~

 

“What are we going to do for Christmas this year? It’s not that far away. Time to start thinking about it,” Monty offered to his mate as he shoveled more earth from the ground.

“You know I don’t do Christmas.” Chloe offered him a look of pure contempt.

“No — I know you didn’t do Christmas when you were a witch — but things change.” Monty grinned at her.

“I’ll get you a twig and some fairy lights,” Chloe snorted back.

“There now — you’re getting into the Christmas spirit already.” Monty chuckled to himself as he shoveled some more earth for the dead man’s grave.

“The only spirit I want at Christmas is a bottle of Scotch,” Chloe said as she inspected her fingernails.

“Sourpuss.”

“Butthead.”

“I’ll get you in the Christmas spirit if it’s the last thing I do,” Monty assured her.

“Then you’d better dig two graves.”

“Oh, how you jest. But tell me, what are you going to do now that you’re back in the inn?”

“Enjoy it.”

“You know you have to be good or Sarah will just turn the deeds over to one of the other witches, and you will be back to square one,” he berated her.

“You’re assuming that she is smarter than she looks.”

“You’ll be sorry.” Monty singsong voice annoyed her.

“Not in this lifetime — and it’s a very, very long lifetime.” Chloe started to sing to herself. “Deck the halls with lots of bodies…”

Monty groaned.

 

~

~

~

 

“What’s on your mind?” Quinn asked his mate as he walked towards the bed that she was sitting up in, and wished that he could lie down beside her.

“You.”

Valerie watched as Quinn almost fell over his own feet, but the man recovered well.

“I’m not surprised. I am a unique specimen of…”

“Hot air?” Valerie’s tone said unimpressed, but her eyes flashed with amusement.

“You mean like a spectacular balloon floating through cloudless summer sky?” Quinn didn’t mind playing along.

“Like a fart.” Valerie didn’t mind it either.

“Good to know.” Quinn started to lower his backside down towards the seat beside the bed, but he only got so far.

“And what do you think you’re doing?” Valerie asked. Quinn hovered in midair.

“They called it sitting when I was a pup,” Quinn offered back. But he neither made a move to stand back up or to sit down.

“Looks to me like you don’t know if you need a poop or not.” Valerie gave a small shrug.

“There are things that I need, but I can assure you that is not one of them.”

“Sure?”

“Certain.”

“In that case — why don’t you climb in here with me?” Valerie asked, and Quinn almost choked on his own tongue. “Unless, of course, you’ve changed your mind.”

“Oh, no, no, no, no, definitely no.” The hungry growl that rolled through his chest amused her.

Valerie liked the fact that she had the power to make the man sound like his beast. It has been many years since she’d had that effect on anybody, least of all a man like Quinn.

It was a heady rush of empowerment. Fuelled by vampire blood, her body had never felt more alive.

 

~

~

~

 

Nathan noted the way that Elizabeth stomped and stalked every step of the way across pack land towards Rick’s cabin. He kind of pitied the man for what he thought was about to come.

“So Rick killed Robert.” Nathan nodded to himself as all of his questions were answered.

It was little wonder that the enforcer was acting in the way that he had been. The unwritten law that was handed down to all shifters that forbid taking a human life unless it was absolutely necessary.

Although, from what Nathan had heard, it might not have been entirely necessary to kill the human, but in his book, it was justified. He didn’t believe there was a shifter out there that would have condemned Rick for his actions and most would have acted in the same way.

But the enforcer probably thought that his mate would see things differently. Only time would tell.

“Well, there it is. Rick’s cabin. Have at it, or him – probably him from the look on your face.” Nathan pointed the way to the large wooden structure that had every window illuminated from inside.

Elizabeth snorted in annoyance. She didn’t say anything to the alpha as she stalked towards the cabin.

“Good luck with that, Rick,” Nathan chuckled to himself as he turned and walked away.

 

~

~

~

 

Rick wasn’t packing. He wasn’t taking a damned thing with him when he left. He knew that walking away from his mate would end badly — probably turn his beast rogue — but he guessed that he deserved it.

The sudden sound of his front door crashing open made his beast roar within him, and it bayed to be set free. The wolf was still sitting just under the surface of his skin after the kill, probably waiting for the moment when it could turn tail and run back to Elizabeth to claim her as their mate.

Rick’s eyes narrowed in confusion as he whirled around to find Elizabeth standing in the open doorway glaring at him as if she thought he was Satan personified. Rick grunted in annoyance — he’d left because he didn’t want a confrontation with her.

“Make me walk all the way out here, why don’t you?” Elizabeth hissed.

“I hear exercise is good for your health,” Rick tossed back. “You weren’t invited.”

“Oh, was I not?” Elizabeth’s hands went to her hips, and she offered him a death glare.

“No,” Rick growled back.

“Screw you,” Elizabeth tossed back.

“If that’s what you want,” Rick growled.

He knew he couldn’t do it. No matter what his words were, there was no way in hell that he could take his mate to bed and then walk away from her.

“It seems to be about what you want.” Her tone was accusing.

“Does it now?”

“Looks that way to me.”

“Then I’m guessing you have your eyes closed,” Rick growled back.

He wanted nothing more than to take her as his mate. That wouldn’t work for her.

Every time that she looked at him, she would remember what he did to the human. He didn’t want that.