by M. L. Briers
“Can you not do that creepy vampire thing…?” Jake growled each and every word.
His body was already on hyper alert from having two witches and a spectre on his land, but now they had something new and unknown to deal with… He had to figure that today was not a good day to be alpha.
Couple that with the time of year and he wasn’t feeling particularly friendly. How he hated All Hallows approach, it always tended to bring out the crazy supernatural element from the woodwork…
Mitchell rolled his eyes and considered the man’s words as Jake continued to growl in annoyance…
“Well, as I am a vampire, I’d have to guess that the answer to that would be a big fat no…” he offered back on a slow consideration of the facts, and the fact was; he liked to wind up the alpha and watch him spin his wheels.
“Can you try?” Jake growled harder.
“Give me a minute…” Mitchell teased, pulling back, shaking off his arms, rolling his head on his neck, and then clearing his throat. “How’s this?” He snapped on a grin, a little fang showing, and Jake rolled his eyes in his head on another growl of annoyance, and turned his attention back towards the car that was speeding towards them…
“Just…” he bit down on the bubbling frustration within him. “Let me handle this.” Jake started down the steps, leaving the vampire at the front door, and muttering curses with each step.
“Don’t hurt yourself trying to act… normal.” Mitchell whispered, but it was loud enough for Jake to hear, and the alpha grumbled another couple of curses as the car screeched to a halt, stones flying in all directions from beneath the wheels…
Jake’s eyes were locked and loaded on the woman behind the wheel. His beast stirred within him at the sight of her…
One thing was certain; she was madder than hell. Her hands were gripping the steering wheel like she was trying to wring out a last breath from someone, and her chin was angled downwards towards her chest as she glared at him with a certain amount of accusation, for what he couldn’t be sure, but he was betting it had something to do with those two witches.
“I think she’s a…” Mitchell offered…
“I know what she is…” Jake knew of no women that could look at him like that except a witch. She knew what he was, what lay under his skin, and she didn’t look too happy about it…
“Are you sure you want to handle this…?” Mitchell teased, egging the man on.
“I got it.” Jake growled. His eyes were fixed on the witch as she kept her glare locked on him while she pushed out of the car.
“I’ll ask you once, nicely, to hand my sister over to me.” Elizabeth offered him that chance. It wasn’t like she was going to let this whole thing slide… but she wanted her sister safely by her side before anything got out of hand and this alpha got all rowdy.
“I take it that’s supposed to be a threat.” Jake growled back.
His wolf was more than antsy inside of him, it was downright chaffing at the bit to be free…
“Threat. Challenge.” She bit out. “Hell, you want it etched in blood I’ll use his.” She nodded her head towards the vampire and the alpha snorted.
“What’d I do?” Mitchell bit out, tossing up a hand in the air. “Everybody loves to blame the vampire…” he grumbled.
“While I’d love to rid myself of all witches on my land. Your sister is otherwise occupied with one of my brothers-”
“She’s in pain. I can feel it-” Elizabeth bit out.
“Was in pain.” Mitchell put in, bringing her attention towards him. “And you’re welcome.”
“Someone hurt her. I want my sister here now and I want the man that did it.” Elizabeth knew that she could demand all she liked, but this one was totally alpha, she could sense it with every fibre of his being…
“Now you want two things…” Mitchell tossed back at her.
“Look, bloodsucker, if you did heal my sister then you get a free pass, but I want the blood of the man that hurt her on the ground in front of me…”
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Jake took a long step towards her, but it was a step too close as far as Elizabeth was concerned.
In a heartbeat she had swept the alpha up with her magic – holding him suspended a good thirty feet above the ground – as he roared in anger, twisting and fighting the unseen hand that held him in place…
Then she heard the sound of a scream and all bets were off – so was she – uncaring of where Jake landed as she tossed him through the air, and set off on fast feet…
Mitchell watched the alpha sail through the night sky. His arms and legs flayed about him as if he thought that he could actually control his decent – learn to fly in that short a time that it took him to hit the nearest tree, about twenty five feet in the air – his body buckled over the thick bough and with a loud grunt of pain, folded over the branch, hanging like a limp ragdoll that a child had tossed up there just for the fun of it…
“Still sure you’ve got this?” Mitchell called out and heard the grunt of pain in response. “Okie dokie then.” Mitchell grinned as he set off after her, knowing that if she could disarm the alpha so easily, it was going to be amusing to watch what she could do to the betas.
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Elizabeth didn’t need to use her magic to track her sister; the sound of feminine squeals and squeaks mixed with deep growls, and they all emanated from the barn. That was more than enough to lead her to where her sister was.
She knew that the vampire was on her heels – she could sense him. Her shields were buzzing and sending her warnings from all around her, only natural, considering that she was in the midst of a pack of wolves…
She cursed inwardly that her sister’s coven had been so damn careless as to come to a place where there was a pack dug in. Wolves were territorial and they obviously hadn’t taken kindly to witches turning up on their doorstep…
She was both miffed to be dragged into this and grateful that she’d come here with Belle, because she had no idea what could have happened to her sister had she not.
Now she needed to get her sister back and set an example to the man that had taken her. She was more than determined that blood would be spilled before this night was over, and it wasn’t going to be witch blood.
“Belle!” She shouted as she entered the darkness of the barn and took in the scene… two witches – two Lycans – and the ice cold of an unworldly presence that rushed through her body…
“Lizzy!” Belle’s voice called out to her through the distraction of that unearthly presence that had snapped all of her attention towards it… Right now it was just a feeling, a cold spot… and icy touch against her skin that came and went, but it was still around there somewhere…
Elizabeth snapped her fingers and brought a flame to life in the palm of her hand… She knew that she needed to illuminate the area to get a better view of what lurked in the shadows. The danger that she and her sister faced now didn’t just come from the Lycans…
“Incendia.” She lifted her arms towards the roof and spanned them wide… the flame shot upwards, exploding into a million bright sparks that hung in the air like fireflies that shone their light down on the area, bringing light into the darkness and making the betas growl at the suddenness of it…
“Whoa…” Melody’s jaw hung downwards and Belle reached out her index finger and snapped it shut, making Melody snap out of the pure disbelief at what she had witnessed…
Elizabeth turned quick eyes on her sister and her friend, making sure that they were in one piece, before she turned her attention back towards the empty shadows where she knew spectre’s liked to hide…
“A pitch fork, Belle? Really?” She bit out, motioning for her sister to come towards her…
“Who the hell are you?” Ed growled out, taking one long step towards her and bringing her attention towards him.
“I don’t have time for you.” Elizabeth snapped her fingers and sent the man f
lying backwards.
Richie started towards her on a hard growl of warning as his brother bounced off of one of the supporting posts and landed face first in the dirt. Elizabeth’s eye were half on his progress and half on the immediate area to the right of the witches… something lurked in the shadows…
“Belle, Melody… get here now…” Elizabeth bit out as she swept Richie up and deposited him next to his brother on the floor with a hard thump…
“Lizzy?” Belle grabbed a handful of Melody’s shirt and dragged the witch forward with her… She could see that Elizabeth was less worried about the two Lycans and more intent on something else, and she felt the hairs on her body rise to attention as an ice cold touch swept over her body…
She gasped in surprise…
“No!” Elizabeth bit out, sensing what her sister felt, and pushing out her shields to engulf the two witches…
From all around her Elizabeth felt the attack on her shields from the supernatural… The two Lycans to her left… the vampire behind her… the alpha following on, but the only one that she was worried about now was the spectre that had appeared in a misty veil out of the darkness and was reaching out its arms towards her sister and Melody…
CHAPTER SEVEN
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“Watch out!” Jake growled at the sight of the ghost behind the witches…
The alpha moved on fast feet, around Elizabeth, noting that the vampire was moving fast in the other direction, and both men pounced as one, grabbing a witch and sweeping them off of their feet as Elizabeth centred her magic, not on the witches now, but as a barrier against the progress of the spectre…
Jake put Melody down on her feet and spun her behind his back in a heartbeat, noting from the corner of his eyes that the vampire had Belle, as his brother’s growled from somewhere behind him, but his eyes were locked onto one thing, and one thing only… the sight of that damn spectre caught in some mystical barrier that lit him up and revealed his features to the group…
“That’s…” Mitchell snapped his head back on his neck and took in the sight of the ghoul…
“Marcus…” Jake finished his sentence for him. The name spat out in disbelief…
“What the hell?” Ed growled out as he dragged his battered body towards his mate… His eyes fixed on the ghostly figure of the man who had been alpha before their father…
Elizabeth felt the power of the apparition that was caught within her shields… He was strong, intent on breaking through and reaching them… His body was bloodied and twisted… his arms were reaching out towards where Belle was standing…
“Hell, no you don’t…” Elizabeth’s top lip curled back in disdain… “Stay away from her.” She ground out.
Pulling back her arms and gathering her magic, Elizabeth thrust her hands towards him, sending a bolt of white light heading right for him… Sparks flew… he twisted and turned in the flames of her magic…
“No!” Jake growled out, heading for the woman… “Wait…” he ground out, one arm reaching for her as he snatched her up and spun her around away from the spectre… Her magic snapped off, the barrier dropped, and in a heartbeat the ghoul evaporated into a mist…
“Are you insane or just really stupid?” Elizabeth ground out, trying to twist free of the hold that Jake had on her body, but it was like a vice grip, and there was no escape save using her magic to end it. With the lock that he had on her body; she knew that zapping the hell out of him now would hurt her just as much as it would hurt him…
“Be still…” Jake growled out. Now his mind and body weren’t centred on anything but her in those moments…
“Lizzy…!” Belle went to take a step towards her but the feel of strong arms coming about her body held her in place… “Let me go!” She bit out, trying to fight the hold that her mate now had on her… His growl was a warning for her to stop fighting…
“Belle!” Melody raised her hands and gathered her magic within her, but two strong arms knocked hers down to her sides and then wrapped around her, pulling her back against the solidity of a chest as she felt the hard rush of something that buzzed and tingled against her skin…
Elizabeth didn’t move one muscle. She felt the rush of something against her skin from where Jake’s hand touched her naked flesh… It spread like wildfire, up and over her body, not leaving anywhere unaffected, and she closed her eyes against the heady feeling of that touch…
“That had better not be…” she it out on a half-whisper, but his ears caught it.
Jake felt every muscle within his body tense hard at the feel of her in his arms. Her scent was all around him, and yet, it wasn’t enough.
He growled long and hard, a warning for his beast trying to push forward, before he dipped his head and buried his face against the hair that was gathered against her neck, taking in a long, deep breath of her very essence…
“Mine…” He growled against her ear…
“Oh Crap!” Belle bit out, struggling against the hold that Ed had around her. She felt his breath against her neck…
“Mine…” Ed growled out and she swallowed hard, freezing in place as her eyes widened in shock…
“W-hat?” She bit out, head spinning at the sudden rush of panic that went through her.
“Oh, wow, that’s…” Melody shook her head in disbelief…
“Mine…” Richie growled against her ear and she almost choked on the rush of denial within her.
“What? No!” She tried to pull away from him, but there was no use – just like the verbal claim he’d just made on her soul, so his arms did the same to her body.
“Well,” Mitchell said with a smirk on his lips. “Things just got really interesting.” He chuckled to himself as all three witches glared at him… “Not for you three…” he tossed up a shoulder. “But I’m not going to need TV tonight…”
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“How did you two manage to get us all into this mess?” Elizabeth bit out as she twisted away from Jake’s hand as he rested it against her hip to usher her into the back door of the house, and she turned to glare at the two witches as they came to stand side by side in the kitchen. Both women lifted a hand and pointed a finger at the two betas.
“He kidnapped me!” They said in unison, then turned to stare at each other in disbelief.
Jake growled out a long groan. With the vampire practically standing guard just inside the back door, cutting off the witches exit should they chose to try and escape, he went over to the table and started to pull out the chairs.
“I don’t think it matters how they got here…” he started, but he made the fatal mistake of drawing a breath in Elizabeth’s company and she jumped right in to the silence.
“How convenient for you that you don’t want to talk about your skeezy brothers nefarious tactics in abducting women for their own ends.”
When the alpha drew himself up to his full height and brought a dark glare down upon her, Elizabeth’s hands went to her hips and she adopted a defiant stance.
“Skeezy and nefarious?” He growled out, and made the mistake of breathing again…
“That’s what is said – didn’t I girls?” She angled her head towards them but didn’t break eye contact with Jake for one moment.
“Yep…” Belle shot back quickly, but it took an elbow in the ribs to get Melody to agree.
“She did!” She rushed out on a small squeak of surprise at the fast jab from her friend.
“There was nothing skeezy or nefarious in what they did…” Jake growled. Both brothers grinned in unison. “Stupid, thoughtless, and moronic – maybe.” He added, and those smiles dropped like Pooh sticks into a fast moving river.
“Now hold on…” Ed raised his hand and pointed an accusing finger towards the alpha.
“You don’t get to talk,” Elizabeth rounded on him then, and his eyebrows became one long unibrow as he growled back at her. Jake rumbled a warning growl of his own, a warning to watch his tone with his ma
te. “The g-r-o-w-n-u-p-s are talking now.” She added, before turning her attention back towards the alpha…
“Look, no matter how they went about it…” Jake said and took another breath in. Elizabeth pounced on the silence like a cat on a mouse.
“Skeezily and nefariously.” She cocked an eyebrow at her mate when he sighed down his nose…
“They did it for a good reason.” He breathed again…
“The Spectre.” Elizabeth deduced and Jake frowned back at her, surprised that she’d come to that conclusion.
“Yes.”
“It’s looking for a witch conduit – so you thought you’d give it two.” She folded her arms across her chest and inadvertently pushed her ample breasts up and out towards him… Jake couldn’t help but look down at the rounded globes as they nestled against the low scoop of the fabric…
Elizabeth heard the low rumble of a hungry growl that travelled through the alpha’s chest and got caught in the back of his throat. She lifted her hand and snapped her fingers, and Jake yelped… one hand slapped against his face, covering his left eye, as a pain shot through it as if someone had prodded it with the tip of their finger…
“I have eyes that you can look into when I’m talking to you or a mouth that you can look at, but my breasts neither have expression nor a voice of their own – so keep your eyes to yourself.” She offered, and the man cursed like a sailor on shore leave.
“Damn she’s a mean one.” Ed bit out the corner of his mouth towards Richie and the beta chuckled in amusement, but when Belle tossed Ed a glare over her left shoulder, the beta jumped at the sting of her magic…
“Yours too.” Richie chuckled, nervously eyeing his mate for signs that she was about to do the same, but Melody was just staring at the floor, frowning hard, and debating just how much trouble she was actually in…
“Sisters.” Ed bit out with a small shake of his head as if his point was made with that one word.