Mating Their Witch

by Tl Reeve

  “Back the fuck up, what do you mean you know?” She groaned, covering her face. “Of course, you know.”

  “It’s Zane. I knew last night when you ran aw—”

  “Left,” Jamie said. “I left. I didn't run.”

  “As I was saying, I knew when you ran from us last night that he would put someone on you immediately,” Cian continued, ignoring her statement. “Zane is... well, he is overly protective. It comes with his job.” Along with being Alpha of their pack, although Cian didn't mention that last part to her. He realized if she didn't believe in witches, she sure as shit wouldn't believe in wolf shifters.

  “Well, I don't know what crawled up his butt with me. But it can crawl right back out,” Jamie spat, her cheeks flushed from the cold morning air.

  Cian snorted; the problem wasn't Zane's ass, it was his dick, but again, he kept his mouth shut. He happened to like his balls right where they were. “It’s something you're going to have to learn to deal with.”

  Zane had been specific on how he wanted to mate Jamie and therefore complete their Trinity. He normally never went against his lover and Alpha, however at the moment, he wondered if it’d been prudent. Cian feared it’d come back to bite them both in the ass if he kept quiet.

  “Umm. No. I'm. Not. I don't have to deal with any of it.” Jamie crossed her arms, pushing those perfect tits of hers up, and Cian's mouth fucking watered. “I refuse to have that deputy—”

  “Blake,” Cian supplied the deputy’s name. “His name is Blake.” Cian made a point of stressing Blake's name so that Jaime could start to learn their–her–pack members’ names. She would be one of the Alpha's mates.

  “Ugh! Whatever! What is it with you both correcting me?” she snarled as the sweet scent of her anger mixed with the smell of sugar and made his dick ache. “I refused.”

  “Blake will only be with you when we're not around you. So, mostly during the day. Back and forth to work. That type of thing.”

  She tensed. Her pert chin lifted in the haughtiest way, and if she weren’t so damn serious, he’d have laughed then fucked the starch out of her. Their little mate wouldn't go down easy. “Wait... what are you talking about?”

  “If you need me to explain this in detail to you, I will.” Antagonizing her wasn't his job, he left that type of shit to Zane. He was the peacemaker of the pack, and Cian took that job very seriously.

  “But you guys are gay!”

  Cian laughed. He couldn't help it. She thought they were gay, even after they had her plush little body sandwiched between them and kissed her.

  “We're not gay, we're bisexual.” He laughed again as utter shock washed over her face. “Which is a whole different ball game. We've been waiting for you to complete us.”

  Jamie’s eyes went wide, and she rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “Bisexual?”

  He nodded his head. “I thought you'd have figured that out in how we danced and then we kissed you.”

  “So, you guys have been intimate together?”

  Cian nodded his head. Their poor little witch was totally confused.

  “How long... I mean how long have you guys been together?” Jamie whispered.

  Cian didn't scent or see any distaste in her features at his announcement. Anything but. Their little witch was curious. “We've been monogamous for the last five years. I also live with Zane.”

  “Oh,” she said with a nod. “Congratulations.”

  Cian snorted. “Thanks. I'll be sure to tell him.”

  “You don't have to be rude about it,” she scoffed. “Besides, you have each other, what more could you want?”

  Was she kidding with him? What more could they want? Didn't she hear him? “Selective amnesia. Has to be it,” he muttered. “So, you gave Zane a piece of your mind in there, why are you running away?”

  “I told you!”

  “No, you told me about why you were here, now you're scared. What happened?” He had a feeling he knew. Magic still crackled around her. He felt it the moment she’d bounced off of him.

  “No-nothing.” She shrugged. “I-I told him to leave me alone.”

  “Now you're lying,” he said. “I can sense it. I can put two and two together.”

  “Don't tell me what I am. It's none of your business. I can stomp around here and cause a scene and no one,” —she poked him in the chest— “not even you, can stop me.”

  “You're right, I can't.” Fear drove her to do those things. Fear made her irrational. But, what happened in Zane's office to set her off? Did they have a moment? Maybe she's worried about what I'd say? “If something happened between you and Zane, you should know I'm happy for both of you.”

  She scrunched up her face then shook her head, rearing back from him. “You're happy for us... uh... Zane and me? You are seriously messed up. Worse than the asshole inside this building.”

  “Of course, I'm happy. I hope we'll be happy together as well, since we're the Trinity,” he said, while taking her hand.

  “Trinity?”

  “I wasn’t prepared to do this right now. I wanted to give you time, but unfortunately, I think you need to hear this,” Cian stated, going for broke. They couldn’t use kid gloves with Jamie. Not with the murders ramping up once more. “It's when two wolves find their mate. Usually for us, it's a witch. The most powerful help the Alpha, Zane, and the beta, that's me, protect the pack and those who live within it. We keep out unwanted guests—people who'd want to hurt us or worse, want to steal our land and kill our females. A pack without offspring is a dead pack and useless.”

  “Now I know you're freaking crazy,” Jamie said, tugging her hand from his grasp. “You’re going to stand there with a straight face and tell me, not only are there witches, there are wolves in this world?”

  “Yes,” he answered. She should know these things. She was born here. Raised here until she’d been forced to leave after the murders began. It’d been done for her protection. Everyone around here knew her, her brothers, and her parents. The whole cock and bull story she gave Zane about growing up in an orphanage, didn't make sense.

  He grabbed her wrist and rubbed the moon and star birthmark. Each witch had a unique symbol. Some had roman numbers, some had small animal paw prints, others had constellations. It all depended on the coven family and how many members they had and how powerful the leader of their coven was. “Do you feel the power burning through you? The spark whenever Zane or I touch you here?”

  “It's... it's nothing.” She licked her lips. Her gaze fell to where he touched her. “A-a natural attraction. A kismet pop when you find a kindred soul or a lucky happenstance. It's chemistry. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

  “It's more than what you’re trying to convince yourself it’s not. It's why you're terrified and why you're claiming to have been abandoned as a baby,” he murmured, trying to keep his tone even, so as not to spook her any more than she already was. “Let us guide you. Let Zane and I help you realize your potential.” He took a step toward her and lifted her chin, so they stared at one another. “There is so much more to this life of yours.”

  He brushed his lips across hers, enjoying the electrical fingers of magical lightning skating across; the initial spark of magic as she transferred some of her essence to him. Even if she didn’t believe him, her instincts kicked in and took over.

  “No!” She smacked him in the chest, and Cian grunted. Energy flowed through him, and his wolf delighted in it. “I don't know what your malfunction is, or what game you're trying to play, but I want no part of it. Like I told Zane. Stay the hell away from me and keep your guard dog off of my front porch.” She slammed past him and hurried to her beat-up car. Seconds later, she pulled out of the parking lot. The serpentine belt and tensioner pully squeaked as grey smoke billowed from the tailpipe.

  Cian cursed. She'd be lucky if she made it home or started the piece of shit again once she got there. “Son of a bitch, Zane. What the fuck are we going to do now?”

  The call ca
me in shortly after Jamie left his office. The only thing keeping him in his chair was the fact Cian said he'd seen her, and she was fine, if not pissed the hell off. He figured as much. Grabbing his Stetson, and keys, he headed out the door. Blake waited for him, leaning against the wall. His eyes were wide with worry and a little wonder. “Why are you here? Why didn't you go with her?”

  “And chance her lobbing off my balls? I like kinky sex, sir, but not that kinky.” He pushed off the wall and followed Zane down the hall to the main part of the station. “Are all mated female witches like her?”

  Zane cocked a brow. “She's not mated yet. But, no. None are so stubborn as Jamie,” he lied. There were some strong-willed witches in their town and within the county. But, none of them refused to believe who they were. They embraced their powers and their duties. Jamie... Jamie hid. Claimed she didn't have a family and she didn't know what he was talking about.

  “What a relief,” Blake sighed. “Do you still want me to watch out for her?”

  Zane stopped short, causing Blake to bump into him. “I wouldn't have asked why you were standing by my door, if I didn't want you to follow her.”

  “Right,” he answered. “I'll be on my way then.” Blake quickly made his way to the door, then disappeared into the mid-day gloom.

  The day had turned nasty, like his attitude. Thick purplish-grey clouds gathered together, then seemingly lowered, giving the sky an ominous glow. The scent of frigid cold and snow licked against his senses. If he didn't hurry the hell up, the crime scene would be blanketed in snow and ice, rendering it useless. The weather had been weird lately. Salem didn’t get snow in October, but with the way it was looking...

  Zane slid into his car after exiting the building and hightailed it out to the scene of the most recent murder. The hillside cemetery sat not far from the town border, near a quaint little stream. It’d been a remnant of the original settlers, and Salem’s historical society had taken it upon themselves to maintain it, keeping it in pristine condition.

  A coroner van along with local EMS, sheriff deputy vehicles, and the Medical Examiner's vehicles lined the small lane into said graveyard. Zane pulled in as far as he could then parked and got out.

  His wolf bristled at the scent of death, black magic, and decomposing remains as he grew closer to the scene. This one was worse than the last. The perfectly still body stared back at him in abject terror. Around the body her organs lay shriveled as though they'd been burned beyond recognition. No charred grass or singed marks surrounded them. “What's the deal with this one?”

  “Same MO.” Matilda, the Medical Examiner, and Jamie’s aunt didn’t take her eyes off the body. If she knew what was happening to Jamie and why she didn’t remember them, the woman didn’t say a word which concerned Zane. She was the last remaining blood-relative Jamie had. To not tell her or help her remember didn’t sit right with the Alpha. However, it also wasn’t his job to push the witch kneeling beside him. That was for her mates to do, and so far, she’d been reluctant to join their Trinity. “The body has been preserved, the organs not so much. No fingerprints, fibers, or fluids. No defensive wounds. It's black magic, we can all smell it. I can see it, too.”

  As a powerful witch for her coven, he believed her. Moreover, if he could smell the evil in it, he knew how bad this had probably been for the victim as well. “Do you know who cast the spell?”

  “No,” she answered. “I've never seen this type of magic. It’s too evil for someone like me.”

  Zane nodded. “Do we know who the girl is?”

  “Sally Bright,” one of the officers said. “I went to school with her.”

  The young wolf frowned as he gazed down at the girl's mangled body. Zane hated to see his pack members hurting. “We will find her killer, I promise.” The wolf nodded and stepped away. One more potential mate dead. One more wolf without the Trinity bond. “All right, everyone, let's comb the area for evidence, and take witness statements. Hopefully, we'll turn up something.”

  Zane crouched down next to Sally Bright's body, while some of his deputies took pictures and others began to scout the area with the hopes of finding some evidence. Zane's gut already told him that they weren't going to find shit, since every other scene with the same MO had been clean.

  “Sheriff?” Zane turned his head. Jacinda Barns stood behind him; her hat clutched in her hands. The young female wolf had only become a deputy less than nine months ago and was still a bit wet behind the ears.

  “Yeah?” He was getting tired of having to inform his pack members that their daughters, sisters, mothers, and wives had been brutally murdered. It fucking ate at his soul.

  “I... um. I'm your scent tracker today.” Zane heard the almost silent shuffle of her feet as she moved closer to him and the body.

  Zane stood and faced a pale, shaking Jacinda. Her eyes were locked on the prone, desecrated body.

  “Jacinda,” he growled.

  Her bright-green gaze snapped to his. “Yes? Sorry.”

  “Start on the other side of the stream, walk over the little bridge, then head around the cemetery and back up to this spot,” Zane instructed the young wolf. “Scent for black magic and anything you think doesn't belong. If you find something, call it out and wait until I arrive.”

  Jacinda gave a quick nod and headed off toward the other side of the small stream.

  Matilda, who had gone down to her van to get a body bag had now returned. “Trouble's coming,” she said as she dropped the black bag down on the ground.

  “Trouble's already here.” Zane stated the obvious, and Matilda shook her head.

  “Not what I meant,” she muttered, catching Zane’s attention. “Word has spread already, and Sally’s parents are heading here now.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Zane growled. Who released the victim's name? “My people won’t be done for a while out there. Get her transported back to the morgue. No parent should have to see their child like this.”

  Matilda nodded in agreement and began to prepare Sally's body for transport with two members of their forensics team.

  “Sheriff!” Jacinda's voice rang out from across the stream. “I scented something.”

  “We'll talk later,” he said as he headed for where Jacinda waited on him.

  Hours later, Zane sat in his patrol car staring at their home, which sat deep in on pack lands. He knew Cian would be waiting for him, dinner on the table and an open ear. But he couldn't get out of the car, couldn't take what he had seen into to their shared home. The soft-yellow light shone through the front window, giving their home a warm and inviting glow on a cold night.

  “Fuck!” Zane smacked his fist against the steering wheel with every bit of pent-up frustration he was feeling. They had to be missing something with these murders, most serial killers weren't this careful for very long. They usually got overconfident, and then they got sloppy, but that hadn't happened with the recent murders, nor did it happen over twenty years ago when they whisked Jamie away. It also didn't help that he had a whole squad of paranormal creatures to help him solve these murders, and they still couldn't find shit. If anything, it told him they were working against a strong, malicious presence who may never be caught and that pissed him off more.

  The rap of knuckles on the driver’s side window pulled him from his thoughts. He glanced up at a pensive Cian who stood bare-chested by his door. Zane pulled the keys from the ignition and opened the door.

  “How bad?” Cian asked.

  “Bad,” Zane growled. “It was Joe Bright's little girl, Sally.”

  “Son of a bitch.” Cian placed a hand on Zane’s shoulder and squeezed. “I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah. Word got out, and Joe and Mia showed up at the scene. It wasn't pretty. Thankfully, Matilda was able to transport Sally before they arrived.”

  They walked up the stairs in silence, and the minute they stepped through the front doors he was on Cian. Zane had so much pent-up anger and frustration, he let go of it the second his lips to
uched his mate. He pushed Cian up against the wall, spearing his mate’s thighs with his knee. Cian grunted before wrapping his arms around Zane's waist. The kiss was hard, deep, and carnal. It was filled with a promise of how tonight would play out. Zane pushed his tongue between Cian's lips and rubbed his groin against his lover’s. He grunted as his dick rubbed Cian's. Zane demanded more from his lover and mate. He rubbed Cian along his thigh and swallowed the harsh moan his beta let loose with. His dick throbbed, and his balls ached to spill deep inside Cian. He broke the kiss and sucked in a deep lungful of air as he leaned his forehead against the wall.

  “Feel better?” Cian panted as he stared at Zane.

  “Not yet,” he replied. “But we can get there.”

  “Dinner first,” Cian said. “I'll tell you about the run in with Jamie.”

  Zane backed away, allowing Cian to move while he toed off his boots and placed them in the closet. “Sounds perfect.”

  Cian placed their dinner on the table. “You know I don't normally question your directives.”

  Zane snorted. “I hear a but coming.”

  “We might be going about this the wrong way.” Cian sat in his favorite seat next to Zane.

  “Yeah, well, I didn't expect her to be so damn stubborn.” Zane picked up the salad dressing. “Or to lie so much.”

  “I'm not sure she is lying.”

  “How'd you figure? We know for a fact she is lying.” Zane poured the dressing on his salad, and capped the bottle before placing it back on the table.

  “I think her memories have been changed. She has no recollection of her life, of living here. And, like we talked about last night, her birthmark or the significance of the Trinity. She also forgot we’re wolves.”

  “Fuck!” Zane growled. “When it fucking rains, it pours.”

  “Yep,” Cian answered. “I remember the day she left. I know why she left. Her parents were supposed to leave right behind her, and the pack kept Cody and Gideon. Who altered her mind? Where are her parents?”

  “Someone who doesn’t want her to remember, is my guess.” He took a pull from his beer. “I can hit the archives and see if there were any accidents or missing people after she left.” However, he knew as sheriff, he’d have seen her picture or something on her family—even if it were a cold case.