Then I looked at my mother and noticed she was about to cry. “Oh, don’t cry. It’s a happy day. Salvador said going forward, we will spend every Christmas with the family.”
My mom sniffled and said, “I know. These are tears of joy. My little girl is all grown up.” Then she looked to my sister and asked, “When are you going to find your mate and settle down?”
Everyone in the room laughed. If we had bet just six months ago on who would be getting married first, I would have put everything on Beth, and I would have lost.
“Hey, I’m sticking to the original plan. Going to finish college and then take some time to travel the world. I still haven’t been able to get that trip to China yet. Maybe that’s what I’ll do after I graduate.” She fluffed her maid of honor dress out and winked at me. “You ready, sis?”
I nodded. I really was ready to walk down that aisle to the dragon I planned on spending the rest of my very long life with.
Everyone took their places, and my dad came and took my arm. “Are you sure you want this? It’s not too late to run. I can give you my keys.”
“What? No sleigh and reindeer out there? Maybe I would have taken you up on the offer if Rudolph was going to whisk me away.” I winked at my dad and kissed his cheek.
“Oh, that reminds me. Did Palo make it here in time?” I should have planned the wedding date for the twenty-seventh instead of the twenty-six. Santa was pretty busy all day and night on the twenty-fifth of December, after all.
“Yes, he’s here and in a suit. And no, it’s not red.”
I giggled and then realized it was our time to walk down the aisle and was surprised to feel the sting of tears in the back of my eyes. I didn’t want to cry, even if they were tears of joy. There was no way I was going to mess up my make-up, not before our wedding photos were taken.
Besides, with all those dragons out there, I couldn’t show any weakness. I was marrying one of the toughest and most respected dragons around. He deserved a strong wife who didn’t cry in public, not even at her own wedding.
When the door opened in front of me, I gasped. I knew what the church looked like. I had helped decorate it. But with all these wolves and dragons here dressed in suits and beautiful dresses, the scene took my breath away.
My dad walked me under the arch covered in baby’s breath and poinsettia flowers. On the white silk carpet, there were red roses covering my path. My little niece was the flower girl, and both of my nephews played ring bearers.
I tried not to look at the altar and the man waiting for me, I really did want to look out at all of our friends and family, but something inside of me drew my gaze to him before I walked past two rows and it never swayed after that.
My breath caught at how handsome he was in his black tux with red tie and cumber bund. I forgot all about the decorations in the church and the people. In fact, I couldn’t hear anything over the beating of my own heart.
I knew at some point my father had given me over to Salvador, but I couldn’t remember it for the life of me. I didn’t even remember the ceremony. All I could do was look into the eyes of the man I was not only marrying tonight, but also would mate in a private ceremony with only immediate family and my alpha presiding over it. The minister conducting the wedding was human, so we couldn’t really do the mating ceremony at the same time. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was before I even knew it, Salvador had me in his arms kissing me like there was no tomorrow.
Eventually, I felt Beth’s hand on my shoulder, and her words pierced the veil and brought me back.
“If you don’t stop kissing him, I’m going to get a pitcher of cold water and pour it over the both of you.”
The entire place erupted in laughter and applause before I grudgingly pulled away from my husband. Having a human wedding was becoming more and more fashionable in the wolf community, but it was new to dragons. We were probably the eighth or ninth dragon couple to marry.
I heard Beth tell everyone they had to wait until we walked back up the aisle before anyone could leave. It was the dragons who were trying to get out before us. Salvador warned me they loved a good party and would probably eat most of the food at the reception. They would certainly be the first in line at the buffet.
I planned for it and ordered double the amount of food our wedding size would normally demand.
The night flew by, and before I even realized it, it was time for Salvador and I to leave for our honeymoon. He had made reservations for us to spend a week on the beach in the Caribbean. I’d never been and was very excited to see everything I could.
Beth was jealous and begged for weeks to join us until I told her that we would most likely be holed up in our room most of the time, and if she tried to throw cold water on us, I would have Salvador breath fire on her. She stopped complaining and just added the Caribbean to her list of places to visit after we graduated college.
To think, a she-wolf who had spent the past four years hating dragons and swore to never, ever even talk to one, besides Jax, was now married and mated to one and couldn’t be happier.
It just goes to show you can’t judge a book by its cover.
The End, For Now
Thank you so much for reading my Christmas book! Keep reading for a sample of another one of my stories that incorporates shifters.
Author’s Notes
Thank you so much for reading this far! I really hoped you enjoyed my light hearted version of Santa and his family. Each book in this series focuses on a different Kringle, or Claus girl. Next year the series completes with Beth’s story.
This past year has been a strange one. If you read my last author’s notes then you know about my open-heart surgery a little over a year ago. In Sept 2017 I went in for a major surgery and made it through better than most expected. The first few months of recovery were going well, but right after Christmas of 2017 I began having setbacks. Thank goodness I’m still here and doing better now. I had my slowest year with only 4 books published, but I feel like I’m back in the saddle again!
With this book, I was able to write almost as fast as I did before the surgery. I’m still struggling with how much time I can work each day, but it’s getting closer and closer to a full 12 hours a day. In case you didn’t know, most prolific authors work 12 – 16 hours a day, for 5 or 6 days a week. I try to only do catch up stuff on Sundays. Saturday is usually about a 5 or 6 hour day. But Monday through Friday really does need to be at least 12 or 13 hours a day, if I want to publish a new book every 6 or 7 weeks. That’s my goal this year, to able to publish every 6 or 7 weeks.
I am also planning to start a new Christmas series next year! Yup, gonna publish 2 Christmas books if all goes well this year. I have big plans for 2019, so please say a prayer that I will be able to accomplish what I’m setting out to do. If I do, you, the reader, will be very happy!
I also want to thank my Beta Readers for helping me out with this book!
Sandra Kirnbaugher
Bag of Bones (not her real name, but she’s shy)
Dawnya Goode
These 3 ladies have been with me for a while now, and with this series since it started! They take a final look at the book before I publish it. I need their eyes to catch anything I missed after making all of the changes from my editor, Candy. Candy Crum is a new editor for me and she did a fabulous job! She’s also a writer herself.
Keep reading for an excerpt from Book 1 in my Voodoo Dolls series!
I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a truly blessed New Year!
Jen
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New Orleans Magic
The Pussycat Dolls meet Urban Fantasy!
When Acadia goes missing, her two sisters come to us, The Voodoo Dolls, for help. We just discovered that magic, vampires, and shifters are real! While we are still learning about the paranormal community in New Orleans, we obtain much-needed help from Rico and his pack of wolf shifters in tracking down the missing triplet. I only hope we find her before she becomes a vampire's next meal!
Who is this mysterious vampire who's helping us? Is my sister, Kat, involved with a blood-sucking creature of the night?
We are an indie-rock band, The Voodoo Dolls, who also run a touristy shop in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Most tourists swear by our voodoo dolls and love potions. My sister, Indie, also makes the best aphrodisiac fudge around. Don't believe me? Ask the women who keep buying it and referring their friends!
This is a story with witches, vampires, and wolf shifters. If this were a movie, it would be rated PG-13. If you love anything with the paranormal set in an urban environment, then you'll be enthralled by New Orleans Magic!
Prologue
Indie
“Oh my Buddha! Kat! Why’s that vampire still chasing us?” I was almost out of breath.
Kat and I were on the run from a vampire who wouldn’t leave us alone. It’s not like we tried to start any trouble. Trouble just sorta found us.
“Keep going, Indie! We’re almost back to Bourbon Street,” Kat huffed as she ran around a corner with me following.
We were running down a side alley. It was a shortcut back to civilization, or so we hoped. There were no lights on, and the area was covered in debris. It looked like someone had used this alley as their own personal dumpster. There were broken crates, open garbage bags, and beat-up furniture lining the pathway.
The place smelled worse than any dumpster I could remember. I wasn’t sure if there were dirty diapers everywhere, or if a group of people had used this alley as their own personal toilets. My nose itched from the acidic smell surrounding me.
I had to jump over a pile of junk. Hopefully, this would slow the guy down, but I doubted it. It probably just slowed us down.
I hope I can make this jump. There is no way I could handle landing in that pile.
“Oomph!” I barely made it over the debris. My foot almost touched something brown and gooey. Which caused me to shiver just thinking about what was beneath my feet.
“You are so cute. Do you really think you can outrun me?” The vampire hissed in my ear.
How did he get so close so fast?
“Aahhhhh!” I screamed as he grabbed me around the waist and pulled me to a stop. “Let me go! When the pack finds out what you’ve done, they will kill you!” I spat in his face.
“Let.Her.Go!” Kat yelled as she conked him over the head with a metal rod.
The vampire let me go and swirled around to grab Kat. His hands were a blur as he yanked the metal rod out of her hand and sank his teeth into her neck.
“Aaahhhh!” Kat screamed and tried to push the bloodsucker away from her.
The demon from hell pushed her away and spit her blood out. “What are you? You taste like a mutt!”
He wiped his mouth with his shirt sleeve and spit the rest out of his mouth. While he was busy, we continued to run toward the safety of lights and crowds.
“Not so fast.” He grabbed us by our collars and pulled us to him.
“Stop right now! Let us go. We’re protected by the local pack. You know you can’t mess with us. It’s in your own laws!” I continued to struggle but to no avail.
“Where are your protectors? I don’t see any wolves trying to help you.” He cackled and sniffed my neck.
“If you were under my protection, I wouldn’t let you out of my sight. Would you like to be mine?” The vampire nuzzled my neck and licked right over an artery. “Mmm, I would love to keep you in my arms at all times.”
“Not even if my life depended on it!” I tried to kick against his shin, and he just laughed into my ear.
“Dear, your life does depend on…” The devil’s spawn was cut off before he could finish his sentence, and we were free.
Kat and I both spun on our heels to see who saved us. “Ivan! Perfect timing, again.” Kat smiled at the new guy.
“Who’s Ivan?” I asked, and then it dawned on me. “Oh! He’s your…friend. The one you told us about a few weeks ago?” I covered my mouth and looked between Ivan and Kat.
“Yes, he’s a vampire. Don’t worry, Indie. We’re safe now. Ivan will take care of the trash.” Kat flicked her hand toward the vampire who was struggling against Ivan’s hold.
Ivan’s eyes sparkled in the moonlight when he looked at Kat. When he looked at me, his smile showed his fangs, and I took a step back. “Are you sure I’m safe? I’m not the one with partial wolf-shifter blood.”
A few weeks ago we learned that Kat was descended from wolf-shifters. We guessed that she was only a small part wolf, since she couldn’t shift. Vampires hated the taste of shifter blood. Kat was lucky. Me…not so much.
“All of Kat’s sisters are safe with me. I would never harm any of you.” Ivan nodded to me.
“Okay. Thanks?” I furrowed my brow and watched as Ivan continued to squeeze the neck of the vampire in his arms. He had one arm around the guy’s chest, and his right hand looked to be squeezing the enemy’s neck off.
“I get it. These girls are under your protection. I’ll leave them alone, Ivan. How was I to know you were protecting them when they don’t smell like you?” The vampire continued to squirm and try to get away.
“Nice try, Vasily. They already told you they were under the protection of the New Orleans pack. You should have left them alone as soon as they mentioned Rico’s crew. You know better.” Ivan squeezed harder while Vasily continued to squirm.
“I promise I won’t ever touch them again. Now let me go. You shouldn’t even be in town. The Queen has forbidden you to feed here.” Vasily narrowed his eyes.
Ivan looked at Kat and tightened his hold on Vasily. Vasily began to scream and Ivan ripped his head off. Blood squirted on my face, and I’ll admit, I freaked out a bit. “Ahhh! Kat! He ripped the guy’s head off! How? What?” I pawed at the blood on my face.
“Shh. You’ll be fine. Just keep it down. We don’t need any more paranormal creatures showing up tonight.” Kat pulled me to her and held me tight.
“How can you be so calm? Some vampire just bit your neck, and then another one comes to save us and rips the first vamp’s head off, covering me in blood! How can I be calm?” I couldn’t breathe. My chest was tight, and it was difficult to get air into my lungs.
“Breathe. I need you to take a deep breath and release it, Indie. Can you do that for me?” Kat rubbed my back as I tried to inhale and exhale.
“A…alright.” I sucked in air a few times. Things started to clear up. My breathing went back to normal, and I wiped the blood off my cheeks with the back of my right hand.
“Are you alright now?” Kat pulled away and looked me in the eyes.
“Yes, I think so. How can you be so calm?” I shook my head.
“Because this isn’t my first time going through this. Remember? A situation very similar to this is how I first met Ivan. I watched as he destroyed another vampire who had tried to suck my blood.” Kat pursed her lips and looked to Ivan.
“Kat, you should take your sister and get back to the shop. It won’t be safe out tonight. The coven is searching for some humans who know too much. I don’t know all of the particulars, but someone discovered their lair. Or something to that effect.” Ivan wiped his hands on the shirt of the dead vampire.
“That would be us,” Kat said.
“What? Why would you go looking for the vampires? You know better than anyone how dangerous they are, and what they do to humans who discover them.” Ivan w
alked up to Kat and wrapped her in his arms.
She told us they were just friends, but that isn’t the hug of someone who’s just a friend. There was a lot more going on than she admitted.
“Why Kat? Why” Ivan whispered in her ear. Too bad I was close enough to hear and see as he kissed her cheek.
Kat turned her head and kissed him back.
I cleared my throat. “Little sister, standing right here, guys.” How awkward!
Kat chuckled and backed away from Ivan. “Sorry, Indie. It’s just been a while since I’ve seen Ivan.”
“Why, Kat? The pack can’t protect you from the entire coven.” Ivan put his hand on Kat’s cheek and rubbed his thumb across her lips.
“Because they took Acadia, one of our closest friends. We’re going to get her back.” Kat took his hand off her face and took another step back.
“When?” Ivan asked.
“About a month ago. We have been looking for her for the past two weeks. When we discovered it was vampires who took her, I went looking for you. Where have you been?” Kat furrowed her brow and took my hand, pulling me to her side.
“I left the city for a while. It’s too painful to…to be here alone.” Ivan looked down at his blood stained hands. He wiped them again on Vasily’s shirt, but he couldn’t get all of the blood off.
“Oh. I’m sorry… I didn’t realize.” Kat looked to me and sighed. “I need to get Indie back to the shop and tell Rico and his pack what we learned tonight. Rico is heading up the investigation into the disappearance of Acadia. Is there anything you can do to help us?”
“Vasily was right. I’m not welcome in town anymore. Although, I do still have a couple friends left. I’ll see what I can find. Is your number the same?” Ivan sighed and looked at Kat. He raised his eyebrows waiting for her to answer him.
Miss Claus and the Christmas Wedding (A Shifter Christmas Romance Book 3) Page 17
