Magic and Wolves: Book 1 of West Mountain

Time To Teach This Mutt A Lesson

The pounding on the door pulled her into consciousness first but it was hazy, and she simply squirmed more into her covers, hoping to go back to sleep. That started to seem more unlikely when a loud crash followed the pounding.

"What the ever-loving fuck is going on down there?" Cecilia mumbled and sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes.

"I know you're here bitch. Come out now, Lawson."

Cecilia growled at the sound of Zachariah's voice; she felt the Alpha Command he had put in his words; however, she was stronger than him, so it had no effect on her.

Cecilia flung the covers off herself and stormed towards the door, "Enough is enough. Time to teach this mutt a lesson."

Just as she pulled open the door to her bedroom another crash shook the house.

"You're the so-called Mate?"

Cecilia's breath caught in her throat, and she started running. She had to get to Hammer before Zachariah killed him. She was not exactly sure what she had expected see when she got downstairs, but it was not what was happening.

As soon as she rounded the stairs enough to see what was happening, she stopped moving, trying to process the scene.

Two wolves were circling in the middle of the main room, one a golden brown, the other a dark brown like dark chocolate. They were circling a glowing dome of light and inside that dome knelt Hammer. Light radiated from a pendent around his neck and from under his shirt. Occasionally the darker wolf would lunge at the dome, only to be thrown back with a yelp and singed fur.

The dome is electrified, Cecilia thought trying to fully process what was happening. If Cecilia had any doubts about Hammer being a Mage, they were gone. His eyes were slightly unfocused as they tracked the movement of Zachariah.

Cecilia at first did not understand why he kept charging the dome but as she watched Zachariah charged the dome again. When he hit the barrier, Hammer flinched slightly, the light wavered for a moment before going back to full strength.

He is trying to break Hammer's focus to bring down the shield.

Cecilia had seen enough; she was not going to tolerate her Mate being attacked in HER home. Zachariah thought he could control her and now she was done playing nice. It is time he learned what a strong woman was like. She let her wolf rise to the surface, felt the power fill her completely and she knew on a level so deep it was in her DNA, that she would be listened to, that she was the one in charge here and now they would know it too.

"ENOUGH"

She had not used an Alpha Command since she was 14 and tried to get her twin to eat a live scorpion. This working infinitely better than that time. Both wolves had stopped moving. Oscar stood calmly looking up at Cecilia, Zachariah however was shaking and growling, clearly trying to fight the Alpha Command but not being able to defy a stronger wolf. Even Hammer was still, looking at her with unfocused eyes, the shield was still up but his gaze was directed toward her.

Cecilia came down the stairs and into the main room.

"Oscar, go take care of Franny. I can handle this."

The golden wolf was huge next to her, his head even with her shoulder. He gently butted his head against her shoulder before muzzling his head under her chin before disappearing through the kitchen door. Cecilia picked up Oscars discarded sweatpants and turned her gaze onto Zachariah.

"Shift back."

The brown wolf shuddered and transformed back into a man. Cecilia tossed Oscar's sweatpants at him. As Zachariah pulled the borrowed clothing his eyes darted between Cecilia and Hammer, who was still enclosed in his shield.

"Where do you get off commanding me Lawson. I'm the pack Alpha."

"And I have respected that for two and a half years, ever since you took over, but I've had enough of your behavior. Your pursuit of me, despite the many times I've made it clear I will NEVER be your mate was bad enough. But now you've broken into my home and attacked my Mate? I am well within my rights to defend my home; just be glad I didn't kill you."

Zachariah growled, "You think you could kill me? I'd like to see you try. I should have known you would try to take what's mine."

"I'm not trying to usurp you, Zachariah. I've never tried for power within this pack. I've only tried to live a quiet life. However, I am not the kind of woman you can push around or control."

Zachariah's eyes narrowed but he did not make any move to attack. Instead, he turned and went toward the broken front door. He looked back over his shoulder before leaving. "This isn't over, You WILL regret today."

Cecilia breathed deeply when he was out of sight, "What a douche canoe."

She looked toward Hammer, he had finally lowered his electrified shield and was no longer glowing. He had sat on the floor, his elbows on his knees and his head lowered into his hands.

"Steinson?"

"I need a minute, Cecilia. A shield like that takes a good amount of energy."

"I'm sorry about all this." Cecilia looked at the destruction Zachariah had caused, having two oversized wolves fighting can cause a bit of destruction to a home. "I never thought he would go this far."

Hammer chuckled dryly. "Power hungry men have no limits. I learned that lesson long ago."

Cecilia moved next to Hammer and reached out to run her fingers through his hair. "Thing are going to get complicated."

"Going to?" Hammer looked up at her, an eyebrow raised. "I think we went past complicated a week ago and have moved into something else entirely."

Cecilia shrugged; she could not deny his logic. "Come on, I smell breakfast and the four of us need to have a discussion about what happens next."

She moved her hand from his head and held it out to him. Hammer regarded it for a moment before he grasped it with his own. He groaned as he stood, a small tell that he felt the effects of using his magic.

Cecilia did not let go of his hand when he stood. Instead, she just adjusted her grip and pulled Hammer into the kitchen. It was time for all of them to lay everything out on the table.