by M. L. Briers
“Someone changed their tune,” Jon chuckled.
He knew just what was on their tail. His pack, all the un-mated wolves, had reported something strange through the pack’s mental link, and he didn’t know why, but if he had to guess, he’d say that it was something to do with the damn scent in the air that was all around them, and down to the witches – mischievous damn witches. How he hated the fae.
“Ya think?” she bit out to the sound of another deep chuckle.
Maxi didn’t find it funny, not one little bit of her situation managed to tickle her funny bone in any way, shape, or form, and when she got her hands on Bree ... well, the fur was going to fly – so to speak.
Jon could see the alpha up ahead, and the hapless witch that was bouncing up and down on his shoulder as he ran a steady path, but he could also see the wolves closing in on his location. He used the mental link between the pack to warn the man of what he was sure he’d already noticed.
‘Two on your left, one coming on your right – and the few that are chasing my butt behind you…’
‘How many damn times do I have to tell them to stand down? What the hell did the witches do to them?’ Mason grumbled a rolling growl of annoyance.
‘It’s the scent, Mason,” Joel, one of the wolves in hot pursuit bit out. ‘It’s like a - come and get me - call to arms – my wolf’s going nuts to get to them and sniff…’
‘Sniff? Damn it – your beast wants to see if they’re its mate?’ Mason felt the urge to bash some damn heads against a few tree trunks and knock some sense into his pack. The last thing they needed were witch mates – especially these damn witch mates.
‘Why don’t I have that need?’ Jon asked. The beta was as un-mated as the rest of them that had appeared to be in the chase.
‘Good question, me either,’ Mason offered back.
‘You guys need to run faster. I’m holding my wolf back, but there’s only so much that I can do,’ Joel warned them.
The main house wasn’t far. Mason could see the lights like a beacon calling him on, but he wasn’t sure that they would make it. “Witch…”
“Witch? That’s rude,” Bree snapped back, although with the amount of jarring that her body was taking from being up on his shoulder; it sounded a little broken up – like going over cobblestones on a pushbike.
It didn’t quite have the same effect that a good icy tone could muster and that disappointed her.
“Rude is doing magic against my damn pack for no good reason…”
“I had a good reason…”
“Don’t care right now – I need you to throw those wolves off the scent, or you’re going to be sniffed to within a damn inch of your life,” Mason growled and hoped she’d got the message, because he didn’t think he was going to make it to the house before the wolves were upon them.
Jon certainly wasn’t.
“Done,” Bree bit out. She called on her magic and pushed her upper body away from his shoulder so that she could see more than just his sexy backside.
If nothing else, her stomach muscles were getting a workout.
Bree took a second or two to think about it. What threw a wolf off the scent? Well, as the fastest way to a man’s heart was said to be through his stomach … Bree conjured up the scent of fried chicken in the air and let it loose on the breeze.
~
“What the…?” Maxi caught the scent of fried chicken in the air the moment it drifted her way. She also caught the presence of Bree’s magic within it and grinned to herself. “Smartypants, but let’s just add a little…” Bacon. Bacon and coffee, her two favorite things that weren’t made of chocolate, drizzled with chocolate, or covered in chocolate.
In Maxi’s mind, chocolate made the world go around and was worth more than diamonds. Diamonds were pretty and all, but she’d kill for chocolate – what woman wouldn’t? She added that scent to the others and pushed it out around her.
Jon grunted at the smell in the air. “Why am I suddenly hungry…?” he bit off the rest of his question when he spotted Jai, the somewhat, friendly neighborhood vampire coming up fast to his left. In true annoying fashion, the man couldn’t help but slap the chasing wolves on the head as he passed them by. “Wonderful.”
The vampire was running by his side a moment later. “Buy one get one free on witches somewhere that I didn’t know about?” he grinned and laced it with a smirk at his own funny.
Jon had the urge to knock the vampire’s teeth down the back of his throat, but as that wasn’t an unusual urge for him, he let it slide.
“This one’s mine, go find your own,” Jon tossed back, and for the love of everything unholy, he couldn’t understand why the thought of that sounded so damn good.
“When you say – mine…?”
“Don’t you dare tempt fate!” Maxi hissed out, lifting her body up and catching sight of what could only be a vampire. “A ghoul? That brought down the tone of the neighborhood.”
“She’s … charming, is she yours?” Jai shot back and the beta tossed a look of disbelief in his direction.
“No, she’s not mine!” Jon screwed up his face and bit out a curse in disgust. “What the hell is wrong with that picture?”
“Gee, thanks – butthead,” Maxi bit out. It wasn’t that she wanted a wolf shifter mate, she didn’t, but that didn’t mean that her feelings and pride weren’t hurt by his less-than-gallant attitude.
“Not much of a gentleman,” Jai said and snorted a chuckled at the witch’s expense.
“Who asked you, leech? Don’t you have a bat cave to get back to?” Maxi hissed.
In her mind; it was bad enough that she was in the company of wolves, and that was all Bree’s doing, but a vampire too – yuck.
Could her nightmare get any worse?
“And you’re not exactly a lady, so I’d say you’re a match.”
Jon noted the pure black wolf that was coming up on his right and grunted in annoyance. “Make yourself useful…”
“Why would I do that?” Jai tossed back.
“Because if Mick’s beast takes me down, the witch could get hurt, and you might have to give up some of your blood to heal…”
“Enough said.” Jai was gone a heartbeat later. A moment after that and Mick’s beast went spinning backward through the air, but the vampire didn’t stop there – one after the other; he took out each and every wolf from the hunt.
There were going to be a few sore shifters that night.
CHAPTER THREE
~
“Stop squealing,” Mason grumbled on a deep growl. It wasn’t just that it was getting annoying — it was hurting his damn ears, the witch had a pitch like a dog whistle.
“Then stop bouncing me up and down on your shoulder before I throw up down your back,” Bree snapped out with all of the venom of a rattlesnake that was about to strike. She grunted a curse when her hands slipped against his back, and she hung there like a ragdoll once more.
“Go ahead — I never liked this shirt anyway,” Mason growled back.
The vampire might have been taking out the wolves coming at them, one by one and none too gently, but he wouldn’t feel that the witches were safe until they reached the house.
He could live with her throwing up down his back — but what he couldn’t live with was a female getting hurt at the hands of his pack — even if it was her stupid own fault.
“Aren’t you supposed to be their alpha?” she snapped back. “Can’t you just order them to fetch a stick or something?”
“Don’t even get me started on why miffing me off would be a bad idea right about now,” Mason growled back.
He took the stairs up to the porch three at a time, kicked open the front door with his booted foot like a Wild West hero from an old black and white movie, and headed inside. When he whirled back around to check on Jon, she squealed louder still, and he would have slapped his hands over his ears if he could have.
“I didn’t like the bouncing — I like the spinning even les
s,” Bree hissed, and then pounded on his broad back with her little fists just to make her point. Mason hardly felt a thing.
“Give you the moon, and you want the stars – how unlike a witch.”
The alpha was scowling as he stared out into the night. He was unimpressed by the witch and her attitude, but he was more intent on Jon reaching safety with his witch cargo than the one on his shoulder having a hissy fit.
If the woman didn’t like being saved, then she shouldn’t have done anything to warrant it. Magic — and on pack land — that got his goat.
“More brawn than brain — how unlike a shifter,” Bree hissed back. “Now, put me down!”
“Wait your damn turn,” Mason growled as he watched Jon take the stairs to the porch with ease, three at a time, and when the beta was safely in the house, he slammed the door behind them.
“Bree!” Maxi squealed as she kicked out and wriggled to be free of the man mountain that seemed to believe she was a sack of potatoes.
“Maxi!” Bree lifted her head and wished she hadn’t when she caught the hard glare of accusation from her friend.
Bree opened her mouth to head Maxi of before she got on a roll, but she squealed again in surprise as she was tipped and dropped to her feet, staring once more at the man’s broad muscled chest instead of her friend.
Bree pulled her head back on her neck and tipped her chin up so she could offer a dark glare to her so-called rescuer. She had a few choice words that she’d like to say to him, but where to start?
“Bree, I’m going to kill you,” Maxi bit out and then squealed again when she was placed on her feet, and the sudden motion and lack of equilibrium made her stumble sideways, but the hard grasp of the large hands against her hips stabilized her.
That didn’t stop her from thrusting her hands out and grabbing what she could — what she could was a pair of rock hard, larger than hell biceps — that gave her pause for thought, and those thoughts were rather X-rated.
“Don’t squeeze the fruit unless you intend to buy,” Jon grumbled on a growl.
It wasn’t that he minded the woman’s hands on his body, he didn’t. She was as cute as hell and with curves that he wouldn’t mind exploring – if she wasn’t a witch. What he did mind was the beast within him reacting to her touch, and obviously, the magic that she’d used to hyper the pack, and the fact that it made his wolf try to push forward.
If he had to hazard a guess; then he’d wager that the perceived danger of the situation for the females with his pack advancing on them had quashed his beast’s reaction to her magic, but now that they were safely inside — obviously, all bets were off. That could be bad – for her.
“Could you be any more of a gentleman?” Maxi’s tone was sarcastic and laced with acidity.
“I can try — just not for a mischievous, devious witch that is trying to harm my pack,” Jon growled back.
At his beast’s urging; he felt the need to scent her, but that need would go unanswered. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to find his mate, he did — he just didn’t want it to be a damn witch.
When the front door flew open everyone’s attention snapped toward it and away from the problems at hand. Jai stepped over the threshold with ease, he’d been invited in before, and he reached out and slammed the door behind him. “Someone want to tell me why I just bounced wolves — not that I’m ungrateful – it was kind of enjoyable.”
“I’m glad we could entertain you,” Mason growled at his friend.
He was grateful for the assist but damn mad that it had needed to be done in the first place. He turned his dark glare back to Bree and grumbled a growl in his chest. He wanted answers.
“Don’t you growl at me in that tone of voice,” Bree bit out as she folded her arms and narrowed her eyes on him like he was a specimen in a laboratory Petri dish.
There was no doubt in her mind that he was an unidentified specimen of the Neanderthal era.
“Witch, you’re lucky my wolf doesn’t eat you,” he berated her for her actions, even though he didn’t know what they were — magic, in the wrong hands like hers; it could be a dangerous thing and not just for the person that it was aimed at.
“Oh, give it your best shot, and see what you get,” Bree shot back.
She knew never to challenge a Wolf shifter, especially an alpha, and yet, the events that had led up to that moment had miffed her off enough that she didn’t really care. She’d like nothing better than to unleash her magic and wipe the floor with him.
“Don’t test me,” Mason growled. In his book what she’d done – whatever that was – was enough to warrant him to retaliate — but, killing her seemed to be a little extreme. Unfortunately, his wolf agreed too.
“Bree!” Maxi snapped and drew her attention away from the alpha’s dark glare, and she needed to take a step to the side to see around the man mountain that was blocking her view.
“Kind of busy here putting Fido in his place,” Bree snapped back, and the low, deep grumble a growl that rolled through the alpha’s chest wasn’t lost on her — but, she just didn’t care.
“Fido?” Maxi offered her a small shake of her head in disbelief, widened her eyes, lifted her eyebrows toward her hairline, and sighed. “Do we really need to bait them any further?”
“I’m not baiting, I’m warning — if this lump of muscle thinks that he can intimidate me, well, he should think again,” Bree snapped back, and she also flicked a glare up at the alpha for good measure.
Mason grumbled another growl. “Look, if you ladies — and I use that word loosely — need some male attention…”
“Oh, don’t flatter yourself,” Bree bit out in annoyance.
“If an alpha isn’t your thing.” The vampire took a step forward and offered her a wicked grin. “I’m…”
“Out of your depth and insane,” Bree tossed back with a flick of her hair over her right shoulder as she lifted her chin and dismissed him with a glare and a snort of contempt.
Bree knew that some witches liked vampires, she did not. She also knew that some witches worked for vampires, she would not. As for anything even remotely resembling a relationship with the vampire — he just needed to take one more step toward her, and she’d knock his fangs right down the back of his throat.
“That doesn’t sound like me,” Jai tossed back.
“No, I think she has a point,” Jon chuckled at his friend’s expense.
When maxi finally managed to remember to remove her hands from his biceps, and she snatched them away, that brought his attention right back to her. He couldn’t understand why he felt that loss.
“Oh, and I hate to tell you this, actually — not so much,” Jai tossed a sneer at the witch. “But that old saying about the wolves at the door — well, they’re at the door — literally.”
CHAPTER FOUR
~
“What? No…” Maxi went to take a step around the beta, but he swayed back in front of her. “Take a load off,” she offered up to him with a small amount of disbelief but a bigger sneer.
When he lifted his hands in front of his chest in surrender, she stalked toward the nearest window and drew back the curtain.
There they were — wolves – pacing around the front of the house, and at the twitch of the curtain, all heads turned her way. Maxi dropped the curtain and took one step back.
“I hate to say I told you so…” the vampire crowed. “Actually…”
“Bree!” Maxi ignored the vampire and spun towards her friend. Her eyes were accusing, the twitch of her lips said she was as angry as hell, and she balled her fists at her sides and even gave a small stomp of her foot like a frustrated child that was about to have a temper tantrum.
“Okay, okay, I’ll do something,” Bree said and tossed up her hands trying to placate her friend before her hissy fit got really ugly.
“Like what?” Maxi demanded.
“You always have to go there with the tough questions, don’t you?” Bree tossed back, playing for time as
she tried to find a way out of the situation that she’d cause them to blindly stumble into.
The intervention of the idiot alpha and beta hadn’t helped. They could have been halfway home by now.
“Undo the spell,” Maxi demanded as her eyebrows pinched and tried to meet in the middle to form one big unibrow of which Bree was sure to want to attack with a pair of tweezers. Bree winced. “What was that?”
“What?” Bree rushed out. Now she just looked guilty.
“You winced…”
“Did not!”
“Yes, you did — did anybody else see her wince?” Maxi asked, but she didn’t really care for an answer.
“I did,” the vampire raised his hand like he was a schoolchild that needed the toilet.
“Who asked you, teacher’s pet?” Bree hissed as she tossed imaginary daggers at him and considered backing it up with a little magic. She wasn’t really in the position to do much of anything — trapped inside a house with two wolfmen and a vampire, and a pack of eager-to sniff wolves outside the front door.
Jai pointed a finger at maxi and Bree snorted her contempt. “You seem to like hand signals — here’s one for you,” Bree offered him the middle finger and heard the alpha snort a chuckle.
“Bree, concentrate,” Maxi berated her again. While she didn’t need the vampire’s intervention because it was dragging her friend away from the problem at hand, at least she hadn’t been imagining the wince on Bree’s face when it had appeared. That was never a good sign. “You need to lift the stupid spell.”
“Why can’t you lift the spell?” Jon asked, and got a look of pure disbelief back from Maxi for his trouble as she did a double take of him.
“Do you know nothing about magic?” she demanded as she tossed her hands onto her shapely hips and questioned his sanity with the arch of her eyebrows.
“Not really, no,” he admitted.