~

 

Chloe didn’t move a muscle as her niece flexed her magical muscles. Having been a witch once herself, she knew about the tricks of the trade, and that show of force was designed to be nothing more than that – a show.

Monty, on the other hand, was in front of his mate in a heartbeat, protecting her from harm with his body – just the same way that he’d been doing for most of their lives together…

“It doesn’t have to be like this…” Sarah said.

She didn’t want to have to hurt her own kin, even if that kin had turned from a witch into a bloodsucking, irrational, and hungry newbie vampire…

“She’s right, Monty,” Nathan growled as he slowly walked a wide circle around the vampires towards his mate. “Let Chloe get a handle on her bloodlust and then bring her back.”

“She can’t come back…” Lark said. “What if a human saw her looking like that?”

“I think I look pretty good for someone in their eighties…” Chloe tossed one hand on her hip and offered them a smirk…

“If I remember what you looked like back then – some of the older humans might too…” Lark growled at her.

“So, she has a remarkable likeness to her Aunt Chloe…” Monty offered. “Not unheard of in families.”

“What about her bloodlust – how are you going to explain the sucked to death humans in her wake?” Angela scoffed.

“Let’s try it with you first and we’ll see if I can get my story straight,” Chloe offered back.

“I’m not a human – you’ll get more than you bargained for with me…” Angela scowled at the vampire until she sneered back.

“Maybe we should take this inside…” Chloe said…

“I’m not inviting you in,” Sarah said with a snort of disbelief.

“It was worth a try…” Chloe grinned.

“It really wasn’t…”Sarah shot back.

“In the grand scheme of things…” Monty offered. “Shouldn’t you be glad that your Aunt is still alive?”

“Oh, what? Congratulations – you just inherited a bloodsucking, life threatening vampire … Hmm, I’ll need a moment to compute…” Sarah folded her arms and snorted her contempt for him.

“You can keep the Inn, gold-digger!” Chloe shot back.

“I don’t care about the Inn – you’re a leech!” Sarah tossed back.

“She’s working on it!” Monty tossed up his hands in disbelief.

“A bloodsucking work in progress…” Lark muttered.

“What am I supposed to do with that – buy her learner plates to wear around her neck and say accidents happen when she devours someone?” Sarah tossed back.

“She’s not going to…” Monty rolled his eyes skywards and sighed. “Ok, she might slip up once or twice…”

“I’m sure that’s seen as collateral damage in your book, but that’s one or two humans we’re talking about…”

“That doesn’t make me a bad person…” Chloe scowled.

“It makes you a vampire…” Sarah shot back.

“Your point?” Chloe asked…

“She wasn’t blessed with brains then…” Angela grumbled.

“Listen here, witch…” Chloe lifted her hand and pointed her index finger at Angela – old habits die hard, she thought – when the realisation that she didn’t have magic at her fingertips sunk in…

“Takes one to know one, but then you gave all that up…” Angela scoffed back.

“For life…” Chloe reminded her.

“And a tasty menu,” Lark growled.

“Hello … youth…” Chloe shrugged.

“I guess I can’t argue with that one,” Dorothy put in and all eyes turned towards her. “What?”

“You’re taking her side?” Angela asked…

“Hmm, let’s see – death, vampire…” she lifted her hands and weighed the options… “Death … vampire … vampire … death…” she tossed the imaginary death scenario over her left shoulder. “Everybody is searching for the fountain of youth…”

“But the cost is paid in someone else’s blood…” Sarah reminded her.

“Not always…” Monty assured her. “She hasn’t sucked anyone dry yet…”

“It’s the yet that worries me,” Sarah said.

“And me,” Nathan offered as he finally stood beside his mate with the intention of getting between her and the vampires should everything go to hell in a handbasket…

“No please, just talk about me as if I wasn’t here…” Chloe snorted.

“We could only wish you weren’t,” Angela offered back.

“Don’t you have a mating to get back too?” Chloe sneered at the woman and Angela’s eyes narrowed on her as if she was about to make her drop dead with just the evil eye…

“Don’t you have a coffin to get back to?” Angela hissed.

“Like the one that’s looming in your near future?” Chloe sneered.

“Can we keep it civil?” Monty asked and all four witches turned to him at once…

“No!” They said in unison.

“I stand corrected.” He groaned.

“It’s nice to know that my own family would rather I were dead,” Chloe said.

“It’s not a case of; rather you were dead, it’s a case of; rather you weren’t here – like that,” Sarah tossed back.

“Well, I know where I’m not wanted,” Chloe huffed.

“Finally sunk in, ey?” Angela tossed back and Lark couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You, I don’t like…” Chloe bit out.

“Oh, and I so need to be loved…” Angela shot back.

“Bet you’re never disappointed,” Chloe offered as she turned on her heels and started off towards the woods.

“There’s no reason we can’t all get along…” Monty offered as he turned and followed his mate.

“I can think of one,” Angela snorted.

“Well…” Lark let out a long sigh and slowly shook his head. “That was…” he considered it for a long moment. Then he turned towards Angela. “Let’s go mate!”