~

 

“It’s done?” Lewis asked as he looked up from the mountain of paperwork that covered his desk and eyed his brother from underneath his dark eyebrows.

“It’s done,” Jake said and gave a small not his head to confirm that he’d done what the alpha had asked of him.

“What’s done?” Daniel had been strolling past the door, and he’d caught a snatch of the conversation, pulled up short, backed up, and eyed his brothers with interest.

“Well, what took you so long?” Lewis gave a small grunt of annoyance. He’d been asking his beta to get the job done for two days.

“Damn, Lewis, she’s a mean one. I mean, we’re talking Satan’s beast. It was a verbal contract, but I still needed to make sure I had all of my fingers and toes at the end of it,” Jake grumbled.

“If you needed a man to do the job then you should have asked me,” Daniel chuckled. He heard the low deep rumble of a growl that was brewing in Jake’s chest and that sound made it all worthwhile.

“I’m still not sure that I didn’t agree to give her a kidney, maybe my soul — or possibly my crown jewels to get her to come out here,” Jake grumbled some more.

“But she’s coming?” Lewis demanded confirmation.

“Who’s coming?” Daniel asked.

“She’s coming,” Jake assured him.

He still wasn’t sure if you like the idea or not. But Lewis was the alpha, and the decision was his. On his head be it.

“Shall I put out the bunting? ” Daniel asked. “Maybe I can bake a bundt cake — it’s just so exciting!”

Both of his brothers turned a slow stare towards him. Neither one of them was impressed with his sarcasm, but that was Daniel when the man didn’t know what to say he said something stupid.

“That’s a great idea,” Jake tossed back. “But will you have time between washing your hair and applying your nail varnish?”

“That’s, like, so funny I’m dying inside with laughter,” Daniel sneered.

He hated the fact that sometimes his older brothers seem to manage to keep him out of the loop. He was a beta, and he should know what was going on.

“We wouldn’t get that lucky,” Jake tossed back with a sneer to match his brother’s.

“Don’t start!” Lewis grumbled out on a growl of annoyance. When his brothers got going, they were more like sisters.

“She’ll be here tomorrow,” Jake informed the alpha before turning back towards the door. He felt hungry — like his insides were trying to eat themselves.

“At the risk of being ignored again — who will be here tomorrow?” Daniel asked, giving the alpha a poignant look.

“The witch.”

“Which witch?” Daniel grumbled a growl at the thought of a witch being on pack land.

“Well, Daniel,” Jake offered from the doorway. “You know if you were around more you wouldn’t need to ask these questions.”

“Where do I go?” Daniel tossed back.

It wasn’t like he was gallivanting around the country. His life was spent mainly on pack land.

“Usually you’re away with the fairies,” Jake chuckled back and got the growl of annoyance that he wanted to hear. What goes around comes around, and two could play his brother’s games.

“You’re a regular comedian — you know your life is wasted being a beta, right?” Daniel offered back over his shoulder.

“Yeah, but someone’s got to do the job.” Jake’s deep chuckle as he walked away grated against Daniel’s last nerve.

“I’m just going to rearrange his face — you can tell me about the witch later,” Daniel said over his shoulder as he raced after his brother.

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say again. Boy, do I wish those two would find mates, settle down, raise pups, and grow the hell up.”

 

~

~

~

 

“What about this?” Debbie asked as she held up the low cut, obscenely expensive dress that she’d bought for that special occasion that just hadn’t happened yet.

“No.” Mia tossed back with barely a glance towards the offering.

Debbie sighed inwardly. She tossed the dress onto her bed and reached for the next thing in her closet.

“What about this?” She sighed when Mia gave it only a brief glance.

“No.”

“What about a full body snowsuit — hat, gloves, the whole kit, and caboodle?” She snapped back.

“Now, you’re getting it,” Mia looked up with a smirk.

“Seriously?” Debbie scowled back at her.

“No.” Mia gave a happy shrug of her shoulders.

It was always fun to do the wardrobe thing with her best friend. Mia didn’t do the whole clothes horse thing, and Debbie had way too many clothes for any one person.

“Have I told you lately that I hate you?” Debbie sneered. She narrowed her eyes at her friend with a promise of witchy goodness to follow should she continue to be annoying.

“About half an hour ago when you started pulling clothes from your wardrobe,” she offered back with a full-blown smirk and another shrug of the shoulders. “But don’t let that stop you — it always fills me with such warm fuzziness to hear it.”

“Well, that’s me packed,” Jules said as she stood in the doorway of her friend’s room and propped up the frame with her shoulder. She folded her arms in front of her and eyed the pile of close that lay scattered over Debbie’s bed. “I see you’ve finally decided to donate to the charity shop.”

“Joke ye not, and bite your tongue…”

“If you put a little magic behind those words I’m going to zap you a frizzy perm,” Jules warned her friend.

“You wouldn’t!” Debbie reached up and touched the silky straight strands of her styled hair with a small shiver that ran through her at the thought of it.

“Want to find out?” Jules offered her friend small, wickedly evil chuckle back that caused Debbie to recoil in mock horror.

“Well, that just shows the kind of friend you are.” Debbie lifted her chin and rose above it.

“Actually, it shows the kind of witch I am,” Jules chuckled again this time without the evil element to it.

“Yep,” Mia nodded. “Evil and mean, and must be destroyed. Now get back to packing.”

“Well, it’s easy for the two of you to pack because you don’t have as many clothes as I do,” Debbie offered with a shrug of her own.

“Yes, we prefer to spend our money sensibly,” Jules said.

“You put Ebenezer Scrooge to shame,” Debbie said it like it was an accusation before turning her attention towards Mia. “And you’re more Scrooge McDuck.”

“Why do I have to be the duck?” Mia scowled back at her.

“I think it’s those big, flappy, full lips of yours,” Debbie grinned.

“More like a duckbilled platypus, if you ask me,” Jules joined in the fun.

“Oh, good one, platypus — I see the resemblance now,” Debbie chuckled as Mia rolled her eyes to the ceiling.

“Be very careful, or I might just hex you both with mates,” Mia offered with a smirk.

“Don’t even…” Debbie grasped.

“That’s not even funny — considering where we’re going,” Jules hissed with disbelief.

“Maybe we should just make her go alone,” Debbie said.

“That sounds like a plan to me,” Jules nodded in agreement.

“Too bad. It takes three. And you both agreed to do it with me,” Mia knew that she’d won the victory before the other two had even thought about throwing in the towel.

“There are other witches,” Debbie offered.

“There are other jobs,” Jules shrugged.

“There’s a deadline, and you’re both going — so get over yourselves,” Mia said before she motioned toward the explosion of clothes that had taken over the bed. “Now pack your snowsuit and be done.”

“What? I really need a snowsuit?” Debbie frowned so hard that her eyes almost disappeared completely under her eyebrows.

“No. You are just so gullible I love it,” Mia chuckled.

“Because I’m not going if there’s snow — I hate snow. Or if there are bugs — I hate bugs. Or…”

“Well, Aggie is expecting us to be there in the morning.” Mia eyed her friend. “Are you going to be the one to disappoint her?”

Debbie paused for thought. Her mouth opened as if she was about to speak but then she snapped it shut again. She swallowed down hard at the thought of having to tell Aggie anything involving the word no, and she gave a small shrug of just one shoulder.

“What time does she want us there?” Debbie said waving the imaginary white flag of surrender.

 

~

~

~

 

Aggie folded her arms under her large matronly breasts and eyed the three shifter brothers like she was making a purchase. Her warm brown eyes held little shocks of what looked like gold and were startling against the dark warmth of her skin and the snow of her hair. She snorted her contempt for each one in turn.

“Did that sound remind either of you of a bull that knew its stud days were over and it was being put out to pasture?” Daniel asked in a whisper so that the elder witch didn’t hear him.

“Please tell me you don’t have a thing for a bull now,” Jake groaned.

“Speak up!” Aggie snapped at the betas, and without knowing why; both men stood to attention. “Some of us don’t have shifter hearing.”

“And that would be lucky for me,” Daniel muttered and caused Jake to chuckle, alerting Aggie’s suspicions once more.

“Boy, I will slap the taste right off your tongue,” Aggie warned, and Daniel was under no illusion that the woman would keep her word.

“But of course, she’d have to catch me first,” Daniel muttered once more, and then he yelped in surprise when he felt the sharp sting of her magic against the hard muscles of his backside.

“Did you see that?” Daniel lifted his hand and pointed an accusing finger at the witch. “She zapped me.”

“Then stop acting like a jackass,” Lewis growled at his brother. “Shall we get started?”

“Nope,” Aggie gave just one shake of her head.

“I’m not going to renegotiate,” Lewis offered back as he folded his muscled arms across his chest and eyed the woman with contempt.

She didn’t look like the best in the business. She looked like a crazy old woman that should have been living in a shack in the woods somewhere grumbling at the world and brewing up potions in a giant cauldron over an open fire.

“Wait until you’re asked.” Aggie bit out. “That’s the trouble with your generation — rush, rush, rush, rush, rush — everything now, can’t hold your wad — and other stuff — longer than it takes to brew a fart.”

“Wow, she really does have an awesome turn of phrase.” Daniel turned accusing eyes towards Jake. “Wherever did you find her?”

“He dug her up at the never – thought – I’d – see – you – again bargain bucket jumble sale,” Koren bit out as he snorted a whole heap of contempt for the witch.

“Nobody mentioned you had a blood sucking leech on pack land.” It wasn’t bad enough that Aggie despised vampires, it just rubbed salt into the wounds that this was the vampire that had made her despite all other vampires.

“I’d say good to see you as well — but I thought the next time we would meet I would be dancing a jig on your grave,” Koren sniped back.

“I thought the next time we would meet I would have something sharp and pointy in my hand for you,” Aggie tossed back. “I’m sure I can find something here somewhere.”