“Fuck Christmas,” she said into his back.
He laughed. She was definitely asleep. What else would she say while she dreamed? Would his name reach her lips and reveal he had entered her dreams? Atticus hope he dreamed of her, too, that night.
Reaching for the other bed, he yanked the comforter off it and pulled it over their bodies. Why wasn’t this little wolf running? Wasn’t she smarter? Where were her survival instincts?
No one was allowed to touch her. She was too precious, too fragile.
Atticus would make sure she stayed safe.
Chapter Five
Atticus pointed to an exit. “Let’s make a detour.”
“I don’t know where I’m going once I’m off the highway,” she confessed, but flicked her signal light on anyway.
“You’ll be fine. This is my old territory. I can tell you where to go.” His voice was low and smooth, like velvet. It put her at ease when her beast should have been leaping for freedom.
Maybe it was the mound of donuts she’d eagerly devoured earlier that morning. Atticus had gone out while she was sleeping again. He’d returned with a trove of pumpkin donuts and hot coffee, which was far better than the hotel’s continental breakfast options.
She eased off the highway and followed Atticus’s directions. She’d promised her mother she would make it home today, but now she was driving in the opposite direction all because Atticus asked her to do so. Why was she listening to him?
Because they were both lonely shifters who needed help. She wasn’t sure what kind of help he needed until she woke with her arms around him. Maybe they both needed touch. It was the second time in twelve hours that they had found each other’s embrace. In the bathtub, Atticus’s arms lent her a bit of control. She felt whole for a little while.
What had he felt while she held him? A little less alone? Wanted?
Frankie found that whatever he needed, she wanted to give. He seemed afraid to ask for it, as if she would walk away at any moment. When he brought up coincidence and fate, she’d brushed it off. Maybe he thought fate had brought them together and feared she wouldn’t stick around long enough for fate to run its course.
That wasn’t how that worked. If fate was real and they were bound, then she couldn’t escape. Breaking free of Atticus’s orbit would be difficult if she wanted to leave. When his presence made her wolf roll over and expose her belly, she wanted to sink into him. When the way he snuck glances at her made her smile, she had hope for a better future.
Atticus pointed to a road that was barely plowed. He assured her that if they got stuck, they’d be able to handle it. He would push the car the whole way there and back if it came to that. She laughed, believing him, and braved the uneven road.
Eventually, the trees opened into a chasm. She parked the car and blinked a few times, trying to make sense of what she saw. A small, grey building sat off to the side. Orange machinery flanked it. Inside the white chasm was more machinery that she didn’t recognize.
Not a soul was around. It was Christmas day, after all. She turned her phone off, chucked it into the cupholder, and got out with Atticus. He dragged in a deep breath, his chest puffing like he might breathe fire. She waited for flames, but they never came. His breath did fog the air, thick, like it had turned to steam.
“What are we doing here?” She glanced back at the snow-covered opening in the ground.
Atticus peeled his shirt over his head. Frankie whirled around, cheeks already hot with embarrassment. Did he think they would screw around? She didn’t know if she even wanted that. If it was part of shifter culture to fuck casually, they were going to have to have a conversation.
“You can’t keep your beast locked up forever,” Atticus said behind her. His footsteps crunched in the snow as he came closer. “The animal inside you is another part of yourself, not an infection. Be kind to it and let it run around sometimes.”
She wrapped her arms around her middle. Atticus didn’t know what he was asking of her. She’d lived with only one voice in her head all her life. This new primal thing inside her was a raging force that scared her. If she let it out, let it have any control, then it would never give it back.
Atticus pulled her into him. “You don’t have to be scared of anything. I’m your pack leader, remember. You’re safe as long as I’m around.”
She chewed her lip. Her wolf leapt with anticipation. It seemed less like a beast craving a kill and more like a dumb dog excited at the prospect of a walk. Frankie swallowed and nodded. When she stepped out of the comfort of Atticus’s arms, she missed them almost immediately.
As if he, too, craved the closeness, Atticus stood behind her and grabbed the hem of her shirt. He lifted it over her head, his knuckles grazing her skin along the way. Fire danced over her body. The beast growled, a sound that turned into a desperate plea. Not for escape, but for something else. Something that involved her human body.
Frankie wasn’t that kind of girl. She wasn’t going to flirt for fun, and she certainly wasn’t going to fuck without reason. When she slept with someone, she wanted it to be because she wanted to. Not because some animal inside her got horny.
A distance yawned between her and the wolf. Frankie couldn’t cross it because the wolf stuck its nose in the air at her and pranced away. She was supposed to shift now, but the creature was mad at her. The beast insisted it knew something Frankie didn’t.
Frankie curled her lip. Behind her, sounds of change whispered in her ears. She didn’t turn, but the shadow of the dragon washed over her and darkened the ground. He dropped to his feet and prowled around her. She should have been afraid, but she felt nothing but awe as he came into view.
Atticus kept his head low so she could run her hands along the spines that ridged his brows and the horns that curled back from his head. He was majestic in a way she never thought possible. How could one man be so beautiful in both forms?
She felt dull and plain in comparison. Her hair was mouse brown and a mess of unruly curls that she had to fight through every morning. She wasn’t sure what she looked like in her wolf form. Her paws were white. That was about all she could recall, but no fur could compare to the glimmer of his scales in the winter light.
“There’s a gemstone called selenite,” she told him. “It has a milky radiance kind of like your scales. If you moved slow enough, you might blend in with the snow.”
He huffed warm air at her. Could he breathe fire? Or was that a myth?
She didn’t dare ask while he stared up at her. He was waiting for her to change. She rolled her eyes and tried approaching the wolf inside her again. This time, with Atticus near, it leapt at the opportunity.
Frankie quickly unbuttoned her pants and shimmied out of them as the wolf came bounding forward. Usually, the change was painful. Her muscles ripped and her bones snapped while she cowered. This time, it felt seamless. Frankie couldn’t tell where the human left off and the wolf began until her paws touched snow.
***
Frankie’s wolf was majestic. Sleek white fur coated her from head to tail, with a small patch of dusty brown on her chest and along her ears. Atticus wanted to stare at her all day, but she bounded off toward the quarry before he could stop her.
He spread his wings wide, ran, and let the air carry him. Even gliding a few feet over the ground felt magical. He’d been wrapped in earth for too long. He craved the open skies and the weightlessness of flight. He passed Frankie and circled around to land in the quarry where he could watch her leap from ledge to ledge, deeper into the ground.
He held his breath at each jump, poised to catch her if she fell, but her beast was graceful. Even for a creature pent up inside a human body, it had cunning instincts. When one foot slipped, another carried the weight. When she fell and rolled across the snow, she pulled her legs into her body until she could bounce back.
She moved with speed, too, as if Frankie might fold the beast back inside her at any moment. She ra
n like an escaped convict enjoying fresh air for the first time in years. Atticus understood. He pounced after her, careful to keep from landing on her. She danced out of the way and nipped at his heels each time.
Atticus huffed at her. Time slipped away from them as they played. He snapped his teeth and listened to her howl until she started to slow. Once he thought the beast would be properly exhausted, he scooped her up and flew out of the quarry. It had served as a playground, and now it was time to leave.
He set her down near the tiny car and shifted back into his human form. The snow bit his skin, but soon his dragon’s warmth filled him once again. He claimed their forgotten clothes only to realize they’d frozen. He guessed it was time to pull something out of the car instead.
When he went back, Frankie hadn’t shifted. She’d lain down and fallen asleep in front of the Volkswagen. He stopped, sighed, and shook his head. If he knew how to get to her parents’ house, he might have put her in the car and taken her there on his own, but he needed her awake and able to give directions.
And certainly not in this form once they arrived. He couldn’t imagine her parents’ reactions when he pulled up in Frankie’s car with a wolf instead of their daughter. Frankie needed to tell her parents what happened on her own terms.
He quickly tugged on a pair of jeans and went to crouch before the sleeping wolf. He tapped her snout until she cracked open her eyes. Man, she was a sleeper. “You have to give her back, beastie.”
The wolf growled but nuzzled his hand.
“I like you, too, beastie. We will have more time to play in the future. Soon enough, Frankie will understand that the two of you are one and the same. But for now, she has some human things to do.”
The beast grumbled like an annoyed woman forced awake too early and got up. She shifted back on the other side of the car. Atticus knew when she was finished because of her curt curse over the low temps. He found her huddled in on herself and covering her nipples.
She had luscious hips that he wanted to lose himself in, but she was in a vulnerable position. When he took her, it would be when she wanted him, not when he coerced her. Though, he couldn’t help a little flirting.
“I know something that could warm you up,” he teased.
Once more, her cheeks flooded with red. He grinned and tossed her the clothes he’d pulled out of her bag. It was a simple t-shirt and a pair of leggings. He liked the way the tight pants hugged a woman’s ass, so he was slightly disappointed when the shirt he’d grabbed happened to be long enough to cover her butt.
She did, however, bend to reach the cupholder in the car, which gave him a fine view. He had to adjust his jeans as he watched. When he showed her what she meant to him, she would scream his name because he would leave no part of her unloved.
Frankie seemed oblivious, however, because she jerked upright and stared aghast at her phone screen. “That’s what time it is? My mom is going to lose her shit.”
Atticus couldn’t tell her how necessary the shift had been, not while she held the cell phone to her ear and paced. Her beast was calm right now only because she gave it what it wanted.
“Hey, Mom! I hate to tell you this, but we had to take a detour. There was a roadblock and then we got lost…” She paused as the voice on the other end shouted. “No, everyone is alright. Yes, we’re back on our way.”
Frankie threw herself into the car and turned the key so quickly, he thought she might snap it in half. The little car’s engine chugged to life. He didn’t get in the car, waiting as she turned it around and found the exit.
A prickling sensation crept over his skin. While Frankie sped down the narrow road, Atticus glanced over his shoulder. Outside the grey building stood one person. She raised a gloved hand, a smile filled with disbelief on her face.
Atticus cursed himself. He hadn’t thought anyone would be around the quarry today. Not only had it snowed, but it was Christmas. He’d forgotten how Althea worked overtime, how she dedicated herself to making sure the pack could keep working in the quarry where they didn’t have to hide what they were from humanity. She had gained a little weight in the time he’d slept, and her strawberry curls were even wilder, but it suited her.
He gave a curt wave back and darted after Frankie’s Volkswagen, easily catching up. It was unsettling how two of his former associates now knew he was awake. He had no doubt Devin would keep the information to himself out of fear of losing his position, but Althea was different.
She shared everything with the pack. Would they come knocking on Frankie’s door once they found him? Would they even want him back? All Atticus wanted was a chance to get to know his possible mate. Was that so bad?
He wanted something for himself for the first time in years. Atticus was tired of living day to day like he had to get it over with. He wanted to live for something. Once he caught up with Frankie, stuck in a snow drift, he put his weight behind the car and pushed it through. He wanted to be there for her. In times like these, in times when her beast felt wild.
Having Frankie around gave him direction when he’d once felt lost. So long as she was his compass, he knew where he needed to be. Before, when it was just him and Devin and the pack, Atticus had been on the outside of everything. He didn’t understand how Devin could handle it. Perhaps his cousin enjoyed being apart.
Atticus hadn’t told anyone, but yearning had nearly torn him apart back then. Not for any one person, but for the way Althea casually joked with her packmates and the way the others gathered around a grill with beers in their hands and talked about everything from the weather to their families. Atticus had been on the edge, like a glass wall separated him from life.
The Volkswagen found solid ground again, the wheels gripping pavement. Atticus yanked open his door and jumped in, so Frankie didn’t have to slow down. She let out a nervous laugh.
“Do you need me to drive?” he asked.
Her hands were tight on the wheel, knuckles growing whiter by the second. But she just shook her head. They had left the side road and the thick layer of snow on it behind. The main roads were clear and easy to navigate.
Atticus helped her find her way back onto the highway, but they were so close to their destination that they soon got off again. Silence filled the car. Atticus fidgeted in his seat. He glanced back through the rear windshield and hoped his old life didn’t come find him. He’d made it clear that he wanted to be alone.
At least for a while.
Would Frankie get along with Althea, he wondered? It made him grin to think of Althea tugging Frankie into a great big hug filled with warmth. The closeness to other shifters would do Frankie good. She would be able to see how packs worked. They had to get through today first. He needed to make a good impression on her family. Atticus thought that if her family approved of him, then maybe she would keep him around a bit longer.
At this point, they were still just acquaintances. Their connection ran deep, but Atticus thought only he could see that. Frankie might not be so convinced. She would need more reason to keep him around. The universe had offered him the best Christmas gift yet, and he wasn’t ready to let her slip from between his fingers.
Chapter Six
Frankie hadn’t felt this good in a long time. Once they got off the snowy road and back onto familiar territory, her trembling eased. Having gone off the road the day before, she was terrified of going into a ditch again. Especially with the way the trees had been so close to the road. One wrong move and the car could fold around a tree.
There would be little they could do to save her precious Volkswagen in that kind of situation. She cut a sidelong glance at Atticus. He was doing the same, watching her with a pleased smile on his lips. It shouldn’t have been this comfortable with him in the car, but it was.
To be honest, this was the most at ease she’d been in over a year. Her beast wasn’t flinging itself around in a temper tantrum. For once, her thoughts were her own. With a clear head, she wondered wh
y Atticus was sticking around.
He was clearly a powerful dragon shifter. Someone like him should have a place in the world. Surely, people missed him. Did he have a wife somewhere, wondering where he’d disappeared to? Children, maybe, hoping their father would come home this Christmas?
“Why are you in my car?” she blurted out.
Atticus raised a brow. “Well, I thought we were heading toward the same holiday gathering. Was I wrong? Should I have gotten off somewhere?”
Her cheeks warmed, her mind taking the last sentence in the wrong way. It’d been too long since she’d last slept with anyone. Earlier, when Atticus handed her clothing, she’d been tempted to grab his wrist and wear him instead. He’d looked toasty, heat waves rising from his newly changed form. She’d wanted to know what his skin would feel like under her hands, what his heart would do when she touched his chest.
Frankie swallowed. This road trip with a stranger was turning in directions she never expected. The twinkle in his eyes suggested that maybe he’d meant the bit of innuendo in his statement. Her heart fluttered at the thought. She wanted him to touch her, his hands between her legs, but there was no way they could do that until she understood why she reacted to him this way.
“You’re no help. Answer the question.”
“I told you the truth. A dragon with nothing to live for takes a dirt nap. I don’t have anywhere else to be,” Atticus said. “I’m awake because of you. So, I’m going to stick around and enjoy your company.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Because of me?”
He immediately quieted. Atticus cleared his throat and turned his gaze outside the window beside him. She tried to read him, but it was difficult to gauge his thoughts from his profile.
What did she have to do with any of this? She hadn’t done anything to wake him, and if she had, wouldn’t he be mad? Frankie wished someone had come along and filled her in on shifters. There was surely an encyclopedia’s worth of information she didn’t have access to. Was there a Wikipedia on shifters that she could peruse?
A Shifter's Christmas Box Set Page 5
