Page 32 of Ivory's Familiars

Libby imparted her final piece of Yoda-like advice before pushing up and leaving her alone in the cellar with an empty wine bottle and a head spinning with more than just alcohol.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

“You shouldn’t have let her go,” Seth groused, pacing the length of the room.

“Did it look like we had a choice?” Vaughn griped from where he was standing stiffly by the window.

“She’s confused and scared. We shouldn’t leave her alone,” Seth pushed again.

Ronan shook his head, “She’s overwhelmed. She needs time without us complicating things. She seems to do enough of that on her own anyway,” he added, frowning over Ivory’s continuous questioning and second-guessing. It was rather annoying, “Besides, she’s just downstairs like she said she was going to be. Can’t you feel her magic?”

Now that they had a chance to see and feel her powers, Ronan could feel her magic easily. The magical bond was there now and would be until the day they died. He was definitely a familiar to her witch.

Seth frowned but at least stopped his agitated movements, “Is that what that is? That low-level buzz in my body?”

“Yeah, that’s what it is. It’s normal for familiars and their witches. We’ll know it if she decides to be an idiot and leave. We’ve been around the block a few times. We know what we’re talking about,” Vaughn sounded pompous and arrogant – a sure fire way to piss Seth off further.

“Really, Vaughn? You’re going to throw that in my face? So I’ve never served a witch before. You both have dozens of times,blah, blah, blah. It doesn’t mean you know more about this particular situation than me,” Seth barked.

Vaughn looked bored with the whole conversation – another deliberate act to fuel the flames, “Um, yeah. Pretty sure it does kid.”

Seth growled, “Don’t call me kid!”

Vaughn shrugged, “Then don’t act like one.”

Seth’s top lip lifted, exposing his sharpened canines as he growled low in his throat. Ronan stood up and walked between the pair, blocking them from each other’s line of sight, “Stop posturing – the both of you. We have bigger things to worry about than you two acting like toddlers,” but Ronan saw the calculation in Seth’s eyes and knew his intervention was going to be for naught.

“I was right, by the way. When are you going to admit that, huh fellas? Not only is there a witch from our coven still alive, but that witch is Ivory. Come on, say it; Seth. Was. Right,” Seth taunted and he just shook his head, not even bothering to stop Vaughn this time. Seth was pretty much asking for it – no matter how right he was.

Vaughn rushed past him in a blur, tackling Seth and taking him to the ground, “Watch the furniture,” he cautioned the grappling pair, watching them mildly as they rolled back and forth on Ivory’s magenta rug. Such a display had been a common occurrence when they had first decided to be together. They had both mellowed a little over the years but you couldn’t put two, well three, alphas together and not expect a bit of conflict.

The two continued to roll around for a minute before Vaughn dragged Seth up to his knees, planting a hard, punishing kiss to his lips. Seth arched into him for a split second before rumbling and pulling away, nimbly gaining his feet. Vaughn lunged at him again but Seth was quicker this time. He side-stepped and Vaughn hit the wall with a loud thud. Ronan winced, he really hoped they didn’t break anything.

“What is going on in here?!”

All three of them spun to see Ivory standing in the doorway, brown eyes wide in disbelief as she took in the scene, “Just boys being boys,” he assured her, looking warningly at his two lovers. Seth now had Vaughn pinned to the wall and was grinding his hips against the other man whilst attacking his neck. Vaughn was sure to have one hell of a hickey. Ivory looked a little wide-eyed, poised in the doorstep. The right word would have her stepping over the threshold whilst the wrong one would have her bolting.

“Care to join us?” The breathless, taunting comment came from Vaughn.

Ronan merely let his head fall to his chest; those had been the wrong words. Sure enough, Ivory spun on her heels and fled as if the hounds of hell were chasing her.

“Damn you, Vaughn! You scared her off!” Seth accused, pushing him roughly away.

“It was more likely seeing you throw Vaughn against the wall and bite into his neck like some sort of savage that scared her off,” Ronan pointed out long-sufferingly.

“No. It definitely wasn’t that,” Vaughn stated, leaning lazily against the battered wall now. He looked sexy and smug and definitely more relaxed now. He continued, “Don’t you smell that? That woman is hotter than hell right now.”

Ronan inhaled deeply, immediately groaning out loud as the luscious scent of feminine lust and desire filled his nostrils. He was forced to adjust his hardness as he watched Seth do the same.

“We should go after her,” Seth’s voice was raspy with lust.

“Maybe just one of us,” Ronan suggested, pointing out; “No point overwhelming the poor woman more.”

“I’ll go,” Seth immediately piped up.

“I think I should go. You two have already put on enough of a show,” his reprimand held no real heat. The two of them were never going to change and he never wanted them to anyway. He loved everything about them – even their bull-headedness.

“You just want an opportunity to be alone with her.”

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