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  “Yes, Lucifer,” I ground out, snapping my fingers and putting a little magic behind it- I practically heard the slap to my sister’s skin there and then- I liked this enhanced sense of hearing and smell that I had gained from my pup, except when Hawk dropped a fart- that was never good.

  Now it was Lucy’s turn to glare as her nose twitched in annoyance and she zapped me once more. I squeaked, that one hurt…

  “Lucy,” my mother berated her, offering her a zap of her own.

  “Come on, Lou, play nice,” Sydney joined in, zapping her even harder than I had.

  Before I knew it; all hell had broken out. Lucy was returning fire, three to one, and everyone was squeaking and zapping each other right there in the street- I even took the opportunity to zap my mother… which of course she blamed on Lucy and double bubbled her with two zaps…

  “Ladies, ladies, remember yourselves,” Doug growled out, trying to keep the peace, silly bear, didn’t he know never to step into a witch’s family feud? He did when we all zapped him at once for his trouble…

  “Geez-us-and-hail-Mary,” he growled, every muscle in his body tensing from the sting of four witch’s wrath. “Look who I’m calling ladies,” he growled and grumbled- his face redder than blood… I almost peed a little in my panties- another joy of pregnancy.

  My laughter spat out in fits and starts, but by the time it exploded into full blow hysterics at Doug’s expense, all four of us were cracking up. Doug’s head looked set to explode as his eyes played ping pong within his face- he didn’t know which one of us he wanted to strangle more…

  “Just take Satan home!” He growled, turning on his heels and stomping back inside the shop.

  I know I sounded like the cartoon dog muttly. I couldn’t seem to catch my breath properly, another side effect of having a small bowling ball inside of me playing let’s kick the diaphragm.

  “His face was a picture,” Sydney got out between roars of laughter.

  “That’s what you get when you mess with our family,” Lucy cackled.

  “I love that man,” my mother declared and all laughter died on everyone’s lips as we all turned to stare at her like she’d just pulled down her panties and pooped right there in the street. “Not literally,” she hissed back, and we all exploded into fits of the giggles again.

  ~

  ~

  ~

  “Lucifer meet Hawk, Hawk, Lucifer,” I offered as my mate stood at the door to the kitchen and eyed all four witches at his dinner table.

  “Our sister,” Sydney offered over her shoulder before forking in a mouthful of food- that could have been mine later- into her pie-hole.

  Hawk’s eyes narrowed on Lucy for a long moment, he was sizing her up, then they went towards my mother.

  “You called your daughter Lucifer?” he asked in disbelief. “You are so not making naming suggestions for my pup.” He growled out and I chuckled.

  “My pup!” I offered- like the food, it was mine, mine all mine. And as I was carrying the little jumping bean around in my belly, then I got to say when I shared it with others.

  “Our,” Hawk growled back and I gave a little shrug off my shoulder.

  “My grandbaby-pup,” mother announced with lofty ambitions- if she thought she was getting this baby in her evil un-motherly clutches, then boy could she bloody well think again. “And I’m guessing that stupid is your middle name, dear.”

  Hawk scowled. I peed in my panties a little more, and Sydney almost choked on her food- which served her right, because I really could have eaten that later.

  “It’s Lucy,” Lucifer announced- little Miss Hoity Toity, and I sneered.

  “Maybe when you were born, but I think you’ve proven yourself worthy of the moniker.” And she had, almost daily since we were children. I hated to think what she’d been up to lately, and I just hope it didn’t have plans to follow her here.

  “Oh, can’t you two be civil at least?” mother huffed and I almost spat the food right out of my mouth- what a waste that would have been.

  “No,” we both said together and as dryly as possible.

  “Well, Joss didn’t want me hanging around town either,” Sydney announced, “but look how well that turned out.”

  “Yes,” I answered just as dryly as my eyes flicked towards mother and Sydney cracked a smile. “Didn’t it though.”

  Hawk looked a little lost, and I didn’t blame him. We must have made a daunting sight at the dinner table…

  “Come eat before it’s all gone,” I offered and he frowned, unsure if he wanted to get in the middle of the verbal boxing ring with four witches.

  “Grab it and growl,” Lucifer sniggered and I- quite by accident, not- kicked her under the table. She doubled in the middle and yelped in pain as her eyes snapped to mine and she gave me a death glare- it was amusing to say the least.

  “Bitch!” she had a nice sing-song quality to her voice that I appreciated.

  “Satan’s ho!” I offered back, just as Hawk’s backside hovered over a chair and his eyes snapped back and forth between us. Poor Hawk, ever the martyr to my gene’s and kin.

  “Could we please have a nice civilised dinner?” mother sighed dramatically.

  “You ladies should listen to your…” Hawk stopped before finishing that sentence as three pairs of eyes glared at him. He cleared his throat and dropped his nice taut backside down onto the chair with a sigh and a small growl- don’t you just love men and their particular form of stupid?

  “Thank you for trying, Scooby,” my mother was always one to get the digs in where possible. He looked like he was chewing a wasp. “But my daughters have always been… competitive,” she waved a royal hand, “and a complete pain the arse.”

  Hawk groaned. I chuckled, and Sydney’s shoulders were double timing it up and down in silent laughter.

  “So,” I turned to look at Lucifer, “say you’re not staying past dinner and do one thing right in your miserable life.” I offered before tearing into a chicken leg.

  “Someone get the beast a bib,” Lucifer snorted back.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll use your sleeve once I’m done, vintage decomposed witch is so yesterday,” I lobbed back.

  “As opposed to your- what is that? School teacher meets retirement home, attire.”

  Hawk groaned again and rolled his eyes to the ceiling- even though he was not religious in any way, shape, or form, I’m sure he was praying.

  “Well, it’s better than hooker meets catwoman, over there,” I pointed my chicken leg at Sydney.

  “Why drag me into this catfight?”

  “Wouldn’t want you to feel left out,” I grinned back at her.

  “It’s so nice to have all of my girls around the same table once more,” mother announced with a little sigh, and I kind of knew there would have to be a punchline. “I have missed heartburn and acid reflux like a case of the clap.”

  Hawk almost choked on his own tongue. It wasn’t like he’d even reached for any food yet- I think the verbal sparring might have been a little too much for him- but as the backdoor opened and Scott, our friendly neighbourhood vampire and mate to Sydney, stepped inside- I’m not sure if Hawk groaned, growled, or gave some kind of squeak of gratitude.

  “And then there were three,” Scott announced as he sniffed the air and scented Lucifer’s blood and our kinship.

  “Oh look, a male that can count,” Lucifer looked brighter in herself- probably due to the fact that she’d found another victim. “And a bloodsucking leech to boot,” she turned her eyes towards Sydney, “this must be your better half- well suited.”

  Sydney lobbed her fork towards Lucifer, but Scott was there to catch it first, although Hawk’s hand had gone out too- I wasn’t about to thank either of them for their efforts. I had a mental image of that fork embedded in her forehead, right where her evil third eye was situated, and her eyes crossed as she stared up at the handle… it made me all fuzzy inside.

  “Now, now, Syd, play nice with the
cutlery or I’ll have to give you plastic,” Scott teased her.

  “Like you had in the mental hospital,” Lucifer muttered and Sydney gasped.

  “I was not in a mental hospital,” she hissed across the table.

  “Should have been,” I managed between chews.

  “I’m not staying where I’m not wanted,” Sydney pushed up to her feet in her normal display of overplaying her hand.

  “I wish all my family had that attitude,” I bit out, and Hawk groaned some more.

  “Well, haven’t you just become little Miss Sunshine since getting knocked up?” Lucifer tossed in my direction and I pointed my chicken leg in her direction.

  “Don’t you have some plan like- world domination to carry out?” she snatched my chicken right from my hand and I felt that loss…

  “Today’s my day off,” she gave me one of those smirks that warranted a another good old fashioned zap, but then she added salt to the wounds by taking a big old bite out of my food, and I’m sure my baby bump growled in annoyance as much as I did…

  “Well go cypher a soul or two,” I bit down on my anger as I used magic to whip that chicken leg right back out of her hand and caught it in mid-flight. “Crush someone’s dreams or something.” I bit down into that chicken and I was sure it tasted sweeter, juicier, now that I’d had to recapture it.

  “I was going to go and sample the nightlife-”

  “No!” Sydney and I were of the same mind, which surprised the hell out of me because Sydney was trouble with a capitol T, but I guessed we couldn’t see in ourselves what we could see in others.

  “We have to live in this town,” Sydney got there before I could, and I tossed her a questioning look- the little hypocrite. “I am not that bad.” She knew what I was saying and she pointed a finger of deflection towards Lucy.

  “That settles it then,” Lucy shrugged her shoulders and pushed up from the table, “I’m going to the local pub.”

  “See what you did?” I hissed at Sydney and mother pushed to her feet.

  “I’ll go with her,” she announced, “she won’t be getting into much trouble with her mother there.”

  I groaned inwardly, certain that by night’s end we’d have something of an apocalyptic witch crisis on our hands.

  “You should go three,” I waved my food towards Sydney and she snapped her head back on her neck and looked at me like I’d just transformed into a swamp monster.

  “I’m not going out with them,” she hissed.

  “Aren’t you the one who took over my job-not-job of keeping the supernatural element in check in this town?” I asked and she opened her mouth, but I didn’t let her get a word in. “They are supernatural. So, go do your job.”

  Sydney did that spoilt brat thing where she folded her arms across her chest and pouted.

  “I have plans,” she lied. I could see it in her eyes.

  “Well un-have plans,” I shot back.

  “Nope, they’re laid in cement,” she was stubborn, very, very stubborn…

  “Maybe we could…” Hawk started and I snapped my eyes towards him with a glare that cut those words right off. “Maybe not.” He cleared his throat and reached for a chicken leg. I felt the need to growl at the sight of his hand going for the food, but managed to curb it.

  “Sydney, do your civic duty.”

  “Joss, kiss my backside.” She announced before turning on her puss in boots heels and flouncing off- with Scott giving me a sly smile before following her. I sighed.

  “Maybe it won’t be the end of the world as you know it,” Hawk offered me, trying to sooth my nerves.

  “Bite your tongue, wolfman. You’ve met my family.” I growled back.

  ~

  ~

  ~

  I’d been comfortable, very, very comfortable, and that wasn’t something that I could say lately. Sitting in front of the television, Hawk at my side, a bowl of popcorn balancing on my lap, and death and mayhem unfolding on the small screen to make me feel better about my life- and then the phone rang, and I’d known, just known what was coming- my sisters were like a big black cloud that loomed overhead just waiting to dump all over you.

  Now I was stomping towards the pub, muttering and cursing under my breath as Hawk walked by my side. How I hated family- mine at least. They were a cockroach infestation of the worst kind- first you saw one- then another- then another, and before you knew it they were everywhere.

  Hawk pushed open the door to the bar and I didn’t miss a step as I stormed inside, and if looks could kill, Warren the weasel, behind the bar would have dropped like a ton of bricks. I watched him swallow down a good proportion of his tongue and growled inwardly.

  “Nice pyjama bottoms,” Lucifer announced, and to say that I could have zapped her into the next county was an understatement. Like I said, I’d been comfy and I wanted to hold onto comfy for just a while longer…

  “What did you do?” I directed my death glare at my sister, but Warren the weasel cleared his throat and my eyes snapped towards him. He lifted a nervous hand and pointed towards my mother- I groaned outwardly and rolled my eyes to the ceiling, counting to ten and getting to two and a half-ish… “Mother?”

  “We were just playing a little poker-”

  “You let her play poker?” I snapped at my sibling, and Lucifer looked back at me with something akin to glee. Her eyes sparkled with mischief and I sighed inwardly. Mother’s idea of a winning hand was one that she made up herself using nefarious tactics.

  “She cheated,” Doug growled, pushing up to his feet and folding two huge arms across his barrelled, muscled chest, giving my mother a death glare of his own.

  “I did not cheat!” Mother was the epitome of innocence.

  “Yes, you did,” Doug growled back, leaning his upper body towards her and then snapping it back again when she aimed an index finger at him.

  “Take it back,” she hissed.

  “Will not,” he growled.

  “Oh God, its pantomime season come early!” I groaned.

  “Behind you!” Lucy’s subtly startled voice bit out and I sneered at her- just the way they had in the theatre when mother had taken us to pantomime when we were kids- if she thought I’d fall for that one...

  “Very funny,” I hissed.

  “No, Joss… behind you,” Doug growled out.

  Hawk didn’t wait a second to question it. His arm came around me and he snatched me up against his hip and moved fast. I didn’t get a chance to see what was allegedly behind me as he placed me to my feet behind the big wall of his back…

  I did hear a few gasps and a lot of growls, so I doubted it was anything good. I’d almost bet my house that it had something to do with my sister… I just wasn’t sure which one.

  “G-h-o-s-t…” the word was breathed out before a hearty thud sounded out into the almost silence of the bar.

  I poked my head around Hawk’s body and my eyes immediately found, and held, the sight of one of King’s omega’s lying on the floor dead. His skin was grey, his black eyes still open and staring as he found eternal peace… nobody said a word…

  CHAPTER THREE

  ~

  “Ghost?” Lucifer’s shrill tone echoed out into the stillness of the room and my heart leapt then sank.

  “That’s not good,” Mother declared, stating the obvious, “ghosts can be such a drag.” I had to wonder, as every child had probably once done before me, if I was adopted.

  “You still cheated,” Doug growled on a whisper and I rolled my eyes once more.

  “I think we have bigger fish to fry, Doug.” I bit out, turning an accusing gaze on the man and watching him squirm beneath it.

  “That’s his alpha’s problem,” Doug bit out and then looked suitably chastised by his own stupidity. The lion pack was still in disarray following King’s death and they hadn’t yet fought it out over who was going to take his place.

  “That’s everyone’s problem,” Cane, the alpha of the wolf pack, pushed to his feet
and rounded towards the corpse. “Why is he that colour?” he growled, turning his nose up at the sight.

  “Bad skin care,” Lucifer muttered and I hissed at her to get her to shut up. Now wasn’t the time for her particular brand of bitch.

  “Corporeal transference,” mother said, and I guessed that made her the expert in these matters because I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. Luckily I didn’t have to admit it, Doug got there first…

  “Huh?” He growled. I have to admit the look on his face was a classic and I could have made up a number of funny’s myself, had there not be a dead body littering the floor.

  “Oh, don’t worry yourself, Yogi Bear,” my mother tossed in his direction and when I saw Doug’s whole body tense I almost choked on my tongue…

  Hawk moved forwards, towards the body, and squatted down beside it, as he reached out a hand my mother’s voice rang out again.

  “No, don’t touch him yet. There may be some lingering paranormal activity,” she warned and Hawk snatched his hand back.

  “Warren, call one of the betas from the lion pack and get him down here.” I suggested, getting that sinking feeling again. My magic was antsy, as if it wanted to reach out and protect this town from what might have been a new threat, and yet, I had a pup to protect and that came first.

  ~

  ~

  ~

  The bar had been closed to outsiders, but nobody was going to keep Syrus out when he stalked inside like he owned the joint. Mother slithered up towards me, showing signs of interest in the older lion shifter.

  “Who’s that?” she practically purred in my ear and made a hard shiver run up and down my spine.

  “That’s the old alpha, Syrus.” I whispered back, although I don’t know why I was whispering, there probably wasn’t many people inside the bar that didn’t have enhanced hearing.

  “Don’t be ageist dear, he still looks good to me,” she offered back and caught Syrus’s attention. His eyes took her in, narrowing on my kin, and I practically dared him with my eyes to say just one word…