Broomstick Breakdown

Chapter Eleven

Aidan spat out a mouthful of blood. “Is that the best you can do? Have you grown so weak you need someone to hold your opponents down so you can beat on them?”

“Shut up,” snarled Jason, pack leader and at this point enemy number one.

Aidan quickly learned upon his arrival at the pack house that nothing he could say would make a difference in Jason’s decision. Only purebloods would be accepted as mates, fated or not. And apparently leaving the pack-alive-to be with his witch wasn’t an option.

At least he’d managed to send Sophia a message before cutting his link to her. The knowledge that she was safe made it easier to concentrate on trying to stay alive.

“What’s wrong, Jason? Afraid everyone will see what a pussy you are? A real alpha can enforce his laws himself.”

“Enough!” Jason, only a few years older than Aidan, panted as if actually exerting himself. His eyes glowed, a fanatic wildness lighting them and deepening Aidan’s dread.

“He’s right,” spoke up an older member of the pack. “This ain’t right. And not just the fact you got two guys holding him down so you can smack him. If he’s found his true mate, who cares what her blood is. Tradition says once found, it’s ’til death do you part. If you wanna banish him, then do it, but don’t beat on him for something he can’t control. Or at least let him go so he can defend himself.”

A rumbling assent came from the gathered shifters, and the grip on Aidan’s arms loosened with indecision.

“Let him go,” snapped Jason. “I’ll take care of him myself.”

Figures. He holds me down to beat the crap out of me, and when he thinks I’m weakened enough he decides to wolf up. Should have beaten me longer, thought Aidan, a feral smile lighting his face. Aidan found himself free, and he flexed his arms to get the blood circulating in them. Jason stepped off the dais and approached him, muscles bulging under the fat that a slovenly lifestyle had graced him with.

Aidan crouched slightly and held himself ready as he and Jason paced around in a circle, the other wolves forming a circle of spectators.

However, a distraction called Sophia-I’m here to help, Aidan!-made Jason’s first blow connect and Aidan’s face snapped to the side. The punch dazed him but not enough to miss his mate’s grand entrance.

The doors to the club blew open with a resounding crash and in the sunlit doorway stood his witch, a light breeze lifting the tendrils of her hair as she stood with one hand on her cocked hip while the other held his ratty broom as a staff.

He cursed even as he held back a rueful smile. That’s my witch. New strength and adrenaline rushed through him. With her now in danger, nobody in the room stood a chance.

Sophia hid her trepidation with a show of power and intimidation. But she couldn’t help the cry that escaped her when she saw the blood on Aidan’s face. “Aidan!”

He glowered at her. “I told you to escape.”

“I couldn’t leave you.” Her words made him smile and shake his head.

“Get her,” screamed Jason.

Most in the room didn’t move, but that still left three shifters coming at her, one swapping his human shape for a wolf one. Using the logic she’d acquired from the cabin, she drew on the power and used it to lift. Nothing. Shoot. The room held only bodies, no furniture.

So, when the first wolf reached her, she used the only weapon in her possession, her broom, and whacked it over the nose, which stunned it into sitting. With a terrifying roar, Aidan tackled the other two men who thought to lay a hand on her. The meaty sound of his fist hitting their faces told her he had them occupied, so she could concentrate on her current problem.

The wolf in front of her recovered from its surprise and advanced on her. It snarled and showed a lot of teeth. Sophia chanted and drew on some more magic. Her broom thickened in her grasp, turning into a baseball bat, a much easier weapon to swing.

The wolf didn’t stop. He obviously didn’t know about her trophies back home for most hits on her softball team three years running. She only cringed after she connected with the wolf’s head. Rock-throwing was one thing, swinging a bat and feeling the shock of connecting from her hands right up to her shoulders was another. But with a whimper, the wolf skulked away on unsteady feet.

Sophia waved the bat menacingly at the still-watching crowd. “Any other takers?” She managed to swallow her sigh of relief when no one stepped forward to her challenge. A short-lived relief, it turned out, when arms wrapped around her from behind to trap her arms. Shoot. Getting caught hadn’t figured in her plans.

“Drop the bat or you’ll find out how it feels to die with crushed ribs,” growled a voice from behind her.

Sophia dropped the bat with a thunk. So much for rescuing Aidan. I think I might have made things worse.

“I’ve got your witch slut, Aidan,” her captor announced triumphantly.

Aidan untangled himself from the two bodies he’d used as punch test dummies. “Let her go, Jason. Your fight is with me.”

“Oh, I intend to fight you, right after I take care of your bitch.” Jason removed one of his arms from around her and placed his hand against her throat. A sharp pain pricked at her skin.

Oh, this really isn’t good.

Things might have gotten really ugly at that point, if it hadn’t been for the arrival of two new players.

“You would dare execute one of our own for no other crime than being caught up in the mating bond caused by your kind. I think not,” said a female voice in a how-dare-you tone. “Dracin, darling, if you please.”

Sophia felt the cold tingle of an alien magic in the room and then Jason’s vise-like arm and clawed hand were gone. A second later-actually more like a millisecond-Aidan’s arms wrapped around her and she clung to him, grateful to find them both alive. But curiosity made her turn to see who had rescued them. At first her attention was caught by a floating Jason, his eyes wide in fright, his mouth working but without any sound. How strange. I thought magic couldn’t affect shifters?

Behind the bad alpha’s dangling legs Sophia saw a stud-seriously, he almost put Aidan to shame with his well over six-foot lanky frame and wavy blonde hair. His bearing screamed Viking warrior, which made the soft, sappy look he bestowed on a petite woman beside him all the more incongruous. Sophia mentally made the connection based on what Aidan had told her of the dragon who had befriended him. Thus, if the man was Dracin, then the woman by default was Clarabelle, a witch like her. A very pregnant one, too, judging by her bulging belly. It also explained the alien magic feel. Dragon magic. And what do you know, they can use it on werewolves? An interesting fact to take note of.

“What would you like me to do with this mongrel, Belle?” asked Dracin without any of the fierceness Sophia would have expected of a dragon shifter.

“I don’t think he has the brain capacity to accept what can’t be changed.”

“I will kill him then.”

Aidan spoke up. “If you kill him, much as he deserves it, my pack might take issue, the whole honor thing. Is there not a way we can neutralize him instead and send him on his way?”

With a curt nod, Dracin raised his hands and once again Sophia felt the cool alien magic tickle along her skin. In the blink of an eye, Jason disappeared and in his place stood a coyote with mangy fur.

Clarabelle shooed the ugly beast. “Bad guy, begone, and do not return to bother my new friends or I’ll make you into a fur stole.”

Sophia bit back a giggle at her words as the coyote, formerly known as Jason, took off scurrying and yipping.

“Now does anybody else want to dispute Aidan and Sophia’s bond?” Clarabelle placed her hands on her hips and gave the rest of the pack a stern look, kind of marred by her round belly and glowing cheeks. However, the impressive Dracin, glowering behind her, appeared quite effective for there were a lot of shaking heads.

“Well, then, now that we’ve settled this, I’m hungry. Sophia, you come with me while Aidan and his pack choose a new alpha. We have much to discuss.”

Sophia turned to Aidan with questioning eyes. “Will you be okay? They won’t try to hurt you, will they?”

Aidan’s eyes crinkled at the corners, and he gave her grin. “I think we’ll be all right from here on. If not, you can come back and beat them with your club.” He hugged her tight and lifted her for a deep kiss, which left her flushed and panting. “I’ll come get you when I’m done here.” Another hard kiss sent her libido spinning wildly, and she wanted to ask why they couldn’t just skip everything and go find a soft bed for sinning-heck, even a wall somewhere would do. But a tug on her arm from Clarabelle and shifters converging on Aidan talking in low voices made her put those plans on hold.

Besides, she did have to admit to some curiosity about Clarabelle and her shifter husband. Upon seeing her, Sophia realized she’d seen her around and usually in the company of her superiors. Apparently, Clarabelle had retained some sort of status in the coven even though she went against custom and married outside their ranks.

Dracin led the way, his fierce scowl along with his formidable size making people on the sidewalk give them a wide berth. Bemused, Sophia walked with them to a greasy spoon down the street.

Their conversation over an obscene amount of food, most of which Clarabelle ate under Dracin’s doting eye, proved more than interesting and answered a lot of questions. Sophia’s eyes got wider and at one part, she even giggled. Oh, I wonder what Aidan will think of that. Their talk did assuage a lot of Sophia’s trepidations, especially knowing she would still be part of the coven, just moved to a special section reserved for those who true mated with special others like shifters and whatnot.

As they exited the diner, Aidan was coming up the street. Sophia couldn’t help the smile that beamed forth. She was so happy was she to see him, she ran to him, her heart bursting with love when he returned her happy grin and opened his arms wide. He was big, bad-boy putty for a little, round witch. Sappy but true, and she wouldn’t change it.

“So, what happened?” she asked after he finished planting a whopper of a kiss on her lips, one which made a different set of lips tremble.

“We chose a new alpha.”

“That was quick,” said Dracin, who’d come up behind them with Clarabelle.

“Jason had been pissing the pack off for a while. Problem was the other alphas in the pack didn’t want to step in.”

“Took the job, did you?” Dracin laughed.

Sophia gaped up at Aidan. He was an alpha?

“Nope. I made my brother, who arrived late as usual, take the job. I’ve got a feeling being mated with a witch is going to keep me plenty busy.”

“You’ve got that right,” chimed in Clarabelle with a tinkling laugh. “Well, now that everything is settled, it’s time for us to leave. Don’t worry; we’ll visit again soon. I’m sure you have a ton more questions, and it’s nice to be able to talk to another witch with a shifter of her own. I’d like to do a survey on sizes.”

“Belle,” growled Dracin, a forbidding look on his face.

“What’s wrong with talking about truck sizes?” asked Clarabelle, her innocent look marred by the naughty twinkle in her eye. She turned to Sophia and slipped her a piece of paper. “If you need anything, call me.”

“I will,” said Sophia. They exchanged goodbyes and watched the other couple walk to a truck that could have been the twin of Aidan’s. Another boy with his toy. Funny, she’d have to revise her assumption that only guys with little dicks bought them, because she now knew first-hand that little did not apply in his case.

“Let’s go home,” he said, slinging an arm around her shoulders.

Sophia liked the sound of that. And to make the trip back more interesting, she tested his skills of concentration-in other words how well he could drive while she gave him a hand job.

She kept expecting him to pull over and have his way with her, but with steely jawed determination he got them to the cabin.

Only once they got inside did she realize that something was amiss. Of course the fact he yanked her down on his lap-facedown-and yanked down her pants to give her a firm whack was a pretty good clue.

“Ow!” she yelped. “What did you do that for?”

“That was for not listening and coming to find me.” His hand came down again on her ass with a resounding thwack, which burnt but also to her surprise made her pussy clench and dampen. “That one was for scaring the hell out of me barging into a room of shifters like that. Do you have any idea how many years I lost off my life? And this,” he said as he slapped her lightly on her red ass and then slid his hand between her fiery cheeks to stroke her, a move she agreed with by moaning, “is for being so goddamn brave and lovable.”

As quickly as she’d found herself over his knee, she found herself astride him, his cock sheathed inside her ready channel. He placed his hands around her waist, dictating the rhythm which buried his prick deep into her while somehow making her clit rub against him, pleasurably so.

Sophia looked him in the eye, those blazing orbs that shone with such emotion, she had to reply. “I love you too.”

At her words, he wrapped his arms around her to hug her tight, and she buried her face in his neck. She was overcome, for through their link she could sense everything he felt: fear, relief, and a love so powerful, he’d die for her.

I love you, Aidan, she projected to him their mental connection. And, no matter what, we’ll be together, forever.

Wrapped tight, they still moved together in an erotic pattern, their bodies melded, his rod still pumping her wet sex. At the brink of orgasm, enough of her witchy side came out that she had to say. “And this is for treating me like a girl.” She bit down hard on the soft skin at the base of his neck, then sucked it.

With a bellow, he reared up under her, his cock plowing deep as he shot his cream in hot spurts inside her. It was enough to send Sophia over the edge with screams of her own pleasure.

A pleasure they repeated over and over as they tried to outdo each other with sexual antics, attempting to prove who loved the other the most. It ended in a blissful, exhausted draw.