~

 

Saffy looked at Natalie and shrugged. Natalie took a moment and then shrugged back.

“Well, you need to do what you need to do,” Natalie offered.

Both witches jumped in place at the crashing sound that came from the door. Wood splintered from the frame as the door shot backward on its hinges, and the alpha had to toss up a hand to stop it when it came back at his face.

Doug’s eyes were jet black. His chin was low toward his chest. There was a rumble of a deep, angry growl.

“It is your bedroom door, after all,” Natalie said and then flashed him a big, teasing grin.

“She got you there, brother,” Jonathan chuckled from somewhere behind him.

“It’s not funny,” Doug growled.

“So not funny,” Jonathan chuckled.

“Is it wrong that I have the need to kill someone?” The alpha asked.

“Don’t look at me,” Jonathan said.

“Or us!” Natalie warned him.

“I’ve never killed a female — yet,” Doug growled back at her.

“Don’t you threaten us,” Saffy scowled at the man.

“Did you hear me threaten them, brother?” Doug tossed back over his shoulder.

“Threaten – no. More of a not-so-subtle warning, but, yeah, I could see how…”

“Don’t make me hurt you, brother,” Doug growled.

“I think he has anger issues,” Natalie said to Saffy.

“I think you’re right,” Saffy nodded in return.

“I didn’t — I do now,” Doug growled.

“Perhaps you should lie down,” Natalie said.

“Take the weight off,” Saffy chimed in.

“Maybe you’re not cut out for this whole alpha thing,” Natalie offered.

“That’s so true. I should imagine it takes a special kind of an idiot to be alpha,” Saffy said.

“Are you trying to make me angry?” The alpha growled as he scowled back at the witches.

“Gee, I don’t know,” Natalie rolled her eyes towards her friend. “Are we trying to make him angry?”

“Well, doh,” Saffy offered back.

“Make it stop,” Doug grumbled to no one in particular.

“Where’s your Christmas spirit, alpha?” Natalie chuckled.

“Good question. Brother, go get me a bottle of Scotch,” Doug growled.

“I thought you wanted me to sniff the witches?” Jonathan asked.

“I have a problem with that,” Saffy said.

“Me too,” Natalie folded her arms and scowled at the brothers.

“Me three, but apparently I can’t get out of it,” Jonathan grumbled.

“Wait — why is he going to sniff us?” Saffy asked.

There was a slow-to-boil, wolfish grin that spread over the alpha’s face and it filled Saffy with dread. The alpha had something up his sleeve, not that he was wearing sleeves, but she had a terrible feeling that he knew something she didn’t.

More importantly — she suspected that it was going to be something that she didn’t like.

“Oh, I’m so glad you asked me that question.” There was a not-so-subtle rumble of a growl that went along with his words as the alpha’s eyes lit up with glee.

“I’m not,” Jonathan grumbled.

“Would you get to the punchline?” Natalie demanded.

“One of you is my mate,” the alpha said.

“Tell us something we don’t know,” Natalie sighed.

“The other one is his mate,” Doug announced and watched with pure and unadulterated glee as both witches were dumbstruck, only managing a small squeak between them.

“It feels like you really enjoyed that, Doug,” Jonathan said.

“You have no idea,” Doug chuckled.

“That’s not right!” Natalie was the first to respond with a shrill like tone that hurt the shifters ears.

“That’s not possible!” Saffy joined in.

“What are the odds?” Natalie bit out in disbelief.

“Has to be one in a billion,” Saffy offered back, her voice almost breaking with panic.

“I bet the window thing looks really, really, really, good right now, doesn’t it?” Natalie demanded of her friend and her previous need to poo-poo that idea.

“You’re bloody telling me!” Saffy shot back.

“Ah, so now you’re interested?” Natalie grumbled.

“Well, yeah! Before I thought you were the alpha’s mate — now all bets are off. It doesn’t matter which…”

“It matters to me!” The alpha growled. Natalie ignored him.

“So you’re saying, that you would have willingly thrown me under the bus to save yourself?” Natalie demanded.

“Oh, like you wouldn’t have. You’re the one who said so downstairs. I’m just returning the favor.” Saffy shot back with a small chuckle of disbelief.

“Do they do this a lot?” Jonathan asked the alpha as he scowled at the witches sniping at each other.

“From what I can tell — all the damn time,” Doug growled back.

“Yeah, about that sniffing thing…” Jonathan got no further.

“Too late now. You already got their scent downstairs — you’re hooked. Suck it up.” The alpha chuckled.

“Okay, sniffing time…”

“No!” Both witches squealed out the word at the same time.

“Quick. Do your thing,” Saffy squealed to Natalie and backed her words up with actions by nudging her in the ribs with her elbow.

“He feels hot, full of snot, let’s be bold — give him a cold,” Natalie snapped her fingers, and she forced her magic out toward the beta.

“Yuck!” Saffy gave her friend a look of disgust. “Snot?”

“Hey, I was spelling on the fly,” Natalie said with a small shrug of her shoulders.

The beta sneezed, it was loud, it was deep, and it was snotty.

“That’s…” Saffy grimaced. “Attractive.”

“You know I’m a shifter, right?” Jonathan asked and sneezed again. “I heal quickly.” He sneezed again.

“Not when you are spelled, you don’t?” Natalie grinned from ear to ear.

“Damn it brother; you should have sniffed them when you had the chance!” The alpha growled.

“How was I to know they were underhanded?” Jonathan said and then sneezed again.

“They’re witches?” Doug opened his hands and motioned towards them.

“I screwed up,” Jonathan grumbled, then sneezed. “Is my nose swelling up?” He turned to look at the alpha and Doug growled back at him, then his face twisted, and he sneezed again.

“If it isn’t already then it will be when I punch you,” Doug growled.

“Anger issues,” Saffy said as she leaned in a little towards Natalie like they were conspirators, which, of course, they were.

“Gee, I wonder why?” Doug growled back.

“You know…?” Jonathan sneezed. “It doesn’t matter how long it takes for the spell to wear off. You two aren’t going anywhere.” He informed them in a rush of words before he sneezed again.

“We’ll see about that!” Natalie said.

“There are other ways to determine a mate,” Doug warned them.

“Don’t you dare!” Saffy gasped in a breath of disbelief at the thought of it.

“You wouldn’t know which mate you were kissing,” Natalie said as she threw her hands up onto her hips and scowled at the man.