~

 

Penny woke up with a start. She found herself face down on the pillow and gasping for a pure breath.

She pushed her upper body off the bed and flipped over onto her back like a beached whale – although, she hoped that all those chocolates and cake that she consumed in her lifetime hadn’t given her that much girth just yet. She liked to think of herself as curvy in all the right places.

She stared up at the wood paneling of the ceiling and groaned inwardly. She was still in hell and with the added benefit of having a wolf on her tail.

She’d heard those shifter’s talking the night before. Mates. They were mates, and she was done for.

It had taken her forever to get to sleep after that. But, as usual, once she was finally asleep then she’d slept the sleep of the dead.

Even if she had some weird dreams of shifters, vampires, and a rather sexy encounter with the shifter from the woods that she’d managed to kick in the crown jewels a few times.

She guessed that man was her mate.

Big, muscle bound shifter with the impossibly broad shoulders and those dark eyes that had reached out into her dreams.

As sexy as hell and just like Satan himself – that man was a tempting sight.

I could certainly go a few rounds with him, and I don’t think I’d be kicking him in the balls.

But a mate – like – for life?

That’s a different prospect altogether.

I know we’re supposed to be soul mates, and ergo, compatible, but, what the hell do I have in common with a shifter that lives in the middle of nowhere?

Keri certainly has a lot to answer for.

I’m in my early twenties – couldn’t fate have at least waited until I was done exploring life and ready to settle down?

I mean, come on – shifters – pups – and bonding?

Next fate will be throwing me a sign that I need to join a new fangled religion or something.

The sound of a loud, dull thud echoed through the pod, and she shot up in bed too deep shouts that went back and forth outside the sanctuary of her glorified shed.

What the hell are they doing out there?

Oh, maybe they’re getting ready to hook up the plods and cart them away?

That would be bad.

So very, very bad that I don’t even want to think about swinging in the air from a crane or something.

What if it snaps?

What if the plod falls?

What if Isla of Keri get hurt?

Men are so dumb that it’s not even worth thinking about.

Shifters … they’re the worst!

I need to put a stop to this.

But how?

She tossed her legs over the edge of the bed and pushed up to her full height. She’d had the mind and the wherefore to take the fastest shower in history the night before to wash all of the mud from her bruised body, and she’d tossed on some more clothes like it was a speed round in a drinking game. Just in case those mutts found their way inside, and as she steeled her resolve to end the shifters bad idea before it had even begun.

She forced herself to move, one step, then another towards the door, as she wrapped her wards around her body and drew her magic to her fingertips.

She didn’t know what she was going to do, but she was sure going to enjoy zapping their backsides if they wouldn’t listen to reason.

Penny drew the wards from the door and reached for the handle – another round of shouting made her press forwards, and she opened the door and stuck her head outside to the sight of people everywhere.

“What in hell’s name is happening here…?” She muttered to herself, as her eyes fell on Father Ted, and she swallowed down hard.

Fate – you might think that’s funny, but I can tell you – it’s not!

“Good morning!” Father Ted called to her, on a wave, and a smile.

Penny snapped her head back on her neck and scowled at the man, then guilt kicked her up the backside, and she stretched a grimaced smile across her face.

“Morning…”

I am not joining his religion – no way – no how – no sir!

I’m a witch; you hear me fate?

A witch!

It’s so not happening.

You can take your sign from God right back and shove it up your.

“Nice day for the summer fair,” he called, and she scowled.

“Yep,” she answered, confused.

What bloody summer fair?

She caught sight of someone big, broad, and fast that was coming in her direction, and her eyes snapped sideways to offer him a death glare.

She swallowed hard at the sight of the man from the previous night’s debacle in the woods and snatched her head back from the gap in the doorway – meaning to yank the door closed – when the Father piped up again.

“Oh, Neal, could you give Frank a hand?”

Neal ground to a halt just feet from his mate and grumbled a growl as he fisted his hands and narrowed his eyes on the witch. He looked as if he couldn’t make up his mind if he needed the toilet or not.

“Yes, Neal … give the man a hand,” Penny muttered, offering him a small, sly grin of enjoyment at his predicament.

The shifter looked trapped. Caught between a rock and a hard place.

He knew that he couldn’t exactly woo her right then and there with everyone around him, and certainly not with the Father watching his every move, but, he was eager to try.

He took a slow step to the side, as if his whole body was torn between doing the man’s bidding, and racing over to grab his mate before she locked herself away again.

With a grunt of annoyance, he turned his whole, large body, and started away from the pod, and Penny let out a long sigh of breath.

Saved by the church, there’s a turn up for the books if ever there was one.

Now, to get the others out of their plods and away from here before the mating pull kicks us all in the backside.

 

 

~

~

~

 

‘Brothers, our mates are emerging from their little wooden cocoons.’ Neal informed his siblings as he dutifully did the priest’s bidding and went off to help Frank out.

He’d much rather be on the other side of the field wooing his mate, but how much attention could he draw to himself by telling the priest that he had other plans?

Neal noted the way that both of his brothers heads snapped around to watch the witches emerge from their pods, one by one to the sound of the rapid knocking of their friend on the doors.

Both men found themselves in much the same predicament that he was in.

‘Too many humans to play kiss chase…’ Lucas warned, and Neal chuckled at his brother’s words.

‘Kiss chase? Are you five?’

‘I’m trying not to use words that will hyper my wolf here – but, feel free to get your beast into a good frenzy so that you have to turn tail and go home, Brother.’ Lucas offered back.

He’d painted a vivid picture of their problems. Each man had a wolf, and each wolf had a need, and with so many humans around; those needs had to be knocked on the head.

A moment later and Lucas felt the hard bite of pain tear through his hand – he let out a yelp as his thumb got caught between the pole and the metal brace that the human was tightening around the structure, and he wrenched his hand back and rapidly shook it out.

“Mother…” he bit out but caught the second part of that curse as his eyes met Enid’s.

The old woman was barely containing the twinkle of amusement in her eyes and the chuckle on her tongue as she stared back at him.

Lucas shoved his thumb in his mouth and tried to suck away the throbbing pain. It also stopped him cursing out loud.

“Suits you,” he heard the muttered tones of his mate loud and clear, even from that distance.

The deep growl of annoyance that was trying its best to roll through his chest escaped to his throat, just a little, just enough that the man that had inflicted his pain shot him a startled look.