by J. E. Cluney
I wondered how he’d react if I gave it a quick lick before racing off?
I chuckled internally as I loped past him, giving his naked body a full once over.
Ripped to perfection, every perfect inch of him. And he was mostly hairless, although he didn’t seem too big on shaving downstairs. Not that I cared. I liked my guys as men, not little boys.
I continued out onto the track and turned towards the paddock with Ollie in it, listening as Skip shifted behind me and then hopped after me.
I eyed the large red kangaroo keeping in step with me. A big muscled beast of a creature with his sandy white and red coat.
We looked quite strange, wolf and kangaroo, side by side. At least we were in a warded zone, and on private property.
I reached the paddock, hesitating as Ollie pulled Million up near the gate.
Million snorted and tossed his head at our presence, but seemed rather calm, trusting his rider.
Ollie opened the gate for us, and I gave Skip a snort and soft growl.
He got the hint though.
I took off, shooting out across the paddock, my legs stretching out as the sun slowly descended over the hills. The cooler afternoon air whipped through my fur as I raced, and I glanced back to see Skip bounding along behind me in true kangaroo fashion, hopping along with insane speed.
Million was hurtling after us, his legs stretching out as Ollie allowed him to unleash fully.
I just yipped in joy as the pair tore past me, and I pushed myself harder to follow after them.
We raced and frolicked, Skip catching up and shoving me with those muscular arms and then overtaking me. I snapped at him playfully before ramming him and taking the lead from him.
Well, the lead between us, since Ollie and Million were miles ahead.
We spent the afternoon without a worry in the world, allowing ourselves to feel free and alive as we ran and played.
But as the sun set, we headed back to the stable.
I ducked behind the building and shifted back, quickly dressing and heading back around the front. Ollie was untacking Million and giving him a hose off since he’d sweated like mad. But the giant chestnut horse seemed happy and settled after the time out.
“You guys are perfect together,” I remarked as I patted Million’s nose. He sighed as he closed his eyes, enjoying the hose down as he drew in deep breaths.
“Thanks, it was nice seeing you shifted. You looked like you were at ease and enjoying yourself. A brown timber wolf,” he said as he clicked his tongue. “Wish I could’ve shifted and run with you guys. At least Million gave me some way of joining in,” he smiled as he stroked Million’s neck. His tender look made me soften. He had a real connection with the giant creature.
“We should do it again sometime, just the three of us,” Skip said as he came up behind us.
His hand rested on the small of my back, and it sent warm shivers through me. Ollie noticed this, but didn’t say anything as he dried Million off and led him back to his stall.
“You are quite the tease,” Skip murmured as he bent over, his warm breath tickling my ear.
“So I’ve been told,” I smirked. I wanted to sigh as he began rubbing my lower back.
It was beginning to ache actually.
I mentally slapped myself as I put two and two together.
Great.
I hadn’t taken much notice of reaching the sugar pills on my contraception.
“Can we make a stop on the way home?” I asked, hating that this stop would mean a trip into Maleny since the corner store would be closed this late.
“Sure, where to?” Skip said, still rubbing soft circles into my lower back.
“IGA or Woolies, please?” I asked sweetly.
“Chocolate craving?” he asked with a frown.
“Amongst other things,” I mumbled. My monthlies normally hit Tuesday nights over my sugar pill week. They were normally cleared up by Saturday, but I had no pads with me.
“Okay, sure,” he shrugged as Ollie returned.
Ollie cocked his head at me.
‘You got girly troubles coming, right?’
‘Yeah.’
‘I’ll shout you some Freddos.’
‘I still owe you pizzas for the phone.’
‘Don’t worry about it.’
I rolled my eyes at the mental back and forth between us.
“We’ll say bye to your pops before we head off,” Skip stated as he steered me back towards the house.
‘Does your mischief magic affect them?’ Ollie asked, and I could feel his uneasiness at the thought.
‘Thankfully, no. Guess some greater force decided not to add some more hell to our already shitty time.’
‘Good, because that’d be terrifying.’
I just snorted as we walked back to the house, keeping a straight face as the cramps started to reveal themselves.
Great. Just add another stressful, annoying thing to the long list of issues right now.
Sure, why not.
19
Marcus.
I felt Ally’s cramps when they started, and I felt sorry for her. She was out buying pads with Skip and Ollie, and Skip had shut up once he saw why she’d been so desperate to go to the shops.
Ollie shouted her a bag of Freddos, and I smiled at the gesture.
I popped a heat pack into the microwave when I knew they were only a few minutes out.
I wanted to make her feel comfortable and at ease.
Especially with all that was going on.
I’d spoke to Mr Brady at Lucas’s request. He’d been skeptical at first, but I allowed him to peer into my mind using a powerful spell, to see the memory I’d seen from her childhood.
He was troubled by the memory, and the bonding between Ally and I. He’d dismissed it earlier when Lucas had seen him, but now he was not so quick to do so. He’d told me the magic he felt was rare, something old and powerful. But he couldn’t place it. He’d never come across it, but he would do his digging. It was the wendigo that bothered him.
He put the local enforcement onto it, since the whole town was supes, but didn’t want to raise an alarm just yet. He’d even come to the house today to investigate, and he was displeased with whatever he’d learned. He wanted to do some digging about Ally, and I decided against sharing what Lucas had found. No need for him to find out he had someone on the force willing to help him out. Mr Brady could find out the same stuff with his own contacts.
Maybe he’d have more luck at uncovering what the hell was going on.
I was pulled from my thoughts as Skip burst into the house with Ally laughing as they talked about a time when Ollie and he got caught peeking into the girls changing room as young children on a swimming trip.
I loved hearing her hearty laughter. She didn’t hold back, and the way the boys lit up around her made me feel even more for her.
She’d brought so much life into the house, and brought us all back together more.
Tomorrow would be the first time we’d all do something together that wasn’t just a meal or something.
And I was actually looking forward to it.
“Hey VB, how was your afternoon?” I asked as she joined me in the kitchen to put away her stash of Freddos.
“It was fun, we enjoyed ourselves. How about yours?” she asked as she turned to face me.
Ollie shouted out that he was showering, and Skip was going to change and then get onto dinner for all of us. From Ally’s mind, I could see he’d discussed cooking chicken parmigiana tonight for everyone with hot chips and veggies. Lucas would be home in another hour or so too.
“Mine was okay, here,” I murmured as I opened the microwave and offered her the heat pack.
She just frowned momentarily then smiled softly.
“Thanks, I might sit on the lounge with it for a bit. I’ll shower after Ollie.”
I followed her out to the living room, loving her honey and flowers scent that wafted off her. She had a more at ease
sense too, like the shift had helped her relax and settle a bit.
I doubted it would last long, that all her worries would creep back. I’d do my best to keep her distracted for now.
We sat on the lounge, and I pulled her onto my lap despite her soft squeak of protest.
She quivered in my arms, her warm body against my own making it come alive.
I fought it off as I laid her down over my lap, helping her slide the heat-pack under her belly and on top of my thighs. Her back was facing upwards, and I began massaging her lower back as she pulled a pillow up under her head.
“Thanks,” she breathed as she relaxed under my hands.
“I can feel your cramps in my mind, figured I’d help out,” I murmured as I continued massaging her. I pulled her shirt up, her skin prickling at my icy touch.
She was so warm and alive, and I felt completely at ease with her.
She closed her eyes, and I knew she was worn out from work and then her race with the boys. I’d like to hold her tonight as she fell asleep. I’d already decided to stay home with her and just watch my lectures online. I wanted to keep her safe, to wrap her up in my arms and protect her from anything that sought to harm her.
“That feels so good,” she moaned as I worked the muscles in her lower back.
The sound escaping her lips made me react, and I gritted my teeth as I hoped my arousal would go away. It didn’t help that the heat pack was sitting right on top of it, and if I thought about it, I could pretend it was her warm body.
“Really?” she snorted, and I groaned as she peeked into my head.
“You need to learn to give others privacy,” I sighed, but the smile danced on my lips as she rolled her head to the side to peer back at me.
“You need to not broadcast so loudly,” she retorted, and I just shook my head.
Skip appeared at the doorway, moving through and giving us an intrigued look as he made his way to the kitchen to start dinner.
I just narrowed my eyes at him, and he gave me a smirk as he passed.
‘What is with you two? I thought you were friends?’
‘We are.’
‘Then what the hell is with your hostility towards him?’
‘I worry he’ll hurt you.’
Ally sat up, frowning at me as she cocked her head. Her sudden absence from my lap made me stiffen. I’d been enjoying having her sprawled over me like that.
‘He has no intention of hurting me. You think he’s just a player.’
‘He’s had that many flings, I don’t trust him to not hurt your feelings.’
‘His girlfriend died. He hasn’t been ready to love again. You can’t hate him for that. It’s the same as how you held everyone at arm’s length too.’
I clenched my teeth at this, annoyed by her words. But mostly because she was right.
And I hated that.
Skip was not a bad guy, I knew that. But ever since we’d become connected, I wanted nothing to ever hurt her. Skip was the most likely to toy with her emotions. Kit loved her already it seemed, and he’d never hurt her. Lucas had a soft spot for her, and I knew everything there was to know about her. But I’d seen the lustful way Skip looked at her, and I didn’t want that to ruin her.
‘You don’t want us to be an item, and you seemed perfectly okay with me being with Ollie, but you just can’t deal with this thing with Skip, can you?’
‘It’s not that, VB. Maybe he won’t hurt you. But I don’t know what goes on in his head.’
‘Everyone can get hurt in life. If something did happen, I’d have you still, wouldn’t I? And Ollie. You guys would be there for me.’
I stared into those deep, dark eyes, and she already knew she was right. We were bound to her now in some strange way.
“Has Mr Brady found anything yet?” she asked, changing the subject away from us.
“No, nothing yet,” I said. He’d texted me when he’d made the police force aware of it, and he had some other powerful witches on the lookout too.
“Wait, what’s a wendigo?” Ally frowned.
Fuck. She’d pried too deep into my mind.
“A powerful, rare supernatural. They hunt and feed on humans and sometimes supes,” I confessed, trying to hide my other thoughts from her. I still had some witch magic in me, and I was focusing it on masking my mind since Lucas’s spell was obviously wearing off.
“Why would it be after me?” she mumbled, baffled at the thought. “What’s it look like?”
“They have horns for starters,” I said. “But we have no idea why it’s interested in you. That’s what we’re hoping to figure out.”
“So this is the thing hunting me then,” she said, her mouth pulled into a grim line. Her fingers played with the edge of the heat pack that she held against her lower belly.
“We think so, maybe,” I admitted, not bothering to lie.
‘Someone help, please.’
My head snapped up to the ceiling, and Ally was frowning as well.
“Ollie,” she murmured, and then she shot to her feet.
I followed her upstairs, wondering what was going on. Obviously she knew more than me due to their linking.
We burst into the bathroom, and I was glad he stopped locking the door ages ago, ever since he’d gotten stuck in here as a cat. He’d had to use the shower to go to the toilet while we waited for Lucas to return home to unlock it with magic.
The ginger and white cat was meowing as it stood on the bathroom mat, soaking wet.
‘I can’t turn it off,’ he pouted.
Ally knelt down beside him, grabbing his towel from the basin bench and drying him off as I turned the shower off.
‘Did it just randomly happen?’ I asked.
‘Yeah, not an emotional one. Guess I’m stuck like this for a while now,’ he growled softly.
I felt a little sorry for him as Ally fussed over him, drying off his body and taking care with his little legs.
‘I was looking forward to four-wheel-driving tomorrow,’ he said sadly.
“You can still come with us. It’ll be okay. And I can take you to your lectures with me if you’d like, or you can watch them online afterwards. It’s up to you,” Ally offered as she dried his head carefully.
‘I think I’ll just watch them afterwards, it’s too embarrassing.’
“Okay, but we’ll all still go out to the forestry. It’ll be fun,” she said, trying to keep a light-hearted tone.
It was hard for Ollie to still be distressed as she fussed over him and promised him a good day still. She just had a special way of lifting up his spirits.
“I’ll take him downstairs,” I said as I gathered up his clothes. “You have your shower.”
She nodded after giving Ollie a scratch on the chin, which resulted in a deep purr from him.
“C’mon. Let’s get you downstairs and let Skip know not to make a chicken parmi for you,” I said as I reached down.
Ollie scooted away from me, and I rolled my eyes. He didn’t want me carrying him. It seemed only VB was allowed to do that. At least, when she was around.
“I’ll be down soon, it’ll be okay Ollie, don’t stress,” Ally assured him as he padded over to the door with me.
‘Okay,’ Ollie sighed.
I gave her a nod and smile before opening the door and heading out with him.
I was grateful he’d pulled us away from the wendigo conversation. I didn’t want to get into any trouble with that one. Not with what I knew and was keeping from her. It was too stressful for her already, and if she found out her parents had been murdered and eaten partially, she’d be devastated. Probably not so much about Wayne though. He deserved it.
Why had it gone after him though? Why people around her?
Lucas hadn’t uncovered anything yet, neither had his father.
Maybe her aunt and grandmother would have more information when they came by on Thursday.
I went to the laundry and tossed Ollie’s clothes in the tub before heading into t
he kitchen.
“Guess that’s one less chicken parmi tonight,” Skip remarked as Ollie jumped up on the table.
“You shouldn’t be on the table, Kit. It’s unsanitary,” I sighed as he began licking himself.
Gross.
‘You’re unsanitary,’ he shot back mentally as he flicked his tail.
Real mature.
“How’s she doing?” Skip asked as he fried the crumbed chicken breast pieces.
“On edge still, she wasn’t too bad when she first got home. I think she’s doing her best to pretend everything is okay and focus on uni,” I said as I crossed my arms and leaned against the fridge.
“She’s got girly issues?” he checked.
“Yeah, cramping. Doesn’t last long though, first two days are the worst for cramps it seems, then it passes,” I shrugged as I watched him carefully.
Did I really trust him not to hurt VB? It was so hard to be willing to accept that I couldn’t protect her heart from the other guys.
I could ask her to be exclusive, but I knew that wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted all of us in some strange way, and claiming her as my own would put a strain on our relationships.
“You still think I’m going to hurt her, don’t you?” Skip sighed, as if he was reading my mind.
No, that was only Ally’s specialty.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly.
“I wouldn’t. Bee Sting is different. She’s not someone I’d just use. Why do you think I haven’t tried to take her? I don’t want to ruin everything we have here, how well she is with the rest of us,” Skip said, his jaw set as he flipped the chicken pieces over.
“You stopped seeing other girls when she came here,” I noted.
“She makes it seem pointless. And I don’t want to hurt her. And I haven’t completely stopped, there’s still Lucy,” he chuckled, and I groaned.
Right.
“Speaking of, he’ll be home soon. Still nothing new on this wendigo thing. Wish we could figure out what the hell is going on,” I said in frustration.
“There’s two warlocks on the case, they’ll figure it out soon enough. She’s safe here, and we won’t let her go anywhere alone. What will we do tomorrow afternoon? She’s got lectures, and Ollie can’t go with her now,” Skip said as he indicated at the feline with his tongs.
