~

 

“Bite your damn tongue, pup…” Lark bit out. His bushy grey eyebrows were drawn down over his eyes and he grunted and grumbled for all that he was worth.

“You mean … there’s a chance I’m not his mate?” Angela brightened considerably at the thought.

“You saw her too…” Lark said to Angela as though she was the one who was losing her marbles…

“I saw someone…” Angela tossed back. “Don’t drag me into your delusions, old man…”

“Old man?” He growled.

“You gone deaf too?” she snapped back.

“Deaf?” Lark repeated and she tossed up a hand in his direction. Then she leaned in and yelled right in his face…

“D-e-a-f!”

Lark snapped his head back on his neck as his beast growled, and his ears rang just a little at the loud, shrill tone that emanated from his mate. He shock off the ringing in his ears, and grumbled some more…

“Not yet, but a few more hours with you and I’ll wish I were…” he offered back.

“Run – run, as fast as you can – if you stay with me I’ll make you half a man…” she said dryly, placing her hands on her hips and letting her gaze wander down to his groin.

Lark snapped to attention at her words – then he swallowed hard at the thought.

“Now – now, there’s no need for that…” he growled out; trying to placate her as his beast practically rolled over and played dead for the longest moment within him.

She certainly had a look about her that said she was contemplating it, and he had a real desire for her not to try.

“Says you…” Angela snorted her contempt for him.

“What do you mean you saw Chloe?” Sarah said, confused.

“Well, not old Chloe…” Lark offered back…

“Old Chloe?” Nathan asked, raising his eyebrow high on his forehead.

“Younger Chloe…” Lark said.

“You might need to sit down…” Angela offered up to the man and he frowned harder.

“There’s nothing wrong with me!” he growled.

“Nothing right with you either…” Angela muttered as she tossed a curious look towards Sarah.

“Where?” Nathan asked, and the elder lifted his hand and pointed behind him.

“Back over by the digging…”

“There’s digging?” Sarah asked.

“Oh, yeah. That I saw!” Angela said. “Almost fell in the damn hole.”

“There’s a hole?” Sarah didn’t understand…

“That’s what usually happens when someone digs, honey…” Angela informed her as if she were a child…

“I’m confused…” Sarah gave a helpless shrug off her shoulders and screwed up her face.

“That makes all of us then…” Angela offered back. “Especially him.” She nodded to her mate.

“I’m not confus…” Lark frowned. He snatched his head back on his neck and grunted in annoyance. “Ok, a little, but that’s just seeing Chloe as she was when I was Nathan’s age…”

“Oh no…” Nathan grumbled a growl. Then he lifted his nose in the air and drew in a deep breath … “Monty!” He growled harder.

“Monty?” Angela looked at Lark just as the man rolled his eyes towards the sky and his shoulders sank…

“You don’t think…?” Lark didn’t want to say it. He certainly didn’t want to hear it.

“I think … maybe…” Nathan grumbled back.

“Well, that’s not good…” Lark growled.

“Get the females inside…” Nathan ordered him, and Lark was already lifting his mate back against his hip as she protested…

“What’s going on?” Sarah asked…

“That’s what I want to know…” Angela bit out, trying to pat away his hand from around her, but he wasn’t letting go.

“We might have a little problem with your Aunt Chloe…” Nathan informed her as he stalked towards her…

“Aunt Chloe?” Sarah looked even more confused… “Dead … Aunt Chloe?”

“She might be a vampire…” Nathan said and saw the way that Sarah’s eyes snapped wide like saucers…

“That’s a little problem?” She snapped out.

Her eyes darted around the area looking for signs of the woman… signs of a vampire.

“Depends…” Nathan said.

“On who she sucks dry?” Sarah snapped back…

“Relax, she’s had breakfast…” The melodic tone of the vampire drifted down towards them from high up in the treetops.

Sarah’s head snapped back on her neck and she eyed the foliage, looking for the first sign of the bloodsucker that she wanted to zap more than she wanted the air in her lungs…

“Monty!” Nathan growled out. “Get down here…”

“With a zap happy witch on the loose…” Monty chuckled. “Not likely.”

“Sarah, he’s … sort of a friend…” Nathan said, even with the low rumble of a growl that went through his chest at the man’s presence.

“Yeah, it’s the sort of in that explanation that doesn’t fill me with glee and the warm fuzzy feeling I otherwise might have had…” She offered back, and she was still ready to zap the bloodsucker.

“Untrusting soul, isn’t she?” The female voice echoed off the trees. It held the same melodic tone as Monty’s, and Nathan grumbled another, longer growl…

“You said you wouldn’t change her…” Nathan’s tone was accusing.

“I said that she said that she didn’t want changing, but she changed her mind…” Monty offered back.

“That’s a lot of changing…” Angela muttered.

“My Aunt is a … vampire?” Sarah bit out in disbelief.

“Newbie vampire…” Nathan growled at the thought. He didn’t like it, not one little bit, and Monty should have given him the heads up about what he’d done.

“Vampire in training…” Monty offered back.

“You need to leave…” Nathan growled out. “Take her and go…”

He really didn’t like the thought of a newbie around his mate, his pack, or the humans that lived around the area.

Newly turned vampires could be so … unpredictable. He started towards his mate…

Right at that moment; the woman dropped down from the treetops onto the grass in between Nathan and Sarah. Her eyes wet jet black and her fangs had partially elongated, and his beast roared within him at the sudden threat that she posed to Sarah.

Monty dropped down beside Chloe. He lifted his arm and offered his wrist to the woman…

“Hungry?” He asked…

“I could snack…” Chloe said.

She scented the air and found that tantalising smell of Fae blood that drew her attention and sharpened her instincts for what she needed…

Chloe could feel the fever within her blood start to bubble and boil its way right up to her brain, igniting the start of a bloodlust, at least, that was how it felt.

It might have been a few centuries ago for Monty, but he could still remember that first real scent of Fae blood. Of course, he hadn’t had his Sire with him, and all had ended badly.

He liked Nathan, and he knew that the younger witch was Chloe’s kin, and he really didn’t want to see it end badly.