by M. L. Briers
“I’m sure you do,” George’s voice was dripping with sarcasm mixed with disbelief, and he tossed her a glare to go with it.
“Challenge accepted,” the alpha growled, and George’s head snapped around on his neck so fast that Tonya could actually hear the bones click in place.
“Huh?” George looked confused.
‘Really, George? Challenging an alpha?’
“That was not me that was the witch,” George shot Tonya a look of pure disbelief.
“Oh, you want me to take your place and challenge the alpha?” Tonya offered with a look of pure innocence that nobody was buying.
“Oh, she’s good,” Rachel chuckled as she folded her arms and bit out a chuckle.
“Can we just get back to why I’m here?” George almost begged.
“Before or after the challenge?” The alpha demanded.
“A date!” George announced as he expanded his hands and motioned to the alpha. Greg pulled his head back on his neck and shot the man a look of horror.
“I’m not going on a date with you,” Greg growled.
“Not me and you — you’re not my type,” George grumbled. Then he turned toward Tonya and motioned once more.
Tonya snorted in contempt at the same time that the alpha did. Rachel balked in disbelief.
“She’s not our type either,” Rachel growled.
“Granted, she’s a witch — say no more, but…” George got no further.
“Exactly, say no more,” Rachel growled.
“What makes you think that I would go on a date with a witch?” Greg chuckled at the very thought of it. A witch…now there was some bad karma that he wouldn’t want to get into.
Well, she wasn’t his type, exactly, but there was certainly something about her that he wouldn’t mind exploring for a few nights, maybe more, maybe…
“Still don’t have the urge to sniff, no?” George asked.
“I’m hungry, does that do it for you?” Greg growled again.
“Look, fairy…” Rachel started, but George cut her off.
“The Christmas fairy, if you don’t mind,” he announced, and a moment later the whole group was chuckling.
“That’s a good one,” Tonya sniggered.
“The Christmas fairy…” Rachel tossed her head back and laughed. She couldn’t get the rest of the words out.
“Is this going to happen every time?” George grumbled.
‘Maybe we should get you a sparkly tutu and a wand?’ Jessica was giggling, and he could hear it. He didn’t appreciate it from her either.
“Who would make you the Christmas fairy?” Rachel snorted.
“That would be me,” Miriam’s clipped tones rang out as she approached the group.
“Oh no,” George grumbled to himself. He didn’t know whether to cry or just bend over and kiss his backside goodbye.
“Oh yes, I’m just checking in to see how you’re doing — have you told them they’re mates yet?” Miriam asked — and all hell broke loose.
CHAPTER FIVE
~
“Okay, I’m not taking the blame for this one,” George grumbled as he shook his head.
“Oh, dear!” Miriam grimaced. “What have you been doing all this time, George?” She asked.
“Okay, I guess I am taking the blame for this one,” George grumbled again.
‘Well, I did tell him that it’s always better to be upfront about this sort of thing.’
“This sort of thing?” Rachel growled at the prospect of having a witch in the pack. There must be some mistake — they were lying — devious — mischievous — magical — enough said.
“Release me from my bonds!” Tonya demanded in a shrill-like voice that made the alpha’s ears hurt.
“Really, George?” Miriam tossed up a hand and sighed in disappointment. “Tell me you didn’t kidnap another witch?”
“Well…” George grimaced.
‘See!’ Jessica berated him.
“Could everybody just stop talking all at once?” Greg grumbled a growl of annoyance, but nobody was listening to him.
“Can someone let me out of these bonds so I can zap him?” Tonya demanded.
“Set the witch free, George,” Miriam demanded.
George grumbled a groan. He didn’t want to think about what would happen when he released the witch from her bonds — but he flicked his hand and did it anyway.
“You kidnapped a witch?” Rachel slapped her hands on her hips and offered a low, hungry growl. “Is this how you treat females?”
“I can assure you…” The fairy godmother said, but she never got to finish as Jessica’s shrill tones rang out across the group to silence them.
‘The witch is getting away! The witch is getting away!’
Then all hell broke loose for the second time.
~
~
~
The alpha had no choice but to go after the witch. His beast demanded it.
There was no saying that the female was his mate, but then there was no saying that she wasn’t either.
He couldn’t take that chance, could he?
Greg resisted taking in a deep breath and trying to find the witch’s scent upon it. That would be bad, for her as well as him.
At that point in time, his beast was unsure if the witch was their mate. If the wolf had confirmation, it would go all out into the hunt mode.
Greg couldn’t allow that to happen. For one thing, they were in the middle of town and his beast bursting from within him to hunt down a mate wasn’t exactly something that he wanted to see on every news channel when he got home. For another, hunting a female would end badly.
Greg set off on fast feet after the escaping witch. His shoulder slammed into George as he raced by him.
The force of the blow sent the fairy spinning backward through the air, and George was unable to save himself, crashing into the display of Christmas trees, and taking them down to the ground with him.
“Really, George?” Miriam said as she placed her hands on her hips and looked down at him with disappointment once more. He was getting used to that look.
“This was not my fault either,” George grumbled.
“They’re Christmas trees, George. Treat them with some respect, please.” Miriam berated him.
“Rather nice ones to boot,” Rachel berated him as well.
‘Bad, George!’ Jessica added as if he was a dog.
George knew that he couldn’t win. Three females against one male — how could he?
~
~
~
The chase was on, and Greg felt a rush of excitement within him. Not for the thought of the witch being his mate — not this side of forever — but he did like a chase. So did his beast.
Greg thought that the fairy was probably playing fast and loose with the truth, he didn’t know why, and he didn’t much care because when he caught up to the witch, she would give him all the answers that he needed.
“Don’t run from me,” Greg called to her. He could play with the truth as well.
“Go away — go away! And don’t sniff!” She called back over her shoulder. She almost ran headfirst into the pole for a stop sign, but pulled back just in time, sidestepped it, and kept going.
“I promise not to sniff if you stop,” Greg called. The wolfish smile on his lips said otherwise.
“Yeah – not! And what are the odds?”
“Pretty good from where I’m standing,” Greg called back.
It was dark out on the street, and he wished he could take the chance to shoot around the back of the alleyway and head her off, but there still might be a few humans along the way. He couldn’t take the risk.
For a female wearing high heels, she certainly could run in them. Of course, he could run much faster — but, he kind of liked giving her the head start that he thought she deserved.
After all, she’d taken the chance to run away from him; he might as well give her the pleasure of the chase that she de
sired. That was probably the only thing that he was going to give her.
Mate! Ha!
“Stop running,” he offered in a teasing voice. He was catching up.
“I’m not running — I’m just walking really, really, really, fast.” She lied. She wished she was running — she wished that she had her trainers on and could go warp speed. Not that she could ever outrun an alpha, or go warp speed, but still.
“Gotcha!” Greg circled his hand around her upper arm and yanked her back toward him as he came to a stop.
Tonya whirled around on the balls of her feet with a squeal of surprise. The metal tips of her heels scraped along the pavement and made her grimace.
She liked those shoes — they better not have needed re-heeling.
“Don’t want-cha!” Tonya bit out with something of a squeal at the end of it as she lost her balance and started to pitch sideways.
The feel of the alpha’s other hand against her hip annoyed her so. She had several layers of clothing on against the icy weather, but she could have sworn that she still felt the heat of his hand seep into her body.
“I second that emotion. But the fairy did say…” Greg started, and she cut him off.
“Don’t believe everything a fairy tells you,” Tonya narrowed her eyes on him.
She was debating just how much of her magic she could get away with using. As they were out in the open — probably not a lot.
CHAPTER SIX
~
“Wouldn’t dream of…” Greg started.
“Good…”
“But…”
“I think the word but is overrated and overused…”
“And yet…”
“Better, but…”
“You said but.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her and gave her a smug smile.
“I did say but, and with good reason.” She took a moment to think about it, trying not to look at the man just in case the fairy didn’t lie about him.
Although, she was still in close proximity to him, and that could warrant the mating pull getting its nasty, slimy, evil, unstoppable little hooks in her.
Oh, if this alpha really was her mate then she was going to kill the Christmas fairy, and the fairy godmother to boot.
“Do you want to share?” Greg asked.
“With you? Nooo.” She even gave a small shake of her head and a grimace to go with it. The idea of sharing anything with an alpha was totally alien and repulsive to her.
“That’s unfortunate, because if you are my mate…”
“Don’t even say it. That fairy kidnapped me — I wouldn’t believe a word he said,” Tonya informed him.
There was a low, deep growl that rumbled in his chest. The alpha looked a little surprised to hear it.
He was sure that his beast was reacting to the fact that she said she’d been kidnapped. Man and beast did have a soft spot for taking care of females. It was in their DNA.
“Why would the fairy witch-nap you?” Greg felt the need to go back and rip the man’s head off. But then the man was a fairy, and Greg probably would have had that desire anyway.
It didn’t mean anything. It certainly didn’t mean that she was his mate.
He hoped.
“I have no idea. One moment he was babbling on about a Christmas date that I was supposed to go on — and then next; he was zapping me with his magic, binding my magic, and throwing me in the back of my own car. My — own — car! Can you believe that?” She tossed up her hands in frustration and dismay.
“Shocking,” Greg said, trying to look appropriately dismayed by her telling of the tale.
In truth, he still didn’t trust her — she was a witch — what was there to trust in?
Fairies and witches — witches and fairies — two sides of the same magical coin. Both of them were devious, mischievous, and downright untrustworthy.
Greg was caught somewhere between a rock and a hard place. He felt like they were coming at him from different angles but both with the same agenda.
He just needed to work out what that agenda entailed.
“I know, right?” She gave a small shake of her head in disbelief. She just wanted to go home.
She didn’t trust the fairy — but what if he was right? What if the man wasn’t lying and the alpha was her mate?
She’d met him now. That would be the nail in the coffin for him — she was sure of that — but, was it really any of her concern?
Tonya grimaced at that thought. There was a little angel that sat on her left shoulder, and it was pinging her ear and her guilt, and whispering sweet nothings into it. The alpha would be sure to go, rogue, if she was his mate and she walked away. Guilt-guilt-yadda-yadda-yadda.
On the other hand — or shoulder — sat the little devil. He chuckled heartily at the angel and the alpha’s plight-not-plight, and his advice was to run as fast as she could right out of town.
Decisions- decisions. What was a girl to do?
“We need to get back to the fairy and find out exactly what’s going on,” Greg informed her.
That sounded like a really good, well thought out and reasoned idea. It was a shame that she couldn’t climb onboard the insane train.
“You need to get back to the fairy and find out exactly what’s going on — I need to leave,” she offered him a sympathetic look while giving him a small shrug of apology.
“You know, I can’t let that happen, right?” Greg offered her a small warning growl.
“I don’t see why. It sounds perfectly reasonable to me,” she shrugged again.
“For all I know, you and the fairy might be in this together…”
“Oh, trust me, I want nothing to do with that man.” She lifted her hand and pointed a finger down the street from where they’d just run. Then she snorted her contempt for him.
“The Christmas fairy?” Greg closed his eyes for a second and shook his head in dismay.
Why would the fairy godmother make a male fairy the Christmas fairy? And why that man?
“I don’t even think he is Christmas fairy. I don’t think that’s the fairy godmother either. I think he’s running a scam.” She hoped so anyway. Otherwise, she had an alpha mate.
“What if he isn’t?” Greg’s eyes roamed around the area as he considered his own words.
“Me and you?” She couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of it.
“What’s wrong with me?” Greg was on the defensive.
“Well…” Tonya started to chew the inside of her mouth. She grimaced. She didn’t want to be too mean about it.
Especially as the alpha was such a good-looking, sexy as hell, kind of a guy. As mate’s went – and she hoped he’d go – he was prime real estate in a bracket that was out of her budget.
Sure, in the real world, she’d love to get her hands on his property – check out the acreage and sample what he had to offer her – but, the real world it wasn’t.
He was an alpha wolf shifter, and she was a witch. That wasn’t a good combination in anyone’s book.
“Thanks,” Greg growled.
It wasn’t as if he wanted the witch falling all over him, he didn’t, but to reject him so out of hand – he thought he was a good catch. She wasn’t exactly the nightmare before Christmas to look at.
The witch had curves, and he liked curvy women. If she wasn’t a witch, well…
“It’s not you,” she grimaced again.
“Glad to hear it,” Greg growled.
Inside his wolf was getting agitated. The beast had been promised a mate by the Christmas fairy-not-Christmas fairy, and it wanted to see for itself if the witch could possibly be theirs.
Greg had to resist the urge to sniff her. He didn’t think she’d appreciate it anyway, and what if someone saw? What if she was his mate?
He certainly wouldn’t appreciate having a witch for a mate, and, oh dear God, his mother would be totally unhinged by it. The woman was hard enough to live with as it was.
“I’m just going to go now.”
She hooked a thumb over her shoulder.
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am.”
“I don’t think so. Trust me when I say…”
“Ouch.” Tonya gave him a small shrug.
“Ouch?” His eyebrows pinched together, and he questioned her with just a look.
The next moment, she’d stomped her heel down on his foot, and the alpha let her go, reached for his foot, and hopped in place.
“Yep, ouch,” Tonya said as she turned on her heels and started away from him.
CHAPTER SEVEN
~
“Okay, that’s it,” Greg growled as he slapped his hand around her wrist and yanked her into the side alley between the shops.
Tonya’s world spun around her once more. High heels against snow on the pavement did not bode well for her attempt to keep her footing.
Her feet skidded out from under her, and she pitched sideways once more. Then she felt the wall at her back and the alpha’s large, warm, muscled body caging her in.
At least she hadn’t face-planted the snow.
“Just let me go, or I’ll tell everybody that you’re wearing women’s frilly underwear,” Tonya rushed out.
She tipped her head back against the wall and stared up into those dark eyes that were narrowed at her. She couldn’t say that the view was all that bad, but she’d much prefer a different one.
“I’m not wearing women’s underwear,” Greg bit out in disbelief.
“But they’re not going to know that, are they?”
“I don’t wear underwear,” Greg growled.
“That’s…” A picture shot into her mind — she could picture the alpha naked, and she couldn’t say that that was a bad view either. “More information that I needed to know.”
“I need to sniff you now…”
“Sniff this…” She rushed to force her magic forward and waved a hand around in the air. Greg’s nose twitched.
“Hotdogs?” His eyebrows pitched as he sniffed again.
“Really? I was going for popcorn.” Tonya frowned.
She’d never had the magic touch when it came to complete control over her spells, and she had been panicking at the time. She guessed popcorn and hotdogs weren’t too dissimilar when you considered that you got them both at the movies.