~

 

“Halloween, Father?” Griffin folded his arms across the broadness of his chest and eyed the priest in disbelief.

“A Halloween fair to be exact. Much like the summer fair, but with ghosts, ghouls, and monsters,” The priest said.

“We should feel right at home,” Percival muttered as he leaned back in the recliner chair at the end of the room, and eyed Edna as she appreciated the alpha’s physique one more time.

“But, it’s Halloween?” Griffin said again, and the priest sighed.

“Not exactly a church holiday, I admit, but the church roof won’t pay for itself now, will it?” The priest shrugged his shoulders.

“I like a good monster or two,” Edna announced, and all eyes turned towards her. “Especially the vampires.” She added, with a wicked look of mischief in her eyes as she dipped her chin and eyed Percival.

“Vampires have always been my favorite,” Percival said, eyeing the woman right back, as he looked into her mind, finding what he needed as he snatched at her thoughts.

“She knows,” he breathed out for Griffin’s benefit.

The alpha tensed a little in his stance. If Edna knew – he had to wonder if the priest knew.

“He knows too,” Percival said, reading the Alpha's mind as well, and shaking his head in disbelief as he pushed up to his full height and started a slow walk towards them.

“Some people in the church find the celebration of Halloween… distasteful,” Father Ted said. Then he shrugged his shoulders once more.

“You don’t say?” Percival said.

“Oh, I do.” Father Ted shot back. Then he took a moment to pretend that he was considering it before he spoke. “Personally, I like to think that all of the things, seen, and what goes unseen, under Heaven and on the earth, can and should… be celebrated.”

“You do?” Griffin eyed him.

“I do,” Father Ted grinned. “Of course, everything is hypothesis and theoretical… isn’t it?”

“It is?” Griffin was lost in thought. “It is!” He’s gotten the nudge in the ribs from the vampire and had snapped back to it.

“Well, I’m pregnant with your pup, so you’d better stop coming home at all hours and leaving your dirty paw prints on the kitchen floor!” Isla grumbled, growled, and snapped at her mate as they walked by the office door.

Griffin opened his mouth to speak, but Father Ted got there first.

“Someone say something?” He looked around as if mystified.

“I don’t have my hearing aid turned up,” Edna shrugged her shoulders on the lie.

“Halloween fair sounds fun,” Percival announced.

“What do you need us to do?” Griffin asked, groaning and growling on the inside.

“Well,” Father Ted said with a big beaming victory smile.

“You have so many big, strong, muscle…” Edna was interrupted by Father Ted’s cough, and she cleared her throat and snapped to it. “Providing the manpower would be good.”

“Done,” Griffin said.

“And so many lovely ladies to help with the…”

“Done,” Griffin didn’t bother to wait for the punch line.

“And then there’s the pitch where we had the summer fair,” Father Ted said.

“Done,” Griffin said with a nod. Father Ted opened his mouth to speak, but Griffin cut him off. “Done. Free of charge, considering the good cause. Would you like us to supply the blood too?”

“Fake, of course,” Percival chuckled.

“Of course,” Edna grinned. “Waste not want not,” she muttered.

“No. I think we’re done.” Father Ted announced with glee.

“I think we have been,” The vampire muttered.

“Well, lovely visit,” Father Ted said as he clapped his hands together and rubbed hard, possibly at the thought of all the cash he’d just saved before he motioned for Edna to make haste towards the door.

“Griffin! Neal is growling again, and Penny’s chucking up with morning sickness, and I can’t get anywhere near her!” Keri bit out as she stormed into the room, stopping dead in her tracks at the sight of the priest and his sidekick. “Oh God...”

“Praise him!” Percival shot out with a snigger.

“Amen to that,” Edna nodded.

“Another pregnancy, my… that’s fast.” Father Ted grinned.

“Speedy little suckers,” Edna muttered at his side, and the priest chuckled.

“Three, actually…” Keri laid her palm against her own stomach.

“Shall we talk Christenings? You want to book early,” Father Ted announced with a gleam in his eyes.

“Over my dead…” Keri started.

“And of course, we would love to make a hefty donation to the church roof fund,” Griffin announced as his mate kicked up her heels, turned, and shot back out of the room muttering to herself.

“Hormones,” Percival added.

“Oh, hormones can be such a witch,” Edna nodded.

“A really sizable chunk for the roof,” Griffin grumbled.

“Can’t they though,” Percival grinned.

“You are far too generous, Griffin. I thank you,” Father Ted said, holding out his hand and motioning Edna towards the open door.

“It’s what good neighbors are all about,” Griffin offered back, rolling his eyes in his head towards the vampire as the Priest chuckled.

“That was like shooting fish in the barrel,” Percival muttered. “The hunter becomes the prey.”

“Bite me,” Griffin growled back.

“Not in front of the clergy…,” Percival grinned at the glare that came his way from the alpha.

 

~

~

~

 

“Well, I for one am looking forward to the Halloween fair,” Keri announced before she attacked the full English breakfast that she had before her as if she hadn’t eaten for a week.

“It’s not like we got to enjoy the summer one,” Isla said, tipping the bowl of scrambled eggs towards her plate and scooping out a nice hearty portion as she mentally licked her lips.

“Not while being stalk, chased, and hunted by wolves,” Penny chuckled as she tossed the last of the bacon onto her plate and looked at the disappointed face of her mate as he sat across from her at the table.

Neal had been patiently waiting his turn for seconds, and now found there wasn’t much of anything left.

“Has anybody else noticed how we never get leftovers anymore?” Lucas asked, and three sets of witchy eyes came towards him and glared.

It wasn’t as if they could comment – not with their mouths full.

“Careful, brother,” Neal warned him. “There are far worse things than being zapped.

“Death by a thousand forks,” Griffin chuckled.

“Oh!” Keri said, and then swallowed hard. “And whose fault is it that we have such healthy appetites?” She gave her mate an accusing look.

“I said nothing,” Griffin said, holding up his hands in surrender as he grinned widely, and she reached over and stabbed half of a sausage on his plate with her fork. “Even when you take the food from my plate,” he chuckled.

“These pregnancy cravings are killing me,” Isla bit out in disgust. “I hate chocolate! It repulses me.”

“Who hates chocolate?” Penny shook her head in disbelief.

“I know, right?” Isla agreed.

“No coffee,” Keri shook her head in disgust.

“No alcohol,” Penny grumbled.

“And no sex for you if you don’t hand over that strip of bacon!” Isla pointed her fork at her mate’s plate, and he had the urge to wrap his arms around his food and guard it with his life – and the overriding need to provide everything that she could ever want.

“Take it!” Lucas held up his hands in surrender.

“Goddess give me strength,” Keri muttered before she went in for the kill with the sausage on her fork.

“It never stood a chance…” Neal commented, watching the witch devour it.

“Neither do we if you keep flapping your jaws,” Lucas growled.

“Don’t growl at him,” Penny snapped, and her mate chuckled. “As for you – dog house.”

Lucas chuckled into his hand at his brother’s expense. Griffin eyed the witches at the table. Each one was pregnant. Each one was carrying the next generation of the pack.

He’d never been so damn happy and content in his life.

 

The End.