A Very Alpha Christmas

by Anthology

  “Did you feel the connection to me when you saw me?” he asked, halting his progress, making her whimper.

  “Yes.”

  “And you gave yourself over to me when I know for a fact you’ve not given yourself to any other,” he said, remaining in place.

  “Yes.”

  “Deep down, your body recognized me for who I am to you,” he said, pushing in just a bit, teasing her more. “It knew I was your other half. That we were destined to be as one.”

  “So we’re supernatural fuck buddies? Great! Just . . . can we please”—she bucked her hips at him—“please fuck now?”

  He laughed. “Cassie, I’m trying to tell you that we’re now married according to the laws of the supernaturals. When I claimed you, I made you my wife.”

  “You did what?” Gasping, she glanced back at the exact moment he pushed deep into her, his hips pistoning, taking her hard, deep, and fast. Grunting, she clutched at the sheets, her body spiraling out of control—her magik not far behind.

  It wrapped around them both, enveloping them as everything about her began to feel more alive, more sensitive. She cried out, tears streaking her cheeks. Not from sadness, but from the strongest sense of belonging and a situation feeling right—feeling perfect.

  Meant to be.

  The words echoed through her head. Destiny.

  She pushed back, countering his thrusts. Pleasure assailed her and she fell forward, unable to hold herself up anymore. Sweat slicked her body and Cambridge rode her down, pushing in hard and holding firm, jetting into her as he found release again.

  He kissed her shoulder and then moved off her, taking a position to her side, pulling her against him and spooning her. He held her close and continued to plant kisses on her shoulder. “I did not want to come to Columbus. I viewed it as a punishment or a slight.”

  She tensed.

  “I was wrong. It is the best city in all the world.” He kissed a line over her shoulder. “It had you in it.”

  She smiled as the tears continued to come. “Wait a minute. I didn’t claim you. I didn’t say ‘mine’.”

  He laughed softly. “Your magik did.”

  “What does this mean—exactly? I’ve seen articles in tabloids on mated supernatural couples. They make it sound like they’ve been married for a really long time. Some of them centuries.”

  “Yes. Mating is for life,” he supplied.

  She glanced over her shoulder at him. “You barely know me and you mated to me for life? Seems sudden, right?”

  But it didn’t. It felt totally and completely right. As if he was what she’d been missing all her life.

  “This is new to you,” he said evenly. “From what my people tell me, you have had very little exposure to supernaturals.”

  She tensed. “My stepfather is an asshole.”

  He held her tighter. “Stepfather? Albert is not your biological father?”

  “No,” she said, disgusted at the thought.

  Cambridge exhaled. “Thank the gods. We assumed his hate of supernaturals was because he was one, but in denial. And I thought for a moment our children would share his DNA.”

  She laughed. “No. Wait. Children?”

  “Cassie, think harder about the couples you have read who are mated.”

  She did and twisted around to face him, her eyes wide. “I read that mated pairs can produce children.”

  He nodded.

  She tensed. “We are not ready for kids. We’re too young.”

  He laughed. “I will wait until another time to tell you my age.”

  She couldn’t look away from him. Her husband. She touched his lower lip. “You’re immortal. I age.”

  “If you have not already stopped aging, you will soon. There is a good deal of Fae blood in you. Trust me, I tasted it. I would wager a bet that your biological father is full-blooded Fae.”

  “Oh.”

  “Do you know much about him?”

  She shook her head.

  “Then I will find out what I can for you.” He kissed her fingertips. “I cannot wait to see Albert’s face when you bring me home to meet him and explain I am your husband.”

  She laughed at the thought and then stopped. “He’s a monster. He wanted to kill you and the others.”

  Cambridge did a long slow blink. “I am aware.”

  “I don’t want you around him. He’s sick. He’s evil,” she said, taking his hand in hers. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “Cassie, I very much want to be near him to snap his neck. Nothing more.”

  She shrugged. “Oh. Well, then yeah, we should totally do Christmas with my family then. But don’t hurt my mom. She is sort of stuck with him. She doesn’t believe in his ways, but—” She sat up fast. “I have to go. He knows by now that I betrayed him. He’ll hurt my mom.”

  Cambridge winked. “Shh, it has been taken care of. Your mother is in a safe house, protected by my people and knows you are alive and well.”

  “What? How?”

  “You talk in your sleep,” he confessed. “I simply dispatched BPI agents the minute I heard your worry over her.”

  She tackled him and covered his face in kisses, making him laugh, but then paused. “When we get dressed, are we going to have to drink the eggnog Mimi made?”

  “I would not feed it to Albert, even.”

  She laughed more. “Speaking of getting dressed, you wouldn’t happen to have anything other than holiday porn pajamas, would you?”

  He waggled his brows. “Yes, but I refuse to tell you where. I am not done making love to you, wife.”

  She smiled. “You’re the best Christmas gift ever.”

  “I feel the same of you,” he said, kissing her palm. “We should check in on Mimi and Finn at some point, though.”

  “Worried she’ll make him dress like Santa?”

  “She already did that,” said Cambridge. “Or, I should say, will be doing that soon.”

  She roared with laughter. “Poor Finn.”

  6

  Winter my wonderland

  Cambridge eased his arm around his wife. She’d been his for a month and he still couldn’t believe how fortunate he was. They’d cleared up the rumors of her death in the grandest way he could think to do—by inviting the media in for exclusive pictures of the newly mated couple at a party celebrating their union.

  That had shut up the human purists.

  Albert was still on the run from the BPI, but they were closing in on him. They wouldn’t stop until he was found. Cassie’s mother Connie came from the other room, a tray of drinks in her hands, a large smile on her face. She was living free from the tyrant who had controlled her life for so many years. Soon they would journey as a family back to Chicago, though Ohio was growing on him day by day. Cambridge caught Connie’s eye and they shared a knowing look, each already in the know on the present they had in store for Cassie for the holiday.

  Cassie took a drink from the tray and laughed as she watched her mother taking a drink to Finn, who then lifted it and smelled it. “Bet he’s making sure it’s not cocoa.”

  “Indeed,” said Cambridge, holding his wife, loving having his friends around him. His family couldn’t make it in to celebrate with them just yet. Prior commitments kept them busy in Chicago, but he knew they were happy for him. He’d spent centuries with them. This holiday was about his new wife and her family. He nodded to Connie who headed to the kitchen.

  Finn continued his antics, annoying Mimi as he was so gifted at doing. Baldwin was on his sixth mug of a spiked holiday drink Connie had cooked up, and Cambridge didn’t think it would be too much longer before the were-bear would be out cold, sleeping off the night’s festivities. Though, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility for Baldwin and Finn to decide the night was young and they’d go out and find trouble—making it if they had to.

  Cambridge held Cassie tighter as Connie appeared in the hallway, a tall, dark-haired man following close behind her. The man didn’t l
ook a day over thirty, despite being centuries old.

  It had taken all the resources Cambridge had, but he’d managed to locate someone vital in Cassie’s life. Someone she had never met. He didn’t have the full story yet, but from what he’d learned, the man had no knowledge of Cassie prior to Cambridge finding him. Cambridge had hoped he’d be able to track down her father, but no one had seen him in over twenty years. No one said it, but all thought him dead.

  He wouldn’t spoil Cassie’s holiday with that news, though he strongly suspected she already believed as much.

  Cassie turned in his arms, her smile wide. “This is the best Christmas ever.”

  He kissed the tip of her nose. “I think I might be able to make it even better.”

  She laughed. “You are insatiable.”

  He waggled his brows. “Well yes, but I had something else in mind first.”

  Stepping back, he took her hand, facing her in the direction of her mother and the newcomer. The man gasped, his gaze locking on Cassie. There was no denying the resemblance between them. The same hair color. The same eyes. And then there was the fact they had the same elemental Fae magik—as was common with related Fae.

  “Cassie, honey,” her mother said, beaming. She touched the man’s arm next to her and nodded to him. “This is your uncle, Beynon.”

  Silence filled the room, all eyes upon them. Cassie said nothing. She stood totally still.

  Beynon stepped forward, lifting a hand, a ball of blue fire appearing in it. Cassie gasped and Beynon winked. “We dinnae know of you, Cassie. We’d have come for you long ago.” He cleared his throat, the flame vanishing. “My brother was a guid man. When he fell in battle, we mourned his loss. We dinnae know he had started a family with a human.”

  Connie teared up. “I never knew how to reach out to your father’s family. Didn’t even know where to start looking.”

  Beynon pushed his long, dark hair back from his face. “You look a guid deal like my mother. And I’m told you’ve inherited the same elemental magik as our family.”

  Cassie turned, faced Cambridge, stared up at him and blinked. “I have an uncle?”

  “You have a very large family on your father’s side,” he replied, unable to read his wife’s reaction. “They thought it best not to swarm you straight away. They sent Beynon.”

  “They were hopin’ he’d be able to charm his way into yer heart,” added Finn from the sidelines. “But if he keeps eyeing Mimi I’m gonna remove his heart, so say yer hellos quickly, lass.”

  Cassie tossed her arms around Cambridge’s neck, hugging him tight. “I have a family!”

  He laughed as she released him and ran to Beynon, hugging him too. He lifted her off her feet and spun with her, holding her close. Cambridge knew the Fae would cherish his wife and knowing of her existence.

  Finn came and stood by his side as Cassie and Beynon began talking. “I do nae like him.”

  “You are still angry his clan and yours got into it, centuries ago,” reminded Cambridge.

  “Aye. Bastards.”

  Cambridge snorted. “Let it go, Finn. My mate is happy and I know you like her.”

  Finn blushed. “She grows on a person.”

  Cambridge noticed his friend staring at his wife’s backside and he twisted, slamming Finn backwards. “Eyes off my mate.”

  Cassie was suddenly there, pulling on Cambridge. She gave him a stern look. “Why are you pushing Finn?”

  Cambridge lowered his gaze, feeling very scolded at the moment. “It’s Finn, why wouldn’t I push him?” he countered.

  Her stern look remained. “Be nice.”

  “I have to be nice to Finn?” he asked, joking.

  Finn laughed. “Aye, be nice.”

  Cassie caught Cambridge’s arm before he went at Finn again. “Yes, be nice to him,” she lowered her voice so only he’d hear her, “and if you’re a good boy, after the party I might even let you winter my wonderland.”

  He lifted a brow at the phrasing. His body ran cold, hers ran hot. Oh, he would more than love to bring ice to her heated areas. He raked his gaze down her slowly, loving her more with every passing minute they were together. “Promise?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  “Good,” he said, bending to kiss her. “I love you.”

  “Ah, you’re all right yourself, dude.”

  Mimi rushed over and took Cassie’s hand. “Wow, your uncle is hot.”

  Finn groaned.

  Cambridge laughed.

  The End

  About Mandy M. Roth

  NYT & USAT Bestseller Mandy M. Roth is a multi-published author. Her series include the critically acclaimed Immortal Ops. She's a self-proclaimed Goonie, loves 80s music and movies and wishes leg warmers would come back into fashion. If you enjoyed this story, visit her online to read more Bureau of Paranormal Investigation Series World books. www.MandyRoth.com

  Stirring Up Trouble by Michelle M. Pillow

  A Warlocks MacGregor Novella

  Magick, Mischief and Kilts.

  Some Warlocks excel at brewing up trouble.

  Prologue

  Winter, 1591, England-Scotland Border

  “Do not leave me.” The pain was unbearable in that moment of waiting, of knowing the end was near, knowing these were the last seconds he would have with his Elspeth. Tears streamed down his love’s face as he reached for her in the snow. This was not how their life together was supposed to go. They were supposed to be immortal. They were supposed to have each other forever.

  All of Fergus MacGregor’s warlock powers could not make time last. That didn’t mean he didn’t try. He cast every spell he knew, and even some he didn’t. He willed time to stop, and for a short while, it stalled.

  The trickle of blood streaming along her pale cheek slowed until it barely traveled over her flesh. Her eyes shone with pain. To keep her in this state was too cruel. She was locked in agony. There was no spell he knew of that could transfer her death into him. Yet he tried to do that too.

  “I’m coming with ya, my heart,” Fergus said, more like a plea. He let his powers slip from her, unable to prolong her suffering any longer. He felt around for his sword only to discover he’d dropped it several feet away. He reached his hand out, using his magick to call it to him. The blade began to slide in the snow only to stop when his wife’s voice interrupted his action.

  “Malina,” Elspeth whispered, making him think of their niece. The baby was silent, her cry bound with a spell. “Protect.”

  How could he deny the desperate need in her gaze? Fergus nodded. “Aye.”

  “Whatever is beyond, find me again,” she whispered. Her bloodstained lips opened a few times as if she would say more, but the life ebbed from her.

  “Elspeth?” Fergus stared at her chest, waiting for it to rise. Just one more breath. One more word. One more kiss. One more moment. One more…

  She didn’t move.

  Pain racked over him, crippling him with death’s cruelty. This was not how it was meant to be. Seven years. That’s all they’d had. They were supposed to have eternity.

  “Gráim thú. I promise, Elspeth,” Fergus whispered, gathering her into his arms. “Whatever lies ahead, I’ll find ya.”

  1

  Green Vallis, Wisconsin, Modern Day

  “Take cover, lads. We’re under attack!”

  At his nephew’s shout, Fergus paused at the top of the broad marble staircase, looking down over the mansion’s front hall just in time to see Euann darting in the front door. Euann was a young warlock, only four-hundred-and-some years old, so Fergus didn’t take his nephew’s warning too seriously. This was probably just another of his nephews’ pranks.

  “What have ya boys done this time?” Fergus asked. “Ya did not try to cast a snowball-fight spell again, did ya? Have ya learned nothing from the time ya enchanted the villagers?”

  “It’s worse.” Euann dramatically latched the door shut and pressed his back to the wood. He wore a thick coat though one would
hardly recognize it was winter by the consistent temperature inside the mansion home. “And for the record, that snowball fight succeeded. They worked out their demons and were too tired to start a war by the time it was over.” Gesturing with his hands, he magickally forced the window shades to close without touching them.

  “Date not go well?” Rory’s voice drifted up from below, apparently unconcerned with Euann’s plight. “We warned ya that girls don’t like it when ya peep in their windows. They don’t see it as charming, cousin. Now they call it stalking.”

  “It’s Belladonna,” Euann whispered. He held his arms out against the door like the devil might try to gain entrance. “She’s back, and she’s carrying.”

  Fergus frowned, wondering what could possibly cause a member of his clan to project such fear. After centuries, there wasn’t much that could rile them—even when perhaps it should. They had just moved to Green Vallis, and the place did seem to be an epicenter of both power and danger, but all the real threats had been dealt with. They’d killed the lidérc threat and the local bean nighe. One was a psychic vampire. The other was a bringer of death. The odds that a third threat resided in mid-Wisconsin were highly unlikely.

  He waited, listening and watching to see if he could detect trouble. The skies did not darken. The weather did not change. He leaned over the hundred-year-old oak banister and found Rory holding completely still midstride. Curious, he asked the boys, “Who is Belladonna?”

  “Shh!” his nephews hissed in unison. Rory frantically waved his arms, as if doing so could force his uncle to remain quiet.

  Seeing the look on Rory’s face, Fergus relaxed some. After centuries of living, he was used to his family’s antics. Unconcerned, he made his way down the stairs. The familiar feel of his leather satchel pressed against his hip like an old friend, gently reminding him of what he must do.