by M. L. Briers
“You have a problem with that?” Olivia teased, oozing mischief from every inch of her body. Joel reached out and scooped her against his hip.
“Actually no, it should make life eventful to say the least.”
“The very least.” She assured him and heard the Alpha sigh.
“Wonderful. I’m sure that ultimately I’ll end up with the fallout.” Isaac mumbled and heard his mate’s chuckle.
“You know that troll slash ogre thing we were talking about?” She didn’t give him a chance to answer, but she did see the spark of recognition in his eyes. “You’re doing it again.” She half heartedly whispered and caught the sniggers of his brother from across the room.
“I’ll work on that.” He bit down on his words. For his mate he’d do whatever it took to please her, whatever it took to make her happy, but right now the most important thing was to keep her safe. “But first we need to see a witch about a spell.” Isaac lifted her from his lap and moved her over to the vacant seat next to his. He felt the sense of loss immediately.
“About damn time.” Tobin announced coming up behind Joel and scowling over his shoulder at the Alpha.
“You’re staying here. I need you to look after Kerry.” Isaac saw the Vampire turn towards the doorframe and headbutt it. It wasn’t hard; it was more of a theatrical thing.
“No, no, no. Let the Beta stay here. He’s more like a third wheel anyway.” Tobin spat out on a look of disgust.
“Damn it, is anybody going to listen to me today?” Isaac growled out. Turning his attention from his mate towards the rest of them gathered at the door.
“Probably not.” Joel grinned back at him.
“Fine, smartarse. You stay here with your new sister…” Isaac shot a warning look towards his brother and the Beta growled in annoyance.
“Come on.” Joel heard the annoying chuckle of the Vampire and turned towards him. “This is your fault. Why does the corpse get to go?”
“So that if your mate is injured he can save her.” Isaac reasoned and watched Joel’s mind toss that one over. It would be handy to have the Vampire there, just in case. But he should be looking after his own mate, not allowing someone else to do it for him. But then there was his human sister to consider…
“Damn it.” Joel bit out, really feeling the need to place his fist smack bang in the middle of the Vampire’s face as his laughter taunted him.
“It was all funny when you were running off with my mate.” Isaac growled.
“Wait, what?” Kerry felt four sets of eyes come her way and frowned accordingly. She never liked to be the centre of attention and she felt as if she’d been nothing but since she’d met Isaac.
“When I pulled you from the lake…”
“Technically I pulled her from the lake.” Tobin injected and Kerry’s eye left her mate for only a moment to snatch a quick look at the grinning Vampire.
“They ran off with you to get you home and thaw you out.” Isaac ignored his friend.
“Again, technically I ran off with her.” Tobin announced, bringing not only Kerry’s eyes but Isaac’s hard glare back to him. “But if you want to punish Joel for that, I’m more than happy.” Tobin assured him, folding his arms over his chest and grinning at the Beta.
“So he carried me home?” Kerry’s nose turned up at the thought of being that close to him. It didn’t seem right.
“More like ran, and who wouldn’t with an angry wolf chasing you, salivating and snapping at your backside.” Tobin tried to lighten the moment. They had a job to do and getting into the whole who did what scenario wasn’t getting the baby a new bonnet. Not that he liked babies, screaming, wrinkly little things.
“Oh.” Kerry looked a little shell shocked. She’d assumed it had been all Isaac’s doing that she was still alive. Finding out the Vampire had a hand in it was a little disconcerting. Well he didn’t take a bite, that’s a bonus. Say thank you and be done with the image. “Thank you.” Kerry offered and saw the mischievous grin sweep onto the Vampire’s face.
“You’re entirely welcome.” He gave her a small tip of his nonexistent cap and swiftly moved towards the back door. “Now let’s go get us some witch blood.” He announced with a devilish grin back at Isaac’s mate just to see her swallow hard. He liked to keep people off guard and on their toes. She’d get used to it.
Tobin took the path least travelled. The witch’s cottage was set back against the extensive woods that lay on the edge of pack land. While Isaac had driven Olivia over, Tobin had chosen to take the land route. As the crow flies it was a shorter distance between the main house and the witch’s lair than it was to drive around the woods. By the time Isaac was driving up the snow covered lane Tobin had already scoped out the area.
The witch was up and about. He could hear her raised heartbeat. Hear the sounds from inside the old stone walls and was sure that he could hear whispered words, but to whom she was talking he had no idea. There was only one heartbeat, of that he was certain. Perhaps the witch was up to her old tricks and performing incantations and spells inside the walls that he knew only too well from the days when she had been a friend to the pack. Now she was the enemy, in his mind he had no doubt of that. There were no such things as coincidences, not where magic was concerned.
Tobin watched as Isaac led Olivia up the snow covered path before he slipped around the back of the property. He reached for the handle and felt the bitter sting that shot through his hand and up his arm, like an electric current running right through him. Tobin bit down on the pain and yanked the handle down, snapping the lock off and pushing the door open. If she thought that was going to keep him out she was sadly mistaken, he’d already been invited in.
“So you brought a Fae mate with you, not your brightest moment, Alpha.” Lucy’s voice echoed through the silence of the house as Tobin slipped unseen into the small cove in the wall from where he watched her standing at the window looking out.
“Lucy, we’d like to talk to you.” Isaac’s growl was undeniable. The Alpha was probably finally out of denial about who had cast the spell and calculating the odds of a peaceful resolution to this.
“Not bloody likely.” Lucy grumbled as she felt the Vampire slip up behind her. In one swift movement that he hadn’t expected, considering her aged years, she’d thrust her hand backwards, the wooden stake piercing his stomach and probably a few damn organs that he couldn’t identify as he pulled back from her.
“Wondered where you’d be hiding.” Lucy turned towards him. Her eyes took him in with a certain amount of satisfaction as he reached down for the stake. “Not so fast…” She swiftly raised her hand, palm outwards towards him and called on her magic to embed the stake further into his flesh.
Tobin bit down on the pain that seared through his body. Pain that held him immobilised for a long moment as it burned like the fires of hell through his blood. From head to toe and back again he felt as if he was burning alive.
“You missed.” He snarled through the pain. His hands reached for the end of the stake and wrapped around the wood, but he couldn’t pull the damn thing out, there was something holding it in place.
The sound of splintering wood and twisted metal screamed out into the silence between them as the front door was practically torn from its moorings. Isaac raced inside, closely followed by Olivia who took in the scene and raised her shields, spreading them over the group and encompassing the Vampire. With one tug the vampire pulled the large chiselled stake from his body, dropping it to the floor at his feet as he snarled at the old witch.
“Powerful…” Lucy observed turning her attention towards Olivia. “But powerful enough?” She envisaged a glowing ball of white energy in her hand. The centre was tinged a deep crimson red, the anger, the hate that she felt empowering her magic, enthusing it with a darkness that Olivia hoped never to feel within herself. Tendrils of what looked like crimson electric flashes sparked around the orb and a heartbeat later she released it with a quick nod of her head towards the younger Fae.
Olivia pulled her shield right back around herself, snapping the edges like an elastic band against her skin just in time for the orbs attack against her defences. The pain shot through her body, but its power was decreased by her own shields. Like a sling shot, the energy bounced from her shields back at the old witch.
Lucy’s shields had no defence against her own magic. It was derived of the same magic that formed her shields. The powerful jolt hit the woman hard and sent her to her knees on the floor. She cried out with the pain that tore through her body, a tortured sound that brought Isaac a step towards her.
“Lucy, don’t make me end you.” He growled down at her. His beast was baying for the old woman’s blood and no matter how hard he tried to keep his beast at bay his fangs and claws still pushed down. His beast had no sympathy for the Fae, no twinge of humanity with which to be reasoned. It was protecting their mate.
Lucy’s head snapped up and her eyes spit fire at the Alpha. Her lips twisted into a cruel snarl as she glared up at him. There was a low sardonic laugh that rumbled through her as she lifted her hand towards the Alpha.
“Your pack should have ended me when they killed my beloved.” She drew on every last bit of the power within her as she spoke. Gathering her energy for a strike against the Lycan that she was sure would end him before he even made a move towards her. She lifted her hand, forced her palm out towards him, and felt the hard ripple of the Vampire’s close presence against her shields.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Tobin reached down and twisted her head on her neck. The sound of bone cracking seemed to linger in the silence of the room longer than it should have. The old woman’s body went limp and Tobin caught her before she fell to the floor, gently easing her down to the carpeting. They had been friends once.
Isaac closed his eyes to the scene before him. He bowed his head in sadness. She had been of their pack once. And ending a female was never easy, no matter what the circumstances.
“Damn it Tobin, we could have talked her down…” Isaac raised his dark eyes and stared at his friend.
“No we couldn’t have. One way or the other this was going to be the end of it.” Tobin assured him. The witch had been ready for them. Waiting, as evidenced by the hole in his body where she had placed the stake that wound was now healing. There was no way of talking down a witch that had waited that long for her vengeance.
“Then I should have been the one…” Isaac bit down on the growl of anger that ran through him. He was the pack Alpha; it was his responsibility to take a decision like this, to carry it through.
“This should a celebratory time for you, finding your mate. Chalk it up to the promise I made to your father once and move on.” Tobin didn’t feel good about what he’d done. But he didn’t feel bad either. He had a pack to protect just as much as the Alpha did.
“The spell’s broken?” The Alpha turned towards Olivia. His dark eyes searching for answers from the Fae.
“Time will tell.” Olivia didn’t want to be wrong. She liked to hedge her bets and be certain before she committed herself. The old witch had been powerful, but had she tied the spell in some way to this realm even if she passed on to the next?
“Go back to your mate. I’ll clean this up here, make it look…” Tobin took a long breath and let it out. “Natural.”
Isaac nodded just once. He walked over to Olivia and wrapped his fingers around her upper arm, moving her towards the door as she took one last look at the old woman that lay on the floor at Tobin’s feet.
Isaac walked them out of the doorway of the cottage. The sound of the winds whipping up drew his attention and he tightened his grip on Olivia, bringing her back towards the safety of his body. All around them the wind swirled, taking the loose powdery snow from the ground and whirling it in a thousand twisters that covered the land as far as they eye could see. It looked like a damn blizzard had started up again.
Isaac put her behind his body, backing them up into the doorway as he shielded her. Olivia looked around his large frame, her eyes taking in the sight before her. That old witch had been one powerful Fae, she mused as Mother Nature gave one last blast of the woman’s wrath and then the winds dissipated. The spell had been broken with one final reminder from Lucy of how she hated, and the snow gently settled back against the earth in a final flurry.
“I think that’s a yes to your previous question, Alpha. I think Lucy’s spell has been broken.” Or perhaps she just met up with George in the spirit world and the old woman’s heart, if she still had one, had mended. That’s what I want to believe…
“Let’s get you home to your mate. Just in case.” Isaac wasn’t taking any chances. He’d feel better if the mates were in one place and they were being mindful of the things around them. He might not be able to stop Mother Nature hurling a damn tree at the house, but if he stuck like glue to his mate he could at least shield her from the damage.
Olivia spent a few hours in silent contemplation. She’d sensed no magic but her own wards and protection spells that lingered inside the house. The Alpha was still walking on the cautious side, sticking to his mate like glue and not allowing her out of his sight. Even Joel paced the room in which she worked, although when she’d hissed at him to sit down, he’d done it.
“Can I please just use the toilet by myself!” Kerry whirled around towards her mate, face to impossibly large chest, she tipped her head back and glared up at him. “Do you think the damn thing is going to flush and suck me down mid pee?” She demanded and saw the frown that had been permanently lodged on his forehead dissipate into a look of amusement.
“Did you think you’d be meeting Lycans and Vampires when you woke up yesterday morning?” Isaac leaned in over her and it was her turn to frown.
“That’s so not the point…” Kerry shook her head in exasperation. This man could make a Saint curse. He was annoyingly protective to the point of her losing her mind.
“That the earth would try to swallow you up? That you’d be dodging trees or falling through a frozen lake?” His light eyes were filled with a mischievous amusement that made her want to stomp on his foot just to see that amusement turn to pain, not too much, just enough…
“I know you’re a wolf and probably used to people cocking their leg up the nearest sofa…” His gently growled warning made her skin tingle and her body flush with heat. “But this human needs a little privacy.” She put her palms against his chest and shoved at him. Of course he didn’t move. The man was a mountain. “I’ll be sure to scream really loudly if the toilet gets unruly in any way.” She assured him. His hands caught her wrists and kept her palms against his chest.
“Oh please, not the shrieking thing again. Some of us have extra sensitive hearing.” Tobin bit out sarcastically as he walked past the bedroom door. He didn’t even look inside at them.
“I’ll be sure to remember that the next time you pee me off. Scream as loudly as possible, good to know.” She shouted after him.
“You don’t need to shout either.” Tobin shouted back. He needed to; she was a human after all.
Kerry looked up at her mate. His eyes were burning with, not only amusement, but desire for her. Kerry felt the flush that reached her cheeks as his fingertips brushed back and forth over her hands causing her to shiver.
“Hold that thought.” She wrenched her arms down and he let her go. Backing into the bathroom from the bedroom, her eyes couldn’t help but flick to the mess of the covers on his big bed. Her heart did a hop, skip and a jump in her chest and she heard his gentle growl as he took a step towards her.
“Heel!” She snapped out in a flurry of panic. She could see his intention written all over his face and she reached out and slammed the door closed in his face. “And don’t listen to me pee!” She snapped out. Turning her back to the closed door and taking a moment to try to still her heart from the race it seemed to have entered without her permission.
They hadn’t really spoken about anything important since he’d come back. She was aware that the spell was probably broken. That the witch had been dispatched to the afterlife, and that the Vampire was taking care of things. Other than that, he just seemed to follow her about. Watchful.
Joel had been just as bad whilst they were gone. If she hadn’t of known better she would have expected an armed team of assassins to enter the house via every possible opening, windows and doors being blasted open and bullets sprayed like confetti around the damn room. The man was definitely tetchy to say the least. But that hadn’t stopped him bestowing on her the virtues of his brother, the pack and living on the Isle. It wasn’t exactly the hard sell, but he wasn’t soft soaping it either.
Kerry had already made up her mind before Joel’s incessant talking. The thought of Isaac turning rogue and being hunted and killed by his own pack had bestowed on her the absolute clarity of the situation that they faced. She might be able to break the mating pull and leave for her old home, but he would never escape the loss. She couldn’t let that happen.
It might be some kind of supernatural mumbo jumbo that drew her to the isle. It might be some kind of supernatural mumbo jumbo that gave her feelings for him. But the point was she did have feelings for him. She could try to fight them, but what would be the point? Isaac couldn’t fight them and he was her mate. She felt somehow protective of him, her big wolf guy with a chest that went on forever and muscles that rippled and flexed under his soft skin, it amused her to feel like that.
Kerry dried her hands on the towel and flicked the lock off the door. Pulling it open she stepped out and right into his arms. The expanse of his chest was all that she could see. Her heart leapt and her nerves grated and she cursed under her breath as she bit down on snapping at him.
“I held onto that thought, sweetheart.” He breathed against her ear. His hands ran up and down her back as his hot breath caressed her neck, and once again she shivered. She guessed she should get used to that feeling, it seemed to happen a lot around him.
