CHAPTER EIGHT

 

 

~

 

“Hey!” Emily bit out as she stalked to the threshold of the cottage and offered the vampire a death glare as she tried to figure out the best way to retrieve Bree from his hold, and not throw herself to the wolves, or in this case – the vampire, in the process. “Let the witch go.”

“This witch?” Jai asked with a devilish smile on his lips, but his eyes held no amusement.

“Ya think, batty-boy?” Emily sneered back, and he could see that her hands at her sides were itching, twitching, to unleash her magic on him, and he wasn’t prepared to give her that option.

Mason grumbled a growl at the predicament that the witch was in. Bree wasn’t exactly on the top of his Christmas card list if he had one, but she wasn’t a food group either. “Let the witch go,” he growled and noted the way that the vampire turned his body just so that he could keep an eye on everyone in the area.

“Love too,” Jai tossed back. “When that witch comes out of that house.” He nodded at Emily, and she raised her left eyebrow back at him, and her chin went up in defiance.

“What the hell has gotten into you, vampire?” Thorn demanded. He’d known the vampire all of his life, and he’d never seen the man act out like that before. He had to figure that the witches really must have done a number on him.

“I wish I knew,” Jai muttered, and he noted that Bree twisted her head to look up at him.

“Ummm,” Bree winced, wondered, and then grimaced.

Jadi didn’t like that look on her face. He hadn’t known her long, but he did know that when she did that, it usually meant trouble. “Something you want to share?”

“Me?” Her eyes widened a little too much in innocence, her voice was slightly hesitant, and she couldn’t quite meet him eye to eye.

“I thought we were friends,” Jai tossed back.

“Did you now?” she said as she looked anywhere but at the vampire. She had a feeling that she knew exactly what had gotten into him — but, did she really want to admit it?

“No, not really, but there was the hope of friendship,” Jai offered back in the hopes of enticing the little witch to spit out whatever it was that was on her tongue that she couldn’t bring herself to say.

“Was there now?” Bree tossed back.

“Bree,” Martha’s no-nonsense tone made Bree want to groan.

“Yes, Yoda?” Bree offered back, but she couldn’t look at Martha any more than she could look at the vampire.

“You didn’t?”

“I consider that a rhetorical question,” Bree shot back.

“How is that a rhetorical question?” Martha grumbled.

“Someone want to let me in on the secret?” Jai demanded.

“Agreed,” Mason and Thorn growled as one.

“Secret?” Bree tried for innocent and failed.

“I know that look, little witch,” Martha tossed back at her. If she could just get Bree to look her in the eye, then she’d know for sure. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“That chocolate cake sounds good right about now?” Bree tossed back.

“What is it with witches and chocolate cake?” Jon grumbled.

“Is that really the question you want to ask right now?” Mason growled.

“Well, now seems as good a time as any — as I don’t know the answer,” Jon said with a shrug of his shoulders.

“What did you do?” Mason berated the witch.

“Yes, what did you do?” Emily said.

“Why do I always get the blame?” Bree asked.

“You seriously need an answer for that question?” Jai said.

Bree rolled her eyes to the sky and considered that for a moment. Then she offered a small sneer along with a slight shrug. “No, not really.”

Mason turned a pleading look on Martha. “What did she do this time?”

Martha took a deep breath, held it, and then sighed it out. “I think she called his mate.”

And with those words, all hell broke loose.

 

 

~

 

 

“His what?” the alpha growled in surprise.

“You did w-hat now?” Emily demanded as she offered Bree a death glare to match all death glares that had ever been undertaken.

“Interesting,” Jon said as Joel whooped with laughter.

“Well, congratulations,” Thorn growled. “It’s a – witch.” That thought was particularly unpalatable, but still, he was happy for his friend.

“I did so bloody well not call his stupid mate!” Bree bit out in a rush of denial.

“Stupid? Hello?” Emily snapped back.

“Not – stupid is as stupid does,” Bree offered back with a look of apology followed by a grimace of knowing she’d put her foot in her mouth with that one.

“Well, that explains it,” Jai bit out to nobody in particular as he let Bree go.

“So,” Martha bit out. “All’s fair in love and war, and I can get back to my planting.”

“W-wait!” Emily bit out. She didn’t know the elder witch, but she thought that she could use all the help she could get in warding off the vampire. A mate! No way!

“You need me to hold your hand?” Martha bit out, but the sarcasm in her tone said it all.

“Yes,” Emily snapped back.

“Too bad,” Martha shrugged, and then turned back toward the alpha’s pickup truck, and walked straight into Thorn. “Stupid place to install a fathead man-wall,” she grumbled.

“Now you see why I wouldn’t allow witches within ten miles of the pack?” Thorn growled at Mason.

“Well, don’t you feel silly,” Martha hissed back. “I only live three miles away.”

“Pesky witch,” Thorn growled as he stared down into her wicked, mischievous eyes, and from the look that she was giving him — he half expected to turn into a pillar of salt.

“Butthead Wolf,” she snapped back.

“Okay, can we get back to my little problem?” Emily asked.

Martha tossed a look back at the witch over her shoulder, “kiddo, you’re on your own. One thing I won’t mess with — and that’s mates.”