~

Frankie turned on the bed, gripped the edge of the mattress, and pulled herself forward to look down on her mate. He was lying on his back with his eyes narrowed on her, a killer looks on his face that she knew was all for her, and doing what alpha’s do best – growling.

“O-u-c-h,” he bit out.

“I can’t help it that you roll easily,” she offered down to him.

Frankie couldn’t help but chuckle. She’d even pressed her lips together with the hope of squashing it, feeling momentarily sorry for him, but still, the laughter came.

“Yes, I’m sure my pain amuses you no end,” he grumbled once more, and then chewed on a few curse words under his breath.

“Sourpuss,” she said, as she put her forehead on the mattress and sniggered into it.

“Like I said before — I’m getting the feeling back in my extremities,” he informed her, and her head shot up as her eyes narrowed at him.

“Then I guess I should be leaving,” Frankie said, spinning her body on the bed, and pushing up.

Frankie took just one step, and his hand shot out, his fingers wrapped around her ankle, and before she could zap him again — she was falling.

She might not have had the same worries about damaging her mate when she’d tossed him off the bed, but the alpha couldn’t let her hit the floor. Unfortunately, it was in his DNA to protect her, and he caught her as best he could as she fell on top of him.

Frankie’s elbow managed to come down in his ribs, and he yelped in pain and followed it up with a manly groan.

“Well, that was a bloody stupid thing to do, and that was not my fault either.” Frankie bit out through clenched teeth as she wedged her elbows against his broad chest and levered her body away from him.

The steel band of a big, muscled arm around her waist wouldn’t allow her to get any further, but at least she could get a good death glare leveled right at him.

“Of course it wasn’t, Princess.”

 

~

~

 

“You’re not going anywhere without me,” Cary practically whispered the words into her ear, and that caused Lana to shiver in response.

It wasn’t one of those shivers that you got from being cold, no, this one was much more centered by her feminine side, and it was damned annoying. She didn’t want to be attracted to the beta, but what she wanted and reality were two separate things.

“Says you.”

“Says fate,” he offered back. His hot breath was against her ear and cheek once more causing another shiver to shake her body at what felt like a caress.

“Well, fate can kiss my…”

“Be nice,” River chuckled.

“That wasn’t what I was going for,” Lana sneered at the vampire.

“Sweetheart, you’re coming home with me,” Cary informed her, and she was sure that his tone had gotten so much deeper. It had sounded like velvet over gravel before, but now it practically curled her toes.

Stupid fate.

“Don’t, sweetheart, me…” she hissed, refusing to give into the temptation to dwell on those really good vibes that he was causing inside of her.

“Yes, she’s not sweet, more the sour variety of witch…” River chuckled to himself, but he noted the sound of a warning growl that came from the beta. “Not that I’ve tasted her. I was speaking about her personality.” That growl faded away.

“She has a personality?” Cary chuckled to himself — until he felt the bony point of her elbow in his ribs, and that pain took his breath away — he was sure she’d put magic behind that jab.

“Viper-ish — perhaps a little Rottweiler thrown in for good measure — and with a hint of She-Demon — congratulations! It’s a mate!” River said with glee.

“That’s my mate you’re talking about,” Cary growled.

“Betas, no sense of humor,” River shrugged.

“I told you that you weren’t funny,” Lana sneered at the vampire. Then she turned a look over her shoulder at her mate. “As for you…”

“This isn’t up for debate,” Cary bit out, determined to stop her in her tracks before she got a good foothold in denial once more. “You’re my mate — you’re coming home with me.”

“Over his dead body,” Lana said, pointing a finger at the vampire.

“No problem,” Cary growled, and River slowly raised his eyebrows up his forehead and sighed.

“Oh, if we must,” he shrugged.

“According to my mate, we do,” Cary offered back.

“Yes, but she isn’t the boss of me,” River tossed back. Then he took a moment to think about his words and gave a small shake of his head. “I can’t believe I just said that. Three hundred years of evolving into me, and I just said that.”

“So you’re not going to fight for her?” Cary demanded.

“A mate — is a mate — is a mate.” He shrugged.

“So, you’re not going to fight for her?” Cary asked again, struggling to understand where the vampire was going with his mini-speech.

“He doesn’t need to fight for me — I can do it myself,” Lana said, and it should have been a warning for the shifter, but he was too busy eyeing the vampire as if the man was about to rip his heart out.

Lana pushed her magic out through her body, and like an electric eel, anywhere that the beta was touching felt like an electrical jolt through his system. Hell, he might as well have gone up to an electricity pylon, climbed to the top, and licked the wire.

“Is his hair standing on end?” River asked, but he already knew the answer to that.

Lana stepped away from the shifter as his arm dropped from around her body. She turned to look at the man and found that he was ramrod straight, and falling backward toward the ground. She grimaced at the loud thud that his body made when he connected with the hard earth.

“One down — one to go,” Lana turned toward River with a gleam in her eye that was more than wicked; it was downright evil in his book.

 

~

~

 

Ray wasn’t in the mood for fun and games today. He knew what the she-wolves were up to with the alpha, and at first, it was amusing, but now they’d taken it a step too far, and his brother’s head could very well explode if someone didn’t bring them back into line.

He had a feeling that if Rock decided to bring the hammer down on the females of the pack, then it wouldn’t be pretty. There’d be squealing, and protests and what man needed that in their life? It would be a much better idea if he took matters into his own hands and cut out the rot now. After all, he was the beta, and it was his job to keep the pack in line and have his alpha’s back.

He’d spent the better part of the day visiting each and every female and warning her of what would happen if they forced his brother’s hand. A miffed off alpha wasn’t a pretty sight.

Now he was right where he needed to be for his own sanity and peace of mind. His fishing hole was less than a mile away, and he was looking forward to some peace and quiet, until then, he was enjoying the pounding music in his ears as he decompressed from another day.

Ray left the shelter of the woods and started across the road. The loud roar of an engine cut through the dip in the music between songs and took him by surprise.

By the time that Ray turned to look, it was already too late, and the motorbike was practically on top of him. Ray jumped one way, and the bike went the other, leaving the road, and disappearing into the woods on the other side.

“Ah, crap!” Ray bit out, guilt flaring through his body, as he raced toward the new gap in the foliage on the other side of the road.

He pulled out the earbuds as the next song roared to life in his ears, and started into the woods. His heart was racing, as he followed the new track that had been cut through the dense underbrush in search of the unlucky sucker that was riding that bike.

Ray wasn’t sure how the guy had managed to get as far into the woods as he had, but Kudos to him. In the near distance; he saw the man and bike tipped to one side on the ground and made light work of closing the distance between them.

He tossed his fishing rods and cooler away from him, and didn’t stop until he was practically on top of the biker. The muted, muffled sound of a long line of curse words from inside the crash helmet made his ears prick up from the femininity of it.

That guy was a girl, and now he felt like crap. With a bitten off curse of his own, he reached down and lifted the heavy weight of the bike from her trapped leg.