Happy Howlidays: Shifters in Love Romance Collection (Shifter in Love Book 1)

by V. Vaughn

  Looking to the woman dressed from head to toe in black, with short black hair and severe bangs that only accentuated her sallow, pale complexion and beady, black eyes, Quinn and his beast both growled as her deep red lips moved and she took a threatening step forward. “It is not your decision, little one. I am the matriarch of the O’Leary Troupe, twelfth removed from the Queen herself, and as such, you, little one, will give me the respect I am due.”

  Memories like shots fired from a cannon burst into Quinn’s mind as the words spewed from the older elf’s mouth. Unable to hold back, he pointed at Auntie Geneva and roared, rattling the windows of the cottage. “It was you! You were the one that led the spell! You, haggard, treacherous bitch, you locked us away!”

  6

  “Get the hell away from my mate!” the Guardsman continued to bellow as he ran toward the front of the house, grizzly images of the night he and his brethren had been magically drugged and locked away in bespelled boxes ripping through his mind. He remembered spending hours drifting in and out of consciousness, only seeing cloaked figures and hearing their ominous chant. It was not until Quinn laid eyes on Auntie Geneva that the memories of that fateful night came flooding back.

  Reaching the front porch at precisely the same time that the huge red door of the cottage burst open, the Guardsman barely had time to swerve or be knocked on his ass as a noxious cloud of inky black magic catapulted into the snow-covered night. A cackle echoed through the air as leathery, black wings filled the sky and the poisonous smog transformed into the body of Elsa’s aunt, immediately disappearing over the mountain ridge.

  Still unable to call forth his dragon, Quinn chased the evil elf’s shadow until he could go no farther with Elsa screaming behind him the entire way. “Quinn! Oh, my Goddess, are you okay! What the hell?”

  As soon as she arrived to the spot where he’d fallen to his knees too furious to continue and still getting back up to speed, his little elf’s hands touched his face, his arms, his hands, she even ran her fingers through his hair to be sure he hadn’t suffered any injuries. Quinn’s eyes slid shut at the feel of her skin upon his.

  Lost to the sensation, the Guardsman’s eyes flew open and he gave a startled, “Ow!” as Elsa slugged him the arm and scolded, “What were you thinking?”

  “Well, I was…”

  “You were what?” she ranted, throwing her hands in the air as she paced in front of him. “You were thinking maybe you’d get yourself killed? You were thinking you’d like to go back into your silver coffin?” Finally stopping, Elsa slammed her fists to her hips, narrowed her eyes, and shook her head. “You weren’t thinking. You were running off half-cocked trying to get yourself killed. That’s what you were doing.”

  Unsure which question to answer first and loving the way his elf looked when she was all fired up, Quinn did the first thing that came to mind; he grabbed her by the arms, pulled her to his chest, and slammed his lips to hers. A fiery tidal wave of passion burst through his veins. Feelings he’d only heard others speak of bloomed like the beautiful blossoms he remembered from the gardens of the lair of his youth.

  Man and dragon felt the pieces of their souls, that for so long had been lost, slide into place. All was right with the world. He could die a happy man. Elsa was in his arms. Her fingers in his hair, her body pressed to his, her sweet moans of desire fueling his every movement as Quinn’s kiss marked the one the Universe had made for him.

  Wanting…needing to touch and taste all of her, forgetting they were out in the open, knee deep in snow, the clouds of an impending blizzard brewing overhead, the Guardsman tore his lips from hers and groaned in frustration as the giggles and taunts of Elsa’s sisters grew louder, accompanied by their crunching footsteps in the frozen snow. The elf squirmed out of his arms and ran toward the cottage, calling over her shoulder with a chuckle, “Hurry up, Quinn. Mom’s already gonna kick your butt for getting your only set of clothes wet.”

  Heaving a sigh as he rose to his feet, the Guardsman could only smile as three of Elsa’s sisters stood in wait as he trudged toward the house. Sure enough, Carolyn was waiting just inside the front door, shaking her head with a frown on her face. “What did you think you were doing? You’ll catch your death.”

  Sick of having his intentions questioned, Quinn stopped, took a deep breath, and using all the control he could muster, growled through gritted teeth, “I was trying to catch the evil bitch who led the spell who locked my brethren and me away in silver coffins for…for…oh hell, I don’t even know for how long because I don’t know what year it is.”

  The elves all stared at him with their mouths hanging open and their eyes as large as saucers. He knew he was scaring them and knew that after he calmed down he would feel bad for it, but at the moment, he was shaking with rage, had their attention, and was going to get some answers.

  He wasn’t really mad at the O’Learys. Couldn’t be. It wasn’t their fault Auntie Geneva was an evil elf practicing black magic. More importantly, they had saved his life. No, he wasn’t upset with them and needed to make sure they knew that.

  Taking another deep breath and trying not to growl this time, he asked, “Can we go inside and talk about all of this where it’s a bit warmer?”

  The words were barely out of his mouth before Elsa appeared at his side, grabbed his hand, and smiled, “Of course we can.”

  Leaning his head down as she pulled him up the step, Quinn whispered, “Why are they all just standing and staring?”

  Holding back a laugh, she answered, “Because you ripped the seat of your pants.” She stopped speaking to giggle before adding, “And you’re mooning them all.”

  Dropping her hands, the Guardsman whipped his hands behind his back and covered the huge hole that was showcasing his butt for all to see. Grabbing the towel Olivia was holding out when he crossed the threshold, Quinn wrapped it around his waist and promptly took a seat on the couch while Elsa’s sisters filed in.

  The door was barely closed when the room erupted in laughter. The Guardsman tried to remain stoic, holding on to his anger, but in the end, couldn’t help but laugh along. He’d been so wrapped up in catching Geneva and then kissing Elsa that he hadn’t realized he’d had a wardrobe malfunction somewhere along the way.

  As the revelry died down, Carolyn pulled another pair of sweatpants she’d made longer with flannel from the sewing basket beside her chair and threw them at him. “I somehow figured you’d need a spare pair. I was hoping Donovan would get home with some that were actually your size but,” she turned and looked out the window, “looks like a storm is blowing in.”

  “Thank you so much and don’t worry, from what you tell me of your mate, he’ll find a safe place to bed down until the storm passes and be home straight away.” He looked around the room then back to the matriarch and with a huge smile reassured her once more, “He’s got too much to love here to take any chances. He’s a very lucky man.” Standing and taking the pants from her outstretched hand, he took a step toward the stairs, stopped, looked at Elsa, and with a raised eyebrow said, “I’m going to change pants then you and I are having a conversation.”

  Not waiting for her answer and grinning from ear-to-ear at her sisters’ unison taunt of, “Ohh, you’re having a conversation,” in that sing-songy tone only girls can make, the Guardsman stepped into the guestroom, changed pants, and was back downstairs in less than five minutes.

  Holding out his hand for Elsa, he nodded when she patted the couch cushion next to her and said, “Have a seat. Everyone will just find a way to listen anyway.”

  Snickering, Quinn took a seat next to his elf and immediately asked, “First things first. What year is it?”

  The room was suddenly silent. He could feel the tension, not only from his mate but from her entire family. Elsa turned to face him, patted his arm with her free hand, and matter-of-factly said, “2016.” Then she rushed to explain, “I know you asked before and probably thought we were giving you the runaround or ignoring you bu
t we weren’t. I was afraid you’d freak out. I could tell from what was left of your clothes, the length of your hair and beard, and just how thin and sickly you were when I found you that you had been in that,” she shivered, “evil box a long time. I wanted to make sure you were better before giving you even more crap to deal with.”

  She gave his arm a little pinch then chuckled when he jumped and rubbed the spot, pretending to scowl before she continued, “But since you ran off after Auntie Geneva and well,” she blushed a beautiful shade of red while ignoring her sisters’ giggles and adding, “well, you know…anyway, I guess you can handle most anything.”

  Loving that his kiss had flustered her but working hard not to overreact to the information he’d just received, Quinn winked at Elsa, nodded, and calmly said, “I understand but admit to having a hard time processing the fact that I was in cold storage as you call it, for a hundred and one years.”

  “What?” Carolyn gasped.

  “No way!”

  “That’s bananas!”

  The elves were all commenting and gasping but it was Elsa’s reply that brought everything into perspective. “You were frozen for as long as I’ve been alive.” She quickly asked, “Hey wait. How old does that make you?”

  “A hundred and eighty-six…no seven, one hundred and eighty-seven.” He smiled remembering a time when he’d thought he wouldn’t live to be a hundred then laughed when Harmony, the second oldest elf, swatted Mona’s arm and laughed out loud, “Dang, Mona, we’re older than he is.”

  Shrugging, Elsa’s oldest sister shook her head and grinned, “Good genes, I guess.” Which had all her sisters cracking up again.

  Glancing to the side, he found his elf deep in thought, brows furrowed as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth. Squeezing her hand, he asked, “What’s wrong, mo ghra’?”

  Slowly turning her head toward him and raising an eyebrow, she grumbled, “I know what you just called me. We speak Gaelic too ya’ know, and we,” she motioned with her index finger between them before going on, “will be talking about this whole mate thing, cause’ I know what it means to elves and I have a sneaky suspicion what it means to dragons, but for right now, I want to know what happened all those years ago, and how Auntie Geneva was involved.”

  Turning in her seat, the elf speared her mother with a look and said, “And you better be ready to tell me when the heck your sister went all dark and evil on us.” She had just started to sit back when she popped back up and said, “Oh! And where the hell did those wings come from? You’ve always said if the Goddess wanted us to have wings, we would’ve been born fairies and I know darn good and well Geneva is no blasted fairy but I bloody well saw wings.”

  Shaking her head with wide eyes, Carolyn could only shrug as she, not Elsa, motioned for Quinn to begin. Grinning, because the usually talkative matriarch was yielding the floor to him, the Guardsman looked at his elf, blew out another breath, and began. His words turned to visions in his mind as he recounted that dreadful day all those years ago.

  “We had just fought a bloody battle, saved a young clan and sent one of our own to the Heavens. You see, I am…I was…I’m not sure how to say it because I don’t know if my brethren are still alive, so I’m going with I am until I know differently.” Hope was alive and well in his heart as he once again prayed to the Heavens that Drago and the lads were safe.

  “I am part of an elite group of Guardsmen known as the Enforcers. We were all hand chosen by our Commander from different clans based on our superior or unique abilities to serve as the Force they sent to the battles others feared or refused to take on. That was why we were there that night. Other Forces from other clans had tried and failed to help the young ones and after battling the hybrid group of hunters and wizards, I now know why.

  “After sitting around the fire and sharing stories of Samuel, Maddox left to make sure the young ones from the new clan had found shelter. Those of us that remained tried to get some rest. It took me a long time to fall asleep. I simply could not settle. You see, Samuel,” Quinn looked at Elsa, “he was like a father to me, had been there when my own father was called home to the Heavens when I was just a young boy. He was my teacher, my trainer, my mentor, and most importantly, my friend. Watching him die at the hands of those treacherous bastards had been horrible, but it was even worse knowing I had failed him.”

  He could feel Elsa’s compassion, heard her thoughts, knew she wanted to tell him he wasn’t responsible for what had happened and he appreciated it more than he could express, but it was her restraint, her ability to know he needed to continue his recollection that made him reach down and kiss her cheek. Grinning as she blushed, he whispered, “Thank you,” into her mind, loving the surprised look on her face that immediately turned to a pretend scowl complete with a shake of the head.

  Getting back to his story, Quinn looked around the room at his mates’ family, waiting with bated breath for him to continue. “When I did finally fall asleep, my dreams were plagued with nightmares of battles of the past, but in each alternate portrayal we did not prevail, many dragon lives were lost and the misery of the wizards spread far and wide.”

  “I tried to wake up, tried to open my eyes, and when that was impossible I even tried to speak, to call out to my brethren to see if they were experiencing the same thing, but nothing happened. It was then I felt the sting of black magic. The air filled with such a horrendous stench it was hard to breathe. I heard chanting that grew louder with each heartbeat. My dragon roared and pushed against the confines of my soul trying to break free but he could not. I was trapped in my own body. Reaching out to the lads using mindspeak, our unique mind to mind communication…”

  “I knew you guys had some Jedi mind tricks,” Penelope commented as she nodded from her perch on the arm of her mother’s chair.

  “Jedi mind tricks?” Quinn asked.

  Patting his arm, Elsa sighed. “It’s from a movie you missed while you were playing the part of a dragon popsicle.” She grinned and winked. “You have to excuse Penelope. She loves anything science fiction. Her favorite movie is Star Wars.” She tapped the fingers of her free hand to her forehead. “Which you also know nothing about.” Blowing out a breath, she went on, “Just finish your story and then we’ll start catching you up on a century’s worth of pop culture.”

  Nodding like he understood when he really had no clue at all what they were talking about, the Guardsman continued, “As I was saying, since my mind was the only thing that was still my own, I called out to my brethren through our special connections only to have my words echo back to me as if they’d hit a wall or a barrier of some sort.”

  “The chanting grew louder, the stench of evil magic stronger, and the realization that we were under attack and helpless to defend ourselves unbelievable. My dragon and I fought the mysticism with every ounce of our combined strength and just when I thought there was no way out, we finally made a small crack in the powerful spell.”

  “My eyes flew open. We were surrounded by a multitude of tall, cloaked figures, their faces masked, their voices low and ominous. I tried to open my mouth, tried to scream to my brethren, but I simply did not have enough power to fight them alone.”

  “It was then a small woman wearing a purple robe stepped out of the circle, pulled a large silver disc from under her wrap, and shouted over the chanting, ‘Today we claim victory over the forces that seek to extinguish our beliefs, that choose to look to the light instead of the dark, that denounce the ways of old. Today, we lay to rest eight of their finest, their elite, their Enforcers, so that we may spread the power and glory of the darkness to all the lands.’”

  “I couldn’t believe they knew who we were. We had operated in the shadows for so long, a mystery to even those of our own kin, yet here was this woman, this wizard, spouting her rhetoric with full knowledge of our number and our mission. It was one of the only times in all of my life I had been truly scared.”

  “Watching silently as she walked to ea
ch of my brethren, knelt down, placed the now glowing silver disc upon their chests and uttered words in a language neither myself or my dragon had ever heard, I tried to scream. I fought and pushed and beat against the spell holding me hostage, but it was no use. I couldn’t help myself, much less my brethren.”

  “Finally, she came to me with an evil smile on her blood red painted lips. The wizard, who I now know was your auntie,” he looked at Elsa, whose anger was palpable, before continuing, “looked me in the eye and said, ‘How does it feel to be helpless, to know there is nothing you can do but accept your fate? Know that you will not die, for death is too good for one of your kind. One that has fought against and killed so many faithful servants of the dark. No, mighty warrior, you will live forever, locked away in a tomb of my own design with the knowledge that you failed and that darkness has gloriously prevailed over the light on this night.’”

  “Her arrogance was astounding as her diatribe continued. ‘You will all be locked away and strewn like the wind to the farthest reaches of the Universe, where you will simply exist, not able to escape, unable to die. Now, close your eyes and sleep, for when you awake your true hell on earth begins.’ And that is what happened until you found me and saved me.”

  He smiled at Elsa, who was looking at him with a plethora of emotions churning in the depths of her deep blue eyes, all for him and what he had endured. He wanted to be alone with her, to explain what she meant to him and dispel any doubts she had that they were meant to be together, but it would have to wait. He needed to finish what he had started. Caught in her gaze, Quinn was perfectly content until the sound of Carolyn’s voice broke the spell.

  “Have you been able to contact the others? Do you know if they’re okay?”

  “Mom,” Elsa chastised. “Weren’t you listening? He doesn’t know where they are.” She patted his arm and once again looked at him. “I’m sure they’re fine.” Then in a soft, almost whisper, “I am so sorry for what you’ve been through and even sorrier that someone from my family had something to do with it.”