Christmas Box set - (Complete 1-4)

by M. L. Briers

  Copyright © 2017, Cover Design by; Rebecca Pau at The Final Wrap.

  CHAPTER ONE

  ~

  “George!” Jessica’s voice pulled him from sleep.

  “No!” He grumbled and groaned.

  “George!” She snapped.

  George felt something hard nudge him in the ribs, knowing Jessica as he did, it was probably her kneecap, and she would probably be going in for another try. George flipped over in bed and faced the other way.

  “Go away!” He grumbled.

  “George, I swear…” She snapped out.

  He didn’t need another lecture. He needed some sleep.

  “I’m not doing it — not going anywhere — I need sleep.”

  What he really needed was his life back.

  “George!”

  “Go away — go away — go away,” he practically growled out like a shifter, as he snatched the pillow from under his head and tossed it up over his face.

  “George!” She snapped again. He felt something hit him on the side, and flipped over to get away from her.

  That was when he hit the floor with a full-on belly flop. George groaned.

  “What is with you?” He slapped his hand down on the floorboards and pushed up, twisting his head so he could offer Jessica a death glare.

  “Hello, George,” the fairy godmother said as she stood beside Jessica, right there in his bedroom on the other side of his damn bed.

  “I…” George couldn’t figure out an excuse to offer. Woken from sleep, his brain just wasn’t firing on all cylinders yet.

  “Grumpy in the morning, aren’t you?” The twinkle of amusement in Miriam’s eyes made him groan inwardly.

  “He’s a regular bear with a sore head,” Jessica offered back.

  The worst thing about having the fairy godmother, and Jessica, in his bedroom, was that he slept naked.

  Naked like a baby.

  Naked like the day was long.

  Naked. Naked. Naked.

  Luckily the bed stood between him and them and blocked the view.

  “Speaking of which,” Miriam announced.

  Miriam turned her attention towards Jessica only briefly, and George lifted his hand in the hopes of snagging a blanket and covering his nakedness, but before he got that far; the fairy godmother turned back toward George. He snatched his hand away and covered his crown jewels.

  “Oh yes, let’s.” Jessica clapped her hands together in glee.

  George groaned inwardly.

  “If you’re going to say, what I think you’re going to say…” George started to protest.

  “Yes, we are.” Miriam gave just one solemn nod of her head.

  “I don’t want to!” George face planted the mattress.

  “Oh, come on, George. Apart from a few mishaps here and there, haven’t you had fun making Christmas mates?” The fairy godmother asked in her most polished and regal tone.

  “Oh, it’s been a blast,” George grumbled into the covers.

  “See… I told you he’d be up for doing another one.” Jessica chuckled, and that sound grated on every nerve in George’s body.

  “Yes, yes you did. Bonus points for you,” the fairy godmother offered in clipped tones that put Jessica in her place.

  George lifted his head slightly because he had to get a look at Jessica when her wings had been clipped. The female was chewing on the inside of her cheek and her eyes roamed around the room as she tried desperately not to speak.

  For Jessica, that was a hard ask.

  “Don’t make me,” George grumbled, and his eyes pleaded with the fairy godmother for clemency.

  “But, George, it’s fun,” the fairy godmother said as she tossed up her hands and snapped a brilliant smile on her face.

  George groaned.

  “Witches — Wolf shifters — fun might not be the word I’d use,” George offered back as he regarded the ceiling and tried not to use any words that would make the fairy godmother blush.

  “Well, aren’t you glad it’s not wolf shifters this time?” Miriam asked, and George found he couldn’t help it — his curiosity was piqued — he really did have to know.

  “Not a wolf, you say?”

  “Not a wolf, George,” Miriam assured him.

  George mulled that one over. He snuck a quick look at Jessica, and now the woman was chewing her bottom lip. Something was up.

  “And the witch part?” George asked.

  “Well, here’s the thing, George,” the fairy godmother offered back. George groaned.

  “It’s a witch — you don’t have to sugarcoat it, I know,” he grumbled.

  “Yes, yes it is a witch,” Miriam confirmed it. “But not a wolf shifter.” She gave him another beaming smile.

  “What’s better than a wolf shifter?” Jessica asked with glee.

  “Probably — just about anything,” George shrugged.

  “Well, I’m glad you see it that way, George,” Miriam said. “Because you’re right, I do have a little job for you.”

  “Haven’t I done my penance?” George asked.

  “George, this isn’t penance — this is fun,” Miriam offered in return.

  “Maybe for you.” George’s singsong voice was catching.

  “And for you too,” Miriam offered back, she tipped her head slightly to the side and grinned.

  He knew where he’d like to shove that grin. He started to push up from the floor. He was going to tell Miriam to shove it up her…

  “George!” Jessica bit out.

  “What! Did I say that out loud?” George rushed back.

  Jessica nodded her head, her eyes were wide, and she grimaced as she pointed to his nakedness. George dropped back down to his knees.

  “Nothing I haven’t seen before, dear,” Miriam informed Jessica before she turned her attention back to George. “Now, George, I can imagine what you’re thinking,” Miriam offered with a sweet smile. Too sweet.

  “No, fairy godmother, I don’t think you can,” George offered back.

  “I can,” Jessica muttered.

  “Bear, George, bear,” the fairy godmother offered.

  “Yes, yes I am. I can’t sleep with clothes on I’m afraid, and I wasn’t expecting you,” George grimaced, and the fairy godmother pulled her head back on her neck and narrowed her eyes at him.

  “It’s a bear shifter, George,” Miriam offered back.

  “Oh.” George grimaced again. Didn’t he feel stupid?

  “I wasn’t talking about your bare backside that I saw flop out of bed a moment ago,” Miriam offered back.

  She lifted her chin slightly and turned her nose up at him. But inside she was smiling.

  She might be getting on in years, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t enjoy the view.

  “Wait,” George held up one hand and allowed his eyes to close for just moment. “A bear shifter! Are we crazy around here?” George demanded.

  “Well, George,” Miriam answered in clipped tones. “As I remember rightly, there was one particular bear shifter that you decided to send a beehive full of bees after…”

  “Oh, no.” George shook his head.

  CHAPTER TWO

  ~

  “Oh, yes,” Miriam offered back with the kind of twinkle in her eye that reminded him of the one in Jessica’s eyes. Maybe the woman had taught her a thing or two about being devious.

  “No, no, no, no — you can’t throw me under that particular bus,” George begged.

  “Oh, George, once the man has his mate in his arms he’s not going to care about you,” Miriam offered back.

  “You mean once he’s ripped my head off and handed it back to me, he’s not going to care about me?” George grumbled.

  “Fairy up, George!” Jessica chuckled.

  “Think of it as an adventure,” the fairy godmother added.

  George knew an adventure when he saw it. This was not an adventure this was just plain suicidal.

  “But…” He started to protest.

/>   “Sorry, George, got to go,” the fairy godmother said, and she clicked her heels together, snapped her fingers, and disappeared from the room.

  “But…” George looked at Jessica, and the fairy shrugged. It was a happy shrug. It was accompanied by a smug grin.

  “Sorry, George. We have to go,” Jessica said before she snapped her fingers and disappeared as well.

  “Nooooo,” George face planted the mattress again.

  ~

  ~

  ~

  ‘Remember, George. The fairy godmother said that under no circumstances are you to kidnap this witch.’ Jessica warned him.

  “I know,” George snapped back.

  He wasn’t deaf, daft, or stupid. He was just sleep deprived, in need of a drink, and a damn good night out with his friends.

  ‘So, what are we going to do?’

  “Kill you?” George offered back.

  George spotted the witch as she walked along the street and he made a beeline for her. She was in the perfect place, at the perfect time, and all that she needed was a little push — in the back if necessary — right into the bear’s path.

  George couldn’t believe his luck when the witch pushed open the door to the bar and went inside. George thought that it just couldn’t be that easy — otherwise — why would they need him?

  He pushed open the door and went inside. The bar was noisy, crowded, and yet, he still managed to spot the witch as she walked the length of the bar.

  George’s hopes soared. There, at the end of the bar was the bear shifter.

  That was fate at its very best. The mates were in one place, at the same time, and as far as George could tell, nothing was going wrong.

  Just needed to make sure that mate one, met mate two, and his problems were solved.

  He might even get home early before the bar closed and have a drink with his friends. How good was that?

  George followed on the witch’s heels. She was headed right for the bear shifter.

  ‘Now, don’t screw this up, George,’ Jessica whispered in his ear as she buzzed around his head.

  George tried to swat her, and inadvertently caught someone’s elbow. There was a yelp, followed by a stream of curse words, and when George turned to look — the big man beside him was covered in beer.

  “Watch where you’re going!” The man growled. But that man was no bear shifter, not even a wolf, just another bad-tempered human.

  “Sorry,” George rushed out.

  When he turned his attention back toward the witch, she was staring right at him. George swallowed hard.

  Busted. Now what?

  It wasn’t as if he could just drop and roll. He certainly couldn’t snap into his fairy form.

  Deborah narrowed her eyes at George, took in the fairy aura that surrounded the man, and at the sight of it. Her eyes darted left, right, left, right, and George knew what that meant. She was looking for the exit.

  “You’re going to pay for that,” the human growled again.

  But it wasn’t the human growling that George had to worry about. The man had drawn the bear’s attention toward George, and the big shifter was pushing up from the stool and heading in his direction.

  “Oh, that looks bad,” George muttered to himself.

  The look in the shifter’s eyes said; he definitely wanted to rip George’s head off and hand it back to him. George swallowed hard.

  The only chance George had to get out of there with his head still on his neck was the witch. He definitely needed to toss the woman in her mate’s path.

  It was, after all, self-preservation. George could definitely live with that.

  Unfortunately, when George turned his attention back toward her, she was nowhere to be seen. He spat out a curse or two.

  George’s eyes scanned the area, and there was a witch, hightailing it out of the bar at record speed. George groaned again.

  He turned back toward the bear shifter and came face to face with the man’s broad, muscled chest. George swallowed down hard.

  There was only a split second before George felt the man’s fist hit him square on the jaw that he actually saw it coming. There was no time to duck, dive, do a little dance on his feet, and escape that blow.

  George’s backside hit the floor, his pride taking a knock, and then the lights went out.

  ~

  ~

  ~

  ‘George!’

  Jessica’s shrill-like fairy tone annoyed him so. She had a much sweeter voice when she was either human, or they were both in their fairy form.

  ‘George!’

  “Go away!” George was slowly coming to. The sound of the bear shifter growling wasn’t exactly music to his ears.

  George sat bolt upright. The people in the bar were going about their business with only a view tossing looks in his direction.

  The bear shifter was nowhere to be seen, which George appreciated because it meant that he wasn’t about to suffer round two. When he turned his head, he saw that the man mountain was stalking out of the door.

  “What happened?” George grumbled and felt Jessica flit by his ear.

  ‘The humans told him to get out.’

  “And the witch?” George asked.

  ‘Gone.’ Jessica sighed. ‘Get up George; you have to make this right.’

  George grumbled as he pushed up to his feet. Things were still a little blurry, and he felt a little shaky on his legs, but all in all — his head was still on his neck.

  That was a bonus.

  George headed toward the door. He’d messed up again, and Jessica was right, he had to put it right.

  Fate had arranged a meeting between the witch and her mate. He guessed that fate hadn’t considered his place in any of it.

  There was only one thing for it. He’d have to do something to arrange the meeting between the mates himself.

  Easier said than done.

  Or was it?

  CHAPTER THREE

  ~

  ‘George, I don’t believe you did that!’

  George couldn’t quite believe that he’d done it either. This time, he’d also gone against what the fairy mother had said. He had the feeling that he was in big trouble.

  “It was the only way that I could think to bring the mate’s back together,” George offered back to the little fairy that sat on the dashboard of the witch’s car.

  The sound of muffled chattering from the back seat snatched George’s attention for only a moment. The witch had a death glare in her eyes, and he hated to admit it, but he was getting used to that look.

  He couldn’t blame her. He’d probably have a death glare too if someone had kidnapped him.

  ‘You know what the fairy godmother said, George.’ Jessica shook her head in dismay.

  “I have the witch — I know where the shifter lives. I screwed up, and this is the only way to make it better,” George offered back.

  There was more chattering from the back seat as the witch tried to make herself heard.

  Of course, she’d overheard his conversation with Jessica.

  Of course, she was going to want to be heard.

  Of course, George had bound her with his magic and gagged her for his own sanity.

  This time, at least, he’d screwed up before the mates had met. So, maybe this time when he brought them together, nothing bad would happen – that was the way he saw it.

  In theory, what could go wrong?

  ~

  ~

  ~

  Evan eyed the car as it raced up to his truck. The lunatic had his full beams on, and the sun was only just setting.

  The bear shifter grumbled a growl of annoyance. He could see there was a male in the driver’s seat, and he had to wonder if the guy had had too much to drink.

  It was getting close to Christmas, and he knew how much humans liked to drink around the holidays. The guy shouldn’t be on the road if he’d been drinking, but Evan guessed that wasn’t any concern of his — until he felt the car pl
ay bumper tag with his truck.

  Evan’s bear was already sitting just beneath the surface of his skin. After encountering that damn male fairy in the bar, his beast was taking its own sweet time to go back in its cage and settle down.

  Now, this. Evan growled long and hard.

  He’d already wanted to hand the fairy’s head back to him, but surrounded by the humans; he never had the chance. Now some stupid human had been drinking and driving and thought it was fun to smack his bumper. That wasn’t on.

  Evan doubted that there was much damage to the back of his truck. He decided that it wasn’t worth pulling over and risking a confrontation.

  Not with his beast so close to the surface.

  That was until the moment that the idiot behind him started honking his horn and waving his fist like a lunatic. Evan couldn’t resist that kind of a challenge.

  When he pulled his truck over to the side of the road, his eyes locked on the mirror, and he saw the car pull up behind him. He tried to even out his temper, quash his beast, and then he felt the bump against his truck once more.

  Evan curse under his breath growled for good measure and slammed open the driver’s door. He just hoped he didn’t hurt the guy too badly.

  When his eyes took in exactly who it was behind the steering wheel of the car, Evan felt like all his Christmases had come at once.

  Damn stupid fairy, coming back for more, and right out there in the middle of nowhere with no humans about. Oh boy, was Evan was about to give it to him.

  ~

  ~

  ~

  ‘Oh, George — he looks mad, are you sure that you’ve done the right thing?’ Jessica rushed out as she flitted around the windscreen, and panicked at the sight of the bear shifter looking as if he was fit to kill — George.

  “Yeah — well, maybe — not so much,” George grumbled at the sight of the man mountain that was headed in his direction.

  George’s palms started to sweat. His heart was racing, and he had a strange taste in his mouth — he might even have been sick a little.