by M. L. Briers
“Nope, Lachlan’s dead, can’t get better than that.”
“Wow.” I had no real answer for that little gem.
I pulled up and got a sneer from my sister. “Should have hit him, but I guess we can do this the old-fashioned way.” She grumbled as she tossed the seatbelt away from her body and started out from the car.
“Oh geez,” I grumbled, following her lead if only to keep her from doing something stupid. But, it was Moira, there was bound to be plenty of stupid to go around.
“Where is he?” Moira and Fraser growled out over the top of each other. “What?” Moira snapped, narrowing her eyes at the man.
“If he killed my alpha…” Fraser growled, his hate-filled eyes were locked onto Moira, and in that instant, I certainly didn’t trust the man and would gladly have thrown him as far as my magic would allow.
“Don’t you mean, father?” I tossed back.
“Both,” Fraser bit out.
“He didn’t,” Moira snapped out Ross’ innocence, curling her top lip and sneering at the man. “How do we know you didn’t do it?”
“What the hell is wrong with your mind?” Fraser growled, looking horrified at my sister’s suggestion.
It wasn’t totally out there, I suppose. It wasn’t like I hadn’t thought about killing Gran a few…billion times. But to do it? No.
“I’m a witch,” Moira tossed back.
“Trust me, it shows.” He growled, but something in the air caught his attention, and he lifted his chin and sniffed. His whole body snapped to attention.
“So, I guess that makes you the alpha now, no?” Moira shot back, bringing his attention back towards her.
“No, the alpha is whoever killed the alpha,” Fraser said, and Moira deflated a little with a grimace for good measure.
That put paid to that short-lived idea. If Fraser had killed his father then he would have done it out in the open with a member of the pack as a witness, but if Ross had killed Lachlan then that made him the alpha – that was not only confusing but an even bigger problem for Ross than his wolf side doing bad stuff.
“Oh,” Moira said, frowning as her mind rushed to take in the news.
Ross, the alpha of a pack, and that pack weren’t even on Skye. Whatever way you looked at that, it wasn’t good.
“Where is he?” Fraser growled.
“Do I look like I have him tagged with GPS?” Moira snorted her contempt for the man. Like either of us was going to tell howling mad fang boy where our friend was, even if we did know.
“Maybe you could be helpful in getting his attention…” Fraser stalked towards her.
Moira and I were of one mind, not literally, but we did both zap him with our magic. That pain brought him to a grinding halt as every muscle in his body locked up tight.
“Maybe we could just shave your wolf and send you off with your tail between your legs,” Moira said, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. The thought of Fraser as a bald wolf just tickled me.
“Fraser!” Ross’ voice boomed out, echoing off the stone of the hills behind him.
“Ross!” Moira bit out, forgetting all about the threat of a miffed off Fraser as she dropped her magic and started towards him.
A heartbeat later and Fraser had managed to fight my magic enough to reach out and yank her towards him. One strong arm was wrapped around her waist, and the other was held out, razor-sharp claws showing, as he eyed me with vengeance in mind.
“Pull back your magic, witch, or I swear…”
Fraser didn’t need to draw me a picture; it was already done. I’d released him, but Ross wasn’t so easy to control. His beast had pushed forward, and for the first time, I saw him as half-man, half-beast with his claws and fangs out.
If I’m being totally honest; I can’t say that look was attractive on him.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
~
“Dead man,” Ross growled, speeding up towards Fraser.
I moved as well. I wasn’t about to let Moira get caught in the crossfire between the cousins. Not when those cousins had fangs and claws and could slice and dice her into little sushi-sized pieces.
“Not a good idea,” I heard the voice at my ear, felt the iron lock of the arm around my waist, and groaned inwardly as I was yanked back into a steel cage of a hold that put me out of action and way too close to Satan Claws for my liking.
“Seriously,” I bit out, trying to yank my body away from his, even though I knew I was fighting a losing battle.
“I’m very rarely serious, but this is my serious face,” he whispered, but I didn’t take the bait that time. I was too focused on Moira. “Not in the mood to play? Sigh. Ah, here comes the cavalry.”
Duncan swooped in fast, almost too fast for my eyes and brain to compute, and snatched Moira away from Fraser. Ross roared at the vampire’s impromptu appearance, but I would have clapped if it wasn’t for the fact that Ross was heading for a head-on collision with his cousin – fangs and claws at the ready.
I’d like to say that the fur flew, but that would have been inaccurate as neither man was wearing their beast, but they were going at it like a couple of strays fighting over the leftovers from the takeaway…not that Moira was leftovers…the hard sound of a car horn echoed off the surrounding hills and caused my heart to leap into my throat.
I turned to see Jack’s car coming up the winding road at a speed that couldn’t have been good for his axel or his tires over the potholed tarmac. I turned back to see Fraser and Ross knocking the stuffing out of each other, and knew that for everyone’s sake, especially Jack’s, I needed to put a stop to it.
I lifted my hands and blasted out my magic towards them, taking both men off their feet and separating them.
“Who wants to explain their claws to the police?” I demanded, and Fraser turned a growl towards Jack’s car. “Don’t even think about it,” I warned.
“I’m jealous,” Malachi whispered against my ear, and I had the urge to zap him.
“This isn’t done,” Fraser growled, pushing to his feet and stalking towards his car.
“Stay away from Moira,” Ross growled after him.
“Perhaps the detective has seen a little too much,” Malachi whispered.
“Back off,” I hissed out, shaking myself loose from his hold, or I should say, I twisted and squirmed until he let me go.
Moira was headed toward Ross as Jack and Fraser drove by each other on the road.
This was not going to be fun.
~
“Take Ross inside,” I hissed at my sister as Jack unfolded his large frame from the car and started towards us.
“Hold on, Ross,” Jack called out, and Ross did as he was told. “What was that…?”
“You know us islanders, detective. Fists up before breakfast and after the pubs chuck out.” Malachi said, and a well-placed elbow with a hint of magic made him groan and roll his eyes.
“Who was that?” Jack asked.
“My cousin,” Ross tossed back without looking at him. I had a feeling why – he was letting his cuts and bruises heal.
“Families,” I said with a small shrug, bringing Jack’s attention back to me.
“You’re bleeding…” Jack called, belatedly turning his attention back to Ross.
“It’s not my blood,” Ross said, and I didn’t think I was the only one to hear the underlying growl in Ross’ tone.
“Why are you here?” I demanded, snatching Jack’s attention back towards me. “Did – were you following me – again?” I flicked my magic at Moira and nudged her on her way.
“What…?” Jack turned all the way around to face me as Ross and Moira strolled off toward the house.
“How many crimes do you think I’m capable of committing?” I said, slightly exaggerating it as I tossed my hands in the air.
“Now wait a…”
“Is it just a case of…there’s a crime on Skye…oh, that’ll be Maggie what’s done it?” I rallied at him with an accusing glare.
“That’s…”<
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“Because, I’ll tell you something, Jack Mackie, I’d be blooming tired if that were the case,” I snapped and noted Ross’ front door closing behind them.
“If I could get a word in…” Jack grumbled.
“Are you insane? She’s female,” Malachi said, and I turned my glare on him – that glare was real, and so was his smug smile.
“I think I figured that one out for myself,” Jack offered Malachi a sneer.
“You stared at my boobies long enough; I should hope so,” I muttered, but loud enough that you didn’t need to have the vampires super-hearing to hear me. Jack snapped to attention.
“Meow,” Malachi chuckled.
“Hush-up,” I hissed.
“I was following him,” Jack pointed to Malachi.
“Him?” I frowned.
“Jealousy is a wonderful thing,” Malachi said.
“Jealousy?” Jack grumbled.
“I was talking about her,” Satan claws offered back, and I would have zapped him, but I couldn’t be that obvious, even though Jack knew about my magic I didn’t want to flaunt it.
“Why were you following him?” I asked.
“He looks…”
“Shifty,” Duncan offered with a smirk, as he stood there with his arms folded watching everything.
“I heard he was new in town,” Jack said, and I snorted my contempt for the gossips.
“Not exactly,” Malachi said.
“He’s my cousin,” Duncan said as if he was vouching for the man. Rather him than me.
“And their friends of the family,” I said, wanting to kick myself and headbutt a wall at the same time. I guess I was vouching for him, in a roundabout way, and I got a smirk from Malachi for my troubles.
“My cousin is even dating Maggie’s sister Eileen,” Malachi announced.
“Not … dating,” Duncan bit down on saying more, but I was intrigued. Had Eileen given him the elbow?
“Holding hands a lot for not dating,” Malachi pressed the point, and it showed on Duncan’s face. His eyes said; drop it.
Interesting.
“So, you have your answers, detective,” I said, cutting through the awkwardness of the moment to create, another awkward moment.
“Aye,” Jack seemed hesitant, but he did turn back towards his car.
I waited until Jack was safely inside his vehicle before I turned towards Malachi. “And why are you here?”
“I was following you.”
“What? Why?”
“Don’t ask, won’t tell.” He grinned.
“And you?” I turned a glare on bat-boy.
“I was following him.” He shrugged, pointing to his cousin.
“Is there no bloody trust in the world anymore?” I said, stalking off towards Ross’ house.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
~
“Oh, you so can’t come in,” I said, facing Malachi at the back door to the greenhouse and narrowing my eyes on him to show him just how much contempt I felt.
“Still not very friendly, Maggie McFae, especially, and considering, I snatched you from the jaws of danger this very morning.” He offered me a small smirk that underlined the berating look in his eyes and tone – there was also a teasing quality in his voice, but I so didn’t want to hear that.
“Snatched me from the jaws … pah! Meddled in my business, you mean?” I tossed back.
“Gratitude is hard on your pride, isn’t it?”
“Away with the faeries, you numpty.” I dismissed him with a wave of my hand.
“Invite me in.”
“Bite me, oh, that’s right…” I turned around and offered him the smirk he deserved. Then I offered him a look of pity. “You can’t get in.” I hissed out in a whisper.
“But if I could then I might just take you up on that rather careless offer,” he said, his eyes glinting with either amusement or glee – I wasn’t sure which. One would be annoying and the other disturbing, so I didn’t want to think about it too hard.
“Ha! Like I’d let you,” I snorted my contempt for him and turned away to tend to the plant in front of me. I’d been tending to it a lot lately, which was probably why it looked as if it was losing the will to live. I wasn’t green fingered; I had the kiss of death where plants were concerned.
“Hmm, but you might like it,” he offered back in that sing-song tone that jumped on my last nerve.
“Why are you here?”
“For dinner, just say two magic words…”
“Crispy critter?” I tossed back.
“Come in, Malachi…” his voice somehow echoed inside the room.
“Jump off a cliff, vampire,” I tossed back and heard him chuckle.
“You know you like me…”
“I’ve never been fond of sucky things…”
“You know I make you smile…”
“That’s called pity.” I shrugged.
“You know I can get in if I wanted…”
“Over my dead body,” I sang back.
“And yet,” he said beside my ear, and boy did my heart skip a beat as it pole vaulted off my ribs and into my throat. “Here I am.”
“How the…?” I bit out.
“I was stupid once too,” Gran called out, sight unseen from somewhere outside the room.
Eavesdropper! She could have given a woman some warning that Satan had already unpicked the lock.
“Now, about that offer of a bite…”
“Want to keep your fangs?”
“Meh,” he said. Then he grabbed my shoulders and spun me around towards him. Luckily, I was still gripping onto the sickly plant that became wedged between him and me. “I was going to say dinner.”
“Liar.” I snorted.
“You’ll never know because you acted too soon, much like today,” he berated me.
“Run that by me again,” I scowled.
“Fraser and Ross - never put yourself in harm’s way between…”
“Family.”
“Wolves,” he offered back.
“Ross is family,” I said, and he had better take that to heart.
“Sometimes the family dog needs to be put out of his misery, and not just for its own sake.”
I gasped at the audacity of the man. “You’re not getting dinner.”
“Yes, he is,” Gran called.
“See, somebody agrees with me…”
“Don’t count your chickens…” Gran called, and he grimaced.
“Numpty,” I bit out, turning away from him, tossed the plant at the side, and stalked out of the room. “Gran!” I had a bone to pick with her.
~
It wasn’t funny anymore. I was now seated between Bat-boy and Satan Claws at the dinner table, and to make matters worse; I was facing Moira. I’m not entirely sure why my mother hated me with the fire of a thousand suns at the moment, but that was the only thing I could think was true.
I suppose the good news for everyone else at the table was that if the two vampires suddenly got the taste for something off the menu, I would distract them long enough for everyone else to make a clean getaway. If the worst happened and I did come back as a vampire, boy, did I know who I was feasting on first?
I hated the fact that my to-kill list seemed to be having a rapid turnover for the top spot lately, but I supposed everything in life changed.
My father looked slightly uncomfortable. He was fidgeting a lot more than usual, and I couldn’t blame him. I did have a handle on the fidgeting thing though, but nobody sent the memo to my right leg as my foot tapped away on the spot.
I hadn’t been sure that Ross would turn up, considering he was under something of a dark cloud at the moment, but he mumbled something about not leaving Moira’s side. That could be awkward when she needed the bathroom. I guess you could say he’d taken on the role of guard-wolf.
It seemed that far from Eileen giving bat-boy the elbow, she was giving him puppy dog eyes and playing footsie under the table with him. While Gran was eyeing Malachi with
her steely gaze from under her disapproving greying eyebrows, and I had to wonder why she’d invited him in the first place if only to glare?
Mother was reasonably quiet, I think she was enjoying the relative peace and quiet, or awkward hush as I liked to think of it, that had settled over the room. Well, far be it from me to spoil her quiet dinner, but…
“So, dad, how does it feel to not be the only male at the table anymore?” I asked, and he shot a quick, thoughtful look around us all.
“Fine – fine,” he said, stabbing the lump of chicken on his plate with a little more force than was entirely necessary.
“A Warlock, werewolf, and two corpses might not have been what you had imagined, though, right?”
That was when the snipping started, back and forth, and talking over the top of each other as I watched my mother groan and give me the evil eye.
“Perhaps tomorrow I can sit on that side of the table,” I said with enthusiasm, and the little twitch just above her lip started.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
~
“So, Ross,” Gran said, as I sat down in the rocking chair by the fire feeling all of my twenty-few years after doing the dishes and getting the stink eye from my mother for the last half hour, but it had felt good to get some payback for my dinner table troubles. “Eat anyone lately?”
It wasn’t just Ross that choked on his tongue, I did too, and Malachi snorted his Scotch and choked on it. That was worth it alone.
“I don’t think so,” Ross offered back, and from the look on his face, I think the man didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Me either.
Malachi looked at me and let his jaw drop open. I had to chuckle. Gran certainly wasn’t one for subtle.
“No waking up out in the open – covered in blood…?” She pushed.
“Yes…” Ross said, and my head snapped around so fast that I heard the vertebra snap into place – ouch.
“Which, or both?” Gran asked, and it was my turn for my jaw to sag.
“I woke up down by the Loch in the early hours of this morning,” Ross admitted, and he didn’t look too happy doing it. I wasn’t so happy hearing it either.