The Snow Leopard's Christmas Surprise

by Emilia Hartley

  “Excuse me, I need to wash my hands,” he heard Savannah murmur to Jo as he reentered the dining area, watching too intently as she slipped nimbly up the stairs to the bathroom.

  “You don’t mind escorting her to the store tomorrow, do you?” Jo asked, a smug look in her eyes telling him that his staring had been obvious.

  “The store?”

  “Yeah,” Nick said. “Nothing big, just a few things for the office.”

  He rounded on his brother. “Why can’t you take her?”

  “Because I’m busy doing important boss things.”

  “That’s a weak excuse,” Tom growled. Nick shrugged, a small smile playing on his lips. With a frustrated groan, Tom turned to Jo. “What about you?”

  Jo shook her head. “No can do. Have you seen that office? I have a lot of work to do, myself.”

  Tom tensed, knowing she wasn’t being entirely truthful. A rattle rumbled in his chest.

  “Don’t you start that growling with me,” Jo tutted. “Gathering supplies was your thing before I came along wasn’t it? You know what to do and where to go—you’re obviously the person most equipped to train her and get her settled. So just do it. The sooner she’s set, the sooner you’re done.”

  Tom frowned. “It’s not exactly hard, Jo. There’s one store in town. One. It’s kind of hard to miss. I’m sure she’s at least seen it a few times.”

  Nick clapped him on the shoulder. “Oh, come on, Tom. Surely this isn’t too difficult a task for you?” His brother grinned, but Tom could hardly stop his scowl from deepening. “At least pretend to be nice like you normally do and stop complaining.” Before Tom could protest further, Savannah descended the stairs.

  Jo clapped her hands together. “Time to eat!”

  ***

  Savannah couldn’t help but feel a bit of surprise at how mildly the evening had gone. Tom had largely avoided any form of communication with her, which was fine with her. Things had been tense between them since Jo had escorted them to the cabin, and she’d been worried about things getting worse. Jo and Nick filled the empty space between her and Tom easily enough, making idle chat easily with her as they explained life in Woodhaven. Occasionally she’d feel a tingling of nerves deep within and she could tell Tom was looking her way, but otherwise she was able to keep up conversation easily enough without raising any eyebrows.

  “I know it’s getting late, but I’m making some coffee if you want a mug?” Jo asked.

  Savannah stood. “Oh no, you treated me to dinner. Let me get coffee for everyone.”

  “You sure?”

  Savannah nodded, the urge to help rising. Her words had been sincere; their kindness went to lengths she had never expected. The least she could do was grab a couple mugs of coffee as thanks. Plus, a small gesture like this went a long way to gaining their trust.

  “Thank you,” Jo smiled, throwing a glance at Tom. “Tom could you show her how everything works?”

  “Oh, no thank you,” Savannah reassured quickly. “Surely, I know how to work a simple coffee maker.”

  “I don’t know, ours can be pretty tricky,” Nick rebutted. “Plus, as thanks for dinner, my brother is on dish duty anyway. I’m sure he was headed in that direction any moment now.”

  She saw Tom’s eyes flash, but in nothing more than sibling anger. She was surprised to not see any challenge between the two brothers. It was as if they treated each other as equals, something she’d never expected to see from a leader, let alone two leader-destined alpha shifters. More shocking than that, even Jo seemed equal to them. A human! She threw out suggestions and they were considered fairly. This odd pack was different, to be sure, and Savannah found herself envious of the rapport they shared. Why couldn’t she have something like this with the Northern Wind?

  “Oh behave,” Jo chided lightly with a smile.

  “Dishes?” Tom growled. “On top of everything else, dishes, too?”

  Nick shrugged. “Consider it recompense for giving Savannah a hard time all day.”

  Tom opened his mouth to retort, but he caught Savannah’s gaze and fell quiet. “Fine,” he conceded grumpily, stalking toward the kitchen and beckoning impatiently for her to follow.

  She was tense and awkward as he pointed out the various nobs and dials on the coffee maker. Nick was right, it was quite advanced. She reached for a dial as Tom pressed a button to start the percolating, their fingers brushing in brief contact as he pulled away. Sparks suddenly sizzled down Savannah’s arm, her senses snapping to high alert as she snatched her hand backward. Their eyes met, locking in a panicked embrace, and Savannah wasn’t sure she was calm enough to hide the flurry of emotions that were stampeding about within her.

  After what seemed like an hour, Tom let out a small, taut breath. “I’ll take a coffee too, if you don’t mind.” His voice was soft and careful, unlike anything she’d expected from him.

  She could only nod, merely picking up another mug by way of response. He turned abruptly and began busying himself with the dirty dishware before things got too awkward. She noticed she was holding her breath, waiting for Tom to run the faucet water on high before letting the air out in a hoarse, mortified sigh.

  Savannah knew he didn’t trust her, but what they’d just exchanged wasn’t distrust. It was something deep and intimate… and completely terrifying.

  What exactly was it? Could she use it to manipulate his trust?

  I think so, she thought as she poured coffee into the mugs, but as the fragrant scent of caffeine wafted around her, she found herself wondering if she even wanted to.

  Chapter Six

  Tom thought he’d find peace back at the mechanic shop, but Savannah’s scent seemed to mark every wall and table, evidence of her earlier visit lingering behind. He knew it was something he’d have to get used to, but in that moment, his bear was nervous and impatient, the smell of her only making his unease worse. He needed that run. Now.

  “Wait, there’s something I need to do,” he muttered aloud. A responsibility at the shop. He and Nick hadn’t scheduled to work on any cars tonight though, so…. Dan. Dan needed his meds, and probably some fresh bandaging, too. He contemplated making Dan wait just a short while, just long enough for a lap or two around the shop…

  He cursed inwardly. He couldn’t do that. Even if he didn’t think it his responsibility to play nurse at first, he’d taken on the role now. He had to stand by it. With a groan, he removed the locks with more force than necessary, throwing open the door without bothering to close it behind him. If Dan wanted to try and make a break for it, Tom would let him.

  Dan was asleep on the sofa, injured leg propped up as he snored. The plate that had once held his dinner was spotless, a clean fork and knife lying neatly on top. Right beside it lay a crudely written note.

  “Thanks for dinner. Washed my own dishes. Took meds. Bandages are clean. Don’t wake me up.”

  Despite his earlier mood, Tom couldn’t help but crack a small smile at the note. All outer frustrations aside, after weeks being a forced live-in patient to his would-be killers, Dan did finally seem to be thawing a bit around Tom. They were far from friends—Dan still barely even talked—but it seemed like he finally realized they had no ulterior motive. They were just trying to help him heal.

  His healing started slow, his distrust of Tom and Nick causing him to rebel and fret, reopening wounds and even slamming his busted leg on the table. Once he finally started eating regularly and resting, his healing began to accelerate to a speed more appropriate for a shifter of his size. He’d gotten up and cleaned his own dishes—his leg could hold weight just fine now. It wouldn’t be long before he was completely healed and sent off to do his own thing—though he had to admit, the more time he spent with Dan, the more Nick’s original idea of asking him to join the pack didn’t sound so bad.

  “How would we explain you to Savannah?” Tom whispered. And at the very mention of her name, all of his emotions came surging to the forefront.

  He was da
ngerously attracted to her. He couldn’t forget the way her honey-brown eyes glittered in the light or the way her dark hair flowed in perfect rhythm with her movements, like everything on her was dancing. It amazed him how she could be the haunted lonely traveler that’s too timid to function one second, and the emboldened confident loner that had enough resolve to stare down an alpha on his own turf. She kept him guessing, kept him wondering until—with only an electric touch of her fingertips—he could hardly think at all. She was beautiful and mysterious and she drove his bear wild. She drove him wild…

  And he couldn’t trust any of it.

  He was barely out the shop door before his bear ripped from his skin. He emerged, bestial and breathless, tatters of destroyed clothing clinging to his thick coat. He didn’t rest long before tearing off into the woods.

  He couldn’t even remember if he locked Dan’s door behind him.

  ***

  Tom was a mass of emotions as he hurled himself through the forestry, his whole body rippling with anger and his mind was clouded with confusion as it fought with distrust and… contentment. Savannah hadn’t even been in their lives a full twenty-four hours and Jo was already trying to play matchmaker. It didn’t matter that he’d decided to acknowledge his irrational attraction, a rogue bear in their territory so soon after an enemy pack had attacked them… it all seemed wrong. He wouldn’t let bear instincts cloud the logic of it. There was more to her, he just needed to find out what, but he couldn’t with Jo and Nick pushing him to accept feelings he never even asked for!

  As if on cue, a scent wafted past Tom’s snout, alluring and stopping all previous thought. He stopped short, skidding on his front paws as he stopped to deeply breathe in the night air.

  Savannah.

  What was she doing out here in the middle of the night? Another one of Jo’s shenanigans had him driving Savannah to her house in the middle of town, which was miles off from where he was now. Was she just out for a stroll to clear her mind, like he was? Or…

  Was she meeting someone?

  Tom was immediately on high alert, taking one cautious step forward as he sampled the air once more. There was water nearby, deep in the heart of the woods. Savannah’s scent surrounded him—it was nearly intoxicating. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. He needed to concentrate. Taking another long whiff of the air, he couldn’t find any other bear scents. She appeared to be alone.

  A slight splash caught his ear, and he leaned forward to get a better look. Savannah was clearly enjoying the water. He shrank back further into the tree line in slight guilt. She hadn’t run off to have a secret rendezvous with the enemy…

  She’d gone swimming.

  “Are you going to come in?”

  Tom’s eyes flared in surprise and he wondered if he should move from his cover in the foliage. Realizing it was too late, he stepped out into the clearing with as much dignity as he could muster after being caught peeping red pawed.

  “The water’s lovely,” Savannah persuaded, wading leisurely in the water. Tom couldn’t help but admire from the grassy bank. Her bear form was every bit as magnificent as her human skin

  He sat slowly on the cool bank, letting the water wash up gently and dampen his paws. “I’m fine.”

  Savannah swam easily over to him, her powerful paws slicing through the water. “What brings you all the way out here this time of night?”

  Tom’s ear twitched. “I could ask you the same question.”

  “Isn’t it obvious?”

  He didn’t respond.

  “You don’t trust me.” It wasn’t a question.

  “No, I don’t.”

  Savannah pulled herself from the lake, rigorously shaking the water from her fur. She stared Tom down a moment longer than he’d expected her to, once again making him appreciate just how bold she could be when she didn’t let self-doubt get in her way. She had the potential to be so powerful…

  “I know you didn’t follow me,” she finally said. “You may not trust me, but that’s not why you’re here or how you found me.”

  Tom turned his head up toward the moonlight as it shone through the trees, letting out a long, weary breath. “I needed to run.”

  “I needed to swim.”

  Tossing his head with a huff Tom turned to walk away. “I can see that.”

  As he walked away, Tom fought with his bear and everything within himself to keep moving forward. He wanted nothing more than to stay behind with Savannah, to launch himself into the lake and splash and play and just be with her. He wanted to watch her warm brown eyes sparkle in the moonlight as she took another dive, soaking him with gallows of water…

  As if on cue, a splash sounded behind him. His paws nearly stopped moving, but with immense effort, he continued to depart.

  Before he could stop himself, he called back, “You’re not exactly graceful.”

  He heard a confident huffing sound behind him as she breached the water before he convinced himself to pick up speed, tearing off away from the lake.

  Chapter Seven

  Savannah had a lost expression in her eye as she walked into the mechanic shop the next morning. She’d hardly slept at all the night before, unable to get the strong rippling muscles of Tom’s alpha bear out of her mind long enough to find slumber. Thoughts of what it would be like to have those strong muscles curl around her in an embrace or protect her from harm crawled unbidden into her mind, and she could feel the heat warming her cheeks.

  She was early, incredibly so. Awake, in bed, alone, and unable to get Tom Brewer the alpha bear out of her mind set her up for trouble she’d rather not think about, so she’d decided to rise for the day.

  As she scrubbed her eyes in an attempt to appear fully functional for her first day at her new job, she wondered if the emotions and sensations she was having because of Tom were something worth worrying about. She’d been around dominant bears like Lucas before, but alphas were in a league of their own. Lucas tried to emulate one through by demonstrating strength and power, but there was something about being an alpha that he’d never be able to replicate, no matter how hard he tried. Tom and Nick were her only experience with alpha shifters; was she supposed to know how common bears reacted around them? Was this normal and she was just new to the exposure?

  “If that were the case, then why don’t I feel the same way when I talk to Nick?” she muttered listlessly to herself, huddled against the cold as she walked. Might it be because of Jo? Has becoming mated cut him off from that kind of alpha attraction?

  If that was true, did that mean that she and Tom might be…?

  She shook her head vigorously, effectively wiping that train of thought away. “No, no, no, no, not today. Not ever.” She wouldn’t even think about the impossible what ifs that went with that line of thinking. Taking a deep breath of the cold morning air, she decided to focus on what was right in front of her until the busyness of menial labor could keep her mind clear and her focus on Lucas’s mission.

  She shouldered her way into the office, shivering off the last lingering sensations caused by the cold as well as Tom. She smiled a greeting at Jo who was sorting papers at the front desk.

  “Good morning!” Jo smiled. “Nice to see you value showing up a bit early to work.”

  “It never hurts to make a good first impression,” Savannah replied, ignoring the exhaustion that wavered just behind her eyelids. It helped that Jo was as cheery as the first cup of morning coffee. Despite her mantra of sticking to the mission, Savannah had a hard time disliking Jo. Even recalling what Flood had said about her, and how Jo had dealt the killing blow to a Northern Wind bear, Savannah couldn’t see it. Humans were more unpredictable than shifters when fear played a factor, but even they had guilt, remorse. Jo didn’t seem to be displaying any of those emotions. As she engaged in mindless chitchat with Jo, Savannah wondered idly if there was more to the story than Lucas had originally let on.

  “You look like you could use a coffee,” Jo said, gesturing to the
coffeemaker that was already percolating a fresh pot. “Please, help yourself.”

  “Oh, thank you! This morning was quite chilly,” Savannah replied, happily pouring herself a steaming mug. “Will Tom be showing me around again today?” She flinched at the hint of eagerness that colored her voice.

  “Not really,” Jo answered. “I’ll walk you through your daily duties, for the most part, but Tom will be escorting you into town to help you stock up on supplies until you can get the hang of things on your own here.”

  Savannah gave a worried smile. “He probably wasn’t too happy about that, I’m sure.”

  Jo shook her head. “No, no, he’s happy to do it. He’s just not much of a people person and has a hard time showing it.” She chuckled. “Trust me; I’ve been where you are. He usually has everyone’s best interest at heart, though he’s terrible at showing it.”

  Savannah shrugged. “I’ll have to take your word for it.”

  Jo smiled her understanding. “He’s warming up to you faster than I’d expected him too… honestly. Just give it time, you’ll see.” Without missing a beat, she segued into Savannah’s daily duties as if that’s what they’d been talking about the entire time.

  Despite nodding when spoken to, Savannah couldn’t help but wander back to those final words Jo had spoken about Tom. Was he really warming up to her? She recalled his lingering paw steps only the night before while she lazed in the lake. Had he maybe wanted to stay and spend a moment longer with her?

  “Savannah?” Jo asked, snapping her out of her daydream. “Are you okay?”

  “I… yeah. My place is really old, not well insulated. The cold made it a bit difficult to sleep, so I’m kinda out of it today,” Savannah lied. “But I didn’t want to make a bad impression on my first day, so I’m trying my best to ignore it.” She gave an apologetic smile. “I’ll work harder to pay attention. What were you saying?”