by M. L. Briers
“Stop!” Belle was already trying to right her body – not an easy thing to do in a car with little to no space – when the engine roared to life and she suddenly discovered what G-force was as the vehicle took off at speed.
“Just going for a little ride.” Richie offered, in the hopes of calming the witch before she got all rowdy on him.
He’d picked up her scent back on the street and had followed her in the hopes of snatching her up and taking her to his brother’s truck, but the opportunity had arisen when she’d walked to her car, and it had been one that was too sweet to miss out on.
“I’m not going anywhere with you…” Belle kicked out again, catching him in the shoulder and getting another grunt for her efforts, but when the car swerved wildly, she found herself thrown back off balance.
“Now, be still before you get us both killed.” Richie grunted with annoyance. His best guess was that the woman didn’t have two brain cells to rub together, attacking someone when they were driving…
Belle forced her body into a position that it had never known before in an attempt to sit upright in the seat. She wasn’t into exercise, let alone Yoga, but she was doing a fine job at being… bendy.
Her nose was practically pressed against the window, and she couldn’t help noting that the scenery that was whizzing by the window wasn’t of the town anymore.
“Stop the car and let me the hell out! I’m not going with you-” she hissed, grunted, huffed, and practically growled like a she-wolf as she twisted in her seat and tried to unfold her body from the tangled mess it was in.
“I’d say you had little choice in the matter.” Richie offered back with a certain amount of self-satisfaction at the fact that he’d manage to snag himself a witch.
The alpha would be pleased and his brother, Ed, would look like an idiot.
“Oh, r-e-a-l-l-y…” She followed it up with a huff as she tossed her legs out from under her and her backside finally hit the seat. Then she turned towards him, magic at the ready…
“Don’t do that-” He warned, but she had already let lose with a hard blast of her magic that locked his muscles up tightly and made him bite down on the pain that wracked his body…
The front wheels of the car missed the start of the turn and they were headed down the wrong side of the road at high speed… Richie tried everything that he could to move his arms, move his wrists, his hands… hell, just a finger or two would have been all that he needed…
He growled long and hard in a warning that he hoped she was going to heed …
Belle’s eyes flicked towards the road, and she had to do a double take with the sight that befell her… with a startled squeal of panic on her lips; she yanked her magic back away from him, and a heartbeat later – he yanked the steering wheel… and her body was pressed up to the glass again…
“That was dumber than dumb…!” Richie growled out, correcting their path before it was too late, and shooting her a glare as she rolled back against her seat.
“Dumber than you, you say? I doubt it, but then earth-shatteringly dumb is kidnapping a witch.” She hissed back at him – thankful that they weren’t splatted in a ditch, but still unrepentant about her actions.
She wanted to use her magic to splatter him against the windscreen like a bug, and yet… she had to ask herself if she wanted to cut her own nose off to spite her face? It was more than likely that any attack that she launched against him would end in her own demise…
“It’s not kidnapping, its witch – napping.” He almost groaned when he heard himself saying those words aloud, but he had to admit that the look on her face was priceless…
He could have just told her that magic wasn’t real, witches didn’t exists, and the earth was flat…
“Are you out of your frigging little mind?” She hissed back, scrunching up her face until he could hardly see her eyes at all.
“Not so that I’ve noticed, no.” He offered back, trying to calm her with his tone, and failing miserably.
“Well, I’ve just met you and I can tell you that you’re a couple sacks short of a harvest.” She bit back.
“Look, I have a need for you…” Richie offered logic in the face of her ranting.
“A need? Need?” She spat out a chuckle of disbelief. “Oh, I know what you have a need for, and you’re not getting it from me, pervert.”
“It’s not me, it’s my brother…” He started, but when the word – pervert – hit him upside the head it stopped his explanation in its tracks and he bit out a growl…
“A family of perverts. Enabler.” She hissed.
“Now hold on a damn minute there, Snow White…” He bit out on another growl of annoyance.
“My name is Belle…” She snapped back.
“Well, excuse me, Princess.” He grinned at his own funny, but he wasn’t grinning a moment later when she zapped him again.
This time she made it so that it wasn’t as hard or as dangerous – not all of his muscles locked up tightly…
“Turn this car around and take me back to town, before I do something you’ll regret.” She glared at him from the safety of the passenger seat – not that the tiny distance between them gave her much hope that she was safe from him – but it was a damn sight better than being locked in the boot by her kidnapper – or something worse, and she still had her magic with which she could defend herself…
“We’re nearly there…” Richie offered, as if that made everything alright.
“Oh, are we?” Belle knew that it was now or never, because once they reached their destination then she might not get another chance to escape him, and if she was meant for his brother, then that meant that there was more than one of them and that made the situation even worse…
She lifted her hands and forced her magic outwards towards the engine… The sound of a loud thud was quickly followed by all hell breaking loose…
CHAPTER THREE
~
“What the hell is this?” Jake demanded as Ed stalked into the house carrying the unconscious witch in his arms.
The alpha scented the air and took in her Fae essence, groaning inwardly at his brother’s stupidity. Now he would have to clear up another mess…
“The witch that you demanded.” Ed tossed back, biting down on the need to toss her into his brother’s arms and be done with her. She was injured and needed care – not exactly the time to throw her around like she was a hand grenade that he wanted no part of.
“She’s broken.” Jake growled out.
It was times like these that he had to wonder if his parents had actually found Ed as a stray along the road somewhere…
“I’ll just take her back and get another.” Ed growled out with a whole heap of sarcasm and a roll of his eyes in his head. He sidestepped his brother and stalked into the living room. “Where’s Mitchell, we need him.” Ed said as he gently lowered the woman to the sofa…
“Someone call?” Mitchell appeared from nowhere.
The man had the hearing of a cold war listening station, especially when things weren’t going right, and Jake could see how things were definitely going down the pan right then. He had to wonder what the hell his brother had been thinking, but then it was Ed, and the man rarely thought before he did anything…
“Fix her.” Ed said, taking a step back and pointing down to the witch. Mitchell balked at the idea.
“You broke her, you fix her.” He tossed back. “Do I look like a blood bank to you?”
“Yes.” Ed bit out. “Give it freely or I’ll take it from you.” He snapped back – not wanting the unnecessary absurdity of the protestations of the man who would heal her anyway.
“Now back up and hold the hell on.” Jake growled as his brother turned towards the vampire and allowed his wolf to shimmer just under the surface of his skin as his claws came down.
“Put the pup on a lead, Alpha, before I hurt him.” Mitchell flicked out his claws and lifted one hand to study them.
“Any ti
me you like, leech.” Ed growled back a warning and Jake rolled his head on his neck and his eyes back in his head. He didn’t need this…
“Mitchell, could you please fix the damn witch?” Jake growled out and watched the vampire procrastinate for all of a few seconds. Then he huffed, retracted his claws, and shrugged.
“Fine, as you asked so nicely.” He started towards the sofa and Ed growled again. “You need to learn some manners, pup.” He bit out as he shot Ed a glare.
“What I need is-”
“To back the hell down and be grateful that Mitchell can heal the woman.” Jake growled.
“You said get a witch. I got a witch.” Ed tossed up his hands in frustration. He couldn’t do right for doing wrong.
“Yes, but you broke her.” Mitchell offered as he let his fangs snap into place, and then he took great glee in biting down into the palm of his own hand as the beta watch him. Ed rolled his eyes to the ceiling and groaned…
“One witch. Job done.” Ed said as he turned towards the door to leave just as Richie appeared there. “Whoa.” He bit out at the sight that caused both Mitchell and Jake to turn and stare hard at the unconscious witch in the beta’s arms…
“Holy hell fire!” Jake exclaimed with his beast rumbling in every word. “What the hell is wrong with the two of you?”
The sound of Mitchell’s melodic laughter filled the air, and Jake dragged his eyes from the witch to where the vampire sat back on his heels and chuckled with glee.
“There’s something of a queue forming for my services.” The vampire chuckled to the sound of another one of the alpha’s growls.
“I should kill the pair of you.” Jake growled out, taking a step towards the brothers.
“Never send a pup to do a man’s job.” Mitchell chuckled, turning his attention back to Melody and opening her mouth to feed her his blood.
Ed scented the fresh blood in the air as it mixed and swirled with everyone else’s. His beast stirred within him – growled – pushed under his skin to be set free, and he had to slam that cage door and bite down on the urge he had to kill his brother…
It wasn’t unusual for him to want to rip strips off of Richie. They constantly fought, usually bloodying each other, but this… this was different – he actually had the urge to rip the man’s head off and tear him limb from limb…
“What the hell did you do?” Ed growled out.
Ed had to try to physically hold himself back from taking that step towards his brother. Given that his beast was so close to the surface and was demanding his sibling’s blood, he didn’t think now was a good time to get too close, especially as his brother was holding the unconscious witch.
“Got the witch.” Richie snorted back. “See you got one too. Well, I guess two heads are better than one, perhaps they can make one brain between them.” He chuckled, but his eyes flicked back to Ed and that smile died on his lips…
His brother looked fit to kill.
“Get your damn hands off of her…” Ed growled out. The irrational need to rip his brother’s arms off and beat him to death with them flowed with rage like the blood within his veins…
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Mitchell pulled himself up to his full height and moved quickly to stand beside the alpha.
“I think I’m thinking what you’re thinking.” Jake shot back.
“Someone want to tell me what you’re all thinking?” Richie asked, keeping his eyes locked and loaded on Ed, who didn’t quite seem himself…
“I’m thinking you’re stuffed…” Mitchell offered.
“I’m thinking you need to put the witch down and back off.” Jake said at the same time.
“Mine…” Ed growled out, long and hard, and it was a dire warning of what he was about to do to Richie.
Richie almost choked on his own tongue. He wanted to take a long step backwards into the hallway, and yet, he knew that his brother would only follow him, maybe even kill him for running off with his mate…
A mate that he really wished to hell he wasn’t holding right about then… he contemplated tossing her at his brother, making off while the man was distracted by the act of catching her, but she was already hurt, and even if it saved his skin, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it…
“Yours.” Richie’s arms shot out in front of him, holding the witch out like an offering…
Ed’s fangs were already down when he lowered his chin to his chest and snarled at his brother… His claws were locking into place, and Richie grumbled a groan towards Jake as his eyes flicked around the gathering in the hope of finding a way out of this…
“If you kill me… she’s going to hit the floor…” Richie offered and Ed twisted his head on his neck and narrowed his eyes on his brother.
From the looks of it, Ed was trying to calculate how best to kill Richie and save his mate at the same time…
“I think I’ve got it covered,” Ed growled again.
“Shall we?” Jake shot a quick look at the vampire.
“Love too,” Mitchell offered back, already moving as one with the alpha towards Ed…
A heartbeat later and three bodies were down on the carpet. It was a Rugby scrum without the ball…
Ed was on the bottom of the pile, face squished against the carpet, with the other two on top of him holding him down…
Richie wasted no time in his need to rid himself of the mate. He moved with speed across the room to the second sofa – where he placed Belle down as gently as he could in the little time that he knew that he had before his brother gained his freedom.
He was more than aware that his brother was fighting like a wild beast to get out from under the other two, and he wasn’t prepared to lay odds that they could hold a man down when he’d found his injured mate. He started to draw himself up to his full height with the notion of getting the hell out of the house before Ed caught up to him, when he caught the scent in the air…
Richie’s beast raised its head within him. He sniffed once – twice – three times in Melody’s direction…
“Mine,” he growled out, and all three men on the floor snapped their heads towards him.
CHAPTER FOUR
~
“The hell she is…” Ed growled long and hard as he tried to buck the Alpha and vampire from off of him, but he stilled a little when his eyes caught sight of Richie moving slowly towards Melody, like he was stalking his prey…
“Ah, crap!” Jake bit out…
“Double trouble,” Mitchell chuckle. “Two witches, two mates… bet that damn spectre is the least of your worries now.” The vampire offered with glee, but there was absolutely no amusement within the alpha as he shot him a glare.
Ed stilled a little more in the knowledge that Richie was no longer a threat to his mate. He still had the urge to rip his head off for hurting his mate, but the man already had a mate of his own – which meant he was no threat to his own mate.
That only left the vampire and the alpha, both unmated, as a possible problem.
“Get the hell off me.” Ed growled out.
“Not – just – yet.” Mitchell said. “Hey! Richie, get over here and hold him down while I fix the mate that you’ve broken.”
Richie was torn. He didn’t want to leave his mate’s side, and yet he knew that the vampire blood that was already in her system would heal her.
He bit down on a growl of annoyance, and yet he turned his body and somehow made his feet move towards the pile of bodies on the floor.
“Tag, you’re it.” Mitchell said before he pushed up, and Richie growled long and hard at the vampire before he tossed himself down on top of the pile…
“Growling at me?” Mitchell twisted his head and scowled at Richie…
“Your blood is on my mate’s lips…” Richie knew that the green eyed monster of jealousy was an irrational emotion to feel, after all, she needed the vampire’s blood to heal, and yet it went against the grain of his ability to take care of his own mate…
<
br /> “I’m guessing the growl was a thank you.” Mitchell snorted his contempt for the young Lycan.
“Don’t count your chickens…” Richie growled.
“Because you’d probably be right behind me eating them.” Mitchell bit out as he stalked across the room towards the witches.
“Don’t you damn well touch her…” Ed growled out, still trying to buck his brothers weight off of him, and clawing at the carpet as he tried to drag his body out from underneath them.
“Oh, what are you going to do? Kill me?” Mitchell baited him, already more than fed up with the amount of testosterone in the room, and most of it aimed at him when it was him that was healing their mates.
Ed went wild, taking the vampire’s words as a challenge. He started clawing at the wooden floor beneath the carpet, trying to buck up, and elbow his way out from under, looking for any damn purchase that would free him from his inability to kill the vampire where he stood…
“Can you not?” Jake growled at the vampire, knowing Mitchell’s insatiable need to stir the damn pot when all hell was breaking loose around them.
“Considering it…” Mitchell said before he bit down into his palm once more… “And… no… I have too… look, Ed…” He put his finger on Belle’s chin to open her mouth. “Touched her.” He teased as Ed growled, grumbled, and then roared in annoyance…
One alpha and one beta went flying in two different directions through the air as Ed found the strength from his beast within to push up, push them off, and he was headed towards the vampire before anyone could do anything much about it.
“Oh Crap!” Mitchell bit out, squeezing his palm hard and letting his blood flow over her lips and into her mouth…
Jake pushed up and away from the floor. Bending his knees; he used the strength in his legs to launch himself at the beta.
He flew through the air, arms outstretched towards Ed, slamming into his back and taking him back down to the carpet beneath him like an unsuspecting deer. He was hopeful that he would at least give Mitchell enough time to do what had to be done and get the hell out of the way… If not then things were going to go real bad, real fast…