| |
EXHAUSTION CREPT INTO Walter’s bones as the last of the hunters took his last breath. Life no longer lit up the blonde’s eyes giving Walter a deep sense of pleasure.
“I’m so sorry, Devin.” Amethyst’s voice caught Walter’s attention, he turned just in time to see his brother shift into a werewolf for the first time.
“What the hell? I thought you were a witch?” Emily’s eyes bulged out of her head while she stared at Devin.
“Walter, I didn’t... I mean when I-” Amethyst’s mouth closed and tears fell down her face. Blood covered her naked body. He snapped his fingers to cover her, he needed to give her some protection. Guilt filled her soft blue eyes making Walter want to protect her instantly.
“Just breathe, Amethyst.” Walter took in a deep breath to help guide her breathing. Amethyst took in a shaky breath, tears still falling down her face. Devin rolled over and stood on shaky legs.
“Again, sweetheart.” Walter put a tiny bit more strength into his voice and Amethyst finally stopped shaking.
“Devin was being attacked by the guy and when I went to go pull the hunter off I bit him.” Amethyst wiped at the tears on her face.
“Devin, are you okay?” Walter turned to his brother who nodded and shook out his body. Growing up, both of them thought they were humans living in a world with werewolves. The brothers were the same in every way, strong witches with a new wolf side.
“Devin, do a little lap to get used to your wolf then we can help you shift back.” Walter motioned for him to move. After a few tentative steps, he ran around the valley with ease.
“Walter, if I could take it back I would.” Amethyst grabbed his hand tightly.
Instead of blaming her for the accident he pulled her into his arms to calm her down. “Hush, you didn’t intend to bite him. If he’s like me, he wanted a wolf but didn’t want to ask another werewolf to bite him.” He rubbed her back.
“You wanted to become a werewolf?” Amethyst raised her eyebrow.
“I did. Maria was changed into a wolf to safely deliver her kids. If they shifted during delivery and she stayed in her witch form, the blood loss could kill her. It’s what happened to my aunt.” Walter was glad the topic of children hadn’t come up yet, he wasn’t ready to be a father, even in his mid-thirties.
“I see.” She didn’t meet his gaze. Devin strutted around while Emily stared at the new wolf.
“You don’t have to worry; your body heals like a full werewolf. If I cut your hand, it would heal without any delay. Maria’s hand wouldn’t.” Walter shrugged. He had the same problems with healing as Maria but he didn’t have to worry about childbirth.
“But why? She’s a wolf too.” Amethyst licked her lower lip. Emily glanced their way but kept quiet. Walter wondered if she might start crying.
“It’s a limitation of a witch-wolf combo. I don’t know for sure why but my guess is because the witch side is more dominant than the wolf side.”
Devin rubbed his cold nose against his skin. “Ready, little brother?” Walter asked.
“Picture yourself in your human form. Like how you looked before I-.” Amethyst bit her lower lip and sighed. “I truly am sorry.”
Devin licked her arm and winked at her. He then closed his eyes and after a few heartbeats, his body shrank into his human form.
“Damn, that’s fucking bad ass.” Devin smiled. “Hey, don’t worry about it, Amethyst.”
“What the hell? So, are you some wolf and witch?” Emily finally spoke up, and they all turned to her. Devin snapped his fingers, a gray shirt and jean shorts appeared on his body.
“Emily, listen.”
“No, you listen to me. I don’t want to be with a wolf. My town is full of them. It’s why I liked you so much. There’s no dog inside you. Or there wasn’t until that bitch bit you.”
Walter glanced at Amethyst, her gaze wouldn’t meet his as she focused on the blood-stained grass below. Anger pooled in Walter’s stomach.
“Look here...” Walter moved to stand but Devin stopped him.
“She protected me from the hunter trying to killing me. It was an accident,” Devin defended Amethyst and Walter was proud of his brother.
“Accident or not, I’m not staying here.” Emily turned and moved to walk away.
“Are you kidding me? You don’t even want to see if we imprint or not? Damn it, Emily I was bringing you home to meet my family.”
“Your family is a bunch of freaks,” Emily spat out but didn’t stop walking. Walter had a deep need to put Emily on her ass. Devin turned toward Walter.
“What do I do?”
“If you want to see if you imprint, it just takes one touch.” Walter shrugged. A selfish part of him didn’t want his brother mated with a bimbo like Emily. Devin ran after Emily and grabbed her arm.
“Fuck off.” Emily tried to get away but Devin didn’t let her go. The sun had fully filled the sky once more but the extra magic still buzzed in his system.
“Devin, just let her go,” Amethyst called out. Walter knew as Amethyst did, they had no connection between them. Thank the fucking stars above! Walter sighed with relief as Devin finally let go of Emily. They sat there in silence as she left. Walter’s body ached from all the magic usage. Even with the eclipse boost, exhaustion crept into his bones. A quick nap before the party with Amethyst sounded like a great idea.
“Let’s go home, we have a party to get to,” Walter whispered into her ear. He liked having her close but another part of him wanted more time alone before his family came over to ‘celebrate’ his birth. Walter hoped it would go off better than the rest of this crazy day.
Images of taking her again filled his mind but he pushed them down. His cock twitched with thoughts of taking her in the kitchen. Damn it, this is so not the time to be horny. He rolled his shoulders and Amethyst met his gaze.
“I can’t wait to see the kids again. Every time I see the twins it makes me want to have kids even more.” Amethyst walked away leaving Devin with Walter. His younger brother elbowed him in the side.
“So, you’re having kids?” Devin chuckled. Walter glared at his brother and ground his teeth together.
“No,” he hissed.