by M. L. Briers
“Don’t look at me, I’ve got my stuff in my car…”Natasha put her hands up in front of her chest and took a step backwards. She wasn’t blind, she wasn’t stupid, and she wasn’t particularly happy. She’d seen the way her sister naturally swayed towards the alpha. She’d seen the shiver that ran through her, and she added that to the fact the big guy hadn’t tried ripping anyone’s head off for the spin cycle she’d put him through and she knew what it all meant. Mates.
While it didn’t fill her with joy, it didn’t repulse her either. It was about time Neve got some happy in her life, and a mate was supposed to do just that, so she couldn’t begrudge her some good times, even if it was with a Lycan. Nadia on the other hand probably wasn’t going to be as pleased. The girl had a bee in her bonnet about everything, including the things that didn’t concern her, and if Neve was getting some good times, Nadia was sure to resent it in some way, shape, or form.
Natasha eyed Nero. As a brother in law he certainly was more eye candy than she’d expected Neve to end up with. The girl went for boring in a big way. Perhaps it was to offset the excitement that Nadia seemed to bring to all of their lives, or perhaps she just liked boring, but Natasha doubted it.
This Alpha was going to do just fine as a mate for her sister…
“You’ll bite your bloody tongue and keep quite.”Natasha warned Nadia as she tooled the car along the dirt track that was the Lycans idea of a road on pack land. Every pot hole and bump irked her as her car groaned with the effort to get up the track. It wasn’t a jeep; it was a sports car and sports cars weren’t made for a damn dirt pile. Still, it couldn’t be helped, she told herself as Nadia shot her a look of contempt from the passenger seat.
“So you’re happy that she’s about to tie herself to a manimal for the rest of her life?” Nadia snorted. Personally she would run a mile and keep on going until she hit obscurity, where the wolf or the man couldn’t possibly locate her, but then she loathed the Alpha.
Natasha would have rolled her eyes, but there was no way she was going to take her eyes off this damn road. She’d known that telling Nadia about Neve and the Alpha was going to invoke some kind of reaction, and she was more than happy for that to happen now rather than when they were surrounded by the pack. Her sister’s stupidity didn’t need to start world war three, although she sometimes wondered if Nadia wouldn’t secretly enjoy the drama of it all…
“When are you going to realise that it’s her life and not yours to disrupt or dictate?”Natasha wasn’t quite sure how Neve put up with Nadia all of these years without killing her, or at least slapping her into place once in a while. Just because she was the youngest, it didn’t automatically give her the right to act like a spoilt brat.
“That’s just jealously talking…” Nadia sniped and Natasha felt the urge to pull over, open the car door and kick her sisters backside onto the floor and let her walk the rest of the way, bags and all.
“Nadia, one of these days you are going to be a mother…”This time Natasha did roll her eyes. “The spirits help the poor little buggers.”She ground out and heard the snort from next to her. “And I hope to the triple goddess that karma visits you in each and every child you have, and they are all just like you. And then you’ll realise just what a pain in the arse you’ve been all of these years.”
“And you’re so perfect…”Nadia folded her arms across her chest defensively as she eyed her sister with a dark glare.
“Not perfect, but if we’re measuring it in ways you can understand, I’m the horses head and you’re its arse…” Natasha heard her sister hiss and felt a little more satisfaction in that sound than she’d expected to find.
“That’s charming. It’s nice to know how my own sister views me. But this isn’t about me…”
“But I’m sure you’ll make it so…”Natasha snapped back.
“So my question stands, you’re happy to see Neve with that…Manibeast?”Nadia absently waved her hand at the windscreen and the motorbike ahead of them.
Natasha considered that question for a long moment. She’d kind of been asking herself the same thing since she found out. Obviously she’d rather see Neve happy and settled within a normal family, and Lycans were anything but normal, but they did have a damn good family life. Everything they did was about the family and caring for it…
“He’ll cherish her as if she were a queen. He’ll love her with a passion. He’ll protect her with his dying breath. And he’ll make it his personal mission to keep her from a moment’s more sadness than she has to endure.”Natasha had to admit, she kind of envied that.
“Well, when you put it that way.”Nadia snorted, shuffling in her seat and forcing herself down a little further against the padded leather. Subconsciously she physically made herself a smaller target for Natasha’s words as she came to the conclusion that maybe Neve wasn’t a victim of circumstance after all.
Especially as it had pricked her conscience slightly, that Neve had only encountered her mate because she had come to her rescue once again. Nadia knew her sister’s thought her some kind of liability. Which is why she had moved away in the first place, so she could stand on her own two feet and show them that she was capable of being responsible, but no matter how hard she tried, there was always some kind of misfortune that followed her thinking, her actions and even her deeds.
“Unless one of them dies in the meantime, she is going to mate with him. So just back off and let her find her way.” The front passenger tyre found the deepest pot hole so far and the car lurched with a heart wrenching bang as Natasha imagined the kind of damage being caused. A string of dark curses left her lips, and each one centred at the fact the Lycans couldn’t just lay some damn tarmac…
“Says the woman cursing the entire Lycan race over a car…”Nadia snorted in amusement, but Natasha couldn’t see the funny side, not where her precious car was involved. As the dirt track finally gave way to something that at least resembled a flat surface and opened up, Natasha put her foot down, following the Alpha’s lead.
“I have two simple rules. Don’t mess with my family or my car…”Natasha bit out. Eager to finally reach their destination so she could get out and check to see what kind of damage may have been done to the car.
“I’m guessing it’s car first where I’m concerned.”Nadia mumbled turning to look out of the window at the cluster of cabins that nestled back against the woods. It was the first time she had ventured onto pack land and she was mindful that this was now going to be her elder sister’s new home.
Night was coming in fast. Faster here than in town because of the canopy of trees that blocked out the natural light, and the cabins looked like a picture postcard scene of an alpine retreat that people might pay a small fortune to visit once a year, all it needed was the snow…
“Poor little orphan Annie with no one to take care of her…”Natasha teased in much the same way as she had over the years since they had lost their mother and Neve had taken over caring for the youngest sister.
“Bite me.”Nadia eyed the landscape, certain that she had seen movement against the side of one of the cabins and wondering at it.
“That’s not an invitation you want to be offering out lightly around these folk.”Natasha grinned as she slowed the car to a stop and put it to slumber.
Natasha noted the direction her sister’s gaze took as she stared intently between a cabin and an outbuilding. The darkness between the structures seemed to elongate into the woods and Natasha thought that she saw movement for one long moment as she felt her sister prickle with expectancy.
“What is it?”Natasha asked. Nadia had been watching for longer than she had and she couldn’t seem to take her eyes from that one spot.
“Not sure. But there’s something there.”
Natasha climbed out of the car and walked around to the boot. Her eyes flicked only once towards her elder sister and the Alpha just to ascertain their exact location before she covertly peered out from under her hair.
&nbs
p; When the movement came it was fast and accurate, coming towards them at a speed that was barely visible to the eye. The displacement of air that made everything look slightly fuzzy, like looking through beer goggles, held her attention and pinpointed a focus for her magic.
Acting quickly, Natasha slammed up a barrier between whatever was coming their way and her family, and when that barrier was hit, she felt the full force of the impact against her mind and body. A crack like lightning sounded out into the relative silence around them and drew everyone’s attention to the streak of black hurtling backwards through the clearing at a slightly muted speed from which it came.
CHAPTER FOUR
The sound of the impact with the ground was up there with the same thunderous rage as when it had hit Natasha’s shield, and she found great satisfaction in knowing that it must have hurt. Supernatural or not, she had just steamrollered whatever had tried to attack them. Natasha heard the Alpha roar at the same time as the object came to rest on the floor and did much of the same. Lying on his back, partially embedded into the earth, Natasha saw the beast in his true form.
Vampire.
“Who invited the Vamp to the party?”Nadia bit out on a smile that was too smug for Natasha not to pay it any attention, and she had the distinct feeling from the group around her that she’d made an error in judgement.
“Back off Nat, that one’s on our side, apparently.”Neve offered, but there was no reprimand in her tone, so Natasha didn’t rush to guilt over slam dunking the dead guy into the dirt.
“You have a real knack for that…”Nero growled out as he stalked towards his friend and giving her a half glare on route.
“That’s an Alpha and a Vampire. If you do it to the Warlock you’ll have completed the set.”Nadia chuckled as she shook her head in amusement at Colt’s predicament and her sister’s ability to screw up just as much as she could, but in a more spectacular way.
“Bite me…”Natasha shot at her sister, but it was the groan from the Vampire that drew her attention back to where he lay.
“Don’t tempt me, Witch.”Colt growled out, doing a damn fine impression of a Lycan in her opinion, but she didn’t think anyone would want to hear her opinion right now.
“Anything broken?”The Alpha stood over him and peered down.
“Every damn bone in my body, I think.”Colt growled back up at him and saw the amusement in his friend’s eyes. Right now he’d give anything for the use of his right arm, or even his left, whichever he could throw a damn punch with.
“You’ll heal.”Nero folded his arms over his chest and hid his smirk behind his hand. Sympathy wasn’t Nero’s strong suit, especially where the Vampire was concerned.
“Lucky me.”Colt growled out dryly. He could feel his bones mending and resisted the urge to lift his head and eye the Witch with a glare that would communicate exactly how he felt about her, because right at that moment he could imagine himself drinking her dry and relishing every last drop. Remorse would be an afterthought, but probably not one he would dwell on, considering.
Nero knew his friends moods well. This was one of those times when it would probably serve them all well to take a step backwards from winding the Vampire up anymore than they needed too. But it was just such a novelty to see his friend so incapacitated.
“It could be worse…”Nero bit out, trying his hardest not to fall on the floor beside him and laugh his butt off.
“Do tell…”Colt flexed his digits. Slight pain reverberated through his body, but nothing compared to the rest of the healing process that was taking place inside him.
“She could have put you through a spin cycle first. Then you’d be dizzy and flat…”Nero watched Colt bite down on the pain that was eating at his body and winced.
“I’m not just going to drink her dry. I’m going to go cannibal on her…”Colt bit out…
“Technically you’re a different species, so it can’t be classed as cannibalism…” Nadia offered smugly, and when Colt’s dark gaze snapped towards hers she took the time to study her nails.
“I take it that the Witch is related to your Witch and too that mischievous little… Witch…”Colt ground out through clenched teeth. His body was almost whole again, and when it was, he would need to think long and hard about not killing her.
“Sisters.” Nero informed him dryly, although there was a warning within his tone that told Colt that his attacker was under the Lycans protection.
“Eat the Witch and alienate a friend?” Colt offered up to the Alpha who grinned down at him.
“Think of it as taking one for the team.”Nero chuckled and Colt flexed his muscles, testing his strength and the likelihood of ending up on his backside should he try to get up.
“You’ll owe me big time for this.”Colt informed his friend as he lifted his arm and waited for Nero to wrap his hand around his wrist, before he locked his own in place. Hauled to his feet in a heartbeat that he didn’t need, Colt tried his damndest not to look at the Witch who had steamrollered him, unsure if he could contain his emotions and not kill her. His anger still surged through his veins akin to a bloodlust that could be a dangerous thing for anyone right now, let alone the one who had put him down.
“I’d say let’s eat, but I wouldn’t want your imagination to focus on all things Witch.”Nero slapped the Vampire hard on the back and Colt groaned as he rolled his eyes and found them focused solely on Natasha.
Colt’s gut tightened as he took her in. Her eyes were more than expectant that he would attack her, and there was no guilt there that he could discern as she eyed him back. But the way her lips curled up at the corners, told him all that he needed to know about her, she’d enjoyed putting him on his arse.
In a heartbeat he was in front of her. His fingers curled over the soft skin of her chin and he tipped her head back on her neck so he could better see the amusement in her eyes…
“Colt…”Nero bit out, at his side a second later.
“I’m not going to kill her…”Colt growled down at her. His eyes narrowing on hers as he felt every muscle within his body tense in anticipation, every inch of his skin tingle with her proximity, and every instinct to taste her blood on his tongue fired into life… And then he grew hard for her and the realisation slammed into him harder than when she had planted him in the ground with her magic.
“I’m just going to taste her…”Colt declared. Everyone except Natasha started to talk and converge on them at once.
“The hell you are…”Neve bit out, more than ready with her magic to slam him harder than Natasha had into the nearest tree if he so much as moved a muscle to carry out that threat.
“Colt…”Nero issued a warning with one word.
“Back off…”Nadia spat out. She might not have had the same skills as her sisters, but she’d do her damndest to protect Natasha, and she could always join with the others and turn him to ashes at Natasha’s feet.
“Oh, not yet…”Colt’s whole demeanour changed in an instant. A smug smile crept over his face as he stared down at her, and Natasha groaned in awareness.
“I’d say could this day get any worse, but Fate’s not really my best bud right now.”Natasha bit out as she pulled back from his gentle hold on her face and took just one step back away from him.
“No way…”Neve’s eyes went wide in disbelief as she stared at her sister long and hard.
“Unfortunately…”Natasha bit out, not best pleased to find herself in this situation. Frankly it was probably the last thing she needed, and yet she had tempted fate on the car ride up here by envying her sister finding that special something, someone. “Be careful what you inadvertently wish for.”Natasha ground out. Oh how she could have bitten off her own tongue, not that it would have done any good when the damage was already done.
Nero couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped his lips as he turned away from them and stalked towards his mate. Nadia on the other hand was still clueless.
“Somebody want to enlighten me…?”
>
“She’s my mate.”The gleam in Colt’s eyes as he stared at Natasha told her more than she needed to know. He wasn’t about to walk away from her without a fight…
“I’m having a very bad day.”Nadia dropped down onto the straight back chair at the large oak table that ran the length of the large kitchen and planted her face against the palms of her hands.
“You’re having a bad day…”Natasha ground out as she dropped onto the chair next to her sister on a groan and then a sigh, as if she had just aged fifty years in the last ten minutes.
“I don’ think your mate is very happy to have found you.”The Alpha beamed in amusement at his friend’s predicament that mirrored his own. Colt had waited a very long time to find his mate and Nero was pleased for him, although he suspected the same couldn’t be said of Natasha.
“Are Fae ever happy about being mated?”Colt teased as his eyes took a detour towards Neve. She stood next to the kitchen counter that separated the room into two equal sections, one for cooking and one for dining. She glared back at the Vampire with equal measures of disdain and suspicion.
“Well, let’s look at the gene pool we have to mate with…”Neve shot back, not wanting to let the Vampire get the upper hand. He might be Natasha’s mate and she was going to have to get used to the fact that he was family now, but she didn’t have to do cartwheels about it just yet. He needed to prove himself worthy of her sister first.
“And we should be overjoyed to be mated to Fae, because…?”Colt heard the hiss that escaped his mate’s lips and wanted to bite off his own tongue. Congratulating himself on putting his foot in his mouth in the worst way possible. “Present company excluded of course.”Colt offered to his mate as he tried to sooth her ruffled feathers, but from the way she folded her arms across her chest and tipped her head to one side as she glared back at him, he knew he’d failed.
“Aren’t Vampires supposed to be lady killers?”Nero offered with a little more glee at his friend’s fubar than was entirely necessary.