~

 

“I’m gonna give your wolf a pass on this one, because you just found your mate…” Tyler said. “But do not mistake my lack of rising to your challenge for weakness.”

“Could you two either take it outside, or play nice?” Chelsea snapped at both men.

“He started it,” Tyler grunted in annoyance.

“He started it…” Chelsea mimicked the deep tones of her mate.

She’d been practicing, and the man always seemed to give her a reason to, but this time she could sympathise with him. All he was doing was standing there, he wasn’t even that close to Lily.

“I was headed this way to see if you knew where Lulu was…” Lily informed her and brought her attention back towards the witch.

“I haven’t heard from Lulu in over a year,” Chelsea said. “And she knows better than to come to me when she’s stabbed you in the damn back.”

Chelsea definitely wanted to have a word or two with that witch.

“She messed up…” Lily said, but Chelsea wasn’t about to let Lily’s younger sister off the hook that easily.

“She does that … a lot.”

“Yeah, well … that’s what siblings are for…” Lily sighed.

“To make you wish you were an only child?” Chelsea shot back.

“Just point me in the direction of the bear so I can rip his head from his neck…” Jacob growled.

His wolf still wanted out. It didn’t trust Tyler and it certainly didn’t like Lily being around so many different people; including the vampire.

“There’s one – have at him…” Connor chirped up from across the room; where he’d taken to standing just to ease Jacob lost it where his wolf was concerned.

“Shut up, Vampire,” Tyler grumbled.

He liked Connor, and the man was solid gold in his book.

Heck, he’d do anything for him after what Connor had done for him and his mate – for Justice’s pack and Landon’s clan, but he did have a sense of humour that could rub him up the wrong way.

“Bite me,” Connor shot back, and Tyler grunted his contempt for him. “No, really – get those fangs out and take one for team Jacob!”

“I heard you already did that…” Tyler snorted a chuckle. “The wolf chasing you round and around…”

“Until I knocked his lights out,” Connor reminded the man.

“Yeah, blindsided me…” Jacob growled.

“See what you’ve done now?” Connor said to Tyler and the bear shifter scowled…

“Not really, no. What’d I do?” Tyler shot back, feeling more than a little defensive because his own mate was now glaring at him.

“You could have taken one for the team, but instead you set the wolf off again,” Connor berated him. “Have you no sense of shame?”

“Laying it on a little thick there, bat boy,” Chelsea berated Connor.

“Your point?” Connor grinned with glee.

“About this Zane…?” Chelsea turned her attention back towards Lily who seemed momentarily caught up by the banter of the others, but she snapped her attention right back towards Chelsea with a small shake of her head…

“You know that your friends are weird, right?” She had the urge to lean in and whisper to Chelsea, but she knew that with the company that she was keeping it wouldn’t do her any good.

“Pretty much,” Chelsea shrugged just the one shoulder.

“O-k-a-y then,” Lily offered back, expanding her hands and giving a small shake of her head.

“You’ll get used to them,” Chelsea assured her…

“I’m not going to be here that long…” Lily offered on a small scoff of disbelief…

The sound of another low growl of annoyance came from Jacob, and Chelsea noted the quick grimace that chase over her friend’s face…

“Look…” Lily said, as she turned towards Jacob and opened her mouth to speak, but the sight of the man looking just a little hurt by her words, sent a big old pang of guilt shooting through her, and she said nothing more…

“Let’s kill the bad guy and then you can worry about mating and wooing, and big hunky wolf guys…” Chelsea said, and it was her mate’s turn to growl in annoyance… “Seriously? How long have we been mated?”

“Nine months, three days, and fourteen hours…” Tyler shot back without even pausing for thought.

Chelsea’s lower jaw almost hit her chest. She stared back at him with a look of such disbelief that he started a slow to boil, drop dead gorgeous grin that didn’t stop until it stretched from one ear to the other…

“That actually sounds about right…” Connor said on a frown…

Chelsea snapped her jaws shut and swallowed hard.

“I can’t believe you know that,” she said on a frown.

“I can’t believe that you didn’t…” Connor offered, stirring the pot like any self respecting vampire that had decided to make it his life’s work to take care of his own would.

“You didn’t?” Tyler jumped on Connor’s bandwagon.

He knew his mate well, and he knew that there were only a few things that could ping her guilt button, and one of those was to do with being unromantic. The woman didn’t have a romantic bone in her whole kickass body…

“I knew that…” Chelsea lied, and everyone knew that she’d lied because her eyes were dancing around in her head like she was looking for the fastest way out of there.

“No you didn’t…” Connor berated her.

“Stop stirring…” Vicky elbowed him in the ribs and he groaned.

“Yes – yes, I did…” Chelsea’s eyes were dancing to their own tune again…

“You did?” Tyler brought her eyes to his with that deep, soulful tone that always made her squishy – then he drew his eyebrows together over his nose, and she was lost in remorse and guilt…

“No,” she reluctantly admitted on a sigh. “I’m sorry…” she bit out.

“Oh, baby…” Tyler said…

“Now who’s laying it on thick?” Connor offered out of the side of his mouth.

“I’ll make it up to you,” Chelsea offered, and her mate grinned harder … that was music to his ears.

“Score one for the bear…” Connor chuckled, and Chelsea shot the vampire a death glare a moment before she zapped him with her magic…

“Score one for the witch against the meddling vampire,” Vicky beamed her mate a smile.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on my side?” Connor asked, and his mate had to think about that one…

“Not as much as you’d think, no…” she offered back.

“I’m not buying you another castle…” Connor teased.

“It’s my money…” she whispered back.

“It’s our money…” Connor offered back, and she lifted her hand and patted him on the shoulder.

“You keep telling yourself that, babe,” she didn’t turn to look at him when he stared down at her. She couldn’t keep the mischief from her eyes and the laughter from her lips if she did.

“Gold digger,” Connor muttered.

“Dead guy,” Vicky shot back.

Lily couldn’t help it. The chuckle that had started deep inside of her at their antics made its way up and out of her mouth, and it felt good … almost sinfully good; considering the trouble that she was in, and the problems that she was bringing to their door…

Jacob’s attention was snatched by the sound of his mate’s laughter. Her eyes lit up with humour and she mesmerised him.

Mine… His wolf growled…

Maybe… Jacob told his beast … If you stop with the fangs and the claws and trying to push forwards every damn minute … then she might be ours…