by M. L. Briers
“If the worst comes to the worst; I have my magic,” George rushed out as he offered the prayer to the fairy godmother so that he may keep his head on his neck this Christmas.
“Out!” Evan growled as he drew alongside the driver’s door.
But the big bear shifter didn’t wait for George to open his door, he yanked it open himself, and the hinges protested with a squeal that George found decidedly unhelpful to his bravery gene.
George knew that if Jessica wasn’t in the car, then he probably would have crawled over to the passenger seat and got out the other side at brake-neck speed.
He might even have run away screaming, but the screams would only have been to hurt the shifter’s sensitive ears and disorientate him long enough for him to make his escape – at least, that’s what George would have told himself.
But, alas, none of that was going to happen, because Jessica was in the car and the bear shifter was already at the open door.
“Out!” Evan growled again.
“Now, hold on a minute…” George got no further as Evan reached in, fisted his shirt, and yanked him out of the car like a child with a ragdoll.
George just knew that his feet were not touching the ground, but there wasn’t a whole lot he could do about it. It was kind of embarrassing.
“You!” Evan growled.
“I’m sensing that you like one word to sentences,” George offered and was bolstered slightly by the sound of Jessica’s chuckling.
“I’m going to rip your head off,” Evan growled back.
“Okay, maybe one-word sentences are better than the whole thing,” George grumbled.
George’s feet hit the ground, and the man pulled back his fist. George’s eyes widened at the sight of it. It was huge, and he’d already felt the pain of it once.
“You must have a death wish,” Evan growled, but he growled even harder when his arm wouldn’t move, refused to swing, and he couldn’t apply the blow to George’s chin.
“Okay, let’s take a pause,” George offered. It hadn’t been his magic that had saved his head this time — he doubted it was the witch – it must have been Jessica’s.
“Release me,” Evan growled.
His bear roared inside of him. The beast pushed forward and tried to make the shift, take Evan’s place, but even he was stuck in place.
“See what a little fairy magic can do?” George crowed.
It might not have been his magic that had saved his him, but at least he still had a head, and the shifter didn’t need to know any different.
“What the hell is that?” Evan’s eyes had flicked into the back of the car where the witch was laying. He offered another growl to the fairy as his eyes flicked back, and the hungry look said that he wanted to kill George.
“Okay, a funny thing happened on the way out of the bar,” George offered.
Then he wrenched his shirt from the shifter’s fist and took a step sideways out of the man’s reach.
“Is she a fairy?” Evan growled.
“A witch,” George offered back, and the shifter grunted.
“Still, she is a female,” Evan said.
The bear shifter didn’t much care for witches. But, he was protective of females.
“Yes, she is. Glad you recognize that fact,” George teased.
“What’s wrong with her?” Evan growled.
He didn’t know why, but he had an overriding sense of protection where the woman was concerned. Sure, she had magic, and technically she should be able to take care of herself. But it didn’t look that way to Evan.
Then there was the fact that the witch’s eyes were practically begging him for help. Unfortunately, Evan wasn’t in a position to do that until he was released from the fairy’s magic.
Still, he would find a way to help the woman out of the clutches of the evil fairy.
“She’s just under a little magic spell,” George offered back. Evan grunted again in annoyance.
“Let her go,” Evan demanded.
“That was my plan,” George said.
“So, do it,” Evan growled, fast losing patience with the fact that he could do nothing while under the fairy’s magic spell.
“There’s just one little issue that we have to clear up,” George offered back.
“Let her go, or…”
“Fine. She’s all yours,” George said with a beaming smile.
“Mine?”
“Exactly!” George nodded happily.
“Huh?”
“Take the witch; she’s yours. My gift, and a happy Christmas!”
“I don’t want her!” Evan growled back.
CHAPTER FOUR
~
“Then we have a little problem,” George said.
“Oh, me and you are gonna have a big problem. Fairy boy.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” George offered back. He was bolstered by the fact that the shifter was still all tied up in Jessica’s magic.
‘Tell him, George,’ Jessica said. Evan caught the chatter and eyed the area, looking for a female fairy to put with that voice.
“Faeries should be female,” Evan growled back.
“If there were no male faeries, then how could there be female fairies? It’s kind of like the chicken and the egg,” George offered back.
“Huh?”
“Never mind,” George gave a small shake of his head.
“Let that damn witch go,” Evan demanded.
He might not have been able to move right there and then, but as soon as the magic set him free — boy, was he going to rip that guy’s fluffy little head off.
“Damn witch?” George grimaced. “You may regret that one, my friend.”
“I’m not your friend,” Evan growled back.
“You can say that again,” George muttered.
“Are you going to let that damn witch go, or…”
“You really should watch what you’re saying,” George’s singsong voice annoyed Evan and his bear.
“Or what?” Evan demanded.
“Or your mate might just witch slap you,” George offered back.
“I don’t have a mate!” Evan looked at the man as if he’d just grown another head, and it was a troll head.
“I think you do,” George said.
“I think you’re delusional,” Evan snapped back.
“I think your mate is closer than you think,” George teased.
He was getting the hang of it, was enjoying himself, and so he should — if he couldn’t have a personal life and some fun — then why not have some fun with his business life.
“Whatever you’re putting in your fairy dust this year, I don’t wanna sniff any of it,” Evan growled.
“You probably will after finding out who your mate is,” George chuckled.
“Okay, that’s it — who’s my damn mate?” Evan growled.
“Abracadabra — enjoy the witch!” George used both hands to motion toward Deborah on the back seat as if she was a brand-new spanking truck in a cheesy TV commercial.
Evan opened his mouth to speak — his brain farted — his eyes narrowed on George — they flicked toward Deborah — and he swallowed down a good portion of his tongue.
Then he grunted in disbelief.
“That’s not my mate,” Evan gave a fast shake of his head in denial.
“I think you’ll find she is,” George’s singsong voice was back again.
“I think I’m going to kill you,” Evan growled.
“I think you’re going to be too preoccupied with your witch mate.”
George kept that singsong voice up because he just knew that Evan hated it so much. The dead giveaway was the way that the man flinched every time he used it.
Oh, and he was going to use it. Payback was a bitch.
“That’s not my mate!” Evan growled.
“Denying your mate.” George gave a slow shake of his head in disbelief. “How could you?”
“Now hold on a…”
; “And when she’s bound by fairy magic and needs your help — you turn your back on your mate.” George was playing it for all that he was worth.
“That’s not…”
“Shame on you,” George grumbled.
“Now…”
“Call yourself a bear shifter?”
‘That’s enough, George,’ Jessica said as she flitted around George’s head until he got the message.
“I’m just having a little fun — he did punch me in the face,” George grumbled.
‘And he’s going to do it again if you don’t stop – now.’
“Too damn right I am,” Evan growled.
“See. He hasn’t learned his lesson.” George shook his head in dismay.
“I could say the same about you, fairy.”
“That’s — the Christmas fairy to you — shifter,” George offered back and watched as Evan’s eyes slowly narrowed on him, and the man’s brain kicked in.
George could even picture the lightbulb over Evan’s head, and suddenly, it clicked on.
“Christmas fairy!” Evan tossed his head back on his neck and roared with laughter.
‘Unfortunately, George, that one never gets old.’
“It’s not that damn funny!” George grumbled.
He wasn’t the perfect Christmas fairy. He wasn’t female. But he was getting the job done.
Why couldn’t people give him credit for that?
“Yes, yes it is,” Evan chuckled.
“No, no it’s not,” George grumbled back.
‘He really is the Christmas fairy,’ Jessica whispered against the shifter’s ear, and Evan immediately stopped laughing.
“You’re the Christmas fairy?” Evan demanded a truthful answer.
“Yes, damn it, I’m the Christmas fairy — problem?” George snapped back.
“You’re the Christmas fairy — and that’s my mate?” Evan scented the air looking for any kind of deceit from the fairy.
“Yes! Yes! Yes! How many times do I need to say it?”
That was when he caught the sweet scent on the air — a scent that was filled with promise — Evan’s nose twitched, and his beast roared within him. Whoops.
Mine…
“That’s my mate!” Evan growled.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to…”
“Let my mate out of there, or I will kill you,” Evan growled.
Somehow Evan managed to break the bonds of Jessica’s magic. His fist shot through the air toward George, but it was a finger of accusation that he was pointing — but, he still managed to swat Jessica sideways as he did it.
Jessica hit the roof of the car hard. George’s eyes snapped to where she was laying, and his body turned to follow.
“Jessica!” George snapped his fingers and was in his fairy form in an instant. It took him just a moment for his senses to recover from the change, but that moment felt like an eternity.
He immediately flew to Jessica’s side, kneeling down over her still body, and he pulled on his healing magic as he reached for her.
He’d never imagine something could go this wrong.
It was all his fault.
George knew that he would rather it was him lying there than her.
He felt sick to his stomach and as guilty as hell.
What had he done?
CHAPTER FIVE
~
“Jessica?” George reached out to her. His hands were shaking with fear, and his stomach felt as if he had a large rock dropped in it.
“You idiot!” Jessica turned fast and zapped George with all of the power that she possessed.
George went flying through the air and dropped like a rock. His back hit the bonnet of the car, and he groaned.
Not only had the devious little female zapped him, but she’d also paralyzed his wings to boot. Oh boy, did he want to wring her scrawny little neck?
Never trust a female fairy!
The sound of the shifter’s roar filled the air. The sound of the metal hinges on the back door of the car being twisted grated on George’s nerves.
George guessed that was two doors that the witch would need to replace, but that wasn’t his concern. That was down to her mate.
George yanked his body to his feet and whizzed up in the air. He performed a low flyby over Jessica, making sure to keep enough distance between them to see things coming, like zapping, that time.
The woman was dragging herself up to her hands and knees, and she offered him a death glare as he flew by. Yep, she was still miffed off.
“Idiot!” Jessica grumbled.
“Shame he didn’t hit you on the head’ it might have brightened your whole personality,” George grumbled.
Then George flew over to the other side of the car, snapped his fingers, and return to his human form.
Evan was just about to reach inside the car for his mate when he saw the fairy shift back into his human form, and he hesitated for a moment on a long, hungry, growl.
“Just take care of your — what did you call her? Oh yes, damn — witch,” George offered back. He was in no mood for the shifter’s antics.
The man could grumble and growl all that he wanted. It didn’t matter a jot to George.
George had done his job. He’d brought mates together and fulfilled his side of the bargain — now; it was up to the stupid shifter to woo his stupid mate.
George had had enough.
He was done.
When, and if, the shifter finally managed to woo his mate — then that was it.
No more.
He was going to march into the fairy godmother’s office and tell her as much.
“I should rip your head off,” Evan growled.
“Or, maybe — you should keep your eye on the ball,” George offered as he snapped his fingers and released the magic from the witch.
Deborah squealed as she felt the bonds of magic release her. She kicked out and pushed up at the same time, catching Evan right in the balls with her foot, and shrieking with disbelief at the fairy.
“I’m going to kill you!” Deborah screeched out.
She was halfway up to a sitting position, resting on her elbow on the back seat when she caught sight of the large figure of the shifter at the open doorway.
She couldn’t see his face, just that large torso. His hands grabbed his balls, his knees buckled beneath him, and he dropped to the ground.
Now she could see his face, and he was staring right at her.
Deborah twisted her head on her neck and eyed him right back. His face was bright red, his eyes were practically bulging in his head, and the twisted look of sheer pain on his face made her guilty gene click on.
“Whoops,” she muttered and then grimaced as Evan squeaked out a long, wheezing groan.
“That’s one way to put it,” George chuckled.
“You!” Deborah snapped back to the reality of the fairy being so close by, and her mind locked onto what she’d like to do to him.
She scrambled up in the seat, turned to the window, and found that annoying, devious man looking right in at her. She gargled a few curse words in the back of her throat before she lifted her hands and used her magic to slam open the back door of the car.
The car door head-butted George right on the forehead and caught his nose. One moment; he was looking in the window, and the next he was flat on his back and holding his face.
‘Karma is such a bitch — and one I appreciate so much,’ Jessica chuckled as she did a quick fly-by over George’s head.
She gracefully turned in midair and came back for another run. She couldn’t resist zapping him as she went, and enjoyed the moment when his body shivered uncontrollably as if he’d been Tasered.
“Somebody is definitely a bitch,” George muttered under his breath, and Jessica zapped him again. “Did I say you?” George snapped.
‘I’m sticking up for the whole female race as a species — woman power,’ Jessica chuckled as she zipped right by him.
“Two
men down,” Deborah said as she climbed out of the back of the car, brushed the magic from her hands, and turned her attention toward the female fairy. “Do we have a problem?”
“You certainly have a problem,” George grumbled. “It’s right behind you,” he added.
“Think I’m going to fall for that one?” Deborah tossed her hands onto her hips and snorted her contempt for the man and his tricks.
The low, deep growl of annoyance that rumbled from somewhere over her left shoulder made Deborah jump in place. She grimaced, but she didn’t turn around.
“Told you,” George offered back as he dropped his hands from his nose to enjoy the moment when he offered her a smug grin.
“You kicked me in the balls,” Evan growled.
“Not on purpose,” Deborah lied.
Evan scented deceit. His mate was lying to him, and that wasn’t acceptable.
“Oh, if you believe that then you believe anything,” George said as he pulled himself up to his feet, and dusted himself off.
“You’re my mate…” Evan growled.
“Says him.” Deborah lifted her hand and pointed to the fairy.
She still hadn’t turned to look at the shifter. She guessed that if the fairy wasn’t lying, and she looked at the man — then it would truly be real.
She would be his mate.
That wasn’t good.
Deborah felt kind of childish — if she didn’t look then it wasn’t happening – if only.
Damn that Christmas fairy!
“Trust me; I can smell you,” Evan growled.
“Wow, what a way to put it!” George chuckled.
“Tell me about it,” Deborah grumbled.
“I mean, I can scent you,” Evan growled.
“No, no you can’t,” Deborah said with a grimace.
“Yes, yes I can!” Evan growled back.
“No, no you can’t, and if you try it, then I might just kick you in the balls again,” Deborah snapped, as she turned on her heels and came face to chest with the big man mountain.
An even bigger growl rumbled through that broad chest, and Deborah felt that rumble travel over her skin.
That was definitely not good.
CHAPTER SIX