by M. L. Briers
“Oh trust me, I wouldn’t.” She volleyed back, lifting her hand to her temple and twisting it.
Yeah, he might have been a crazy wolf, and she’d better take heed of it, but at least he wasn’t sneering at anyone.
“Are you going to move your car or do I have to do it for you?” He growled, barely holding on to that one last nerve within him.
At least now it was easier to let himself – his true self – rumble through his chest. Now that he knew that it was no normal human that he was dealing with he didn’t have the constraints imposed on him by being in the company of humans.
“Try, I dare you,” she sneered again. Her hands were still at her hips when she offered that challenge to him, and she hadn’t even been thinking about the possible consequences.
Brody growled, not just a little growl either, but he let his beast’s feelings be known on the challenge that she’d presented to him.
“Now why’d you have to go and throw out a challenge like that?” he growled with a shake of his head.
Silly witch!
He bent down and placed his purchases on the ground, slowly straightening back up to his full height. Then he fixed dark eyes on her, and she could see that his beast was right there … just under the surface of his skin, it was also in his darkening eyes, and Eden could have kicked herself.
Wolf. The man is a wolf shifter.
Oh, I didn’t!
Oh … yeah, I really did…
How could I have been so stupid to challenge a wolf?
What was I thinking?
I wasn’t thinking … that’s the problem.
Brain in gear before engaging mouth.
Now what? Because there’s no way I’m backing down. Doesn’t much look like he’s going to back down either.
“I wouldn’t,” she warned.
Eden pulled on her magic, even though she knew that she couldn’t really use it out in the open like that, but then, on the plus side, he couldn’t get his wolf on either.
Brody heard the warning in her voice and her words, and he gave it about a one second thought.
Then he started towards her.
“I gave you the chance to move the damn car. Now you can either give me the damn keys, or I’ll take them from you,” he bit out as he stalked towards her.
“You wouldn’t dare!” She might have said the words, but she wasn’t totally sure that she believed in them.
The man was coming at her pretty fast and he looked in no mood to be messed with. But she’d issued the challenge and normally she’d have to back it up with action and not just words, but how the hell was she going to do that when she couldn’t use her magic?
“Oh trust me, I would.” He growled. There was a flash of intent within his dark eyes, and her heart kicked her ribs.
Eden knew his words to be true. He certainly didn’t look like he had a humorous bone in his body.
Muscles … muscles upon muscles. It was no wonder that the man didn’t have room for a sense of humour!
And right then and there, Mr Muscles was coming right for her.
She was still deciding what to do about it – zap him, slap him, or maybe knee him in the balls. But by the time she’d considered all of the ways to maim the man, he was already there, right in front of her, toe to toe, grumbling a growl like he didn’t care that there were humans around, not many … but it only took one to overhear him.
When he reached out for the bag that she had slung over her shoulder, she turned sideways into him – putting the bag on the other side of her body so that he had to reach around her to try to get it. That just brought him closer…
“I could scream,” she hissed up at him with a little added venom in her tone to make sure that he knew she meant business.
Unlike Mr Growly Pants, she didn’t think getting her supernatural on in public was a good idea.
“Go ahead,” he growled back, as if he didn’t care one bit, and he snatched for the bag once more, but she twisted her body and kept it out of his grasp.
Then he grunted with annoyance. He’d just about run out of patience with the woman. He reached out with those big, muscled arms, and they came at her…
“Don’t you dare…!” she went to sidestep him…
Too late. His arms had already gone around her body to try to reach for the bag on either side of her, negating her twisting motion, and thwarting her attempt to keep it out of his reach.
She managed to jab him with her elbow, for all of the good that it did her … and it was then that Brody stupidly managed to sniff in a breath and her scent with it.
His wolf, already with its head raised and paying attention to what was going on, found that scent more than enticing. It was a lot more than just the scent of the Fae…
Mine…
That one word hit Brody like a ton of bricks.
He felt like slamming his forehead against a brick wall, head-butting it a few times, just to wake up from the dense fog that clouded his mind and locked him into place like a frozen statue.
It couldn’t be true.
This wasn’t happening.
Not a witch.
Not my mate.
Not now.
Not when it wasn’t safe.
Not when I’m not safe to be around...
A witch.
What the hell am I going to do with a witch mate?
Brody held in place, arms still wrapped around her body, still frozen, and taking in her damn scent as he drew in ragged breaths of denial. He pulled his head back on his neck and his eyes met hers, and she glared back at him as if his fangs were showing.
He took a long moment to run his tongue across his teeth just to make sure that his fangs were still sheathed…
“Don’t tell me … You decided you want to dance instead?” She sneered.
“Mine.”
CHAPTER THREE
~
That certainly hadn’t been the word that Eden had expected to hear. It certainly wasn’t the word that she wanted to hear, and it was the one word that she really wished she could un-hear.
“Oh, not in one million and one years!” She hissed on a low whisper back at him.
“Trust me, it brings me no pleasure whatsoever to say it,” Brody growled back.
The man still hadn’t moved. Maybe his arms had tightened and he’d encircled her a little tighter, not quite touching, but not far off, but move from that very spot … unlikely.
He didn’t want to be that close, and yet he couldn’t make himself move away either. Not even pull back slightly, and his beast was going bat-shit crazy within him.
Now the wolf wanted out. Not completely out, his beast had no intention of hurting her, or running away, but it did want to do the one thing that Brody had absolutely no intention of doing … bite.
That wasn’t good. He knew that wasn’t damn good.
His beast was unpredictable, and the last thing that he needed to do was lose it to his wolf in the middle of what pretended to be a high Street in that sleepy town.
He needed to get out of there, but there was no way in hell that his beast was going to leave his mate behind. He needed to take her with him, and that was going to be easier said than done.
“I have a problem,” he growled.
“You sure do,” she sneered back.
Eden’s eyes were full of suspicion, and she looked like she wanted to say so much, and if he had to guess, a lot of her words would be curses.
“If I don’t get out of here pretty damn soon, the world is going to know about shifters, because my wolf wants out.” Brody didn’t bother to sugar coat it for her.
For one long moment she stared back at him. Then she tipped her head to one side, and her eyes narrowed on him like she was trying to look deep within his very soul.
A frown played on her forehead…
“That’s not going to happen … You are not going to let that happen.” She bit out.
What the hell was he telling her?
What the hell was she supposed to do about that?
If he went full wolf, even in a sleepy town, that would be the end for all of the supernatural that were hiding in plain sight around the world.
It would be the witch hunts all over again, for wolves, vampires, shifters, and witches alike.
That couldn’t happen.
She couldn’t let that happen.
That wasn’t just suicide for shifters and vampires. That would also bring trouble to the witches doorsteps.
Some bright spark would ultimately blame the witches for everything supernatural in the world, and that of course would start the righteous off, and then there would be hell to pay, and everyone knew just how well that had ended for her kin the last time that there was a witch hunt.
It felt as if the weight of the world had just plonked down upon her shoulders. One badly parked car, and now she held the fate of the supernatural realms within a hands.
How the hell could this happen?
And who the hell am I to have to carry such a responsibility?
“Get out of here now,” she hissed up at him, but he was already shaking his head…
“My beast won’t let me go anywhere without you.”
~
~
~
Eden knew that she had to have gone ape crazy. There she was sitting in the front of his pickup truck on the way to, who knew where, with the man that she’d only just met – who claimed, rightly or wrongly, to be her mate – and could have been more nuts than a squirrel’s breakfast.
A wolf shifter, a witch, and a lonely winding mountain road … there had to be in ending insight – but she wasn’t sure that she wanted to be a part of the story.
So what if I am his mate?
Does that automatically make him my responsibility …?
If he ever pulls the truck over I should just zap him, grab the keys, and make a run for.
Knowing my luck … The pickup wouldn’t start …
The man has a problem with his wolf … Was climbing in the truck with him really such a good idea?
Sure, great idea, Eden … She told herself … Why didn’t you just drive up the mountain and throw yourself off?
It certainly would be less painful than being eaten alive by a wolf.
“Please don’t look at me like that…” Brody growled.
His beast felt it too, the way that she was eyeing him as if he was about to attack her. He didn’t like the look in her eyes … He didn’t like the scent of her fear … it unnerved him and his beast.
She was right to be afraid of him … Or was she?
His beast had settled a little more within him since the moment that they’d hit the mountain road.
All he wanted now was to be home. Home? He didn’t have a home – he had a cabin on the mountain, technically that cabin belonged to his pack, and ultimately to Dexter.
He was just renting space. He’d been biding his time, waiting for the moment when his wolf decided to push forward, and he could do nothing to stop it.
Now what? He didn’t have a damn clue.
Life had thrown him a curveball and he was going bat – shit crazy swinging his arms erratically and trying to hit it back.
He couldn’t have a mate.
Definitely not a witch mate at any rate.
It wasn’t safe for her.
In that very moment; he realised that for the first time in a long time he was more worried for somebody else. He was worried about his mate.
His protective gene had clicked in, and he knew one thing to be true – she was the last person in the world that he would ever want to hurt. That didn’t necessarily mean that he wouldn’t hurt her…
He was a crazy wolf, almost, but not quite yet. The beast had been gnawing and clawing at him for some time now and he wasn’t sure why.
Now the beast seemed to be more intent on her. Protecting her. Claiming her…
You can’t let that happen.
The only thing that he could do would be to go to the vampire, Connor, and challenge the man to the death.
His beast roared out within him. The wolf didn’t like the idea, and he had the feeling that his beast wasn’t about to let that happen.
“How would you prefer I looked at you?” She asked, still eyeing him from the passenger seat and wondering when it was that the other shoe would drop. “All gooey eyed and swooning?”
“Not exactly, no.” He growled. That thought thrilled him and appalled him at the same time.
“You just told me that you were about to put the whole of the supernatural world in danger – that you can’t control your wolf – I think I have every right to look at you anyway that I see fit.” She scowled back at him.
“I guess that makes sense,” he growled.
He’d be damned if he could argue with her reason. He’d done that – his beast had done that, and he’d been damned surprised that she’d agreed to get in his truck with him and that he hadn’t had to witch-nap her.
“Yeah!” She bit out on a laugh that sounded slightly insane to her ears, but she didn’t much care how it sounded to his.
“Here’s the heads up. It’s true – my wolf is unpredictable, but right now it seems to have settled a little more,” he growled.
“Great, just pull over anywhere to let me out,” she tossed back.
Brody’s beast roared again. The wolf liked that idea just as much as he liked the idea of Brody going to the vampire for a quick and easy death.
“Well that’s not going to happen either,” Brody growled as he tightened his hold on the steering wheel.
“And please tell me what it is that you think is going to happen here,” she demanded.
Eden still had an easy feeling in the pit of the stomach. She didn’t know this man. She didn’t know anything about him other than that he was a shifter and his wolf was unstable, and to add to everything else … she had troubles of our own.
“I don’t have a damn clue,” Brody bit out on another growl of discontent. It was the truth – he had absolutely no idea what came next.
All he knew was that she was his mate. That he couldn’t be in town right then. And that he had an uneasy feeling within him that neither man nor beast wanted to let her go.
How the hell does that work?
She’s not a stray puppy … I can’t just keep her.
Even if I wanted to … And I don’t know if I want to…
Of course I want to … She’s my damn mate!
That doesn’t negate the fact that I have a damn crazy wolf inside of me.
But even a crazy wolf doesn’t stop me from wanting her as my mate.
But then I’d have to woo her … how the hell does a crazy wolf go about wooing a witch?
“Just pull over,” she said trying to make her voice sound as normal as possible. It wasn’t exactly an easy thing to do when you were faced with madness on all sides.
“I’d love to … for your sake…”
“Now see … That doesn’t fill me with a warm fuzzy feeling of security when you say stuff like that.” She bit out.
Her magic was good and ready to go, and she was more than prepared to use it if necessary. She’d just like the stupid truck to stop or at least slow down before she had to do anything drastic…
Killing him might be a good option right then, but she’d be damned if she was going to kill herself in the process.
“I think we need the vampire…” He bit out.
“You are damn crazy if you think I want anything to do with a vampire,” she shot back.
Vampires were the bane of her existence.
Vampires were the reason that she was on the road headed cross-country.
Did he really expect her to sit there all quiet like and just hand herself over to one?
“Trust me, this guy is not normal…”
“That makes two of you, and a heads up for you … I don’t trust you, not one little damn bit, so you can say trust me, but there’s no friggi
ng way in hell that I’m going to do that.” She snapped back.
Brody eyed her for a long moment. He guessed she was right, and that she had his number.
He couldn’t be trusted and she’d seen that in him. He wasn’t normal. Even in shifter terms, he was as abnormal as they came. His temperament was more bear than wolf – he liked to pick fights, and he liked to finish them.
He wanted to shift and stay as his wolf for long periods of time … he was as close to going rogue as it came.
The only thing that he could think to do at that moment in time was to take her to Connor, if nothing else then the vampire could keep her safe, and where his beast was concerned, she could probably do with the backup .
CHAPTER FOUR
~
“Now who the hell is that coming up my drive?” Connor grumbled at the sight of the pickup truck speeding up the road towards the castle.
The underside of the vehicle scrapped over the bulge of the bridge, and that made him want to grab the driver and bounce his head off the castle stonework.
Isobel turned at the sound of the truck and Connor’s question, and her eyes took in Brody’s pickup truck. She recognised it instantly, and had to wonder where the hell the fire was to make the man drive like such an idiot.
She had an uneasy feeling about this…
“That’s Brody,” she said on a half thought. The rest of her mind was taken up wondering if something had happened on their land, maybe to her mate…
Connor hummed with interest as he eyed the occupants.
“Oh, the new guy,” interest piqued inside of him as he folded his arms across his chest, assumed a Lord of the Manor – type stance, and waited for the truck to grind to a halt and at the bottom of the stairs.
He knew the guy by sight and scent alone. He’d checked him out, followed him some as man and wolf. He’d been watching and waiting to see if the man was a screw up, a hopeless cause, a danger to his mountain, or if he would fit into the mountain life.