by Kim Faulks
I needed help. Bastian and Isaiah were younger and my best hope at figuring this all out. My Leo brother wouldn’t be hard to find, all I had to do was find Maddy. The young lion was smitten by the shifter. He followed her around, like some lovesick cub.
I left the women and headed back outside to the mountain. One of the small caves close to the house was now used as a meat locker.
We all took turns at patrolling the grounds; after the attack of the Echo pack we left nothing to chance.
We made sure that the cave was safe, and our boundary was strong. So far, the only predators had been bears and other non-shifters. I cut through the trees, finding a rhythm, and headed for the clearing. My mind was stuck on presents and surprises and the many years we closed ourselves off from each other.
I heard them before I saw them. Their voices traveled, mingling with laughter. We were happy for the first time in a long time. Through the trunks of the trees, I caught sight of Maddy and her baby.
She sat with the other mothers and the children, teaching them and telling stories. I slowed my steps as I neared, catching tales of the demon wolf and the prophecy.
The old Shaman’s words came back to haunt me…
I take it you’ve had the same premonition—fire, smoke, and the world plunged into darkness?
Tell me, what would it take to break a spirit? I don’t mean physical endurance or pain, and not a heartbreak. But constant neglect and unrelenting betrayal until the essence you started this world with becomes nothing more than a shadow.
I’d seen what they’d done to Odessa.
My Dragon witnessed the depravity first hand, of how they fractured her soul.
“So you see she’s not so scary after all,” Maddy’s voice echoed to me. “The demon wolf brings chaos, and with chaos there has to be change. Change for the better I say…change for the better.”
She looked up as I came into view. Her smile was quick, filling her eyes with that sparkle of goodness. Maddy had a calming way about her, which had only grown in the weeks that her and my brother Isaiah had grown close.
“Victor, here to help with the kill? They’ve only just come back. They’ve done well today, catching a big caribou and twelve nice rabbits. We’ve been blessed with abundance.”
“Nice, that should keep us fed for days. But I’m looking for Bastian and Isaiah.”
“Oh.” Her brow furrowed. She looked behind her to the others before turning back. “Is there something wrong?”
“Wrong? No, nothing like that.” I glanced to the little ones sitting in a circle. “I’m in need of some advice.”
“Well the boys should be along any minute. They’ve been fluffing around for hours.”
“Fluffing around? Carting three barrel loads of innards for two miles only to dig a hole in this rock hard earth is not fluffing around,” grumbled Isaiah as he cut through the trees pushing a wheelbarrow.
His shirt stuck to his body, and long blonde hair to his face. “Pushing this isn’t my idea of fun.”
“That’s why it’s important that you do this. Storm needs to grow up understanding she’s just as important as anyone else on this earth, no more, and no less.”
My younger brother cut me a sideways glance. “Something wrong?”
I glanced at Maddy and the kids and shook my head. “No, but tomorrow morning you, Bastian and I are going to spend some brother bonding time together.”
“Sounds ominous.” He dropped the handles of the barrow. The rear hit the ground with a thud before he swiped the long fringe from his face. “It doesn’t involve storm clouds and your Dragon does it?”
“What?” I shook my head. “No.”
“’Cause the last time your Dragon decided to unleash, we had to clean that damn house for days.”
“No, nothing like that. I promise.”
“Okay, good. Tomorrow it is. Where do you want me to meet you?”
Maddy’s eyes were bright with excitement as I answered. “The garage, we’re going to town.”
3
Two days before Christmas
“You’re not going to buy that, are you?”
I jerked my head to stare over my shoulder and clenched my fist around the small bag of marbles.
Gunny crossed her arms and leaned against the shelves. This was the fifth toy I’d picked up that she asked the same damn question.
“What is it this time?”
“See that?” She shoved off the metal bar and strode forward. “It says ages twelve and up. It’s a choking hazard. The little ones will put those in their mouths. Hell, kids put everything in their damn mouths.”
A hideous high-pitched sound tore through the air, sounding like a wounded walrus. Evander poked his head around the corner, his eyes alight with excitement. “Hey, Gunny, look at this.”
He shoved the recorder in his mouth and blew, sending spittle flying and mothers running in the opposite direction.
Gunny threw her hand in the air in his direction. “My point exactly.”
I shoved the bag of marbles back. So far, I had a soft plush toy wolf, and not much of anything else. I leaned in, and yelled over the racket. “How about I hand you the list and you buy the toys?”
“Finally,” she growled. “Although I must admit, seeing you guys torture yourselves over a bunch of pups is pretty damn amusing.”
I shoved the list in her direction and cut Evander a glare. “Let’s see how amusing it is when he goes home with that.”
I pushed the trolley, following the damn pied piper as Gunny stared at the list and plucked items from the shelves. “Kids love color and texture, so for the babies we want things they can touch and suck. See these activity blankets? That’s good for them, it’s teaching them to touch and grab. It’s strengthening their grip and it also gives the mothers an opportunity to sit back and watch, instead of holding them all the time. But what we can do is alter them a little. We attach different pelts to the blanket. So they get used to the scent of different animals. Their mothers use these to teach them to recognize danger and food. The first few weeks are the most important. It’s when they shift for the first time, and this is crucial, the pups need to learn to be both human and wolf.”
I craned my “You know all this how?”
“My job, and because I, like those I surround myself with, don’t see them as the enemy. They’re one of the most intelligent and resourceful creatures I’ve ever met, and I’m honored to call many my friends.”
I was struck dumb by what she said. I’d not had much to do with her since she came back sporting black pupils and strange markings on her skin. The mortal woman had changed, but until now, I hadn’t realized how much.
I saw resemblances of Odessa in her demeanor; she was strong, and determined. She was the kind of woman who’d rather stand alone, rather than stand with the wrong. Even now, I could sense the dark change.
She had smoke in her eyes and death at her back. In this moment I knew Gunny was better standing with us, rather than against us.
“Okay, so the shiny, rattly rug it is. What else?”
She grabbed a box of big Lego blocks, an Etch a Sketch, a stack of coloring books with kid safe crayons. She loaded the trolley in five minutes, heaving a toy kitchen in one end and a toy workshop in the other. The workshop balanced precariously on top.
“There, I think that should do it.”
I shook my head at the determination and the speed in which she worked. “The kitchen and the workshop, who are they for?”
“Everyone. They need to learn to share their toys and to express themselves no matter their gender. You cool with that?”
I nodded, mentally calculating the cost. Still, I couldn't fault the woman’s morals.
We waited for the cashier to scan the items and loaded them into the back of North’s Jeep as Evander fussed over the Christmas wrappings. I turned to Gunny and motioned toward the big kid. “He’s lucky to have you. So am I. Thanks for coming this morning. It’s a shame the oth
er two couldn’t come.”
“Well shopping isn’t for everyone, and I guess even a Dragon can be terrified by a shop full of kids.”
“Yep, this one.” Evander called from the front seat and shoved a roll of wrapping paper into the air. “The snowman’s my favorite. I think I’ll wrap everything in that.”
“Except when you are the damn kid,” Gunny muttered and then slammed the back door shut.
The wind howled, pushing the Jeep across the lane as I headed for home. Snow covered the tips of the mountains. I wondered how I hadn’t noticed before, how the trees had grown sparse and the ground had grown brittle. We’d watched from a distance as the humans covered their houses with lights and decorations. But, we weren’t part of their world. We hadn’t been for a long time, maybe that had been part of the problem all along.
I glanced to Gunny, watching her fumble with her phone. The woman had shocked me. She’d somehow not just breached this gap between humans and shifters, but she’d built her life around this.
We needed to be more like her, instead of sticking to our cold, rigid ways.
Maybe Christmas was one step forward in changing that.
I let that thought sink in, and it resonated deep.
This Christmas was our chance to start anew.
I turned right and nosed the Jeep through the ivy-choked gates of our home. The white, hulking mansion looked more than just brittle and worn…it looked lonely and outdated. It looked like the man I had once been—cold, stoic, and lonely as hell.
Gunny tucked her phone into her pocket. “I’ll check the hallways and give the go-ahead before you carry the presents inside.”
I nodded and eased the car into the garage. Gunny was out and moving before I turned the car off. The garage door swung open, and out spilled wolves and Dragons. Smiles connected one to the other like a chain of grinning fools.
Confusion fluttered in my stomach, like a trapped bird with nowhere to go. I shoved the car into park, and switched off the ignition as Gunny held up her hands and shook her head.
But there was no stopping this broken dam. The others surged, stepping around the former Marine and swamping the car. Members of the Bloodstone pack crammed the outside of the car. Their eyes were bright, smiles wide. I looked for salvation but Gunny disappeared inside the house as I shoved open the door and climbed out.
I was clapped on the shoulder, patted on the arm, someone hugged me until my joints popped and then stepped away to peer through the windows of the car.
“Oh my,” whispered one of the women. “Look at all this. I can’t believe it….”
Her voice turned small as she stepped away. Her eyes glistened. She turned her head and curled her shoulders. Another of the women drew her close.
I watched the women, unable to understand why the emotion.
It was just a few presents.
“No one was supposed to know,” I muttered as my contentment dried up in one fell swoop and blew away. “Marcus is going to kill me.”
The former Marine strode back into the garage; she shook her head. “You should see what they have done inside.”
Car doors opened and slammed, Evander chuckled and announced each present piece by piece. I left behind the frenzy and followed Gunny inside the house as a bead of sweat broke out across my forehead.
I made my way through the foyer and into the lounge room that connected to the dining. A mammoth pine tree was stuffed into the corner of the room, resting against the stairs and spreading out until it touched the edge of the corner sofa.
Pinecones hung from ribbons. A string of snowmen cut from white copy paper hung around the massive green girth.
The house was alive with people. Wolves decorated, others cooked, some sang, but all of them laughed and danced, and even though I knew the ass kicking that waited for me, I couldn’t help but be affected. “This is…”
“Wondrous,” whispered someone behind me.
I spun to see my wolf staring at the tree. She raised her head to meet my gaze. Her smile was radiant, stretching her lips and swelling her cheeks. She took a step closer, and the room faded from view.
The sudden draw of breath shattered my thoughts. My Dragon drew deep, swamping the inside of us with her scent. She was fresh rain on a summer’s day, she was the icy sea rushing, engulfing, taking us under like a violent riptide…and we were helpless to fight the call.
A sound quaked through my chest, not of anger, not of fear—something far stronger. She shook my walls, and savaged my edges…her demon wolf came to life as her fingers skimmed my arm.
Goosebumps raced, rippling out until the hairs on my arms stood on end.
“This was a surprise,” she whispered. “A very nice surprise.”
I licked arid lips and tried to gather my thoughts, but there was nothing but a blank hole…all I saw was her. “A surprise, yeah…”
“The tree, Victor, and the presents…allowing yours and mine to celebrate this Christmas. It means a lot to me that you’ve done this.”
“Sure, yeah.”
Her touch was like wildfire, trailing along my arm.
Let me out…we can hunt…we can feed. Let me out Odessa…I want to play…I want to play… I. Want. To. Play!
Odessa’s shadowed wolf roared inside my head. They were two opposite beings, but both just as powerful. She was an enigma, a destroyer, and if my family had their way, she would’ve been dead.
Someone had tried to poison her. Someone here in my home. Someone who ate at my table. Movement behind her stole my focus.
Rowen kept to the edge of the room, slipping behind those who worked, laughed, and joked. Cold green eyes missed nothing. She was sister to Odessa and Abrial—in blood only. None of us trusted her, not after living with the cruel Echo pack as a wife to their second in command…the same wolf we killed when they attacked our home.
“Don’t look at her.” Odessa dragged her fingers higher, across my shoulders and over my chest.
My heart sped, incensed by the warmth of her touch and the intensity in her amber eyes. We shared a connection that ran deeper than any ocean—this was more than love, hotter than desire…we shared a destiny meant for the ages.
“Let me show you how grateful I am,” she murmured and stepped close. Her breast brushed my arm, drawing my gaze. I knew her body, knew it better than I knew my own.
“You know, I’ve got something…I mean, I’ll…Hell…I’ll find something to do. You kids have fun,” Gunny growled.
I found myself nodding. I’d forgotten she’d been there.
Odessa’s hand skimmed my chest and slid down my stomach. My muscles tightened at her touch. My cock shifted under my trousers.
Her fingers delved under my leather belt. She was gravity, drawing me in. I took a step closer and she moved away, taking me along for the ride as she left the lounge room and headed for the hall.
Most of the rooms had been re-assigned, except ours. No one wanted to share space with something as frightening as the demon wolf…and that suited us just fine. She slipped through the doorway.
I snagged the door and jerked it closed. I fumbled with the lock, hitting, flicking something as she turned. She was so small against my body. She reached up and wound her hands around my neck. She was strong…so damn strong even without lifting a finger.
“You’re one of the kindest men I’ve ever known. Kind and sexy…”
My Dragon sat up. Vibration rippled through my body as the Tormentor purred like a damn cat. I shrugged off my jacket and let it fall to the floor before I took a step, bending down to slide one arm around her waist.
Mine, growled my Dragon.
“Not bloody likely,” I answered him back and dropped my head. He could wait his turn…or learn to fucking share.
Amber eyes found mine. Deep inside, wisps of black mingled with honey flecks. When I looked at her, I saw everything…hope…desire…destruction.
I lifted my hand and dove under the thick fur and found heat. I cupped her
breast…so perfect…so damn perfect. She smelled of the beast she wore…the beast she killed with her own damn hands.
She was an expert hunter. A fighter. A survivor…and one day soon I planned on making her my wife. She leapt into my arms and I was ready…oh hell, I was more than ready.
My fingers scraped denim, finding the curve of her ass, and pressed the apex of her thighs against the ache between mine. She wrapped her legs around me, rocking as I took a step. Each motion was beautiful agony, ratcheting this dangerous desire a little higher.
“You bring me undone, you know that?” I muttered and took another step toward the bed.
Hard edges smacked against my shins. I shoved out a hand as her ass met the mattress. Crumpled sheets held our scent, like a lonely lover’s arms. I dropped my head as she lay backwards.
Soft fur from her jacket tickled my face as I pressed between her breasts. Lilac and honey mingled with the deep spruce scent of the forest. I found her satin skin between the buttons of her blouse.
I pinched the button, watching it disappear through the hole. Her lips parted as I exposed her skin and skimmed the cotton edge of her bra.
She didn’t wear lace.
She didn’t wear satin.
And I found that sexy as hell.
I slipped my finger under the brim and grazed tender flesh. Her nipple tightened. Her eyes closed. Her shudder bought me undone. Her words were nothing more than a jagged breath. “I’m…supposed to be taking care of you.”
My cock punched my zipper. She had no idea…how insane she made me.
“This is taking care of me,” I murmured and dropped my head to the valley between her breasts.
We’d done this more times than I could count. Still every time was the first time with her. Every shudder. Every moan. Every time I breached her defenses and saw that look in her eyes. She was half-undone, half stitched together, heading for that euphoria we shared.
This woman ran through my veins—she gave me form.
She gave me strength.
She dropped her head against the pillow. One slow slide of my hand revealed her dusky pink nipple. Her flesh tightened under my tongue. Smooth skin. Fevered skin. Her hips rose from the bed. I shifted my gaze to that seam.
