~
“So, how do we get them out of the house?” Grayson grumbled.
“You could start a fire and smoke them out,” Dusty offered.
“Witches — fire — that doesn’t feel like a good idea somehow,” Raff chuckled. “Although, it does take me back…”
“Nobody is starting a damn fire,” Parker growled. He eyed his younger brother as if he’d never seen him before. “What planet are you from?”
“The one where I don’t get a witch mate,” Dusty offered back, and his eyes flashed with amusement. “But good luck with that.”
“You could always shout; come out, come out, wherever you are, and see if they run out squealing like piggies,” Raff offered, and the alpha grunted in annoyance.
“Can we have sensible suggestions?” Parker growled.
“Probably not,” Raff said.
“Then go home,” Grayson growled.
“And miss out on the squealing piggies? Never,” the vampire offered back.
“Well, at least one of us is enjoying this,” Parker growled.
“Two,” Dusty chuckled.
“Your turn will come one day, brother,” Grayson growled. “And then it's payback.”
“Not with a witch, it won’t.” Dusty grinned from ear to ear.
“Because that didn’t just tempt fate to kick you up the backside and get you a witch mate,” Raff said with a snort of amusement.
“Better a witch mate, then Dusty-no-mate, brother,” Grayson growled.
“Let’s see if you still feel the same way in a year, brother,” Dusty rallied back.
“The fact remains, you still need to get those mates out of that house before you can woo them,” the vampire stated the obvious, and the alpha grunted in annoyance. “I don’t think the wooing thing works well through brick and mortar, but who am I to judge?”
“The mating part certainly won’t work,” Dusty said.
“Why get them out? I’m going in,” the alpha growled.
“Well, if you’re going in and then so am I,” Grayson said.
“This should be good,” Raff said. He clapped his hands together and rubbed them hard as if he could actually warm them.
“You take the front, and I’ll take the back,” Parker growled.
One way or the other and even under pain of death; he wasn’t going to be kept from his mate a moment longer.
~
~
“We have movement — Yep, they’re definitely on the move,” Paige said as she stood by the window, a glass of wine in her hand, and watched what the group were doing outside.
“Relax, the moment I started working for the vampire I made sure to put wards up, they can try, but they’re not getting through that door,” Mel informed them with a small shrug of her shoulders before she sipped at her wine.
“I hope you did a good job because the beta is coming to the front door,” Paige offered back over her shoulder, but she didn’t look around because she couldn’t take her eyes from the activity outside.
The alpha had disappeared, but the mean looking beta was headed right for them.
“He can huff, and he can puff, but he ain’t getting that door down,” Mel chuckled into her glass.
Three hard thuds on the front door echoed through the house, and Mel chuckled at the futility of the beta’s actions.
“Open it up — or I’ll break it down,” Grayson’s deep voice echoed through the hallway.
“You’re sure you did a good job on the wards?” Kat eyed her sister with a big dose of scepticism. It was Mel.
“That front door is as safe as houses — no pun intended,” Mel sniggered.
There was a boom like thunder had hit the roof and it echoed through the hallway, and Paige snorted a chuckle as she watched the beta bounce back off the front door, and almost land on his backside before correcting his stance.
Grayson rolled his shoulders, dropped his chin down toward his chest, and eyed the door with contempt.
“Yep, he bounced right off,” Paige chuckled.
“The back door is a little more flimsy, let’s hope it holds up,” Kat said.
She caught the look on Mel’s face — horror mixed with realisation and a dash of guilt with a big old dollop of sheepishness — she swallowed down hard.
“Oh — no,” Mel grimaced, and Kat couldn’t get the little squeal out of the back of her throat.
“You didn’t do the back door?” Paige said, immediately springing into action, but it was already too late.
The loud crack of the wood as the door frame gave way signalled that the house had been breached. Paige ground to a halt just before the doorway, and nobody moved as the heavy sound of footsteps against the hardwood floor came toward the room.
Paige took one large step back as the alpha filled the door frame with his hard body. His eyes were locked and loaded on the twins.
“Looks like I’ve got some sniffing to do,” Parker growled.
“Stuff him up with the cold or flu, make his nose full of goo,” Paige said as she launched the rest of her glass of wine in his face and added a dash of her magic.
“What the…?” Parker growled with annoyance as he lifted his hand and rubbed it over his face to get rid of the wine.
“That was a waste of good wine,” Mel sniggered.
“Goo?” Kat asked.
“Hey, I was winging it,” Paige hissed back on a scowl for her sister. “I didn’t see you two doing anything and rushing to your own rescue. But, you’re welcome.”
“Now, I’d be really impressed if you could change him into a mouse,” Mel grinned from ear to ear as the alpha snapped a look of disbelief in her direction.
“Rat,” Kat offered with a smirk for her twin.
“Ferret would be good,” Mel said.
“Ferret?” The alpha narrowed his eyes at Mel.
“With a little twitchy nose,” she lifted her hands just under her chin and curled them into paws, as she twitched her nose, and pursed her lips.
“Cute,” Parker sneered back.
“It would definitely suit his personality,” Kat said, folding her arms and eyeing him with disdain.
“One of you is my mate,” he grumbled. “And I’m going to find out which one.”
“With a blocked nose and no sense of smell?” Mel snorted a chuckle. “Good luck with that, chuckles.”
“What did I miss?” Grayson said as he came down the hallway behind his brother. He hadn’t been able to get through the front door — but his brother had given him the heads up that the back door was open.
“Quick — sniff them!” Parker growled, as he reached out for Paige, yanked her towards him, turned her back against his chest, and placed his hand over her mouth so she couldn’t utter another spell.
“With pleasure!” Grayson growled.