by M. L. Briers
Mari snarled. it had been meant for the damn bear that had appeared to her right in the clearing, but that didn’t stop Chelsea from snatching a look at the wolf over her shoulder, and snorting in amusement.
“Be nice or do this yourself.” Chelsea warned her.
“Shift, Mari.” Connor demanded, and Mari had to wonder if the damn vampire had gone insane. “If you shift they will too. They can’t mate a human as a bear.”
Chelsea almost felt the she-wolf turn back into her human form. It was a change in the air around her, and she tossed a look over her shoulder to find Mari, naked and scowling back at her.
One by one as the bears started to emerge from the woods, so they shifted into their human form. Their eyes were locked and loaded on Mari, sniffing the air as if they’d just smelled fresh meat.
“Let’s play,” Chelsea stepped out to Connor’s side and the vampire gave a small overly theatrical sigh.
“Can’t we just use a little magic?” He asked, although that part of him that still had the bloodlust buried deep within his very soul, wanted to fight.
“Oh, I will,” Chelsea assured him with the kind of smile that said she had a little Devil sitting right there on both of her shoulders.
No angels allowed.
“I meant on them.” Connor offered.
“Me too.” She grinned. “It’s called mate payback.” She half whispered before the sight and sound of one of the bear shifters coming at them made her snap her attention back towards the naked behemoth with the black eyes and the hungry look upon his face.
Chelsea heard Connor groan, and yet she couldn’t resist some payback for the way that Tyler had said this clan had treated him during the time that he’d been one of them, and even after he’d left. She hadn’t kicked any butt since she’d met Tyler, not really, and she was kind of looking forward to getting her hands dirty again.
It was always good to keep your hand in.
“Why don’t you just do that hold them down thing that you did to Tyler when you first met him?” Connor ground out, not best pleased that he had two of the clan coming in his direction. He guessed they thought he posed a bigger threat than Chelsea to them.
“Because they’re not down, yet.” She offered and then on an afterthought she grinned, “And I’ve done that too him a couple of times since.” She wiggled her eyebrows at the vampire, and he gave her a double take, and grunted a chuckle.
Chelsea wasted no more time in engaging the enemy. With a good dose of magic behind her; she punched out at the man’s Adam’s apple and got in a good shot. His eyes bulged in his head, he choked off the growl that he’d been rumbling there, and his hands went to his throat.
Chelsea lifted one booted foot and kicked him hard right between the legs. He went down under his own weight and weak knees. Shock and pain registered on his face as his eyes started to tear up…
“Ah, poor baby,” Chelsea grabbed a handful of his jet black hair and swung her fist right for his nose. Even with her magic to protect her from the brunt of the impact, it still jarred her body and sent pain through her hand and up her arm.
Behemoth fell sideways onto the ground, and with a roar of disbelief, the next one was coming at her. She knew that Connor was fighting off two brawny shifters, and the she-wolf was practically snarling from somewhere behind her, but she was enjoying herself.
When Maverick and the pack broke into the clearing, the atmosphere changed again. The bear shifters, sensing a challenge from the wolves for the female, turned their attention towards them.
Testosterone met testosterone, as the pack shifted out of their beasts and took on the bears one to one. Chelsea was miffed that everyone was now fighting except for her.
“Can’t a girl get a… Tyler!” Chelsea looked guilty to be there, but she felt even more so.
Tyler shifted into his human form and stalked towards her with a grumbled growl that even lifted his top lip in a something of a sneer. His fist came out to the side and he punched Marshall hard in the face as the bear shifter ran at him, knocking the man backwards to the ground.
“Hulk, smash!” Chelsea teased, but Tyler didn’t look in the mood for her nonsense.
“Connor, get Mari up in the damn treetops until Cole gets here,” Tyler growled out.
“I’ll get right…” Connor gritted his teeth, grabbed a hold of one of the bear shifters by the throat and tossed him away. “On it.” He finished, before turning on his heels and swooping Mari into his arms. With one push of his knees they were up in the tree and he was balancing her feet on a thick branch.
“I’m naked!” Mari bit out.
While she had no real problem with being naked in front of her pack, she was used to it, there were bear shifters down there leering up her with their tongues practically hanging out of the side of their mouths.
“I hadn’t noticed.” Connor lied. “On the bright side; I am immune to your breeding scent, not dead… well, not totally dead…” he let that one go on a frown.
Tyler got in front of Chelsea and blocked all incoming bear shifters with his body. Now that Mari was in the damn tree, some of the clan didn’t seem so interested in fighting, more staring upwards, drooling.
The sound of Cole’s roar as his bear came bounding into the clearing was enough to deafen every supernatural being present. Only Chelsea seemed immune to the sound as it echoed around the clearing, followed by lots of groans.
“What the hell, Cole?” Marshall growled out as the clan’s second shifted into his human form and stormed towards him, eyes blazing, his fists at his sides, and looking made enough to rip him limb from limb. Marshall swallowed hard.
It was a sobering sight, even for the bad ass bear shifters.
“Touch my mate and I will kill you!” Cole roared out, bringing a sense of quiet to the gathering along with a big dollop of muted disbelief.
“Err,” Mari couldn’t take her eyes from the big naked bear shifter.
“Sudden change of heart?” Connor whispered in her ear and she sniggered, elbowing backwards into his ribs. “Thank you.” He breathed out as the pain seared through him.
“Cole…” Marshall growled out. The scent in the air said that the she-wolf was fertile. His bear was going crazy within him.
“Don’t you dare even think of challenging me for her.” Cole sneered in the behemoth’s direction.
“Say what?” Mari was surprised. More than surprised; she was gobsmacked. She thought bear shifters were like wolves, only with more attitude and less brains.
“I’m guessing you didn’t know about that?” Connor chuckled and Mari shot him another look.
“He’s serious?” Mari’s face was a picture of horror mixed with surprise.
“Oh yeah.” Connor sighed. “It has to do with standing in the clan and who is best suited to provide for you, and a challenge can be issued…”
“Challenge my ass,” she spat out.
“Not exactly, but I’m sure they wouldn’t mind taking your…” Connor was breathless from her elbow once more. He grunted in annoyance. “Of course, if they really wanted you that badly they could all challenge and take Cole down as one, and then you’d be theirs.” Connor lied.
Maybe in the old days that would happen, but not now. The clan’s, even this one with its dysfunctional misfits, were more civilised than that.
“Go a-bloody-head and challenge him you dumb bear,” Mari shouted down and brought everyone’s attention up towards her and Connor.
Cole growled long and hard at the sight of his mate perched in a damn tree, naked, with the vampire’s hands on her hips and all of his clan staring at her.
The rational side of the man said Connor was keeping her out of harm’s way – the bear wanted to use his claws to rip the vampire’s heart right out of his chest, and he might have attempted it if the vampire hadn’t of been twenty feet up in the damn air.
“Cole…” Marshall started to warn the man, but Mari wasn’t done yet. She flicked out her claws and ey
ed the big shifter.
“Because you have to sleep at some point and I’ll rip off your balls and feed them to you.” Mari curled her top lip and growled with everything that she had to make her point.
Marshall’s eyes narrowed on the woman. His chest was rising and falling as he breathed hard down his nose. He’d like to take the feisty she-wolf on in a challenge, but even his bear valued his balls. He grunted.
“Mari,” Cole growled. Now wasn’t the time for her to offer a challenge of her own to his clan. Some of them might just be crazy enough to take her up on it.
“I’m going to get her the hell back to pack land before she starts a riot…” Connor said and then rolled his eyes. “Another one. And you can play follow the leader.” He offered to Cole, and saw the man’s eyes flare with rage.
“No!” He started towards the tree. If he was planning to climb up the trunk, it would be amusing to watch, Connor reasoned, but still unhelpful where the clan were concerned.
One thing was for sure that the bears wouldn’t dare to follow them onto pack land. Only there would the she-wolf be safe from ninety nine per cent of the clan males. As for the other one per cent, well, she was on her own where Cole was concerned, unless he got all rowdy with her.
Connor didn’t wait to see if Cole would make it even a foot from the ground. With his arm wrapped around Mari, he took off for the first available branch and used the others as stepping stones as Mari squealed and squawked in his ear.
“No please, I always wondered what it would be like to be deaf,” Connor ground out.
“Then put me down,” she growled at him. One thing she-wolves didn’t like and that was heights.
“And which bears lap would you like me to drop you into?” He chuckled.
“Bite me,” she growled deeper.
“Did that,” he whispered against her ear. “Tasty, but you have a mate now and I don’t think that he’d appreciate me sinking my fangs…”
He heard the she-wolf give a somewhat pained moan.
“Tell me that is not your breeding cycle kicking up a gear, because I am not the person you should standing next to when it does.”
“Shut up, and get me the hell out of here.” Mari growled back. Connor was right, her breeding cycle was getting stronger, and she didn’t want to be near any males when it kicked in completely.
“I’ll call, Cole.” Connor hesitated on a branch and she punched him in the shoulder.
“Are you crazy?” She hissed, sneered, and growled.
“Some might say,” Connor bit back, not appreciating her newfound desire to use him as a punch bag.
“I don’t know Cole.” She ground out.
“And still, he’s your mate.” Connor offered back, gaining ground once more through the tree tops.
“Only in the merest sense of the word.” She reasoned and Connor scoffed. “Fine. In body, mind, and soul, so sue me.” she snapped back.
“You know, this side of your personality is charming,” Connor teased her and got an uppercut to the nose that rang his bell, made his eyes water and almost tripped them out of the trees. “Behave, little wolf or I’ll drop your backside.”
“No, you won’t.”
“Yes, yes I will.” Connor snapped back.
“No, you won’t.” She growled and Connor had the urge to prove her wrong, only, he couldn’t.
The damn woman was right.
“Fine. I won’t, but I can give you to your mate right her and now.” He warned and she grew silent.
“Who knew that a bear shifter was the way to finally silence your lips flapping?” Connor heard her grunt and grinned to himself. He liked to get the upper hand, and now he was playing it again.
~
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~
Cole was more than torn; his bear was frenzied within him. Marshall and the others in his clan hadn’t offered a challenge for his mate, and the vampire had taken off with her.
He wanted to go and tear the vampire a new backside at the same time as he expected someone in his clan to make the first move.
“Go get your damn mate.” Marshall growled out. His bear had calmed since the she-wolf’s breeding scent had been snatched away from him, and yet his bear still wanted to pound his fist into someone’s face. Only, not over a damn mate, and not that one.
She was meaner than hell, and he believed every word that she’d said about ripping off his balls.
Cole didn’t wait for another to challenge him. He turned on his heels and took off in the direction that the vampire had gone, following his mate’s sweet scent into the woods.
“Now, wolves…” Marshall turned his attention to the brothers, Tyler, and Chelsea, still standing there. “You appear to be on clan land.” He growled.
Chelsea deliberately nudged her way passed her mate and planted her hands upon her hips. With a gleam of mischief in her eyes, she stared right back at Marshall.
“I kicked your ass once, wanna do it again?” She asked, raising her hand and inspecting her nails. She still needed to do that girlie manicurial thingy, but if she was going to break one here...
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CHAPTER EIGHT
~
Marshall growled long and hard as his eyes practically swivelled inside of his head. With a grunt; he turned on his heels and stormed away. The others followed.
“Guess we’re good to go,” Chelsea turned her eyes towards Tyler and the bear growled back at her.
“You and me need to have words.” He bit out, fire lighting his black eyes.
“It’s I…” she corrected him and he scowled at her.
“I what?” He growled back to sniggers from the wolves. His shoulders snapped back as his back straightened to attention.
“Not, you and me, you and I,” Chelsea offered and Tyler reached up one large hand and scratched his head through his tousled hair. “Never mind,” She started away from him, but shot him a teasing look back over her shoulder. “You’re great in bed and hung like a donkey.”
Callum almost spat out his tongue, as Maverick and Rowan both showed a little more grace in sniggering into their hands. Tyler took a long moment to consider her words. Then he beamed the brothers a gigantic grin and sauntered off after her, sticking out his chest with pride.
Her words were good words.
~
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~
“Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you,” Cole growled up at Connor as he ran through the woods below, keeping up with the vampire and his mate as they ran through the gauntlet of the treetops.
“Because you can’t get to me,” Connor shot downwards.
“That’s not a reason,” Cole growled.
His bear was getting downright livid within him. If he didn’t get the vampire’s hands off of his mate soon he just might kill someone.
“Okay, you’ve got me there,” Connor snarked and Cole growled.
“Stop trying to wind him up,” Mari scowled down at Cole. The man was a picture of sexy goodness as he ran naked over the ground below. His muscles flexing as he went, his bits bobbing… she had to admit that she was kind of enjoying the view…
“He doesn’t need my help, he seems to be quite capable of being moody and brooding all on his own.” Connor assured her.
“Put her down,” Cole growled.
“Come and get her,” Connor sniggered and Mari growled.
“Put her down now or so help me…” Cole’s top lip curled as he growled once more.
“Use your words, bear,” Connor smirked at Mari as he stopped and deliberated the best way to go about getting her where she wanted to be.
“Really?” She pouted as she berated him. “Aren’t you old enough to know better?”
“I’m old enough to know that when life presents you with amusements it’s best to milk it for all that its worth.” Connor wiggled his eyebrows at her and she sighed. Then she moaned as another wave of cramps went through her stomach. “And I find nothing amusing about your breeding cycle.”
>
Connor started leaping from branch to branch again. He liked Mari, but he didn’t want the she-wolf attacking him for services that neither of them wanted him to provide her with when that breeding cycle hit full force, and she had a perfectly good mate down on the ground.
“I need to get home,” she ground out with the same kind of attitude that her mate was showing below.
“Yes, yes you do, and perhaps your mate should take you there.” Connor offered with a hopeful grin.
“I wouldn’t get a foot before that… bear was on me.” She shot a look down at Cole and saw him trip over his own feet, almost losing his stride as his eyes snapped up towards her.
“That’s what mates do,” Cole growled out.
“Attack each other?” Mari snapped back. “I thought you just liked hogging the road and running people into ditches.” She snapped back.
“I did not run you off the damn road. You drive like an idiot,” He growled back and Connor snorted a chuckle.
“Is this a bear’s idea of wooing? Because I have to tell you, your sucking at it quite dramatically.” Connor asked.
“Tell me about it, tripping over his own feet, not to mention his tongue, and with his damn foot in his mouth to boot.” Mari snorted her contempt for him. “Next he’ll be pulling a Winnie the Pooh and sticking his fat head into a beehive screaming – look at me, look at me!”
“I would not,” Cole growled back as his face twisted in disbelief, and Connor chuckled again.
Mates were fun. He liked this mate thing that the pack had going on. Of course, he’d much prefer to be wooing his own mate, but Connor was of the firm belief that somewhere during his many lives, his time had come and gone and that he’d probably missed his chance.
“Wow, how dumb are you?” Mari sneered down and Cole bit down on a string of courses.
“You don’t really need an answer to that, do you?” Connor put in and Mari snorted a chuckle.
“Not dumb enough to lie to you about your driving,” Cole shot back and she gasped in a breath, biting down on a curse or two of her own.