by M. L. Briers
Mine…
Mick’s wolf didn’t like the vampire’s claim on his mate. He turned his head and showed her his fangs as he snarled.
“Relax, puppy,” Clara bit back. “I never said I wanted to mate her.”
“You might not want to anger the wolf, especially as his mate just ran out on him,” Clive informed her.
Mick’s beast turned his head back towards his mate and his eyes locked with hers. He growled long and hard at the memory.
“Gee, Vamp, thanks for reminding him,” Faith grumbled.
“You’re entirely welcome,” Clive grinned back.
“And I did not run out on him…”
“Did so,” Clive’s sing-song tone annoyed her.
“No, I didn’t. He wasn’t there. He was off chasing the bad, evil Vampire that had abducted Vanessa for her own wicked ways,” Faith said, and Clara shot her a sneer as Mick’s wolf turned to growl up at Clara once more.
“Gee, Faith, thanks for throwing me under the bus,” Clara bit out in disbelief.
“You’re welcome,” Faith said with a big beaming smile that vanished when the wolf turned back to glare down at her. “Now, get off me before I turn you into dog food.”
Mick’s beast twisted its head on his neck and gave her a curious stare, but he didn’t move a muscle.
“I think the puppy likes you,” Clara teased.
“The puppy can go pee up a tree,” Faith bit out, annoyed that her mate hadn’t done as she’d asked.
Faith lifted her hands and drew on her magic. She was planning on hitting him right where it hurt the most. In his pride.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
~
Faith never got use her magic, never got to fire a shot as Mick’s wolf backed right off with a grunt of annoyance. She wasn’t sure if what she was feeling was a relief, or disappointment.
She really wanted to hit someone.
“Point to my witch,” Clara said, folding her arms and giving Clive the evil eye.
“Then they’re equal because the first point was to my wolf,” Clive shot back.
“You two need to get a damn room,” Faith bit out as she pushed up to a sitting position and stared Mick right in the eye again.
Faith felt like growling, but she had to wonder, given the circumstances, if that wasn’t a step too far. Besides, she was no she-wolf and she didn’t need it sounding like a come-on.
Mick shifted right in front of her. A wolf one moment; and then he was all man. All six foot four of pure muscle and sexy goodness to her eyes.
Faith’s heart jumped in her chest as she eyed her mate. He might have been squatting down on the ground in front of her, but she could still see plenty of what he had to offer.
“Hmm, not too shabby,” Clara bit out.
“Get your own,” Faith hissed up at her friend.
Then she wanted to slam her forehead into a tree for feeling even an inch of the little green-eyed jealousy monster that was rearing its ugly head inside of her.
“I would, but they just never seem to have the staying power,” Clara shrugged.
“Oh, poor baby,” Faith sneered.
“You ran from me,” Mick growled and watched as his mate took a moment to consider his words.
“We’ve been through this, well, we’ve been through this,” she motioned to the vampires. “You were a bit of a dog at the time,” Faith offered to the sound of another, hearty growl that rumbled in his chest. “Yes, like that.”
“Do not mess with…” Mick never got to finish, because Clara had him by the throat with his back against the nearest tree trunk.
“Do not threaten my witch,” she sneered and showed her fangs.
“Now-now,” Clive said, moving to stand by her side in an instant. “My wolf, play nice.”
“Your wolf has bad manners,” Clara bit out.
“Whoa, can we hold off flaying the man alive until I decide if I want a mate?” Faith had pushed up onto her feet and was already stalking over to where Clara had a vice grip around Mick’s throat, cutting off the air to his lungs.
The pack’s wolves closed in around them as Mick hung in the air. His claws were down, and he was slicing at Clara’s hand, but she wasn’t paying him any attention as she turned to look at Faith.
“You are seriously considering mating him?” She scowled.
“I’m not-not considering it,” Faith said, still trying to fathom out if that had come out right when Clara tossed Mick across the clearing.
“Fine,” Clara rolled her eyes.
“Thank you,” Faith said, turning to look at her mate and the fact that he’d landed on one shoulder with his legs up in the air against a tree trunk. “I think.”
“You should probably leave now,” Ryan growled as he stalked into the clearing, naked, and panting like he’d run a marathon.
“Oh, I don’t think that’s entirely necessary,” Clive offered back.
“Sure it is,” Ryan growled.
“I’m not going anywhere until Faith, and her friends make up their minds about mating,” Clara bit out.
“She should hang around,” Clive offered the alpha, but Ryan’s eyes never left Clara as he stalked towards her.
“I’m staying,” Clara bit out.
“Not on pack land, you’re not,” Ryan growled back.
“She’ll be good,” Faith offered, trying to ease the tension when she saw the alpha’s claws come down and his fangs elongate.
“No, I won’t,” Clara snorted her contempt for Faith’s assertion.
“Leave, now…” Ryan growled the warning as the wolves closed in around them.
“Faith, what did you do now?” Vanessa demanded as she and Jeannie panted in and out as they closed the distance between them.
“She’s my mate!” Clive yelled, and everything ground to a halt. Everyone stopped in their tracks, and every head turned towards Clive, including Clara’s.
“Excuse me?” Faith bit out.
“Her blood smells divine,” Clive tossed up a hand, “She’s my mate.” He offered lamely.
“And I’m out of here,” Clara announced. “Faith, you’re on your own.” She said, at the same time as she pushed up into the trees and was gone.
Faith’s lower jaw dropped, and she turned towards Clive. He blinked just one eye, like a twitch gone wrong.
“Kiss chase,” he announced before taking off after her.
“And I thought I had problems,” Mick growled, righting himself on the ground and grumbling another growl.
~
~
~
“Faith, we need to talk about you running off like that,” Mick grumbled a growl.
He hadn’t want to bring it up in front of his pack on the walk back to the house. That and the fact that she was squabbling with her friends. Hell, he didn’t want to face off with her again – he thought he’d done that enough, but he needed to clear the air and make sure that she knew that she could never do it again,
Faith stopped just short of the bedroom door, his bedroom, the room that she’d been given to sleep in while she was there. She knew that he hoped she’d stay, but she really hadn’t made up her mind one way or the other about that.
When she turned back towards him, Mick eyed her with suspicion. His mate wasn’t sugar and spice, and he felt he was more than likely to get a zap of her magic than a sweet word from her lips.
“Ok, look…” she started with a sigh, and Mick wanted to headbutt the nearest wall in frustration. She was already defensive, so what hope did he have of a rational conversation with her?
“You know what?” He gave a small shake of his head. “We can talk tomorrow when you’ve had some sleep.”
“Sleep?” Faith wondered how well that was going to go with a million and one thoughts swirling around in her head.
“I’ll be right out here…”
“What?”
“Just in case you get itchy feet and feel like a walk again,” Mick informed her and watched her eyeb
rows draw downwards, and a couple of ridges form just above her nose.
“I did not feel like a walk. I was going after Clara,” Faith informed him, and she didn’t look too pleased about saying it either. “To stop her from killing one of your pack.”
“Your pack too,” Mick shot back.
“Not yet,” Faith said and folded her arms.
“Well, maybe you should tell that to those wolves that were out there tonight trying to keep you safe,” Mick reminded her.
“Safe from Clara?” She snorted a chuckle.
“Safe from me,” Mick growled back, and she drew her head back on her neck, and the frown on her forehead turned into a scowl.
“Excuse me?”
“You ran from your mate, me, and my beast was not happy about it,” Mick growled a little deeper at the thought of what could have happened had Clara not been there to take his wolf’s mind off of mating.
“Your wolf?”
“Yes, Faith. My wolf, the beast within, only he wasn’t within me – he was on the hunt for you, to mate with you,” Mick growled harder still.
“Well, that’s not…” she stopped and tossed up a shoulder as she dropped her hands to her sides. “I didn’t…”
“Think. You didn’t think,” Mick growled.
“Fine,” she bit out, defensive and on the back foot. “I didn’t think, happy?”
“Not even close,” Mick growled back.
Faith bit down on everything that she wanted to say because everything that she wanted to say was a curse word. Then she turned on her heels, tossed open the bedroom door and disappeared inside – slamming it after her for good measure.
“Damn,” Mick bit out. That’s no way to woo my mate.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
~
Jeannie had been as quiet as a church mouse when she’d stepped over her mate; who was lying asleep on the floor outside of her bedroom, which was in fact; his bedroom, and she’d crept down the hallway in search of her morning coffee.
She hadn’t slept well. But then who would with thoughts of Jason going through her mind at all hours?
But then that wasn’t her fault, or even his, it was fate’s fault, and how she’d love to have a word with that supernatural force. It also hadn’t helped that she was in his bedroom, in his bed, and surrounded by his things.
All she wanted, needed, was a few cups of java under her belt and she’d be back to her witchy self. Until that happened, all bets were off that she didn’t get her evil-self on and zap a few people that dared to get in the way of that coffee.
Jeannie wasn’t a morning person, and her friends could vouch for that. In fact; Faith flatly refused to speak to her until she’d hoovered up her third cup of coffee.
She was on cup number two when she pulled open the back door and stepped outside to take in the air and the sights of what the pack’s land had to offer in the early morning sunlight.
That was when she felt the magic in the air. It wasn’t even subtle; it hit the minimal shields that she’d half-assed put up around herself, and froze her body to the spot.
She could breathe, but she couldn’t move. She could breathe, but she couldn’t speak, and she couldn’t call for help.
Jeannie felt the presence come upon her. There was magic woven into his very being.
Fear struck at her heart the moment that his strong arms wrenched her from the ground, and she was tossed over one broad shoulder, looking down at the grass, with thoughts and plans of what she could do when she got the chance running through her mind.
As he took off across the garden, she had to wonder if she’d get the chance? If she couldn’t even fight back with her magic, then what chance did she stand against her attacker?
~
~
~
“Jeannie’s not up yet?” Vanessa asked as she eyed Faith across the kitchen counter as the witch rested her chin in her hand and grumbled into her coffee mug before taking a sip.
“Don’t know,” Faith shrugged.
“Is there a problem?” Ryan asked from where he sat at the kitchen table, watchful of his mate, untrusting that she wasn’t about to do something devilishly fiendish and take off again.
“Who made the coffee this morning?” Vanessa ignored Ryan and prodded Faith in an attempt to get her friend to liven up a little.
It was usually Jeannie that couldn’t be spoken to in the mornings; Faith was the perky and annoying one, but then Vanessa doubted that any of them had slept much, she knew she hadn’t.
“Tastes like Jeannie’s, strong, and with a kick in the backside,” Faith muttered. She was barely paying attention to Vanessa because Mick was annoying her.
Faith flicked her gaze towards the kitchen door; where he stood with his arms folded, showing off way too many hard muscles down his meaty arms, and with a look that said he might have been chewing on a bag of lemons all night.
She snorted her contempt for him and went back to staring out of the window opposite her.
“Stop staring at me,” Faith grumbled.
“Just trying to figure out if I should mate with you, or kill you,” Mick growled back.
“And there’s a thought to start the morning,” Vanessa grinned, but the lack of a stroppy Jeannie pottering around the kitchen niggled her.
“You’re worried,” Ryan said as he pushed up to his full height and padded towards the kitchen door. “Jason!” he yelled, and the sound of a thud from the ceiling above made Vanessa look up and frown.
“Yeah,” Jason called back with a sleep filled tone.
“Your mate?” Ryan called.
Faith eyed Vanessa. A frown etched onto her forehead as she took in Vanessa’s worried look, and she perked up in her chair.
“Gone,” Jason growled back. The sound of his feet thudding against the staircase jarred both witches into action. “Damn it.” Jason tore into the kitchen and headed towards the back door, eyeing the witches en route. “Where is she?”
“They don’t know,” Ryan assured the beta as the man yanked open the back door and stomped out into the morning sunlight, eyeing the area for signs of his mate.
“Can’t you witches learn?” Mick growled, following on his brother’s heels.
“Let’s get out there and look,” Ryan growled. “She might just have gone for a…”
“No,” Vanessa cut that thought right off. “I can’t feel her magic.”
Ryan turned to look at his mate; his questioning gaze flicked towards Faith for just a moment as the woman tried for herself to reach out to Jeannie and failed.
“Me either,” Faith pushed up from the stool and started towards Ryan at the back door.
“Tell me what that means,” Ryan growled.
“It means, she either isn’t anywhere close by, or someone is hiding her magic from us,” Vanessa offered back.
“Damn it to hell,” Ryan growled. Then he turned towards his brothers. “Check to see if any of the trucks are missing.”
“We’ll find her,” Mick growled as he walked by Jason.
He could feel the man’s wolf in the air, the beta’s beast was more than ready to hunt his mate, he was demanding it.
~
~
~
Jeannie eyed her surroundings. The tatty stone walls looked like an old weathered barn, and the dirt of the floor and the stench in the air confirmed her suspicions.
The instant that she felt the magic leave her body; she rallied her powers inside of her and let loose with one hell of a kick that shot her kidnapper across the space and into the darkness of the shadows.
Jeannie rallied her strength and pushed upwards on shaky legs. His magic had taken its toll on her body, and she knew that she needed to run, to get out of there, but she wasn’t yet strong enough.
She’d have to take her chances with her magic and magic alone to defend herself; she had little choice. She decided that it was probably best to face the man head on than have him at her heels where she couldn’t see him.
She rallied her shields and wove a spell to protect herself from his powerful magic.
There was no way that she was going down again. At least, not without a good fight.
CHAPTER TWENTY
~
“Do you think it’s Clara?” Vanessa looked to Faith for answers.
“I don’t know,” Faith admitted as they both made for the back door, stalking out of the kitchen, and into the sunshine.
Ryan stepped up to block their path out of the house. Vanessa eyed the man for one long moment, raising just one eyebrow.
“I don’t think you’ll like where this is going,” Vanessa informed her mate.
She’d be damned if she was going to sit by and do nothing while Jeannie was in trouble.
“You already said that you couldn’t feel her magic,” Ryan offered back, knowing that he had to upper hand this time.
“Not the point,” Vanessa scowled back at him as she rallied every argument that she could think of against the Neanderthal.
“It was the last time,” Ryan tossed back.
“Trucks are all there, and the rest of the pack is out scouting the land,” Mick announced as he stalked towards his brother, one eye on his mate and Vanessa.
“How long has she been missing?” Leslie asked, coming up behind the witches, and eyeing her brother for information.
“We don’t know; sleepy head didn’t hear her get up.”
Ryan heard the low, deep, and angry growl that came from Jason. The man and his beast were desperate to be on the hunt.
“And you don’t have a scent?” Leslie didn’t know how that was even possible.
“It’s being hidden by magic,” Jason growled, eyeing the remaining witches with contempt.
“Hey! Don’t look at us, sleeping beauty,” Faith bit back, anger filling her tone of voice. “If you’d been looking after your mate as you were supposed to…”
“Faith,” Mick growled, shaking his head to warn her off.