Showing posts with label Nick and Mooney MacMahon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nick and Mooney MacMahon. Show all posts
Friday, September 18, 2015
The Rescue?
Ziva panted through the burning pain of her raw scrapes and open wounds as well as the damn near debilitating pain in her back when she moved. She continued to remind herself that help was on the way and hoped they got here soon.
She’d only had one good howl in her which was worrisome, but the multiple return howls; Nick’s being the loudest, assured her that many were coming to her rescue.
With the cavalry coming, Ziva allowed her wolf body to fade back to human, hoping the change would start healing the worst of her injuries. Several of the cuts started knitting together and the pain in her back eased enough that she could breathe semi-normally.
“ZIVA,” Nick roared from atop the gorge wall before starting the climb down.
“Nick,” Ziva whispered, wishing she had more oomph to warn him to be careful and less pain to truly enjoy the site of her utterly naked mate scaling the side of the gorge.
“You okay, Auntie Z?” “Hang on, Z-ma.” “Don’t look down alpha man.” “Oh man, Uncle Nick that had to have hurt your toes.”
Ziva resisted laughing, but couldn’t stop the very slight grin that crossed her lips. Loki and Thor were encouraging as only they could…loudly.
“I don’t think it’s the toes he needs to worry about. Hey bro, watch out for your twig and berries man.” Mooney and the boys laughed and Nick growled at them. Ziva knew their game by now and they were only trying to diffuse some of the fear so obviously riding Nick like a crazy monkey.
“What twig and berries?” a feminine voice added to the jesting. “Looks like the business has crawled back inside and boarded up the exits. Poor Ziva.”
Ziva rolled her eyes at the brother/sister interplay and prayed to the Lovely Lupa that Nick didn’t take the bait. Sadly, the great lady appeared to not be listening as Nick looked up at Reetha and let go of the rock with one hand to flip her off. Wolves were more like dogs, even in their human suits. They have power, but very little grace.
Nick lost his hold and started to tumble. Ziva sucked in what little breath she had regained and tried to call out to her love. Unlike where she fell, Nick was lined up with a very sharp stone that jutted out from the hill. Her mate was going to be impaled and all she could do was watch.
~~~
~Innocently whistling~
Have a wonderful weekend, y'all!
~wink~
Serena
Friday, September 4, 2015
Hell of a Hunt...
Hi all, well another shorty from me...actually, it may be shorty's for a while on my front. I've been dealing with a problimatic hand and wrist for the entire summer and am now getting PT for it. I'd initially thought it was carpel, but happily I was wrong!
Anyway, exercises and periodic splinting has been called for, so my typing time is limited for now.
I hope you enjoy Nick and Ziva's continuing trial in short spurts.
By the by, the picture has nothing to do with today's blog, but it just felt like a good day to admire this classic shot. ~sigh~
~~~
Nick stood beside his brother and behind his nephews watching as, together, they culled the young deer from the herd. Damn those boys were good. It really shouldn’t surprise him considering they were McMahons.
He and Mooney were one hell of a hunting pair when they were young…still were if the truth be told, but he would cop to being worried about how the boys would do, being raised by their vegetarian mother. Marissa may be their step-mother, but she, unquestionably, loved those boys like every mother should. How though, could a veggie lover understand the need to hunt red meat?
Today showed he shouldn’t have worried.
She’d proved him wrong though and he was happy to admit that it had to be her love that encouraged the boys to be who they were.
Holy Lupa. That thought alone had him wondering what he and Ziva would do if Cooper or Rain decided to follow a herbie lifestyle instead of a carnie one?
Love them, Dumbass. He could hear Ziva’s voice in his head as if she was standing in front of him. Of course they’d be loved, even if they only ate carrots and stuff.
Something tugged at his awareness, made his hackles rise and pulled him from his musings. A howl and not just any howl, her howl. Ziva’s pained cry pierced his soul and froze everyone around them. Nick raised his snout and let loose with an answering howl of his own before he took off in search of his hurt mate. At his back were Mooney and his boys as well as Reetha. Training was a family affair, as was rescue.
Ziva had been stationed in front of the gorge to make sure there were no accidents, yet somehow she’d had one of her own…she was going to be pissed. If Ziva were hurt terribly, he could only hope that piss and vinegar kept her alive and aware until he reached her.
~~~
Have a wonderful weekend!
Serena
Friday, December 20, 2013
McMahon Mojo...
“Here Dad …”
Nick smirked as Loki all but threw the steaming cup on the table in front of Mooney. The delicate china wobbled and splashed out onto his brother’s hand as he tried to right the thing and keep the liquid from spilling into his lap. Loki, unperturbed by his father’s growls of frustration stood with his hand out, clearly waiting for his tip.
He could hear the clink, clink of another cup coming his way and looked to Thor who was trying to go slow, but the dribbles following him told another story. Nick scooted his chair back and let Thor thunk the cup and saucer onto the table in front of him.
“Ten dollars, please.” Thor announced, also putting his hand out.
“Fifteen dollars,” Loki said, not wanting to be under sold.
“That’s a bit steep for a cup of … what the hell is this?” Mooney grumbled, “Its fricking green.”
“Mom … Dad wants to know what the hell the green stuff is.” Loki hollered back at the counter.
“Language! All of you …” Marissa wagged her finger and Nick could see the heat flair in his brother’s eyes. ”That is green tea for my sweets and Earl Grey for our illustrious newspaper editor.”
“No!” Mooney bellowed. “I ordered coffee, with the works.”
Nick sipped the tea and found it to be quite good. Damn Elly had made him eat herbie food over Thanksgiving and now Marissa with the tea. It was a conspiracy to make them eat better, but it was one that was working. He actually felt better and had more energy if he paired his protein with some greens. He wondered what Ziva would think is she knew.
His brother on the other hand was holding strong to the carnivore lifestyle and the more Marissa pushed the more he ate crap. Not around the wonderful witch, but at work with the other carnies.
“That coffee with the works, Mooney, is giving you a paunch. The Green tea is good for you and will help with the pooch thing. Drink it.” Marissa started to walk away, but his nephews didn’t. They remained with their hands out.
With a nod of respect, Nick pulled out his wallet and laid a five in each of their hands. “For the nerve to spill tea all over the customer and demand payment anyway. You two are truly McMahons. Now take a hike and let me talk to your pops, then later the three of us will take a run in the woods.”
“Yes!” “Yeah!”
He loved their enthusiasm. And audacity. They kept them all on their toes but the rewards were worth it. Some day he hoped, he and Ziva would have a couple cubs to raise and love of their own.
“You spoil them Nick, but I’m going to take advantage of that today and take their time away to win coffee rights back from the Misses.”
“Good luck. Try the tea though, it is good.”
“Yeah, Yeah.”
Mooney sipped and grimaced, then sipped again. Nick smirked as he enjoyed his brew.
“Rumor mills running strong that you and Ziva have reconciled. Any truth to that?”
“More like are starting to meet each other half ways. I’m hoping we can spend some time on Christmas together.”
“Cool.” Mooney nodded, cleared his throat and started again. “You’ve, ah, been surprisingly laid back these last few weeks considering your, ah, lack of sex.”
“Who says that’s been lacking?”
“Hell, Nick, you work, run and go home to that dog. Unless there’s something going on with you and the mutt you’ve been having a very long dry spell.”
“Don’t worry about my spells … wet or dry. Ziva …”
Nick looked up at the woman in question barreling through the shops door, out of breath and bending at the knees. He rose and moved close to her, but didn’t touch. They weren’t there yet though he had high hopes for Christmas. “Are you okay? Is someone bothering you?”
She held up her hand and lifted her head huffing out “I can explain. I promise. I. Can. …”
The bell over the door jiggled again and a voice he’d not heard in a very long time rent the air. “Hello, bitches … it’s me, a friggen Christmas miracle!”
Reetha had returned.
~~~
Yeah, Reetha likes to make an entrance, she's definitely a McMahon. :)
Happy Holiday's
Serena
Nick smirked as Loki all but threw the steaming cup on the table in front of Mooney. The delicate china wobbled and splashed out onto his brother’s hand as he tried to right the thing and keep the liquid from spilling into his lap. Loki, unperturbed by his father’s growls of frustration stood with his hand out, clearly waiting for his tip.
He could hear the clink, clink of another cup coming his way and looked to Thor who was trying to go slow, but the dribbles following him told another story. Nick scooted his chair back and let Thor thunk the cup and saucer onto the table in front of him.
“Ten dollars, please.” Thor announced, also putting his hand out.
“Fifteen dollars,” Loki said, not wanting to be under sold.
“That’s a bit steep for a cup of … what the hell is this?” Mooney grumbled, “Its fricking green.”
“Mom … Dad wants to know what the hell the green stuff is.” Loki hollered back at the counter.
“Language! All of you …” Marissa wagged her finger and Nick could see the heat flair in his brother’s eyes. ”That is green tea for my sweets and Earl Grey for our illustrious newspaper editor.”
“No!” Mooney bellowed. “I ordered coffee, with the works.”
Nick sipped the tea and found it to be quite good. Damn Elly had made him eat herbie food over Thanksgiving and now Marissa with the tea. It was a conspiracy to make them eat better, but it was one that was working. He actually felt better and had more energy if he paired his protein with some greens. He wondered what Ziva would think is she knew.
His brother on the other hand was holding strong to the carnivore lifestyle and the more Marissa pushed the more he ate crap. Not around the wonderful witch, but at work with the other carnies.
“That coffee with the works, Mooney, is giving you a paunch. The Green tea is good for you and will help with the pooch thing. Drink it.” Marissa started to walk away, but his nephews didn’t. They remained with their hands out.
With a nod of respect, Nick pulled out his wallet and laid a five in each of their hands. “For the nerve to spill tea all over the customer and demand payment anyway. You two are truly McMahons. Now take a hike and let me talk to your pops, then later the three of us will take a run in the woods.”
“Yes!” “Yeah!”
He loved their enthusiasm. And audacity. They kept them all on their toes but the rewards were worth it. Some day he hoped, he and Ziva would have a couple cubs to raise and love of their own.
“You spoil them Nick, but I’m going to take advantage of that today and take their time away to win coffee rights back from the Misses.”
“Good luck. Try the tea though, it is good.”
“Yeah, Yeah.”
Mooney sipped and grimaced, then sipped again. Nick smirked as he enjoyed his brew.
“Rumor mills running strong that you and Ziva have reconciled. Any truth to that?”
“More like are starting to meet each other half ways. I’m hoping we can spend some time on Christmas together.”
“Cool.” Mooney nodded, cleared his throat and started again. “You’ve, ah, been surprisingly laid back these last few weeks considering your, ah, lack of sex.”
“Who says that’s been lacking?”
“Hell, Nick, you work, run and go home to that dog. Unless there’s something going on with you and the mutt you’ve been having a very long dry spell.”
“Don’t worry about my spells … wet or dry. Ziva …”
Nick looked up at the woman in question barreling through the shops door, out of breath and bending at the knees. He rose and moved close to her, but didn’t touch. They weren’t there yet though he had high hopes for Christmas. “Are you okay? Is someone bothering you?”
She held up her hand and lifted her head huffing out “I can explain. I promise. I. Can. …”
The bell over the door jiggled again and a voice he’d not heard in a very long time rent the air. “Hello, bitches … it’s me, a friggen Christmas miracle!”
Reetha had returned.
~~~
Yeah, Reetha likes to make an entrance, she's definitely a McMahon. :)
Happy Holiday's
Serena
Monday, September 23, 2013
Class Project
Our Family: A report by Brett and Coby McMahon for Mrs. Jennett’s 3rd Period English Class
Words by Coby McMahon
Video by Brett McMahon
My name is Coby McMahon. My brother Brett and I live part of the time with our mom and most of the time here in Talbot’s Peak with our dad and his wife. Everybody calls us Loki and Thor because those names are cooler than Coby and Brett. We want Mom and Dad to change our names for Christmas.
(Video: A young woman with blue hair smiles, realizes there’s a camera on her, and holds up her hand)
This is dad’s wife, Marissa. She’s human, but she’s a witch too, so the human part isn’t as bad as it sounds. She makes coffee at Java Joe’s. She works for Lex, who brews up weird potions in his office and lets us do taste tests, but Marissa says we can’t drink what he gives us any more because some of it might be dangerous. Lex calls us his “minions.” He says that means “assistants.” Marissa calls Lex a word that sounds like assistant but she told us we’re not allowed to repeat it.
(Video: Two good-looking men smile for the camera. They laugh and punch each other playfully on the arm. The punches turn violent. Growling is heard. The video cuts off abruptly.)
This is our dad, Mooney, and our uncle Nick. Uncle Nick runs the newspaper and Dad writes about sports, which is really great for Thor and me because we get to see all the games. Uncle Nick’s an alpha wolf, so he’s really snappy all the time. Dad’s a beta. They take care of the alpha. Marissa runs the house, so I guess she’s our alpha. They don’t fight like Mom and Dad used to, so Thor and I are a lot happier. Dad says Uncle Nick would be a lot happier if he’d just marry his girlfriend Ziva and get it over with. Dad says Ziva’s one hot piece of tail and he wouldn’t mind humping her leg. I thought only dogs humped legs. We asked Marissa what Dad meant and she got real red and told us to go wipe tables. Dad slept on the couch for a couple nights.
(Video: A handsome, gray-haired man with a moustache and beard winks at the camera) This is our grandpa, Vernon. He married Miss Elly from the Bighorn Diner. (The man gestures insistently. An attractive, middle-aged woman with blonde hair in short, tight curls joins him.) Uncle Nick got really mad when Grandpa and Miss Elly got married because she’s a herbie and doesn’t eat meat. Well, Marissa doesn’t eat meat either and she’s really nice to Thor and me and Dad. Miss Elly’s nice too. She makes the best flapjacks in Talbot’s Peak. We’re not allowed to call them pancakes. Uncle Nick always calls them pancakes. Grandpa says he’s just trying to push Miss Elly’s buttons. She wears an apron a lot so I don’t know where her buttons are.
Thor and I got pushed around for a while after Grandpa married Miss Elly, but then Miss Elly’s sons came by the school to talk to everybody about bullying. (Video: Two enormous young men scowl into the camera with beefy arms folded over their broad chests) Hannibal’s a forest ranger and Bo’s an emergency medical tech. They used to play football. They told everybody we’re in their herd now because their mom married our grandpa. Bighorns are herd animals. Everybody in the herd looks out for everybody else, like wolves do in a pack, so they said they’d be looking out for Thor and me from now on. Everybody’s been real nice to us since Han and Bo were here, so I guess their talk worked.
(Video of a girl who looks like a twentysomething version of Miss Elly. She smiles and waves at the camera)
This is Mary. She’s Miss Elly’s daughter and Bo and Han’s sister. She works for Uncle Nick. Dad says Uncle Nick yells at her all the time but it doesn’t do any good because she’s hearing impaired. One time he came up behind her and surprised her and she head-butted him. Uncle Nick always makes sure he yells at her back now. Mary doesn’t know any different and Dad says it helps Uncle Nick get it out of his system. Dad says Uncle Nick has a stick up his tail. Uncle Nick never yells at us, so maybe it’s an alpha-beta thing.
(Video of the entire group. Everybody smiles except for Nick, Hannibal and Bo)
Anyway, that’s our family. We’ve got wolves, bighorns and even humans. Herds and packs aren’t really different, so everybody sort’a gets along. When Thor and I grow up, we’re gonna have a big pack with humans and wolves and everybody in it, and I’m gonna be the alpha.
(Thor’s voice: “No, I’m gonna be the alpha.”)
Are not! (Video tilts, fuzzes and goes black)
Friday, October 19, 2012
ShapeShifter Seductions ~ The Bewitching Blog Hop
Halloween Wars
“Reinforced steel pipes, heavy duty rubber tubing, a gross of nuts, bolts, S-hooks and a short Red Riding Hood costume with crotchless panties.” Glenn set down the scanner and looked up at an impatient Nick and his blushing brother Mooney. “Ah Nick, does Ziva know about all of this stuff?”
“Oh Lupa no! And she better not hear anything either…” Nick raised an eyebrow his brother’s way before looking back at him and continuing. “She’d never let this happen, Glenn, so better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.”
“Nick, my man, do you remember the mantra we went over when you first started buying here…Safe, Sane and Consensual? Hell, damn near anything is safe for shapeshifters and sane, well in this town who could really pinpoint sane vs. insane, but most importantly is the consensual. Ziva has to be fully on board with, ah…” Glenn looked again at the assortment of tools and could picture half a dozen uses. None of which he figured Ziva would go for. “…whatever you have planned.”
Glenn watched the light bulb go on as Nick surveyed the items he’d picked.
“Ha, no…no, this isn’t for Z, well, the Shorty dress and crotchless panties are, but the rest is for something special.”
“Ooh, I’m telling Ziva…not special, you are so bust...Ow!” Mooney rubbed the ear Nick cuffed and started to pout.
“I meant something non-sexually special. Papa wolves don’t tattle, Moon, and they especially don’t pout.”
Nick threw money on the counter to pay for his treasures and looked towards his brother. “Now grab some stuff and let’s get it over to the grill.”
“How do we know they’ll even be there?”
“Moon, its Halloween and they just harvested all that unsatisfying and repulsive roughage. They’ll be serving it to the Herbies…and so will we!”
###
“It’s bad enough Mom felt she had to take off with that meat-eating lupine, but did she have to do it around the harvest?”
“Stop bitching, Bo and start making the pumpkin flapjacks.”Hannibal shoved him; hand over face, back into the kitchen. “The crowds are getting restless.”
“Suck it, Peewee Hornman.” Bo knew insulting his brother’s smaller horns was a bad idea, but he didn’t care. This whole hitching and bolting action of his mother’s really put a crimp in their lives. Now they were all doing double duty at their jobs and the restaurant. He was cooking, which he hated. Mary served, which really didn’t work well and Hannibal was the general ‘pain-in-the-ass’ manager. Odds were damn good the Bighorn Diner would be run into the ground before she got back.
“Gah!”
Bo ran from the fuming Bighorn sheep now occupying his brother’s space next to the griddle. Hannibal never could maintain his composure or shape when challenged. Ten minutes later, the kitchen was wrecked, batter flung everywhere and Bo still couldn’t feel his hands or arms after using the cast iron frying pan on Hannibal’s head.
“Like I was trying to tell you, lug nut, we’re out of pumpkins.”
“Not possible, Bo,” Hannibal grumbled, holding his head with both hands. “We harvested over an acre of those damn things and they were pretty tightly packed.”
“Well they’ve sprouted legs and run away, because they are not here…”
THUNK, THUNK
General chaos erupted in the seating area out front. Women screamed, children cried and the men swore.
“Roasted buck nuts, what was that!”
Bo didn’t have time to answer his brother as he was already trying to decipher Mary’s frantic signing. “Slow down, sis,” he both spoke and signed. “Lick moon pump across…honestly, Mar, slow…”
“Fricken sex-fiend and his idiot monkey lovin’ brother are chuckin’ pumpkins at us from across the street!” Hannibal bleated, his control appearing to be at an all time low.
“Ah, Nick and Mooney are tossing pump…wait, pumpkins?” Bo ran to the window just in time to see another orange projectile hit the sidewalk in front of the flapjackery. “Hell, those are our pumpkins! How’d they get our stash?”
“Don’t know, don’t care.” Hannibal blew through the dining room, tossing tables and chairs out of his way.
“Get your ass over here and help us.”
Mary was on her knees pulling blood red hunks of flesh from the bottom of the cooler and putting them in a massive mixing bowl while Hannibal pulled funny looking weapons from the closet. “Okay, now. Yuk.” He pointed at Mary’s heart attack in a bowl. “And, what the blazes are you doing your ranger guns in the closet? Those kill, man.”
“When’d you turn into such a little girl, Bo?” Hannibal pushed past him and headed back to the window and door with Mary following close behind, dripping blood across the floor. “This here is a bleacher reacher and the beaut currently being loaded by our tough as nails sister is the T-shirt Gatling gun. These babies will beat that stupid looking slingshot the desk humper has.”
“Whoya…eat it, Herbies!” Taunts and chuckles came at them from across the street as did more fruit.
“What the hell is wrong with those two?” Not like he needed to ask. After all, this was the McMahon brothers, a prankster pair at home with gross destruction of property.
Another pumpkin found its way to the sidewalk, splattering in front of the open door and flying in all directions. Some landed on Bo’s shoes; a glop ended up in Mary’s hair and a large section veered off and flew through Java Joe’s plate glass next door.
“Damn it, Nick, not there. Marissa’s gonna kill me or worse douse me with mange again…gah!”
“Man up, Moon.”
Bo swallowed back a yelp of hysterical laughter and put his hand out. “Someone give me a gun.”
“’Bout time, brother.” Hannibal jumped up and slapped him on the back. “Here, you take the cannon while I get me a little Gat action.”
Gourds of all sizes pummeled their side of the street even as raw meat flew back. The mess was atrocious, but the combatants were beyond caring. There could be only one winner in this family war and Bo would be damned if it was those stinky wolves.
##
“Fire in the hole!”
“That’s it, Moonster, let it fly…wooo!”
Mooney had to admit, manning up or regressing down, sure felt good. Marissa was going to have his balls for defacing Java Joe’s, but who knew, maybe he could sweet talk his way out of the mange. Right now though he was going to enjoy chuckin’ pumpkins.
“Told ya you’d love this.” Nick was grinning ear to ear, but why not. This was burned into his alpha nature. Besides, he had the money and pull to get him out of anything.
“Yep, you did. Load me up.”
“What in the name of the great Lupa is going on here!” “My restaurant!”
“Scat…oh scat,” Mooney whined, letting go of the rubber tubing. He watched the last pumpkin hurl its way into the street only to explode all over his new stepmother. “Pops is gonna rip our guts out with his teeth.”
“Nope, only yours.”
Mooney heard the feminine scream, then panic set in as he watched his dad shift to wolf. “Why only mine, wood whisperer?”
“’Cause I run faster!”
Nick changed and bolted before he even had a chance to think of becoming wolf. The last thing he saw with his human eyes was a Bighorn sheep mama chasing three hard-headed kids into the destroyed eatery behind them and a pissed off dad snapping big assed teeth towards his tail. Time to tuck and run.
“Eeeee…”
Have a Pumpkin Chuckin' Happy Halloween!
Serena
~~~
YOU REALIZE THIS MEANS WAR
The battleground: the athletic field out behind Talbot’s Peak Senior High School. The combatants: the Lyon brothers, at war with the close-knit Tanton family. At stake: the attentions of the beauteous Amelia Swan, coveted by Dan Lyon and Steve Tanton alike. More important than that, however, are the bragging rights. This contest will determine once and for all just who’s king of the high school jungle.
The weapon of choice: pumpkins.
The warriors assemble on the field of battle: Dan and his three brothers, Larry, Doug and Norm. Norm’s the one in the glasses. He’s only a frosh, but he’s the brains of the group. Steve—“Tantor” to friends and foes alike—ambles up in his low-riders with his habitual sneer in place. The mob milling behind him consists of various cousins and whatnot. Dan has never bothered to learn their names. Tantor’s the head of the herd, the only one who matters here.
In the bleachers sits lovely Amelia, excitedly twisting her scarf.
Dan and Tantor face off, broad nose to long nose. “You know the rules?” Dan kicks off the challenge. “Are they acceptable?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Tantor snorts, affecting boredom. “Farthest pitch wins. Let’s get on with it, kittycat.”
Dan bristles and growls. Tantor’s bigger and broader than he is, has been since their rivalry started in grade school, but he can’t let that throw him. Honor is at stake here, the pride of his family name. If there’s one thing the Lyons understand, it’s pride.
“Where’s your gear?” Norm asks.
Tantor smirks, as if at a private joke. “In the trunk.”
Dan’s glare doesn’t budge an inch. He tells his brothers, “Get the catapult.”
The Lyons race for Dad’s pickup. Tantor gestures, and his hangers-on run to fetch the pumpkins. The Lyons have brought their own pumpkins, of course, swiped from neighboring farms. Norm did the measuring and picked the ones most likely to fly well. Dan wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and tastes victory.
Amelia watches, prepared, perhaps even eager, to become the property of the victor.
Dan’s brothers bring out the catapult, and it is indeed a thing of beauty. Norm drew up the schematics after much research on the Internet. It’s only a scale model, barely six feet, but their practice chucks hurled pumpkins half the length of a football field. The neighbor's cat escaped a launching only because Norm is soft-hearted.
The Tantons return with their ammo. Dan wrinkles his nose. These pumpkins are big, but already going to rot. The side of some have caved in already. They’ll make a pretty splat when they hit, but will they even fly? And what are they going to fly on? Dan still doesn’t any Tanton machinery.
“You go first,” Tantor invites. “Then we’ll show you how it’s done.”
The Lyons assemble their launcher in record time. Dan himself loads the first pumpkin. Norm pokes around every inch of the catapult, making last minute adjustments. “Let ‘er rip!” Dan roars.
The pumpkin’s flight is sheer perfection. It soars nearly the entire length of the football field, almost through the goalposts, which was the Lyons’ target. It hits the ground and ruptures with a whump audible clear across the field. Pumpkin guts go flying. Amelia leans forward to observe the gourd’s demise, then flashes Dan a thumbs-up.
“Yes!” Dan cries with a fist-pump. “And that’s the way the big cats do it, you—”
A section of rotted, squishy pumpkin hits him square in the chest. Through squinted eyes wet with pumpkin juice he sees now the extent of Tantor’s treachery. They never meant to hold an honest contest. It was all a ruse. While the Lyons kept to the rules—human form only—the elephants have shifted.
Tantor and his clan hurl their putrid ammo at the unprepared lion-boys. They can’t throw a pumpkin as far as a catapult, but with their victims right in front of them that isn’t a problem. They’re a lot more mobile than a catapult too, and fling their gourds with the force of a cannon.
Like the man said, it’s in the trunk.
“It’s a trap!” Dan yells, even as Larry goes down with a face full of pumpkin guts. “Run!” He dashes after Norm, who’s already sprinting for the bleachers. The elephants won’t be able to follow them under the seats without shifting. Once they’re human, they’ll be done for. You want to play it this way? Dan mentally snarls. I’ll teach you to mess with the king of the jungle.
It’s a decent plan and he’s got the heart for it, but Tantor has other plans. They’re fast, for such big beasts. They cut the lions off from safety. Even shifting to animal form won’t save Dan and his brothers now. The Tantons curl their trunks around their pumpkin bombs and move in for the kill.
It’s Tantor himself who screams first, when something hard and painful dents his big wrinkled behind. He whirls with trunk and pumpkin raised, and takes a shot in the eye. His screech rattles the bleachers. Amelia covers her ears.
It’s Norm, of course. When you’re the runt of the litter you have to be smarter and tougher in order to keep up with the pride. Norm always has a Plan B. He plants himself before Tantor and takes careful aim with his modified paintball gun. He’s got a shoulder bag loaded with the little mini-Jacks the farmers market hands out to the little kids. Dan had wondered why he brought those along. Now he realizes just how rock-solid the tiny pumps are, when blasted at a target at close range. Dan’s been on the wrong end of paintballs often enough to know how they can hurt.
Norm shoots, he scores. He aims for the eyes and the knees. Once he’s got their attention he starts shooting at their underbellies. Dan and the elephants realize simultaneously what Norm’s aiming for now. Tantor trumpets a shrill retreat, and the whole herd pounds for their truck, amid rock-hard, flying Jacks.
The Lyon boys are still playfully cuffing Norm and slapping his back when Amelia runs up. She brushes right past Dan and Larry and Doug and goes right for the gun. “This is ingenious!” she exclaims. “What is it? Did you make it?”
“In shop class.” Norm puffs out his chest. “Say hello to the Pump-Zooka 2000. The test firing smashed our bird house from thirty feet off. Normally I wouldn’t use it on a living creature, but circumstances—”
He’s still talking while he and Amelia amble back toward the school. Dan can only stare after them, slack-jawed, as the girl of his lustings walks away with his runty little nerd of a brother. It occurs to him all he had to do was bring her a kill and she might have looked his way. Who knew swans were so bloodthirsty?
# # #
The winner? That would be Digger the wolf and his human girlfriend, Laurie. They were strolling past the school when the battle went down. After the fight they came out to harvest the seeds. “I’m going to see if I can grow one of these babies,” Digger says. “Make some pumpkin pie. Laurie’s got a recipe. I love pumpkin pie. Don’t tell the pack I said that, though, okay?”
Posted by Pat C.
~~~
A Witchy Menagish Delight
"It's a pumpkin combat zone," Kimylla muttered to herself, as she watched four launched pumpkins crisscross above her.
The giant beauties exploded on several buildings nearby, their chunky remains splatting on the streets of Talbot's Peak. Delighted screeches from kids and carefree adults knifed through her ears. Kimylla flinched, mentally lessening her extra sensitive hearing.
Obviously, they took their punkin' chunkin' really serious here. On her way into and through town, Kimylla had observed several catapults, the designs ranging from crude to complex.
Minutes later, she dashed for the recessed entrance of a shop. Globs of pumpkin guts rained down mere inches away from her knee-high suede boots.
Resuming her steps, Kimylla avoided the haphazard pieces and piles. She'd been warned about the 'wild, wild west' shapeshifter enclave, but business was business And she had lives to save.
She'd tracked him here. Night Runner.
The black super wolf likely visited another one of his off-world kind. White Fang Kent masqueraded as an investigative reporter for the G&B Gazette. So she'd discovered after an exhaustive search of the para-net.
In a desperate effort to find Night Runner fast, Kimylla had spoken with her numerous shadow-world contacts. Afterward she'd felt like a vampire sucking on the bloodless, the intel had been so spare.
Pay dirt, finally. Eureka!
She smelled Night Runner, even though the fragrance of ripe pumpkin saturated the cool crisp air. Having a particular fondness for pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread...any pumpkin goodness...Kimylla found it to be somewhat of a distraction. Especially, since hunger gnawed at her.
She'd neglected to eat much of anything for the past couple of days. Time ticked away like a time bomb. The eight human children, recently kidnapped at Yellowstone Park, were about to become an All Hallow Eve's feast.
Given the beast monsters she faced, Kimylla needed super-powered backup to rescue them. "Give me ten more seconds," she prayed in a whisper.
Dodging hunks of pumpkin, and their slimy innards, Kimylla raced across the street. Seconds later, she burst through the vintage-twenties door into O’Malley’s Gin Joint.
****
"I've got company coming." Night Runner quaffed the barley malt ale that went down real smooth and easy.
"Expected or unexpected?" White Fang raised his brow above his Clark Kent glasses, then tipped up his tankard.
"Unexpected but more than welcome." Night Runner didn't hide his lust-inspired grin.
White Fang's blue eyes, so similar to his own, pierced him with man-to-man knowing. "By her scent and frequency I would say your welcome guest is a granddaughter of Aoife, shadow warrior goddess of the Celts."
"Part of her heritage, you're right on target, old man." Night Runner carelessly saluted the elder wolf-man with his tankard. "Kimylla is a red-haired Sunfire goddess."
"No wonder your inner tail is wagging like a cub about to taste raw meat for the first time." White Fang's drily spoken words hit their mark.
Night Runner downed a large swallow of his ale as he mentally commanded his tail and his iron-hard cock to cease and desist...for now. "Time to strike while the iron his hot," he mocked himself.
With a telltale raise of his brows, White Fang stood. "Pasha, my cat goddess awaits." His farewell grin was mostly an amused smirk.
"Right, old man, I'll pay the tab," Night Runner called after him.
****

Arms with a god's strength wrapped around Kimylla the instant she burst inside. Instinctively she resisted, but halted, realizing it was Night Runner. With not an ounce of give in his arms, he embraced her tight against his tall, fiercely hard frame.
Oh holy sun, when had any man felt this sinfully divine?
"May I assume you're glad to see me?" Her breathy words poured from between her lips, despite her somewhat compressed chest.
"May I assume you need my help?" he growled with way too much intimacy.
Kimylla ignored the way his hot breath caressed her ear, the way it made her entire body all juicy-sexy.
"Is there somewhere private where we can talk?"
Oh holy crap, why had she said 'private'? And, why hadn't she known Night Runner found her desirable?
Although, the super wolf could shield his thoughts and feelings, even from her. Seeking his help, had she walked into his seduction trap? Well, actually, run into his trapping arms.
"Trust me, beautiful Kimylla?" he velvety rumbled.
"Should I?" At least, her defiant nature finally asserted itself.
Night Runner laughed, low rolling thunder that vibrated every inch of her. Kimylla clenched her eyelids tight while the rest of her became his molten captive.
"Trustworthy is my middle name, as they say here, my sunfire goddess."
Kimylla sensed his intention as Night Runner's words stroked her ear. He gently removed his arm from her, then opened the door. In seconds, they moved into hyperspeed.
****
Finally, the woman who fired his blood to raging lust was at his mercy whether she knew it or not.
"Where are we?" she asked, her voice soft as the wildflower blossoms he loped through as wolf. "I don't recognize this place."
"You're in the Scots Best of Breed Tavern, lassie," a man with a Scottish brogue answered. "What cin I get for ya?"
"Bring us dinner with all the trimmings, would you, Duff ole friend? I know my stomach's almost stuck to my backbone." Night Runner eased his hold on Kimylla, circling his palms over her delicately rounded belly. "I'm betting you're hungry, right, sweet darling?"
"I'm starving," his warrior goddess announced. "And the food smells heavenly. Oh, if you have anything pumpkin, please..." she paused, casting her gaze toward Duff, who stood before his great stone hearth in his clan kilt. "Zeiran 'Duff' McDuff of Vretland?"
"The one and only, lassie. Sorry to say, I haven't made your acquaintance." Duff straightened to his full overwhelming height, his stance like a stud dog showing off.
"I know you by reputation. The Scottie dog shapeshifter who can hurl like a giant at the Highland games."
Night Runner wondered if Kimylla realized she stroked his hand. He also wondered if she knew how much his ramrod straight cock enjoyed the blatant curves of her ass. If she didn't, he would absolutely demonstrate later, once he slowly peeled off her skintight suede breeches.
"Ah, lovely lady, I'm retired now." Duff's grand smile took over his features. "I've got me fine tavern and me lovely place at Dante's. An' I'm settlin' into Talbot's Peak."
"How about the table closest to the hearth?" Night Runner smoothed his palm down Kimylla's shapely arm as he moved beside her.
Duff gestured toward the table in his dramatic style. "The fire is crackling like a happy soul, and I'll be off gettin' your supper." He smiled at Kimylla, his eyes twinkling. "Lassie, I've brewed a special pumpkin spice ale, just for this seasonly occasion."
"Perfect. May I address you as Duff?"
"Surely, lassie. You two make yourselves at home. I'll be right out with pumpkin scones. Made by fairy hands," Duff added, and gave them both a wink.
****
Kimylla allowed herself to be escorted toward the small, dark-wood table that beckoned her anyway. She was tired, even for a goddess. Her stomach was on the verge of rebellion, demanding a good dinner. And, the only way she would gain Night Runner's help would be to hear him out.
He seated her like a gentlemanly rogue. Without taking his glittering, blue-eyed gaze off her, he lowered himself, so they sat close. Their knees touched, and he gazed into her eyes with a passion that sent licks of flame through her, deliciously sizzling her nether parts.
"It's like this, my sunfire goddess, I'll go to the ends of the Earth." He paused, his gaze devouring her face. "Hell, love, I'll go to the ends of the galaxy."
"To the ends of the universe," she teased, interrupting him.
"Yes." He captured her hand, then enfolded it within his tenderly.
"What do you want?" she taunted in a murmur, as quivers of excitement ran through her mid-section.
"I want you, Kimylla. I want you in my bed. I want wild primitive coupling. I want hours, days of lovemaking."
Kimylla let the shock subside, just a bit, before she asked, "Is that all?"
"For now." A slow wicked smile spread across his ruggedly handsome face.
"On one condition," Kimylla seductively teased.
His gaze darkened like storm clouds gathering, and his grip on her hand possessively tightened. Kimylla shuddered inside, wanton in a way she'd never imagined, never come close to feeling.
"Your condition?" he finally growled.
With her heart thumping fast, like a rabbit's heart, Kimylla leaned forward. Their gazes locked and melted into each other for several moments. "You wear a bonnie kilt for me. Fine as Duff is wearing."
“Reinforced steel pipes, heavy duty rubber tubing, a gross of nuts, bolts, S-hooks and a short Red Riding Hood costume with crotchless panties.” Glenn set down the scanner and looked up at an impatient Nick and his blushing brother Mooney. “Ah Nick, does Ziva know about all of this stuff?”
“Oh Lupa no! And she better not hear anything either…” Nick raised an eyebrow his brother’s way before looking back at him and continuing. “She’d never let this happen, Glenn, so better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.”
“Nick, my man, do you remember the mantra we went over when you first started buying here…Safe, Sane and Consensual? Hell, damn near anything is safe for shapeshifters and sane, well in this town who could really pinpoint sane vs. insane, but most importantly is the consensual. Ziva has to be fully on board with, ah…” Glenn looked again at the assortment of tools and could picture half a dozen uses. None of which he figured Ziva would go for. “…whatever you have planned.”
Glenn watched the light bulb go on as Nick surveyed the items he’d picked.
“Ha, no…no, this isn’t for Z, well, the Shorty dress and crotchless panties are, but the rest is for something special.”
“Ooh, I’m telling Ziva…not special, you are so bust...Ow!” Mooney rubbed the ear Nick cuffed and started to pout.
“I meant something non-sexually special. Papa wolves don’t tattle, Moon, and they especially don’t pout.”
Nick threw money on the counter to pay for his treasures and looked towards his brother. “Now grab some stuff and let’s get it over to the grill.”
“How do we know they’ll even be there?”
“Moon, its Halloween and they just harvested all that unsatisfying and repulsive roughage. They’ll be serving it to the Herbies…and so will we!”
###
“It’s bad enough Mom felt she had to take off with that meat-eating lupine, but did she have to do it around the harvest?”
“Stop bitching, Bo and start making the pumpkin flapjacks.”Hannibal shoved him; hand over face, back into the kitchen. “The crowds are getting restless.”
“Suck it, Peewee Hornman.” Bo knew insulting his brother’s smaller horns was a bad idea, but he didn’t care. This whole hitching and bolting action of his mother’s really put a crimp in their lives. Now they were all doing double duty at their jobs and the restaurant. He was cooking, which he hated. Mary served, which really didn’t work well and Hannibal was the general ‘pain-in-the-ass’ manager. Odds were damn good the Bighorn Diner would be run into the ground before she got back.
“Gah!”
Bo ran from the fuming Bighorn sheep now occupying his brother’s space next to the griddle. Hannibal never could maintain his composure or shape when challenged. Ten minutes later, the kitchen was wrecked, batter flung everywhere and Bo still couldn’t feel his hands or arms after using the cast iron frying pan on Hannibal’s head.
“Like I was trying to tell you, lug nut, we’re out of pumpkins.”
“Not possible, Bo,” Hannibal grumbled, holding his head with both hands. “We harvested over an acre of those damn things and they were pretty tightly packed.”
“Well they’ve sprouted legs and run away, because they are not here…”
THUNK, THUNK
General chaos erupted in the seating area out front. Women screamed, children cried and the men swore.
“Roasted buck nuts, what was that!”
Bo didn’t have time to answer his brother as he was already trying to decipher Mary’s frantic signing. “Slow down, sis,” he both spoke and signed. “Lick moon pump across…honestly, Mar, slow…”
“Fricken sex-fiend and his idiot monkey lovin’ brother are chuckin’ pumpkins at us from across the street!” Hannibal bleated, his control appearing to be at an all time low.
“Ah, Nick and Mooney are tossing pump…wait, pumpkins?” Bo ran to the window just in time to see another orange projectile hit the sidewalk in front of the flapjackery. “Hell, those are our pumpkins! How’d they get our stash?”
“Don’t know, don’t care.” Hannibal blew through the dining room, tossing tables and chairs out of his way.
“Get your ass over here and help us.”
Mary was on her knees pulling blood red hunks of flesh from the bottom of the cooler and putting them in a massive mixing bowl while Hannibal pulled funny looking weapons from the closet. “Okay, now. Yuk.” He pointed at Mary’s heart attack in a bowl. “And, what the blazes are you doing your ranger guns in the closet? Those kill, man.”
“When’d you turn into such a little girl, Bo?” Hannibal pushed past him and headed back to the window and door with Mary following close behind, dripping blood across the floor. “This here is a bleacher reacher and the beaut currently being loaded by our tough as nails sister is the T-shirt Gatling gun. These babies will beat that stupid looking slingshot the desk humper has.”
“Whoya…eat it, Herbies!” Taunts and chuckles came at them from across the street as did more fruit.
“What the hell is wrong with those two?” Not like he needed to ask. After all, this was the McMahon brothers, a prankster pair at home with gross destruction of property.
Another pumpkin found its way to the sidewalk, splattering in front of the open door and flying in all directions. Some landed on Bo’s shoes; a glop ended up in Mary’s hair and a large section veered off and flew through Java Joe’s plate glass next door.
“Damn it, Nick, not there. Marissa’s gonna kill me or worse douse me with mange again…gah!”
“Man up, Moon.”
Bo swallowed back a yelp of hysterical laughter and put his hand out. “Someone give me a gun.”
“’Bout time, brother.” Hannibal jumped up and slapped him on the back. “Here, you take the cannon while I get me a little Gat action.”
Gourds of all sizes pummeled their side of the street even as raw meat flew back. The mess was atrocious, but the combatants were beyond caring. There could be only one winner in this family war and Bo would be damned if it was those stinky wolves.
##
“Fire in the hole!”
“That’s it, Moonster, let it fly…wooo!”
Mooney had to admit, manning up or regressing down, sure felt good. Marissa was going to have his balls for defacing Java Joe’s, but who knew, maybe he could sweet talk his way out of the mange. Right now though he was going to enjoy chuckin’ pumpkins.
“Told ya you’d love this.” Nick was grinning ear to ear, but why not. This was burned into his alpha nature. Besides, he had the money and pull to get him out of anything.
“Yep, you did. Load me up.”
“What in the name of the great Lupa is going on here!” “My restaurant!”
“Scat…oh scat,” Mooney whined, letting go of the rubber tubing. He watched the last pumpkin hurl its way into the street only to explode all over his new stepmother. “Pops is gonna rip our guts out with his teeth.”
“Nope, only yours.”
Mooney heard the feminine scream, then panic set in as he watched his dad shift to wolf. “Why only mine, wood whisperer?”
“’Cause I run faster!”
Nick changed and bolted before he even had a chance to think of becoming wolf. The last thing he saw with his human eyes was a Bighorn sheep mama chasing three hard-headed kids into the destroyed eatery behind them and a pissed off dad snapping big assed teeth towards his tail. Time to tuck and run.
“Eeeee…”
Have a Pumpkin Chuckin' Happy Halloween!
Serena
~~~
YOU REALIZE THIS MEANS WAR
The battleground: the athletic field out behind Talbot’s Peak Senior High School. The combatants: the Lyon brothers, at war with the close-knit Tanton family. At stake: the attentions of the beauteous Amelia Swan, coveted by Dan Lyon and Steve Tanton alike. More important than that, however, are the bragging rights. This contest will determine once and for all just who’s king of the high school jungle.
The weapon of choice: pumpkins.
The warriors assemble on the field of battle: Dan and his three brothers, Larry, Doug and Norm. Norm’s the one in the glasses. He’s only a frosh, but he’s the brains of the group. Steve—“Tantor” to friends and foes alike—ambles up in his low-riders with his habitual sneer in place. The mob milling behind him consists of various cousins and whatnot. Dan has never bothered to learn their names. Tantor’s the head of the herd, the only one who matters here.
In the bleachers sits lovely Amelia, excitedly twisting her scarf.
Dan and Tantor face off, broad nose to long nose. “You know the rules?” Dan kicks off the challenge. “Are they acceptable?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Tantor snorts, affecting boredom. “Farthest pitch wins. Let’s get on with it, kittycat.”
Dan bristles and growls. Tantor’s bigger and broader than he is, has been since their rivalry started in grade school, but he can’t let that throw him. Honor is at stake here, the pride of his family name. If there’s one thing the Lyons understand, it’s pride.
“Where’s your gear?” Norm asks.
Tantor smirks, as if at a private joke. “In the trunk.”
Dan’s glare doesn’t budge an inch. He tells his brothers, “Get the catapult.”
The Lyons race for Dad’s pickup. Tantor gestures, and his hangers-on run to fetch the pumpkins. The Lyons have brought their own pumpkins, of course, swiped from neighboring farms. Norm did the measuring and picked the ones most likely to fly well. Dan wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and tastes victory.
Amelia watches, prepared, perhaps even eager, to become the property of the victor.
Dan’s brothers bring out the catapult, and it is indeed a thing of beauty. Norm drew up the schematics after much research on the Internet. It’s only a scale model, barely six feet, but their practice chucks hurled pumpkins half the length of a football field. The neighbor's cat escaped a launching only because Norm is soft-hearted.
The Tantons return with their ammo. Dan wrinkles his nose. These pumpkins are big, but already going to rot. The side of some have caved in already. They’ll make a pretty splat when they hit, but will they even fly? And what are they going to fly on? Dan still doesn’t any Tanton machinery.
“You go first,” Tantor invites. “Then we’ll show you how it’s done.”
The Lyons assemble their launcher in record time. Dan himself loads the first pumpkin. Norm pokes around every inch of the catapult, making last minute adjustments. “Let ‘er rip!” Dan roars.
The pumpkin’s flight is sheer perfection. It soars nearly the entire length of the football field, almost through the goalposts, which was the Lyons’ target. It hits the ground and ruptures with a whump audible clear across the field. Pumpkin guts go flying. Amelia leans forward to observe the gourd’s demise, then flashes Dan a thumbs-up.
“Yes!” Dan cries with a fist-pump. “And that’s the way the big cats do it, you—”
A section of rotted, squishy pumpkin hits him square in the chest. Through squinted eyes wet with pumpkin juice he sees now the extent of Tantor’s treachery. They never meant to hold an honest contest. It was all a ruse. While the Lyons kept to the rules—human form only—the elephants have shifted.
Tantor and his clan hurl their putrid ammo at the unprepared lion-boys. They can’t throw a pumpkin as far as a catapult, but with their victims right in front of them that isn’t a problem. They’re a lot more mobile than a catapult too, and fling their gourds with the force of a cannon.
Like the man said, it’s in the trunk.
“It’s a trap!” Dan yells, even as Larry goes down with a face full of pumpkin guts. “Run!” He dashes after Norm, who’s already sprinting for the bleachers. The elephants won’t be able to follow them under the seats without shifting. Once they’re human, they’ll be done for. You want to play it this way? Dan mentally snarls. I’ll teach you to mess with the king of the jungle.
It’s a decent plan and he’s got the heart for it, but Tantor has other plans. They’re fast, for such big beasts. They cut the lions off from safety. Even shifting to animal form won’t save Dan and his brothers now. The Tantons curl their trunks around their pumpkin bombs and move in for the kill.
It’s Tantor himself who screams first, when something hard and painful dents his big wrinkled behind. He whirls with trunk and pumpkin raised, and takes a shot in the eye. His screech rattles the bleachers. Amelia covers her ears.
It’s Norm, of course. When you’re the runt of the litter you have to be smarter and tougher in order to keep up with the pride. Norm always has a Plan B. He plants himself before Tantor and takes careful aim with his modified paintball gun. He’s got a shoulder bag loaded with the little mini-Jacks the farmers market hands out to the little kids. Dan had wondered why he brought those along. Now he realizes just how rock-solid the tiny pumps are, when blasted at a target at close range. Dan’s been on the wrong end of paintballs often enough to know how they can hurt.
Norm shoots, he scores. He aims for the eyes and the knees. Once he’s got their attention he starts shooting at their underbellies. Dan and the elephants realize simultaneously what Norm’s aiming for now. Tantor trumpets a shrill retreat, and the whole herd pounds for their truck, amid rock-hard, flying Jacks.
The Lyon boys are still playfully cuffing Norm and slapping his back when Amelia runs up. She brushes right past Dan and Larry and Doug and goes right for the gun. “This is ingenious!” she exclaims. “What is it? Did you make it?”
“In shop class.” Norm puffs out his chest. “Say hello to the Pump-Zooka 2000. The test firing smashed our bird house from thirty feet off. Normally I wouldn’t use it on a living creature, but circumstances—”
He’s still talking while he and Amelia amble back toward the school. Dan can only stare after them, slack-jawed, as the girl of his lustings walks away with his runty little nerd of a brother. It occurs to him all he had to do was bring her a kill and she might have looked his way. Who knew swans were so bloodthirsty?
# # #
The winner? That would be Digger the wolf and his human girlfriend, Laurie. They were strolling past the school when the battle went down. After the fight they came out to harvest the seeds. “I’m going to see if I can grow one of these babies,” Digger says. “Make some pumpkin pie. Laurie’s got a recipe. I love pumpkin pie. Don’t tell the pack I said that, though, okay?”
Posted by Pat C.
~~~
A Witchy Menagish Delight
Melissa ducked as another pumpkin flew by her. A second and a third one barely missed her. A heavy thud sounded as pumpkin guts spattered her goggles. Air swirled around her as her broom took a nosedive toward Edwards Pond. The sky around Talbot’s Peak was alive and full tonight. Sharing airspace with flying debris was not on her flight agenda.
She tried pulling up and leaning back hoping to regain her altitude. Thank the Moon Goddess, she wasn’t sitting sidesaddle as many of her broom-riding group insisted was proper etiquette. Luck wasn’t with her on reclaiming her prior course and missing all the projectiles littering the sky.
One action might bring things under control. The one spell she knew might work. Melissa wiped her face, goggles included, against her shoulder and spoke. “Caldrons, stars and sky help this witch make a correction from this terrible flight. Show me the way to avoid the pond and land safely.”
Two bright beams of light crossed before her. Another arced across the night. Two huge pumpkins crossed before and disappeared back into the dark. As the second spot light appeared, Melissa aimed for it. The ground beneath her appeared. Two men stood underneath a tree close to where she aimed to crash. As she whispered more magical words and prayed, her descent slowed. One of the men looked up. His eyes seemed to lock with hers. Ridiculous as it felt, Melissa focused on him. His goatee beard and dark hair attracted her. His companion glanced her direction and smiled. His neatly trimmed hair and mustache added an air of mystery to him.
Rhys rubbed his ear as a clap of thunder sounded. Two more pumpkins flew off the catapult near the school. Three others launched near town. Twice Jon yelled duck before they got the spotlights working. At least they could avoid any incoming misfired shots and keep the pond from bombardment they hoped. Their crab apple grove was the center of the upcoming Thanksgiving maze contest. If too many of the trees were damaged, the maze would be less intricate and daring. Who in their right mind had deemed Halloween as if it flew, then chunk it night?
Jon yelled and pointed again. This time to an object heading straight toward them it appeared. Rhys squinted. What had Jon called it? A UFO? Unidentified Flying Object? Gods and Goddesses, how could they identify a bloody thing in the sky when anything and everything was flying and airborne? Still there was a unique shape to the item. “Oh hell Jon, run for cover. It’s coming straight at us.”
Jon pulled the lever working the skylight backwards. He whistled and grinned. “Rhys, we got a witch coming in at ---oh man straight for the pond. Grab the boat. She’s covered with pumpkin too.”
Rhys uncovered his ears and headed straight for the small boat he and Jon kept near the pond. The small fishing boat would hold the two of them. He hoped the poor woman ditched the broom before she hit the water. Separating witches and their brooms wasn’t a common thing or getting them to do it easily either.
As they tracked the witchy female, Rhys calculated how long until impact. It would be moments. He pushed the boat out into the water. Keeping an eye on where he stepped, Rhys got in and padded toward the center of the pond. Rhys turned the boat around as he reached his destination. He shielded his eyes and blinked. Parts of the spotlight beam hazily illuminated her. Not a bad figure. Her flight suite hugged tightly to her and her long red hair, though spattered with pumpkin, reminded Rhys of fire. Knee-high boots with several buckles covered her lower legs. “Nice,” Rhys chuckled as two splashes sounded.
Melissa quickly blessed her broom as she let go. She tossed her goggles and tucked into the best swan dive form she knew. The broom hit first. A small splash reached her ears as Melissa dove headfirst into the pond. Spitting and sputtering, she broke the surface. She pushed her hair off her face and blinked.
“Want some help?” A male voice sounded near her. Melissa turned around struggling to keep afloat. Wet leather didn’t stay buoyant long. She swam toward the boat that came into focus.
“How kind of you.” Melissa reached for the outstretched hand in front of her. As her hand touched his, images and heat seared their way up her arm. Two nude men kneeling before her as she lay near a roaring fire in a fireplace flashed and faded deep within her psychic third eye.
Minutes passed as Rhys struggled to get the witch into the boat. “One more pull and we’re good.” He pulled hard and caught his fishy smelling witch. As he rowed for shore, he wondered if she had felt the heat and desire as much as he had.
Jon met them at the edge of the pond. He grinned as he helped the witch alight. “A fine catch you got there friend.” Rhys laughed. Jon needed to watch his ironical sense of humor. No telling what the witch might turn him into if he pissed her off enough.
“Melissa meet Jon. Jon, Melissa.” Rhys pulled the boat out of the water as two loud splashes sounded followed by several thuds.
“Shit, they are chunking anything they can find tonight. The Peak has gone bonkers.” Jon shook his head and grabbed Melissa’s hand. “Come on with us and let’s get somewhere safe.”
Melissa didn’t hesitate. If safe included the thoughts she was picking up off these two, the night was young and ripe for sexual play of a ménage kind.
Posted by Solara Gordon
Pumpkin Combat Zone ~ Kimylla and Night Runner
"It's a pumpkin combat zone," Kimylla muttered to herself, as she watched four launched pumpkins crisscross above her. The giant beauties exploded on several buildings nearby, their chunky remains splatting on the streets of Talbot's Peak. Delighted screeches from kids and carefree adults knifed through her ears. Kimylla flinched, mentally lessening her extra sensitive hearing.
Obviously, they took their punkin' chunkin' really serious here. On her way into and through town, Kimylla had observed several catapults, the designs ranging from crude to complex.
Minutes later, she dashed for the recessed entrance of a shop. Globs of pumpkin guts rained down mere inches away from her knee-high suede boots.
Resuming her steps, Kimylla avoided the haphazard pieces and piles. She'd been warned about the 'wild, wild west' shapeshifter enclave, but business was business And she had lives to save.
She'd tracked him here. Night Runner.
The black super wolf likely visited another one of his off-world kind. White Fang Kent masqueraded as an investigative reporter for the G&B Gazette. So she'd discovered after an exhaustive search of the para-net.
In a desperate effort to find Night Runner fast, Kimylla had spoken with her numerous shadow-world contacts. Afterward she'd felt like a vampire sucking on the bloodless, the intel had been so spare.
Pay dirt, finally. Eureka!
She smelled Night Runner, even though the fragrance of ripe pumpkin saturated the cool crisp air. Having a particular fondness for pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread...any pumpkin goodness...Kimylla found it to be somewhat of a distraction. Especially, since hunger gnawed at her.
She'd neglected to eat much of anything for the past couple of days. Time ticked away like a time bomb. The eight human children, recently kidnapped at Yellowstone Park, were about to become an All Hallow Eve's feast.
Given the beast monsters she faced, Kimylla needed super-powered backup to rescue them. "Give me ten more seconds," she prayed in a whisper.
Dodging hunks of pumpkin, and their slimy innards, Kimylla raced across the street. Seconds later, she burst through the vintage-twenties door into O’Malley’s Gin Joint.
****
"I've got company coming." Night Runner quaffed the barley malt ale that went down real smooth and easy.
"Expected or unexpected?" White Fang raised his brow above his Clark Kent glasses, then tipped up his tankard.
"Unexpected but more than welcome." Night Runner didn't hide his lust-inspired grin.
White Fang's blue eyes, so similar to his own, pierced him with man-to-man knowing. "By her scent and frequency I would say your welcome guest is a granddaughter of Aoife, shadow warrior goddess of the Celts."
"Part of her heritage, you're right on target, old man." Night Runner carelessly saluted the elder wolf-man with his tankard. "Kimylla is a red-haired Sunfire goddess."
"No wonder your inner tail is wagging like a cub about to taste raw meat for the first time." White Fang's drily spoken words hit their mark.
Night Runner downed a large swallow of his ale as he mentally commanded his tail and his iron-hard cock to cease and desist...for now. "Time to strike while the iron his hot," he mocked himself.
With a telltale raise of his brows, White Fang stood. "Pasha, my cat goddess awaits." His farewell grin was mostly an amused smirk.
"Right, old man, I'll pay the tab," Night Runner called after him.
****

Arms with a god's strength wrapped around Kimylla the instant she burst inside. Instinctively she resisted, but halted, realizing it was Night Runner. With not an ounce of give in his arms, he embraced her tight against his tall, fiercely hard frame.
Oh holy sun, when had any man felt this sinfully divine?
"May I assume you're glad to see me?" Her breathy words poured from between her lips, despite her somewhat compressed chest.
"May I assume you need my help?" he growled with way too much intimacy.
Kimylla ignored the way his hot breath caressed her ear, the way it made her entire body all juicy-sexy.
"Is there somewhere private where we can talk?"
Oh holy crap, why had she said 'private'? And, why hadn't she known Night Runner found her desirable?
Although, the super wolf could shield his thoughts and feelings, even from her. Seeking his help, had she walked into his seduction trap? Well, actually, run into his trapping arms.
"Trust me, beautiful Kimylla?" he velvety rumbled.
"Should I?" At least, her defiant nature finally asserted itself.
Night Runner laughed, low rolling thunder that vibrated every inch of her. Kimylla clenched her eyelids tight while the rest of her became his molten captive.
"Trustworthy is my middle name, as they say here, my sunfire goddess."
Kimylla sensed his intention as Night Runner's words stroked her ear. He gently removed his arm from her, then opened the door. In seconds, they moved into hyperspeed.
****
Finally, the woman who fired his blood to raging lust was at his mercy whether she knew it or not.
"Where are we?" she asked, her voice soft as the wildflower blossoms he loped through as wolf. "I don't recognize this place."
"You're in the Scots Best of Breed Tavern, lassie," a man with a Scottish brogue answered. "What cin I get for ya?"
"Bring us dinner with all the trimmings, would you, Duff ole friend? I know my stomach's almost stuck to my backbone." Night Runner eased his hold on Kimylla, circling his palms over her delicately rounded belly. "I'm betting you're hungry, right, sweet darling?"
"I'm starving," his warrior goddess announced. "And the food smells heavenly. Oh, if you have anything pumpkin, please..." she paused, casting her gaze toward Duff, who stood before his great stone hearth in his clan kilt. "Zeiran 'Duff' McDuff of Vretland?"
"The one and only, lassie. Sorry to say, I haven't made your acquaintance." Duff straightened to his full overwhelming height, his stance like a stud dog showing off.
"I know you by reputation. The Scottie dog shapeshifter who can hurl like a giant at the Highland games."
Night Runner wondered if Kimylla realized she stroked his hand. He also wondered if she knew how much his ramrod straight cock enjoyed the blatant curves of her ass. If she didn't, he would absolutely demonstrate later, once he slowly peeled off her skintight suede breeches.
"Ah, lovely lady, I'm retired now." Duff's grand smile took over his features. "I've got me fine tavern and me lovely place at Dante's. An' I'm settlin' into Talbot's Peak."
"How about the table closest to the hearth?" Night Runner smoothed his palm down Kimylla's shapely arm as he moved beside her.
Duff gestured toward the table in his dramatic style. "The fire is crackling like a happy soul, and I'll be off gettin' your supper." He smiled at Kimylla, his eyes twinkling. "Lassie, I've brewed a special pumpkin spice ale, just for this seasonly occasion."
"Perfect. May I address you as Duff?"
"Surely, lassie. You two make yourselves at home. I'll be right out with pumpkin scones. Made by fairy hands," Duff added, and gave them both a wink.
****
Kimylla allowed herself to be escorted toward the small, dark-wood table that beckoned her anyway. She was tired, even for a goddess. Her stomach was on the verge of rebellion, demanding a good dinner. And, the only way she would gain Night Runner's help would be to hear him out.
He seated her like a gentlemanly rogue. Without taking his glittering, blue-eyed gaze off her, he lowered himself, so they sat close. Their knees touched, and he gazed into her eyes with a passion that sent licks of flame through her, deliciously sizzling her nether parts.
"It's like this, my sunfire goddess, I'll go to the ends of the Earth." He paused, his gaze devouring her face. "Hell, love, I'll go to the ends of the galaxy."
"To the ends of the universe," she teased, interrupting him.
"Yes." He captured her hand, then enfolded it within his tenderly.
"What do you want?" she taunted in a murmur, as quivers of excitement ran through her mid-section.
"I want you, Kimylla. I want you in my bed. I want wild primitive coupling. I want hours, days of lovemaking."
Kimylla let the shock subside, just a bit, before she asked, "Is that all?"
"For now." A slow wicked smile spread across his ruggedly handsome face.
"On one condition," Kimylla seductively teased.
His gaze darkened like storm clouds gathering, and his grip on her hand possessively tightened. Kimylla shuddered inside, wanton in a way she'd never imagined, never come close to feeling.
"Your condition?" he finally growled.
With her heart thumping fast, like a rabbit's heart, Kimylla leaned forward. Their gazes locked and melted into each other for several moments. "You wear a bonnie kilt for me. Fine as Duff is wearing."
~~~~~~~~
Have a magickal and wicked Halloween!
Savanna
Savanna Kougar ~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance ~
~~~~~~
Have a magickal and wicked Halloween!
Savanna
Savanna Kougar ~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance ~
~~~~~~
Monday, September 17, 2012
Quality Family Time
(with apologies to Norman Rockwell)
“Will you look at us,” Vernon MacMahon said. He beamed around the table. “All the kids together. We look like a family already.”
Nobody beamed back, other than Elly. Nick didn’t bother to hide his scowl. They were probably holding hands under the table, like a couple of sappy puppies. His brother Mooney, who should have had his back, had a stiff, brainless grin on his lips because such a look was expected. That was a beta for you, content to sit back and let the higher ranks do all the thinking. He even let his girlfriend push him around, and she was a monkey, for Lycaon’s sake. No help from Mooney’s corner, that’s for biting sure.
Or from the other camp. Bo and Hannibal Ewing gave him the bighorn stink eye from across the table. Neither had said a word since they all sat down. Mary had already made her feelings for Nick clear at work, courtesy of that granite-hard head of hers. If a ewe could knock him flat on his ass, imagine what those two gargantuan rams could do. Better still, imagine those two oversized herbies bleeding all over the floor with their throats ripped out. The image cheered him somewhat.
“Is that why we’re here?” he said. “To show off to Talbot’s Peak how well we all get along?”
“Of course not,” Vern said. “We’re here because neither Miss Elly nor I are about to cook for you moochers, and because this place’s owner is a rat with a meat cleaver, and that squirrel behind the bar has a gun and has been known to use it. So nobody’s going to cause any trouble. Right?”
He said this to Nick and Mooney. Miss Elly directed a similar silent warning to her mountainous male offspring. Unhearing Mary sipped blandly at her water, her eyes darting from one set of lips to the next. She caught Nick’s eye and grinned evilly at him. Nick bared his teeth back at her.
Packs had blended before, when an alpha had to take a new mate. But a pack and a herd? This herd? No freakin’ way.
“Just tell me this has nothing to do with the election,” he said. Which would make it even worse if it didn’t, but he had to know.
Both Vernon and Miss Elly looked hurt. “You’re not buying into that scat Lance has been spreading around, have you? About voters wanting their candidates mated? I thought you knew better than that. Elly and I have known each other for years. We’re getting up there in age—”
“Speak for yourself, you old gray wolf,” Elly said with a grin.
“And the clock’s running out. Why spend my twilight years alone, when this tasty morsel’s just been waiting for me to sweep her off her feet?”
“Our mom’s not a ‘tasty morsel’,” Bo said in a growl that would do a wolf proud. “That’s how predators talk.”
“Knock it off, boy. At my age, I’m lucky I’ve still got my real teeth. Any woman who’d have me is a treasure beyond price.” He nuzzled Miss Elly’s neck. “Lucky me, I found her.”
“Lucky us,” Miss Elly corrected, and nuzzled him back. It was sickening. “As long as you don’t expect another crop of heirs. That ship has sailed.”
“Never fear, my sweet. Been there, done that, stepped in the housebreaking accidents.” He wickedly waggled his eyebrows. “Doesn’t mean we can’t take a stab at it anyway. Several stabs, I hope.”
Nick’s stomach flipped over. “Do you have to talk about that at the table? Where people are eating?”
“Get used to it, sonny. There’s fire in the old wolf yet, and spring in the lady’s step. Or did you think that all shuts off after we turn forty?”
Both Hannibal and Bo stiffened on their chairs. “You watch your mouth, carnie,” Bo said. “That’s our mother you’re licking your chops over.”
“And your mama hasn’t been drooled over in ages,” Elly snapped at her offspring. “If you’ve got a problem with it, keep it in your cud sack. Vernon and I are getting married, and we’re going to do everything married folks do. Deal with it.”
Mary signed frantically. Elly caught her hands and pinned them to the table. “That goes for you too, missy. We’re happy, and we’re going to stay happy. If you kids can’t handle it, tough turds.”
The squirrel ambled over. Nick checked his shirt for gun-shaped bulges. “Everything okay here, folks? Get you anything?”
Vern and Elly ordered cocktails. Everyone else ordered sodas. Keep a clear head, first rule on the hunt. The glares flashing around the table over the heads of the starry-eyed lovers could probably flash-fry their entrees, if Nick was any judge of hostility. Oh, wait, these were herbies. They ate their awful veggies raw.
Being the oldest, Nick figured he’d have to take out Hannibal. He doubted if Mooney could handle Bo. They’d have to double-team him. Same for Mary. The little ewe was a vicious fighter. It’s for Dad’s own good. He’ll thank us when it’s over.
To everyone’s surprise, Louie himself brought their drinks over. “I can hear you folks from the kitchen,” he said. Nick bristled automatically, even though he understood Jersey accents made even “good morning” sound belligerent. “I don’t want no trouble in my place.”
“And you won’t get any,” Vern said firmly. Elly shot a glare at her kids. Their stony faces promised nothing. Nick refused to alter his own scowl. Mooney went on smiling idiotically. Didn’t the damn spineless beta have any other expressions?
Louie rattled off the night’s specials. “Now,” he said at the end, “what can I getcha?”
Vern nodded across the room. “Excuse me, but is that Judge Alsop over there?”
“Yeah. He likes the Wellington. It’s one of our specialties. You wanna give it a go?”
Vern leaned in and whispered something to Elly. She gasped, then giggled. Nick had never pegged her as a giggler. They had to get these two apart. Their ill-considered love was upsetting every natural order in the universe.
“Excuse us a minute, would you?” Vernon got up, holding out his hand to Miss Elly. They left the table with Louie in the lead. Nick recognized his dad’s hunting stalk. The shifty old wolf was up to something. Nick started to rise.
Hannibal’s hand clamped onto his wrist and forced him back down. “Oh no you don’t. Nobody’s going anywhere until we hash this out.”
Nick reseated himself, glaring. “They can’t get married. No offense to your mom—”
“And none to your dad, but you’re right. That’s the only thing we can agree on.”
“Why not?” Mooney said. “So Dad’s a carnie and your mom’s a herbie. So what? If they—”
Four sets of hostile eyes glared him into silence. Mooney gulped his soda.
“So,” Bo said, “what do we do about it?”
Nothing at the moment, because the squirrel returned with a server bearing a broad tray. The server placed Caesar salads before the bighorns and plates of meat appetizers in front of Nick and Mooney. “Compliments of the house,” the squirrel said. “Your mom and your dad express their apologies. They’re gonna be delayed for a bit. They said for you guys to go ahead with dinner.”
“What do you mean, delayed?” Nick demanded. “What’s going on?”
The squirrel just shrugged and reached around behind his back. Some shooters kept their guns in their waistbands. Nick quickly subsided. The squirrel grinned. “Enjoy your meal.”
Good luck with that. Since neither species was averse to free food, all five dug into their salads. All chewed loudly and carefully, as if they were imagining chewing on something else. An enemy's body parts, for instance. Except for Mooney, who inhaled his appetizers with gusto. Damn betas. Next to useless.
Time stretched uncomfortably. Nick glanced at his watch and was startled to discover close to an hour had slipped past them. Where the hell was Dad? What was he doing?
Mary squirmed. Nick figured she was getting restless too, until she pulled out a cell phone. Obviously she couldn’t hear it, so she must have had it set on vibrate. She checked her text messages. Her face went white. She hauled frantically on Bo’s arm, then showed him the screen.
Bo’s mouth got thin and hard. “They didn’t.”
Hannibal broke off glaring at Nick to glance over. “Didn’t what?”
In response, a white-lipped Bo activated Mary’s never-used voice mail. “Greetings, pups. By the time you hear this, it’ll be too late for retaliation. Y’see, tonight proved to Elly and me that you pigheaded twits will never see reason. So hump you. Judge Alsop was kind enough to marry us in the kitchen, with Louie and Gil as our witnesses. We’re on our way to Vegas for our honeymoon even as we speak. So play nice, boys and girl, you’re family now. Oh, and somebody tell Lance, will you? And email me a picture of his face.” The message ended on a hoot of laughter.
Stricken faces ringed the table. Mary’s came on a time delay, following Bo’s sign-language recap. “They eloped?” Mooney said. Nick glared at his brother. Mr. Obvious.
“Well, good for them.” Mooney picked up his glass of soda, made a face at it, and got up and headed for the bar.
“Good?” Nick echoed. “What the hell’s good about it?”
“That’s not all,” Hannibal said. “They stiffed us for the check.”
Just like a wolf. Just like Dad. Nick put his head in his hands. “Who could use a drink?” he said. “On me.”
“Will you look at us,” Vernon MacMahon said. He beamed around the table. “All the kids together. We look like a family already.”
Nobody beamed back, other than Elly. Nick didn’t bother to hide his scowl. They were probably holding hands under the table, like a couple of sappy puppies. His brother Mooney, who should have had his back, had a stiff, brainless grin on his lips because such a look was expected. That was a beta for you, content to sit back and let the higher ranks do all the thinking. He even let his girlfriend push him around, and she was a monkey, for Lycaon’s sake. No help from Mooney’s corner, that’s for biting sure.
Or from the other camp. Bo and Hannibal Ewing gave him the bighorn stink eye from across the table. Neither had said a word since they all sat down. Mary had already made her feelings for Nick clear at work, courtesy of that granite-hard head of hers. If a ewe could knock him flat on his ass, imagine what those two gargantuan rams could do. Better still, imagine those two oversized herbies bleeding all over the floor with their throats ripped out. The image cheered him somewhat.
“Is that why we’re here?” he said. “To show off to Talbot’s Peak how well we all get along?”
“Of course not,” Vern said. “We’re here because neither Miss Elly nor I are about to cook for you moochers, and because this place’s owner is a rat with a meat cleaver, and that squirrel behind the bar has a gun and has been known to use it. So nobody’s going to cause any trouble. Right?”
He said this to Nick and Mooney. Miss Elly directed a similar silent warning to her mountainous male offspring. Unhearing Mary sipped blandly at her water, her eyes darting from one set of lips to the next. She caught Nick’s eye and grinned evilly at him. Nick bared his teeth back at her.
Packs had blended before, when an alpha had to take a new mate. But a pack and a herd? This herd? No freakin’ way.
“Just tell me this has nothing to do with the election,” he said. Which would make it even worse if it didn’t, but he had to know.
Both Vernon and Miss Elly looked hurt. “You’re not buying into that scat Lance has been spreading around, have you? About voters wanting their candidates mated? I thought you knew better than that. Elly and I have known each other for years. We’re getting up there in age—”
“Speak for yourself, you old gray wolf,” Elly said with a grin.
“And the clock’s running out. Why spend my twilight years alone, when this tasty morsel’s just been waiting for me to sweep her off her feet?”
“Our mom’s not a ‘tasty morsel’,” Bo said in a growl that would do a wolf proud. “That’s how predators talk.”
“Knock it off, boy. At my age, I’m lucky I’ve still got my real teeth. Any woman who’d have me is a treasure beyond price.” He nuzzled Miss Elly’s neck. “Lucky me, I found her.”
“Lucky us,” Miss Elly corrected, and nuzzled him back. It was sickening. “As long as you don’t expect another crop of heirs. That ship has sailed.”
“Never fear, my sweet. Been there, done that, stepped in the housebreaking accidents.” He wickedly waggled his eyebrows. “Doesn’t mean we can’t take a stab at it anyway. Several stabs, I hope.”
Nick’s stomach flipped over. “Do you have to talk about that at the table? Where people are eating?”
“Get used to it, sonny. There’s fire in the old wolf yet, and spring in the lady’s step. Or did you think that all shuts off after we turn forty?”
Both Hannibal and Bo stiffened on their chairs. “You watch your mouth, carnie,” Bo said. “That’s our mother you’re licking your chops over.”
“And your mama hasn’t been drooled over in ages,” Elly snapped at her offspring. “If you’ve got a problem with it, keep it in your cud sack. Vernon and I are getting married, and we’re going to do everything married folks do. Deal with it.”
Mary signed frantically. Elly caught her hands and pinned them to the table. “That goes for you too, missy. We’re happy, and we’re going to stay happy. If you kids can’t handle it, tough turds.”
The squirrel ambled over. Nick checked his shirt for gun-shaped bulges. “Everything okay here, folks? Get you anything?”
Vern and Elly ordered cocktails. Everyone else ordered sodas. Keep a clear head, first rule on the hunt. The glares flashing around the table over the heads of the starry-eyed lovers could probably flash-fry their entrees, if Nick was any judge of hostility. Oh, wait, these were herbies. They ate their awful veggies raw.
Being the oldest, Nick figured he’d have to take out Hannibal. He doubted if Mooney could handle Bo. They’d have to double-team him. Same for Mary. The little ewe was a vicious fighter. It’s for Dad’s own good. He’ll thank us when it’s over.
To everyone’s surprise, Louie himself brought their drinks over. “I can hear you folks from the kitchen,” he said. Nick bristled automatically, even though he understood Jersey accents made even “good morning” sound belligerent. “I don’t want no trouble in my place.”
“And you won’t get any,” Vern said firmly. Elly shot a glare at her kids. Their stony faces promised nothing. Nick refused to alter his own scowl. Mooney went on smiling idiotically. Didn’t the damn spineless beta have any other expressions?
Louie rattled off the night’s specials. “Now,” he said at the end, “what can I getcha?”
Vern nodded across the room. “Excuse me, but is that Judge Alsop over there?”
“Yeah. He likes the Wellington. It’s one of our specialties. You wanna give it a go?”
Vern leaned in and whispered something to Elly. She gasped, then giggled. Nick had never pegged her as a giggler. They had to get these two apart. Their ill-considered love was upsetting every natural order in the universe.
“Excuse us a minute, would you?” Vernon got up, holding out his hand to Miss Elly. They left the table with Louie in the lead. Nick recognized his dad’s hunting stalk. The shifty old wolf was up to something. Nick started to rise.
Hannibal’s hand clamped onto his wrist and forced him back down. “Oh no you don’t. Nobody’s going anywhere until we hash this out.”
Nick reseated himself, glaring. “They can’t get married. No offense to your mom—”
“And none to your dad, but you’re right. That’s the only thing we can agree on.”
“Why not?” Mooney said. “So Dad’s a carnie and your mom’s a herbie. So what? If they—”
Four sets of hostile eyes glared him into silence. Mooney gulped his soda.
“So,” Bo said, “what do we do about it?”
Nothing at the moment, because the squirrel returned with a server bearing a broad tray. The server placed Caesar salads before the bighorns and plates of meat appetizers in front of Nick and Mooney. “Compliments of the house,” the squirrel said. “Your mom and your dad express their apologies. They’re gonna be delayed for a bit. They said for you guys to go ahead with dinner.”
“What do you mean, delayed?” Nick demanded. “What’s going on?”
The squirrel just shrugged and reached around behind his back. Some shooters kept their guns in their waistbands. Nick quickly subsided. The squirrel grinned. “Enjoy your meal.”
Good luck with that. Since neither species was averse to free food, all five dug into their salads. All chewed loudly and carefully, as if they were imagining chewing on something else. An enemy's body parts, for instance. Except for Mooney, who inhaled his appetizers with gusto. Damn betas. Next to useless.
Time stretched uncomfortably. Nick glanced at his watch and was startled to discover close to an hour had slipped past them. Where the hell was Dad? What was he doing?
Mary squirmed. Nick figured she was getting restless too, until she pulled out a cell phone. Obviously she couldn’t hear it, so she must have had it set on vibrate. She checked her text messages. Her face went white. She hauled frantically on Bo’s arm, then showed him the screen.
Bo’s mouth got thin and hard. “They didn’t.”
Hannibal broke off glaring at Nick to glance over. “Didn’t what?”
In response, a white-lipped Bo activated Mary’s never-used voice mail. “Greetings, pups. By the time you hear this, it’ll be too late for retaliation. Y’see, tonight proved to Elly and me that you pigheaded twits will never see reason. So hump you. Judge Alsop was kind enough to marry us in the kitchen, with Louie and Gil as our witnesses. We’re on our way to Vegas for our honeymoon even as we speak. So play nice, boys and girl, you’re family now. Oh, and somebody tell Lance, will you? And email me a picture of his face.” The message ended on a hoot of laughter.
Stricken faces ringed the table. Mary’s came on a time delay, following Bo’s sign-language recap. “They eloped?” Mooney said. Nick glared at his brother. Mr. Obvious.
“Well, good for them.” Mooney picked up his glass of soda, made a face at it, and got up and headed for the bar.
“Good?” Nick echoed. “What the hell’s good about it?”
“That’s not all,” Hannibal said. “They stiffed us for the check.”
Just like a wolf. Just like Dad. Nick put his head in his hands. “Who could use a drink?” he said. “On me.”
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