Chapter Three
It wouldn’t be a Saturday night in Sleepy Briarwithout a few brawls between the usually happy-go-lucky patrons. Sadie relished the feel of her magic as it accumulated in her palms, the steady glow of midnight blue shimmered and danced in her palms ready to do her bidding.
She strode across the wooden floor and planted herself in the middle of the straight-up fistfight between a group of young pups according to shifter standards. The few human patrons scrambled to the far sides of the room. Tables and beers abandoned, all but for a group of humans who she sensed liked a little trouble. “It’s a little early in the evening, don’t you think?” she called out, bouncing the ball of fire in her hand. “And who is going to pay for all this?” She pointed at the broken tables and chairs flung across the floor.
The human regulars that had stayed watched the show, ready to jump in for a little action. Not on her watch. She couldn’t afford any more damaged property. Many of the humans were lumberjacks with arms the size of trees and just as rowdy and boisterous as the shifters themselves.
“So, gentlemen, I’ll give you two choices.” Five sets of shifter eyes turned her way. She let her energy build another notch and swirl around her outstretched hands. “Chuck up the funds and clean up. Or, I get to have some fun.” And by fun, she meant release enough juice they’d wished a stun gun would have been used on them instead. “You pick.”
The bigger shifter of the group straightened and nodded her way in a show of respect. Yeah, he’d tangoed with a witch before, and she bet he’d never forget the encounter either.
She narrowed her eyes on him and slowly nailed each of his friends with a glare. The Cauldron Bubble was hers by inheritance. She’d spent a long time earning the respect of her new neighbors, both human and supernatural, and it looked like a few more coming-of-age drinkers needed to learn the rules. They shared a delicate balance between the races with witches new to the scene. Shifters and humans clashed often, but her domain, her rules.
A low, snarled growl sounded from behind her, sending every hair on her neck on end. All the rowdy troublemakers slowly shifted their gazes to stare past her, even the rough-looking humans. Aidan only had to give a warning to make his point.
The pups hurried and righted themselves along with the overturned tables and chairs. Her magic dimmed and settled back into her palms. Frustrated, she turned on her heel and made her way back to the bar.
Dammit, Aidan. Freaking meddling wolf. She’d half hoped to dish out a little ass-kicking. It would have gone a long way with helping her release some pent-up tension.
No matter how much she wanted to keep walking, her gaze defied her demands and glided over to lock on Aidan’s. His eyes still burned with the same intense smolder. Goddess, even halfway across the room she could still feel his pull on her. As if her magic answered to his wolf. But that was crazy. She’d never heard of a witch and wolf mating before. Shifters, witches, and fae kept to their own with so few crossovers she’d only heard it whispered about here and there.
With a roguish grin plastered on his face, he raised his tumbler in salute and tossed back the fuchsia and lavender liquor he favored.
She ground to a halt.
Wait. What the fuck? Moon Brew was silver-white.
Holy crap!
Her stomach dipped and rolled as though she’d just plunged from a fifty-foot drop.
“Amber.” Her eyes glued on Aidan, she screamed for the waiter, but it was already too late. “Holy Hades in a handbasket I am so sooo fucked.” She muffled a groan in between debating the closest exit to haul ass out of.
She found herself fumbling in her back pocket for her vibrating phone. Freaking Hades, trouble always came in sets of three.
She looked between the screen of her phone and the hexed alpha.
Fuck. Her sister. And she could bet where there was one, the other two were not far behind.
She couldn’t ignore the call unless she wanted an impromptu visit.
That wouldn’t be too good.
Behind her one of the rowdy lumberjacks said something that had a shifter launching himself across the tavern, breaking out another fight.
In one hand she called up her magic and flung the flaming ball at the back of the bear-like lumberjack as she put the phone to her ear with the other.
“Make it quick,” she shouted, throwing another warning shot at the human when he shook off her last one like it was a harmless snowball.
“Sadie, you there? What’s going on? It sounds like you have a pack ransacking your place.” There was a short pause about long enough for Sadie to open her mouth and answer but not get anything out.
“Listen I don’t know if I can do this.”
“Harlow.” Crap. The potion she was supposed to give to her sister currently hexed an alpha who wasn’t at his table anymore. He was on his feet and from the look in his eyes, had ideas he wanted to act on.
She uncontrollably clenched her thighs at the heat leveled her way.
“Uhhh…look. Can’t talk right now. There’s a small situation I need to take care of, okay? We have to postpone delivery on your potion. Call you back.” Sadie winced at her clipped tone that would only spark questions from Harlow, but what choice did she have? She ended the call.