by M. L. Briers
“Positively harmless,” Tom chuckled from his place in the seat beside the fire.
“You can’t leave me like this all night!” Jonathan growled and grumbled as he shimmied along the floor a little more.
“A girl has to have something to unwrap on Christmas morning, don’t you think?” She tossed over her shoulder as she started up the stairs.
The heady sound of Jonathan’s growl of annoyance reached out to her, at the same time that the elder’s deep chuckles reached her ears. Her only wish was that she could have thought of it sooner.
What better way was there to keep a wolf on the hunt from getting its prey?
“Natalie!” Jonathan called out after her, but her feet didn’t hesitate on the stairs. “This is not funny!” He yelled as she disappeared from sight.
“Yes, it kind of is,” Tom chuckled as the beta growled in annoyance.
The sound of the front door opening sent a chill through the beta, but it had little to do with the frosty breeze that blew inside. He knew exactly what was coming.
“Wow, what did I miss?” The vampire announced as he walked up to the beta and nudged him with the toe of his boot.
“Don’t even go there!” Jonathan warned on a hearty growl.
“But it’s Christmas — and Christmas is supposed to be full of fun. And this — this is fun,” Jake informed him as he reached in the back pocket of his jeans for his mobile phone, took it out, swiped it to the camera and took as many pictures as he could through the tears of laughter that filled his eyes.
“Don’t you just love witches?” Tom chuckled.
“Not right at this moment, I don’t!” Jonathan growled.
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
~
“We have to get up; it’s Christmas day.” Saffy chuckled as the alpha wrapped his body around hers once more, and he nuzzled in against her neck. That hot and heavy breathing was something else.
“I don’t have a present for you,” the alpha grumbled.
“Sure, you do, it’s long and thick…”
Doug growled and pushed up on his elbow to look over her shoulder at her. He offered her a hungry grin that filled his dark eyes with glee.
“I hadn’t finished — and it can be cut off and placed in the fire to burn,” she grinned at the horrified look on his face that was mixed with a lot of confusion.
“Huh?”
“A Yule log.”
“Thank god!” He chuckled, before dipping his head forward kissing her naked shoulder. “But staying in bed still seems like the better option.”
“But your pack are coming…”
“I think they’ll understand.” He chuckled.
“Think Christmas dinner feast!” She squealed as his hand tickled against her stomach en route to a much better place between her legs.
“I can think of the feast right here, right now.” He offered a very hungry growl.
“And that’s good too, but I’m hungry…”
“You should have told me,” Doug growled.
He’d been so wrapped up in his mate — literally — that he hadn’t thought to do his due diligence as her mate.
“I just did.”
“I need to feed you,” he said as he was pushing up and out of bed in a rush to look after his mate’s needs.
“I think I know how to feed myself,” she chuckled.
“Not the point,” Doug growled as he reached for his jeans and found them ripped to shreds on the floor beside his feet.
He looked around him as if he’d never seen his bedroom before. Then he stalked towards the chest of drawers and started yanking open the drawers and pulling out clothes.
“You can slow down; I’m not in danger of being malnourished, just yet,” Saffy said as she propped himself up on her elbow and watched him in his panic.
“I wouldn’t want you to lose any of your curves,” he growled out, but the upturn of his lips in a grin made her chuckle.
“Maybe after the Christmas feast we can come back upstairs and work on improving my curves with some bigger ones,” she offered and watched as he froze in place.
Doug slowly twisted his head in her direction, and his eyes narrowed on her.
“You mean…?” He let the question die right there.
“I’m a witch — I believe that practice makes perfect — and if you’re going to make lots of pubs…” She didn’t get any further than that as the alpha tossed the clothes in his hand in the air and stalked back towards the bed at breakneck speed.
“Pups?” Doug barely managed to force out the word past the dry, sandpaper lump that was his tongue.
“Not so fast — food first — just throw your tongue over your shoulder, get dressed, and let’s go eat!” Saffy couldn’t help but chuckle at the look in his eyes. There was glee residing there.
“You just gave me the best Christmas present.” Doug grinned from ear to ear.
“And hopefully in nine months you will get to hold it,” Saffy grinned back. “Now, where are my clothes?”
“Err, slight problem…” he dipped his chin towards his chest and looked more sheepish than wolfish.
~
~
~
“You know that at some point he’ll need feeding, right?” Jake asked as he stood by the fireplace with his arms folded and a rather sympathetic, if not amused, look on his face for the beta who was still lying on the floor wrapped in Christmas tree lights.
“Did you have to spoil my fun on Christmas morning?” Natalie huffed at the vampire.
“When I get out of these damn lights…” The beta growled at the pair of them, conspirators all, even the elder was enjoying his misery.
“Which is another good reason why I think you should stay like that.” Natalie grinned as she folded her arms and tipped her chin up in defiance.
“Are you prepared to spoonfeed him?” Tom asked.
“I’m warning you, elder…” Jonathan growled.
“Maybe going a little hungry would improve his mood,” Natalie offered to the elder.
“No- no, a hungry wolf is like a bear with a sore head,” Jake chuckled.
“I’m warning you, vampire,” Jonathan growled.
“The only person that hasn’t got a warning so far is me,” Natalie grinned from ear to ear at her mate’s plight.
“Oh, I have a special thing in mind for you, witch,” Jonathan growled.
“And you think that’s going to make me let you go, do you?” Natalie snorted in contempt for the man.
Then she turned on her heels and started across the room toward the kitchen.
“Where are you going?” Jonathan growled out after her.
“I smell breakfast in the air,” she chuckled. Jonathan growled long and hard. “Was that a growl or was that your stomach talking?”
“Let me out of this now,” Jonathan grumbled.
“You forgot the magic word…” Natalie tossed back.
“There’s a magic word?” Jonathan’s eyes were full of hope as he tried to think of a word that would break the spell.
“I think she means, please, dumbass,” Tom chuckled.
“Please,” Jonathan growled.
“Nope, that’s not it,” Natalie chuckled as she pushed open the kitchen door and disappeared into the room.
“I hate witches,” Jonathan grumbled.
“How unlucky are you then? Only the rest of your life with one.” Jake couldn’t help himself as he followed on after the witch chuckling away at the beta’s expense.
“What in hellfire have you done now?” Doug’s question rattled the rafters as he stood at the top of the stairs and looked at his brother on the floor.
Jonathan groaned and then growled in his misery.
“Obviously, it wasn’t me,” Jonathan grumbled.
“Oh, it was very much his fault,” Tom assured the alpha.
“Whose side are you on?” Jonathan tossed his head upwards so he could glare at the elder.
“Not yours!�
�� The elder chuckled back.
“Get up. Get those lights back on the tree — you’re ruining the display,” the alpha berated him.
“Somehow — I don’t think he can,” Saffy chuckled.
“She’s right — I can’t. I’ve been spelled.” Jonathan growled. Then he let his head fall back against the wood with a thump.
“Did that knock any sense into you?” the elder asked.
Jonathon lifted his head up and glared at the elder.
“No,” He growled.
“Didn’t think so.” The elder sniggered.
Doug rolled his eyes in his head and groaned. Christmas certainly was eventful with witches around.
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
~
“Could you pretty please let Jonathan out of his bindings?” Saffy’s eyes were as pleading as her voice as she tried to nudge Natalie’s conscience in the right direction.
She felt sorry for the beta.
“No.”
“It’s kind of mean.”
“Still no.” Natalie offered back.
“Don’t you think he’s learned his lesson?” Saffy asked.
“No.” Natalie shrugged as she reached for a large bread knife and started cutting off thick wedges from the home-baked loaf.
“I think he might have.”
“No.” Natalie was adamant as she shook her head.
“How do you know?”
“Because if he’d learned his lesson, then the spell would happen broken already,” Natalie offered back with a shrug of the shoulders.
“Oh.” Saffy didn’t really have an answer for that one.
“So, that means if I let him out of his bindings then he’s going to try to kill me — or worse — mate me,” Natalie offered back.
“Trust me; mating is definitely not as bad as you think it is.” Saffy grinned from ear to ear.
“Says you.”
“Well, I am the witch with the experience,” Saffy shrugged.
“I think he’s edging towards the killing me part of my argument,” Natalie said.
“He’s your mate — he’s never going to try to kill you,” Saffy reasoned.
“Says you.” Natalie shrugged again.
“You’re being unreasonable.”
“And where does reasonable get me?” Natalie tossed back. “Eaten.”
“In a good way,” Saffy chuckled.
“Says you.” Natalie offered back.
“I still think you’re being unreasonable.”
“And I still think the beta wants to kill me,” Natalie said.
“Again — he’s your mate…”
“And as his bindings haven’t unwound around him — then I’d say that he’d take the risk in going rogue, don’t you think?” Natalie offered her a smug grin.
“No.” Saffy shot back.
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Now who’s being unreasonable?” Natalie tossed back.
Doug dropped his face into his hands and groaned. He’d never known two people that could bicker over everything and yet nothing at all in his life before. Not even pups. But there they were, at it again, and he only looked up when he felt his mate’s touch against his shoulder.
“Think of all the pups were going to have,” Saffy teased him with a wide smile.
“I don’t know about Jonathan killing her — but I’m considering it myself,” Doug lied.
There was a deep, hearty, growl that rumbled into the kitchen from the other room. Then there was the sound of fast moving heavy thuds from someone’s feet against the floorboards.
Jonathan appeared in the kitchen doorway — minus the fairy lights.
“Looks like someone had a change of attitude,” Saffy chuckled as Natalie’s eyes rolled in her head at the sight of her mate — free at last.
“You say that like it’s a good thing,” Natalie groaned.
“Don’t threaten my mate,” Jonathan growled at the alpha.
“Who knew that all you had to do to break a witch’s spell was threaten his mate life?” Doug rolled his eyes once more.
“Gee, thanks for figuring it out, alpha,” Natalie hissed.
“Well, his attitude has changed for the better. Although, the fact that he wants to kill my mate rather than you leaves a lot to be desired,” Saffy offered her a bright and breezy grin.
“You’re calling him your mate now?” Natalie sneered.
“Would you rather I call him my lord and master — because that’s never gonna happen,” Saffy shot back.
“You, I have a bone to pick with you,” Jonathan growled. He lifted his hand and pointed an accusing finger at his mate. Natalie grimaced.
“I noticed your mate isn’t calling you mate,” Saffy chuckled.
“Good.” Natalie shrugged her shoulders. She was trying to ignore the beta that stood behind her.
“That was a mean and evil thing that you did…” Jonathan started, but when his mate turned toward him, knife in hand from where she’d been slicing the bread into nice thick doorstep chunks, he swallowed down hard.
“I like to think of it as a lesson — show don’t tell,” she said as she stabbed the knife in the air between them to make her point.
Jonathan was hoping the point wasn’t going to end up in him.
“I like to think that actions speak louder than words…” He offered back.
“Exactly! Thank you for making my point for me,” Natalie said as she turned back toward the bread and continued to slice it.
“Huh?” Jonathan looked confused, but not as confused as the alpha who was busy scratching his head, Doug shrugged his shoulders at the quizzical look that his brother tossed him.
“Did you learn a lesson?” Natalie asked as she put the knife down on the chopping board and sighed.
“The one about not miffing off witches?” Jonathan asked.
“Okay, lesson one learned,” Natalie frowned. “Did you learn any other lessons?”
“The one about not trusting witches?” Jonathan offered.
“Anything else?” Natalie grumbled.
“You’re mean,” Jonathan growled.
“Oh, come on, it’s not really that hard,” Natalie sighed again as she shot a look at Saffy and her friend grinned back.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Jonathan shrugged as his mate turned towards him again and offered him one hell of a death glare.
“See, this…” She motioned between them. “Between us — it’s never going to work.” She shrugged.
“I wouldn’t rush to judgment on that…” Jonathan started, but she cut him off.
“There is no rush — it’s not going to work.” Natalie was adamant.
“So, you think you’re smarter than fate?” Jonathan said, and that shut her up.
Natalie frowned as she tried to think of a way out of that question.
“Everyone makes mistakes,” Natalie offered with an innocent tone to her voice.
“Yes, you did,” Jonathan offered back.
“Did not.” She hissed.
“Did too.” Jonathan grinned from ear to ear.
“What part of – not – aren’t you grasping?”
“So, you are smarter than fate, then?” Jonathan demanded.
“I didn’t say that…” She started but was cut off.
“Because you don’t want to tempt fate to slap you upside your head,” Saffy sneered.
“That’s not the point,” Natalie offered her friend a death glare.
“It is so the point,” Saffy folded her arms and frowned at her friend.
“Oh please — not again,” Doug begged.
“What’s your problem?” Jonathan growled at the alpha.
“Well, at first it was only the two of them — now they seem to have roped you into it as well,” the alpha grumbled.
“Into what?” Jonathan frowned. He didn’t understand what his brother was talking about.
“Bickering — bickering like a little girl �
� bickering like witches — bickering — bickering — bickering!” Doug could have slammed his forehead down onto the countertop. He certainly didn’t think that he’d feel any worse for it.
“Who is bickering?” Jonathan tossed up his hands. “We’re discussing.”
“This — this is nuts,” Doug growled.
“You think we’re nut’s?” Saffy chuckled.
“I think there’s a good case for it — yes,” the alpha said with an enthusiastic nod.
“I don’t know — you’re calling your mate nuts…” Jonathan said.
“That’s not…” Doug started, but he didn’t get to finish.
“It’s lucky that Saffy’s here, otherwise she might not have believed what you just said about her,” Natalie berated him.
“That’s not…” Doug started, but they ignored him.
“You’re either very brave — or very, very stupid. I can’t make out which,” Jonathan chuckled.
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
~
“Can we just…” Doug turned to his mate with pleading puppy dog eyes when the others carried on talking over him and ignoring him.
Saffy couldn’t hide her amusement. She had a large grin on her face that made him groan inwardly.
“You know what they say; if you can’t beat them – join them,” Saffy chuckled.
“You’re going to drive me nuts, aren’t you?” Doug offered her a lopsided grin.
“It’s quite possible.” Saffy chuckled again.
“I guess it’s as good a way as any to go.”
The sound of a mating howl rattled the windows and made everybody freeze in place.
“Well, I know I’m here, so, it wasn’t me,” Natalie grinned from ear to ear as she looked at Saffy.
“Looks like Christie got her man,” Saffy said as she folded her arms and turned a knowing glare on Natalie.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Natalie demanded.
“Oh, even I know the answer to that one,” Jonathan chuckled.
“I’ll just go and run upstairs and assume the position, shall I?” Natalie offered back to Saffy with a frown that dipped her eyebrows down low over her eyes.
She wasn’t best pleased with her friend’s attitude. Just because Saffy had jumped off a cliff that didn’t mean that she had to follow. No matter how good the water might have looked to her.