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

by V. Vaughn

  Her expression hardened. She let go of his hand and arm and turned toward her mother, scooted to the very edge of her seat, and demanded, “Now, it’s your turn, Mom. What the hell is Auntie Geneva and how long has she been more than just a kleptomaniacal elven bitch?”

  7

  Elsa waited, not so patiently, while her mother squirmed in her chair like she was awaiting execution. The elf felt bad for being so direct but things were spiraling out of control. She needed answers and more importantly, she needed to speak to Quinn…alone. There had been no doubt of her attraction to him. The dragon had been like a magnet pulling her toward him since the moment she laid eyes on him, making her feel things she’d never felt before, making her believe there might just be life outside the frozen winter land she’d always known.

  She’d heard all the stories about the one man in all the world she was fated to be with, but in all honesty, had thought it was just some fairytale the old ones told the children as bedtime stories. Never in Elsa’s wildest dreams did she think he actually existed, much less that she would dig him out of a snow drift, but here he was, and to make matters even more difficult, he was already saying the M word and making her all warm and tingly with his dreamy emerald eyes. It was all too much to deal with. She needed to figure out what to do about her Auntie Geneva and stop that evil little elf in her tracks.

  Looking at her mother, who was still not talking, Elsa stood, crossed the room, and after kneeling said, “You might as well tell us what’s going on. I’m not giving up until I know and if you won’t spit it out, I’m gonna have to call Dad.”

  At the mention of Donovan, the O’Leary matriarch jumped in her seat, her eyes flew to Elsa’s, and she started to stammer, “It’s just that…well, I never…I didn’t really…I mean I had my suspicions…”

  “Stop, Mom. Take a breath. You’re not making any sense.”

  Elsa watched her mother compose herself as best she could and then begin again. “I knew Geneva was messing in the dark arts. She always did. But I never imagined she would go so far. I mean, over the years I could tell things with her were changing, maybe even getting out of hand. I even called Alara, your grandma,” Carolyn nodded and Elsa shrugged.

  She hadn’t seen her mom’s mom in almost fifty years. Alara MacCarthaigh was second only to the Elven Queen in the hierarchy of the Elven nation and as thus hardly ever left their homeland in Ireland. The only time Elsa had seen her grandmother had been when Alara needed something from Elsa’s parents or wanted to try to persuade her youngest granddaughter to give up what the Elven Prime Minister called ‘the country life’ and come to Court.

  At a young age, Elsa knew she was different, at least from a magical standpoint, from her sisters. Her grandmother had called her gifted. The Elven Queen had called her a miracle, the gem of their future, at her christening and her parents had finally explained when she was ten and almost set the barn ablaze while throwing fireballs at Mona during a routine snowball fight that she had inherited the magic of her ancestors and would someday be called to lead their people.

  At the time, it all seemed crazy, but as she grew and matured Elsa had felt the power inside, knew immediately what she could do, and for the most part had shoved it aside, forced into a metaphysical box deep inside her soul and refused to call upon it. She didn’t want to rule; she didn’t want to be powerful. She wanted to grow up, meet her Prince Charming, and have him get her the heck outta the frozen north. Of course, that hadn’t happened…until Quinn, and now she was faced with a whole new set of problems. Shaking her head, Elsa tuned back into her mother’s explanation.

  “You know we have always made sure you were wearing the charm she gave you at your christening, the one that would mask your magical abilities and keep them hidden from Geneva. Well, I called to be sure it was still working because it seemed like my sister was on the hunt for something and I knew,” she wrung her hands and bit her lip before taking a deep breath and continuing. “I just knew it was your magic.” She gave Elsa a half-smile. “But then she didn’t come back. We didn’t even hear from her again. I thought she had found whatever it was she was looking for and I had been mistaken.” Carolyn looked at Quinn and her eyes filled with tears. “That was just a little over a hundred years ago.” A tiny sob slipped out as she wiped a tear off her cheek. “It had to be that she’d siphoned,” she held back another sob, “the magic,” and then more tears ran down her cheeks, “of you and your kin when she imprisoned you.”

  Carolyn began all but sobbing as she tried to go on, “I am…so…very sorry…If I had…”

  From one heartbeat to the next, Quinn was off the couch and on his knees on the other side of Carolyn’s chair. Elsa watched as he took her mother’s hand in his, waited until her tears had slowed, and calmly reassured her. “It is not your fault, Mrs. O’Leary. We are not our brother’s, or in your case, sister’s keeper. You could not have known.” He waited until she looked up at him and smiled as he added, “What matters now is what we do to stop her. Geneva cannot be left out there in the world unchecked, able to harm others less capable than my brethren and I.”

  Elsa could feel Quinn’s fear mixed with hope that those he called brother still lived. She wished there was something she could do to help and decided as soon as they had figured out how to stop her maniacal, deranged, bitch of an auntie, she would do some research.

  Carolyn nodded as she gave her last few watery hiccups, wiped her tears, and sat up straight in her chair. Elsa could see the wheels turning; knew her mother was trying to think of a way to defeat Geneva and asked, “But why was she here today? Why was she trying to take Ivey with her?”

  “I think, at least this all I’ve been able to come up with, that Geneva knew you,” she patted Elsa’s hand on her knee, “would never let your sister go. That you would fight her and more than likely offer yourself up instead.” Carolyn gave her daughter a watery smile. “After all, you do always have to speak your mind and would never let any of your sisters come to any harm. Geneva knows that about you and was going to use it to manipulate you.”

  “But I never would’ve done that.”

  Tilting her head to the side and opening her eyes a little wider, Carolyn asked, “Are you so sure about that?”

  The snickers of her sisters behind her back said they believed Elsa would’ve done exactly as her mother predicted had she been given the chance. The elf wasn’t sure if she should be happy that they thought she would give up her life and her freedom for them or upset that they thought she could be played for a fool.

  Opening her mouth to ask just that question, she was cut off as Carolyn continued. “And, I’m somehow sure she felt your use of magic when you released Quinn from his box. After all, you did destroy a spell she’d had in place for over a hundred years.” The elven matriarch beamed with pride, making Elsa grin and shake her head as her mom went on. “Not to mention his dragon,” she pointed at Quinn, “has been working hard to heal him. Their bright, white dragon magic is everywhere. It was probably a beacon to that old bitty and she showed up after all these years to steal it and warp it.”

  “Or she thought she could take Elsa and Quinn would run after her,” Mona offered with an eyeroll and a sigh. “All they do is make eyes at one another. The Goddess knows he would ride to her rescue come hell or high water.”

  “Mona!” Elsa gasped but it was no use, the room had already erupted into laugher with her sisters all pretending to swoon and make kissing noises.

  Looking to Quinn for help, the elf almost reached across her mother’s lap and punched him in the gut as he sat there laughing along with her family and having the utter audacity to wink at her. Furrowing her brow and giving her best shut the hell up glare, Elsa gritted her teeth and growled, “Not a word…not one single word or you sleep with the calves tonight.”

  She could tell he was biting the inside of his cheeks to keep from laughing and she would have applauded his attempt but the elf was already on her feet and yelling, “All
right! Enough! We have serious shit going on around here and all you can do is make fun of me! Stop it! Right now!”

  Elsa might as well have been talking to the wall for all the good her tirade did. Her sisters laughed all the louder and Quinn ended up losing his fight to remain neutral and chuckled right along with them. A good ten minutes later, when the elf thought she might just kill them all, her mother finally got control of her children and said, “Elsa is right. We have to figure out what to do and I think we need some help.” Getting to her feet, Carolyn headed to the kitchen and as she reached for the phone, explained, “I’m calling Alara. She’ll know what to do.”

  Knowing her mother’s conversation with her grandmother would take more time than she had the patience to endure, Elsa grabbed Quinn by the hand, pulled him to his feet, and led him out the back door as her sisters once again hooted and hollered and made the same blasted kissing noises as before. Quinn followed in silence, but that didn’t stop Elsa from hearing his thoughts or feeling his emotions. He knew what they were going to discuss and was gearing up for a fight.

  Elsa guessed she couldn’t blame him. She hadn’t been all that welcoming when he’d said the M word and had been basically blocking his thoughts since he’d awakened, but there was no question they needed to talk and it needed to be sooner rather than later. They were about to battle her Auntie Geneva, who by all accounts was not known for playing fair. There could be nothing standing in the way of stopping her from whatever plan she had cooked up and that meant they had to have clear heads; no confusion, no mushy stuff.

  Throwing open the door and stomping into the barn, Elsa dropped Quinn’s hand, spun around, and opened her mouth to speak. Instead, she squeaked as he scooped her up in his arms and planted his lips on hers. Wanting to give in, wanting to kiss him, wanting to get lost in all the wonderful things he made her feel, the elf summoned all her strength, shoved her hands between their chests, and pushed as hard as she could.

  It took some doing but there was finally daylight between them immediately accompanied by Quinn’s groan of, “What did you do that for?”

  Squirming out of his arms, Elsa stepped back as soon as her feet hit the floor, threw her hands out in front of her to stop her dragon’s forward motion, and demanded, “Stay right there. No more kissing, at least for the time being. We need to talk and your kisses just, well, let’s just say they are a serious distraction that we don’t need right now.”

  With a sly grin, Quinn pushed against her hands with his chest and purred, “A distraction, huh?”

  Trying not to smile as her boots slid across the concrete floor while Quinn continued to slowly push forward, Elsa warned, “Quinn…”

  And was answered with a warning growl of, “Elsa…” Followed by, “Do you know how long I have waited for you? Do you know what waking up after all those years to my mate is like for me and for my dragon? Do you…”

  “Wait, wait, wait,” she commanded, and to her complete surprise, her dragon actually stopped.

  Her hands were still on his chest but he had quit pushing against them and his expression had gone from a grin to a scowl. Rushing to explain as she could feel his concern growing, Elsa said, “What about your dragon? Why can’t I feel him? Why can’t you call your brethren? Is there something wrong with him?”

  Not waiting for his answers, she spun around and began pacing, letting her hands brush across the calves’ snouts as she walked past before turning and heading back toward Quinn. On her way, the elf started to think aloud. “None of this is making sense. I could feel his magic when he was healing you. It’s just a touch different than yours.” She stopped and looked right at him. “Yours tastes like the bright red cherries Dad brings home from the south and his is like the dark Bing cherries Uncle Marty sends us every Christmas. The same but different, ya’ know what I mean?”

  Quinn nodded but her brain was on a roll. It was leading somewhere and she couldn’t wait to see where, so Elsa powered on. “You said there was one of your brothers who left before you went to sleep that night Geneva and her goons attacked, right?”

  She walked past him, turned at the end of the row of stalls, and headed back adding, “Have you tried to call him? If he didn’t get locked away, I bet he’s still alive since everybody knows you guys live almost as long as we do.”

  Walking past her dragon again but this time stopping and turning to face him, she asked, “Well, have you? Are you listening? Am I boring you?”

  Quinn barked with laughter as his hands came down on her shoulders. “No, I am not ignoring you. I am marveling at your ability to reason through a situation. I am in awe of your mind and how it works. I am humbled that the Universe saw fit to make a woman such as you for me, her lowly servant.”

  Elsa had no idea how to answer Quinn. His words were doing crazy things to her heart and the butterflies in her stomach had started to do the merengue, not to mention her cheeks were on fire and her knees felt like they might just buckle under her. The way he looked at her and the feelings she felt coming from him only added to the amazing way this man, this dragon, made her feel, but time was not a luxury she had and she needed him to focus. So, true to form, the elf got tough.

  “Thank you, Quinn, I feel the same way about you but,” she held up her hands when he took a step forward, “we need to talk about why your dragon is being a slug and how to stop my aunt.”

  Grumbling something under his breath about what a pain in the ass practicality was, Quinn took a deep breath that he slowly let out with a sigh and agreed, “I guess you’re right. I don’t like it so you have to promise we’re going to talk about us when this is all over.”

  Quickly deciding it was the best she was going to get, Elsa smiled and with a nod said, “You know it. Now, about you calling your brothers…”

  “I have tried. Like I said it’s like it’s hitting a wall and bouncing back,” he replied before she’d finished her question. “And as far as my dragon, he simply will not rouse for longer than an hour or two and he’s still lethargic.”

  Tapping her lip with her index finger, Elsa had an idea. Threading her fingers through Quinn’s, she pulled him a bit closer and when he smiled, she teased, “Down boy. Remember our deal.” Chuckling at his groan, she continued, “I think we can wake him up, but we have to work together and you’re gonna have to help me open up my magic?”

  “Open it up?”

  “Yeah, it’s kind of a long story, one I’ll tell when we have more time. But, suffice it to say, I locked most of my magic away to keep Auntie Geneva from taking it. She’s ruthless and has a million tricks up her sleeve. The only time in about eighty years I’ve used any more power than any other elf was when I freed you and the blowback freaked me out enough that I shut the lid on my imaginary box as quickly as I could.” She took a breath. “But we have to get your beast up and kicking. Everything I know is telling me that he is the answer to a lot of our questions.”

  “If you say so, I’m willing to try anything.” Pausing, he pulled her closer, leaned down from his lofty height, and looked her right in the eye. “But rest assured, whether we wake him or not, if Geneva comes back, there is no way in Heaven or Hell she is taking you from me. Not now, not ever.”

  The look in his eye and the conviction of his words broke through Elsa’s restraint. Slamming her lips to his, she let her kiss tell her dragon all the things she herself didn’t yet have the words to say. Her hand wound in his hair. She let herself go as his strong arms came around her and opened completely, reveling in the wonder of being with the one her soul recognized as her own.

  It didn’t even bother her when Quinn’s voice whispered through her mind, “Now there, isn’t this better than talking?”

  8

  Having Elsa in his arms, kissing her sweet lips, feeling her surrender to their growing love, was as close to the Heavens as Quinn was sure he had ever been. It was everything he’d ever been told it would be and so much more all wrapped into one wonderful moment in time that
he would always hold dear, because one moment was all he seemed to get as his little elf pulled away, brushed her bangs from her brow, and said, “Well, yeah, that was…yep, umm…we need to…”

  Laughing out loud, Quinn was overjoyed he’d once again rattled his mate. It made the brevity of their kiss almost bearable. He loved the look of lust in her eyes, wanted to bath in the scent of cinnamon and vanilla that he would now always associate with her, and longed to again taste her kiss-swollen lips if only for a moment longer, but for the time being he’d be satisfied with the fact that their hearts beat as one, in sync forever, as Fate had always intended.

  Elsa’s embarrassment turned to indignation the longer he laughed, making it extremely difficult for the Guardsman to stop. Finally, fearing his petite elf might hurt herself while trying to keep from laughing, Quinn got himself composed and said, “You were saying?”

  He knew it was wrong to add a wink but couldn’t help himself and received a swat on the arm and a glare from Elsa, but it was all worth it because Quinn knew life with his elf would never be boring. Loving her would be the adventure of a lifetime.

  Still glaring, his elf sighed. “What I was saying before…well, you know.” The blush returned to her cheeks and she took a deep breath. “Was that we need to open my magic and then together we can get your dragon up and kicking. Sound good?”

  Nodding, he waited for her to continue, which she did without missing a beat. Grabbing his hands, she closed the distance between them. He could hear her telling herself not to be distracted by his good looks or dreamy eyes and couldn’t help but grin. Elsa’s raised eyebrow that was meant to intimidate only made him love her more, but he did erase the grin and listen to her instructions.