by J. K Harper
Vampire. Right. He should probably focus on that.
How did you kill a vampire? The movies had some suggestions, sure, but the old timers at the Lodge had scoffed at all of them. A wooden stake? Might as well attack him with a pickle. Fire? The dead don’t burn. Sunlight would do it, but you’d never get a bloodsucker to stand still in the sun long enough to burn up, they all agreed.
What did work? Claws. Teeth. The natural weapons of the shifter. But a vampire could hurt a shifter right back, so it was a dangerous proposition. It took whole packs, back in the day, to take down a single vampire, and they always fought during the day when the undead were weakest. Fighting a vampire, by yourself, at night? That was suicide.
But sometimes you had no choice.
Sebastian ran out of the hotel room and hurled himself at Blaine, shifting to a wolf in mid-leap.
Jordan was there, in her bear form, roaring and slashing at the vampire.
Inside the van, the hippie werewolf, Mazzy, was chanting. A cloud of debris spun around the van, forming a sort of shield, and judging by how ripped apart Blaine’s clothes were, it seemed to be effective.
Could they defeat the vampire? Could they fight him until morning and let the sun do its job?
It seemed unlikely. For every blow Jordan landed on Blaine, he hit her twice as much and ten times as hard. Sebastian snapped at the vampire and clawed at him, but it was like biting a tree.
They couldn’t win the fight. They were overmatched. All of the love in the world wasn’t enough in the face of the creature’s hunger.
Jordan clawed. Blaine punched.
And Sebastian stepped back.
Something gleamed in the window of the van. Lucky was there, grinning at him, waving one of his revolvers around and pointing at something near the van.
In the tornado of debris that spun around the van, keeping Mazzy and the ewer safe, was Lucky’s other pistol. It was a flash of silver, like a coin spinning in the air, and then it was gone, spinning around the other side and back again.
Sebastian ran at the tornado as a wolf, and changed himself again, into a mouse, letting himself be swept up in the buffeting wind. He flipped end over end, bouncing from one chunk of rock to another, running through the spinning debris field like a spaceship navigating an asteroid belt.
And then he saw the six-shooter.
He changed again and again, becoming a mouse to leap, an ant to land, a beetle to cling to a rock. Jumping and climbing until he was on the revolver. He grabbed it tightly and changed again, into a gorilla, letting his huge mass throw him free of the van.
Sebastian rolled onto his feet, took his man form again and fired.
The bullet was such a tiny thing, but the second it entered Blaine’s back it was the most important object in the universe. The vampire collapsed in a sizzling heap, his body smoking and burning as Lucky’s old cowboy magic took over. Jordan stepped away from the body and shimmered as she became a woman again.
“Is it over?” she asked. “Did we win?”
The van door opened and the debris field fell to the ground in a clatter of rocks and stones. Lucky stepped out, tipped his hat to Jordan, and then emptied his entire cache of bullets into Blaine’s burning body.
“With vampires, you can never be too careful,” he said.
“We must hide this,” Mazzy said, lifting the obsidian vessel high. “It cannot be broken. It is not of this world. And forces will seek it again.”
“Okay,” Sebastian said, “but first I need to do this.” He walked around the smoldering vampire, dropped the silver revolver to the ground and took Jordan in his arms. “Hi,” he said. “I’ve been looking for you.”
Jordan’s eyes were bright with hope. “I’ve been right here the whole time.”
As snow fell on their naked shoulders, they kissed and felt no cold, only joy and hope for what the future might bring.
Epilogue
When Jordan and Sebastian returned to Bearfield, the town seemed a little happier than usual.
Driving into town in the beat up van, they passed carolers singing joyous songs and sipping hot cocoa. Sebastian’s Aunt Mina was outside her bakery, handing out free scones and hot cross buns to everyone who passed.
In the warm light of morning, Jordan looked out on the sleepy little town and thought it might be a wonderful place to raise a child, whether he was a shifter or not.
Duchess was driving, since they weren’t in any real hurry and the girl needed a win after being tossed into the sea. “Boss,” she asked. “Is it cool if I stop at that bakery? I know you’re in a hurry to get home and like, be pregnant or whatever, but those pastries smell amazing.”
“It’s Christmas,” Jordan said as she snuggled into Sebastian’s arms. “You can do whatever you want.”
Mina wasn’t ready for the van to pull up in a screeching halt and for a squad of starving shifters to leap out and gobble up all her food, but as soon as she saw Sebastian in the van, she smiled and relaxed.
“You look cozy,” she said with a big grin.
“I am,” Sebastian agreed. “Oh, Mina, this is Jordan. My mate.”
Jordan flinched at the word—it was a surprise—but her bear gave her a knowing look and she knew it was true. They were mates. Fated and forever. It’d just taken a baby and a kidnapping and a vampire to help her see it.
Mina’s face lit up at the news. “Did you tell your father yet? Can I tell Matt?”
“No, and yes?” Sebastian said.
“Are these your friends?” Mina asked as she handed the entire tray of scones off to Little Katie, who gave her a look of wide-eyed love like she’d just met the for real Santa Claus.
“They’re my pack,” Jordan said and she saw by Mina’s nod that the human woman knew exactly what that meant.
“Then they’re my family now, too,” Mina said, with iron in her voice.
Jordan hadn’t had a chance to consider what a future with Sebastian would mean. It had never seemed like a possibility until suddenly it was. Bearfield could be a home for her. It could be a home for her pack. They wouldn’t have to scavenge anymore, or live rough anymore. They could have homes and friends and hot food.
“What if they don’t like me?” Jordan whispered to Sebastian. “What if they hate me? What will we do?”
“They’ll love you,” he said, holding her tighter.
“How do you know?”
“Because I love you.” He planted a kiss on her lips and she felt a burning heat run through her body.
Outside the van, Mina coughed. “Your pack seems hungry. Wanna come in for a bite?”
On the street, Little Katie was licking the plate that formerly held scones clean. “There’s more food inside?” she gasped.
“This is a bakery,” Mina deadpanned.
Little Katie looked back and forth between Mina and Duchess.
“It’s where it is made, kid,” Duchess rumbled.
The little fox shifter screamed with delight as she opened the door and ran inside and began stuffing her face with every sweet thing she could see.
Jordan laughed and then kissed Sebastian again.
“Do you have plans for dinner?” Mina asked, looking over her shoulder as Katie and Duchess and now Lucky were eating every scrap of food in sight.
“No, ma’am,” Jordan said. “Just maybe plans for after dinner.” The look Sebastian gave her made it pretty clear that he shared her after-dinner plans.
“Well, you have dinner plans now. My house. Four o’clock. It’s Christmas dinner and don’t worry about fancy dress or anything like that. Come as you are and bring an appetite. Allison and I are resuming last year’s cook-off.” A competitive gleam sparked in her eyes.
“We’ll be there,” Sebastian said, but Mina had already hurried back into the bakery, trying to stop Lucky from drinking raw molasses straight from the jug.
Lucky stepped out from the shadows and tipped his hat to them. “Alpha,” he said. “Ma’am.”
“How’d you do that turn-to-smoke trick?” Sebastian asked, his voice full of wonder.
“Maybe I’ll show you sometime. But we need to talk about what happened. I know about vampires. They took everything from me, back in the before days. But everyone said they were gone.” A cold fury simmered in Lucky’s eyes. It was directed at something long ago. Something that had scarred him deeply.
“We will,” Sebastian agreed. “We’ll talk about them. We’ll tell my father and the town council and we’ll figure out if he was a lone wolf or part of something bigger.”
Lucky nodded. “But not today? That’s what I’m hearing?”
“It’s Christmas, cowboy. Let’s celebrate and worry about the future tomorrow.”
The cowboy sighed and turned his gaze towards the bakery. “Do those taste as good as they smell?”
“Even better,” Sebastian grinned.
“If y’all excuse me then,” Lucky said and within seconds he was inside the establishment, sandwiched between Duchess and Little Katie, stuffing his face full of bready sweets.
“He’s not wrong,” Jordan said. “We need to deal with what Blaine represents. And we’ll need to hide the artifact. That thing is pure evil and being buried in a basement isn’t going to cut it anymore.”
“Together,” Sebastian said. “We’ll do it together.” He kissed her neck and she felt a waterfall of bliss run down her spine. “Now,” he said, “let’s talk baby names.”
“No,” Jordan said as she slid the van door closed with a foot. “Let’s not talk for a while.”
Mountain Bear’s Baby
by J.K. Harper
Chapter 1
Lips pursed, eyes slightly narrowed in critical assessment, Jessica McMillan reached forward to touch a gentle finger to the shining star on the tree. Almost holding her breath, she pushed it just the tiniest bit to the left. It snuggled perfectly into place at the very top.
There. Letting out a huge breath of relief, she turned to her friend Livy. "I think it's just right now. What do you think?"
Livy's shiny dark hair bounced on her shoulders as she nodded. "Definitely perfect. In fact, I think that's the best Christmas tree I've ever seen in my entire life. Without a doubt." She gave another decisive nod. "Absolutely."
Jessie awarded her friend a sharp look. Livy had never been one for a good poker face. Dissolving into more giggles, she neatly sidestepped Jessie's playful swipe at her shoulder. "Don't mess with me," Jessie protested, although she let herself smile as well. "It's my first Christmas tree in my own place. Like, ever. It's a solemn moment."
With appreciable solemnity, both women regarded the two-foot-tall tree nestled into a cushion of red velvet atop the kitchen table that doubled as a writing desk and bill holder in a corner of Jessie's tiny apartment. Carefully, Jessie stepped forward to plug the small string of lights on the tree into the wall socket. With a festive little burst, they twinkled to life amidst the deliciously piney scent of the small, needled branches. She sighed with delight as Livy made admiring noises.
"See? It is perfect. I have everything I need here."
As if on cue, a slightly outraged wail punctuated her words. With the blissful rush of love that infused her every time her little angel made a noise, whether it was indecipherable baby babble, a loud burp, a rumbly fart, or even the incredibly loud screams when her sweet darling was really hungry, Jessie turned and took the three short strides to the other end of the room. Grant's chubby little legs, extending from his diapered butt, stood firmly by the low table he clung to. He futilely reached his little hands up in an apparent attempt to scale it. As Jessie reached down to pick him up, he looked at her, a small frown slicing across his brow as he once again let out an irritable string of sound, smacking one uncoordinated hand on the table leg.
Behind her, Livy said, "Wow. It's such a good thing we got you here when we did. That cute little booger is gonna be such a handful. I am so glad we were already friends, Jess. If you hadn't told me what was going on…"
Jessie, her arms now full of squirming, sweet smelling, very strong and solid little baby, turned toward her friend as she nestled her face into the top of Grant's head and breathed in his sweet baby smell. Her son. Her world.
Her own little baby bear shifter. Which was the craziest. Thing. Ever.
But which also happened to be true.
Looking at Livy and her suddenly serious expression, Jessie nodded. "I can't imagine what I would've done if I hadn't known you. If you weren't from here." She waved her hand around, indicating the small, cozy little town of Deep Hollow, blanketed under snow outside her apartment. "What about the women like me out there in the world who don't have friends like you? Friends who know about, uh, shifters? What do they do, if this ever happens to them?"
Brown eyes slightly troubled, Livy stepped forward so she could cootchie-coo Grant's little belly. He loved Livy. Seeming to forget about his battle to climb the table, he giggled and smiled and shrieked up at her with joy. "That sort of situation is really rare. You and Grant were kind of the exception to the rule."
Jessie sighed. Quickly, Livy caught herself. "I'm sorry. That was insensitive." She didn't stop tickling Grant, who still giggled and squirmed, but she scrunched up her face in an apologetic expression at Jessie.
With a reassuring smile, Jessie shrugged. "It's been my reality for over a year now. Well, more like two years if you count from when I found out that I was pregnant. It's okay, Livy,” she said gently to her friend, who looked genuinely contrite at having put her foot in it. "You got me here. I have a new family now. Seriously, who could want anything more?"
Despite the fact that she had at least a ninety percent conviction in her words, what she didn't say hung in stark relief between them.
The father of her child. That was the only thing more she could ask for. Well, that was an impossibility that was never, ever going to happen. In her experience, families didn't work. She'd accepted it and moved on.
Mostly.
"Come on," Livy said. She brightened. "Let's get your little bundle of joy here dressed up in that cute outfit his auntie Livy got for him. Didn't she get that for him? Oh, yes she did. Who's the cutest little thing ever, huh?" Her voice took on the ridiculous baby voice babble adults tended to adopt around adorable little, uh, babies. "Because we have a cookie exchange to go to, don't we, little Mr. Grant baby bear cutie pie? Huh, don't we? We sure do. Even though you can't have any cookies, my sweet little boy. But your auntie Livy sure can, oh, yes she can."
Jessie couldn't help but shake her head and smile at Livy as the two of them bundled Grant into the adorable little purple and gray snowsuit Livy had gotten him. Livy said eventually he wouldn't feel the cold nearly as much as humans did. But until he began to shift into his bear form on his own, which should be happening pretty soon since it usually started right around the time shifter kids were a year to a year and a half old, for now he still needed the warmth of as many outer layers as a human would wear. There'd been an enormous snowstorm last night, and although the roads were plowed, it was still easier to walk to Livy's sister's house, where the holiday cookie exchange was happening.
Glancing at herself in the little oval mirror she'd hung by the front door, Jessie sighed again. Well, it didn't matter that she basically looked like a disheveled new mom. It wasn't like there would be any guys at the cookie exchange, for Pete's sake. Livy had said it was a girls' thing. Even if there were any men there, they sure wouldn't look twice at a woman toting around a kid. Single moms weren't exactly in vogue in the dating world.
Fifteen minutes later, they had Grant swaddled in his snowsuit, diaper bag packed, and the batch of cookies each had baked that morning tucked away into containers they took with them. The second they stepped out into the winter wonderland, Jessie couldn't help but take a deep inhale of the air, pulling the crisp cold and the deep forest scents of the Colorado winter into her. The smell was heavenly.
With Grant tucked securely against her back in the
baby carrier that had been one of the many items the local bear clan—wow, did it still feel kind of funny to be thinking about things like that now—had bestowed upon her when she first came here to live in Deep Hollow with her half-shifter son, Jessie stepped through the thick drifts of snow in front of her door to the groomed sidewalk before it. "You are so lucky you grew up with this," she said to Livy, letting soft envy buff her words. "I grew up with the smell of diesel and oil and dirty big city." Just thinking about it made her wrinkle her nose slightly.
Livy laughed as they walked down the salted sidewalk. "There are plenty of reasons to leave Deep Hollow.” She ticked them off on her gloved fingers. “Jobs. Men I didn't grow up with since kindergarten. Adventure. You know. The sort of opportunities you can only get in a big city."
Jessie rolled her eyes at Livy. They had diametrically opposed dreams. She knew Livy yearned for more excitement, but as far as Jessie was concerned, cities were ugly and gross and way too noisy. “I can hardly imagine moving away from this adorable little town.” She shrugged. “It already feels so comfortable to me.”
“Even after barely a week?” Livy teased.
Jessie nodded. “I can't really explain it,” she said softly. “Deep Hollow just clicked for me. Besides, it's definitely where Grant needs to grow up.” Grant cooed behind Jessie's head in the backpack carrier, one of his hands tightly catching strands of her hair that popped out from beneath her warm hat.
Livy nodded without answering. That, she understood.
A friendly silence held them the remaining block to their destination, although it was filled with Grant's endless nonsensical chatter of delight and what, Jessie decided, had to be some sort of running commentary on their surroundings. His voice warbled along in the cooing word-like noises of babies who weren't quite old enough to speak yet, but who grasped enough of language to understand they would be able to communicate that way.
