Disclaimer: I do not own any content or characters related to The Covenant, nor do I have any intention of trying to make any money off of this strictly recreational work of fiction.

Infighting

Nicky's was fun. A bar with good music and table games, it had an atmosphere that felt comfortable and made for a nice pick me up after an early afternoon of Caleb and familial magic. It was nice seeing him lose some of his intensity as they sat around a table with Kate and Chase and chatted about random things. Some of the heavy returned when Pogue arrived and realized his lady love had spent the day with what was quickly becoming his competition. Things were a little tense around the table as he walked toward the bar and had just loosened up when Sarah felt the tiny tug of magic use from across the room. Seriously guys?

She and Kate were chatting about the Brad Pitt movie of the day, so Caleb and Chase wandered away to play foosball. A couple minutes later, their conversation had petered out and Sarah found herself staring at the boys playing their game. "Okay, what just happened?"

"What?"

"Well, we were sitting here together, having fun…and now we're watching them have fun." She gestured to the group of guys several feet away.

"That's what girls do. You know boys and their toys." Kate's response rubbed her all sorts of wrong, but it wasn't her fault.

Suddenly, a devious smile pulled at her mouth, as she had an idea. "Nuh uh. Give me a quarter."

"Why?"

"Come on, just give me a quarter. I'll show you what girls do." Kate slapped a single quarter into the center of Sarah's palm. "Thank you." She sauntered toward the jukebox, knowing just the song to get the party started. There were only a handful of songs that could get a room going with the first few chords and though she loved it, she just didn't feel like 'Don't Stop Believing' would do the trick this time. As the heavy guitar riffs poured from the speakers, cheers rose around the room and Sarah turned her attention to the foosball table.

The sway of her hips and the churning of the skirt around her thighs were downright predatory as she strutted confidently across the room. Pogue saw her first and, regardless of his devotion to Kate, his eyes widened a little before he got Caleb's attention. There was no fight as she dragged the brunette to the dance floor and swayed close before stepping away, running her hands down her curves and rolling her hips teasingly to the sound of Joan Jett's rasping voice. Oh yeah…this was how girls got things done.

She had just pressed her ass back into Caleb's groin, dipping low with his arms around her, when the sounds of a scuffle broke out. They turned together to see Reid and Neanderthal number one about to throw down next to a pool table and, like magic, the mood was gone. Caleb pressed a kiss to her cheek before turning to go with his fellow Sons for what would probably be a parking lot brawl. As she saw Nicky grab the bat from behind the bar, Sarah quickly told Chase and Kate that she needed to use the bathroom before slipping away.

She hadn't consciously used her magic in weeks, but it was just like riding a bike as she hung back around the corner and waited for Nicky to threaten the boys and close the door. It was her hope that in the commotion, no one would notice the small spell she cast, piercing a baseball sized hole in the door visible only to her eyes. She got situated just in time to see Reid lean in close to Caleb's ear and snarl at him, "Why don't you quit being such a pussy?" He started to brush past when Caleb's hand landed heavily on his shoulder.

"I'm not finished with you yet." Reid did not take the warning well and pulled the hand away from him, his eyes black and his grip tightening. Caleb groaned lowly and his voice came out in a rasp. "Reid, stop." Sarah's hands clenched together in front of her chest as she waited to see how things played out. This was a clear difference between the Sons of Ipswich and the all-female coven she had grown up with. Her aunts argued often, but never laid hands on one another. She didn't have to wait long, as Caleb grew weary of the blonde's attempts at intimidation and shoved him across the alley with a pulse of power. Her breath stuttered as she felt not a tug at the edge of her brain, but a clench in her chest and a tightness in her skin. It wasn't painful, but was so all-encompassing that it brought her up short—no display of power had ever made her feel anything like it.

"What will it take for you to get it? It's addictive, you moron!" Caleb paced closer to Reid as his voice rose and his fists curled loosely at his sides. "You've seen what it can do if you abuse it. You want that? That's your business, but if you use in the open like you did tonight, you risk exposing us all! And that I won't let happen." There was no doubt in Sarah's mind of who was in charge of this band of brothers, though Reid did not appear ready to accept this as he lifted a keg. Caleb's voice was incredulous as he stood, relaxed but ready, "My power's greater than yours."

"Not until you ascend." Sarah's ears pricked at this piece of information and she shivered in equal parts trepidation and anticipation. If his power hadn't peaked yet, what would it feel like when it did? The next few seconds sped by as Caleb opened his arms and easily deflected the keg flung at him, before shoving Reid into a tower of empty beer bottles. This time she was ready for the feeling of his magic, but still felt her breath hitch and her heart flutter at the full-body buzz that swept over her skin. Sarah tuned back in as the blonde verbally defended himself, "So, I fixed her car! Big deal!"

"Don't play me Reid! I'm talking later and you know it!" Was Caleb aware that his brother had been watching her in the shower?

"The hell I do! I didn't use later." Reid's teeth clenched around the word like it had offended him. And damn but—though she had been nearly one hundred percent positive last night that he had been the mysterious peeping Tom—Sarah found herself believing him. Through the anger he was clearly emoting, she could also feel the hurt rolling off of him in waves.

She gasped as Reid, still covered in broken glass, stalked angrily toward the door she was watching through. She barely had time to cancel her spell and slide around the corner to the line for the bathroom before he slammed the door open and stormed past. Her heart was racing as Tyler came in shortly after and spared her a short nod as he walked by the bathrooms. She waited for her pulse to slow and then walked back around the corner to the open door. The remaining Sons were talking quietly as she called out to them. "Hey."

Caleb's greeting was quiet, as was his affirmation when she asked if he was okay. As he followed her back through the bar and to the parking lot, he was silent and subdued. The drive back to her dorm was equally as quiet, but they had managed to leave any awkwardness behind in the gravel lot at Nicky's. She thanked him for spending the day with her and found herself giving him a chaste kiss as she exited the car. Honestly, she wanted to give him more than a peck, but her mind was still reeling from the fight she had witnessed and her subsequent reaction to his power. And she could tell that he was still distracted as well. The timing was all wrong, but she had a feeling their time would come soon.