by P. Jameson
Maxim McGray is going home for Christmas—even if it doesn’t feel like home anymore—and he’s taking his new mate with him. But his fox clan won’t be expecting the vibrant, beautiful, sweet-smelling human who’s captured his heart. No, they’re expecting a vixen, one worthy of mating the would-be alpha. Except Maxim has a different future in mind for the skulk of foxes who raised him. And his sassy Tabatha is going to help him straighten them all out.
Tabatha knows this Christmas won’t be easy, but she’s ready to go wherever her man takes her… especially when he whispers sexy promises of long, sultry nights in front of the fireplace and a real live Christmas tree. But the skulk of foxes Maxim has called family makes it clear they don’t want her around, and each day feels more like she’s trapped in a lion’s den than in a cozy mountain getaway. Maybe she’s not the right person to help him turn the clan around after all, but he’s not letting her go.
It will take a Christmas miracle to open the hearts and minds of these angry shifters, but Maxim believes in them and Tabatha doesn’t give up without a fight, so they’re destined for a happily-ever-after… or maybe a jingle bell disaster.
CHRISTMAS TO THE MAX
DTD: The Second Lap
Book Five
By P. Jameson
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Christmas to the Max
Copyright © 2018 by P. Jameson
First electronic publication: December 2018
United States of America
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, redistributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in any database, without prior written permission from the author, with the exception of brief quotations contained in critical reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this work may be scanned, uploaded, or otherwise distributed via the internet or any other means, including electronic or print without the author’s written permission.
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Cover Design/Formatting: Agent X
P. Jameson
www.pjamesonbooks.com
Other books by P. Jameson
Firecats (Alley Cats)
All is Bright (Prequel)
Heart of Gold (Book 1)
Heart of Ice (Book 2)
Heart of Glass (Coming Soon)
Ouachita Mountain Shifters
Series
Dirt Track Dogs
Series
Dirt Track Dogs: The Second Lap
Series
Ozark Mountain Shifters
Series
Sci-fi Fantasy Romance
Starwalker (Amazon)
Breaking the Skin (Amazon)
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Chapter One
Maxim McGray stood outside a small log cabin he’d called home for a few weeks and stared at the blustery sky. The wind was picking up in Cedar Valley, Arkansas, promising a mix of late fall storms and he was almost disappointed he wouldn’t be around to see them blow shit up.
Almost.
If it weren’t for his new mate’s excitement at spending the Christmas holiday in the snowy Rocky Mountains. Curling up with his sweet Tabatha in front of a fireplace while the world went white outside sounded like a goddamn dream.
But their trip to Colorado wasn’t for some much-needed R&R.
He trudged up the steps and into the cabin where he knew he’d find a couple of angry and confused fox shifters. He was mated to a human, not a vixen and they would be wanting an explanation.
The scene inside didn’t disappoint.
Rocco paced the living room, dark hair standing on end, looking spun out. In the kitchen, Jett was downing beers so fast the empty cans were forming a mountain on the countertop. Both heads snapped up when Maxim entered, and they didn’t wait to toss him their angry glares.
“What the hell have you done?” Rocco demanded.
“Is she really yours?” Jett hissed at the same time.
“She can’t be. Not really.” Rocco.
“What will you do about your father?” Jett.
“We should be leaving this town but you fucked that up, didn’t you?” Rocco.
Good shit.
“Enough,” Maxim boomed, letting his dominance flood the room until they were both brought to heel… as if they really could be. But at least they shut up and were waiting for him to explain instead of flinging questions at him.
But Rocco couldn’t help getting in just one more…
“Are you mated to the human?” he demanded.
That was the easiest question of them all. Tabatha, the sweet human who healed his heart, was certainly his mate. Not only did his animal know it, but she’d also chosen him when he asked her to marry him as a human mate would. She’d said…
“Yes,” he answered.
“This is legitimate?” Jett asked, hands going to his hips. “There’s a bond, she carries your scent?”
This was the tricky part. How to break it to them that the mating bonds of their skulk back home were all in question. After what he’d learned from the DTD vixens, he didn’t know if Tabatha would ever carry his scent permanently. Or have any of the other shifter mating qualities the Dirt Track Dogs pack had.
But he was damn well going to keep trying to mark her.
Just the thought had him desperate to get back to her.
“There’s a bond.”
Jett narrowed his eyes. “What are you not telling us?”
Maxim dragged his hand through his hair. “Have you every wondered why our people don’t have mating marks?”
“They do,” Rocco argued. “The female takes our scent.”
Maxim shook his head. “Not Ragan.”
Jett frowned. “The broken vixen?”
“She was claimed. Bred. Gave birth to a young.”
Rocco nodded. “Yeah, so?”
“So, she carries none of her male’s scent.”
There was no remark for that. Nothing but scowling. Twin scowls.
“None at all?” Jett asked.
“None.”
Rocco went back to pacing. “He’s dead. That must be why.”
But Maxim shook his head. “Others have died and no one ever mentioned the mate losing the scent.”
“But you don’t know that’s not the reason. Right?”
No. Maxim didn’t know. He was only just learning about the complications of the forced mating his kind participated in. Maybe Rocco had a point. Maybe he didn’t.
Time would tell.
“Does your human carry your scent?” Jett asked again.
“Yes.” Maxim’s voice snapped from his throat in a growl. He didn’t like the uncertainty of Tabatha not carrying a mark, a scent. But as of a half hour ago, she damn well smelled like his.
“Your mating scent?” Jett pushed.
“How about you tell me next time you see her.”
Jett raised an eyebrow, his jade eyes flashing with a challenge. “And if she doesn’t have your scent?”
Maxim pressed into Jett’s personal space. “What are you asking exactly?”
“You chose a human as yours… but is she really yours if you can’t mark her?”
“Shit,” Rocco muttered.
Maxim felt his fox’s power swirl inside and knew his eyes were a
light with his animal as he held Jett’s gaze. “Touch her and see,” he grated. “You won’t find another breath for your lungs, I swear it. I will. Cut. You. Down. Am I clear?”
Awareness rushed into Jett’s expression and he stepped back. “You’re serious.”
“Dead fucking.”
“I needed to make sure.”
“What the fuck?” Rocco spat, and Jett stared over at him. “You’re okay with this?”
“Human or not, look at him. He’s ready to spur for her. No matter what, that means she’s his.”
Rocco narrowed his gaze between the two of them.
Maxim drew in a deep breath, trying to calm his fox. “Look, I meant what I said to her.” Rocco and Jett had been in the hotel lobby when he’d asked Tabatha to be his forever. “I love her.” It didn’t come out easy. Not because he didn’t feel it, but because he wasn’t used to saying it. Or hearing it. “That’s what our people are missing. You have no idea what it’s like, how it changes things. It makes you put yourself last and her first, and you don’t even begrudge it. Do you know any of our males like that?”
They were silent for a long time.
“Maybe…” Rocco threw his hands up. “Maybe Nash. He’s always thinking about Sela and what she wants and shit.”
Maxim thought about the couple back home. Of all the females he knew, Sela was the only one who didn’t seem to hate her situation. Maybe it meant Nash was good to her. Maybe he cared for her in a deeper way than most.
Jett frowned. “She’s not very submissive but she doesn’t challenge him. Not publicly at least.”
Maxim tucked the information away for later.
“Listen, I think I know how to help our people but first, we’ve got a fight on our hands. The alpha is dying.” His father. His father was dying. He swallowed hard. “If the skulk ends up in the wrong hands—”
“You are to become alpha,” Jett reminded, but Maxim shook his head.
“When we left, did either of you ever plan on going back?”
Rocco scowled. Jett pressed his lips together.
“I thought I’d go back. I thought I’d bring Seraphina. But five fucking minutes here, and I knew it was bullshit.” He stared between the two of them, demanding honesty. “We left Colorado for a reason. And I think that reason was to find something better. Righter. I found mine. And I’m only going back long enough to help our people.”
The two exchanged glances but neither disagreed. It was a good sign. Maxim would need their help. They’d always had his back, and he hoped they still would now.
“We’re leaving first thing in the morning, be packed and ready—”
“I don’t like it,” Jett interrupted. “What about the remaining vixen, Barb? How can we just leave without seeing her claimed?”
“She will have to wait.” Maxim didn’t like disappointing his boys. But there was a lot to fix before either of them could mate.
“What about your human?” Rocco smirked. “Didn’t you just pledge your future to her? How will you leave her after that?”
Maxim crossed his arms. Time to deliver the big blow.
“She’s coming with us.”
Rocco blinked before letting off a curse and stomping into the kitchen to nudge Jett out of the way and crack open his own beer.
Jett shook his head, eyes looking like Maxim had lost his damn mind. “You can’t bring a human into the skulk. You… you know you can’t.”
“She’s necessary.”
“Why?” Rocco snapped. “You can’t keep yourself satisfied for a few fucking weeks?”
Maxim scowled. “It’s not about that, asshole.”
“Then what? If she matters so much to you, why would you bring her?”
“Look, I can’t explain it, but she broke through all the bullshit with me. She… if anyone can help our people, it’s her.”
Rocco snorted. “You’re going to get her killed.”
The words hit Maxim hard enough in the heart to take his breath.
“Nothing will happen to her, because we are going to make sure of it,” Jett cut in, staring hard at Rocco.
Rocco seemed to sober, nodding uncomfortably. He looked at Maxim. “Of course. You know I’ve got your back no matter what,” he grunted holding his beer up in salute. “Even if I think you’re crazy as fuck.”
Jett tipped his head. “You say she’s yours, we keep her safe. End of story. And you’d do the same for us.”
Maxim knew what he was asking. Jett was a thinking male, and he was thinking of his own future. His own mate and what kind of trouble she might bring him. He wanted Maxim’s guarantee of protection.
“You have my word,” he told them both. He held his closed fist across the counter and waited for both of them to meet him in the middle. “We go home, give our people what they need to be better, and fight for the things worth fighting for. And we keep our females safe always.”
Rocco nodded solemnly even if he still didn’t get it. “Agreed.”
“Agreed,” Jett murmured.
This was moving fast, but he’d show them. He would prove to them there was a better way than fighting and scrapping and forcing females to bend to their will.
“Oh, and before I forget…” He turned to leave, waiting until he was at the door to tell them the rest. “Tabatha is not the only human coming with us.”
And then he pushed through before they had a chance to curse him to the depths of hell.
Chapter Two
Tabatha stood back, watching as Maxim frustratedly jammed her luggage into the small trunk of her Tesla. She wasn’t the only one watching the battle of the hot pink suitcase vs. the hot muscled man-beast. The parking lot of Old Man Hubbard’s hotel was full… and not with paying customers.
Drake, the alpha of the Dirt Track Dogs pack was nearby, scowling and arms crossed.
The vixens and their mates stood around, some snickering, as Maxim tried a different angle with the suitcase. Ragan watched too, looking worried instead of humored. Mac was close by, carrying her son, Kit, on his shoulders.
They all waited to see them off.
At the edge of the lot, Maxim’s friends, Rocco and Jett, leaned against their motorcycles looking annoyed that she’d packed so much. But she didn’t care. A girl needed choices. Especially when she would be meeting the mother of her future husband.
Just as Maxim managed to shut the stuffed trunk, the last of their traveling party pulled into the parking lot in a beat-up truck, country music blaring from the broken speakers. They parked beside the Tesla and shut the engine off. Tabatha grinned in relief when Lexington flung the door open and hopped out of the passenger side.
“Lookie what I’ve got,” she said, holding out a plastic food container. The scent of chocolate and something baked wafted over on the wind. “Annie sent cookies for the trip!”
Tabatha’s stomach rumbled. Aaron’s sister, Annie, was famous for her food in Cedar Valley.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed how Rocco and Jett both straightened with obvious interest. Hmm, so maybe food was the way into the big buffoons’ hearts. She tucked the information away for later.
“Hey, wait,” Aaron protested. “I thought those were for us.”
“Hush.” Lexington laughed. “She sent enough for everybody.”
“Define enough,” he muttered.
Lexington’s mate was also human, and had been some kind of shifter hunter in the past. With his inside knowledge of shifters, and Lexington’s familiarity with the foxes, they’d be acting as Tabatha’s guard for the trip. Or at least, that’s what Drake had insisted on. Everyone seemed to think this trip was dangerous for her, and didn’t want her to go alone, but she refused to believe it.
She was going home to meet Maxim’s mother. It was as simple as that.
Or at least that’s how she was choosing to see things. The alternative was too nerve-wracking.
But the vixens, those rowdy darlings that she’d become so close to in the past weeks
put their foot down when she’d mentioned going back with Maxim to help his people. Drake also wasn’t too keen on the idea and insisted on protection.
This was where it got tricky. Ragan and Barb, the only unmated vixens of the group, couldn’t return to fox country. Not without being punished. Or worse… claimed against their will. Sally and Seraphina couldn’t leave Old Man Hubbard to run the hotel alone. The kind old man relied on them too much for them to leave so suddenly.
That meant Lexington was the only one who could leave her hotel post and was also not in danger of being claimed. Plus, she had a human shield to bring with her.
Win, win.
Or… sorta win at least.
Tabatha glanced at Ragan. The female had been the most hurt by the vicious foxes years ago when the vixen’s made their escape from the skulk.
The very skulk Tabatha would be walking right into.
Ragan had voiced her opinion about Lexington returning. They’d had… uh… words. Lots of bad words. But in the end, Lexington had made her own decision, and now Ragan looked like she’d be sick before they even pulled out of the lot.
“Damn, boy.” Mac whistled low, setting Kit on the ground. “You think that piece of…” Kit eyed him, “… junk is going to make it all the way to Colorado?”
“Sure, it will,” Adam said, nodding. “Never let me down before.”
“There’s a first time for everything,” Ragan muttered before turning and walking back into the hotel.
Lexington called after her, but was ignored.
Tabatha felt awful for causing their fight. “I’m sorry,” she apologized for the umpteenth time.
“She’ll be okay,” Sally said. “Really. You guys do what you need to do, and then come the fuck back. You hear?”
Tabatha nodded, forcing Sally into a hug before rounding on Seraphina and Barb. When she’d said her goodbyes and climbed in the car with Annie’s cookies and Maxim taking the driver’s seat, she was finally able to relax. As their small caravan headed out of Cedar Valley toward the interstate, she blew out a long breath and leaned her head back against the leather seat.
