by M L Briers
“And we have a problem…” Annabeth informed him as he started to turn away. His head snapped back towards her and his eyes flared darkly with the anger that brewed inside of him.
“This can wait. Get back inside the main house.” He ordered their compliance. For one long moment all four witches didn’t move, didn’t speak, didn’t breathe, and then Annabeth turned on her heels back towards the community and the others followed.
Jethro looked to Dale who shook his head. He knew his mate and no matter what she had done or not done, this wasn’t over by a long mile. Wendy might have been the alpha of their coven, but Annabeth came a close second, and her will was strong as was her need for defiance when she believed herself right.
CHAPTER FIVE
“What the hell do you mean they’re gone?” Jethro demanded as he rallied around on his brother. Alex gave a long shrug of his shoulders.
“I have no explanation for you, Alpha. Not one of the mates are on pack land that we know of.” He offered back feeling the uncertainty inside him for his own mate, Eloise.
“Damn it.” He bit out. His mind raced along with his pulse. He didn’t like it that they weren’t on pack land, but he had already guessed where they would have gone. “The mansion.” He growled as he tossed down the glass that he was holding into the sink and was rewarded with the sound of it shattering into a million pieces.
Dexter growled at the thought of his mate just upping and leaving without a word. He’d been told of what had occurred earlier and he knew why she would be pissed off, and yet he hadn’t thought her that reckless to up and leave when there was danger around. His beast growled inside of him. Not only did they have werewolves to contend with but a witch rebellion on their hands.
“What do we do about it?” Dexter growled in annoyance.
“We get them back.” Jethro stalked towards the door and yanked it open as the others followed in his footsteps.
“This should be…” Dale started but didn’t finish. He wasn’t sure what this was going to be, and knowing his mate, it might not be pretty.
Tilly was already up and about and she could feel her mate’s eyes on her like a hawk that had spotted its prey. Her eyes took in the cabin and the décor that was sparse and yet kind of homely for a man’s place. She kind of liked it, but not him, not yet, he seemed… clingy.
“Are you hungry yet?” Luke demanded for what must have been the twentieth time. Perhaps she should just eat something so he would stop asking and yet she didn’t know if she could force a bite of anything past her lips. First she had werewolves dogging her and now she had a mate, things were… screwy.
“No.” She took up a position in front of the window in the living room and looked out onto the woods. A shiver ran through her at the thought that the werewolves could be out there, watching her, waiting…
“Are you cold?” Luke’s question made her jump.
“No.” She offered him the one syllable answer and tried to ignore the way his deep voice stroked her mind and her body.
The mating pull was certainly nothing to be sniffed at, she told herself, as her body responded to his presence the closer that he got towards her. It wasn’t even that she could hear him coming, she could sense his approach. She didn’t move a muscle.
“Are you afraid?” Luke wanted to reach out to her, for her, but he didn’t think she was in that place yet, a place where she would accept him in that role as her guardian.
“Of you?” She replied, keeping her back to him.
“I meant of the werewolves, but if you’re afraid of me…” Luke didn’t like her answer. He hadn’t considered that she would fear him and neither he nor his beast was happy with that thought. It was his job to protect her; after all, she should never fear that he would deliberately hurt her in any way.
“I’m not.” Tilly didn’t feel like having this conversation with him. It made everything seem more real to discuss it with him, and yet she knew that the topic would have to be braced one way or the other.
“Afraid of me or the Were’s?” Luke knew the answer to that as she had already given it to him, and yet the thought of hearing it from her lips was one that thrilled him. It was possible to woo a mate that feared you, although it took time and patience, but it had to be said that it was a blessing to find one that was accepting of who you were.
She turned on her heels towards him. Her green eyes took him in as her heart skipped a beat within her chest. He was a typical Lycan male, all muscles and as sexy as hell, and yet it was his eyes that held her captivated; dark chocolate with a hint of amber streaks, and they spoke of desire and need as they gazed back at her. She could almost see the wolf within him.
“Why would I be afraid of my mate?” Tilly might not have been best pleased to have a mate, and yet it thrilled her in the same instance.
“Some witches don’t like Lycans.” Luke offered as he took a half breath. The way her eyes took him in was akin to a touch of her fingertips against his bare flesh and his hard length twitched in his jeans.
“Lucky for you that I’m not one of those then, isn’t it?” Tilly noted the way his muscles tensed before he went to move and she lifted her hand to ward off that first step.
“Problem?” Luke asked and watched her eyebrows arch upwards.
“Just because I accept you, doesn’t mean that I’m going to get down and dirty with you on the damn floor, wolf.” She gave a low chuckle of disbelief and saw his eyebrows play caterpillar across his brow line.
“That wasn’t my intension.” He growled out. She wondered if she could have managed to get a stronger reaction from him had she reached out and slapped him across the face.
“Good.” She announced. Then she raised her hand as if she was offering him something… “Because we need to talk about the werewolves and what they are capable of.”
“We know they can shift at will…” Luke offered her what he knew to save time. He needed time to woo her, and talk of bloodthirsty wolves wasn’t the picture that he needed to be creating for her.
“They are also stronger than normal Were’s with a more pronounced sense of smell, and they have speed and agility. It doesn’t rival your own, but it’s not far off.” That wasn’t what he needed to hear. It was bad enough that they could shift at will but having more equal powers to a Lycan would cause some problems amongst the Omegas of the pack.
“How…?” Luke didn’t need that information, not really, and yet he felt the need to know that she hadn’t helped them to achieve this new level playing field that they were on.
“A coven back from where I’m from…” She informed him with what felt and looked like indignity to him.
“You were…?” Luke twisted his head on his neck and regarded her with suspicious eyes, but the way she frowned up at him, the way she regarded him as if he’d grown a second head eased his fears that she was a part of this.
“Hell no.” She bit out. “I’m not a part of a coven. I’m a solitary. I do not play well with others.” She tossed up a shoulder. “Or so I’m told.” She informed him with a certain amount of sheepishness.
“So why are they coming for you?” Luke briefly thought on her words about not playing well with others and stored it for future reference. Perhaps she wasn’t here to join the coven after all. Perhaps she wouldn’t fit in well within the pack life that she was destined towards.
“Because I…” She started as she dipped her head and reached inside her bodice with her hand, fishing around her right breast… Luke’s lower jaw dropped open at the sight of his mate with her hand down her top, fumbling with her breast, and the only thought within his mind was how he would love to do that himself. His length twitched again, swelling to an ache.
“Do you need a hand?” He asked with a wolfish grin. From the looks of her large breasts she would need two hands and a mouth and still have extra to spare. He was in heaven…
“Seriously?” She frowned at him and his eyes snapped up to hers as his jaw slammed shut. He
wasn’t sure but there might have been drooling.
“It was just a thought.” He grinned and she snorted her contempt for him as her hand shot out from between her breasts and she held up a pendent in triumph. His eyes took it in.
“Well think on this.” She informed him.
“That would be?” He gave a shrug of his broad shoulders and saw the spark of glee and mischief in her eyes.
“This would be the amulet that contains the spell to allow the werewolves to do what they can now do…” The triumph in her eyes was catching.
“And we have it.” Luke grinned.
“I have it.” She corrected him. “But there’s a problem…” She offered and he couldn’t help the growl that rolled through him.
“There always is.” He let out on a sigh.
“I’m not strong enough to break the magic around it, and without breaking that spell I can’t get inside to break the real bond that keeps the Were’s tide to it…”
“And without breaking that bond…” He offered, hoping he knew the answer, but knowing that the little he knew about magic; the one thing he was sure of is that he could never be sure.
“The Were’s won’t return to their natural disposition.” She shrugged and he frowned.
“Which means…?”
“That they won’t be held by the curse of the full moon.” She gave him another one of those looks that said he now had three heads on his neck and he wasn’t entirely sure how many more he could grow. She obviously thought him stupid and he needed to work on that.
“Glad we could get that explanation out of the way. I wanted to be on the same page as you.” He clarified and she nodded.
“And now you are. But I feel magic here and it might be the magic that I need to break the spells. Those witches…” She offered and he nodded.
“Mates, and they are a part of a coven of five witches…”
“A coven, wonderful.” She bit out with the irony of it.
“They are mates, Tilly; they work for the good of the pack.” Luke advised her and she frowned again at the thought. Then with a nod of her head she seemed to accept that.
“Then I need to speak with the coven.” She announced and Luke felt the need to growl again. He wanted her to himself. All to himself without anyone else around getting in the way of the mating pull, and yet his pack was in danger and he knew he couldn’t put the importance of that aside for his own needs.
“Well witches be bitches, get used to it.” Annabeth announced to the gathered mates. She’d felt bad about descending on Wendy and Caleb when it was more than obvious that they had been mating, sealing the bond between them, and from the look of Wendy, he’d been doing a damn fine job of it, but this was where they needed to be. The coven should be together at a time of crisis and this was a crisis.
“Annabeth…” Dale shook his head in dismay. His mate was wilful, there was no getting around that, but she’d dragged the other mates along with her this time and that had to be acknowledged.
“Don’t Annabeth me, Dale. We should have been told of a rift in the pack that our presence was causing.” She loved him to bits but he could be so male sometimes that it was infuriating.
“Accepted.” Jethro offered her that much at least and she seemed to ease in her stance slightly. “But we were dealing with it. Monitoring it. Every pack has its…”
“Witch haters.” Eloise offered and Jethro sighed.
“We don’t believe it’s that bad, just some rumblings about the trouble that arrives when…” Jethro continued.
“We do.” Samantha shrugged.
“If we knew how many witches were coming…” Dexter tossed in with a look towards Wendy.
“I think, but I’m not sure, that Tilly might be the last.” Before something happens… Wendy thought and caught Caleb’s eye as he frowned for a moment but showed no outwards signs of sharing that with the group. She wished he wouldn’t read her mind…
“Then things should ease off among the pack.” Jethro offered towards the witches and Wendy sighed to herself. The thought of something big happening as the spirits had told her weighed heavily on her mind.
“We need to deal with the Werewolves…” Dexter growled again. “Anyone have any ideas as to how they can shift without the full moon?”
“Magic.” Wendy shrugged her shoulders. It was the only explanation for it and she didn’t like to admit it, especially with trouble brewing for their coven within the pack, but there it was laid out for all to hear.
“Can we use magic to fight it?” Jethro turned his attention to the head witch now. Protecting his pack was what mattered, and that included their mates, even if they didn’t feel like a part of the pack now.
“It’s not that simple…” Wendy offered back. Her mind was racing, considering, tossing aside the spells and incantations that she dismissed as irrelevant as she considered all options.
The sound of the back door opening brought everyone’s attention towards Luke and Tilly as they strolled inside. Luke couldn’t help the growl that rolled through his chest at the males present. He hadn’t yet mated his female and even though he knew they were no threat to that mating it didn’t help much with his beast.
“Tilly has the talisman…” Luke started but she corrected him.
“Amulet.” She offered up to the group and Luke corrected himself.
“The Amulet that holds the spell created for the Werewolves.” He looked down at her for her approval of his assessment of the situation and she smiled back at him. That smile warmed him to his very bones.
“Then we need to see how powerful the spell work is around it.” Wendy announced as she dropped down from the stool she’d been sitting on and moved towards the newest witch. “Welcome.” She offered with that serene smile on her face and Tilly scowled back at her.
“I don’t trust covens.” Tilly announced and heard the ripple of laughter go through the witches present.
“I don’t blame you.” Wendy assured her, holding out her hand for the Amulet. Tilly was evaluating the situation when her mate put his hand on her shoulder and leant in towards her. The feel of his hot breath against her neck sent a shiver down her spine that curled her toes within her boots.
“It’s fine. I promise.” Luke assured her. Tilly took a deep breath and held it for a long moment as she decided whether to trust them or not. If her mate trusted them then she didn’t have a good reason not to. She stretched out her hand and offered the pendent to Wendy.
“Will you help?” Wendy asked her as she closed her fingers around the pendant and felt its magic send gentle sparks of electricity against her skin. The magic was powerful and it was warning her not to mess with it…
“Sure. Just don’t expect me to become one of the girls.” Tilly offered back with a large dollop of sarcasm.
“That’s a personal choice and I would never expect anyone to make that decision for you.” Wendy tried to put her at ease but she felt the reluctance of the newest witch like a thick brick wall around her.
“Let’s do this then.” Tilly nodded her acceptance of the situation. She could still be a solitary even if she was mated to one of the pack. A coven was an exclusive club and they wouldn’t want a sister to join that didn’t have trust in the others. Unless she accepted them with perfect trust in her heart she would never be one of them and that was alright by her.
Caleb was happier than he had been in a very long time. The smirk on his face was evidence of that and Jethro couldn’t help but be happy for the man. He’d finally gotten his mate and Jethro had a deep respect for the way that Caleb had a laid back attitude to wooing her, slowly, too slowly by Lycan standards, but it had worked out well in the end and that was all that mattered in the grand scheme of things.
“You gonna top smirking anytime soon?” Jethro liked to pull Caleb’s leg. He’d done it for a long while about his witch mate and had only stopped once Caleb had tasted her blood.
“I think not.” Caleb answered as they walked t
he line between the properties together looking for any sign that the Werewolves had been that way.
“Didn’t think so.” Jethro chuckled.
“At least now I don’t have to worry about killing or being killed by the pack.” Caleb tossed a look towards Jethro and the alpha nodded.
“You heard about that?” Jethro assumed the vampire had overhead his request for one of his pack to watch over him as he fought his bloodlust.
“Nope.” Caleb admitted still with the smirk firmly embedded on his lips. Jethro eyed him back. “It’s what I would have done in your place.” Caleb offered and Jethro grunted in response. “And it’s what I’d do to one of your pack that was in danger of going rogue.” Caleb admitted.
“Well I’m glad I didn’t have to kill you.” Jethro chuckled and Caleb ignored the slight. He was in a good mood and he wasn’t about to waste that on igniting a challenge with the alpha if he pointed out the obvious and claimed his own victory and the error in the alpha’s thinking.
“The same here.” Caleb couldn’t resist, but he worded it in a way that wouldn’t allow Jethro to know whether he was agreeing or disagreeing with him.
CHAPTER SIX
“What’s the problem?” Eloise demanded as each witch came to terms with the fact that their spiritual energy was being drained at what should have been a particularly easy spell from them to come to terms with. Breaking through the first spell that guarded the inner workings of the amulet had been more problematic than they had all first thought, and somewhat painful as the little pendant emitted tiny electric shocks that over time became somewhat painful like a bee sting.
“We’re just not making any headway here. Could the coven that spelled it be that powerful?” Annabeth asked as she downed half of a bottle of water to try to replenish some of the natural energy within her body. To say that she felt drained would be an understatement, and she knew her magic was strong. Linked with the others in the coven it had slayed evil before.
