~

 

“She has such a sunny disposition,” Mick growled.

“And I thought Clive was a…” Jason never got to finish as the man shot around the corner of the house and headed towards his mate.

“A what?” he shot a quick look at the beta but turned his attention right back towards his mate.

Clara ground to a halt and rolled her eyes back in her head. Then she took a long, deep, breath and groaned.

“See.” She bit out, tossing up a hand towards Clive without looking in his direction.

“Yes, aren’t I wonderful?” Clive offered back.

“Like a dose of the craps, soiled panties included,” Clara bit out.

“You have such a way with words,” Clive teased.

“Make him go away,” Clara centered her gaze on Faith.

“He’s your mate, what do you want me to do?” Faith chuckled.

“It’s not a laughing matter. The man is…” Clara bit down on her annoyance.

“Your mate,” Ryan folded his large arms across his chest and eyed the vampire.

“Harder to kill than expected,” Clara bit out, and Jason chortled as he turned his eyes towards Clive. Clive nodded with pride.

“She tried to kill you?” Jason asked, and he nodded again.

“And failed,” Clive announced. “Multiple times.”

“Geez, Clara,” Faith scowled, “give the poor guy a break.”

“Oh, she did, multiple breaks in ninety-five percent of my body, several times,” Clive offered back with a small shrug.

“And yet he doesn’t get the message,” Clara grumbled.

“Yes, I do,” Clive frowned. “I just choose to ignore it. I figure I can wear you down before you kill me.”

“Are you a betting man?” Clara tossed him the stink eye.

“Not right now,” Clive offered back.

“Shame, I could make a killing in more ways than one,” Clara shot back.

“Why don’t you two…” Faith shrugged.

“Fight to the death?” Clara tossed up a hand, and Clive’s eyebrows came down to cover his eyes.

“Excuse me?” He bit out.

“It’s the only way to get you off my trail, Junior,” Clara offered back.

“Junior,” Jason sniggered.

“I will kill you and not feel one moment’s remorse,” Clive bit out at the beta, and Jason smirked.

“Not one?” Clara asked.

“No,” Clive bit back.

“I might have underestimated you,” Clara smiled.

“Oh, you did,” Clive shot back.

“You’re bonding over my death?” Jason bit out.

“Yeah, it was a noble one, you almost lifted a claw before I ripped your head off,” Clive shot back.

“Tell me more?” Clara grinned.

“Seriously?” Jason growled as his brothers sniggered.

“What say we talk about this, somewhere else?” Clive asked.

“Where’d you have in mind?” Clara eyed him with suspicion.

“I have a bar down the road, a house in Rome, a Villa in Spain, an apartment in Paris…”

“Hell, I’ll go with him,” Faith chuckled, and Mick shot her a glare. “What? Just saying.”

“Well, don’t…” Mick grumbled.

“A self-made vampire. I like that,” Clara said.

“An evil, vindictive she-demon of a vampire, but one who would wipe out a whole pack for her friend… I like that,” Clive offered back.

“I’m the friend,” Faith nudged her mate in the ribs, and Mick groaned.

“Again with the elbows?” Mick grumbled.

“What? You can bite, but I can’t nudge?” Faith grinned, holding his gaze for the longest time, and there was pure hunger in his growl as he remembered the taste of her blood on his tongue, claiming her.

“Nudge away, sweetheart,” Mick said, and he grunted in pain when she did just that.

“I choose Paris,” Clara announced.

“Good choice,” Faith offered up to her. “The Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysees, the city of lovers…”

“The French are so tasty,” Clara grinned.

“There are no words,” Mick gave his mate a hard stare, and she plastered a fake grin on her lips.

“You’ll love her when you get to know her,” she offered back, lamely.

“I’m sure,” he grumbled.

“I need you to look after my bar,” Clive said, tossing the keys through the air, and the alpha reached out and snatched them up.

“Do I look like a babysitting service to you?” Ryan growled.

“Sixty forty split of the profits,” Clive shot back.

“I’m not greedy,” Ryan said with a shrug. “Seventy thirty.”

“Deal,” Clive bit out.

“Seventy in my favor,” Ryan grinned.

“Fine. It could be a while,” Clive said. “There are lots of French people to… taste.”

“We may move onto Spain,” Clara announced. “The Spanish are so…”

“Tasty?” Jason offered, and she gave him a slow grin, fangs and all.

“Spicy,” Clara offered back.

“And that’s tasty,” Clive said, offering his mate the crook of his arm and she lifted one eyebrow and considered it.

“A gentleman,” Clara said.

“Depends on the company I keep,” Clive offered back.

“Good answer,” Faith chuckled.

“Wasn’t it,” Clara grinned. “We’ll try this mate thing for a while.”

“How long?” Clive asked.

“Just, one – two hundred years, give or take,” she shrugged.

“Best get started then,” Clive said, and she linked her arm with his.

“A whole world to see,” Clara said.

“And lots of nationalities to taste.” Clive grinned as they strolled away.

“Wow,” Jason bit out.

“Your friend, the vampire,” Mick chuckled.

“And what’s Clive? A faerie?” Faith snapped back.

“Compared to Clara, he’s a saint,” Mick shot back.

“Let’s not talk about religion,” Vanessa groaned.

“Too soon?” Jason chuckled.

“I kind of liked that habit,” Mick grinned at his mate.

“Pervert,” Jason chuckled.

“What? It left a lot to the imagination,” Mick grinned. “And I have a great imagination.”

“You don’t like seeing the real thing?” Faith asked.

“I love seeing the real thing. In fact…” Mick reached out and yanked her body against his.

“Hey!” Leslie called out as she strolled towards them from out of the woods, hand in hand with Devlin.

“Didn’t want a mate?” Faith grinned at her brother.

“I was… swayed,” Devlin offered back with a huge grin.

“Watch what you say about my sister,” Jason growled.

“Mine too,” Mick growled harder.

“Our sister,” Faith said, jabbing Mick in the ribs with two fingers and making him groan. “See, it’s not just the elbows, sweetheart.” She teased.

“Your sister, but my mate,” Devlin shot back. “Don’t forget it.” He added, and Leslie grinned from ear to ear.

“Really?” Ryan growled.

“Really,” Devlin offered back, pulling Leslie against his hip and wrapping a protective arm around her waist.

“Fair enough,” Ryan offered back.

“See, I told you they wouldn’t rip your head off, just yet,” Leslie whispered. “Especially, as I haven’t got my four pups yet.”

Devlin almost tripped over his own feet.

“F-four?” he asked.

“At least, but four is a nice round number, don’t you think?” Leslie tipped her head back and gave him a teasing smile.

“Anything you want, baby,” Devlin grinned.

“Good answer,” Ryan growled.

“Already whipped,” Jason chuckled.

“Speaking of zapping,” Jeannie said, and Jason’s head shot around on his neck, and his body followed as he turned to eye his mate. The smile dropped from his face.

“We weren’t,” He said fast.

“We are now,” Jeannie grinned.

“Now, hold on a…” Jason held up his hands to ward off any ideas that she might have had.

“You promised,” Jeannie whined.

“Not so much a promise as a suggestion of…” too late. She zapped him a good one, and he yelped.

“Pussy…” Mick said on a fake cough into his hand. Faith eyed him. “Cat, pussy-cat.”

“Wanna get zapped?” Faith asked, and he gave a slow shake of his head.

“No I don’t,” Mick growled, just a little.

“Better not disappoint,” Faith offered him a wicked grin and a beaming smile spread across his face. He reached down and snatched her up into his arms.

“If I ever do, then you can zap me,” Mick offered.

“Oh, I will,” Faith assured him as he stalked off towards the back door.

“Where were we?” Ryan asked Vanessa as he rounded the table.

“Physically here, mentally, upstairs in our bedroom,” Vanessa chuckled.

“They get loving, and I get zapped?” Jason scowled.

“Haven’t you ever heard that rule?” Jeannie asked.

“Rule?”

“No pleasure without pain?” Jeannie grinned.

“I like the sound of that,” Jason said, stalking towards her and watching her cheeks flare red and her eyes widen in excitement.

“How about you?” Leslie asked.

“How about me?” Devlin offered back.

“Wanna do it in a bed for a change?” she offered him a hungry growl.

“Bed, floor, wall, shower…”

“That’s sounds like good practice for my breeding cycle,” Leslie said, and Devlin frowned.

“What’s that?” He asked.

“Oh boy, will you find out,” Jason chuckled hard.

“That’s sex, sex, and more sex,” Leslie whispered in his ear.

“I should stock up on protein bars, and power shakes,” Devlin made a mental note.

“You know what?” Jeannie eyed her mate.

“What?” Jason looked a little suspicious of her.

“I feel a breeding cycle coming on,” Jeannie gave him a wicked grin, and he offered her a hearty, hungry growl.

“Hell yeah!” He whisked her up in his arms and started for the house with a spring in his step.

“Ain’t getting nun, ha?” Mick chuckled as he shot his words back at his brother.

“I suddenly see religion in a whole different light,” Jason grinned.

The End.