Chapter 3
Cam
"When will they be back?" I asked Fischer as he stood at the top of a ladder, stringing purple and orange lights along the red brick face of The Mystical Piglet.
He chuckled and glanced down at me. "They took my lunatic twin to a Halloween store, so my best guess is they'll be back by... next Halloween."
I laughed. "You're right. They basically entered a portal to another world the moment they took him past the front doors."
Still, we had some prep work to do here. Saige was at home with Bette and the girls, but Trick-or-Treat Downtown was tonight. Since we lived right outside of town and there were no sidewalks, we wouldn't get trick-or-treaters at the cottage.
Bram, Kai, and Faris were in charge of getting more decorations for the storefront. I had to admit, I was a little scared to see what they'd return with.
The past couple of months had been some of the most trying in my life... and also some of the absolute best. Regardless of the difficulties, I wouldn't trade the time I shared with my family for anything.
As Fischer continued to work on the lights, I made my way inside The Mystical Piglet.
I couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia as I gazed around the shop.
My feet were placed precisely where they were the first time I met my little witch.
I could picture that moment so vividly in my mind.
.. the way the sunlight had burst through the windows behind me, illuminating her red hair to fiery levels. I never stood a chance.
The wooden floor beneath me creaked as I walked deeper into the shop. I saw flashes of memories that we'd made within these walls. Each one of us men, kneeling for one woman, full of love and hope that she'd say yes to being ours for a lifetime... and she did. She said yes.
"If that expression gets any softer, your face might melt."
I snapped out of my daydream and met Sloane's icy blue gaze. I grinned. "If yours gets any harder, your face might turn to stone, brother."
He shrugged and dropped a large box of Halloween decorations on the countertop. "Found these in the back office." He reached into the box and pulled out a skeleton with a string attached to its skull. Frowning, he spun the thing around, revealing blood red eyes. "This thing is hideous."
Without warning, a shrill laugh came from the skeleton.
"The fuck?!" Sloane bellowed, flicking his finger and sending the decoration soaring through the air as it continued cackling. With narrowed eyes, he pointed at the skeleton. It was reduced to melted plastic and ash before it hit the ground.
Before I could react, a tapping on the window had both of us turning to the front of the store. Fischer's face was there in the top window pane, flushed red with laughter.
Sloane tilted his head to the side and raised a brow, as if to say, 'Oh, really?
' Fischer's laughter died, and I practically heard the gulp of air he no doubt inhaled.
It didn't stop me from laughing, and in fact, I laughed harder when Sloane lifted both hands and directed one middle finger to me, and the other to Fish, before grumbling under his breath something about Halloween being the most pointless holiday.
I shook my head, still chuckling. "You're just mad because you got scared by a little decoration."
Sloane rolled his eyes and began unpacking the rest of the box. "As if. I just don't see the point of all this fake spooky bullshit."
I grabbed a handful of cobwebs and began to stretch them across the counters.
As Sloane continued his rant, I couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement in my chest. Halloween had always been one of my favorite holidays.
It was the one night of the year when we could be anyone or anything we wanted to be, without consequence.
And this year, it was even more special, because it was the first Halloween I'd be spending with my family.
I made my way back outside to help Fischer with the decorations, but he was already finished.
The Mystical Piglet was now adorned with an array of purple, orange, and black lights, pumpkins, spider webs, and various other spooky decorations.
We all stood back and admired our handiwork, feeling proud of what we'd accomplished.
"I think she's going to love it," Fischer proclaimed, clapping Sloane and me on the back.
A car horn broke through the moment, and I turned just in time to be blinded by headlights. "Shit," I cursed, covering my eyes until the vehicle pulled into a parking spot in front of the shop.
"I guess they're done shopping." Sloane stepped toward the SUV and made his way to the back.
The driver’s side door flew open, and Bram shouted."I wouldn't do that!"
It was too late, the trunk was rising, and the sound of an avalanche followed.
We all raced around the car just in time for one last plastic bag to fall on top of the massive pile. Orange, black, green, and purple seemed to have exploded in a colorful bomb.
"MY TREASURES!" A shriek came from within the SUV. More rustling of plastic and cursing spilled from the dark depths, and suddenly a face appeared.
It was Faris, his eyes wild and his hair disheveled from the chaos in the trunk. "I have obtained the greatest Halloween haul in the history of Halloween!" he exclaimed, holding up a frighteningly realistic zombie mask.
"Fuck your treasures!" The entire pile of 'treasure' pulsed a few times before Sloane broke through.
Faris gasped in horror before narrowing his eyes on Sloane. "Ah. I should've known you were the ruffian behind this disaster."
Kai rolled his eyes and reached down, offering Sloane his hand and restoring him to his feet in seconds. "We should probably start taking this stuff inside before another Halloween prop comes to life and Faris delivers another death blow."
I opened my mouth to ask what he meant before abruptly stopping myself. No. Nope. I didn't need to know.
Chuckling and bickering, we all worked together, carrying the bags and boxes into the shop.
I was busy dumping bags of candy into bowls when Faris was suddenly right beside me.
Well, actually, Faris didn't do "beside" anyone.
He had no concept of personal space. "Can I help you?
" I slowly turned my face to the right. After months with him, I'd grown accustomed to his behavior, and I now anticipated his face being mere inches from mine.
"Can I borrow your phone?" he whispered, close enough that I could count his eyelashes if I wanted to.
"You have a phone..."
"Yes. I do. Or, I did. Listen, it's a bit of a long story. I can't get into all the details right now." He waved his hand through the air as though he was physically pushing these details out of the way of our conversation. "So, can I?"
I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my phone. "Here." I handed it over. "But you should figure out where yours ended up. This will be the fifth one you've lost."
He rolled his eyes. "You silly, giant man. I put a tracker on it." His fingers flew across the screen, his eyes glued to his task. He didn't even bother looking at me as he spoke. "But as I said before, details. Mere details. I'll be right back."
Eyes still locked on the phone, he turned and disappeared to the back of the store.
"That was... bizarre," I mumbled, gathering up the rest of the candy to put into the bowls.
"Of all the things we've seen him do, that interaction qualifies as bizarre?" Kai leaned over, resting his forearms on the counter.
"Okay, fair enough... but he had that wild glint in his eyes just now. You know what I'm talking about, right?"
Kai straightened upright at that. "You mean the same look he had when he convinced us to take him to the appliance store, and we didn't know he had a backpack full of bread?
That look in his eye when he tested out over thirty toasters before anyone realized what was happening?
The look that decorated his face for hours after we got kicked out of the store and had to drive home with thirty toasters and over a hundred pieces of toast?
" He leaned in closer and whispered. "That evil little gleam of a look? "
"Oh, fuck me," I groaned, dragging a hand over my face. "How fucked are we right now?"
"Well, that depends on whether we can stop him before he perfects his master plan. Whatever that may be..." Kai glanced around the shop, searching for Faris.
The bell on the door chimed, and all plans of looking for our troublesome blood mage evaporated. Dark red curls framed the most beautiful face I'd ever seen. Deep red lips, perfectly pink cheeks, and heavily shadowed eyes gazed back at us.
"By the moon, Sprout..."
"Oh, little witch..."
I realized the two of us weren't the only ones who had been thunderstruck by the vision that was Saige.
A deep growl came from somewhere behind me, followed by a loud exhale of air.
"Kitten..." Sloane practically purred the word as he walked past where Kai and I were frozen. "Fuck me, you look delicious."
I watched as Saige's cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of pink at Sloane's words.
Her emerald eyes sparkled as she slowly twirled, giving us all a full view of her costume.
She was dressed as a classic witch, but there was nothing traditional about the way the black dress hugged her curves, or how the slit up the side revealed a tantalizing glimpse of her thigh.
"You like it?" she asked, her voice a sultry caress that sent shivers down my spine.
"Like it?" Kai choked out. "Cub, you're a vision."
I nodded in agreement, unable to form words as I drank in the sight of her.
The corset of her dress accentuated her waist, pushing up her breasts in a way that made my mouth water.
Her wild red curls were partially hidden beneath a pointed witch's hat, but a few stray tendrils framed her face, softening the overall look.
Sloane reached her first, his hands immediately finding her waist. "Delicious doesn't even begin to cover it, Kitten," he growled, nuzzling into her neck.
I reached down, absentmindedly, and adjusted myself with a soft groan. We all shared Saige, and seeing her enjoy the attention from my brothers was a turn-on in its own right.
Saige's eyes met mine over Sloane's shoulder, and she bit her lower lip, a gesture she knew drove me wild. "What do you think, Daddy?" she asked innocently, though the glint in her eye was anything but.
I crossed the room in three long strides and spun her to face me, leaving her back pressed against Sloane.
I cupped her face in my hands, and she released a whisper of a moan that would bring any man to his knees.
"I think you're the most beautiful witch I've ever seen," I murmured before capturing her lips in a searing kiss.
It never got old. Kissing her, I mean. Every single damn time my lips touched hers, my stomach would flip on itself, and I'd lose myself completely to the magic that was Saige.
When we broke apart, both breathless, Kai was there, spinning her away from Sloane and me.
"My turn," he grinned, dipping her low and eliciting a delighted laugh from our little witch.
Saige was clearly basking in our attention, her eyes bright with joy and desire.
As Kai set her back on her feet, she looked around at all of us, a satisfied smirk playing on her lips.
"Well, boys," she purred, "if this is how you react to my costume, I can't wait to see what happens when it comes off later. "
The promise in her words sent a jolt of electricity through me, and I could see the same anticipation mirrored in Sloane and Kai's eyes. Halloween was shaping up to be one hell of a night.