Alpha's Mate: A Steamy PNR Shifter & Fantasy Romance Collection (Hot Shifters Book 3)

by Casey Morgan

  Ailbe laughed. “Bad luck and Leprechauns! Laddie thinks he’s grown a pair!”

  “What’s that about Leprechauns?!”

  Devin O’Mally was suddenly standing next to us. The wee man glared at Ailbe but then slowly turned to eye our bodies. He blinked his eyes a few times and took a long puff on his pipe. “Are you all nude?” the leprechaun asked.

  We nodded.

  The little man scratched his chin. He looked over at the lake and then back at us. “It’s the dead of winter,” he pointed out.

  “That’s what I said,” Ailbe argued. He cackled.

  Devin looked back at him and sighed. “You stay there!” he ordered Ailbe. The warlock froze in place. The leprechaun turned back to us. “The rest of the town council is coming, so…” He waved his hands and worked an elaborate spell.

  The lads and I were unexpectedly dressed in plaid suits with ties. Keira looked down to find herself in an elaborate pink ballgown with beaded embellishments. She giggled and fluffed her skirt.

  Three more elves and a witch zapped into existence on the beach.

  “Lord Devin!” Bridget Hennessey groaned. “It’s close to elven at night. Couldn’t we do this tomorrow.” A few of the others groaned their displeasure.

  “Ailbe has been in hiding the last few days,” Devin explained to us. Then he raised his voice, so all could hear, “I set a trap to cause Ailbe to be drawn out when the curse was broke. This was our only opportunity to catch him. Now that freeze spell won’t hold him long. Gather round.”

  We tried to back up and get out of the way, but Devin waved us back. “You five as well. Join our circle. I would expect ye would want to see this through.”

  Keira nodded and walked forward. We took our places among the town council, forming a large circle around Ailbe. The warlock twitched and moaned. It was obvious that he was fighting the spell that Devin cast on him.

  “Ailbe McDonnell,” Devin started, making sure his voice carried over the whole circle. “Yer accused of practicing black magic, of trying to sell illegal hexes, and of…”

  “Generally being a nuisance,” Bridget Hennessey cut him off.

  The little man looked up at her annoyed, but then he shook his head. “Well, yes. You are accused of generally being a nuisance. Ye and yer kin are here by banded from the town of Luck’s Hollow, never to return to bother us again.” He looked around to find us in the circle. “This is a general banishment spell, kids. Just follow my hands.’

  I nodded. I could see Keira and the others do the same. All the folk in the circle lifted their hands in front of them, fingers raised and ready to dance.

  “Like hell I am!” Ailbe roared. He twisted his hands and let loose a fireball right at Devin.

  “No!”

  Keira moved like lightening. She wove her hands through a blast spell and let it off. The power in her spell caught Ailbe’s fireball midstride and pushed it off course and into the lake. We all watched it fizzle and burn out.

  Devin chuckled. “Nice bit of magic, lass.” He smiled at her. “I knew ye was a good egg.”

  Keira smiled under his praise.

  Devin froze Ailbe again and we started the banishment spell. As a group of twelve, we wove our fingers, piecing the magic in the air into a web that would hold Ailbe away from Luck’s Hollow for good. Once the spell was done, Devin nodded with approval.

  “Be gone witch,” he told Ailbe. “And take those brutish boys and angry wife with ye!” The leprechaun snapped his fingers and Ailbe vanished with a snort.

  The lake was quiet in the moonlight once more. The two other elves and the witch zapped away. Bridget gave us a wave before leaving as well.

  Devin looked us over and grunted. “Ye lads treat her good. She’s something special.”

  My brothers and I nodded. “We will, sir,” Ronan promised for all of us.

  Keira knelt and gave the little man a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for everything, Mr. O’Mally,” she whispered.

  The leprechaun grinned, his white teeth gripping his pipe. And then he was gone too.

  “Wow!” Connor said. “Out of all our adventures that week, trekking down to Lucky Lake in the middle of the night is one I will always remember.”

  Still clad in her ballgown, Keira took my arm. “Oh, I don’t think we will forget any moment of this week.”

  We all nodded and started walking towards the campground.

  “I’m thinking we should head back to the Hennessy House tomorrow,” Keira added. “I feel like I’m paying for a room I haven’t seen in ages.”

  “Is it big enough for five?” asked Ronan with a smile.

  “I think it is,” she said. “And it’s not like the people running it are going to scoff at our group.”

  “Here’s to going back where it all started,” toasted Tavish. “We’ve been through quite a bit in the last week, but we’ve all found something, eh?”

  “Here-here,” said Connor.

  “Cheers,” said the rest of us.

  Chapter 22

  Keira

  On the ride back to Hennessey House the next day, the mood was light, the curse was gone, and we were making plans for the future. I hadn’t decided about living arrangements yet. I could stay at Hennessy House for the time being, but it was more of a B&B and not really an apartment. Moving in with one of the boys would seem unfair to the others.

  “My place is huge,” argued Seth, while we were in the van. “Plus, you’re right above my shop.”

  “I get it, Seth,” I said, rolling my eyes slightly. We had had this argument before. “But it’s just not fair to the other boys.”

  “What if we had you rotating between all our places?” suggested Connor, sitting next to me on the backseat. “Like a week at a time.”

  “Mmm, maybe,” I said, not really liking the idea. “Then I’d have to put myself stuff somewhere. No, then I’d have stuff at like four places. Plus, I have a lot of clothing.”

  “Are you going back to New York, then?” asked Ronan, from the driver’s seat. “To get all your things.”

  “Excellent question,” I said. “I suppose I’d have to eventually and to take care of the apartment.” I pulled a lock of my hair over my shoulder and twisted it around my fingers. “Oh, boy. I didn’t think of that.”

  “There’s got to be a way you could do that remotely,” suggested Seth. “Have a friend or hire someone to box up all your things and ship them. Although the cost would be high.”

  “Well, it’s not like I’d ship the furniture,” I said. “Although there is a lamp I’d definitely keep. Maybe it’s better that I get my own place and you guys all come to me.”

  “Well, I do like to cum to you,” quipped Seth, raising one dark eyebrow.

  I wrinkled my nose and stuck my tongue out at him. “You guys know this area,” I said. “There’s got to be a good place I could rent. Or should we think about buying a place?”

  “Buying?” said Connor. He leaned back into the seat with a smile. “Wow, I feel so grown up. Thinking about buying a house.”

  “Slow down, lads,” said Seth. “The real estate market is not very good right now. Besides, if there’s a problem with your place you have to play to fix it. Renting is better till we have a better financial backing.”

  “Yeah, but it’s like throwing your money away,” I countered. “A house is an investment. You can always sell it. Even if you sell it at a loss.”

  “True, but you’re stuck there forever if it doesn’t sell,” said Seth. “And if ya have any real problems it can cost a bundle. Trust me. If we look for a house, it’ll take months. Maybe a year. I’m not against the idea, mind ye. I just think ya should probably get an apartment and then we can look, aye?”

  “But where’s she going to live while she’s looking for an apartment?” asked Ronan. “For that, you can stay with one of us, surely.”

  “I suppose,” I said. “Then I would feel obligated to hop from each one of your places.”

  “No-no
,” said Ronan, trying to stop the arguing. “Seth has the biggest place. I won’t be insulted if ye stay with him.”

  “You sure?” I asked, looking at each of the elves.

  “Nah, go on,” said Tavish, who had his arm wrapped around my shoulders. “This way, I won’t have to clean my place.”

  “As much as I hate to admit it,” said Connor. “Ronan’s right. My tiny apartment barely fits me, much less the rest of ye.”

  “All right then, it’s settled,” said Seth. He held up his hand with four fingers raised. “A couple of ground rules before coming into my place.”

  The entire van groaned.

  Seth put down three of his fingers. “It’s just a simple thing,” he insisted. “One wee thing and it set you all off.”

  “We’re just kidding,” I said. “You go ahead.”

  “Please, just clean up after yourselves and take your shoes off when ye come in,” said Seth. “That’s it.”

  “I can already see the argument coming,” muttered Connor. He ran a hand through his messy dark hair.

  “What’s there to argue about Connor? It’s my place. My bed that’s probably going to be broken in half!” laughed Seth.

  With our new plan outlined, we arrived back at Ronan’s agency. Seth got his car and followed us over to Hennessey House. It had seemed like a lifetime since I was at the wedding and had met Tavish, Connor, Ronan and Seth here. Now we were coming full circle. I still had another two days reserved in the B&B, but now I had a place to go after my stay was done. Ronan parked outside.

  “We’ll be back in a bit,” Ronan explained. “Just have to look into our shops.”

  “And I have to grab some clothes,” Connor interrupted. “We’ll find ya in the pub in a bit and get dinner.”

  I gave them each a kiss and went inside.

  When we walked into the pub, I got the shock of my life. Manny was sitting there waiting for me. My short, skinny ex was sitting at the bar with a number of glasses in front of him.

  “What the… Manny?” I said in disbelief. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “I was worried,” he smiled. He stood up and stumbled a bit. “You never answered my calls or texts. I thought something happened.” He walked over and tried to hug me.

  I moved out of his grasp and stepped back. “Something did happen,” I explained. “I moved on. And so, should you.”

  “Come on,” he said, ordering me in that tone of voice I hated. “Come to a table, sit down, and let’s talk.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about, Manny. You have to leave.” I pointed towards the door.

  “Leave? I love you,” he argued, raising his voice. A few of the other patrons in the bar started watching us. “Come on, don’t be crazy.”

  “I’m not crazy, Manny,” I said, turning my back to him and starting to walk out. “Just go.”

  “Uh, Keira, we were together almost five years,” said Manny, perturbed. He grabbed my shoulder and pulled me around to face him. “I think you owe me some kind of an explanation.”

  “I don’t love you, Manny,” I said. I took his hand off my shoulder and dropped it. “And you treated me like shit.”

  “I treated you like shit?” he said, outraged. His face was starting to turn red. “Who ducked out on me and shuts her phone off in Ireland?”

  “You already knew I was going to Ireland for a wedding and we had already broken up!” I snapped. “Why are you really here, Manny?”

  “I’m trying to save our relationship,” he said. “Look, I know we both made mistakes. It’s okay. I forgive you.”

  “You forgive me?” I put my hand to my chest and glared at him.

  “Yeah, now you forgive me. That’s how it works.”

  “What the hell are you talking about? Manny, you once dressed me down in one of the biggest restaurants in New York. Do you remember that?”

  “You were acting inappropriately. I was correcting your behavior. I mean, c’mon,” he laughed nervously.

  I clenched my hands into fists at my sides. “Correcting my behavior? What am I? A dog?”

  “No. Look, you’re getting all upset for nothing, Keira. Calm down, okay?”

  “Stop telling me what to do!” I snapped. “You don’t get to do that anymore, Manny. I’m glad to be rid of you, okay? I’m doing way better without you.”

  He ignored what I was saying and shrugged. “Look, we can get married. I know I scoffed at the idea before, okay. But I’m willing to discuss it now. We could have a kid, even,” he offered. “Just, let’s go upstairs. I’m embarrassed enough with all these people in the room watching us.”

  “Manny, you’re embarrassed because you’re embarrassing yourself. You just don’t get it. You’re not listening to me. I don’t love you. I don’t want to marry you. And I certainly wouldn’t have a kid with you. I dated you out of desperation. I stayed with you out of convenience.”

  “Whoa, that’s harsh, babe.” He crossed his skinny arms and tapped his foot. “That’s harsh. But I deserved that. I stayed with you because I love you.”

  “No, you didn’t. You were having sex with another girl and lying to me! Go back to New York. There are literally thousands of other women you can annoy. Our relationship is done.”

  “Don’t I get a say in this? We were a team. We had a partnership.”

  “What partnership? You wouldn’t even let me order off the menu in a restaurant. You wouldn’t let me drive. You’d criticize my clothes, my cooking, my behavior, and my job. Oh, that time we visited your mother.”

  “My mother had a good point. You were underdressed.” He rolled his eyes.

  “Oh, my God. You can’t even stop yourself. Even now. You can’t help yourself. You have to criticize and belittle me constantly. Do you have any idea what that is like?” I was so annoyed that I started sucking the magic in the air around me into my body.

  “Hey, I came all this way,” said Manny annoyed.

  About halfway through our argument, Ronan had walked in. He was a bit reluctant to interrupt and hovered in the background. But now that Manny was making some kind of move he stood up and moved forward. Tavish, Seth and Connor walked in behind us just in time to hear him make his stand.

  “The lady said for you to leave,” said Ronan plainly. He towered over Manny.

  Manny looked up at the elf and then to me, “You mean to tell me you’re with this dipshit, now?” he said incredulous. “He is definitely not your type, babe.”

  “Actually,” said Seth, stepping in between us. “She’s with all of us.”

  “Wh-what?” laughed Manny, he leaned onto the counter behind him. “Fellas, can the shit, okay? This is between us. So, go stick your elf noses into someone else’s business.”

  Tavish stepped up and crossed his arms showcasing all of his muscles.

  “I don’t think you’re hearing us, man,” he said. “The lady wants you to go.”

  “You expect me to believe that you’re with four elves,” Manny laughed. “That’s the most insane thing I’ve ever heard. If you’re going to break up with me, at least be honest.”

  “I am being honest, Manny! I have been being honest this whole time and you’re not listening!” I snapped. “I’m in love with all four of them. Seth, Connor, Ronan and Tavish. Each one of them is twice the man you are. You never made me feel special. You always made me feel stupid.”

  “This is nuts,” said Manny. “You can’t be with four guys. That’s not even a fetish. That’s like Mormon level of weird or something.”

  “Don’t call us weird.” I raised my hand and formed a blast spell in it. I was done with Manny’s behavior. He needed to leave, or I was going to get violent. “These are the most kind and gentle people I’ve ever been with.”

  “You’ve been with them? You mean like, had sex with them? With all of them? What? At the same time?” he said incredulous. “That’s not a relationship, that’s a Porn video. When did you become such a slut?”

  I raised my hand to t
hrow the blast spell at Manny, but Seth caught my hand and shook his head. It was a good reminder. I didn’t want to do anything to destroy Hennessey House or its patrons.

  “Whatever it is, it’s none of your God damned business,” I yelled. “Get out, Manny. I never want to see you again.”

  “Well, if you’re going to act like a stupid bitch,” said Manny condescendingly.

  Connor grabbed him by the arm and then Tavish. He struggled against them.

  “Hey. Get off me. You can’t throw me out of here. I’m a paying customer!” Manny objected.

  Manny pulled free and swung wide. He ended up clocking Ronan in the face. Ronan grabbed his nose and spun away.

  “Ronan!” cried Tavish. “I’ll break you in half, yank.” He grabbed Manny by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up off his feet.

  “Holy fuck!” snapped Manny, now worried. “Okay, fine I’ll leave. Christ. Can I get my stuff at least?”

  Brody and Ryan, the owners of Hennessey House came up to us. One of the patrons had gone to warn them of the trouble. “I’ll have yer bags brought outside,” said Brody. “Don’t come back inside this place again.”

  “Fine, I’ll go,” said Manny looking at me. “Enjoy your freaky lifestyle, ya weirdo. Don’t look me up when you’re back in New York.”

  “Don’t worry, I won’t,” I assured him.

  Manny gave me a curt nod and marched out the door. Good riddance!

  Connor got Ronan a bag of ice that he filled behind the bar. I put it against his face and set his head in my lap.

  “Ronan, I’m so sorry,” I apologized. “I hope you’re okay.”

  “I’m fine now,” he smiled. “It’s worth for this.”

  “Hey, what about me and Connor?” said Tavish. “Don’t we get any points?”

  “I didn’t need to be rescued,” I assured them. “Points not gained.”

  “Dammit,” said Connor.

  “But your protection is appreciated,” I added, smiling at each of them.

  “Well, that’s something,” said Seth.

  “Your room’s still where ye left it,” said Brody. “Ye coming back to work now, Connor?”