~

 

“Don’t deny it!” Jake ground out.

He knew what she was to him. His beast knew what she was to them. She had to know it as well.

“Crazy Wolf — crazy Wolf!” Debbie rushed out as she tried to take another step back but found only a wall behind her, blocking her path to freedom, to sanity, and she squeaked at the lost hope.

“Crazy for you!” Jules chuckled.

“Hmm, I feel a Madonna moment coming on,” Daniel offered.

On the one hand Jules felt guilty about laughing at her friend’s misfortune, but on the other hand, if you couldn’t laugh at your friends, who could you laugh at?

“Shut up, Jules. This is all Mia’s fault,” Debbie said in a rush of panic. But it was too late for any of them to do anything about it now — Jake was already up close and more personal than she wanted him to be even if there was a part of her that did jolt with excitement. “B-b-back off.”

“Not a damn chance in hell,” Jake growled out.

Mine…

His jet black eyes were locked and loaded on hers, and he had a hungry look about him that made her shiver right down to her toes.

“But I don’t want to be a mate,” she breathed out in a voice that was as whiny as a tired child.

“Well, slap my ass and call me Shirley,” Jules chuckled. “But I don’t think fate has left you much of a choice.”

Jake’s large hands reached out for her upper arms, and he heard her squeak again as he wrapped his fingers around her skin and felt the tingles chase over his body once more. It felt good — damn good.

Debbie opened her mouth to speak, but with one yank on her body from the beta, she was truly up close and personal with him. Her breasts squished against the hard muscles of his chest — and he dipped his head to her neck to take her scent once more — he just needed to be absolutely certain that he hadn’t had a brain fart and had made a grave mistake.

“F-fix this — now!” Debbie said eyeing Mia over his left shoulder.

“It’s not my fault!” Mia tossed up a hand and shrugged her shoulders. “Is Aggie’s fault.”

“Don’t you lay the blame for this at my door.” Aggie scowled at Mia. “I wished you a mate, not her a damn mate.”

“Take it back!” Mia demanded.

“Why?” Aggie folded her arms under a matronly bosom and offered the young which a sly grin. “That could be you.”

“I really will hurt you old woman!” Mia shot back.

When Lewis moved an inch at her side Mia’s head snapped around on her neck, and she glared at him.

“What?” Lewis grumbled.

“What are you doing?” She eyed him with suspicion.

“Getting ready to fart,” Lewis offered back with a whole big dollop of sarcasm in his tone.

“Geez, nobody breathe in,” Daniel groaned.

“That’s funny. It’ll be even funnier with my fist in your face,” Lewis growled.

“You know what would be even funnier?” Daniel asked. “If you found a witch mate.”

Lewis felt his beast rise to the surface once more. He truly could have pounded his brother in the face with his fist and not thought twice about it.

Now the man had set his Wolf off in search of a mate.

He didn’t want to take the risk of breathing in. Just in case he ended up in the same predicament as Jake.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want a mate, he did. But a witch mate? No way in hell. Those women were just too much trouble and as crazy as a bunch of cats in a sack.

Lewis eyed the woman standing right next to him, and Mia eyed him right back.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Mia demanded.

“How am I looking at you when I’m looking at you like that?” Lewis offered back.

“Like I’ve got cooties,” she said and watched as the alpha rolled a thought around his head and empty words over his silent tongue. “Or like I smell bad — oh!” Mia gasped. “You sniffed me!”

“I did not sniff you!” Lewis growled back. His face was a picture of denial and disbelief.

“Yes you did — you sniffed!”

“No, no, no, no — no! I did not sniff you. I do not want to sniff you. You can go and take your smell somewhere else…”

“Smell? I smell?” Mia looked at him as if the man had just grown another head.

“I didn’t mean smell, I meant scent,” the alpha growled. “And I don’t want any of it. I’m not sniffing.” He gave a slow sideways shake of his head, and he didn’t stop until the vampire spoke.

“That’s not exactly true,” Koren offered him a smug smile.

“Go. Get off pack land. Now…” The alpha growled raising a hand pointing in any direction at all just in case the vampire needed a road map.

“What’s not true?” Mia asked the vampire as she eyed the alpha with a whole lot of suspicion.

“How would he know?” Lewis rounded on her.

“He’s a vampire. Doh!” Mia tossed back.

“Exactly. He’s a vampire,” Lewis expanded his hands and motioned towards Koren like he was a new car in the showroom. “They lie.”

The alpha nodded his head, folded his arms across his wide chest, and looked as pleased as punch with himself.

“Amen to that,” Aggie snorted her contempt for the vampire. “And you know I’m not religious, but I’ll praise the Lord for that one.”

“I resent that,” Koren said as he scowled at the alpha.

“And they can also read minds.” Mia folded her arms, offered the alpha a nod of victory, and then turned her attention back to the vampire. “What’s not true?”

“Well, he hasn’t sniffed…”

“See!” The alpha tossed up his large hands in a victory celebration of pure satisfaction, but Mia wasn’t done, and neither was the vampire.

“And yet, we haven’t got to the — what’s not true part — yet.” Mia huffed.

“He wants to sniff…” The words were barely out of the vampire’s mouth when Mia rounded on Lewis.

“I knew it! You sniffy-Mac-sniffer of the worst kind.” Mia hissed up at the man.

Lewis looked guilty as charged. He grumbled a growl deep within his chest, and if he’d been a child, then she would have expected him to kick out his foot at a tuft of grass.

“It’s not entirely my fault,” the alpha said.

“No, the vampire made you do it,” Mia snorted back with a look of contempt for the alpha.

“Well, don’t look at me, I certainly didn’t make him sniff like a dog,” Aggie said. “And while we’re at it — I only invited you witches here — I never told you to find mates. That’s just careless.”

“Careless?” Jules questioned Aggie’s sanity with just a look.

“Careless, stupid, the kind of thing a novice white witch would do,” Aggie said.

“Define white witch,” Koren offered back.

“Oh, tell me you’re not calling me out as a racist,” Aggie sneered back at him.

“How do you feel about vampires?” Koren asked.

“I hate them with the fire of a thousand suns.” Aggie eyed him with distaste.

“I prove my case, your honor,” Koren tossed back at her.

“Go find your grave and crawl back into it,” Aggie hissed at him with venom in every word.

“This from the witch that taught Medusa everything she knew,” Koren grumbled.

“Now you listen here, vampire. I might be old, but at least I’m not a walking corpse.” Aggie grumbled something under her breath, and even the vampire couldn’t hear her words.

“Can we get back to the sniffing thing?” Mia scowled as she flicked a quick glare back at the alpha.

“Let’s not and say we did,” Lewis grumbled.

His beast didn’t want to let it drop. The vampire was right, man and beast both had the urge to take her scent.

“A little help over here would go a long way,” Debbie said as she raised her hand and waved over Jake’s shoulder. The beta lifted his head and met her eye to eye.

There was a low rumble of a growl that caught in his throat, and his eyes narrowed slightly on hers.

Mine…

Jake’s wolf was clawing just beneath the surface of his skin. The beast demanded action, and when Jake was slow to act it tried to push forward, Jake slammed that cage shut.

Mine…

Mine…

“Mine,” Jake growled his claim.

“You…” Debbie bit off her words and pressed her lips together as a small squeal caught in the back of her throat.

“Yep, that about seals it,” Aggie chuckled.

“I…” Debbie turned pleading eyes onto Aggie, but the older witch just snorted a chuckle. She flicked her gaze towards Mia. “You…” Mia grimaced, and Debbie sighed inwardly. “Oh, damn it to hell.”