~

 

“Could you pretty please let Jonathan out of his bindings?” Saffy’s eyes were as pleading as her voice as she tried to nudge Natalie’s conscience in the right direction.

She felt sorry for the beta.

“No.”

“It’s kind of mean.”

“Still no.” Natalie offered back.

“Don’t you think he’s learned his lesson?” Saffy asked.

“No.” Natalie shrugged as she reached for a large bread knife and started cutting off thick wedges from the home-baked loaf.

“I think he might have.”

“No.” Natalie was adamant as she shook her head.

“How do you know?”

“Because if he’d learned his lesson, then the spell would happen broken already,” Natalie offered back with a shrug of the shoulders.

“Oh.” Saffy didn’t really have an answer for that one.

“So, that means if I let him out of his bindings then he’s going to try to kill me — or worse — mate me,” Natalie offered back.

“Trust me; mating is definitely not as bad as you think it is.” Saffy grinned from ear to ear.

“Says you.”

“Well, I am the witch with the experience,” Saffy shrugged.

“I think he’s edging towards the killing me part of my argument,” Natalie said.

“He’s your mate — he’s never going to try to kill you,” Saffy reasoned.

“Says you.” Natalie shrugged again.

“You’re being unreasonable.”

“And where does reasonable get me?” Natalie tossed back. “Eaten.”

“In a good way,” Saffy chuckled.

“Says you.” Natalie offered back.

“I still think you’re being unreasonable.”

“And I still think the beta wants to kill me,” Natalie said.

“Again — he’s your mate…”

“And as his bindings haven’t unwound around him — then I’d say that he’d take the risk in going rogue, don’t you think?” Natalie offered her a smug grin.

“No.” Saffy shot back.

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Now who’s being unreasonable?” Natalie tossed back.

Doug dropped his face into his hands and groaned. He’d never known two people that could bicker over everything and yet nothing at all in his life before. Not even pups. But there they were, at it again, and he only looked up when he felt his mate’s touch against his shoulder.

“Think of all the pups were going to have,” Saffy teased him with a wide smile.

“I don’t know about Jonathan killing her — but I’m considering it myself,” Doug lied.

There was a deep, hearty, growl that rumbled into the kitchen from the other room. Then there was the sound of fast moving heavy thuds from someone’s feet against the floorboards.

Jonathan appeared in the kitchen doorway — minus the fairy lights.

“Looks like someone had a change of attitude,” Saffy chuckled as Natalie’s eyes rolled in her head at the sight of her mate — free at last.

“You say that like it’s a good thing,” Natalie groaned.

“Don’t threaten my mate,” Jonathan growled at the alpha.

“Who knew that all you had to do to break a witch’s spell was threaten his mate life?” Doug rolled his eyes once more.

“Gee, thanks for figuring it out, alpha,” Natalie hissed.

“Well, his attitude has changed for the better. Although, the fact that he wants to kill my mate rather than you leaves a lot to be desired,” Saffy offered her a bright and breezy grin.

“You’re calling him your mate now?” Natalie sneered.

“Would you rather I call him my lord and master — because that’s never gonna happen,” Saffy shot back.

“You, I have a bone to pick with you,” Jonathan growled. He lifted his hand and pointed an accusing finger at his mate. Natalie grimaced.

“I noticed your mate isn’t calling you mate,” Saffy chuckled.

“Good.” Natalie shrugged her shoulders. She was trying to ignore the beta that stood behind her.

“That was a mean and evil thing that you did…” Jonathan started, but when his mate turned toward him, knife in hand from where she’d been slicing the bread into nice thick doorstep chunks, he swallowed down hard.

“I like to think of it as a lesson — show don’t tell,” she said as she stabbed the knife in the air between them to make her point.

Jonathan was hoping the point wasn’t going to end up in him.

“I like to think that actions speak louder than words…” He offered back.

“Exactly! Thank you for making my point for me,” Natalie said as she turned back toward the bread and continued to slice it.

“Huh?” Jonathan looked confused, but not as confused as the alpha who was busy scratching his head, Doug shrugged his shoulders at the quizzical look that his brother tossed him.

“Did you learn a lesson?” Natalie asked as she put the knife down on the chopping board and sighed.

“The one about not miffing off witches?” Jonathan asked.

“Okay, lesson one learned,” Natalie frowned. “Did you learn any other lessons?”

“The one about not trusting witches?” Jonathan offered.

“Anything else?” Natalie grumbled.

“You’re mean,” Jonathan growled.

“Oh, come on, it’s not really that hard,” Natalie sighed again as she shot a look at Saffy and her friend grinned back.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Jonathan shrugged as his mate turned towards him again and offered him one hell of a death glare.

“See, this…” She motioned between them. “Between us — it’s never going to work.” She shrugged.

“I wouldn’t rush to judgment on that…” Jonathan started, but she cut him off.

“There is no rush — it’s not going to work.” Natalie was adamant.

“So, you think you’re smarter than fate?” Jonathan said, and that shut her up.

Natalie frowned as she tried to think of a way out of that question.

“Everyone makes mistakes,” Natalie offered with an innocent tone to her voice.

“Yes, you did,” Jonathan offered back.

“Did not.” She hissed.

“Did too.” Jonathan grinned from ear to ear.

“What part of – not – aren’t you grasping?”

“So, you are smarter than fate, then?” Jonathan demanded.

“I didn’t say that…” She started but was cut off.

“Because you don’t want to tempt fate to slap you upside your head,” Saffy sneered.

“That’s not the point,” Natalie offered her friend a death glare.

“It is so the point,” Saffy folded her arms and frowned at her friend.

“Oh please — not again,” Doug begged.

“What’s your problem?” Jonathan growled at the alpha.

“Well, at first it was only the two of them — now they seem to have roped you into it as well,” the alpha grumbled.

“Into what?” Jonathan frowned. He didn’t understand what his brother was talking about.

“Bickering — bickering like a little girl — bickering like witches — bickering — bickering — bickering!” Doug could have slammed his forehead down onto the countertop. He certainly didn’t think that he’d feel any worse for it.

“Who is bickering?” Jonathan tossed up his hands. “We’re discussing.”

“This — this is nuts,” Doug growled.

“You think we’re nut’s?” Saffy chuckled.

“I think there’s a good case for it — yes,” the alpha said with an enthusiastic nod.

“I don’t know — you’re calling your mate nuts…” Jonathan said.

“That’s not…” Doug started, but he didn’t get to finish.

“It’s lucky that Saffy’s here, otherwise she might not have believed what you just said about her,” Natalie berated him.

“That’s not…” Doug started, but they ignored him.

“You’re either very brave — or very, very stupid. I can’t make out which,” Jonathan chuckled.