~

 

“What are you doing, now?” Jett growled as George took a few, small sideways steps toward the window of the alpha’s cabin like the beta wasn’t going to notice.

“Checking … on the joinery at this window,” he lied. “Great… craftsman…ship.”

“Move on, fluffy haired winged boy,” Jett growled.

“Fluffy-haired winged boy?” George’s eyebrows reached up his forehead. “Would you address a female Christmas fairy in this manner?”

“No.”

“Exactly…!”

“I’d call her a fluffy-haired winged girl,” Jett shot back. He looked quite pleased with himself. “Stay away from the window.”

“I was just checking to see if there was any progress — some of us have a home to go to, you know?” George offered a dramatic sigh.

“I have a home — and a mate, do you have a mate?” Jett demanded.

“No, I’m glad to say there is no little woman at my home…”

‘Except for your mother…’

“Let’s not bring my mother into this.”

‘Does she still tuck you in at night?’ Jessica babied him.

“No, my mother does not tuck me in at night,” George grumbled, and then he grumbled harder again when Jett roared with laughter.

“Still live with mummy?” Jett chuckled.

“Yes, I still reside with my mother — problem?” George scowled at the beta.

“Mummy’s boy,” Jett chuckled.

It wasn’t the sound of the beta’s chuckling that annoyed him; it was the sound of Jessica’s high-pitched chuckles that danced upon his last nerve, and for some reason made him want to punch the beta right on the nose.

‘Maybe that’s why the fairy godmother made you the Christmas fairy this year — she wanted you to go out on your own and be a man,’ Jessica chuckled. ‘She can only hope.’

“But I’m not on my damn own, unfortunately, am I?” George snapped back.

‘Temper – temper.’

“I don’t have a temper. At least, I didn’t until I started spending time in your company,” George offered the fairy a death glare.

“Would you two like a room?” Jett asked.

“I’d like a lobotomy,” George grumbled.

‘Funny — you act like you’ve already had one.’

“You know what? Make yourself useful, in that cabin and find out what’s going on before I die of old age,” George grumbled.

“Hey!” Jett shuffled his weight on his feet, but he had no idea where the little, female fairy was and could do nothing to stop her in her tracks until he did. “Stay out of there.”

He caught sight of a flash of electric blue to his left and snapped out a hand. His fingers brushed against the fairy’s wings, and he heard a high-pitched squeal that he assumed came from the female.

The next moment, something else came from the female, a hard gut clenching sting that hit his body and traveled through every inch, making his muscles seize up, and Jett dropped to the ground.

“Whoops! Too late,” George grinned from ear to ear as the beta was incapacitated and Jessica found a gap in the woodwork small enough to fly through.

He kind of liked the fact that he’d got one over on the beta. He took one long step forward and looked down on Jett as the man groaned in pain.

“That’s got to hurt.” George chuckled and got a death glare back for his troubles. “Jessica’s a mean one, right?”

 

~

~

~

 

“Tell me about yourself. What does a witch do when she’s not doing witch — type things,” the alpha frowned. It had sounded so much better within his mind.

“Talk about keep the conversation lively.” Leo snorted a chuckle from the other room, and the alpha bristled in annoyance as his mate chuckled at the elder’s interference.

“Well.” Angelique turned thoughtful eyes toward the alpha. “Sleep — eat — breathe in and out — and in again.”

Another spluttering of laughter came from the kitchen, and the alpha growled a warning toward the elder. How was he supposed to woo his mate and engage her in conversation while he had the elder picking fault at every turn?

“Didn’t you have somewhere to be?” Luke growled out.

Angelique jumped to her feet, thrust the empty wine glass at the alpha, and slapped a grin on her face.

“Glad you reminded me.” She gave a small, happy shrug of her shoulders, and turned on her heels to walk away.

“Not so fast,” the alpha growled.

Angelique tossed him a look over her shoulder.

“I’m sorry — I thought I wasn’t your prisoner?”

“Your car isn’t here yet,” the alpha rushed out, trying to cover his back, and he saw her shoulders drop at the same time that her smile did.

“Car — right,” Angelique’s eyes narrowed for a moment as she looked for a solution to her problem. There wasn’t one. She huffed.

“Can I get you another drink?” Luke asked as he pushed up to his feet, towering over her by a good foot.

“Sure.” Angelique shrugged, downcast before she turned and dropped her backside against the cushion once more. She huffed again.

“I’ll have one,” Leo called.

Luke grumbled a growl to himself as he started across the room to refill her glass. He muttered curses that he was sure were just loud enough for the elder to hear, but not his mate.

Just as Luke was trying to figure out a way to get the elder out of the house, there was a wrap of knuckles on the front door. Jett didn’t wait for an answer as he pushed open the door and swept in with a large box under one arm and a freshly cut pine tree under the other. Luke growled.

“As you demanded, alpha,” Jett grinned from ear to ear. “Your Christmas tree.”

Luke decided that running for the nearest wall with his head probably wasn’t a good option, or a good impression to make on his mate. He grumbled another growl as he turned a questioning look on his mate.

“Where do you want it?” Luke asked and saw a glint of amusement spring to life within her eyes.

“If I say bend over…?” Angelique grinned and the beta roared with laughter.

“Everyone’s a comedian,” Luke grumbled.