Shopping Showdown (3 page)

“Nidia.”

The small woman rotated in the air
until she faced Jax. Her high pitched voice was testy. “No
Jaxeramilix, You have not finished my introduction to the Canis
Matra of the Anderson pack. Do not allow your male parts to rule
your judgment.” Nidia shifted back around to Diana, a diminutive
queen gracing the commoners with her presence. Though Diana had to
admit, having been around Tank all summer, the aristocratic mien
didn’t awe her much anymore.

And since she’d finally passed the
phase of going all drooly and hormonal over the men in the pack,
Diana saved most of her fantasy moments for illicit dreams of Adam.
Apparently, drinking all that wolven blood after her two attacks
had affected her human body. For awhile she’d wanted to jump all
her sexy new grown up pack mates.

Poor Adam had been on pins and needles,
growling and casting territorial glares everywhere. Then Tank had
had mercy and told her that one of the side effects, one of the
changes since she’d never actually Change, was that she’d gone into
heat. Diana still wasn’t sure whether to be disgusted or alarmed.
She’d definitely gone and refilled her birth control prescription
though. She been delighted with weight loss of her slightly boosted
metabolism. She still wasn’t model material, just not so seriously
pudgy.

Apparently, wolven had a thing for
soft, plump females. Especially one really tall, seriously buff
alpha wolf. For the longest she couldn’t understand what Adam saw
in her. Because she felt every hot lustful possessive emotion he
had toward her, she accepted that he apparently wanted her. And she
wanted him. Even when irked at Fido for not telling her there was
more to this den mother thing than riding herd on five teenage
wolven and her daughter.

Now she was scheduled to do politics
tonight with his family, not to mention Fairy Barbie here holding
court in the Wal-Mart garden center.

“Gnomes rarely make decent servants.”
Her tiny orange head tilted to study Diana. “I had heard rumors of
a human Canis Matra, but had dismissed them as the fanciful
imaginings of the ill favored.”

“I’m pretty sure I’m the first. I
wasn’t aware that the fairies kept up with wolven politics.” Diana
tried to keep her eye on Xena during the conversation, but her gaze
kept slipping away, until she finally forgot about the possible
threat the woman posed, then the woman herself.

The fairy claimed the majority of her
attention. “It’s just as well anyway.” Fairy Barbie studied the
tips of her dainty fingers. Diana thought she could see tiny dots
of color. Nidia looked through her lashes. She smiled, a slow curve
of her lips that would be put to better use aimed at a male. “ He
who claims the wood cannot treaty with you anyway.”

Diana tried pasting a pleasant smile on
her face and tilted her head to one side while she tried to keep up
with the conversation. Some habits were just catching. “Sorry. I’m
not sure I’m following you. What do you mean by he who claims the
wood?” It wasn’t like she was making international decisions with a
lumberjack or anything.

Nidia looked as irritated as one of
Mark’s teachers.

Maybe Diana needed to get one of the
guys to give her a better job description. Was she supposed to be
involved in the political stuff. Because whatever Tinker-slut here
was chiming about felt political to her. Diana liked Nidia less and
less and wanted to end the conversation soon.

The fairy flew to Diana, hovering head
height. One glamorous eyebrow arched expectantly. Diana decided
that all that flying might be tiring. She raised her hand palm up
and hoped it wasn’t an insult. Apparently, it wasn’t. Nidia sank
into her hand and stretched her legs out over Diana’s wrist letting
the fabric of her dress fall where it may. The fairy lounged back
against Diana’s fingers. For a doll sized creature, Nidia weighed
less than Diana would have guessed.

Her gemlike eyes fracture and sparkled
with color. With all the colors of the spectrum, and more. Diana
felt dazed, pulled into the colors. Nidia’s voice pulsed pleasantly
in tune with the vibrant colors. “You and I are going to be such
fabulous friends.”

There was something she should remember
about fairies. Had Adam said anything about them? Just thinking
about him caused her attention to redirect to the pack. She to just
go with it. Her well ordered house had collapsed around her ears
last summer when the pack adopted her.

Diana shrugged, careful not to dislodge
the fairy. She didn’t remember what the fairy said and the colors
were beginning to give her a bit of a headache. Diana looked away.
Wasn’t there someone else in the garden center? She glanced a Jax.
Oh, yeah. The fairy and Jax were friends.

Nidia’s arrogant irritation hummed in
the air like a swarm of bees.

“Diana.” Jax interrupted. Concern
radiated from the lines in his face.

“Silence gnome.” Nidia looked down her
nose at Jax.

Diana pushed at the sluggish energy
that had taken up residence in her mind. She noticed that Nidia was
beginning to glow. Jax reached for Diana and was suddenly knocked
bay by the lean frame of an incensed wolven male. The fairy tumbled
out of Diana’s hand.

Brandon growled at the gnome.
Possessive anger roiled inside of boys. Brandon’s emotions burned
hot as a star. The others were meteors streaking to her side.
Brandon’s eyes tracked the gnome. In that moment, she saw the
promise of death of retribution in their brown depths.

“Dude. Keep your freaky little hands to
yourself.” Mark materialized beside her. Rick on the other side. A
high pitched sound escaped from the fairy as a sinking feeling
started in Diana’s belly. She sang like a bottle rocket and glowed
twice as bright. This couldn’t be good.

Diana didn’t see Jax anymore. She was
staring at the fairy as she changed colors. She floated in place at
chest height and sparkled all the colors in the spectrum. Bright
blues, even more brilliant orange and yellow. Fairy sparkles
swirled and jetted.

Pushing the boys behind her, Diana
stepped back several paces. “Man, she’s gonna blow like the fourth
of July,” Rick ducked a head around her, forcing her to push him
back again.

Nidia’s voice was at the same high
pitched whine of a bottle rocket. “Aaaiii! This insult shall not go
unpaid. Aaaiii!” She streaked up. A roman candle flying over the
fern and ivy baskets hanging from the garden center canopy. “Tit
for tat, human!” The fireworks shot straight up and through the
dark screen, burning a small hole in the canopy. “Tit for tat!
Tat-tat-tat!”

“Wicked.” Mark’s jaw hung open to his
chest. His eyes were awestruck blue orbs? “Did we just piss off the
fairy hordes?”

Diana blinked and looked down at Mark.
He stared after the fairy with wide eyes amazement. She shook her
head. She didn’t really have it in her to call down his language.
They might have pissed off the fairy hordes after all.

Another low, threatening growl caught
her attention. Brandon hovered over where Jax was cornered
underneath a tall soda shop style patio set. A stainless steel
monster of a culinary barbeque grill blocked his exit.

“Ahem!” Called the gnome. “a little
help here.” She considered Jaxermilix the gnome for a moment. It
was the little rat’s fault after all. His voice rose a little,
holding what he could to his dignity. “Do you think you can call
your watchdog off?”

Ungoly glee lit Rick and Mark’s eyes.
“He thinks we’re watchdogs.”

“Watchwolves maybe. Watch
this.”

Diana didn’t let it get any further.
“Enough boys.”

She focused on Brandon, who steadily
blocked Jax’s escape. For the moment, there was nothing shy or
frightened about him. He looked as dangerous as any of them when
provoked. “Brandon. Come. Here. Now.” She prodded at him mentally
and he took a step back. Another step and he glanced at Diana
before finally folding back into himself. The fangs and fur faded
away. The aggression and personality drained back away into the
private place he hid. Like a ghost, Brandon glided to her side. The
boys gave him berth, the same distance one gives to the mentally
unstable and the diseased.

Diana let it go, watching Jaxermilix
the gnome ease out from under the table. He dusted off his slacks,
they looked expensive and probably were considering that the gnome
would have to have them custom made or suffer the embarrassment of
shopping in the boys department. He retucked his shirt and passed a
hand over his white. He turned an aquamarine glance at the boys
before settling the full force of his glare on Diana. “Keep your
hounds on a leash, will you dear?”

The boys growled. Diana settled a hand
on her hip. She raised her eyebrows. “What’s up with the ballistic
fairy, Jax? I thought hell would pass out popsicles before you came
in a pack territory.” She waited a beat to watch the normally
collected gnome fidgit. The sense that she’d forgotten something
important nagged at her. “Or so you’ve said every time I invited
you to visit.”

Jax regained his composure and his
sculpted cheeks pulled into a leer. He ran a thumb and forefinger
over his mustache emphasizing the precise jawline cut of his white
beard. “Well my dear, Nidia insisted on visiting the local flora
and fauna. You know how the dimitae-fairies are.” He gave an
offhand motion, dismissing her ignorance. “At any rate, as her
companion I could hardly let her come alone. When we noticed you,
Nidia was excited about meeting you. So, being the gentleman that I
am, I offered an introduction.”

“You’re not a gentleman, Jax. Manners
are just a tool to get under every female’s skirt, no matter the
species.” She snapped her mouth shut, appalled at her own blunt
rudeness. She wouldn’t apologize though. The whole encounter just
felt...hinky.

Jax’s face reddened and he pressed a
hand to his chest. He may be short, but he was well formed and his
chest belonged to that of a semi-serious bodybuilder. “I am crushed
that you think so little of me, my dear. Species does matter.” His
lips firmed into a disapproving line and the white brows came down
over the aqua depths of his eyes.

Her lips twitched. She turned back to
her shopping basket, settling her hands on the handle. The boys
were hovering close so she had no fear about them not following
while she rounded up Seth from the video games. “Goodbye,
Jax.”

“Diana?” She turned back. Something
indecipherable filtered across Jax’s face. She didn’t try to read
his emotional state. He settled on a friendly smile, or so it
looked friendly enough. “Be careful. Fairykind have a tendency to
blow slights somewhat out of proportion.”

“So I do I have to watch out for a tiny
winged hitman or is just the garden variety fairy fit?”

The joke went right over Jax’s head.
His eyes widened and he cast a startled look up at the canopy.
“Nidia wouldn’t...”

“I was just joking, Jax.” Diana
couldn’t finish her wolven baby gift shopping and head home fast
enough.

The End…for now.

Buffi BeCraft lives close to the East
Texas woods that her werewolves roam. Still, she admits to being
much more the hotel staying kind of girl, rather than the camping
in a tent sort. Juggling a pack of her own filled with family,
friends, and an ever-changing menagerie of pets, Buffi is working
on another book.

Website:
www.buffibecraft.com

FaceBook:
www.facebook.com/buffibecraft

MySpace:
www.myspace.com/buffibw

Email:
[email protected]

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