he narrowed his eyes on her and gave her the kind of death glare that he’d love to enact, if she had been male.
Mari felt the rush of excitement within her at seeing Cole’s pained and miffed expression. It served him right.
He was the one who, more than any other member of the bear clan, had been shitty to Tyler in about ten different ways over the past few months, and she took great pleasure in payback where payback was due. Tyler might be mated to a witch, but he was still her friend, and he was pack, and you didn’t mess with the pack and expect to get away with it.
For all accounts, Cole was a grade A ass, and just for messing with Tyler; he deserved everything that he got. The trouble was that her alpha, Justice, had decided that in order to keep the peace between the bears and the pack they had to steer clear of each other whenever possible – well, Mari would heed those words from now on, because that big old bear shifter looked as if he wanted to rip her head right off of her body.
“Hey!” Cole shouted out with a little rumble underlying his words as she thrust the gearstick into drive.
“Jerk!” She called out of the window, and Cole felt the rush of disbelief as his blood started to boil within his veins.
“What the hell did I ever do to you?” He shouted back, gaining ground on her truck.
“Leave Tyler alone if you know what’s good for you.” Mari shouted out, before she sped off with the tyre’s screeching once more, and just to add insult to injury, she even flipped him the bird in her side mirror.
Cole’s fists were tight at his sides – every muscle in his body had come to life and strained to be unleashed in the worst possible way. He bit down on the need to rip someone’s head off of their shoulders, and the urge to growl like his life depended on it.
He rushed to the front of his truck and eyed the damage. The damn bumper was hanging on by a wing and a prayer.
“Damn, she-beasts.” He growled, long and hard, and got a look of amusement from one of the local residents that was passing by. “Women driver’s.” He bite out and the older man chuckled.
“Tell me about it.” The guy nodded in agreement as he strolled on by, like this was nothing new, a little excitement within the sleepy town.
Cole reached down and wrenched the bumper free. Then he walked it to the back of his pickup and tossed it in.
He was in two minds about whether to go and find Marshall and beat the hell out of him for the fun of it – that bear was always up for a fight, and it wasn’t as if the guy didn’t have it coming. But, he also wanted to go after that no good she-wolf and give her feisty little butt a what for.
Maybe if her father had put her over his damn knee and spanked her behind when she was a pup then she might not have been so damned hot blooded now. Nah, she was a hell-demon, it was in her shifter blood, and the trouble with that was, it was also in his.
Cole headed for the driver’s door and wrenched it open. He had a score to settle. He was going to find that hell-cat and show her that actions have damn consequences, even if he had to chase her onto pack land to do it.
~
~
~
Mari debated the good sense in taunting Cole in the way that she had all the way up the side of the mountain that led to the shifters land. She would have to pass through the bear clan’s land first, and then her packs land was nearer to the top of the mountain, and she’d driven that road a million times in her life to date, and yet she never liked it.
It just seemed to her that the bear part took forever to get through, the winding road that went this way and that kept her from where she needed to be, and nobody in their right mind wanted to be on bear land. Bears were… unpredictable, violent, they liked two things, fighting and sex, and she wasn’t up for either today or any day with a damned bear.
There was also the other side of the coin. While she was out sightseeing a view that she knew off by heart, and, while spectacular, it meant that things could be happening back at the pack that she was missing out on. Not that she’d ever admit to liking a good gossip, but she didn’t mind that others did and she was nice enough to listen.
Mari had the music on a little too loudly and sung her heart out to pass the time. It was that or count the bare branches of the winter trees.
She liked the city with all of its distractions and constant movement of people and things to look at, but she’d never live there. Her heart was with her pack and in the countryside – the only trouble was that her pack was filling up with damn witches and that she didn’t much care for.
When her bear shifter friend, Tyler, had mated, it had been to a witch, and it was the fourth witch to join the pack. Mari had just about given up trying to warn them off. No matter how much it pained her – a mate was a mate – and she had no right to get in the way of that…
Now, she was considering leaving the pack for greener pastures and no damn witches…
The last song faded out to the sudden sound of a roar from an engine of the truck that was coming up behind her. Mari jumped in her seat, suddenly paying attention, as her eyes flicked to the rear view mirror.
Her heart leapt into her throat at the sight of Cole’s pickup truck coming up fast beh
ind her. Damn!
“Oh crap!” Mari growled as she shifted gears and put her foot down on the accelerator.
Getting caught by him out there, practically on bear land, although the road was a sort of no man’s land, was not her idea of fun, and she had the sudden urge to rethink rearranging his front bumper, not more than a mere fifteen minutes earlier.
Cole honked the horn and waved her over to the side of the road like a damned madman. Yeah, she’d seen this movie, and she almost choked on her damn tongue at the stupidity of the man.
“Sure, there’s an idea. Why don’t I just pull over and let you take a chunk out of my backside, yooou…” she growled long and hard, and did the only thing that felt right – she flipped him the bird out of the window once more.
“Jerk!” She shouted out the open window, letting her feelings on the subject be known, and knowing full well that his ears wouldn’t miss picking up on that.
Cole’s truck roared once more as he shifted down a gear and hit the accelerator as her eyes watched him in the mirror. His truck was coming up behind her, closing that gap, so close that he was practically playing bumper tag with her… or at least, he would have been if he’d still had a bumper.
“Back off, Cole!” Mari shouted on a growl of annoyance.
She shot a look at him in her wing mirror, and the man didn’t look as if he was in the kind of mood that would allow him to play nice. His dark eyes were buried deep beneath his eyebrows as he scowled back at her, almost completely hidden from view, and he was muttering to himself.
Damn bears!
And still on their damn land. Mari growled at the thought of getting caught out here alone with that brawny man and his bear temperament.
Cole slammed his fist down on the horn once more and waved her over. The woman was more than trying his patience, and she should know that a bear’s patience wasn’t limitless.