~

 

Vanessa was doing the best that she could to keep her shields wrapped tightly around her body and Fae aura. The wards that she and Faith had conjured up, over one too many glasses of wine, from a new spell that they’d put together, seemed to be working a treat in keeping her Fae heritage under wraps.

She’d been sitting at the bar, nursing the bottle of beer that the bartender had put in front of her, and she was kind of hoping that the shifters would see her outfit and leave her the heck alone until Faith arrived.

It might have felt like a good idea to mess with a few shifters when she was on the outside looking in. Not to mention with a drink or two under her belt from the party, but once she got inside the bar, it hadn’t taken her long to realize just how outnumbered she was or to sober up just a little.

She was really hoping that Faith arrived quickly, because she’d been all too aware of the sexy alpha in the room, and now she was getting some unwanted interest from him as he broke away from the group he was with and had started to walk towards her.

A Witch in a shifter bar. What could possibly go wrong?

Having her new wards up didn’t do anything to negate the warning system that was sounding off from the shifter’s approach, and her shields tingled and pulsed against her skin with the alarm bells ringing loudly in her mind like some karmic church bell that taunted and warned of her doom.

She was dressed like a nun, for goodness sake, if she were to die now maybe her ancestors would just disown her!

He was certainly coming her way. All six foot odd of hunky male goodness with a look that said he was intent on getting to her. She had to wonder if the man had seen right through her wards and knew what she was.

Then, as if by some quirk of demon magic, a damn stupid vampire appeared in front of her and scared the bejesus out of her.

“Hello, Sister, and welcome to my establishment,” Clive said, offering her a devilishly sinful smile – like he knew a secret that she didn’t.

The trouble was, she knew that secret too. The man was a blood sucking leech, and she could raise him one of her own – and if he wanted to mess with a witch, then he would feel her wrath.

Still outnumbered, and in costume, she had to hold onto the urge to zap the man senseless, just in case she was jumping the gun. Not that a gun would do much good with him unless of course, it contained silver or wooden bullets.

Oh, what she wouldn’t give to have a gun like that in the habit.

“I’m just waiting for a friend to pick me up, your doorman said I could come in, but if that’s a problem?” Vanessa said quickly.

She flicked a look over Clive’s shoulder to where the alpha shifter had stopped in place and was looking somewhat constipated as he eyed the pair of them.

What’s his problem?

Hmm… Vampire or wolf trouble? That’s like a toss up between being flayed or barbecued, and it’s certainly not a choice that I expected to be making today.

“No, no problem,” Clive shot a quick look back over his shoulder as he followed her curious stare.

Clive had found, much to his good fortune, that most women were trapped in his eyes when he appeared – she wasn’t. It was a curious state of affairs that made him itch with the need to know why.

It certainly wasn’t her love of God and the fact that she held sacred all things heavenly, he’d dazzled nuns before.

No, there was certainly something a little – different about the woman. If only he could put his finger on it, then it wouldn’t irk him so.

“Nice… bar,” Vanessa said absently.

Her eyes took in the alpha. His broad shoulders were tensed like he was expecting trouble, and his large hands were fisted at his sides. That did little to ease the tension within her. If he was expecting trouble, then maybe she should be too.

The alpha’s eyes narrowed and flicked to the back of the vampire’s head, then towards her, and then back again. Something was up with the man – she just didn’t know what.

“Is God’s work getting a little too much?” Clive teased, and her eyes snapped back towards him.

“Huh?” She hadn’t been paying the vampire all of the attention that she probably should have, but that could be forgiven, considering the alpha looked as if his head might just explode and she would have hated to miss that experience.

“It’s turned you to alcohol, Sister,” Clive nodded towards the beer.

“It’s my one little vice. I totally intend to go to confession about my lack of…”

“Sobriety?” Clive said.

“What?” Vanessa yanked her head back on her neck and paid the vampire a little more attention that time.

“Smells like you’ve been drinking wine. Not that I’m judging – far be it from me to pour scorn on anyone’s drinking habits. Lord knows, we all have our cross to bear,” Clive offered.

He was intrigued. It wasn’t often that someone walked into his bar that shocked the hell out of him, but a nun?

He never thought he’d see the day.

She was certainly a turn up for the books, and there was just something about the woman that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. It annoyed him and at times like those he had to wonder if he was going Vampire senile.

“Oh, wine…” Vanessa cleared her throat to buy herself a moment or two. She guessed the jig was up and it was time to fess up. “Blood of Christ.” She practically spat out – finding a Hail Mary and grasping at it.

“Ah, yes… Blood of Christ – yummy,” Clive offered back with another wicked smile that made her want to kick him to the curb, or boot him in the crown jewels – either way, she’d need to do it in a very nun like way.

That image played in her mind. She could see herself hitching up her habit and booting him in a place where even vampires felt excruciating pain, and it gave her a warm and fluffy feeling inside to imagine the look in his eyes if she’d actually done it.

“Excuse me?” Vanessa snapped out of her happy thought and tipped her head to one side as studied the vampire for a long moment. 

He was either well aware of what she was, or the man was insane. Either way – she thought it was probably time for her to leave the bar while her mock halo was still intact. She didn’t want to give nuns everywhere a bad name.

“Don’t get me wrong; I welcome a religion that uses a sinful product that ruins countless lives and destroys families to represent something so… holy. It’s a bold move.” He offered, delivering his speech with both sarcasm and teasing wit.

“I have no words,” Vanessa said dryly.

While she didn’t embrace the church, or in fact, any of the new fangled religions, she didn’t dismiss them so easily either.

In her book – everyone was entitled to believe in hope.

“Tell me, Sister, do you sneak into the wine cellar and…” he fisted an imaginary bottle and pretended to swig from it.

“I think one of us does, and I don’t think that it's necessarily me,” Vanessa said.

Vanessa flicked another look back to the alpha the instant that the man moved. It looked as if someone had given him a shove from behind as he threw himself into his stride and stalked towards them.

“Company,” Clive said, in a sing-song voice that reminded her that he was a vampire – not that she needed reminding.

Hell, he might as well have had a flashing neon sign over his head. Just the look of him dressed in his black on black ensemble was enough to scream vampire – or undertaker. Both screamed death in different ways.

“Leave the nun alone, Clive,” Ryan bit out.

The alpha wasn’t one for religion – hell, his kind had been hunted to near extinction back in the day because of the misguided beliefs of the church and its followers. But she was an innocent, and his wolf felt protective to the point where it was clawing within him to get out and send the vampire on his way.

“I’m just playing a little game of karma is a bitch. Tell me how that’s a bad thing?” Clive bit on down on his words as he raised his eyes towards the ceiling, before settling them back on the miffed off alpha.

“Step away from the nun.” Ryan tried his damnedest to hold onto his growl; just a little of it rumbled within his chest.

“You step away from the nun,” Clive shot back on a scowl.

If looks could kill and shifters had magic – Clive knew that he’d have been ashes at the nun’s feet.

“I feel like I’m causing a poop storm,” Vanessa said, and then grimaced at the slip-up.

The vampire shot her a quick look back over his shoulder as he stood between the advancing shifter and the nun. He wasn’t sure what the Alpha’s problem was, but he wasn’t about to let the man take it out on the nun.

He had his limits to his own particular brand of sin – and doing away with helpless nuns was a hard line that he wouldn’t cross.

“What a lovely turn of phrase you have there, sister,” Clive grinned at her.

“I’m warning you, vam…” Ryan bit down on his words.

He’d almost let the cat out of the bag and had the nun running for the hills screaming for her God to save her.

That would be bad.

It would also be a useless waste of her time.

“I really should leave now.” Vanessa slipped down from the stool, just as the door to the bar was yanked open, and Faith shot in – still dressed in her habit, and with Jeannie backing her up.

Vanessa didn’t know whether to laugh or groan out loud.

“Oh, thank God,” Vanessa bit out, and Clive shot her another curious look. She grimaced inwardly. “That he has seen fit to send my ride back to salvation where I must pray for the strength to...” Vanessa was cringing inside, and she half rolled her eyes back towards her friends – looking for someone to bail her out of the mess that she’d walked right into.

“Yes … let’s all rejoice,” Clive said, narrowing his eyes at her and hitting the nail right on the head.

Finally, he managed to put his finger on what had been evading him about her for so long.

Magic, no matter how you dressed it up or tried to shield it, there it was, just bubbling under the surface.

It was in her eyes, and he wasn’t surprised that the little minx had tried her damnedest not to look at him.

Now, he sensed it.

Now, it tapped against his consciousness like a woodpecker in spring.

Three little witches had just walked onto his territory and into his lair.

What tasty treats.

What fun he could have now that he didn’t have to worry about his morality button and all that it implied.

Nuns might have been off limits, but witches? Well… that changed things a lot. He could call them breakfast, lunch, and supper.