Sugar, Spice, and Shifters: A Touch of Holiday Magic

by Élianne Adams

  SIX

  Amy brushed her snarled blonde locks as she stared at herself in the mirror. It was late, so late it was nearly morning. Dark circles hovered beneath her eyes, yet she couldn’t sleep. Her thoughts kept going to Cooper. He’d seemed so distant earlier—so lost. She hadn’t known what to say to him. There was nothing that would make things better. Instead, she just left. Probably not the best thing in retrospect.

  After her abduction and rescue, she’d relied heavily on Celia and the other women to get her through, and she’d walked off like a careless bitch. Maybe if she were around people more often, she wouldn’t be so dysfunctional. She didn’t know how to connect with people.

  Soft steps on the floorboards outside her door drew her from her thoughts. Whoever it was stopped in front of her doorway and seemed to be lingering. Was it Cooper? Anyone else would knock—or just barge in.

  She gnawed at her lower lip, set her brush down, and walked to the door. Her fingers trembled as she tugged it open and peered out into the hallway. Cooper’s eyes widened and he stumbled backwards, clearly surprised to see her.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to bother you,” he said with a frown.

  “It’s fine. I wasn’t sleeping.” She opened the door. “Do you want to come in?” she offered without thinking. Cooper cleared his throat and glanced around the hallway as if he was checking to see if anyone else was up. Heat crept along her cheeks and over her ears as she realized the implication. Did he think she was offering him in for sex? Or was she overreacting? She really needed to get some people skills. “I thought you might like to talk,” she added stupidly.

  “Sure. Mahalo.” He slid around her as she hesitantly closed the door. His eyes roamed over her large room before stopping at her queen size bed. The flowered comforter was ruffled and unmade and Amy flustered at the sight. She was usually so meticulous with her cleaning.

  “How are you doing?” she asked, breaking the deafening silence between them.

  “Still in a state of shock, I think. I’ll feel better when I can talk to Caleb.” He raked a hand through his hair. “I was hoping maybe you could help me with that.”

  Oh. Is that the only reason he’s here? Why else would he be here? He’s probably not interested in me. Wait. Am I interested in him? Her heart sped up at the thought.

  Cooper cleared his throat and she grimaced realizing she hadn’t said anything. “We’re just being cautious. If his story checks out and we don’t uncover any other wolves on the island we’ll ease up and let him go,” she assured. That’s what Mason had said and he wouldn’t lie.

  “I don’t understand why he’s being held to begin with,” Cooper said. “I feel like I’m only being told half the story. You’ve been the most helpful thus far and you don’t look like you want to kill me so…”

  “Nobody’s going to kill you,” she said laughing. Sure the guys could be intimidating, but they were like big teddy bears—at least to her.

  “Right. Well, I’ll feel better when I can see Caleb. I don’t now what you think he’s done, but I can assure you he’s harmless,” he promised.

  “Wolves aren’t solitary creatures. Every last one of us has had an incident with a pack. And if anyone ever did find us…” she trailed off as emotion clogged her throat. She shook her head and fought back the tears pricking behind her eyes. “Our world is grizzly. An unknown wolf is a threat. We can’t risk it. I’m sorry your brother is caught in the middle of it, but we can’t risk our lives—our freedom.”

  “What exactly are you so afraid of?” Cooper asked.

  Amy swallowed and hugged her knees in to her chest. “You don’t want to get tangled up with a pack,” she warned. “They are barbaric. If one did find us, they would kill the men and take me and all the other women and use us to breed,” she snapped. A chill zipped down her spine at the thought. I’d rather die.

  Cooper pulled back from her, staring through narrowed eyes. “Mason said you were bitten—like me. How do you know that’s the truth? Are you just going by what everyone else says?”

  Amy shot to her feet and paced the room. Her skin crawled as images from the past flitted through her mind. “Mason didn’t tell you how I came to be a wolf, did he?”

  Cooper shook his head.

  Amy swallowed hard. How much did she tell him? How much could she get out before emotion overcame her? She closed her eyes and turned away from him, padding toward the window. It was dark out and the moon shone brightly overhead. The full moon was only a few nights away. Once the change had happened, Cooper would understand what was going on better.

  “I’m sure since you were digging into my past you know I ran away from home when I was sixteen,” she began as she glimpsed vacantly into the night. “My stepdad was a real jerk. It was Christmas day,” she laughed to herself. Of course it was the dreaded holiday. Everything bad that happened seemed to originate from that day. “My stepfather was drinking, again. My dog, Tizzy, knocked something over on accident. He lost it, that bastard started beating Tizzy, kicking her. He’d never hurt my mom or me physically, but he’d been verbally abusive. I stepped in to stop him and he got even madder. He started smashing the boxes under the tree and tossing the ornaments across the room. Every present my mother had bought me was ruined. Tizzy limped around the whole day and sometime during the night, she passed away. She was old; it might not have been because of him, but I’ll never know. Tizzy was all I had at home. A piece of me died with her.”

  Amy swiped at the tears that slipped down her cheeks as she closed her eyes and drew in another shaky breath. “I knew I couldn’t stay there anymore. One of my friend’s was going on vacation to Cancun two days after Christmas and they had an extra ticket. Her brother couldn’t go or something. I jumped at the chance and thankfully my mom agreed. Seeing their family and the love and respect they had for each other was…I can’t even tell you. The last morning there, I woke up early, packed my bags, and slipped out of the hotel room. I don’t know if they looked for me or not. Probably. They were a good family. I shouldn’t have done that to them, but I had to get away.”

  She opened her eyes and choked back a sob. That was the easy part of the story. It was so quiet, she wondered if Cooper was still listening. She peered over her shoulder and saw him sitting on the bed staring at her. Her fists balled at her sides as she steeled herself to continue. “I got a job working at a bar in Cancun. Things were looking up for the first time in a long time. And then I was abducted.”

  Cooper’s eyes widened and she offered him a pained smile. That wouldn’t be in any of the reports he’d read.

  “There was a group of men working with a pack there. They kidnapped young women who had no ties or family to miss them. I guess they thought if they worked with the pack, they’d get bitten and converted.” She shrugged. It didn’t matter why they did what they did. They were animals. She’d kill every one of them if she could. “Celia was abducted the same night as I. Even though we were strangers, we clung to each other like a lifeline.” A tremble racked her body and she hugged her arms around her middle. Cooper didn’t need all the gritty details. “We were handed over to the pack, bitten, and then taken to the compound where they held all the women. Some were born wolves, others were bitten, but we were all prisoners. We were there for the men’s pleasure.” She squeezed herself tighter and turned back to the window. “I was lucky to be only sixteen. All I ever had to do was hear and see it. Celia and some of the other women weren’t so lucky. Sometimes at night, I still hear their screams in my nightmares. Mason’s the one that rescued me from that hell. If Astrid, Rhea, and Marcia say all packs are like that one, I’m not going to question it.”

  Amy’s breath hitched as a sob shuddered through her. Tears trickled from her eyes and she covered her face with her hands. The bed creaked behind her and footsteps sounded. Cooper was probably leaving not that she could blame him. She was a blubbering mess. But his footfalls grew closer.

  His hand gently pressed against her sh
oulder. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.”

  She reached up and clasped his hand with her palm. He was warm. Safe. Why did his touch comfort her so much? He was a stranger. Her body melted against his and she turned, allowing him to embrace her. His strong arms wrapped around her and she buried her face in the crook of his neck. This feels right. She didn’t know how or why, but she didn’t want to leave the comfort of his hold.

  They stood like that for a long while. It could’ve been minutes or hours, she wasn’t sure. That he’d stand and hold her made her heart swell. Cooper was a good guy. The kind of man that maybe, just maybe, she could let herself fall for.

  Bells chimed as if agreeing with her thoughts. Cooper stiffened and pulled back and she belatedly realized that it was his cellphone.

  “It’s my sister,” he explained as he pulled the device from his pocket.

  Amy smiled, the muscles in her face still stiff from crying. “Take it.” She dabbed at her eyes and cleared her throat, turning back to the window to give him a little privacy.

  “Hello,” he answered.

  The voice on the other end yelled through the mouthpiece at him. Barely pausing to take a breath as she let Cooper have it. Amy nibbled her lip worriedly. From the sounds of things, Cooper was in trouble. Not only with his family, but with his work as well. He was an officer of the law and he’d walked away from a major crime scene—for her. Her heart pinched. She hadn’t meant for him to get into any kind of trouble.

  Cooper muttered a few assurances into the phone and was berated a few more times before he ended the call.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get you into any kind of trouble,” she whispered as she turned to look at him.

  Cooper reached out and rubbed her arms with his hands. The friction sent tingles cascading through her body and heat blazing through her center. Her reaction surprised her and she took a step forward, wanting to feel more. It didn’t make sense. She knew that, but after years of hurting, it was nice to feel something good.

  “It’s going to be fine. Besides, making sure you were okay was more important,” he told her. “Don’t worry about me. I can smooth things over.”

  Amy yawned, quickly covering her mouth.

  “It’s late,” Cooper said taking her arm and walking with her to the bed. “You should get some sleep. Even if you’re mostly healed, you were still shot today.”

  Amy giggled. He was right. That he cared about her well-being made her heart patter a little faster. What was this with him? Maybe she’d be brave enough to figure it out.

  “Thanks,” Amy said as they stopped next to her bed.

  “I’ll see you in the morning,” Cooper said as his gaze met hers. His eyes dipped down to her lips and her tongue flitted out to wet them. Would he kiss her? The idea wasn’t scary. In fact, she wanted him to.

  Her pulse roared in her ears as she waited for him to make a move. He cleared his throat after a long moment and took a step back. “Goodnight, Amy.”

  “Night,” she whispered as he turned and walked away. What if she’d finally found someone she could be involved with and he wasn’t interested?

  SEVEN

  Cooper pulled his car to a stop and stared up at the mansion. The lying had begun today. First to the chief of police, then to his family. Can I really keep this up? He was beginning to see why Caleb had stayed away for so long. But he couldn’t leave home—his parents and family depended on him. The job he loved was here.

  He cut the ignition and shook his head trying to shatter the concepts forming in his head. He had time to decide; time to figure out what he was going to do. Part of him expected to wake up from this nightmare. That hadn’t happened yet.

  Cooper exited his car and hiked up the incline to the front door. Before he reached it, the white, wooden entrance popped open and Mason stood in the threshold.

  “I honestly wasn’t sure if you’d come back,” he said in way of a greeting.

  “You have my brother,” he replied simply. And Amy’s here, he thought.

  Mason nodded in understanding. “We’ve checked out his story. There are no other wolves on the island. He’s decided to stay with us,” he informed.

  Caleb was staying? He doesn’t know them.

  “Wolves are pack animals. You’ll understand more after your first change,” Mason told him.

  “Yeah. I hear that’s just a few short days away,” he said with a sigh.

  “Your brother is getting settled in his room. Upstairs, third door on the left,” Mason said as he brushed past him.

  “Is Amy here?” Cooper asked. He should be going to check on Caleb first thing, but he couldn’t help but wonder about the beautiful blonde. Last night had been…he didn’t know what it had been. There had been something, but he was too big of an idiot to act on anything with her. He was more worried about spooking her. Did she like him too?

  Mason paused and narrowed his eyes. “Why?”

  Cooper quirked his brow. “She was shot yesterday,” he supplied. “I wanted to check on her.”

  “She’s fine. I believe she’s working on some jewelry in the front room.” Mason glared at him for a long moment. “Amy doesn’t talk to people. She doesn’t open up to them. You’re the first person she’s interacted with outside of our family in ten years. If you do anything to hurt her, I’ll kill you and make sure no one ever finds your body.”

  He’d expected some sort of warning from Mason, but he hadn’t expected the intensity behind it. There was a true threat behind his words. Not that Cooper would let that dissuade him. Every girl he’d ever dated had broken up with him because of his crazy work schedule. His job had always come first—until yesterday. “I’ll take that under advisement. But you should know I have no intentions of hurting her.”

  “Good,” Mason said inclining his head forward. “I’ll see you around then.”

  Cooper shook his head and continued up the steps into the house. Soft footsteps padded toward him and he glanced to his left. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as Amy approached.

  “Hey, I thought I heard you,” she greeted. “Were you able to get everything sorted out? I’d hate for you to be in trouble.”

  “Everything is fine.” It was a lie. He was on administrative leave from the police force while they reviewed his actions. Amy’s life was worth the punishment.

  “Good. I’ve made something for you.”

  She held up a bracelet with intricate weaves and beading. It was beautiful.

  “Well, it’s not for you exactly. But I told you I’d make a custom piece,” she corrected. “Do you think your sister will like it?”

  “I’m sure she’ll love it,” he grinned as he slipped the bracelet off her fingers. She’d obviously taken her time to twist and bend the wires into a beautiful design. “Mahalo.”

  “I can make her a matching necklace, too,” she offered.

  “No, this is fine. I’d hate to show her husband up,” he joked.

  Amy giggled. “I suppose that would be bad.” Her smile slipped away and she took a step back from him nearly colliding with the wall.

  “Coop,” Caleb said from behind.

  “I’m going to go,” Amy said inching away and fleeing back into the other room.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare your girlfriend away. I don’t think she likes me,” Caleb said offering him a smile. “I don’t blame her.”

  “How are you?” Cooper asked. He understood Amy’s apprehension better since their talk last night.

  Caleb blew out a long breath as he took in the marble floors and intricate wallpaper. “Good. You have no idea how good it feels to be around people like me.”

  “What happened to you?” Cooper asked quietly. He’d been bitten while he’d been away, but when and where?

  “It doesn’t matter,” Caleb argued. “What’s done is done. I’m just glad I’m not alone anymore.”

  He wanted to press the issue, but thought better of it. His brother had been gone for years.
Clearly, he needed some time. If he pushed, it would only make things worse.

  “I’m sorry for getting you into this mess, Coop. I didn’t mean-”

  “I know,” he cut him off. “It’s fine.”

  “You don’t know what you’re in for. Don’t tell me that yet.” Caleb scrubbed a hand over his face and took a step back. “I’m going to run to the hotel and grab my things. I’ll see you later.”

  Before Cooper could protest, Caleb was jogging away and out the front door.

  “It’s different for us. Those of us who were bitten versus being born this way. It’s horrible, and it changes you completely. Out of all of us, your change is the easiest to swallow,” Amy said appearing again at his side.

  Caleb must be right. She didn’t like him. No. That wasn’t right, he thought, recalling Mason’s words. She’d gotten on at the police station, but she’d been uncomfortable the entire time. The same was the case at dinner.

  “How is it different?” he wondered.

  “The circumstances of which we were changed. Catalina was running from her family and fell in with the wrong people. By the time she realized what was happening it was too late. They bit her, but she was able to escape. Mason was turned while looking for me. Celia and I were abducted. I’m sure whatever happened to him was horrible, too,” Amy explained quietly.

  “He’s military, too. I think something happened on a mission,” he said his thoughts aloud. Maybe she was right. He didn’t know what had happened to his brother. “Mason and him should get along,” he added.

  “Mason is picking Rhea up from work and they’re getting a tree,” Amy said changing the subject. “We usually put it over here.” She pointed to the corner near a large window.

  “I thought you guys weren’t big on Christmas?” he questioned.

  “Oh. We aren’t. Rhea is,” she laughed. “If it weren’t for her, we probably wouldn’t do a tree at all. It’s one of her favorite things since fleeing the pack. I’m supposed to get the ornaments and stuff out for them. Do you want to help?”