~

 

Penny ran as fast as she could, and with every slippery step on the soaking wet ground, with her soaking wet boots, she cursed Keri’s stupid decision to bring them to the countryside.

She could hear the sound of heavy panting from all around her, but she couldn’t pinpoint which way it was coming from as the winds picked up and rustled the foliage above her.

She broke from the main bulk of the woods and spotted the three big structures in the field not too far away, and her heart hit her ribs in the hope that she’d discovered her temporary home.

She was dog tired and running on nothing but adrenaline, but with a last ditch blast of everything that she still had left inside of her; she pumped her arms through the air, and made a beeline for those darkened shadows.

A heartbeat later and something hit her hard. With a shriek of the breath that was knocked out of her lungs.

She flew sideways through the air; hit the mud face down, and momentum made her roll over the wet, soggy ground. When she finally came to a stop, she was laying on her back looking up at the emergence of the stars in the night sky as the clouds rolled back, and cursing a whole list of things that had miffed her off.

“I hate damn mud!”

She slapped the palm of her hands down into the squelchy goo.

“I hate the countryside!”

She pushed upwards with everything that she had. She dragged and rolled her body around onto her knees, and lifted her hands – readying her magic at her fingertips.

“And I hate shifters!” She said with a throaty growl.

She twisted her body around and was more than ready to zap the figure that was pushing upward.

“You and me both!” Isla ground out.

“Isla!”

“You make a great brick wall,” Isla grumbled back.

Penny had never been happier to see anyone in her life before. Her body fired up with adrenaline and excitement, and she thrust upwards, slipping and sliding in the mud to get to her feet as she stumbled forwards and reached down for her friend.

“Stop messing about and move it!” Keri bit out as she ran towards them as fast as her legs would carry her.

Both women turned at the sound of her voice.

“Where the hell…?”

“No time to explain. To the pods!” Keri panted, as she ground to a halt and helped yank Isla to her feet, shoving Penny in front of her.

“Shifters…” Penny panted back.

“Noticed.” Keri bit out. “Move it…”

All three witches felt a new lease of life. They were emboldened by each other’s presence as they raced towards the wooden structures.

“This one!” They all said together – each witch reaching out with their magic to open the doors, and each one heading for different pods.

“Witch!” Griffin yelled.

“Get inside!” Keri called as she tripped over the doorstep and pitched head first into the darkness, turning and slamming the door closed with her magic.

Isla screeched at the sight of the looming shadow that was coming towards the open door, and she flicked her hand, slamming it shut and hearing a hard thud and a deep grunt from the other side.

She slammed on a locking spell and collapsed down onto the floor, panting in an out like a wildling.

Penny snapped on the lights and stared hard at the closed door of her little haven from the outside world. From the shifters. She had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be that easy to shake the wolves off now that they had a mind to chase them.

She didn’t know what they’d done to deserve being hunted like fodder, but she just had to hope that the little pod that she collapsed down onto her backside inside, exhausted, wet, and freaking miffed off, didn’t become her damn coffin.

 

~

~

~

 

Griffin eyed his brother as Lucas grumbled and growled outside the middle pod. He was madder than hell, and yet as excited as he could ever remember himself being.

Even Christmas morning and presents hadn’t given him that much of a buzz.

A mate – a witch one – but still a mate.

He’d wanted it for so long that now that she was actually on his land, so close that he could have reached out and touched her – if the damn pod wasn’t there – it felt somehow surreal.

That wasn’t the best introduction I could have hoped for.

Now what?

“For witches…” his brother panted, “they’re speedy little suckers.”

Griffin lifted his hand and pointed his index finger at his brother. He opened his mouth to speak; when the sound of Neal, grumbling, growling, and with a strange kind of a limb came stalking towards them.

The beta’s chin was down almost to his broad chest. The man’s eyes were jet black and full of anger, and the beta looked as if he should have had steam coming from his ears like a cartoon character.

“I’m… pissed,” Neal growled.

“Join the club,” Lucas offered back.

His witch was certainly feisty and damned annoying when she’d cheated and used her magic on him.

“Mate of not, I might just damn well eat her…” Neal growled.

“Mate!” Lucas’s eyes widened at the unexpected turn of events.

“You heard me!” Neal’s head snapped around, and his eyes narrowed on his brother, “and this is all your doing!”

Lucas leaned forwards and braced his hands against his knees as the laughter took what little breath he still had away from him.

“Three damn witches…” Griffin growled, “three damn mates!”

“Three!” Neal’s head snapped around in surprise.

“No… I’m lying because it’s fun.” Griffin growled back.

“Is that blood under your nose?” Neal asked, craning his head forwards to get a better look at the alpha, as Lucas fell backward onto his backside in the mud – silent laughter bursting into a good hard roar before he dragged in a breath and did it all again.

Griffin’s fist shot out and caught Neal on the bridge of the nose. The beta reared back on his heels.

“What was that for?” Neal growled, covering his nose with his hand.

“Asking stupid questions, but hey look, now you have blood under your damn nose,” Griffin growled back. Then he turned his fist on the door and pounded hard against the wood. “Open up!”

“Do one and vanish!” Keri yelled back, and the alpha shot a dark glance at his brother.

“Not a word…” he warned the man.

“You could try huffing and puffing. I hear it works,” Neal said, but he was already jumping back from the second fist that his brother launched in his direction.

“You’re so damn smart, let’s see you get your mate to open the door!” Griffin growled.

“Fine!” Neal growled, stalking towards his mate’s pod and lifting his fist towards the wood.

He paused, hesitating, and recalling that his brother had tried the same thing and that hadn’t worked. He wasn’t about to make the same mistake.

With a smug look on his lips; he gave a gentle tap.

“I’m not here to hurt you. I just want to talk,” Neal offered through the barrier of the door that he’d really like to rip from its hinges but knew deep down that he couldn’t.

Lucas spluttered laughter from the ground behind him.

“I just want to talk…” Griffin mimicked his younger brother, and the beta’s head snapped around on his neck, and his dark eyes narrowed on the alpha.

He growled long and hard – hard enough to make the door rattle against the frame.

“Sounds like it. Go growl at a bunny!” Penny yelled back.

“That worked,” Griffin tossed out, and the beta growled harder.

“That … was your fault,” Neal grumbled back.

“I wasn’t the one growling,” Griffin offered a smug smile.

“You made me growl.”

“What’d I do, pull your damn tail?” Griffin’s chin went down towards his chest, and he offered his brother a death glare.

The beta grumbled as he looked away.

“The older generation!” Lucas chuckled.

“You’re not that much younger, pup.” Neal sneered as he shot his brother a look that he hoped matched his alpha’s steel glare.

“Watching you two Casanova’s at work. I feel it.” Lucas pulled his body up to his full height and stalked towards his mate’s pod, then he lifted his hand and reached for the door handle. “First, try the obvious.” As his hand wrapped around the handle; a spark of magic shot up his arm and through his body.

Every inch of him went rigid. His eyes went wide in pain and shock, and he tried to let go, but his fingers were gripping the metal as his muscles locked up, even without his conscious consent.

Griffin groaned and rolled his eyes.

“Rookie move…” The alpha grumbled.