by Terry Spear
Whatever the matter was, they’d deal with it together when she was ready.
* * *
A noise woke Bjornolf up. Realizing that he and Anna were still on the beach in their wolf forms, he looked back at the house, wondering if he’d just imagined hearing a suspicious noise.
A crash that sounded like glass shattering had him on his feet in an instant. Anna was beside him. He was across the beach and up the stairs in several quickly pounding heartbeats. He heard the front door slam as he reached the back patio. Bjornolf raced around the house to see who was there.
A red pickup truck barreled out of the driveway, but he got the license plate number before it took off. He came back around the house as fast as he could to check on Anna. She wasn’t on the patio. He dove through the wolf door, ran across the kitchen, and saw her standing in the living room as a wolf. She was panting, her tail drooping, as she stared at the Christmas ornaments smashed all over the floor, bits and pieces of colorful chips of glass everywhere.
She looked back at him. Her eyes were so sad that he wanted to kill the bastard who had done this.
She shifted, walked back into the kitchen, and dressed as he hurried to turn into his human form and join her. Naked, he took her into his arms and said, “Anna.”
She was always so on top of everything. If one thing didn’t work, she tried something else. He’d never seen her look so devastated. He didn’t want to leave her alone for a second, even though he didn’t want to cancel the open house over this.
He had a million tasks to accomplish to set things right, and if it wasn’t for her shattered expression, he would have taken over and set matters in motion to fix everything immediately.
But no matter what, he couldn’t leave her like this.
He hugged her tighter and kissed her cheek, wanting to cheer her up in any way that he could. He noted the popcorn garland was unharmed. The tree was fine. The copper angel and wolf treetop ornament was still standing tall on the tree, watching over their little cottage. “The angel and the wolf are just fine.”
Anna burst into tears.
* * *
When Hunter got the distress call from Bjornolf, he didn’t know what to think. Hunter and Tessa were putting the finishing touches on their place before the open house, and now this. Bjornolf was ranting in a whisper. The waves were hitting the shoreline with such ferocity that Hunter could barely hear what Bjornolf was saying.
“Where are you?” Hunter asked.
“The beach down below the cottage,” Bjornolf said.
“Okay,” Hunter said, not used to a SEAL falling apart on him. “Say again.”
Bjornolf took a deep breath. “Someone trashed the tree decorations. Red Ford pickup.” He gave the license plate number as Hunter quickly jotted it down. “The ornaments are ruined. Anna’s shook up, and you know she doesn’t shake up easily. I’m really worried about her.”
“We’ll be right there. All right, Bjornolf? We’ll tend to it. You take care of Anna.”
“She’s cleaning. Not speaking to me.”
“Take care of her, Bjornolf. We’ll be right there. Ten minutes tops.”
Hunter ended the call and called his sister. Meara and Finn would meet them there. Then he called Caruthers with the truck description. The police officer would get right on it.
Hunter turned to see Tessa waiting anxiously to hear what he had to say about it. “Will you be alright alone?”
“I’m going with you. I may be having these babies any second, but I’m part of the pack, and we all help each other out during a crisis. If nothing else, I can pat Anna’s hand or something.”
“Who’s going to take care of me if you have your babies prematurely in the middle of that mess?” Hunter asked. He was serious. He didn’t know why Bjornolf was so rattled, but hell, if Tessa had her babies at a disaster scene? Hunter would have a stroke.
He kissed her and pulled her into his arms. “You can’t go like this.” He ran his hand over her flannel nightgown.
She gave him an exasperated look and sighed. “I planned to get dressed.”
* * *
Bjornolf was glad when the troops arrived. The women took Anna aside, and Tessa was talking to her softly. He was about to ask the cop Caruthers what he’d discovered about the license plate when Jessica spoke up.
“I know you all are looking for whoever was driving the red truck. Whoever that person was wrecked the decorations. It was Dottie Everton, aka Dorothy Wentworth, my adoptive mother,” Jessica said, both angry and upset. “I know her scent. It was her.”
Bjornolf had wondered when Jessica would finally realize she was part of the pack, even though it had to be hard for her to give up her mother like that. The woman must have followed the kids here when they left the tree farm after searching the safe.
While Anna and Bjornolf were at the beach, they’d left the back door unlocked. Neither of them thought anyone would come around the back to break into the house and destroy their Christmas.
Bjornolf had smelled the woman’s scent earlier at the Evertons’ house, but he didn’t know who the woman was. He was glad Jessica had revealed the truth. It would take time for Jessica to feel wholly part of the pack, but she’d made a nice start.
“The truck is registered to her husband, but with that additional information, we’ll know to arrest her for breaking and entering and destroying private property,” Caruthers said, taking pictures of the damage.
With that settled, Bjornolf and Rourke cleaned up the rest of the mess. Hunter was in the kitchen preparing wassail and apple cider. The police officers—Allan Smith and Caruthers’s wife, Greta—were busy trying to track down Everton’s truck.
Nathan and Finn had gone to the store to pick up more Christmas decorations that would match the ones that were ruined. With the Christmas tree lights and the outdoor lights on, a fire flickering at the hearth, and the smell of apple cider and wassail simmering on the stove, the place was soon ready for the open house.
Meanwhile, Anna, Jessica, Tessa, and Meara were all clustered in the master bedroom, talking behind closed doors. Except for Anna, who was still wearing all black from the clandestine visit to check out Everton’s safe, all the ladies were dressed in sparkly Christmas sweaters, ready for the open house. They were just a little early before the rest of the pack members arrived.
Bjornolf was dying to know what was going on. In the meantime, Rourke began laying out the case they were building on the coffee table. Copies of everything they’d found in the safe and other documents that Rourke had brought with him, including a transcript of his interview with Helen Wentworth, were spread out for everyone’s perusal.
With one more long glance toward the master bedroom, Bjornolf began to look over the documents again to see if he’d missed anything.
“Courthouse records show the tree farm still belongs to Oliver and Jenna Silverstone,” Rourke said. “Roger and Dottie Wentworth didn’t purchase it.”
Bjornolf nodded, concentrating on the paperwork when he heard the women laughing in the bedroom. He glanced up at Hunter, saw a hint of a smile in his expression, and realized then that everything would be all right.
He’d never known how truly important a pack could be in a crisis until now. He still didn’t know what had upset Anna, but he figured once she discussed the matter with the women, she’d share the truth with him. He loved her, and he had to let her know that every day of their lives.
He sighed heavily and looked at some of the papers concerning the planting of trees. One of them in particular caught his eye. He began thinking—if the DEA bodies had been buried at the farm, it would have been either where new seedlings were growing or on some spare acreage. He started looking at dates of plantings and found that the schematics showed a detailed planting regimen. And identified some places that might just yield a couple of bodies.
“Hunter,” he called out. “I have an idea where the DEA agent bodies might be located.”
Chapter 24
>
The women were all talking to Anna, trying to bolster her while she sat quietly on the edge of the bed. She had never been a member of a pack or truly belonged to a family, so she wasn’t expecting them to rally around her. She was stunned.
Anna had never talked to anyone about her past. She’d buried it, but it was there—always there. Deep. The first Christmas she’d thought she’d enjoy, one that she’d believed she could get through and forget the past, had been destroyed. She was numb all over.
To lighten the mood, Tessa said, “Hunter was ready to expire on the spot when I insisted on coming to Anna’s open house, afraid I’d have the babies spontaneously once we arrived.”
Everyone laughed. Anna could just envision Hunter, who was always so in charge, being distressed over the pregnancy.
Then Tessa said, “Bjornolf was just as bad when you were upset, Anna. Hunter said he’d never seen one of his fellow SEALs crash that hard. That was before Hunter was having a stroke over my coming here.”
Anna wondered how Bjornolf would react if he ever made her pregnant. Then she let out her breath. She didn’t know if she could ever have babies again.
Greta said, “When I had my babies, Caruthers threw up. Worst of it was, he got my overnight bag in the car and was backing out of the drive before he remembered to take me! I was moving kind of slow with triplets at the time.”
The ladies laughed.
Meara glanced at Anna, then took a deep breath. “Maybe we shouldn’t tell all these stories in front of Tessa. She’s due any second.”
“Nonsense.” Tessa looked at the sweater that Meara was wearing and frowned. “Are you gaining weight?”
Every eye turned to stare at Meara’s sparkly Christmas tree sweater. “Twins, next spring.”
“Ha!” Tessa said. “Does Finn know?”
“I told him right before we came over here. He’s thrilled.”
Everyone congratulated her and then grew quiet.
Tessa said to Anna, “Maybe you need to talk to Bjornolf about what’s troubling you.”
Anna was tough. She had to be. She’d worn a coat of armor for years. But this was the hardest thing she’d ever have to do.
“You have to trust him,” Tessa said. “He’s your mate.”
Anna nodded.
“We’re leaving and sending him in here. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“If someone will help me up from the bench,” Tessa said.
Anna could not imagine being that full of babies again, and when she cast a look at Jessica to see her take on it, she looked like she was thinking the same thing.
Meara said, “I’ll get Hunter.” She hurried out of the room and quickly returned with both Hunter and Bjornolf.
He looked worried. Anna hated how she’d hit such a low spot and he was the one who had to put up with her.
Hunter helped Tessa up and escorted her out of the bedroom.
The other ladies left the room, and Meara shut the door behind her.
“Some potentially good news,” Bjornolf said as he sat on the bed and put his arm around Anna. “If the plans for the tree plantings are any indication, we might be able to pinpoint the location of the bodies. Hunter’s going to have the police get on it.”
“That’s good,” she said, genuinely meaning it. For a moment, she thought she might just skip telling him about her past.
“You know you can tell me anything, Anna. You’re the most important person in the world to me.”
She took a deep breath. This was it. She had to get it off her chest. He deserved to know. Maybe… he could help her deal with it. “I haven’t told anyone this… since it happened. Years and years ago.”
He kissed her cheek. “You’re the first one I confided in about the bear killing my friend.”
She nodded. He was right. He’d bared his soul to her and it was time for her to do the same. She took a deep breath. “Okay. I was fifteen the first time I kissed a wolf. He was…” She paused. “Older. Cocky. I really liked him. All alpha. I had these notions that if I loved him and he loved me, we’d become mated wolves.”
She felt Bjornolf stiffen a bit.
She shook her head. “My parents were never nurturing. I needed somebody to love who would love me in return. I thought he could be that someone.”
She harrumphed. “My past was so gray and murky that I don’t remember a time when I ever received a Christmas gift. My parents should never have had me. I always suspected I was a fluke, unintentional. I even had the notion that they weren’t my real parents. And then they were murdered.”
Bjornolf rubbed her arm. She appreciated his comforting touch, when she would have pulled away in the past.
“So when I met Rory, I thought he would be good for me. He even gave me a gift. New hair ribbons. I was so naive. He forced himself on me. He didn’t want me. He left, and… I learned I was pregnant.”
“At fifteen,” Bjornolf said, his voice quiet.
“With twins. A boy and a girl. I was too young to have babies. They arrived seventeen weeks early on Christmas Day. Even today, many premature babies die. Back then, they had no chance of survival. I was devastated.” She took another deep breath and expelled it.
“I used some of the money I received after my parents’ deaths to buy a small child’s coffin and headstone and buried them together, just as the twins had been snuggled next to each other in my womb. A minister spoke last rites for that young girl’s twin babies—that’s how I looked at it. Like I wasn’t even there. And then I buried the recollections as best I could.” She glanced up at him and saw the look of love in his eyes.
“I should have told you earlier, Bjornolf. I’m sorry.”
He pulled her into his embrace and held on tight, kissing her hair and keeping her close. “I’m sorry you had to go through that alone. You know you can tell me anything. I’m always here for you.”
She nodded.
“You’re not worried about what I think, are you?”
She didn’t say anything.
“You thought I wouldn’t still love you? God, Anna, I do love you, no matter what.”
“What… what if we can’t have children?” she asked, softly.
He hugged her. “That’s nothing to worry about. If we have children, that’s great. If we don’t, that’s fine, too. Besides, we’re kind of busy taking care of two nearly grown kids anyway.”
She smiled a little at him. “Yeah, we are.”
He cleared his throat and seemed to want to say something else, but was afraid to.
“What?”
“Is the wolf dead?” he growled. Gone was the soothing, caring Bjornolf. And in his place was a retired SEAL wolf who was ready to mete out justice on her behalf.
“Yeah, he is. The minister’s brother killed the wolf right after I’d buried my babies. I love you, you know?”
“Yeah. And the feeling’s mutual.” He gave her a knowing smile.
They heard more voices in the living room. The open house had begun.
“I’ve got to get dressed,” Anna said, sighing. She was ready to have a new outlook on the holidays. She was ready to truly forget the past. But she knew she couldn’t. Some memories never went away.
“Are you going to be all right?” he asked, concerned, running his hand soothingly over her back.
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Need any help?”
“Dressing? Or undressing?” she asked, moving to the closet. He was good for her.
Bjornolf chuckled. “If I help with either, we’ll miss the party. I’ll just enjoy the show. Are you ready for us to tell Hunter we want to join his pack?”
Anna slipped into her black dress, the back cut low and sexy, and black heels. She smiled when she saw Bjornolf’s tongue practically hang out, and held out her hand to him. “Yeah, I am. Ready to join the party?”
“If we weren’t hoping to join Hunter and Tessa’s pack, I’d skip the party.”
She smiled and kissed him thoroughly, hi
s hands stroking down her naked back and over her buttocks, the silky fabric sliding with his touch. She finally sighed and said, “Let’s go before we decide we don’t need a pack.”
“I’ve been thinking,” Bjornolf said, her hand in his, “it’s time I saw my brother again. It’s been years. I’d… like to take you to meet him.”
She snapped her gaping mouth shut and smiled at him. “I’d like that.”
* * *
The decorated homes for the pack’s open-house parade were lovely. Bjornolf kept Anna tucked under his arm for most of the night as they visited one house after another, meeting each of the pack members. Nathan was as proud as could be and kept his arm around Jessica’s waist the whole time.
Bjornolf thought Anna was more beautiful than any sparkly lights or glamorous Christmas decorations. She seemed like a whole new person in the sexy black dress that caught everyone’s eye, along with her long legs, high heels, and low-cut bodice. She smelled sweet and delicious—of oranges and cinnamon, and of the apple cider she’d been drinking. And they had a wonderful time. He couldn’t wait to get her home and spend the rest of the night making love to her if she was up to it.
He managed to walk outside at Tessa and Hunter’s home and sneak a call to Reid while Anna was talking to some of the women.
“Hey, Reid—”
“Bjornolf—”
“I don’t need the information. Okay? Don’t look anymore.”
“Okay. The guy’s dead.”
Angry that a wolf could have done what he did to her, Bjornolf clenched his teeth. Reid had found the information. But like him, that’s the first thing he had wanted to know—was the bastard who’d taken advantage of Anna still alive?
“Thanks,” Bjornolf said. “I owe you—”
“Lots,” Reid said. “Give that little wolf of yours a hug and a kiss for me. Merry Christmas.”
“Yeah, same to you.”
Bjornolf let out his breath, frosty mist in the cold air, and headed back to the house. Everything was going to be all right.
