~

 

The pack had closed in on the barn that sat almost at the end of their property, and Leslie had followed her nose and her brothers trail. She wasn’t about to sit this one out, not when Jeannie could be in trouble.

Jeannie was pack. Jeannie was her new sister, and she liked the witch.

Faith and Vanessa were walking along beside her, both witches more than ready for trouble should it pop up, and in whatever shape or form it might take. The three of them together should have been able to kill anything that got in their way.

When one of the pack wolves shot by them like he’d intercepted a cannonball to the gut, all three women ground to a halt and watched in disbelief as the beast tore by them.

“Ok, that’s not normal,” Leslie said.

“It’s fine,” Faith said with a nod of her head, pausing only for a moment more when the wolf crashed back down to earth. “That had to hurt.”

“That’s magic,” Vanessa offered Leslie on a whisper. “You need to stay behind us.”

“I’m the one with the fangs and claws,” Leslie snorted.

“Magic versus magic,” Vanessa offered back, and Faith shot the she-wolf a sympathetic look back over her shoulder.

“Unless you want to end up like that guy?” Faith chuckled as she hooked a thumb behind her.

“Rodney?” Leslie snorted again. “Not one of his best days.”

There was a loud yelp from in front of them and another wolf shot across them and to their right.

“We’re definitely in the crossfire here,” Vanessa whispered.

“Beware low flying cannonball wolves,” Faith chuckled, she couldn’t help herself.

“They’re your pack you’re laughing at,” Leslie reminded her.

“No, they’re your pack, I’m still in camp undecided,” Faith hissed back.

“Well, whichever camp we’re in, can we do the kick-ass witch thing and zap this magic like it’s party time?” Vanessa offered, and both women turned to look at her.

“Someone overdid the coffee this morning,” Faith offered. Her head snapped around when Rodney’s wolf shot by them, this time on all four paws, and launched himself into the fight once more.

“Ok, that’s more than e-bloody-nough,” Jeannie’s voice shrieked out from somewhere ahead of them, and Faith snorted a chuckle.

“Miffed off witch, this way be,” Faith grinned, feeling a big dollop of relief that their friend was safe.

“Jeannie,” Jason’s deep voice led them right into the heart of the action.

Faith’s eyes took it all in as she groaned inwardly. Wolves were all over the area, and some of them were still standing.

Jason was naked and stalking towards Jeannie, and she seemed momentarily stunned as she gawked at his hard body, and there – in the center of it all – stood Devlin.

“I’m not taking the blame for this one,” Faith bit out, scowling at the man like he’d just done a poop in her favorite shoe. Devlin eyed her back with a hard glare.

“Faith?” Mick was looking for clarity. He’d shifted back into his human form, and his wolf was still in his voice and that sound, gravel on more gravel, got her attention.

Faith snatched a look at her naked mate, and her eyes drank him in. A small, wicked smile lifted the corner of her lips – then Vanessa elbowed her in the ribs, and she was thrust back into the reality of the situation.

“What the hell is going on?” Ryan growled.

The alpha was as naked as the day is long and Faith elbowed Vanessa right back as the witch hummed a little tune under her breath at the sight of him.

“What?” Vanessa hissed at her friend.

“You did it to me while I was enjoying the view,” Faith tossed back.

“Can someone please enlighten me as to what the hell is…” Ryan got no further.

“Faith’s brother, Devlin,” Vanessa said, with a smile on her lips that had nothing to do with the situation at hand and more to do with the sight of her mate naked once more.

“Faith’s…” Ryan bit down on a good choice of curse words that rushed to mind.

“Not my fault,” Faith said, holding up her hands near her breasts, and turning a hard glare back on her brother.

“Fault?” Devlin bit out. “Does someone wanna tell me what’s going on here?”

“Mates,” Vanessa piped up and watched the information register on the man’s face.

“Mates…” he looked confused. “Who?” He demanded, looking for clarity from his sister, but Faith was back to eyeing her naked mate once more.

“All of them,” Mick growled.

“All three?” Devlin spat out. “What was it three for one at the local take out?”

“Ok, now…” Faith started, wrenching her gaze form Mick and back towards her brother, but he cut her off.

“Clara said…” Devlin shot back, looking to his sister for clarity.

“Oh, look, it is Faith’s fault after all, shocker,” Vanessa announced and Faith twisted her body in place to offer the witch a death glare.

“Stop throwing me under the bus,” Faith shot back.

“Can we…?” Ryan started.

“No!” All three witches, Leslie, and Devlin said as one.

“This,” Faith held out arms and motioned towards her brother. “Is not my fault.”

“You called the bat-shit crazy vampire, ergo, your fault,” Vanessa tossed back.

Leslie took a step forward and eyed Faith’s brother.

“He’s a witch?” She asked.

“Wizard,” Faith tossed back, ready to get into an argument again with Vanessa over blame.

“Warlock,” Devlin said, sounding aggrieved.

“Warlock,” Faith snorted a chuckle. “Please.”

“So, that’s what a male witch looks like,” Rodney snorted a chuckle, and Devlin turned his hard stare onto the man.

“I tossed your furry backside a good hundred feet, didn’t I?” Devlin sneered.

“Wanna try it now?” Rodney went to take a step forward, but Leslie growled long and hard at the shifter. “What’s your problem?”

“He is…” Leslie said with a wince.

“Oh, hell no,” Ryan growled.

“Oh, hell yes,” Leslie tossed back.

“Ooh, what?” Faith asked, eyeing the siblings. Leslie dragged her eyes away from Devlin and grimaced at the witch.

“Mine…” she said, helplessly.

“W-hat?” Devlin almost sounded like a girl.

“Mine,” Leslie said again with a small shrug.

“A male witch?” Jason snorted a chuckle.

“Warlock,” Devlin grumbled.

“Another witch,” Ryan grumbled.

“Still a damn Warlock,” Devlin would have growled if he could have.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Vanessa snapped. “Another witch?”

“This is not my fault,” Ryan motioned towards the new mates.

“Like it’s mine?” Vanessa shot back.

“Well, it’s not mine,” Jason said with a snort of amusement.

“Don’t look at me,” Mick chuckled.

Faith’s hand slapped in front of her mouth as she tried to bite down on the amusement within her, but she couldn’t stop it. The look of horror – the look of pure disbelief on her brother’s face practically forced the chuckles to come from her lips.

When Devlin turned something of a confused look towards his sister and found her in the midst of a giggling fit, that confusion turned to disbelief.

“This is all your damn fault,” he spat out.

“That’s what sisters are for,” Faith chuckled, but she couldn’t hold the laughter in a moment longer, she tossed her head back on her neck and cracked up.

“I hate family,” Devlin grumbled.