“You mean let’m run wild?” asked Holly.
“Exactly,” said Rowan.
“I shouldn’t be saying this so soon, but, I’m in,” said Holly. “There’s just something about this town that gives me a familiar feeling.”
“What kind of feeling, my curvy duckling?” asked Rowan.
“The feeling I had when I realized you were the one,” said Holly. “I think I’m falling in love with Nuthusk.”
Ten minutes later, Rowan pulled into the Clan Marron lodge’s parking lot. Rowan got out of the car and went to Holly’s side to open her door for her. They went to the back of the van and started to unload the baskets of homemade treats they’d made during their last matchmaking event, a singles cooking class.
As they came back to their car to grab their final batch of baked goods to carry into the lodge, they heard a honking sound.
“Woah, stand back,” said Rowan, stopping Holly with his hand.
“What is that thing?” asked Holly.
“I have no frikkin’ clue, but it doesn’t look like anything we want to mess with,” said Rowan.
A large truck had pulled into the Clan Marron parking lot. It consisted of a large cab, big enough to seat at least five people, maybe six, with what looked like a standard cargo trailer. Inside, something was angry. Thunderous roars were coming from the trailer.
A tired-looking woman came down out of the cab, followed by four men, and made a beeline for Rowan.
“Hey,” said the woman from the truck. “Rowan. It ended up being harder than we expected.”
“So he’s in there?” asked Rowan. “You really managed to track down Kevin frikkin’ Murphy, equal parts forest ranger, hermit, and bad boy?”
“He’s less of a bad boy now, and more of a bad bear. We’ve got to get him inside, to the council chambers,” said the woman from the truck. “We can’t let the Christmas secret get out. Otherwise, they’d just deal with him out here.”
“What’s going on?” asked Holly.
“Oh, shit, I’m sorry,” said the woman from the truck. “The name’s Emily, Emily Hu. My job is to…”
“Wrangle the bad boys of Clan Marron for the Clan Elders, who make sure Krampus takes them up north to avoid getting mate madness,” said Holly. “I know. I’m guessing this one’s already succumbed?”
“It’s not full-blown mate madness, but, it’s close,” said Emily. “We have little time.”
“Go, go, vamos,” ordered Holly. “We can talk about this later. “Y’all have a job to do. I’ll go help keep people away from the truck.”
“Rowan, where on Earth did you find her?” asked Emily. “She’s an angel. Alright. We’ve gotta bounce and deal with this wild man.”
Emily and Rowan ran to the back of the truck, where Emily’s four mates and Jasper Jackson were prepared to catch whatever they found in the back of that truck. There was a familiar Christmas demon in a tailored suit, his chain in hand, ready to wrangle whatever came out that trailer. Holly smiled. Whoever or whatever was in that trailer was going to have one Hell of a Christmas.
The Twelve Mates of Christmas — A Sable Sylvan Christmas Spectacular
Dear reader,
In December 2018, I’m releasing twelve — that’s right, twelve — novella length romances in a brand new series called The Twelve Mates of Christmas.
This series features BBWs, werebears and other types of shifters, and of course, lots and lots of Christmas magic!
Follow Clan Marron as eight of their bad boys lose their shifts and learn the true meaning of Christmas. Then, follow the romances of Christmas demon Krampus, Santana ‘Santa’ Claus, and the ice elementals Boreas ‘Old Man’ Winter and Jack Frost.
Trust me — you’ve never read a Christmas series like this one.
Make sure to visit my Amazon author page often…that is, if you want to read my Naughtiest books yet!
There’s a sneak peek of Donner Claws coming up after this message! Are those sleigh bells I hear ringing…or is it the sound of a forest ranger bringing the thunder?
xoxo,
Sneak Peek: Donner Claws
He's coming down her chimney...
Werebear forest ranger Kevin Murphy's got mate madness.
He's going to turn into a grizzly bear -- forever.
Failing to claim his mate hasn't just caused Kevin to fall into mate madness.
It's landed his furry butt on Santa Claus' The Naughty List.
The only way Kevin can earn back his shift is by claiming his fated mate by Christmas...that is, if he can earn back his mate mark.
With a little help from Santana's flying reindeer Donner, will Kevin end up claiming his fated mate? Or, will Kevin lose his shift, and his hope of claiming a mate, forever?
There's only one thing more important than saving his shift -- and that's protecting his curvy mate at all costs.
Stella doesn't want a Naughty boy...
BBW Stella Schumaker is looking for a lot of things.
Trouble is not on that Christmas list.
When handsome lumberjack Kevin gets off of The Naughty List in front of her, her boss clues her in to the secrets of Christmas magic
That's why she knows to stay away from Kevin once he comes back.
After all, there's only one reason he could've gotten sent back to The Wreath, and it's not a Nice reason...
It takes a bad boy to beat a bad boy...
Curvy baker Stella has a secret -- a future she's running from, which led her to The Wreath.
That's why she doesn't expect to face that future for the first time at The Wreath.
When she does face it, there's only one man that can protect her -- one shifter.
Luckily, his shift is just as Naughty as he is.
Can Kevin protect Stella from her future? And will Stella learn to trust Kevin? There's only one book with the answers to those questions -- and it's Donner Claws.
This story, featuring a bad boy werebear and a BBW baker, is loosely based on The Elves and the Shoemaker.
Emily Hu drove the specially rigged up truck through the wilds of northwestern Washington, along the Canadian border, through the park. While Clan Marron had handled the permits, she'd still gotten hassled by some park rangers when they learned why she was at the park with the most suspicious looking vehicle they'd ever seen, but some well-placed phone calls had gotten the caravan of bear snatchers back on track.
"Jasper really owes us for this one," said Aiden, one of Emily's mates.
"If we end up missing the feast for this, I'm the one he's gonna need to kidnap next year," said Carlos.
"Em, you gotta take the next right," said Kai, who was sitting next to Emily and using both a paper map and a smartphone to help her navigate the winding paths of the woods.
"At least this thing handles like a dream," said Emily. "Ethan's real generous. Had this custom made."
"You think he told Kevin?" asked Todd. "They were pretty close back in the day."
"No way," said Emily. "The five of us only know because we 'have' to know. I could put two and two together though. I've known what the council's been doing with these bears for a long, long time now."
"The only reason they told us is that they knew you couldn't keep your mouth shut," said Kai.
"I can't keep it shut around y'all," corrected Emily. "They know that fated mates can't keep secrets from one another."
"Alright, now, we continue down this road until we see the orange flag," said Kai.
"You boys know what do," said Emily. "I'm gonna go in, try to see if he'll come on his own...but if he doesn't, well, you'll go in and get him."
"I have a feeling your Plan B is really your Plan A," said Carlos.
"And what makes you say that?" asked Emily.
"Because this car only has five seats, not six," said Aiden.
"There's the flag," said Steve. "Okay. Park here. We don't want him to see us coming."
"I'm going in," said Emily, before she got out of the tr
uck and went up to the small wooden cabin in the middle of a cleared glade. Outside was a sign reading, simply, 'Ranger.'
Emily walked up to the door and knocked, waiting for an answer.
An answer came, in the form of a sizeable shirtless man with a towel wrapped around his waist. He was barely recognizable as Kevin Murphy of Clan Marron, as his face was covered with a thick beard and his hair had been grown out to past his shoulders.
"Hey, Kevin," said Emily. "I don't know if you heard, but, we're having Thanksgiving down at the Clan Lodge."
"Uh-huh," said Kevin, looking down at Emily.
Kevin knew why she was there. He'd heard whispers of shifters disappearing after being seen talking to her around Thanksgiving. Kevin thought he'd be safe, given he lived in the park year round, but apparently, Emily had her ways of finding her victims. Was she a vampire or a succubus, like some had said? Kevin wasn't about to find out.
"Well, it's awful kind of you to come out this way, but, I'm workin'," said Kevin, moving to close the door.
Emily stopped Kevin from moving the door. She had to strain a bit, as male shifters were slightly stronger than her, but Kevin seemed particularly strong. Whether it was due to his job, or the potential onset of mate madness, she wasn't sure.
"Kevin, wait," said Emily. "Look...it'd mean a lot if you came down with us for Thanksgiving."
Emily took a surreptitious look into the cabin. It was filled with scraps of clothes, which wouldn't have been there if Kevin was healthy. Clothing burst when a shifter with a shift as big as a bear shifter turned from human to animal, but, Kevin was here on his own. There was no reason why he couldn't just disrobe before he shifted. There was no explanation as to why there were great scratches over his walls, why there were things knocked over and broken as if a wild animal had broken into the cabin. In a way, a wild animal had broken in, and now, the question was, could the wild man break out?
"Us?" asked Kevin, quirking an eyebrow. His bear roared, a roar Kevin interpreted as suspicious. He quickly looked behind Emily and saw the specially outfitted truck, a truck that could only be for one thing. He sniffed the air and could scent out four familiar shifters.
Kevin didn't bother to shut the front door. Instead, he shifted and ran out the back door, which he'd left open as soon as he'd heard someone driving down the road to his cabin. He made his way into the dark woods, woods he knew like the back of his hand, but when he heard the footsteps of not one, but four bears, he knew he was not only outnumbered but was going to be outwitted.
Kevin ran towards the river. If he could get in the water, he could cause the bears to lose their scent. He had barely broken into the riparian zone surrounding the stream before he was knocked back by one bear, and then, piled on by three more bears. The bears each grabbed one of his arms. He struggled and snapped, but they slowly carried him back through the woods and out to the truck.
The truck was a sight for Kevin to behold up close. There was a large semi-truck style cab, but the metal trailer on the back had a large cage, triple layered with chicken wire on the outside and inside and a center layer of barbed wire, all nestled inside the all-metal trailer. There would be no escaping that cage.
Emily opened up the back of the truck, and the bears tossed Kevin in the back.
Kevin shifted back into human form after he hit the cold metal of the cage.
"Emily, wait," said Kevin. "I'll hear you out."
Kevin felt the urge to shift, to make his escape while the truck was still stationary, and tried to hold it back.
"I know you would if you could," said Emily sadly. "But, Kevin...you and I both know why it has to be this way."
"Don't say it," said Kevin.
"Mate madness," said Emily. "You're in the early stages. I saw your apartment. I can see that you can barely stay in your human form right now. When you tried to escape...you weren't a werebear. You were a straight-up bear. You can't control if you shift anymore. If you succumb...you'll be a bear forever. You know that. So we have to do the only thing we can do to prevent that from happening."
"You're going to kill me?" asked Kevin.
"What?" asked Emily. "No. The council has a solution, and given that you've already started showing signs of mate madness...you'll have to do whatever it is they say. You won't have a choice in the matter. I've got to go, Kevin. We'll be home soon. You'll be getting the help you need soon."
Emily tore herself away from the cage and from the screams of the man that soon turned into primal roars. She got in the driver's seat and put her head against the wheel.
"I'm sorry," said Emily. "I...I can't do the drive back."
"You're tired," said Carlos, giving her an out. "Come back here and nap. Todd, navigate with me. Kai, just...you know what to do."
The mates all swapped seats. It wouldn't've mattered where Emily had sat, because everyone in the cab could hear the alternating screams and roars as Kevin turned from human to bear back to human again, over and over and over during the drive.
After hours of driving, the came to a halt. After a few minutes, Kevin was blinded by a sudden light, as the trailer's door came open. He saw a silhouette open the cage door and walk towards him. His bear roared. Kevin lunged at the intruder.
Kevin fell the ground, bound in chains. He struggled against the metal chain. How could the stranger have wrapped him in chains so quickly? Kevin's bear allowed Kevin to turn back into his weaker human form so he could wiggle out of the chains, but the chains tightened around Kevin's human form. Kevin turned back into a bear, but the links didn't burst. Instead, they expanded, so they were still wrapped tightly around Kevin, barely loose enough to allow Kevin to breathe.
"Stronger shifters than you have tried to break those, and stronger shifters than you have failed," said the stranger. "Jasper? Tranq him."
Another shadowy silhouette came into view and held up a big item that Kevin assumed must be the tranquilizer gun. Kevin struggled against the chains, but it was no use. Soon, he felt a sharp stinging, and then, within a half hour, his vision faded to black.
***
Kevin woke up and found that he was chained to a chair in his human form, the chair located inside a large cage, placed in the center of the council chambers.
"Wh-what is this?" asked Kevin groggily.
"Kevin Murphy, you've got mate madness," said Jasper Jackson, Alpha of Clan Marron. "There's only one solution. You need to find your fated mate before your bear takes over and you lose your humanity, forever."
"I don't have mate madness," protested Kevin.
"I know what I saw," said Jasper. "Because you're in the early stages of mate madness, we're not going to offer you a deal. You're going somewhere where you can get help."
"You're going somewhere where you'll find your mate," said a familiar voice.
Kevin looked. For some reason, Rowan Hooligan was in the room. He knew for a fact that bad boy matchmaker was as mateless as he was. At least, he had been, the last time Kevin had heard any gossip from Nuthusk…which hadn’t been in a long while.
"Rowan? Am I seeing things or is that you?" asked Kevin.
"I found my mate last year, same way you will," said Rowan. "You just need to cooperate. Dude, you've got the madness. You need to do what the Clan is telling you to do."
"Which is what?" asked Kevin. "Just go and find a mate? You think I would've if I could've?"
"No," said a voice.
Kevin watched as out of thin air, a man emerged. The man had dark black hair, a tailored suit, rough stubble, and brilliant green eyes. He recognized the man's silhouette as that of the man who had bound him in the back of the trailer.
"Who are you?" asked Kevin.
"The name's Krampus, the Christmas demon, although apparently, my reputation doesn't precede me on this side of the Atlantic," said the man. "I'm here to take you to Camp Kringle, where I'll work your ass into the ground, and you'll learn to control a new shift."
"A new shift?" asked Kevin. "You can't take
away my bear!"
"Can't is a very strong word," said Krampus, walking straight into the cage without opening the door.
Krampus tore his suit jacket off in one move and placed a hand on Kevin.
Krampus's touch burned Kevin's chest. Kevin struggled away from Krampus's hand, but the burning only intensified. Kevin started to shift, letting his bear take over his body to stop the demon from doing whatever he was doing, but it was too late.
Krampus stepped backward, exiting the cage without even opening the cage door.
"I'll be keeping hold of this for you," said Krampus, showing Kevin his palm.
On Krampus's palm was Kevin's mate mark, the mark that was meant to lead him to his fated mate.
"You can't take that!" shouted Kevin.
"Doesn't seem like you're using it," said Krampus with a smirk.
Kevin watched as the mark traveled up Krampus's arm and into a sea of similar symbols. It didn't take a genius to figure out those were other mate marks Krampus had stolen from other shifters.
"Your bear is going to come out in three...two..." started Krampus.
Before Krampus could say, 'one,' the bear emerged, kicking and roaring, out of Kevin. While the metal chair underneath Kevin was tossed aside, the chains around Kevin contorted, so the bear's four limbs were held apart, spread eagle, with Kevin's bear's torso exposed, each paw hanging uselessly in the air.
"Alright, here's the fun part," said Krampus. "You don't need your mark, and you certainly don't need your shift."
Krampus walked back into the cage and pulled a snow globe out of his pants pocket. He held the snow globe up to Kevin's snapping face.
Kevin looked inside. There was a storm brewing in the snow globe. He swore he could hear the sound of thunder. Inside, something was moving, something with brown, with four legs, but it wasn't a bear. It had horns. Was it a buck? An elk?
Krampus placed the glass of the snow globe against Kevin's paw. The bear roared, but couldn't draw its paw away from the snow globe.
Cupid Claws: The Twelve Mates Of Christmas, Book 6 Page 15
