by M. L. Briers
“Hey, if you’d got your backside up, you could have been my bodyguard,” she tossed back and watched him take that one on the chin.
Jeannie knew that his protective gene had just been triggered. That his need to protect his mate was paramount within him, and that he’d thought that he’d failed.
“That’s…”
“Inaccurate?” she offered back. “Just like you saying I walked off. I didn’t. I was taking the air and drinking my damn coffee, speaking of which.”
She pushed up to her feet, and Jason did the same. She eyed him for a long moment then huffed, turned on her heels and strolled towards the door.
“But still, you left the house,” Jason said, right behind her.
“Do you want to end up a eunuch, because it’s heading in that direction, really fast,” Jeannie bit out as she sped up a little down the hallway.
“Go ahead, cut your nose off to spite your face, mate.”
“Oh, but it won’t be my nose I’ll be cutting off,” she hissed back with a backward looked over her shoulder, and saw as him swallow down hard. His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat, and she felt a sense of achievement and satisfaction as she turned back to the sight of Faith and Mick getting all hot and heavy over by the sink.
Whoops!
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
~
“Don’t worry, I don’t slobber when I kiss,” Jason announced.
A heartbeat later and he felt the sharp stabbing pain that came from his mate’s elbow as she jabbed it between two of his ribs, and he let out a grunt of pain.
Faith tried to jump back away from Mick but the man had something of a death grip around her, and she wiggled and slapped against his biceps until he reluctantly let her go.
“Don’t worry, you won’t get the damn chance,” Jeannie hissed up at him.
She’d been planning a subtle retreat from the kitchen door so that she could leave her friend to it, but her mate had made that impossible. Men were just dumb and tactless in her book.
“Damn it, Jason, grow up,” Mick growled out, but Faith was already turning away from him and heading towards the back door out of the house.
“I need some air,” Faith rushed out, fanning her red cheeks with her hand and berating herself for letting things carry on as long as they did with Mick, and yet, she couldn’t seem to stop it herself, and hadn’t really wanted to.
“Faith,” Jeannie called from inside, but she wasn’t listening. She needed a little time on her own to think.
The deep tones from the house followed her out into the garden. She could hear Mick arguing with Jason, and she rolled her eyes as she started up the garden path towards the woods.
That sound was what she had to look forward to if she stayed and became Mick’s mate – shifter’s constantly bickering – she wasn’t certain that was the life for her.
“Faith,” Mick called from behind her, just as she got to the edge of the woods, and she sighed inwardly, but she stopped and turned on her heels back towards him.
“I’m going for a walk, and you can follow on behind me like a stray if you wish.” She didn’t want him to get the wrong idea, and for all hell to break loose again.
Faith gave him a drop dead gorgeous grin that made the man hard in every way possible for her… and then Mick’s heart thumped into his throat at the sight of the bear that was heading right for his mate.
“Faith,” he growled out the warning as he started forward toward the bear as fast as his legs could carry him – shifting in mid-air – with his wolf taking up the chase.
“I didn’t mean stray in a literal…” Faith said, but she stopped at the sound of a deep grunt that came from somewhere beside her.
There was a deep growl that made the hairs rise on her body, and she span on her heels towards the sound. For one long moment, she stared, dumbfounded at the beast that was running in her direction.
“Oh this is so not good,” Faith muttered.
~
~
~
“Talk to me,” Jason grumbled.
“Talk to you? Talk to the hand,” Jeannie snorted back, but she caught sight of something moving fast out of the corner of her eye and gave her full attention to what was going on outside the window.
“Look, woman…”
“Bear!” Jeannie lifted her hand and pointed to the window as she scowled hard. Then she turned and practically slammed into the solid wall of hard muscles in her mate’s chest when he didn’t immediately get out of the way.
“What the…?” Jason gawked out of the window and felt the jab to his ribs from the pointy finger that his mate delivered.
“Move!” she hissed, eager to get outside. But, Jason didn’t need the encouragement, he was already turning towards the door.
“Stay in the damn house,” he bit out as he yanked open the back door. “Clear enough this time?”
Jeannie didn’t get to answer because he was already gone. She snatched a look out of the window.
“Oh, that’s bad,” she muttered, took one long second to decide, and then started for the back door.
Woman my grandmother.
~
~
~
Faith’s eyes widened as the bear came at her at full speed. The beast had seen the wolf running toward him, and he wasn’t entirely sure that he could make it to the witch before the beast intercepted him.
The bear ground to a halt and turned towards Mick’s wolf, just as the beast launched upward from the ground, pushing off with its back paws, a snarl on his lips, and his razor sharp claws aimed for his prey.
“Whoa,” Faith bit out, taking a long step backward in surprise as the fighting began not ten feet from her.
“Faith!” Jeannie shouted as she whipped her head around towards her friend and tossed her hands up. Jason was heading straight for the fight, but he didn’t shift. Instead he changed course and headed right for Faith.
“Go back inside,” Jason growled back over his shoulder at his mate, but as he reached Faith, he tried to grab hold of her, but the witch sidestepped him.
“No, you don’t,” Faith bit out, feeling the brush of his fingertips against her forearm, but managing to duck his hold.
Mick’s wolf used his claws to open up the bear’s flesh all down one side, as the beast turned on his paws to get away. The bear was nowhere near as agile as the wolf, and it took him a moment to reposition himself so that he could return the favor, but when he struck, it was more of a backhand blow that knocked Mick sideways across the grass.
“Stop!” Faith bit out, taking a step toward them, but Jason put his body between her and the beasts that were going at it again, like wildlings.
“Stay back; my brother is in full on protection mode…” Jason growled the warning.
His wolf wanted to get in on the fight, but he knew that his brother wouldn’t appreciate that, and he was better served protecting the man’s mate. Even if she didn’t much like it.
“Who’s he protecting?” Faith muttered, but Jason caught it and shot her a curious look back over his shoulder.
“Duh!” Jason said with a small shake of his head.
“And who’s the bear protecting, genius,” Faith said, sidestepping the protective shifter and lifting her hands in front of her, palms out, and separating the beasts with a flick outwards of both of her hands, backed up with a big dose of her magic.
Wolf and bear were torn apart in opposite directions. Mick’s wolf hit the ground on his side and immediately rolled and pushed back up onto his feet. The bear took a few moments longer to be able to right himself.
“Are you insane?” Jason turned and slapped her arms down at the same time.
“Oh, I’m insane?” Faith hissed out. “You people need to learn to ask questions before you get all claws and fangs.”
“What?” Jason went to move in front of her again, but Faith wasn’t about to let that happen and she let him have it with a hard zap that kept his feet locked firmly
in place.
“Remy, stand down,” Faith bit out, but the bear was in no mood to listen to her. The man saw red at the attack from the wolf, and he was baying for more of Mick’s blood.
“Who the hell is Remy?” Jason growled.
He shook off the last of the witch’s magic and tried to get in front of her again as bear and wolf snarled at each other.
“Geez, I don’t know, Jason, the tree,” Faith said with so much sarcasm dripping from her voice that the shifter pulled his head back on his neck and scowled at her.
“You know this bear?” He growled.
“Ya think?” she shot back.
“Ah, geez, Faith, is there anyone in the damn supernatural world that isn’t coming to rescue you?” It sounded like an accusation to her ears.
“This is not my fault,” she hissed back, as wolf and bear locked together in battle once more.
“Does this happen to you a lot?” Jason bit out, annoyed that his brother was fighting the bear for no good reason; if you didn’t count the fact that the bear shifter had invaded their territory without asking.
“Sure, Jason, every damn day of the week,” Faith tossed up a hand in frustration and shook her head in disbelief. “You wanna tell your idiot to stop fighting?”
“Oh, witch, from the look of things, those two are both your idiots,” Jason grinned down at her, but he did use the mental link that the pack possessed to start to warn his brother of his mate's words.
‘Mick, he’s one of Faith’s…’
“Fine,” Faith snapped out, sidestepping him once more, lifting her hands in annoyance as she muttered and grumbled under her breath, and then she let both shifters have it, pushing her magic out, and making both wolf and bear freeze in place.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
~
“Faith…” Jason groaned, but she wasn’t listening.
“Shift back, now,” Faith demanded, and she wasn’t taking no for an answer. She backed that demand up with magic, and in no time at all she was glaring at two very naked, and very confused human shifters.
“Faith,” Mick growled through clenched teeth.
His wolf wasn’t exactly over the moon that their mate had stopped the fight. He certainly wasn’t happy that she’d somehow managed to force the shift, and he was definitely miffed that he couldn’t move a muscle to reach out and rip that bear shifter’s head from his neck.
“Mick, meet Remy,” Faith flicked her hand on her wrist, and Mick’s head whipped to the right, and he found himself eyeing the bear shifter.
Mick grumbled a long, hard, growl.
“Who the hell is Remy?” Mick growled with every word.
“Oh, you ask questions now,” Faith hissed. “Remy, meet Mick,” she flicked his head around so that the bear shifter was glaring at her mate.
“I’d rather not,” Remy growled.
“No, you two knuckleheads would rather get all claws and fangs and start beating on each other,” Faith grumbled.
“Faith…” Jeannie started to warn, but before she could get another word out, Jason was in front of her, making her pull up short, but she still managed to crash into his back. “For the love of…”
“Remy’s an old friend,” Faith said, and Mick scowled.
“What the hell type of an old friend?” He growled.
“Boyfriend,” Remy growled back.
“Friend – friend,” Faith berated the lying bear, even as her mate pulled back his lips and growled hard at the other shifter.
“Which is it?” Mick growled.
If he’d been able to move a muscle, then he would already have been beating the hell out of the man.
“What’s it to you?” Remy growled.
“Remy, meet my mate,” Faith said, and the bear shifter might not have been able to move his head, but he didn’t have a problem snapping his eyes towards her.
“Your what?” He growled.
“M-a-t-e,” Faith offered back, slowly, dragging out the word so that it would penetrate his thick head.
“Mate!” Remy growled. “But Clara said…”
“See,” Faith announced, turning to shoot a look back at Jason. “Told you this wasn’t my fault.”
“He’s your friend,” Jason shot back.
“He’s your friend,” Faith sneered.
“Funny,” Jason grumbled.
“Not so much,” Mick growled. “What’d the vampire say? That we kidnapped them? That they were in danger?”
“Something like that,” Remy growled back.
“Oh, look,” Jason announced. “Your fault.” He offered to Faith with a smirk.
“Bite me,” she hissed back.
“One damn step, brother,” Mick growled the warning, but he still couldn’t move a muscle.
“You just stand there playing statues, and let me sort this out,” Jason tossed back to the sound of another growl.
“Me and you and…”
“Yeah, Mick, but first you need to get un-sticky,” Jason tossed back.
“Not my fault,” Faith hissed up at the beta.
“You called Clara, Clara called…” Jason narrowed his eyes at her. “How many other people are gonna show up?”
“Why?” Faith sneered. “Afraid of a little competition?”
“You bite me,” Jason grumbled back, and when his mate elbowed him in the ribs, he grunted in pain. “Do you practice that?” He growled.
“Yeah, there’s a class on it in school,” Jeannie tossed back. “Faith let them go.” She nodded towards the shifter statues.
“Why?” Faith shrugged and snorted her contempt for the both of them.
“It’s the right thing to do,” Jeannie shot back.
“Do I look like I care?”
“You looked pretty caring in the kitchen not more than fifteen minutes…”
“Fine,” Faith snapped off her magic. She didn’t need to be reminded of what she and Mick were doing in the kitchen.
“We need to talk,” Remy growled.
“No, you don’t,” Mick snapped back.
“Was I talking to you?” Remy turned towards Mick.
“You wanna be wearing your nose of the other side of your face?” Mick growled back.
“Bring it on,” Remy growled, and Mick took the shot, swinging his fist at the man.
“You know, Jeannie,” Faith said, folding her arms and angling her head to one side as she watched the shifters bickering and swinging punches. “You were right. Let them go. This is so much better.”
“It’s his fault,” Jeannie snapped a look at her mate and Jason’s jaw dropped.
“Why is it my fault?”
“Because ” Jeannie shrugged just one shoulder.
“Fine, it’s…” Jason stopped talking, and Remy and Mick stopped trading punches the moment that the deep mating howl went up.
Every one of them turned to look at the house.
“Ryan,” Jason bit out like he was bitterly disappointed, and Jeannie shot a look at him. “Mated first.” He raised a hand towards the house in explanation.
“It was a competition?” Jeannie demanded as her eyebrows shot up on her forehead.
“Noooo,” Jason gave a slow shake of his head. “But still…”
“Don’t finish that sentence,” Jeannie snapped back.
“Got it,” Jason grimaced as he turned to look at his brother. Mick shrugged.
“One down, two…” he snapped off his words at the sound of a very feminine howl that went up from somewhere deep within the woods.
“Are you kidding me?” Jason growled, turning and raising a hand towards the trees. “Leslie?”
“Devlin?” Faith snorted.
“Devlin?” Remy grumbled.
“Found his mate, well she found… he’s mated,” Faith started back towards the house.
“Where are you going?” Mick called after her, giving the bear shifter a sideways glare as he started across the grass on his mate’s heels.
“I need a drink,” Fai
th hissed.
“And chocolate,” Jeannie was following them.
“God, yes, lots of chocolate,” Faith agreed.
Jason fell into line behind them, and Remy grumbled a growl.
“Faith?” He called out.
“Please, can my bear shifter friend come inside the house?” Faith tossed back over her shoulder.
“Yeah, that’s not…” Mick started, but Faith whirled around on her feet to face him, and he pulled up short.
“If you ever have a hope in hell of wooing me…” Faith bit down on the rest of that sentence.
“Welcome to pack land, Remy, come on in,” Mick growled out, eyeing his mate until she pressed her lips together, nodded her head in approval, and turned back towards the house.
“Nicely done,” Faith bit out.
“I hope he’s house trained,” Jason grumbled.
“Yeah, I’ll sniff out your bed and wipe my ass on your pillow,” Remy muttered.
“Hey, I sleep on that pillow,” Jeannie tossed over her shoulder.
“Fine, I’ll just crap in his shoes,” Remy offered back, and Jason growled a warning at the man as he tossed him a glare. “All of them.”
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
~
Mick stood under the spray in the shower and washed the blood from his skin. The red flashes that were fading fast were the only signs that the bear shifter had his claws in his skin. He’d been healing from the moment that he’d been cut.
His body was still full of tension from the fight and the arrival of his mate’s so-called friend. He still hadn’t gotten to the bottom of that woodpile yet, but he would.
The thought of that man having his hands on his mate made him madder than hell.
His beast was still raw from the man’s declaration. He’d like to put his fist in the man’s face and keep punching until he couldn’t punch anymore.
“Mick,” Faith’s voice echoed out around the bathroom. His head shot up, and his eyes snatched a sideways glance at the door, but she wasn’t standing there.