The Snow Leopard's Christmas Surprise

by Emilia Hartley

  She glanced idly at her watch, heaving a sigh. It would be a few hours before she and Dan would be able to talk. Until then, she supposed she’d busy herself with some of the menial tasks he’d told her about before he left.

  As if on cue, Jo walked through the office doors, looking around expectantly with an arm full of paint brushes and tape. “Oh, you’re alone,” she said, giving Lucy a mildly confused look.

  “Yeah, well, I mean, I wasn’t but he — Dan left,” Lucy answered, giving Jo a perplexed look of her own. “You almost look disappointed.”

  Jo only grinned in response.

  ***

  “Oh, wonderful!” Savannah exited the back room of the office in a flurry of motion, making a beeline for the coffee pot that was stationed in the side of the room. “Fresh coffee!”

  Lucy had tasked herself with brewing a fresh pot after Nick’s second cup of the morning had drained it dry. She learned early on that the alpha pack of Woodhaven drank a lot of coffee. Forest Haven, she corrected internally, chastising herself for falling back on her brother’s old terminology. If she was going to be a part of their pack, she didn’t want to drag any potentially bad habits into it. They were good people, untainted by the darkness of her old life. Until the day she left them behind, it was her job to keep it that way.

  She smiled happily at Savannah. “I couldn’t think of much else to do around here, so I’m happy to have helped some.”

  “Oh, never you worry,” Jo interjected with a smile as she ruffled though what looked like some flashcards of paint samples. “There’s plenty to be done around here. I’m sure you can tell by the mess that we’ve been doing a bit of remodeling.” She looked up from her stack of cards with an open smile. “Anything you can do to make this interior design disaster a little less painful would help me immensely!”

  Lucy nodded. “Dan mentioned that,” she confirmed. “Though like I told him, I’m not sure how much help I’ll be. Decoration isn’t exactly my passion.”

  Jo’s smile only grew. “I’m not sure it’s any of ours, either,” she quipped, Savannah nodding animatedly in agreement over the steaming cup of brew she’d poured. “But look around you and tell me if we can honestly do worse than…” She let her voice trail off, dramatically waving her arm at the current state of the office.

  Lucy had to admit, it was a bit drab, but she wasn’t well versed enough in the art of interior design to state all the reasons why. But still… “Would you be surprised if I told you I probably could?” she asked with a joking smile.

  Jo laughed. “I’m in the same boat as you, if we’re being honest.” She held up a few of the color samples on the desk in front of her. “We’ll just have to start slow. What harm could we do with a simple splash or two of paint?” She fanned out the cards in her hand. To Lucy, it looked like two shades of blue and the exact same shade of grey on three different cards. “Which one do you think would brighten this place up best?”

  “Definitely the middle grey one,” Savannah declared. “It’s light and welcoming. We might even get a few more customers with it.”

  “Really?” Jo asked, intrigued. Lucy couldn’t help but utter the same question mentally, but with a great deal more doubt.

  Savannah nodded again. “I think so, but I’m no expert.” She peeked at the walls surrounding them. “To be honest, any one of those colors would be better than what we have now.”

  Looking at the matte brown finish of the walls, complete with a wallpapered accent to the wall that reeked of the 60s and marred in spots with oily handprints and forest mud from everyday working and living, Lucy had to agree.

  Jo groaned. “I told Nick it was a terrible color, but he’d wanted to keep the budget small and use some paint he already owned. Plus, he liked the color, a lot. Said it looked ‘woodsy’,” she finished in air quotes, her nose wrinkling in distaste.

  Savannah and Lucy laughed as she shook her head forlornly. “But would you believe that this is better than how it looked before?” she asked. “You should have seen this poor office when I first arrived. It was a train wreck.”

  “Oh, so you haven’t always lived here?” Lucy asked, realizing just how much she had left to learn about everyone here.

  Shaking her head, Jo shared a quick smile with Savannah. “Nope. In fact, I haven’t been in Woodhaven for very long at all,” she answered. “Before Nick, I was involved in the art business, pretty much across the country. I met Nick in transit to a job, and well, one thing led to another…” Her voice trailed off, leaving the rest to history as she smiled at memories Lucy couldn’t decipher. “Now, I live in a cabin with the love of my life and work here at the shop as a secretary of sorts.”

  Savannah chuckled. “I’m all the happier for it. If it weren’t for your expert organizational skills, I’m not sure if I could have been much help when I arrived.” She looked over to Lucy. “I do the finance things here. And let me tell you, even with Jo’s amazing logging system, it’s been tough keeping up with these guys and their sheer negligence towards all things orderly.” She shook her head, but there was a smile on her face. “They may know how to run a pack with ease, but when it comes to running a business…” She and Jo shared another knowing look that Lucy hoped to understand some day.

  Her heart grew warm at the obvious friendship they shared, and found herself wanting something of the same one day. Maybe she could find it in them, if she stayed. “So you came along after Jo?” she asked Savannah.

  Savannah nodded, her smile dimming slightly. “I did. As you know from last night, I was once a part of the Northern Wind pack, myself, so I know a little of what you’re going through, if only not in blood.” Jo gave Savannah an encouraging look, and Lucy could tell that Savannah was reliving some dark times before she spoke once more. “I forsook them after falling in love with Tom and swearing my loyalty to this pack, and we’ve been known as the Forest Haven pack ever since.”

  “Oh wow,” Lucy replied in awe. “That’s some tale. So you know first-hand what my cousin’s pack is like? What they’re capable of?”

  Savannah grimaced. “Kind of,” she admitted. “I was a bit low on the totem pole though, not even allowed to fight or know much of the inner workings. That was more Dan’s forte. He was a part of the Northern wind pack for way longer than me and was way further involved; he’d know more from his time there than I ever would.”

  Lucy started at the new information. “Dan was a part of Lucas’s pack as well?”

  “Yeah,” Savannah answered. “A big shot, too. Second in command before things went south. He ended up joining this pack a little before I did.”

  “But not willingly,” Jo murmured with a smirk.

  “True,” Savannah agreed with a smile of her own before turning back to Lucy. “But it’s not my story to tell. Just have a chat with him when you have the time, I’m sure he’ll be open to explain just about everything to you, no problem.”

  “I will,” Lucy replied, already mulling over all of the new information she’d received. “I certainly will.”

  Chapter Ten

  Five days passed before Lucy was able to speak to Dan alone. Their original lunch date fell through due to some extra work Dan had promised to do and had forgot about, and then the next few days were a series of rainchecks that kept getting postponed because of personal obligations, responsibilities, and general busyness. They’d spent a good amount of time together since her first night in town, but it was always as a part of ‘the pack’, the two of them never finding time to themselves. This evening, however, Lucy was determined to change that.

  “Dan,” she called, catching him as he stood from doing some unnamable task at the rear of a wrecked truck with no wheels. His body glistened with sweat from a quick patrol he’d done earlier, and it didn’t help that the fans in the garage port only blew around warm air. Lucy appreciated it, nonetheless. Fatigue looked good on him.

  He splashed a bit of water on his face before looking down at her. “Need help with
anything?”

  She smiled and shook her head. Something about the way he was always ready to help at a moment’s notice made her undeniably happy. “Could we maybe take a walk?” She saw the mild surprise in his eyes right before he grinned, and hoped she didn’t come off as too desperate. It wasn’t an emotion she was accustomed to wearing.

  “Of course,” he replied, wiping his hands on an old shop rag as he peered out the window. “It’s getting pretty dark out, though. I’m pretty sure Nick wants me out on one last patrol before we lose the sun.”

  “I could go with you?” she suggested.

  He gave her a small, sheepish smile. “I patrol in bear form.”

  She shrugged, pretending that the very mention of a shift didn’t unnerve her. “Well, what if we walk as humans part of the way? I won’t take up too much of your time; I just wanted to ask a few questions. Then I’ll head on back and you can finish your scouting as a bear.”

  He studied her for a moment, chewing over her words carefully in mild contemplation before smiling. “Yeah, that’ll work. Just give me a few minutes.”

  It wasn’t long before they set out on a walk, alone for the first time in nearly a week. They walked along the edge of the woods as they strayed from the shop. Dan wasn’t wrong; the sun was dipped low in the sky, casting everything in a quickly fading gradient. It wouldn’t be too long before Jo finished her private dinner with Nick and swung by to pick her up from the shop. She’d have to make this talk quick.

  “So,” Dan began, breaking the silence between them. “They working ya so hard that you had to pull a late nighter, eh?”

  “Oh, no,” Lucy replied. “Well, kind of, but it’s my own fault,” she amended. It turned out, sprucing up the drab, dated mechanic shop was actually enjoyable for Lucy, and she found herself investing more and more time into mixing and matching decors for the office than she’d ever originally expected to. Jo and Savannah were a delight to be around daily and easy to bounce ideas off, so when they left to deal with other pack-related obligations, she almost always had a small laundry list of approved tasks to test out in their absence. She wouldn’t dare consider herself an expert on the subject, but it was fun, kept her busy, and made her feel useful to boot.

  She shrugged. “I promised Jo I’d have some color matches tested out and ready for her review in the morning, but it took a bit longer than I’d expected. So I told her to make a night of it and pick me up when she was finished.”

  Dan nodded his understanding. “That was nice of you. Between pack stuff, job stuff, and building house stuff, I can’t imagine everyone has had much time to relax.” He smiled. “I’m sure Jo appreciated the mini vacation.”

  “Also, we finally get some alone time together after planning it days ago, so I consider the time I gave up well worth it,” Lucy replied with a smile of her own.

  Dan’s gaze glimmered wickedly in the dusk that surrounded them, and it made Lucy’s stomach do a little flip as a shock of excitement sizzled through her. Her attraction for him raged on in full force, never once weakening as she’d gotten to know him a little more each day. It would make her questions all the harder to ask, but if she got the answers she sought, she knew without a shadow of doubt that this could only lead to great things.

  “So, I’m guessing you’re enjoying your time here?” Dan asked, looking back out into the trees as they walked.

  Lucy nodded. “Oh yes, of course. It’s amazing here, unlike anything I’ve ever known before. Everyone is so kind and welcoming…” Her smile faded as she worked up the courage to get to business. “It’s just—well, I do have a few concerns.”

  Dan let the silence fill between them for a few moments. “Has the pack not been accommodating enough for you?” He didn’t sound accusatory, merely curious, but Lucy mentally kicked herself. She hadn’t realized how selfish her words had sounded until she said them out loud.

  “Of course they have!” she backpedaled. “This has nothing to do with the way I’ve been treated. You all have all been very generous, all things considered.”

  “Oh, okay,” he replied, a confused smile tugging at his lips. “You know, if you have any confusion about pack things, it’s probably best to take them up with Nick. He won’t bite, and I’m sure he’d be more than happy to help you understand us better.”

  “I know that,” she said quietly, casting her gaze ahead to keep from feeling too uneasy. “And it’s not that I don’t trust Nick; he’s gone above and beyond to make me feel welcome when I’m a million percent sure I’d never be able to do the same for a stranger. But…” She sighed as she collected her thoughts, working out the best way to finish speaking them aloud.

  “But there’s just something about you,” she continued with a rueful smile, working hard to ignore the way Dan’s gaze snapped to her as the words left her mouth. “I know we don’t know each other well,” she continued, “but there’s just something about you that makes me feel… safe.” She shrugged. “I’m not sure if it’s some primal bear instinct, or women’s intuition, or maybe the way you took that punch from Dom like a trooper, but it’s true.”

  She finally worked up the urge to smile directly at him, but only for a moment. “I get a tightness of nerves and maybe a little fear in my chest when I have to talk to new shifters, and it takes a while for it to go away. But with your pack, that feeling is fading faster than ever before. And with you, that feeling doesn’t exist.” She shook her head softly. “It never has.”

  She fell silent for a bit to let her words settle in his mind before chuckling. “I don’t expect you to understand, or anything, sailor. I imagine I sound pretty silly right now.”

  “It doesn’t sound silly at all,” Dan replied, warmly. “In fact, I feel the same way.” He grinned over at her. “The feeling safe around you part, anyway. So please,” he begged mildly, sparks of heat and electricity shooting up her arm as he slid his fingers through hers for the first time, “Tell me what’s bothering you. If you feel I’m the best person to talk to, I won’t question it. I’m all ears.”

  Lucy’s breath was coming a bit too quickly as he waited for her to speak. Did he not feel what she did when they touched, or was he just really good at hiding it? She wasn’t sure, but now wasn’t the time to question it. She had more important matters to address.

  Without further preamble, she spoke. “I guess I’m just wondering about all of you,” she began. “Dom didn’t tell me much; I only know what little information I could pick up in broken bits of conversation between him and Lucas. So, naturally, there’s still a fair bit I have to learn.” She looked up at him, sheepishly. “I know, I said I’d ask a few questions. That’s not really a question.”

  He flashed her a grin, but his easygoing manner only made her more worried. “Just tell me where you want to start,” he prompted.

  “Okay,” she replied, refortifying her resolve before continuing. “A few days back, Savannah told me that along with her, you were also a part of this Northern Wind pack. Is that true?”

  He nodded easily, unfazed by the sterner tone of her voice. “Yeah, I was, but that’s all behind me now. I’m much better off because of it.”

  “I heard once that in my cousin’s pack, he forces his members to stay in bear almost all the time,” she continued. “Is that true?”

  He nodded again. “It is.” A shudder ran up her spine at the answer. The very thought of being forced into that form and forced to stay in it as it drained your very humanity away made her shudder… How could someone of her own blood be so cruel?

  “How does that make you feel?” she asked quietly.

  Dan paused his walk to ponder the question. “Me personally? I didn’t mind. I’ve always enjoyed my bear form. In the Northern Wind, strict obedience was all I knew—that’s all anyone in that pack knows—so at the time, I didn’t even know there was another choice to be denied, so to be, it didn’t feel like Lucas was forcing us to do anything. It was… just the way things were.”

  He l
ooked up at her. “But now? I can see what he’s doing is completely unacceptable. Not everyone’s like me, and just because I enjoy my bear enough to be one every day, it should be a choice, not a dictation. What Lucas is doing is wrong, full stop.”

  Lucy nodded, satisfied enough with his response. “If you didn’t know any better, how did you find this pack?” she asked.

  “Well,” he began, rubbing the back of his neck. The expression on his face was eerily similar to how Savannah and Jo looked when they’d brought up this topic. “I almost… died?” he finished with an embarrassed smile.

  “What?” Lucy exclaimed, a gasp catching in her throat.

  Dan laughed at her reaction. “That’s not even the worst part. The person who nearly did it was someone in this pack. Wanna guess who?”

  Lucy’s mind drew a blank. They all seemed to get along so well. The thought of one of them nearly killing him simply did not compute in her head. “Who?”

  “Jo!” he revealed with a huge grin on his face, like he’d just presented the biggest punch line of the century. Lucy didn’t speak, her brain working fast to see if this was all actually just some silly joke he’d decided to tell. From the look on his face, he was completely serious, if a little silly in the delivery.

  She didn’t know what expression was on her face, but it made Dan bark a boisterous laugh as he gazed at her. “I know, right? Rammed me right in the gut with her car. Not that I could blame her, I was under orders to kill her mate, but still. Of all people, the human almost takes out the enemy pack’s second in command. I learned the definition of irony that night.”

  He chuckled to himself. “But yeah, that’s how it all went down. Lucas left me there in the dirt to rot, and Jo just can’t help but take in anyone that needs help, even if the ‘anyone’ in this case happened to be an enemy.” He grinned, eyes lost in the memories. “Even though they were under no obligation, they nursed me back to health, and slowly I learned what a good pack was and how much the Northern Wind wasn’t.”