~

 

Jeannie had been as quiet as a church mouse when she’d stepped over her mate; who was lying asleep on the floor outside of her bedroom, which was in fact; his bedroom, and she’d crept down the hallway in search of her morning coffee.

She hadn’t slept well. But then who would with thoughts of Jason going through her mind at all hours?

But then that wasn’t her fault, or even his, it was fate’s fault, and how she’d love to have a word with that supernatural force. It also hadn’t helped that she was in his bedroom, in his bed, and surrounded by his things.

All she wanted, needed, was a few cups of java under her belt and she’d be back to her witchy self. Until that happened, all bets were off that she didn’t get her evil-self on and zap a few people that dared to get in the way of that coffee.

Jeannie wasn’t a morning person, and her friends could vouch for that. In fact; Faith flatly refused to speak to her until she’d hoovered up her third cup of coffee.

She was on cup number two when she pulled open the back door and stepped outside to take in the air and the sights of what the pack’s land had to offer in the early morning sunlight.

That was when she felt the magic in the air. It wasn’t even subtle; it hit the minimal shields that she’d half-assed put up around herself, and froze her body to the spot.

She could breathe, but she couldn’t move. She could breathe, but she couldn’t speak, and she couldn’t call for help.

Jeannie felt the presence come upon her. There was magic woven into his very being.

Fear struck at her heart the moment that his strong arms wrenched her from the ground, and she was tossed over one broad shoulder, looking down at the grass, with thoughts and plans of what she could do when she got the chance running through her mind.

As he took off across the garden, she had to wonder if she’d get the chance? If she couldn’t even fight back with her magic, then what chance did she stand against her attacker?

 

~

~

~

 

“Jeannie’s not up yet?” Vanessa asked as she eyed Faith across the kitchen counter as the witch rested her chin in her hand and grumbled into her coffee mug before taking a sip.

“Don’t know,” Faith shrugged.

“Is there a problem?” Ryan asked from where he sat at the kitchen table, watchful of his mate, untrusting that she wasn’t about to do something devilishly fiendish and take off again.

“Who made the coffee this morning?” Vanessa ignored Ryan and prodded Faith in an attempt to get her friend to liven up a little.

It was usually Jeannie that couldn’t be spoken to in the mornings; Faith was the perky and annoying one, but then Vanessa doubted that any of them had slept much, she knew she hadn’t.

“Tastes like Jeannie’s, strong, and with a kick in the backside,” Faith muttered. She was barely paying attention to Vanessa because Mick was annoying her.

Faith flicked her gaze towards the kitchen door; where he stood with his arms folded, showing off way too many hard muscles down his meaty arms, and with a look that said he might have been chewing on a bag of lemons all night.

She snorted her contempt for him and went back to staring out of the window opposite her.

“Stop staring at me,” Faith grumbled.

“Just trying to figure out if I should mate with you, or kill you,” Mick growled back.

“And there’s a thought to start the morning,” Vanessa grinned, but the lack of a stroppy Jeannie pottering around the kitchen niggled her.

“You’re worried,” Ryan said as he pushed up to his full height and padded towards the kitchen door. “Jason!” he yelled, and the sound of a thud from the ceiling above made Vanessa look up and frown.

“Yeah,” Jason called back with a sleep filled tone.

“Your mate?” Ryan called.

Faith eyed Vanessa. A frown etched onto her forehead as she took in Vanessa’s worried look, and she perked up in her chair.

“Gone,” Jason growled back. The sound of his feet thudding against the staircase jarred both witches into action. “Damn it.” Jason tore into the kitchen and headed towards the back door, eyeing the witches en route. “Where is she?”

“They don’t know,” Ryan assured the beta as the man yanked open the back door and stomped out into the morning sunlight, eyeing the area for signs of his mate.

“Can’t you witches learn?” Mick growled, following on his brother’s heels.

“Let’s get out there and look,” Ryan growled. “She might just have gone for a…”

“No,” Vanessa cut that thought right off. “I can’t feel her magic.”

Ryan turned to look at his mate; his questioning gaze flicked towards Faith for just a moment as the woman tried for herself to reach out to Jeannie and failed.

“Me either,” Faith pushed up from the stool and started towards Ryan at the back door.

“Tell me what that means,” Ryan growled.

“It means, she either isn’t anywhere close by, or someone is hiding her magic from us,” Vanessa offered back.

“Damn it to hell,” Ryan growled. Then he turned towards his brothers. “Check to see if any of the trucks are missing.”

“We’ll find her,” Mick growled as he walked by Jason.

He could feel the man’s wolf in the air, the beta’s beast was more than ready to hunt his mate, he was demanding it.

 

~

~

~

 

Jeannie eyed her surroundings. The tatty stone walls looked like an old weathered barn, and the dirt of the floor and the stench in the air confirmed her suspicions.

The instant that she felt the magic leave her body; she rallied her powers inside of her and let loose with one hell of a kick that shot her kidnapper across the space and into the darkness of the shadows.

Jeannie rallied her strength and pushed upwards on shaky legs. His magic had taken its toll on her body, and she knew that she needed to run, to get out of there, but she wasn’t yet strong enough.

She’d have to take her chances with her magic and magic alone to defend herself; she had little choice. She decided that it was probably best to face the man head on than have him at her heels where she couldn’t see him.

She rallied her shields and wove a spell to protect herself from his powerful magic.

There was no way that she was going down again. At least, not without a good fight.