~

“I kid you not — I have no sense of humor,” River offered back as he eyed the woman stalking toward him as if she was about to fry him to ashes on the spot.

“No, you just have a bad sense of humor,” Lana tossed back as she ground to a halt on the other side of his car, lifted her hands, and slapped her palms down on top of the sporty number.

River winced. “Not on the car,” he grumbled. He knew that she knew better than to touch his pride and joy, and he also knew that was why she had done it.

“Oh, poor baby,” she said stroking her palms against the gleaming red paintwork and glorying in the screeching sound that came from sweaty palms against the metal.

She could see that River didn’t feel the same way about that sound, about her dragging her hands across his car roof, and she loved the look on his face. It was subtle, but it was there – the man was chewing on an imaginary wasp.

“Lana,” he warned.

“Did the bad, wicked witch touch a nerve?”

“I’m guessing that belongs to you?” River tossed a nod behind her, and she flicked a look back over her shoulder, doing a double take at the sight of the beta running down the street toward her.

She groaned inwardly and turned her attention back toward the vampire.

“Now is not a good time for me,” Lana rushed out, pushing away from the car with her palms against the roof and noting when the man winced once more.

“Want to get out of here?” His voice was teasing, and Lana hated that. The man knew he had the upper hand, and that irritated her right down to the bone. “I have a super speedy fast ride.”

“Tempting,” she said, backing away from the vehicle, but as she turned back toward her car, River was standing there blocking her way.

Damn vampires!

“Where is she?” River asked, determined to play out his cards while he had the upper hand.

“Ever get the feeling that somebody doesn’t want to be found by you?” Lana tossed back, bending at the hip to look around him as Cary closed the distance between them.

“No. People love me,” his dry tone said it all.

“Define people,” she said, snapping back to attention in front of him and eager to be on her way.

“Am I keeping you something?” He was back to teasing again, but she was in the no mood for his antics.

“A possible fate worse than death, and when I say fate…” She offered him a death glare.

“A mate,” he chuckled, but she couldn’t see the funny side of it.

“I have to get out of here, and now,” Lana said, sidestepping to the left, and he matched her move.

“Where is she?” he demanded.

“What part of now didn’t you understand?”

“the part where I didn’t get what I came for. Does this belong to you?” he called back over his shoulder at the beta who was closing in fast.

“Damn it, River,” she bit out as she tightened her hands into her fists at her sides, and even lifted her left foot and stomped it on the ground with frustration.

“Tantrums, Princess?” He grinned, folding his arms and showing her that he had all the time in the world to wait it out.

“Oh, you can bite me,” she bit out.

“No — no, he can’t,” Cary roared.

Time was up; the beta was practically on top of them. A heartbeat later and Lana felt a large hand that was wrapped around her wrist, and she squealed as he yanked her sideways, spun her in place, and placed her behind his back.

Lana didn’t appreciate being turned into a spinning top.

“Back away from my mate,” Cary growled.

“If I wanted a bloody head rush I would go to the fairground,” Lana bit out.

“I have this,” Cary growled, motioning toward the vampire.

“And you can keep him,” Lana hissed. “Make him a damn pet for all I care, just keep your mucho, testosterone-fuelled self away from me.”

“So much gratitude — how like a witch,” River chuckled.

“You don’t address my mate…”

“Excuse me?” Lana bit out with a small chuckle of disbelief. “I can speak for myself, you know.”

“Unfortunately, I noticed,” Cary offered back over one broad shoulder and grunted as he bit down on the pain of her jabbing him in the back of the ribs.

“Watch her — she’s a mean one,” River chuckled, he would have enjoyed it all the more if she’d given up what he wanted to know, but there were other ways to get her to talk.

“Yeah, I noticed that,” Cary bit out.

“Well, why don’t you two just get all snuggled and close and I’ll be seeing you?” Lana said as she sidestepped from behind Cary’s back, and the beta took a sideways step in front of her again to block her path, keeping his body between her and the vampire.

“Don’t move,” Cary growled out what sounded like an order to her ears. Bad move on the beta’s part.

“You can’t tell me what to do,” Lana hissed. “I’ll do a damn jig if I feel like it.”

“Now, that I’d like to see,” River said, grinning from ear to ear when she pitched sideways to glare around the beta at him. “I bet that fast ride out of town is looking pretty damn good right about now, isn’t it?”

“You can both get over yourselves,” Lana hissed out. “I’ve had enough. I’m out of here…”

“No, you’re not!” They both said together. The men eyed each other for a long moment.

“We’re you two separated at birth or something?” She snapped and brought their attention back her way.

“Just stay behind my damn back,” Cary growled.

“Just tell me where she is,” River said at the same time as the beta had issued his order.

“Okay, you need to stand down and get a grip on yourself,” she berated the beta before turning her attention back to the vampire.

“You might want to rephrase that,” River grinned.

“As for you…” She lifted her index finger and pointed it at the vampire, but she never got a chance to finish.

“He tried to kill you…” Cary growled.

“No, he didn’t…”

“No, I didn’t!” They said together, and the beta grunted in annoyance.

“I saw him try to run you off the road with his car.”

“That car?” Lana asked pointing at the sporty number.

“Do you see another car?” Cary growled.

“Run me off the road with his baby, his pride, and joy, his pimp mobile?” Lana snorted a chuckle.

“Pimpmobile?” River shot her a glare.

“Oh, did I hurt the poor little car’s feelings?” She babied the man, and he cocked an eyebrow at her. Cary grumbled something under his breath, but it was the low, warning growl that he offered to the vampire that snagged her attention.

“Yes,” River tossed back. “And mine.”

“Good!” Lana and Cary said.

“Okay, enough of play time – where is she?” River demanded.

“She who?” Cary bit out. If they were fighting about someone that was going to cause a problem for the pack, then he wanted to know about it.

“Frankie,” River said, distracted by the beta’s impatience for a moment. “Witch, thorn in my side, pain in my a…”

“Leave her alone,” Lana grumbled. “She’s fine.”

“This is fine?” River swept a hand around him at the lack of anything that could be classed as civilization. “She’s in the land that modern everything forgot – how is that fine?”

“But gee, we’ll be getting electricity next year.” Sarcasm dripped from the beta’s voice as he shot a glare at the vampire.

“That’s cute, I’ll expect to see you on the comedy circuit,” River offered back with a small sneer. He guessed he did just trash his town. “Frankie needs me.”

“Who’s Frankie?” Cary asked.

“Frankie needs you about as much as she needs a hole in the head. Let’s not forget who sent trouble her way in the first place,” Lana sniped back as she ignored the latest demand.

“What trouble?” Cary demanded.

“I’ll admit that I recommended her, but the rest is not my fault,” River said in a hot denial of the circumstances.

“Recommended her to who?”

Cary was getting frustrated by the lack of information coming his way. It was his town, and he had a pack, and now a mate to look out for, defend, and die for if necessary — although, now that he’d found his mate, he’d rather not bite the bullet just yet.

“Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear…” River said, but the beta cut him off.

“Somebody needs to make things clear to me before I start cracking heads.”

“Heads — as in plural?” Lana asked, cocking an eyebrow in his direction.

“Head.” He pulled his head back on his neck, “I said head — as in one — one head.”

“No, you didn’t,” River offered back. “And I have perfect hearing.”

“Well bully for you,” the beta snapped. “You won’t have a damn head on your neck in a minute, and that will make your damn ears pretty much redundant.”