~

 

Keri was practically counting down the minutes. She knew what was coming and she’d booked the pods just for that reason – the Summer festival was in the next field to their pods, and she’d wanted it to be a surprise.

Surprise! She thought to herself.

We came for the festivities, and you found mates – that’s going to go down about as well as when Penny threw up in Isla favorite shoes after the Halloween party from hell.

Welcome back to hell – we hope you enjoy your time with us because it’s permanent.  

Well, she guessed that the surprise was on her in the form of shifters and a damn vampire hunting them. She kicked herself for not checking out the place before she had booked and brought her friends to shifter land.

But on the bright side, someone was going to have to build a summer festival onto that barren field beside the pods, and then there would be humans – lots of humans.

If they played it right then, they could use the festival as a diversion to get in their car and get the heck out of there before they became wolf fodder.

She’d heard them talking overnight. She’d heard them discussing mates.

That thought sent a shiver down and back up her spine. She wasn’t a bad person, and she believed in live and let live, just not living with them because being a mate was taking that a little too far in her book.

Instead of sleeping; she’d sat up listening to them outside the pod, and had been berating herself the whole night for not checking out the local area with the witches’ directory. It would have been so simple.

One call. One stupid call to find out if there were any supernatural goings on in the local area and she could have booked elsewhere just to be on the safe side of not getting in a faceoff with anything decidedly nasty. Oh, how hindsight was a wonderful thing.

It had been her mistake to own. She’d dropped them right in it – and it certainly wasn’t mud that they were standing in up to their necks.

So much for; getting to commune with Mother Nature, and her friends getting the all you can eat – pig out with chocolate and sweets fest. And just to top off her night; she’d sat up munching on damn chocolate bars as she listened to the wolves at the door and worried about Penny and Isla in the other pods.

I’m certainly never going to live this one down … nor should I.

How are they ever going to forgive me?

I wouldn’t forgive me.

In fact, I don’t. I’m unforgiven and unforgivable.

I suppose if I looked on the bright side then I could say that at least now they’ll know what they are – mates. So that’s a – thing.

They are mates, and they have mates.

We – we have mates.

Which means that we’ll never find that one true love anywhere but here.

That’s not a blessing; it’s a curse.

It’s a split decision – in your face – take it or leave it – with a timeframe, yep, a definite curse.

That big muscle bound alpha – chasing me like I was a damn rabbit to be caught.

Muppet!

Moron!

What’d he think – I was just going to lie back and think of Britain!

Just roll over and play dead?

Ha! Punched him right on the nose and got him a good one – big, muscle clad – bully!

And a vampire too.

What kind of a vampire works with wolves?

Or maybe the wolves are working for the vampire.

Think – Summer Fair. Think people everywhere, and how to escape the wolves at the door.

Think… Zombie apocalypse – but with shifters.

Evade and escape. And if I can’t evade – then attack … but, ultimately… escape.

That’ll work… right?

I’d say what could go wrong, but saying what could go wrong normally leads to things going even worse, so not going to say that.

Evade. Escape.

What could go wrong?

Oh.

 

~

~

~

 

“And how are we doing?” Father Ted asked as he clapped his big hands together and rubbed them as if he was feeling the chill in the air, but it was warming up rather nicely.

“Oh, we’re doing just fine,” Griffin said, eyeing the man as if he was about to drop the other shoe.

Griffin hefted up one of the wooden frames for the side of a booth and wedged it against one broad shoulder. It wasn’t that heavy, at least, not for him, but he needed to make it look as if he was breaking a sweat for the human’s sake.

“Oh, that’s just grand, Griffin.” The man offered back, and Griffin shot him a sideways look as he started through the field towards his brothers and some very impressed looking elderly ladies from the church.

The women were giggling like schoolgirls as they whispered amongst themselves and eyed him like he was the perfect sponge cake at the competition that they held every year at their Summer Fair.

Enid elbowed Ida, who elbowed Jane, and the woman shot them both a scowl, but she did her duty and took one small step in his direction – that caught his brother's attention, and the alpha groaned inside.

Griffin didn’t mind so much being objectified, he was used to it, but by little old ladies? He’d much rather his mate looked at him that way then he’d really have something to be grateful for.

“Well done, Griffin,” Jane announced, and was shoved in the back by Enid to the point where she almost toppled over, face first onto the hardening ground. “Perhaps you should take off that nice shirt of yours so that it doesn’t get all messy.”

The woman looked decidedly guilty and embarrassed all in one go – she couldn’t even meet his eyes.

Griffin heard the sound of both his brothers deep chuckles, and he ignored them. He was sure that now he had heard everything – nice little church ladies asking him to strip – maybe they wanted him to dance as well?

It certainly wasn’t how he pictured his morning going.

“It’s not a favorite of mine, Jane,” He assured her to the sound of his brothers chuckling even harder.

“Oh,” she looked a little downcast, as if she’d let her team down.

“But, Neal’s shirt, now that’s his absolute favorite…” Griffin offered back, and didn’t need to look at his brother head on as the man snapped to attention, he could see him just fine out of the corner of his eye.

All three elders slowly turned their heads to stare at the beta. The man swallowed hard at the leeching, hope filled looks that he was getting.

“I’m a little cold,” Neal lied. “I think I’ll keep it on.”

The sheer look of disappointment on their faces could be equated to a faithful puppy being kicked by its owner.

Griffin eased the wooden frame from his shoulder and laid it in place on the ground as he stretched back up to his full height.

‘Don’t be a spoil sport – give the ladies what they want…’ Griffin chuckled as his brother’s eyes rounded on him.

‘You first,’ Neal grumbled back. ‘Those three might look like innocent little old ladies, but I tell you – there have been some hands in some odd places when they walk by.’

Griffin chuckled inwardly. But, Lucas had to lift his hand to cover his mouth as he bit down on his amusement.

“You know what, Ladies?” Griffin brought all three sets of ravenous eyes back towards him. “You’re right.”

He snagged his shirt and yanked it up and over his head. Three sets of adoring, gleeful, and grateful eyes ate up the broad shoulders, the muscles that were stacked on top of each other up his abdomen, and the smooth, tanned skin that completed the package.

Then, like any good stripper did, he tossed his shirt towards Jane.

“Maybe you could put that somewhere for me, Jane,” he asked with a little wiggle of his dark eyebrows, a glint in his eyes at making their morning, and a heavy bass in his tone that had all three elders swooning.

“Oh…” Jane nodded, but her eyes were back on his chest. “Of course, dear.” She breathed out, but only barely.

Then he turned and gave them a great view of his taut backside as he strolled away. Playing to the crowd of three – he fisted his hands and rolled his shoulders, flexing the muscles in his arms and back.

“He’s such a nice man,” Enid sighed.

“Such a very, very nice man,” Jane agreed with a small nod and a heavenly smile on her lips.

“I could lick him like a lollipop,” Ida said, and the other two elders giggled as Neal and Lucas turned to shoot looks of disbelief at each other.

They didn’t stand around there longer than they had too. Hightailing it after their brother just in case the ladies of the church got any ideas.

“A little hot there, Griffin?” Father Ted asked with the kind of knowing twinkle in his eyes that told the alpha that he knew exactly what those little old ladies were all about.

“It’s going to be a hot one today, Father,” Griffin grinned back.

“Positively melting,” the Father agreed on a small chuckle as he walked on by, his hands full with two big black sacks full of toys for one of the game booths that the brothers were building. “I think my parishioners might need a little sit-down and a cool drink.”

“Couldn’t hurt, Father,” Griffin acknowledged as he kept on stalking towards the truck to the sound of the man’s gentle chuckles.

“Ah, no. It never hurts to give the ladies what they want, now does it?” He grinned. “Your brothers might do well to note that.”

‘Is he telling us to strip?’ Lucas asked.

‘To be a bit more charitable, I think.’ Griffin offered back.

‘Any more charitable and we’ll be building his new church roof for him.’ Lucas grumbled.

‘I already put your name down.’ Griffin lied.

‘Ah, damn it, alpha!’ Lucas grumbled as kicked out at a tuft of grass as they headed back towards the truck.

Enid, Ida, and Jane all scattered to make themselves look busy at the Father walked towards them.