by M. L. Briers
She might have felt a small sense of obligation to fate, but it would take more than that for her to just assume the position. Roll over.
They were all grown women, and yet, she still had her sisters to think about. As the oldest; she’d adopted a mother hen mentality and had taken her mother’s place in the family when she’d died.
She didn’t feel like she had to worry about Jodie. That sister could be sensible when she needed to be, but Casey was a different matter.
Casey’s head was up in the clouds most of the time. The only thing she really cared about was her magic and cooking.
After having her heart broken at the tender age of fourteen, Casey had made a determined decision to turn her back on anything to do with love, and that didn’t bode well for mating. Her poor mate certainly had his work cut out there.
There was a nervous apprehension inside Steph, a feeling that this could be the moment in time when her family went their separate ways, and that didn’t sit well inside her.
The alpha may have been a tempting proposition. Even the deep tones of his voice alone made her skin tingle, but temptation could be denied — unless it was covered in chocolate, or when the man said stupid things and put his foot firmly in his mouth.
Steph’s brain was caught napping on where he was and what he was doing. It had something of a kickstart when his fingers wrapped around her wrist, and he yanked her around toward him, spinning her in place, and catching her off balance when she went to pitch sideways.
“Fine. The time for talking is over,” Kit growled.
The alpha had something of a hungry grin on his face, and it registered in her brain only a split second before his lips came down on hers. That didn’t just silence the answer that she was scrambling to find — it kicked it into the realms of; who gives a damn.
His lips were soft, but boy were they demanding. In a rush of heat and excitement who could think to breathe?
Her thoughts, her worries, and her considerations for everyone and everything else dissolved like a puff of smoke on a windy night. His chest was solid under her hands, and she had the urge to test those muscles.
Steph’s body ran the length of his, everywhere he could touch, he was, and she appreciated it. She wasn’t quite sure how long they’d been kissing already, or when she’d allowed that kiss to deepen, but she did know that her body had never felt so alive.
It wasn’t as if she’d never been kissed before — she had — she’d just never been kissed like that before. Who knew that there was more to kissing than just your lips and tongue touching and that funny feeling that pitched and rolled your stomach?
Well, she did now.
It felt as if her whole body was in tune with his. She could feel everything, every little touch, every little movement, and she wanted to feel a hell of a lot more.
Chocolate be damned! Kit was fast becoming her new addiction, and she liked it. She liked it a lot.
Sure, the man had taken liberties — or, maybe not — at that point, she didn’t care. Kit was now her Sunday morning under the covers, he was her duvet day, he was her hour-long bubble bath with candles and wine, and he was her feet up with a big slice of chocolate cake.
She’d forgo them all for him and only him.
Heaven help her – but she was hooked.
~
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~
“I don’t know why you’re trying to make such a big thing about it?” Zoe shrugged her shoulders at the wizard and tried to create the perfect look on her face — somewhere between menacing and innocent was her target mark, and she could only wonder if she’d pulled it off. It wasn’t as if she had a mirror handy.
“You obviously have something against witches,” Vale offered back. “For all I know; your whole pack is the same.”
“If I had a problem with witches then why would I bring them here?” Zoe demanded as she folded her arms and eyed the man with contempt.
“Magic is fine when it’s on your terms…”
“Now you’re just being silly,” Suzie gave a small shake of her head, dismissing his worries, and trying to put the matter to bed before her sons returned with their mates.
She didn’t need anything rocking the boat, and there was nothing more distracting, or dangerous than a father defending his daughters. The last thing anyone needed was for the wizard to get unruly and challenge one of her sons — that could end badly for the Wizard.
“No, I don’t think I am,” Vale scowled at the two women. He wasn’t quite sure what they’d been up to, but from the looks on their faces; he doubted it was good.
“Well, you’re a man, and we all know men have an overinflated sense of worth,” Zoe offered back.
“I’m sure if this were dating and not mating then you’d be singing a different tune,” he folded his arms across his chest and challenged her to deny it.
“Someone will be singing soprano in the moment,” Zoe muttered.
“Don’t make me be rude to you, old woman.”
“I may be old, but I could still knock you on your ageist, male chauvinistic ass, and don’t you forget it,” Zoe growled back.
“Well, I for one think this is going way better than I thought it would,” Nicholas said as he nudged Vale in the back and shoved him out of the doorway before breezing into the room.
“Who invited you in?” Zoe growled on a scowl that brought her eyebrows down over her eyes.
“The alpha — argue that one,” Nicholas said with a smug smile, and was pleased when the elder huffed with defeat.
“I don’t have time for your games,” Zoe tossed back.
“Really? I thought you freed up some time by sending others to do your bidding for you,” Nicholas grinned.
“Which reminds me — busy-busy,” Zoe said as she suddenly remembered that Tina would be checking in with her at any moment. She headed towards the back door.
“Wouldn’t want to miss out on something really juicy,” Nicholas leaned in and whispered as the elder walked by.
“Don’t you have a grave to crawl back into?” Zoe growled back over her shoulder, but his words didn’t stop her from heading out of the back door. “Damn zombie.”
“Where were we?” Nicholas said as he slapped his hands together and took a moment to eye the wizard. “Ah yes, you were insulting an elder, and Suzie was contemplating kicking you in the balls. Resume.”
~
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~
“I can’t do it.” Casey gave a little sigh of defeat.
“Yes, you can…” Finley’s breath was against her ear as he stood behind her, his body pressed against hers, his arms wrapped around her, and his hands over hers on the fishing rod that he’d borrowed from a member of his pack that was fixing to call it a day.
“No, no I can’t.”
“Yes, yes you can.” He offered a chuckle, and she wanted to answer with an elbow against his ribs. “It’s not hard.”
“And it better not get hard either.” They both knew what she meant.
Finley chuckled to himself. His length had been harder than hell practically from the moment that he’d met her. She might have thought that his body was pressed against hers, and she’d be able to feel it, but he wasn’t dumb, his body was turned slightly sideways.
“It’s just fishing.”
“This is a silly idea…”
“This is a way of us getting to know each other.”
“This is a way of you rubbing yourself against me like a randy dog.”
“Paranoid much?” Finley chuckled. “We just bring the rod back — and flick.”
“I don’t want to do it anymore,” Casey said.
“Once more,” Finley needed to control the situation. If she gave up now and turned around, then she might see the huge bulge in his jeans.
He took a step back from her and tried wiggling his hips as he thought about every disgusting thing his brother had ever done — if that didn’t make his length go down then nothing would.
> “Fine!” Casey flicked the rod back in her hand.
The line sailed through the air, and she flicked it forward again. The hook snagged against Finley’s shoulder, embedding into his skin, and he let out a loud yelp as it tore away from his flesh.
“Mother…!” Finley growled and muttered to himself as Casey turned her head to look at him over her shoulder.
“Now what?” Casey scowled at him.
“It’s the fish you’re supposed to hook not me!” Finley growled.
“Well, I told you I didn’t wanna do it!” Casey hissed as she turned and tossed the rod at him just as he was reaching up his hand to rub the sore spot on his shoulder.
The spool of the rod caught him right on the bridge of his nose. Finley’s head snapped back in surprise as the pain blasted inside his skull, and he yelped again.
CHAPTER TWENTY
~
“Mother…!” Finley growled once more as he slapped a hand over his nose and his eyes devoured her with a questioning gaze.
“Catch…?” Casey was trying really hard not to laugh, but it was just so damn hard.
The look on his face was priceless as he stared back at her with something approaching stunned disbelief.
“You’re supposed to say that before you throw something,” Finley growled out.
“Where’s the fun in that?” Casey was barely holding onto the spluttered laughter that finally escaped her lips. “Besides — on you guys supposed to have great reactions or something?”
“Well, it would appear not, wouldn’t it?” Finley grumbled.
“Well, I will try to remember that for the next time.”
“That would be good,” Finley grumbled.
Finley gave a small shake of his head in disbelief. His mate was spluttering laughter like a machine gun, and he had an urge to kill something – maybe even her, definitely his brother, because he always had that urge.
Her eyes were filling up with tears, and she lifted her hand and covered her lips, but that didn’t mask the way that her shoulders were bobbing up and down. Besides, her earlier laughter had already given the game away. The woman was a she-demon.
“Stop being such a big baby — you’re already healing,” Casey got out through her chuckles.
“So much for the sympathy vote,” Finley grumbled.
“Ah, poor baby,” Casey chuckled again.
“Yes, yes I am,” Finley said, taking a step towards her. “Your baby. Your sweetheart. The man of your dreams…”
“Still pushing the boundaries of absurdity, I see, or do you have a concussion?” Casey grinned.
She now had the laughter under control, almost, a snigger here and there kept escaping, and she clasped her hands behind her back as she rocked on the balls of the feet. She looked pretty damn innocent, but Finley knew better – she-demon.
“You know I can prove it,” Finley growled as he took just a small step forward.
“You know I can hurt you — oh, would you look at that nose. I already have.” Casey rushed out the words of warning because that man looked like he was getting ideas that didn’t quite bode well for her plan of keeping him at arm’s length.
“Sometimes…” Finley closed the small distance between them in a heartbeat. “You just have to take the rough with the smooth.”
Before Casey could protest, or use her magic to ward him off, she found herself within his arms, and what followed jarred her to her very soul.
When his lips came down on hers, Casey felt as if life had just found a new meaning and it was damn well taunting her.
~
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~
Zoe started to pace. Tina was well past her check-in time, and the elder was starting to get nervous.
Perhaps, she shouldn’t have sent a pup to do an elder’s job. She knew that second-guessing herself wouldn’t do anyone any good, but she couldn’t help it.
There was no way that she could put a call out to the pack to find Tina without tipping them off and letting the alpha know what she had done. She bit down on a groan, but getting chewed out by the alpha was a lot less painful than something happening to Tina.
‘Tina, where are you?’ She used the pack’s mental link to put out the call. She had no choice.
She waited. Frustration grew inside of her. She had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
‘Tina?’
‘Tina?’
‘I saw her earlier,’ Turner’s voice appeared in her mind, but it didn’t put her anxiety to rest.
‘I saw her earlier too,’ Finley said.
‘Now. I need to know where she is now,’ Zoe bit back.
‘What’s going on?’ Kit’s voice made her even more anxious.
‘I sent her out to check on all of you, and she hasn’t come back,’ the elder admitted. ‘Find her, alpha!’
‘We’ll find her,’ Kit growled back.
Zoe knew that the time for recrimination wasn’t now. They were all more interested in finding the pup then pointing fingers.
It was how it should be. It was how it was.
She just hoped that whatever had happened to Tina they could make it right.
The sound of the back door opening made her turn in place, and there was Suzie looking even more anxious than Zoe felt. Nicholas appeared behind her and gently moved she-wolf out of the way.
“We’ll find her,” Nicholas assured the elder.
“I’m coming with you,” Vale said.
“I’m a lot faster without you,” Nicholas informed the man.
“You go on ahead. I’ll catch you up. At least I’ll be out there if you need my magic,” Vale assured him.
“Nicholas!” The elder bit out, but with the emotions swirling within her, she couldn’t say anything else. Nicholas nodded his understanding.
“We won’t come back without her,” he promised and then he was gone.
~
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~
Witches and wolves scoured the countryside across pack land. With the vampire and wizard out searching for the young she-wolf, the general consensus was that they should have found something by now.
Zoe was inconsolable as the elder pack females that couldn’t go on the hunt gathered around the main house. Even Suzie had shifted and gone out to join the rest of the pack.
Zoe stayed with the elders that would have slowed down the search, and if there was something deadly hunting out there on pack land, the elder wolves would have been a danger to everybody as the pack used vital resources protecting them. At that moment in time, Zoe hated being old.
Night was closing in. The wind had whipped up and was howling across the land. The sky had become dull and brooding with rainclouds, and nobody could understand why they hadn’t found the young she-wolf yet.
Nicholas was dispatched to Tina’s house to find something personal that belonged to her. The wolves had their chance to sniff her out and try to pick up her scent. They’d failed. Now it was the witches turn to use their magic to try to track her.
“Shouldn’t you be helping them?” Nicholas asked the wizard as he watched the three witches that stood facing each other, their hands joined in the center, and Tina’s favorite necklace was laced between their fingers.
“Trust me, the three of them together are far more powerful than a mere wizard could ever be. My powers would only distract them.” Vale offered back as he eyed his daughters with pride.
“Rocks,” Casey offered what she saw. What she knew. It was a place that she remembered seeing earlier with her mate. She turned to look at Finley. “Where we were today.”
“The crags,” Finley shook his head. He didn’t like it. The crags were dangerous.
The wolves took off on fast paws as if they were chasing each other. All were headed in the same direction, and they hoped that they would find Tina at the end of the chase.
“Go home!” The alpha demanded of the witches before he started to turn to join the chase. He was so close to shifting into his wo
lf form when his mate spoke.
“You needed our magic once; you may need it again,” Steph reasoned with him.
“Go,” Nicholas told the alpha. “I’ll bring the pesky witches.”
Kit nodded once. Then he turned on his heels, shifted into his beast, and took off into the night.
“Pesky?” Steph demand as she started off after her mate with her sisters keeping time with her.
“Slow.” Nicholas shrugged.
Then the clouds opened and the rain started to fall. The search just became harder.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
~
“You know this would be easier if you three could just climb on your broomsticks…” Nicholas bit off his words as all three witches zapped him at once.
“Be careful what you wish for,” Vale warned him, picking up the rear of the group.
“Vacuum cleaners?” Nicholas offered back and felt a sharp sting the second time that they zapped him. “I suppose lawn mowers are out of the question?”
“If there wasn’t a child in danger…” Steph warned and left her words hanging there.
“Maybe afterward you can show me what you’re made of.” Nicholas offered back. “After all, I’d like to know what I’m up against.”
“A glutton for punishment,” Jodie offered.
“I like to know my pack has my back, as I have theirs,” Nicholas informed her.
“We’re not your pack,” Casey grumbled.
“Kit’s pack is my pack — ergo; you’re my pack,” Nicholas said.
“You assume that were part of the pack,” Casey tossed back.
“You’re hunting with them, aren’t you?” Nicholas said and got only silence in reply.
“Why don’t we just find the young she-wolf and then continue this discussion,” Vale said.
“How far to the crags?” Steph asked.
“Right through those trees,” Nicholas lifted his hand and pointed to the distance.
“I’d rather go around them,” Jodie sneered back.
She was wet, soaked through to the skin, and yet she was hot from all the running. If there was one thing she hated, it was exercise.