by M. L. Briers
“Jules, be serious.” Debbie berated her.
“I felt it, Man magic. But, aren’t we supposed to be concentrating on finding Aggie’s magic? I figured the guy could wait his turn.” Jules shrugged her shoulders.
“Does he know that?” Debbie asked. “Because I definitely felt him reaching out to us – me – us?” She looked for confirmation from the others.
“Yep, he’s a nosey one,” Mia said, making a mental note to ask Lewis about him when the man returned.
“I call it rude. Intruding on a spell like that,” Jules added with a small huff of annoyance.
“So, what do we do about him?” Debbie frowned.
She agreed with Jules. The man shouldn’t have been fishing with his magic like that.
“Ignore him. Aggie’s what’s important right now.” Mia didn’t want to be distracted into a peeing contest with a guy that they didn’t know. A warlock to boot.
“What if he’s with the vampire?” Debbie asked.
“Then we can deal with him when Aggie’s safe,” Mia said.
She was determined to help Aggie and nothing much else mattered. At least, not until after the elder was back with them.
“Got it, ignore the intruder until the time when we need to put him in his place,” Debbie nodded.
“Yep, if he meddles we’ll hit him hard.”
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~
“You know, you could have asked for my help,” Aggie said and got a hard glare back from the vampire for her trouble.
“What happened to you getting the last word and shutting up?” His tone was as hard as steel.
“Whatever gave you that idea?” Aggie played for innocence.
“You did.”
“I think you got the wrong end of the stick.” Aggie rolled her eyes up to the sky and considered that for a long moment. “And by stick, I don’t mean whittled and pointy. Although, if you feel the need to throw yourself on one, don’t let me stop you. I’m not squeamish…”
“Witch, I’m warning you…”
“I know – I know – you have no qualms about killing me, yadda, yadda, yadda…”
Aggie felt the magic brush against her Shields. It heartened her because the magic was familiar, she’d felt it before, and she had no reason to deny it getting through.
Unlike the push of the magic from the warlock that she’d felt earlier. Not that she was going to tell the vampire about either encounter
“What just happened?” Cassius asked.
He’d seen a flicker of recognition on her face. There was a hint of relief in her eyes as if someone was throwing her lifeline.
Cassius didn’t like it. Now that he knew that she was a mate there were too many things that could go wrong.
“Say what?” Aggie played dumb.
“You know that I can just reach into your mind and steal your thoughts if I need to.” He challenged her.
“I’m a firm believer in privacy.” Aggie used the witches magic to bolster the wards and shields that she’d placed around her body to deter the vampire from such an attack.
“I’m not,” Cassius said. It didn’t take much for him to close the distance between them.
“Let’s not be hasty. Act in haste — repent at leisure,” Aggie warned.
It was a warning that she hoped he would heed. But when he knelt down in front of her, she had to guess that the man was going to do his own thing regardless of what she said.
That might not work out so well for her. She’d allowed the other witches access to her mind, to her magic, and if he could get into her mind, then he would be able to see that. All in all that would make her a much bigger threat to him.
Right then, she had an advantage, the upper hand that the vampire didn’t know about and she wanted to keep it that way.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
~
“You go high, and I’ll go low,” Koren said as he looked down at Nestor’s wolf. The beast turned its face up towards him and growled a warning. “Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”
Nestor was already miffed off at one vampire; he didn’t need another one‘s snarky comments in his life. He waited until Koren’s attention moved away from him and then head-butted the man in the back of the knee, that move almost brought the vampire down, and he reveled in just how good that felt.
“Keep your wolf humor to yourself. You have a funny way of showing gratitude for my help in rescuing your mate. I’ll say again — your — mate. Especially as I don’t even like the woman,” Koren bit out.
Nestor’s beast pulled its lips back on a snarl of annoyance, and the vampire snorted his contempt for the elder’s attitude.
“Hey, I can go home right now. Behave your senile old self before I buy a leash for your wolf. I’m thinking something pink and sparkly.”
Nestor grumbled a growl as the wolf padded forward toward the scent of his mate that clung to the air around him. He could sense the magic in that scent. She was leading them to her.
Clever witch.
Nestor’s wolf turned to look back over its shoulder at the vampire, grunted, and nodded its head up towards the treetops.
“Sure, it’s always the vampire that has to go high. Maybe, just maybe, one of you guys could climb a tree for once.” Koren muttered just loud enough for the wolf to hear but nobody else, and a heartbeat later the vampire was gone.
Nestor grumbled another growl before he padded off. In the distance, he could hear his pack coming toward them from all different directions.
He wouldn’t say that it was a fair fight and he hoped to hell and back that none of his pack died rescuing his mate. But he knew in his heart that was what family did for each other, they had each other’s backs, and one way or another the vampire that abducted his mate was going down.
~
~
~
Cassius noted the way that the witch’s lips were twitching. He’d lived many lives and new witches well — she was conjuring up some kind of the spell, and he also knew better than to ignore it.
He tried to push within her mind to read her thoughts, but her shields had grown in strength from the last time that he’d done it. He had to wonder how that was possible.
Cassius pushed harder, clawing at her mind, and trying to see what devious plan she had in store for him. He couldn’t break through the barrier, and that left him with only one choice — the meddlesome witch needed to sleep once more.
In a heartbeat, one of hers, he was in front of her. His arm swiped backward, ready to strike, and Aggie knew within her heart that it would be now or never.
She needed to strike while she had the chance.
Sever the ties that bind my wrists — sever the ties that bind my wrists — free me — free me.
Aggie tugged at the bindings until they broke apart. As his hand swiped downward through the air towards her, she thrust her palms out in front of her and aimed the powerful orb of her magic that had been brewing within her body right at the bloodsucker’s chest.
Cassius caved in on himself the moment that her magic hit him. His feet were torn away from the ground, and he was ripped backward through the air away from her.
He hadn’t sensed the wolves until that moment when her magic had been forced elsewhere. The clever witch had somehow managed to weave a cloaking spell around the area.
Cassius knew that he had underestimated her. Stupid really, considering the fact that she had broken his warlock’s spell and put them all in that situation, to begin with.
He’d been too generous in keeping her awake. He was losing his touch, but he wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
His body hit the ground, and his head bounced off a tree trunk. That was a wake-up call if ever he needed one.
The wolves were close, but the witch was closer. As he rebounded back up to his feet, he found the witch up on hers.
Aggie faced down the vampire. Now that she was free she was determined to have her day.
Aggie
had little other thought within her mind than to make sure that the vampire paid for his wrongdoings. And she was going to enjoy every moment of it.
With the wolves closing in around them, Cassius knew that he needed to reach the witch and use her as a bargaining chip, or get the hell out of there before he was caged in.
He could feel one of his own kind around him, and that sense came from everywhere which could only mean that the vampire was above them in the treetops. He was trapped.
The pack started to appear around them, snarling and growling their intention to rip him to pieces. Cassius made one move toward her but was stopped in his tracks when the wolves seemed to succumb to magic.
The beasts were held in place by the agony inflicted upon them by an unseen hand. Cassius had an idea of whose magic was controlling them, and it certainly wasn’t the elder witch.
“It appears that you still need me,” Raymond said as he stepped out into the clearing. His hands were raised at chest height, and his magic was in full force against the pack.
“Enter the warlock stage left,” Aggie sneered.
She had about as much time and patience for a warlock as she did for a vampire. In fact, when that vampire wasn’t Koren, she probably had more time for a vampire.
“You disappointed me,” Cassius said.
“They do that. Warlocks are very unsatisfying,” Aggie offered.
“Shut up, witch. Your time here is limited.” Raymond sneered at the elder as hate flared within his eyes.
“Says you,” Aggie tossed back. “And I bettered you once.”
She was already working her magic around them. Drawing on the power of the three witches that offered their magic freely for her needs and building up a makeshift shield to protect the pack.
“Once. It won’t happen again,” Raymond bit out.
“Don’t count on it, little man,” Aggie grinned as if she had a secret that she wasn’t going to tell.
No, she preferred to show, and with the protection spell for the pack woven around her, she forced it outwards from her body as a barrier for the wolves in the clearing.
As the pain of the warlock’s magic was blocked by that shield, Aggie could see the lack of understanding in the man eyes. The wolves were snarling their hungry intention for the man, and there was little that he could do to prevent the outcome.
“Witch!” Raymond bit out with every ounce of venom that he could muster.
“You bet your warlock ass I am, and when you mess with a witch you get the bitch,” Aggie grinned in victory. “Enjoy.”
Cassius moved fast. He was behind the warlock in a single beat of Aggie’s heart.
He placed one hand on either side of Raymond’s head and wrenched it fast to the left. Aggie was sure that she heard the crunch of the man’s bones breaking.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
~
“Yuck!” Aggie bit out as she curled her top lip in disgust at the vampire’s actions.
Cassius released the warlock’s head from his hands, and the man’s body collapsed to the ground. Then the vampire took a moment to dust his hands off, but his attention was still fully on the witch.
“He was surplus to requirements,” Cassius announced.
“And you couldn’t have just patted him on the head and sent him on his way?” Aggie tossed back, sarcasm and disbelief filled her voice.
“And leave him to hunt you for the rest of your days? Which, admittedly, won’t be very long, but still…”
“Ah, you did that for me?” The sarcasm dripped from her words.
Her attention wavered between the vampire and a large wolf that was slowly, carefully, padding towards him. She knew exactly who that wolf was and she was into minds about zapping him in place.
“In truth, no. But perhaps your pack will offer me some brownie points for it.” Cassius replied.
Cassius had seen the gray that was stalking towards him. It wasn’t an alpha. In his mind, he reasoned that it must be the witch’s mate and that made the wolf all the more dangerous.
“Yeah, I don’t think the pack does brownie points, but I could ask. Wait, I don’t speak wolf.” Aggie lifted her hands and shrugged her shoulders. The small, smug smile on her face spoke volumes.
“You need to get your mate to heel before something happens that you’ll both regret,” Cassius warned her.
“That sounded like a threat. I don’t think the pack responds well to threats. I could be wrong – I’m new here,” Aggie tossed back.
“No, you’re not wrong,” Koren said as he dropped to the ground from the trees above, putting his body between Aggie and the vampire.
If Nestor saw fit to attack the vampire, which as a mate was his right to do so, then the vampire would probably make a beeline for the witch — at least that was what he would do. By standing between them, Koren had cut off that option.
“One vampire, a pack of wolves, and a witch — hardly a fair fight,” Cassius said.
“One vampire — one elder witch,” Koren reminded him. “Hardly a fair fight.”
“Point taken,” Cassius nodded in agreement. “But then I wasn’t going to kill the witch unless she made it absolutely necessary.” He ignored the snarl that came from the witch’s mate.
“That’s news to me,” Aggie said.
“Selective memory, or senility?” Cassius asked.
“When I go senile, I’ll remember to tell you,” Aggie sneered back. The sarcasm was dripping from her tone once more.
“I’m sure your mate appreciates that I let you live,” Cassius said.
“I’m sure you would appreciate it if we left you alive as well,” Aggie tossed back.
“Don’t threaten me,” he said with a small shake of his head.
“You threatened me. Besides, who said it was a threat?”
Aggie could still feel the magic of the other three witches running through her body. It would have been so easy to aim that magic right at him, but she was well aware that his intervention with the warlock could possibly have saved her life.
Even if the bloodsucker had gone the wrong way about it. She could no more see the future then she could delve back into the past. For all, she knew the vampire might have killed her after he got what he wanted and she was useless to him — she would never know.
The pack seemed eager to finish what he had started, but wolves would be wolves no matter what. It was only when the alpha shifted back into his human form that Aggie had some idea of what he was thinking.
“You came on our land,” Lewis growled. The sound of his beast was full on in his voice, and he couldn’t have helped that if he’d tried.
He didn’t try.
“With good reason.” Cassius rallied back at the man.
The alpha shifting into human form had made him less of a threat towards Cassius. He’d rather fight him as a man and a beast.
There was still the vampire, the witch, and the pack of wolves that all seemed to be baying for his blood that he couldn’t dismiss. He was trying to think three steps ahead of the rest of them in order to survive.
“You took a member of the pack for your own ends…”
“I took her because he wanted her. I knew that would bring him to me. I did the job — I finished him. Now, he’s a danger to nobody. Your witch included.” Cassius reasoned.
He was not really sure if reasoning with a miffed off Alpha was the way to go, but he could try. It was more probably going to be more beneficial than fighting his way out.
“And you had your revenge,” Koren said.
“And so we all got what we wanted,” Cassius offered back as he sized the man up and down and wondered if he could take him in a fight. Not a fair fight — because he never played fair.
“Maybe not the warlock,” Aggie shrugged.
“No, he just got what he asked for,” Cassius said.
“Well, I can’t argue with that one — in a, him or me, situation — I’m going to go for me.”
Nestor’s beast gro
wled. He didn’t like the sound of that scenario, and he needed to sink his fangs into the vampire.
“Down boy,” Cassius said.
“I really don’t think you’re in a position to offend one of my pack,” Lewis growled a warning at the bloodsucker.
“Either we’re going to do this and some of us are going to die, or I’m walking away now,” Cassius gave the warning of his own.
Lewis went to take a step, but Aggie stopped him.
“Now, let’s not be hasty. You’ve all got mates — I got a bump on the head — oh yeah,” Aggie zapped Cassius a good one.
The vampire bit down on the pain that shot through his body. His top lip twitched with anger, and his hands clenched into fists at his sides, but he made no move towards her.
“Didn’t we already do that?” Cassius bit out between clenched teeth. His body physically relaxed when she drew her magic back from him.
“Yes, but it never gets old,” Aggie grinned.
“Wait until she starts to play archery with twigs,” Koren grumbled.
“I only did that to you once,” Aggie hissed.
“Once was enough for my liking,” Koren muttered.
“And I’m off,” Cassius said a moment before he pushed up into the trees above him and was gone.
“Am I required to follow and kill?” Koren asked the alpha.
“Follow — make sure he gets off pack land — if that’s okay with Aggie?” Lewis growled.
“I’m good,” Aggie flicked a hand towards Nestor’s wolf. “You might want to send this one with them,” Nestor grumbled a growl.
“Might I?” Lewis couldn’t help the grin that stretched his lips.
“I’m just saying – it looks like he could use some exercise,” Aggie folded her arms and offered a smirk to her mate. “Might even run off some of that pent up aggression.”
While Koren took to the trees above, Nestor shifted back into his human form and started towards his mate.
“Oh no — just you stop right there,” Aggie lifted her hand and shook a finger at him making him stop in place.