~

I scowled, trying to think of a spell that would scrub him clean of my touch, Eileen’s fall over him, and Moira’s tripping on some part of his body, all of us could have left clues for the police, and the last thing we needed was Jack Mackie pointing fingers at the bad witches again.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Malachi’s teasing tone rang out, and I felt a twitch if annoyance at my lips.

“Good,” I announced, walking towards Eileen and hoisting her to her feet. “Then I needn’t waste my words.”

“Wait…” Malachi said as I manhandled Eileen into Moira and started pushing them towards my car. “I admit it. I lied…”

I shoved Eileen in the back of the vehicle first, and she was sprawled across the back seat like a rug. I sighed. “ You can not be that dumb…” I bit out in frustration.

“Well, excuse me. Drop the magic, and I can read your mind again,” Malachi said as I leaned Moira against the car and half climbed into the back to yank, push and shove Eileen over on the seat.

“Oh, look at that,” Malachi said, and I tossed a look over my shoulder to find him staring at my backside. I pushed back out of the car, yanked Moira sideways and pushed her into the car on top of Eileen. Two cats in a sack would fight it out for space.

I turned and offered the vampire my best death glare. He folded his arms to show me that he wasn’t impressed, and lifted his fingertips to his lips. “Nice view … for my benefit.”

“Bite…yourself,” I said, yanking my clothes back into place as I stalked around the car to the driver’s side.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” he asked, and I couldn’t see his face very well, but I could hear the amusement in his voice.

“If you want to earn brownie points,” I hissed back, yanking open the door, and slipping behind the wheel.

“Put him in the boot?” he called back.

“Nice try,” I called, just before I started the engine and backed away without putting my headlights on.

“Just this once,” he said as if he was sitting in the seat beside me and I bit down on my stupidity. In the whole shock of the dead guy thing and herding my drunken sisters to the car, I’d let my magic slide.

I shivered at the touch of his non-presence.

 

~

 

“When did I lick the cat?” Moira groaned as she turned towards the morning sunlight streaking through the gap in the bedroom curtains, groaned for real and turned back.

“I think that was after you begged Ross to marry you,” I said, holding out the coffee mug just right; that when she screeched and shot up in bed, it was right there under her nose.

“W-hat!?” Her red-rimmed eyes were wide and she looked like she’d been dragged through a few hedges on the way to bed last night – I could neither confirm nor deny that happened.

“Don't scream like a Banshee!” Eileen protested as she pushed up to a sitting position from her makeshift bed on the floor beside the radiator. I held out the second cup of java towards her.

“I don’t remember…” Moira rushed out, as she chewed her tongue and pulled a disgusted face.

“Drink your coffee because last night is about to come back to you in a rush.”

Moira shot me a look of pure suspicion, narrowed eyes and all, but she did take the coffee and sipped it.

“The hair of the dog,” she sighed at the nip of Scotch I’d put in the steaming brew.

“I’m never drinking again,” Eileen groaned.

“Aye, you will. Just do it in moderation next time,” I berated her. “Get yourselves up; we’ve got a family meeting.”

“Oh no,” Moira groaned. “I’d rather a duvet day.”

“Lachlan,” I said, breaking the spell I’d put on them so they could get a decent night’s sleep without that nightmare creeping into their dreams. Me, not so much, but I was getting used to little sleep.

Moira turned a slow look upon me as the memories cut through the blurry haze of the night before. Eileen just offered a small mouse-like squeak.

“Tell me it wasn’t Ross,” Moira said, as much to herself as to anyone else.  

“Get yourselves presentable – it might take a while,” I said, turning away and stalking out of the room, leaving the pair of them in silent contemplation.

I’d had all night to think about it, and all I could come up with was Ross.

I very much doubted Lachlan had dismembered himself, but for Moira’s sake, I didn’t mind putting that theory forward.  

 

~

 

“Moira!” Gran called from her place at the table, but my sister ignored her and headed straight for the front door.

“I got this.” I was already up and hard on her heels. “I’ll drive you,” I called after her as she stormed up the driveway, but she didn’t look back, just muddled with her car keys, almost dropping them as she tossed a quick look at me.

“I need to see him, his uncle just died,” Moira muttered, but her hands were shaking like a leaf, and I wasn’t about to let her go off anywhere without me.

“I’ll take you,” I said again, reaching her and snatching the keys from her hand.

“What about the bistro?”

“Hungry tourists will always find a place to eat.” I yanked open the driver’s door and shooed her around the other side.

“Do you think…?” Moira asked, but stopped short of finishing that question as she stood on the other side of the car and practically begged me to put her out of her misery.

“I try not to because I sometimes come up with the answers that I don’t want to hear.”

“Sounds like a plan. Brain off until we get to Ross’”

“Aye.” I dropped into the driver’s seat and scowled at the interior of her little toy car. While she was getting in, I ripped the stinky scenting thing from the mirror and tossed it out of the door before I closed it. “Default mode it is for you then.”

“Witch,” she muttered.

“And then some.”

 

~ 

 

I saw him in the distance, and my heart lurched. Ross’ car was still parked outside his house, so he was around somewhere, but the sight of Fraser did a lot to make me feel sick to my stomach with worry.

If Fraser was thinking along the same lines that I was, then he was looking to Ross for answers. Normally, I’d be of a mind to say that Ross could look after himself, especially now that he was packing wolf, but Fraser had been a werewolf longer, and that put Ross at a big disadvantage in the fangs and claws department.

“What’s he doing here?” Moira hissed. “Where’s Ross? Do you think he hurt him? If he hurt him, then I’m going to…”

“Slow down. Geez, who put a new battery in you this morning? You’re like the energizer bunny,” I shot back and silenced her into a growl.

She was definitely spending a little too much time with Ross.

“Run him over!” She hissed.

“Why?”

“Call it a pre-emptive strike.”

“Can’t I just call it insanity?”

“You’re slowing down, ramming speed!” She hissed out and even made a little fist and punched the air as she rocked back and forth in her seat like that would make the car go faster.

“I’m not going to kill or maim the guy until I have a reason.” I wasn’t sure where her thirst for blood had come from, but it didn’t suit her.

“It’s Fraser,” she hissed out.

Okay, she had me there.

“Well, he’s better than Lachlan.”

“Nope, Lachlan’s dead, can’t get better than that.”

“Wow.” I had no real answer for that little gem.

I pulled up and got a sneer from my sister. “Should have hit him, but I guess we can do this the old-fashioned way.” She grumbled as she tossed the seatbelt away from her body and started out from the car.

“Oh geez,” I grumbled, following her lead if only to keep her from doing something stupid. But, it was Moira, there was bound to be plenty of stupid to go around.

“Where is he?” Moira and Fraser growled out over the top of each other. “What?” Moira snapped, narrowing her eyes at the man.

“If he killed my alpha…” Fraser growled, his hate-filled eyes were locked onto Moira, and in that instant, I certainly didn’t trust the man and would gladly have thrown him as far as my magic would allow.

“Don’t you mean, father?” I tossed back.

“Both,” Fraser bit out.

“He didn’t,” Moira snapped out Ross’ innocence, curling her top lip and sneering at the man. “How do we know you didn’t do it?”

“What the hell is wrong with your mind?” Fraser growled, looking horrified at my sister’s suggestion.

It wasn’t totally out there, I suppose. It wasn’t like I hadn’t thought about killing Gran a few…billion times. But to do it? No.

“I’m a witch,” Moira tossed back.

“Trust me, it shows.” He growled, but something in the air caught his attention, and he lifted his chin and sniffed. His whole body snapped to attention.

“So, I guess that makes you the alpha now, no?” Moira shot back, bringing his attention back towards her.

“No, the alpha is whoever killed the alpha,” Fraser said, and Moira deflated a little with a grimace for good measure.

That put paid to that short-lived idea. If Fraser had killed his father then he would have done it out in the open with a member of the pack as a witness, but if Ross had killed Lachlan then that made him the alpha – that was not only confusing but an even bigger problem for Ross than his wolf side doing bad stuff.

“Oh,” Moira said, frowning as her mind rushed to take in the news.

Ross, the alpha of a pack, and that pack weren’t even on Skye. Whatever way you looked at that, it wasn’t good.

“Where is he?” Fraser growled.

“Do I look like I have him tagged with GPS?” Moira snorted her contempt for the man. Like either of us was going to tell howling mad fang boy where our friend was, even if we did know.

“Maybe you could be helpful in getting his attention…” Fraser stalked towards her.

Moira and I were of one mind, not literally, but we did both zap him with our magic. That pain brought him to a grinding halt as every muscle in his body locked up tight.

“Maybe we could just shave your wolf and send you off with your tail between your legs,” Moira said, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. The thought of Fraser as a bald wolf just tickled me.

“Fraser!” Ross’ voice boomed out, echoing off the stone of the hills behind him.

“Ross!” Moira bit out, forgetting all about the threat of a miffed off Fraser as she dropped her magic and started towards him.

A heartbeat later and Fraser had managed to fight my magic enough to reach out and yank her towards him. One strong arm was wrapped around her waist, and the other was held out, razor-sharp claws showing, as he eyed me with vengeance in mind.

“Pull back your magic, witch, or I swear…”

Fraser didn’t need to draw me a picture; it was already done. I’d released him, but Ross wasn’t so easy to control. His beast had pushed forward, and for the first time, I saw him as half-man, half-beast with his claws and fangs out.

If I’m being totally honest; I can’t say that look was attractive on him.