Covet the Curves: a Romance Collections Anthology Read online

  They shrugged, but it was Jeff that spoke. First, you only have about a tenth of what I feel. Once you know everything he does, you’ll be able to predict his movements in the fight.

  That’s only if the wish works out that way. I grimaced, You never really know with Jenn.

  Walt asked You made a wish? Is that why that Jinn is glowing and sparkling?

  Both Jeff and I nodded and said, We’ll explain later. At the same time.

  Your fins—

  Flippers—

  Okay, your flippers are not your only tool; it’s an Alpha challenge, Walt said.

  And I’m an Alpha.

  Yes, said Jeff.

  And I can end this now.

  Yes, they both said.

  Reef looked ridiculous silently screaming obscenities at us getting angrier with every second that passed without his voice. Everyone else standing around seemed like they had been enjoying the conversation.

  Can everyone hear us? I asked.

  Not unless you want them too, Jeff answered.

  Then why are they all staring at me?

  You tell me, Walt said.

  They want to see what I’ll choose to do.

  There was no choice though. My pod had suffered long enough at the hands of an unfit ruler, and I couldn’t let him do what he threatened to do with the Jinn. It was all up to me, “Reef, your abuse of the Scottish Highland Plesiosaur pod ends on the next full Moon.”

  “That’s tonight,” Jeff whispered.

  “Your reign of terror ends tonight—”

  I meant to put it off until the next full moon!

  Oh well, too late now. “I challenge your position as Alpha.”

  Reef was stunned. He was no longer making obscene gestures or silently screaming obscenities at us; he was staring at me wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

  The pixie spoke to Reef, “I’m going to let you speak again, but the moment you say w— the gag order gets placed again. Do you understand?”

  Reef nodded slowly not taking his eyes off of me. Then the pixie looked at me. I nodded, and she flicked her hand in Reef’s direction. He stood there seething for a moment. I would’ve thought that as soon as he got his voice back, he’d be yelling. When he did speak the disorienting calm and dangerous ominous tenor to his voice unnerved me. “You dare challenge me? The daughter of the man who suffered a fate worse than death for exposing and providing proof of shifters to human?” His eyes darted around seeking a reaction but found none. “A woman whose reckless wish changed the fate of our pod? Whose only major accomplishments have been screwing things up for everyone else and disobeying her Alpha?”

  “My father made a mistake and accepted his fate without question; that has nothing to do with me. I only disobeyed my Alpha because he was unfit to rule over us. My major accomplishment will be that I removed an unqualified, un-empathetic, greedy, selfish, tyrannical monster from power. A ruthless bully who acts more like an abusive spouse than the caring, selfless, brave Alpha the Scottish highlands Plesiosaur pod deserves and needs.”

  “The pod deserves and needs me! We were a mess before I stepped into power.”

  “We weren’t a mess; we were free! You have done nothing but isolated and used us for your own ego, gain, and laziness!”

  “You think I’m lazy? I won this position by combat—”

  “If that’s what you want to call it.”

  “What would you call it?”

  “A coup. We’ve never been able to figure out what you had over Alpha Angus, but that’s the only explanation for him agreeing to a fight without the use of his Alpha power.”

  Reef shrugged, “And that’s how you want to do this?”

  “Yes, a true Alpha challenge. Anything goes with the standard extraneous rules applied of course.”

  “No cheating, no physical weapons, only our wits, magic, power, and strength may be used.”

  “Two go in one comes out.”

  “No.” Reef said emphatically and shook his head, “That’s not going to work for me. I don’t want to kill you.”

  “I do want to kill you.”

  “And I want your power for myself. New condition, if I win, we will be mated immediately, and you will submit to me in every aspect for the rest of your life.”

  “And if I win, you’ll be dead, so nothing else needs to be said.”

  “So, do you accept my terms?” Reef asked.

  “I accept. Do you accept mine?”

  “I do.”

  “Then it is settled,” Walt said stepping in between us. “We will meet at the Harcourts’ as the Moon begins to rise. We will have our fey friends erect a shield to hide you from anyone flying overhead. I will also have a couple of merfolks standing by to observe what happens under water.”

  “I don’t know if I agree to that,” Reef commented. “How do I know they won’t help her cheat?”

  “I don’t need to cheat, Reef.” I crossed my arms, “I agree with Walt, someone needs to be there to observe.”

  “Then I want to bring my own witness as well.”

  “I don’t have any problem with that whatsoever, as long as they stay out of it.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll bring somebody not even you can argue with being there.”

  “Fine,” I said.

  “Fine,” Reef said.

  “Fine,” Walt said. “Are there any other terms that need to be discussed at this time.”

  “Are you willing to perform the ceremony even if she’s bruised, bloody, and broken?

  “I’ll hold up my end of the deal. Including the installation of a new Alpha to your pod… If necessary of course.” Walt gave a smirky grin thoroughly pissing off Reef.

  “And I will have such a fun time breaking in my new mate,” he glared at Jeff for dramatic effect, “I think it may take me a long time and a lot of punishments to get her to learn her place. You see, she’s never been submissive.”

  Jeff shrugged. “I don’t doubt that, she’s got too much Alpha in her.”

  “We will see about that, won’t we?”

  He did a half-assed head nod mocking his submission to Walt. “Alpha,” he said and then quicker than I’ve ever seen him move, grabbed Lucy’s chain and they disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

  “Mom,” Jenn screamed then began to weep and sunk to her knees. Her tattoos were starting to flash and shimmer steadily and rapidly.

  I ran to her, dropped, and wrapped my arms around her, “It will be okay Jenn, I promise.”

  “How can you say that? He’s got my mom! If you lose you’ll be his mate until he kills you, and your wish is going to be fulfilled any second, and we still don’t know if that will kill you! Or me! I’ve never felt so much power Edi. Do you see me! I look like a statue you’d find in Trump Tower! I’m totally tacky in front of all of these people.” She looked around, “Who are all of these people?”

  “The Lupinskis. Pretty much all of them, I think. And a bartender, my cousin, a fey, and a sprite.”

  Jenn said to the sprite, “Thank you so much for saving my mom with that little—” She sniffed as she wiggled her fingers around “—gaggy thingy you did.”

  “I’m Pixie, and it was my pleasure.” She gave us a huge smile and then pointed to the male fey, “That’s my mate, Baynard. We’re going to go to the lake and get ready. I think we should call in some reinforcements too.” She glanced at her mate for confirmation, and when he nodded she said to Walt, “I think on several different kinds of magic for the shield and surrounding areas is optimal, don’t you?

  Walt nodded, “Whatever you think is best, kid.”

  Pixie rolled her eyes and smiled, “I’m three-hundred years older than you. I should call you that, Walt.”

  “I’d love to see you try,” he made a ridiculous ‘mean’ face at her, and she returned it that had mostly everyone chuckling.

  Jenn leaned over and whispered, “She didn’t call him Alpha; she called him Walt.”

  “Yeah.”

  “And t
hey’re teasing each other and goofing around? Reef would have killed her and Alpha Angus and wouldn’t have handled that well either.”

  “I’ve only been here for half a day, and I can tell you this is a completely different world than what we’ve grown up in. I love it here.”

  “I think I do too.”

  Walt and Pixie had finished their playacting and the male fey came over and joined them. “We should get going, Pix.” She nodded, and he said to Walt, “We will have everything ready on time.”

  “I don’t doubt that.”

  They did a little hand wave to the crowd, and she said, “Later ya’ll.” And they disappeared.

  Walt zeroed in on us and took the couple steps closer. “Jenn,” he put his hand down, “I’m Walt Lupinski, Alpha of the Lupinski Clan.”

  Jenn took his hand and allowed him to help her up. “Jenn jinxed jinn of the Scottish Highlands Plesiosaur pod.”

  Jeff gave me a hand up and held onto it for dear life. He was frightened, but I wasn’t sure if it was the upcoming battle or the fact that Jenn had said that I could die from the wish. I don’t think she meant to say that, it was more of a Freudian slip. But there it was, in the room like an elephant.

  “Yes, Alpha Lupinski.”

  “Walt, please.”

  “Okay, Walt.” She smiled, nodded, and he continued, “We don’t have a lot of Jinn around here so please forgive my ignorance, but why are you starting to resemble a seizure-inducing golden disco ball?”

  Jenn seemed confused, and her tattoos grew brighter when she said, “I think it’s happening.”

  “What’s happening,” Walt asked.

  “The wish,” My voice cracked with fright, she didn’t turn into a flashing disco ball the first time.

  “What was the wish Edi?”

  Walt’s expression had me confessing, “It was an accident.”

  “Go on,” Walt crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Jeff and I were…um… you know… discussing the fact that he was my mate.” I could feel the happiness spread through the Lupinskis, the bartender, and my cousin, at the mention that we were mates. George was about to come out of the skin with joy.

  I tried to ignore the feelings of everyone as they flooded me so I could focus on what Walt was saying but that was getting harder to do. I managed to point at Jeff and say, “That I could feel everything he feels.”

  “You certainly went from one extreme to the other,” Andy said as she walked up.

  “That’s what I said!” Jenn put her hand out and Andy went in for a hug. Jenn had a goofy expression, probably the same one I had earlier.

  “I’m Andy, romance novelist, Alphas Mate,” she tilted her head toward Walt, “He’s my hubby.” Andy looked at me, “So what does that mean for you? Jeff is kind of a bad ass omega, are you literally going to feel everything he feels now?”

  Jenn spoke up, “We won’t know until it’s complete.”

  “Aren’t wishes supposed to be instant?” Andy asked.

  Jenn replied, “Not when the future of mankind needs to be rewritten.”

  “What?” Everyone who had not been there for the explanation earlier said in unison.

  “I don’t know how, but somehow her wish is going to affect, well, probably everybody.”

  “Everybody in the clan?” Andy asked

  “No, everybody on earth. There are some that can be instant and others that take the Fates awhile the to rearrange the game pieces for.”

  “The Fates?”

  “Not this again,” Jeff said. “I’ll give the cliff notes version since I don’t think we have a lot of time.”

  Jeff’s voice faded into the background as the feelings of those present became stronger, and then I began to feel things from further away as well. Anger, sadness, fear, contentment, regret, happiness, love, every conceivable emotion that someone could have was stabbing inside me, affecting my soul. I couldn’t distinguish between the feelings, and they were increasing in intensity. Feeling a little bit woozy, I swayed a little. Jeff put his arm around me.

  “What’s happening to them,” I heard one of the women say. Not sure who, because I couldn’t focus on anything in particular; I was so consumed with everybody else’s feelings. My eyes locked on Jenn’s and I couldn’t look away nor could she. Neither of us could speak. George at some point had come over to hold up Jenn up as well.

  Walt was ordering everybody to stand back from us. He tried telling Andy to go inside to which she replied, “No fucking way Mr. Alpha.” Jenn tried getting George to walk away, but he wasn’t having any of that. I didn’t feel the love from him for her, only concern. I had hoped they might be mates, but I guess not. Jenn had stopped flashing all together but began growing brighter and brighter until I could see people in my peripheral vision cover their eyes and mates protecting mates by covering each other from the possible blast. I couldn’t close my own eyes though, they were glued to Jenn and focused on her feelings. She was petrified of what was about to happen; worried that she had killed her best friend.

  I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I tried to reach her telepathically and said, “Nothing’s your fault. I love you.” A single tear rolled down her face as her outline began to blur and she became transparent and smoky. George appropriately freaked out. Jerking a little when he could no longer feel her and then stepped several feet back when she went all ghost-like on him. Starting from the bottom, she was turning into a mist. Only the top half of her body was recognizable everything below that was a plume of smoke swirling around and around. Then the brightness of her tattoos was overshadowed when light shot out of her eyes. She raised her hands toward me, light escaped the tips of her fingers streaking across the space between us but not quite reaching me yet. That changed when she opened her mouth and screamed a blood-curdling scream accompanied with more light pouring from her mouth. All the light from her fingertips, eyes, and mouth, as well as the general glow of her tattoos, shifted direction toward me. It felt like I was hit by a thousand bolts of lightning and my world went black.

  Chapter Seven

  I snuggled in. I felt so comfortable, safe, and loved. I didn’t need to open my eyes to know that it was Jeff holding me or that we were moving. I could hear voices next to us and in front of us. There was a general nervousness yet confidence amongst everyone. I could tell by what they felt who was with us in the van, Walt, Nate, Ja’Lyn, Jenn, Jeff, and I. It was a strange feeling. I’m not sure if it was because I had gone so long without feeling anything or if it was in fact only weird.

  It’s weird, but you get used to it, Jeff said telepathically to me and I started to stir, but he squeezed his arms a little tighter and said, You need your rest, keep your eyes closed a bit longer.

  “That was crazy,” Ja’Lyn said feeling a bit mystified.

  “What? The whole burn brighter than the sun thing? Yeah, I guess next time I’ll come with eclipse glasses.” Jenn’s worry that I may never wake up was heart-wrenching.

  She’ll be okay, Jeff said. Listen and try focusing on who you’re feeling for a while.

  “My eyes still hurt a little.” Walt was slightly-overconfident in my abilities, but the ego boost was nice. “My knowledge is limited with you guys, but I never have in the written history of shifters heard about anything like that. Have you ever seen that before?”

  “No, never. Fate must not have needed to be rewritten as much with her first flippity-flap, it wasn’t an instacoffee, of course, but it did take a couple of minutes to have enough magic to complete it and thank goodness for that.”

  “What are we thankful for?” Nate missed Sydney and was only paying half attention because he was sending her hot images of what he wanted to do to her. She loved it, I could feel it. Jeff must have reached out further and found her, Andy, Mel, Sam, Graham, and Abe, in the vehicle behind us.

  “We are thankful that it wasn’t instant because mine tends to go a bit whacky.”

  “How so?” Walt piped in with a flash of nervou
sness quickly expelled with cocky arrogance.

  “Jinn winks are exactly what you ask for. You have to word winks extremely carefully to achieve the desired result,” Jenn said. “When I was child, we lived in a Jinn joint—”

  “A gin joint? Like a bar?”

  “No, a community of Jinn,” she then whispered under her breath, “Dumbass.”

  “Did you call an Alpha a dumbass?” Walt was shocked.

  “No, I said you had a nice ass.”

  There was dead silence in the car for a few moments, and then I could sense it a second before it happened Walt burst into laughter which made everybody laugh because he was snorting and everything. “I think I like you.”

  “Cool cause I think I love it here.”

  “Get back to your story.”

  “Bossy.”

  “That’s my job.”

  Jenn laughed and continued, “There was nobody my age in the joint, no other kids of any age period. I was so lonely and bored that I willieed the family of mice that lived in the walls of my house on Everest could talk and be my friends.”

  “That’s kinda cool.” Ja’Lyn did not think it was cool, she thought mice were skinny rats, and rats freaked her the fuck out.

  “It was at first, they were so grateful they had a voice; they helped me do my chores and stuff.” Jenn knew Ja’Lyn was being nice and decided to fuck with her a bit.

  “Like a Disney movie?”

  “Who do you think they based some of the stuff on?” Jenn was barely able to keep a straight face, and Ja’Lyn thought mice might not be that bad if she never had to do laundry again.

  “So back to the story, mice are brilliant creatures. They’ve been observing humans for eons and have opinions on everything from, why it took so long for a man to discover the wheel to whether or not the World’s Fair would be a flop. They never, I mean never ever, shut up, ever. And do you have any idea how big the extended family of a mouse is? Tens of thousands of members and they all decided to come to my wall to tell me their opinions on everything. We were completely overrun with rodents.”