~

“Look what fate sent you for a mate,” River offered Lana a smug grin, but she wasn’t taking the bait. Instead, she rolled her eyes and sighed as the shifter growled another warning at the vampire.

“Don’t start,” Lana warned him.

“That fast ride out of town is still on offer, just tell me where your witchy friend is,” River said as he wiggled his eyebrows at her in an effort to tempt her to his way of thinking.

“Don’t test my patience,” Cary growled the warning at him, and he meant it. You didn’t get between mates.

“You have patience? How unusual for a shifter,” the vampire offered back, uncaring of the man’s short fuse or threats.

“Can you not?” Lana bit out, annoyed that the vampire was trying to make the situation go from bad to very, very bad. “You know that shifters have no sense of humor.”

“It’s life, Jim, but not as we know it,” the vampire chuckled.

“I have a sense of humor,” Cary growled.

“Yes, it sounds like your Mr. Chuckles,” Lana tossed back with a deadpan look for the man.

“Once I get rid of the vampire then I’ll show you just how damn funny I can be,” Cary said, lifting his chin as if he was about to sniff the air. He didn’t appreciate his mate’s attitude.

“Can’t wait,” Lana bit out in a dry tone that left him in no doubt about how she really felt.

She’d already run once; he wasn’t exactly optimistic that she wasn’t going to do it again. Then there was the damn vamp trying to lure her away – he needed to get rid of the man.

“Me either,” the vampire piped up, then the bloodsucker took a long moment to think about it. “Oh wait, how unfortunate that I won’t be around to see it.” His tone was even drier than his mate’s had been.

“This isn’t a game to me — this is my mate,” Cary informed the vampire, and River spanned his hands out at his sides and shrugged his shoulders.

“All your little mate has to do is tell me where her witch friend is — it’s not complicated,” he informed the shifter, stirring the pot, and trying to get the man on his side.

“Not going to happen — get over yourself,” Lana tossed back.

“I just want to protect her…”

“She doesn’t need protecting…”

“All females need protecting…”

“Only in your male eighteenth-century brain.” Lana snorted her contempt for the man.

“I have to agree with the vampire on that one,” Cary said and got a glare from his mate for his trouble. He regretted it already.

“Shocker,” Lana said with a sneer that lifted her top lip.

“If he doesn’t want to do her harm — then what’s the problem with him knowing where she is?” Cary reasoned.

He never thought that he’d be on the side of the vampire, but there it was. He could see the man’s point of view, and it was the perfect opportunity to get him out of their lives so that he could start to woo his mate. His wolf liked the idea.

Mine…

“So, you’re siding with him now?”

“Not — siding with him…” Cary gave a small shrug of his shoulders and winced at her words. He was walking a fine line, and he knew it, but it was still a good idea.

She was his mate; perhaps it would have been better if he’d backed up her position, but he’d never had a mate before and was relying on reason rather than emotion. No vampire equaled one less problem in his book, and that worked for him.

“I have to say…” Lana said, but then she decided to take a moment to consider her words more carefully.

“Yes?” Cary asked, impatient to find out if she was truly mad at him or not.

“You’re an idiot,” Lana shrugged.

“Now hold on a minute,” Cary turned toward her, but she was already on her way to her car.

“I hope you and the vampire will be very happy together,” Lana tossed back over her shoulder.

“Say what?” The beta growled, confused, as he narrowed his eyes at the sway of her backside and tried to get his big brain to work once his little brain had taken over.

“You’re obviously more suited to him than me,” Lana reasoned as she walked around the open driver’s door of the car. She had him distracted, and that was a good thing because she’d made it to her car without him even really noticing.

“That’s not…” Cary growled.

“You do realize that your mate is about to get away?” River pointed out what the witch was up to.

Lana snapped to attention at the duplicity of the vampire, damn traitor. She squeaked in surprise and tried to make it into the driver’s seat, but that wasn’t happening — with a strong arm wrapped around her waist, she was yanked backward against the solid chest of the beta and trapped against his hard body.

“You slimy little toad,” Lana bit out.

“I’m a what?” Cary grumbled another growl.

“Not you — him,” Lana hissed as she pointed an accusing finger at the vampire. “But if the slime trail fits then wear it with pride.” She tossed back over her shoulder at her mate.

“Isn’t she just a pleasure to be around?” The vampire chuckled, and his eyes flashed with glee.

When the beta only grumbled something under his breath, Lana turned a dark glare over her shoulder at him. Cary groaned as he closed his eyes for just a second and cursed the vampire.

That man could get a Saint in trouble — not that he was a saint — but still.

 

~

~

 

Frankie had the urge to kill someone — probably the alpha that was lying on top of her — but, anyone would have done at that moment in time. The fact that she was pinned to the bed with his dead weight lying on her hips and legs didn’t exactly fill her with glee, and she’d tried to wiggle her way up the bed and out from under him, but that wasn’t working either.

“It was a really smart idea of yours to zap me,” Rock grumbled on a growl of annoyance.

Unfortunately, his ability to speak hadn’t been lost to him. She made a mental note to correct that oversight the very next time that she zapped someone.

“Yes, it was right up there with your stupid idea to throw me over your shoulder like a prize, caveman,” she hissed back.

His head was tucked face down by her hip as he fought to rid his body of the inability to move, and she screwed up her face and sneered as she flicked her fingers close to his mop of wayward hair.

“Don’t get any ideas,” Rock growled the warning.

Frankie poked her tongue out at him, because she could, and because he wasn’t looking at her at the time. Then she screwed up her face and flicked his head again, catching him and making him grunt in annoyance, she grimaced and pulled her hand back to a safe distance.

While she hadn’t meant to flick him, and after a small moment of shock that she’d actually caught him, she couldn’t help but smile.

“Me, ideas, perish the thought,” she sneered back.

“ Because I am getting the ability to move back in my limbs…” he warned her.

“Then could you move, you’re kind of making my legs go to sleep, and it’s uncomfortable…”

“And whose fault is that?” He growled in annoyance. It wasn’t his damn choice to be a paralyzed lump of meat.

“Yours — if you didn’t weigh so much…”

“And, of course, it has nothing to do with you zapping me?” Rock grumbled. “You were completely blameless in all of this…”

“Glad you agree. So, when do you think you’ll be able to get the hell off me?”

“You really don’t need to tell people you’re a witch, do you?” Rock growled.

“That’s it…” She bit out.

Then she pulled on her magic and used it to toss the alpha away from her body.

Admittedly, when he hit the floor with a loud thud, she did grimace — she hadn’t meant to thrust him so hard that he rolled and carried on going until he’d disappeared over the edge of the bed. But … bonus.

But the good news was — she was now free to get up. She just needed to wait until the pins and needles in her toes went away.