by M. L. Briers
HIS MATE
BROTHERS
YULE BE MINE
BY
M.L BRIERS
Copyright © 2017, 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.
Copyright © 2017, Cover Design by; Rebecca Pau at The Final Wrap.
Table of Contents
HIS MATE
BROTHERS
YULE BE MINE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
CHAPTER ONE
~
Ashley shot up in bed like a vampire rising from its coffin as the sound of the air horn blasted through the cottage. Her heart was doing its best to escape her ribs as she held still, frozen in place in the semi-darkness of the room, and tried to get her brain to work after too much wine.
Not that she thought it was possible that you could ever have too much wine or chocolate, but too little sleep was a definite problem considering her housemates.
“What in the name of the Crone is going on?” Nancy yelled as she raced down the hallway, shot a quizzical scowl in at Ashley, who managed to blink twice, and practically rugby tackled the air horn out of Eliza's hand.
“Thank anyone’s God,” Ashley dropped back on the softness of her pillow and groaned in annoyance at the ringing in her ears and the pounding in her brain.
“Are you insane?” Nancy’s voice reached her ears, and she groaned once more, snatched the pillow from beneath her head and tried her best to suffocate herself with it as she held it over her face.
Not being able to breathe was somewhat preferable to listening to her housemates going at it one more time. Especially, in her delicate condition.
“Thus starts the first argument for the day…” she groaned into the pillow and choked on dust bunnies or something equally nasty and yanked the pillow back down. Breathing was definitely a lot better than suffocating, but her sore head didn’t appreciate the argument playing outside her door.
“Not that I noticed, but you never can tell,” Eliza offered back in a voice that sounded way too bright and breezy for the time of day when it wasn’t at all bright, although the wind was howling something fierce outside the window, so she guessed she had the breezy part covered.
“I can tell!” Nancy snapped back. “You’re bloomin’ well looney tunes. Who does that? Who lets off an air horn at stupid-o’clock in the morning?”
“Somebody who wants to get other people’s attention?” Eliza offered back with a grin that stretched too wide, was too gleeful, and was way too teasing for its own good.
Nancy zapped her with a jolt of magic that made Eliza squeal.
“Congratulations, you got my bloomin’ attention. Happy now?” Nancy scowled.
“Not so much,” Eliza scowled back.
Ashley could hear what she’d already known would be the case when that air horn-brain rattling sound had launched her awake. Her friends were in standoff mode again.
Stand-off mode usually escalated to zapping mode — which led to squealing mode — which led to all hell breaking loose mode — and if Ashley wanted to get any more sleep and wake up at a decent hour, then she knew that she was going to have to intervene. She groaned again.
“Keep it down — you already woke the dead,” Ashley called out into the darkness.
“Not the way I would describe you — but okay,” Eliza said as she appeared at the doorway, and Ashley pried open one eye and noted her friend surrounded by the glow of the hallway light. Eliza was definitely no angel.
“Go to bed, it’s obscenely early, or stupidly late, I haven’t looked at the clock yet to decide which one, and if I do look then I’m more than likely to kill you myself,” Ashley groaned.
“Can’t — we’ll be late,” Eliza informed her.
Ashley’s brain was still on slow mode, and she had no idea what her friend was talking about, and better yet, she couldn’t even try to make a reasonable guess of it and to top it all off, she didn’t much care.
“For what?” Ashley hated to ask, but damn curiosity always got the better of her. She considered it a personal failing. Besides, if she didn’t ask then the personal torture might never end.
Eliza was always full of schemes and plans, and none of them usually ended well. But, she knew that it was still better to be forewarned about those things than to walk blindly into them.
After all, when push came to shove, then she would like time to bend over and kiss her backside goodbye.
“Christmas!” Eliza announced as if it was a new concept that she’d just invented. Ashley groaned.
“Newsflash — we’re witches — we don’t do Christmas. Besides, it’s practically over.” Nancy had said it as if it was a dirty word as she joined Eliza at Ashley’s door and peered in at Ashley.
“What she said,” Ashley agreed with a sigh.
Now that both witches were in her room she felt the promise of sleep getting even further away from her. She just wanted to go back to the drink induced sleep where she been dreaming about the hot, hunky guy with abs like steel, and to partake in sinful things that she wouldn’t get to do in real life. Heaven.
Any mini-dramas could wait until daylight.
“Exactly!” Eliza said as she folded her arms, gave a quick nod of her head as she agreed with her own reasoning, and beamed a smile that stretched from ear to ear.
“I told you you’re insane,” Nancy grumbled as her shoulders slumped through lack of sheer willpower and sleep, and she turned to leave. Her bed was calling to her.
“Not so fast,” Eliza said.
“If you need some company in your psychosis then I strongly suggest that you look to Ashley in your quest and not me. I’m going back to bed,” Nancy informed her.
“Don’t look at me — I think I’m still drunk,” Ashley groaned.
“Well, drunk or sober — tired or wide-awake — you’re both coming with me,” Eliza announced.
“I hate to ask…” Ashley groaned.
“Then don’t,” Nancy warned her. “You know it will only end in tears, hopefully for Eliza and not us.”
“Please ask!” Eliza gave a happy, excited little jig on the spot and clapped her hands together with glee.
The witch’s eyes were way too wide and shining brightly for stupid-o’clock in the morning, so there had to be something big hidden up her sleeve to make her so
excited and risk the wrath of her witchy housemates.
“Don’t do it — you know you’ll regret it,” Nancy warned again on a hissed out whisper that wasn’t really a whisper at all. “Don’t let that damn curious gene of yours…”
“Okay, I’ll bite,” Ashley said as she yanked her head up, spun the pillow behind her head, and eyed her friend with suspicion.
“You had to join her psychosis,” Nancy groaned.
“Not my fault. I was born curious,” Ashley shot back.
“On your curious little head be it,” Nancy grumbled, and yet, she didn’t move an inch as curiosity bit her in the backside.
“Where are we going?” Ashley asked.
There was an excited shriek that came from Eliza and Ashley groaned inwardly. She was already sorry that she’d opened her big mouth as her eardrums rattled and her brain heard an internal marching band playing an upbeat tune.
“I’m glad you asked!” Eliza exclaimed.
“I’m not,” Nancy groaned, offering Ashley a hard, I told you so, stare that made Ashley grimace just as much as Eliza’s shriek of excitement had. Ashley tossed her an apologetic grimace.
“I brought us all tickets to… Bermuda!” Eliza squealed again as her happy jig got way out of control, and she started to jump around in circles on the spot.
“Ba-who-da? Say, what now?” Nancy demanded.
“Christmas in Bermuda!” Eliza squealed with excitement and clapped her hands together with glee.
“Bermuda?” Ashley’s brain was still trying to catch up, but when it did; it was flashing up beautiful white sandy beaches being lapped at by crystal clear water, and sunshine, lots, and lots of sunshine.
“Bermuda!” Eliza squealed again.
“Hell yes!” Ashley shot up on the bed once more. Now, she was wide awake. “I’m in!” her head throbbed harder, but for Bermuda, she could put up with it.
“Bermuda?” Nancy mulled over that thought. “Well, okay then!”
“Yea! We’re going on holiday!” Eliza was back to doing her happy jig and clapping her hands with excitement again. “Am I forgiven for the air horn thing now?”
“No,” Nancy offered back as she turned on her heels and started out of the room. She shook her hips and lifted her arms in the air. “Bermuda, baby! Hell, yeah! Now you’re forgiven.”
“Get those suitcases packed, girls! Sun, sea, sand, and…”
“Safety first!” Nancy chuckled as she strolled down the hall toward her bedroom.
It was going to be a Christmas they would never forget.
CHAPTER TWO
~
“Who knew there would be snow?” Eliza grimaced at the veil of white that had suddenly descended outside the car windows and was as close to a blizzard as she ever wanted to get.
“Anyone who watched the weather report?” Nancy offered from the back seat.
“Who watches the weather report?” Eliza tossed back over her shoulder with a snort of contempt for the idea.
“Oh, I don’t know, anyone going on a long drive to the airport,” Nancy berated her.
“Well,” Eliza grimaced once more.
“I don’t think we’re going to be able to go much further in this.” Ashley hated to say it, but they needed to find somewhere to pull in and wait it out.
She had a rock in her stomach and doom sitting on her shoulder. Not to mention the other voice of doom in the backseat.
“But the plane?” Eliza was wide-eyed and despondent.
“Isn’t going anywhere in this weather!” Nancy grumbled and then sighed. “But, that’s a good thing. It means we won’t miss it.”
“So we’re stuck here?” Eliza didn’t like that idea.
“In the middle of nowhere,” Ashley agreed.
“And where is nowhere?” Nancy asked, taking a moment to nose out the window and seeing nothing but snow. “I have this insane need to look up a place before I visit it, being a witch and all.”
“I have no idea where we are,” Ashley admitted.
“You’re the one driving!” Eliza challenged her.
“It’s a straight road. I just kept going. But, I haven’t been able to see a road sign in quite a while.” Ashley hated to admit it, but she’d been daydreaming about sandy beaches – just a little – just enough not to bother looking out at the road signs.
Who needed to pay attention to their surroundings when the nice, polite lady in the little box on the dashboard told her where to go next?
“How can you drive without looking at signs?” Nancy asked, flummoxed at her friend’s admission.
“Straight road – turn when there’s no more road or the map lady tell me too – easy…”
“That’s not good,” Eliza said.
“State the obvious,” Nancy grumbled from the back.
“Okay, your haircut doesn’t suit you,” Eliza tossed back over her shoulder and heard her friend gasp, shortly before she felt the sting of a zap that could only have come from a giant bee or her friend’s magic.
“You don’t have to be mean about it,” Nancy hissed, reaching up and trying to smooth down her short hair that was sticking out in all directions from her head. The shocking pink at the tips of the black spikes was a simple, yet nice touch, or at least she’d thought they were.
“Says the witch that just zapped me,” Eliza grumbled.
“Look! A wall,” Ashley pointed, but the others couldn’t make it out, no matter how much they craned their heads forward and squinted, all they could see was the snow.
“We’ll take your word for it,” Nancy said with a huff as she tossed her body back against the seat.
“A wall is good – a building would be better,” Eliza shrugged.
“Patience is a virtue,” Ashley berated her.
“Hmm, Eliza and virtue – nope, not seeing it.” Nancy snorted a chuckle.
“Maybe there’s an Inn,” Eliza offered back as she ignored her friend’s comment.
“I know it’s Christmas, but I don’t think any of us qualify to be the Virgin Mary, that would definitely be a Christmas bloody miracle,” Nancy snorted another chuckle.
“You certainly don’t!” The witches in the front said in unison.
“Moving on,” Nancy warned them.
~
~
~
“What do you mean there’s no room at the Inn?” Nancy scowled at the man behind the desk, but he was unfazed by her death glare. Still, she had to try.
“I have a wife and three daughters, and that look in your eye doesn’t worry me at all. Water off a duck’s back, I’m afraid,” he offered back.
“I know something that rhymes with duck, and we’re well and truly fu…” Eliza grumbled.
“But, it’s snowing out there,” Ashley offered him a sweet smile.
“As I said; a wife and three daughters,” he offered back to her.
“Not even a broom closet?” Eliza asked.
“Not even a cat box,” he leaned in and whispered over the top of the large counter.
“Well, is there anything else that’s even remotely close that we might be able to get to?” Ashley asked.
“Up the mountain,” he motioned toward the front door as if directions were just too much of an effort for him.
Ashley slapped her palms down on the desk in front of him, and he did jump in place a little before he brought his attention up to her.
“Could you at least phone ahead and see if they have room?” Her tone said it wasn’t a question, and the look in her eye had changed to one of sheer bloody-mindedness.
The man eyed her for one long moment, and she didn’t blink. She was prepared to use magic if it came to it.
“Of course,” he offered back, raising just one eyebrow as he reached for the phone. He knew when he was beaten, and he figured she was a mean-spirited one.
Ashley huffed as she turned away. She wasn’t about to spend any more time in the damn car than she had to. She’d sleep on the Inn’s sofa if push cam
e to shove, and she’d like to see them get her out of the door.
“You’re in luck,” the receptionist announced, and all three witches turned back expectantly. “It’s a small cabin that they hadn’t planned to use this Christmas, so it’s not guest ready — and beggars can’t be choosers, but they say it’s yours if you want it.”
“We want it!” All three witches said as one.
“They want it,” he said into the phone. He replaced the receiver and offered them a smug smile. “You’re welcome.”
Nancy had the urge to zap the man. Yes, he might have found them a room for the night, but he still didn’t have to be so damn smug about it.
~
~
~
There were squeals — there was definitely panic inside the car — and everyone was talking over everyone else with bright ideas about what to do as the tires refused to grip anything beneath them, and the car started to slide backward down the steep mountain road.
One unanimous screech went up when something hit the rear end of the car, and they were jolted in the seats. Then they were moving forward again.
“What’s happening?” Nancy demanded as she spun around in her seat and squinted out of the back window. “It’s a big pickup truck!”
“Good to know we weren’t lifted up in an alien’s space beam, or anything,” Eliza offered back.
“Well, we’re going forward and not backward, and that is the main thing!” Ashley said, relieved.
“Let’s just hope that whoever he is he’s the friendly type, and not about to push us off a cliff or anything,” Eliza said, and Nancy smacked her on the back of the head. “Hey!”
“Do you have to be so bloody pessimistic about everything?” Nancy demanded.
“I’m the pessimist?” Eliza snorted. “That’s like saying Ashley hates wine…”
“Not an alien, but someone who is trying to kill us anyway?” Nancy took a moment to think about it. “Yeah, I’d say that’s not very helpful. Not full of warm fuzzy feelings and Christmas cheer.”
“Okay, Christmas cheerleader girl, crawl back into your happy place and ignore the fact that we are in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of a blizzard, and being pushed uphill by — who knows who,” Eliza offered back, raising the shrill-like quality to her voice just enough to make the others grimace.