“I’m sorry, you were saying?” Mia asked.

“I…” Lewis sounded as if he had a mouth full of cotton wool. He snapped his head back on his neck and looked around as if he couldn’t quite make it out.

“You want to run that by me again?”

The alpha tried again, even to his own ears he couldn’t understand a word he was saying. He lifted his hand and pointed his index finger at her, and when Mia raised her eyebrows back at him, Lewis snapped his hand down to his side.

“I’d say speak up, but it’s just not working for you, is it?” Mia turned on her heels and started to walk away from him, but Lewis followed on behind making grunting and growling noises as he went.

“M-i-a.” He groaned long and hard when her name sounded as if he was sucking a whole plum.

“Well, as a female I have my nails to paint — my hair to do — and maybe I should make some nice cookies,” she tossed over her left shoulder.

“That’s not…” He grumbled another growl when his words still didn’t sound right. He would love to have reached up and ripped his tongue from his mouth, but he would have been no better off. “M-i-a!”

“Blueberry, I think — no, chocolate chip — big strong men need chocolate chip cookies!” She lifted her small fists and punched the air and Lewis groaned from behind her.

Mia chuckled to herself. She strolled into the kitchen and noted Debbie sitting at the counter and Jake on the other side leaning in. There was a grunt and groan from Lewis as he saw them.

“Alpha, why don’t you tell them what you just told me?” Mia enjoyed the moment as the others turned to see what Lewis had to say.

Lewis grunted in annoyance.

“Witch,” Lewis mumbled — at least, that’s what Mia thought he might have said. With his tongue swollen like that the W could have been a B.

“Huh?” Jake said with a frown.

“That’s what I said!” Mia raised her hands and shrugged her shoulders. It was her best innocent pose yet.

Lewis muttered, grumbled, and grunted as he looked anywhere but at his brother.

“If you’ve got something to say, brother, spit it out,” Jake demanded, and Lewis rolled his eyes with a groan.

“A little hard…” Lewis tried to be understood, but when Jake twisted his head on his neck and gave him a curious look, well, the alpha knew that it was hopeless.

Mia would have to lift her magic from him sooner or later, and when she did…

“Are you eating something? Swallow first!” Jake offered back, and the alpha grunted in annoyance once more.

Lewis lifted his hand, pointed to his mouth before he pointed to Mia. Then the alpha started to mime.

Debbie started to chuckle into her hand, and Mia followed. Jake was more intent on his brother as he narrowed his eyes and tried to keep up with the man’s erratic hand signals. Lewis just grumbled and growled.

“What? The witch stole your tongue?” Jake finally sniggered.

“Trust me when I say — I don’t want anything to do with his tongue,” Mia sneered as she folded her arms and lifted her hand to her mouth to hide the big beaming smile that was there.

“Oh yes you do,” Lewis bit out.

“Huh?” Mia moved her hand from her mouth up to her ear once more, and the alpha growled long and hard.

“What the hell did she do to you?” Jake sniggered harder until Lewis snapped his attention towards the man and growled a warning.

“I’m going to kill her!” Lewis grumbled.

“You want a pillow?” Jake asked.

“I said I’m going to kill her!” Lewis lifted his hand fisted an imaginary knife and re-enacted the shower scene from Psycho.

“Well, that’s a little harsh,” Mia teased. “But at least now I know just how you truly feel.”

“Huh?” Lewis twisted his head on his neck stared back at her with surprise and then disbelief. His Wolf growled long and hard inside of him — not at her, but at him for threatening their mate like that.

“Geez, Lewis, get a grip. She is your mate!” Jake offered back in mock disgust.

Lewis’s words came out thick and fast, thicker than anyone could understand because of his swollen tongue. He got slower and tried to pronounciate each word — looking at each person in the room in the hope that they would understand him — each one of them shrugged in return.

Lewis tossed his hands up in the air in frustration and let them fall back to his thighs with a slap. He rolled his eyes to the ceiling and his head on his neck, grumbling, groaning, and growling in annoyance.

“So, I’m going to bake chocolate chip cookies!” Mia announced.

The sound of Lewis’s deep growl made her chuckle – she just couldn’t help herself.

Lewis folded his arms across his broad chest and huffed. He muttered curses that they couldn’t understand.

“I kind of feel sorry for the guy,” Debbie whispered as Mia started past her.

“But think of the hours of fun we can have playing charades,” Jake offered. Obviously, she hadn’t whispered low enough for his big Wolf ears not to pick it up.

“Someone say charades?” Aggie’s voice boomed out into the room as she strolled in with Nestor behind her. The alpha offered her a death glare.

“What’s got up his butt?” Nestor grumbled a growl.

“It’s more like a witch got his tongue,” Jake chuckled.

“I already told you, I want anything to do with his tongue,” Mia said with another shrug of her shoulders.

“Wait until you’re asked,” Lewis grumbled.

“What the hell have you been sucking on that you shouldn’t?” Aggie chuckled. “Because that sounds bad.”

“Ya think?” Lewis grumbled as he rolled his eyes.

“Huh?” Aggie lifted her hand and cupped her ear as the others sniggered.

Lewis growled again as he turned pleading eyes towards his mate. He lifted his hand pointed to his mouth and grumbled out a growl once more.

“But, honey, I have to make cookies,” Mia offered him a fake apologetic look.

“You do this?” Aggie demanded.

“I might have been tempted to show him the error of his ways,” Mia lifted her chin in defiance.

If the elder wanted to berate her, then she could go right ahead, but Mia was standing by her choices.

Lewis grunted, huffed, and nodded.

“Kudo’s!” Aggie grinned, and the alpha growled.

“Wow,” Nestor said with a shake of his head. “You got sucker punched, son.”

Lewis grumbled under his breath, and not one of them could understand him.

“Oh, fine!” Mia sighed. Then she lifted her hand, drew on her magic, and snapped her fingers.

“Well, it’s about damn time,” Lewis grumbled. “If you ever use your magic on me…”

“Well, look at that,” Debbie chuckled. “You really can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lewis growled.

“It means you didn’t learn your lesson the first time,” Mia warned him.

“Well, if it were me, I’d zap him,” Jake chuckled.

“Oh, would you?” Lewis growled long and hard at his brother.

“I certainly would,” Aggie shrugged her shoulders.

“I tried that first — it didn’t work,” Mia said.

“No more damn magic — any of you!” Lewis growled.

“You do know you’re talking to witches, right?” Aggie said as she snorted a chuckle of disbelief.

“Oh, I definitely figured that one out,” Lewis growled.

“Careful, alpha,” Mia warned. “You wouldn’t want a cat to get your tongue.” She offered him a wicked smile.