Magical Midlife Love (Leveling Up 4)

“Shows what ye know, now doesn’t it? Ye don’t go to hell until ye die. I’d have a lovely, long life being perfectly wicked, and then I’d head down under and pull on the devil’s whiskers.”

“Down Under is Australia.”

“Same difference. Hot as the bejesus.”

“Look,” Jess whispered. “The basajaun wiggled a branch. Just one. Jimmy didn’t even notice.”

Jimmy sure didn’t. If this were a dangerous situation, he wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Are there more over here?” Jimmy called.

“Another branch,” Jess said. “A bigger one.”

“I heard it,” Austin said. The branches were scratching each other, the leaves rattling.

“Just one more to find before you look for the golden egg, Master Jimmy,” Mr. Tom called. “It’s hidden over there somewhere. Or maybe a little closer to the woods.”

Jimmy took a big step over a tightly packed bunch of flowers and then stopped abruptly, looking down between them. The basajaun pushed forward, put out his hands, opened his great mouth, showing his large teeth and longer canines, and softly growled.

Jimmy’s head snapped up. His body tensed. The large wicker basket in his hand dropped and plastic eggs tumbled out.

“Mom!” Jimmy yelled, back-pedaling over the flowers, crushing them under his feet. “Help! Mom!”

“Oh no! My flowers!” Edgar darted from the hedge maze.

The basajaun straightened up, all nine feet of him, and roared, filling the space with his mighty frame before he bent forward. Jimmy, face white and eyes wide, raced for his mother and ducked behind her.

Niamh cackled from beside the house.

“Now, that’s not funny,” Mr. Tom called. “The poor master will have nightmares. I feel guilty for the part I played, however almost innocently.”

The basajaun’s roar turned into hearty chuckles. He shook with them, bending over his knees and shaking his head. “Did you see his face?” The basajaun’s laughter increased in pitch. “Did you see his face?”

Jess turned to comfort her son as the basajaun finished laughing and straightened again, his gaze coming to rest on Austin, not Jess.

“Alpha. Per our agreement, I must tell you that a band of shifters was in the process of crossing my mountain when I returned from my family reunion in the Redwoods. They were headed in this direction, though they were not hurrying. The most powerful of them traveled at the front until they crossed my scent. He then altered their course and repositioned his people so that he was always closest to my scent. I watched from high in a sycamore tree. He respected my claim and removed his people from my territory in the fastest way possible. He does not owe me blood.”

“What did he look like, the one in lead?” Austin asked.

“A great tiger, strong and fierce.” The basajaun scratched his chest. “This one would give me trouble. Not the sort of trouble you would give me, but nearly.”

Adrenaline flooded Austin. He should have known his brother would show up a day early and sneak in through the back door. He’d want to test Austin’s territory borders. He’d want to see what resistance stood in the way.

Austin had some good people already, but he’d expanded the size of the territory quickly, and they were stretched thin. If Kingsley hoped to be impressed, he’d be left wanting. Still, it was worth trying to rally the forces and present a good defense to outsiders. Austin would need to show Kingsley his best if he expected help.

Or maybe it would be better to display his weaknesses. To be humble.

“Help yourself to a few flowers,” Jess said, Jimmy now back with Mr. Tom, staring for all he was worth. “It was a long journey.”

“Oh. You are so kind.” The basajaun offered her a toothy grin. “Very generous. A great hostess.” The basajaun picked up some of the smashed flowers Jimmy had crushed in his haste to get away. “Since I was the reason behind this catastrophe…”

“Yes, fine, that’ll work, I guess,” Edgar said, wringing his hands as he watched.

“Jess.” Austin squeezed her upper arm gently. “That’ll be my brother. I have to go. I need to make sure everything is set up for him. I wanted to spend the day with you guys, but…”

“Of course you have to go,” she said. “I doubt your brother is that far behind the basajaun. Do you need anything?”

“Rain check?”

She smiled, and her lashes fluttered, a pretty gesture that thawed something inside of him. “Easter only comes once a year, but…I’m sure there’s some way you can make it up to me.”

He ran his thumb across her skin before pulling his hand away. “In the coming days, depending on how it’s going, I might need you to show off your power and your people and your house. I might need a spectacle.”

“I say, if ye want to make an impression, don’t invite us all,” Niamh said. “Some of these clowns would only make yer brother pity yer new setup.”