~

 

“Faith…” Jason groaned, but she wasn’t listening.

“Shift back, now,” Faith demanded, and she wasn’t taking no for an answer. She backed that demand up with magic, and in no time at all she was glaring at two very naked, and very confused human shifters.

“Faith,” Mick growled through clenched teeth.

His wolf wasn’t exactly over the moon that their mate had stopped the fight. He certainly wasn’t happy that she’d somehow managed to force the shift, and he was definitely miffed that he couldn’t move a muscle to reach out and rip that bear shifter’s head from his neck.

“Mick, meet Remy,” Faith flicked her hand on her wrist, and Mick’s head whipped to the right, and he found himself eyeing the bear shifter.

Mick grumbled a long, hard, growl.

“Who the hell is Remy?” Mick growled with every word.

“Oh, you ask questions now,” Faith hissed. “Remy, meet Mick,” she flicked his head around so that the bear shifter was glaring at her mate.

“I’d rather not,” Remy growled.

“No, you two knuckleheads would rather get all claws and fangs and start beating on each other,” Faith grumbled.

“Faith…” Jeannie started to warn, but before she could get another word out, Jason was in front of her, making her pull up short, but she still managed to crash into his back. “For the love of…”

“Remy’s an old friend,” Faith said, and Mick scowled.

“What the hell type of an old friend?” He growled.

“Boyfriend,” Remy growled back.

“Friend – friend,” Faith berated the lying bear, even as her mate pulled back his lips and growled hard at the other shifter.

“Which is it?” Mick growled.

If he’d been able to move a muscle, then he would already have been beating the hell out of the man.

“What’s it to you?” Remy growled.

“Remy, meet my mate,” Faith said, and the bear shifter might not have been able to move his head, but he didn’t have a problem snapping his eyes towards her.

“Your what?” He growled.

“M-a-t-e,” Faith offered back, slowly, dragging out the word so that it would penetrate his thick head.

“Mate!” Remy growled. “But Clara said…”

“See,” Faith announced, turning to shoot a look back at Jason. “Told you this wasn’t my fault.”

“He’s your friend,” Jason shot back.

“He’s your friend,” Faith sneered.

“Funny,” Jason grumbled.

“Not so much,” Mick growled. “What’d the vampire say? That we kidnapped them? That they were in danger?”

“Something like that,” Remy growled back.

“Oh, look,” Jason announced. “Your fault.” He offered to Faith with a smirk.

“Bite me,” she hissed back.

“One damn step, brother,” Mick growled the warning, but he still couldn’t move a muscle.

“You just stand there playing statues, and let me sort this out,” Jason tossed back to the sound of another growl.

“Me and you and…”

“Yeah, Mick, but first you need to get un-sticky,” Jason tossed back.

“Not my fault,” Faith hissed up at the beta.

“You called Clara, Clara called…” Jason narrowed his eyes at her. “How many other people are gonna show up?”

“Why?” Faith sneered. “Afraid of a little competition?”

“You bite me,” Jason grumbled back, and when his mate elbowed him in the ribs, he grunted in pain. “Do you practice that?” He growled.

“Yeah, there’s a class on it in school,” Jeannie tossed back. “Faith let them go.” She nodded towards the shifter statues.

“Why?” Faith shrugged and snorted her contempt for the both of them.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Jeannie shot back.

“Do I look like I care?”

“You looked pretty caring in the kitchen not more than fifteen minutes…”

“Fine,” Faith snapped off her magic. She didn’t need to be reminded of what she and Mick were doing in the kitchen.

“We need to talk,” Remy growled.

“No, you don’t,” Mick snapped back.

“Was I talking to you?” Remy turned towards Mick.

“You wanna be wearing your nose of the other side of your face?” Mick growled back.

“Bring it on,” Remy growled, and Mick took the shot, swinging his fist at the man.

“You know, Jeannie,” Faith said, folding her arms and angling her head to one side as she watched the shifters bickering and swinging punches. “You were right. Let them go. This is so much better.” 

“It’s his fault,” Jeannie snapped a look at her mate and Jason’s jaw dropped.

“Why is it my fault?”

“Because ” Jeannie shrugged just one shoulder.

“Fine, it’s…” Jason stopped talking, and Remy and Mick stopped trading punches the moment that the deep mating howl went up.

Every one of them turned to look at the house.

“Ryan,” Jason bit out like he was bitterly disappointed, and Jeannie shot a look at him. “Mated first.” He raised a hand towards the house in explanation.

“It was a competition?” Jeannie demanded as her eyebrows shot up on her forehead.

“Noooo,” Jason gave a slow shake of his head. “But still…”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Jeannie snapped back.

“Got it,” Jason grimaced as he turned to look at his brother. Mick shrugged.

“One down, two…” he snapped off his words at the sound of a very feminine howl that went up from somewhere deep within the woods.

“Are you kidding me?” Jason growled, turning and raising a hand towards the trees. “Leslie?”

“Devlin?” Faith snorted.

“Devlin?” Remy grumbled.

“Found his mate, well she found… he’s mated,” Faith started back towards the house.

“Where are you going?” Mick called after her, giving the bear shifter a sideways glare as he started across the grass on his mate’s heels.

“I need a drink,” Faith hissed.

“And chocolate,” Jeannie was following them.

“God, yes, lots of chocolate,” Faith agreed.

Jason fell into line behind them, and Remy grumbled a growl.

“Faith?” He called out.

“Please, can my bear shifter friend come inside the house?” Faith tossed back over her shoulder.

“Yeah, that’s not…” Mick started, but Faith whirled around on her feet to face him, and he pulled up short.

“If you ever have a hope in hell of wooing me…” Faith bit down on the rest of that sentence.

“Welcome to pack land, Remy, come on in,” Mick growled out, eyeing his mate until she pressed her lips together, nodded her head in approval, and turned back towards the house.

“Nicely done,” Faith bit out.

“I hope he’s house trained,” Jason grumbled.

“Yeah, I’ll sniff out your bed and wipe my ass on your pillow,” Remy muttered.

“Hey, I sleep on that pillow,” Jeannie tossed over her shoulder.

“Fine, I’ll just crap in his shoes,” Remy offered back, and Jason growled a warning at the man as he tossed him a glare. “All of them.”