by Bryce Evans
That’s what he loved about Sage. She was an intellectual just like him, and she loved his library. He couldn’t help to stare at the couch where they made love for the first time last night. His body quivered just thinking about it.
He could hear Sage’s breath change. He followed the direction she was looking and saw her underwear on the floor. Last night they hadn’t cared about where their clothes landed. With the aftermath of the mark, and the pain she was going through, they’d forgotten to get them before they went into his bedroom. Her face reddened as she stared at them crumpled on the floor.
He winked at her before he pointed up high toward the ceiling and said, “That’s where I keep the books you will need.” While MJ walked over to the bookcase, he quickly picked the underwear up and slid them down into his pocket.
He loved his mate and he didn’t care if MJ had seen them, but it made Sage uncomfortable and no matter what he wouldn’t allow her to be embarrassed, even about this.
“So you have them in a protective case? How old are these books?” MJ asked.
“Some are from the fourteen hundreds and later,” Brody answered.
“You want us to look up information in books that old? If we leave them out too long it will ruin the books,” MJ pointed out.
“Yes, it will. So we copied them and put them on a computer.” Brody pulled out a thumb drive and handed it to MJ.
“Sweet!” MJ set her laptop on a desk and started downloading the information.
“Sage, I have another laptop for you. It has everything downloaded on it already.” Brody pulled the laptop off his desk and handed it to her.
“Thank you.” He wanted to stay and just be with her in his sanctuary, but it was already after twelve and they had a lot to do before they went underground.
“I have to leave,” Brody said. He hesitated, but Sage and MJ were already deep in thought, reading. He walked over and kissed his mate on the top of her head. “I’ll be back for you in a few hours.”
“Okay,” Sage whispered as she swiped the touchscreen, her eyes never leaving the screen. His fingers brushed across her cheek, and he watched as she shivered. A small smile appeared on her lips before he walked out. Something told him to take them with him, but he knew everyone had a job to do, and today Sage and MJ needed to find information that would hurt the dragon. Plus, his mate wanted to help, and this was something he could let her do. This wasn’t putting her life in danger. He knew MJ would protect her and he wasn’t leaving them alone. Three of his best guards were outside watching and waiting for anything. He had trained them himself and he knew they would give their life for their Alpha’s mate. Now she was their Alpha as well.
* * *
Sage sat back, stretching her neck. She glanced over at the clock on the wall and noticed that they had been sitting there reading for hours.
“So…you and Brody on the couch?” MJ asked, still staring at the laptop. Sage knew her face turned red as an apple. Why did this woman have to be so blunt?
“Mary Jane, do you try to piss people off and embarrass them, or does it just come natural to you?” She knew her tone was uptight letting her know by calling her by her full name, but what MJ was asking wasn’t any of her business.
MJ’s head popped up over the screen and she tilted her head. “No. I’m sorry, that was none of my business. I guess you’re not used to my kind being so blunt. I don’t mean to be.” Sage could see how flustered MJ was becoming. The woman didn’t even know she was being an ass. “I just thought that we were friends and friends talk about boys to each other, or at least that’s what all the movies show. I’ve never had a true friend so I’m out of my element here. I thought I would give it a try.”
Sage sat back in her chair. This woman really was something else. She’d just admitted that she’d never had a friend and she thought of Sage as one. All she wanted to do now was cry for MJ. She didn’t even know how to act around friends. Hell, she didn’t know how to act around friends. They had something in common. “Well, I am your friend, but that still is none of your business.”
“I’m sorry. I guess…well, I just thought that’s what friends talk about,” MJ answered, bluntly.
Sage laughed, she couldn’t help it. MJ was getting her information on how to be friends through movies. Classic and sad, but then again, what did she know?
“What?” MJ asked.
“We’re such a pair. Neither one of us has ever had a true friend. And you’re trying to act out parts in movies. How about we just figure this out as we go along? Yes, Brody and I are together. Yes, it was the most—” MJ moved so fast, now sitting beside her. She turned her body and sat Indian-style, listening.
“Magical?” MJ asked. Sage couldn’t help but to tell MJ some of it. Neither of them had ever experienced friendship, and to be honest she wanted to talk to someone about what was happening to her. She had so many questions about what it would be like for her when she let her bear out. She would be a shifter. Thinking about it almost gave her an anxiety attack. What if she sucked at it? What if something was wrong with her bear, or she never shifted at all. Closing her eyes, Sage took a deep breath to remain in control. She knew Brody would help her every step of the way. She wasn’t alone in this.
Sage opened her eyes and smiled, “Yes, it was magical and erotic.” MJ’s eyes got wider. She had never seen her look so exposed. “Have you ever had sex before?”
MJ turned away. The look on her face wasn’t embarrassment. Her expression hardened and it broke her heart. MJ was sad. She put her hand on her arm, “I’m sorry. That wasn’t any of my business and I ask that you forgive me for being so rude.”
MJ just gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “Since we are sharing and I know I can trust you…to answer your question, no, I’ve never had sex with a man. I think I intimidate men, and women can’t stand my bluntness. When they say something stupid…” Sage watched as MJ shrugged. “I can’t stand it. I have to call them on it and like you said already, I can offend people. So, nobody wants to be around me and I just keep to myself. Plus, I don’t know what to talk about. Like you said, I’m using movies to guide me in how to be a friend. I guess I just wanted to know what it felt like to be in love and mate with someone.”
“You are talking to me now and I think you are doing pretty well. Let’s make a pack that when one of us gets offended about something, we tell each other.” Sage offered.
MJ smiled. “You think we should pinky swear or cut into our hands and become blood sisters?” Sage wanted to laugh but she could see the sincerity on MJ’s face.
“Here, let me see your hand.” Sage reluctantly gave MJ her hand. She watched as MJ called on her animal. Her fingers extended into claws cutting into Sage’s hand. It didn’t hurt, but she felt like a ten-year-old girl swapping blood and making a blood oath to be friends. Slapping their hands together, MJ said, “Blood sisters forever.”
“Blood sisters forever.” Sage repeated. She smiled back at MJ, who had gone completely still, her head turned sideways, listening. Sage listened but couldn’t hear anything. Her bear hadn’t risen yet.
Before she could ask what was wrong, MJ put her finger to her lips and motioned for her to follow. They silently walked out of the library and into the living room. MJ grabbed her hand and bent down, peering out the window. She was so silent in her movement that the only thing Sage could hear was her own heart beating loudly.
She knew someone was out there, but who? And if it spooked MJ, then something was wrong. Grabbing her cell phone out of her pocket, Sage put her phone on silent, and sent a text to Brody, quickly replacing her phone so she had both hands free.
Sage wanted to move and look out the window, too, but MJ had a death grip on her arm holding her down. Finally, MJ moved and got right beside her ear. “Someone is in the woods. I don’t see anyone, but I hear them. I know Brody left guards so where are they? I don’t like this.”
That’s when it hit Sage. The dream she’d had earlier. Claudia a
nd her minions were in the woods searching for something. Grabbing MJ’s arm, Sage pulled her down and whispered in her ear. “My dream. They are searching for something just like in my dream. I know it’s Claudia.”
Realization hit MJ, and a look of fear crossed her face. Not for herself, but fear that Claudia would find the entrance to the mines and kill all the people there. “We have to warn them.”
“Yes, but remember my dream. I’m hiding in the woods and get caught. We need to do something to get them away from the area. Think MJ, what can we do to scare them?”
“Magic. You can use magic and we need to do something that will scare them a little. Make them think they are being watched. Turn it back around on them. A little paranoia goes a long way.” MJ glanced out the window again and searched the area. “I can see a lookout in the trees watching the house. Maybe if we took him out then made some noises that made them think they were being watched. They will leave.” MJ looked over at her. “What do you think?”
“The guards. Brody said he was leaving three guards. Where are the guards? Did they hurt them?” Sage asked, desperately.
“She may have put a spell on them.” MJ shrugged her shoulders. She was out of her element here. It was Sage’s time to be strong, because magic was what she was good at. She knew she could do this. She would help the others because if they found the entrance into the mines, they were all screwed. That wasn’t happening on her watch. This witch had taken too much from her. She wasn’t taking any more.
“Let’s go.” Sage crawled until she got to the kitchen then she got up. “It’s time to break the spell.”
MJ smiled and it wasn’t a smile that she wanted to be on the receiving end of. “Can you sense anyone in the back?”
MJ placed her ear to the door and closed her eyes. “I feel the guards but they sound like they are asleep.”
“Good. It’s time to wake them.” Sage quietly opened the door so she could look out.
“Won’t Claudia know you are doing this?”
“Nope, because it was one of her minions that did this spell. She wouldn’t lower herself to do this kind of grunt work, as she called it.” Sage opened the door long enough to slip out, along with MJ. Three guards were lying on the ground. She could see their chests rising, confirming they were still alive. Closing her eyes, she whispered the spell reversing it. She watched as the guards came awake. They shook their heads coming out of it. She didn’t want to startle them, so she scratched the ground just enough to make a noise that only a shifter would pick up on. That’s when the three shifters flipped over into a crouched position, searching for the danger.
Her finger came up to her lips. At first they glared at her, patiently watching, ready to spring forward if they thought she or MJ was a threat. The guard in the middle nodded. She slowly crawled toward them on her belly so they would know she wasn’t a threat. MJ stayed back, allowing her to explain. She could tell that they were still watching her, but that they were aware of MJ as well.
“It’s Claudia and her men. They are in the woods. They have a lookout out front hiding in the trees. The rest of them are in the woods. I think they are searching for the mines. I have warned Brody, but we need to draw them away from the woods. Brody and the others are coming, but if they find an entrance it will be too late. I’m going to use some magic and make them believe they are being watched and stalked.” She waited and all three guards nodded. “I need you to shift and get that guard so he can’t call back to warn her.” She wanted to jump out of her skin when she glanced over and MJ was beside her. She’d never even heard the girl. “Shit, you scared me.”
MJ shrugged. “Kill every single one of them. I’ll take care of the one in the tree out front. Go with the Alpha’s mate. Protect her.”
Her mouth stood open at what MJ said. Why was Sage more important than she was? “MJ, don’t do this. Let one of them do this.”
“Sage, there is a lot about me you don’t understand, but I’m a panther shifter. We love to climb trees and we do it to hunt prey. He won’t ever know I’m there until it’s too late. You are Brody’s mate and you may not realize it, but you are very important to the Order and to these men. You will soon be their Alpha, too, and they will protect you with their lives. Now go do some magic. We are wasting time.”
Clothes fell to the ground and in its place was the most beautiful panther she had ever seen. MJ’s fur was so black it shimmered as the light hit it. Her fur looked silky smooth. Then she was gone. When she glanced back at the guards, they were waiting patiently for her.
“Shift and just watch unless someone sees us. Then kill the fuckers.” All three guards smiled before they shifted into three of the biggest bears she had ever seen. One lay down and another snorted, shaking his head and motioning for her to get on the first bear’s back. She wanted to giggle because she had always wanted to do something like this. Shifters weren’t around her much growing up, but she had dreamed about them. She read books about them and loved daydreaming about one day turning into an animal.
Crawling up, Sage wrapped her hands around the bear’s neck. She didn’t even have time to get situated before they took off running through the woods. Trees flew by her as they entered the tree line. What she realized was how quiet the bears were. She’d figured they would make a lot of noise, but not these guys, they were so quiet all she could hear were the trees moving in the wind. Even the bugs were silent. They sensed it, too. Evil was lurking nearby.
The bears slowed down as they came near an open area. The bear she was on stopped and lay down on the ground, allowing her to get off. She glanced around, looking for anything that looked familiar to what she saw in her dream. This looked like the area except one thing was missing. Where were Claudia and her minions?
She kneeled down behind some bushes and trees, then searched the area. Nothing, she didn’t see anyone. She moved closer to the bear and whispered, “Do you hear them?”
The bear turned his head up and sniffed the air. When the bear sank lower to the ground, she followed suit. She followed the direction he was looking and bingo; Claudia Blackwood and her minions were standing twenty-five feet away, searching the ground. Their heads were pointed down and they were very quiet. Thank God Claudia hadn’t seen them.
Now Sage needed to send out some noise to make the witch paranoid. Sage remembered a spell her mother taught her when she was young. It was one of the first spells she’d learned. Yes, it was simple but it might just work. Whispering, Sage threw out her hands using the shadow spells, shooting it in different areas. She had to make them think they were seeing different animals and that something else was out there they couldn’t see, which would make it even worse. She needed something that would put the right amount of fear into Claudia.
Claudia’s head was the first to snap up. Sage had been thinking for a while about Claudia, and what would scare the witch. It was actually her mother who gave her the idea. She always said that sometimes what scared us the most was what we wanted to possess, and that owning the item was a way to get past that fear.
What Claudia coveted more than anything was getting the Book of Thoth open. She wanted to possess it and control the spells inside of it. She thought that if she could control these spells, she would have just as much power as Thoth himself. When she gets that book open, she knows it will awaken the god himself. Thoth will come and take back what is his. No man or paranormal could take that kind of power inside of them. The witch was so deranged that she thought she could control it. That’s what made her so dangerous. She had no fear, and when a person didn’t fear anything she had nothing to worry about. Right now, Claudia Blackwood was the most dangerous woman ever.
Right now she needs a little paranoia to make her believe that Thoth is watching her and judging her, Sage thought. She is so arrogant that she believes what she wants to believe. Claudia looked around the woods. It was just a subtle little whisper. Then she threw the shadows out into the woods, making them jump out in different pl
aces. She had seen pictures of Thoth in many books she had read. Using those pictures, Sage flashed the different shadows out into the woods surrounding Claudia.
The witch’s head continued to jerk left to right, and even her guards stopped searching, glancing around. They were having their own experiences. Fear that the bears and other shifters from Alpha City were watching them. It was working. They watched as Claudia started backing up then took off running. Her guards followed suit. She wanted to jump up and throw her hands into the air.
Sage glanced back at the bear that was protecting her. If a bear could smile, he surely was. She had to smile, too, happy that she was actually helping her family.
“Look what we have here.” She turned around and found Nick Bernstein smiling down at her. She hated this man just as much as she did Claudia. He was evil, just like her. The scar that went down the side of his cheek made him look feral, and only one side of his mouth slid up in a smile. “I’ve been waiting for this day. We were interrupted a few times before, but now there is nothing standing in my way.” Nick flung his hand out, immobilizing the bear. Sage quickly said a protection spell so he couldn’t use it on her. “You see, I don’t think Claudia will stop me this time. She will enjoy hearing you scream, just like she laughed when your mother screamed out in pain over and over.”
Sage smiled as the sister stone vibrated under her shirt. The stone wanted out and she was going to let it out. She could do this. One would go down today and it wouldn’t be her. Nick Bernstein would never get to hurt another person again. This wasn’t rage flowing through her veins. It was pure determination and a will to protect all of her love ones.
