by V. Vaughn
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police searched our van and then escorted us to the border. They said to let them know if we heard from you. You were running drugs?!!!
Not on purpose, I type. I’ll explain everything later. I’m turning myself into the police here. But be careful! Fred is not a good guy.
Okay. Let me know if you need a lawyer or any help. We’re here for you, Chrissy.
Thanks. I’m glad you’re okay.
I take a deep breath and blow it out slowly. I should send Erin a message, too. I don’t even know if she’s aware of what happened, and I can’t explain it all in a private message. The last thing I want to do is alarm her, so I type, Lost my phone, but wanted to let you know I’m fine and hope you have a wonderful Christmas.
I hand the phone back to Ryan. “Everyone is okay,” I say as the waitress sets pie down in front of us. While I’m less worried than before, there is still the matter of turning myself in. I fork off a bite of my pie and stare at it for a moment before setting my fork down. I have no idea how the Canadian legal system works for a foreigner and drug charges. “Do you think it’s better to go to a US police station?”
“I do, but I will take you to a detachment center here if that’s what you want. Or…” He smiles at me and holds out his hand. “Why ruin Christmas? Be my elf.”
I place my hand in his. I tell myself it’s because I know how soothing Ryan’s touch will be and that I’ll be able to think more clearly. I’m fooling myself, though, because all it does is make me want to be closer to Ryan. I want to snuggle into his chest and let him make everything all right. But he can’t.
I think about Brenda, my last foster mom. She was a good woman who worked hard to teach her kids right from wrong. I can practically hear her telling me that I got myself into this mess, and I’m the one who needs to get myself out. I pull my hand away. “I’d like that, but running from my problems is not a good solution.”
“I understand.” He motions toward my pie. “Eat your dessert and then we’ll see about getting you to a detachment center.”
“Thank you. For everything. I—” Tears fill my eyes when I think about how he risked his life for me without giving it a second thought. He said he was my protector, but why would anyone be my protector? I’m nobody special and a stranger to this man. “You saved my life tonight, Ryan. Why?”
“Because that’s what I’m trained to do. Because—” He leans in close. “You’re my true mate, Chrissy. Now that I’ve found you, I’d do anything to keep you safe.”
“But you don’t even know me.”
“I know in my heart I love you and always will.”
My jaw drops, and I lean back in shock. “You love me?” But my surprise is for more than Ryan saying he’s in love with me, it’s that I think I’m falling in love with him too. Only I don’t trust it. I shake my head, because I fell for a guy like Fred and believed it was real. “You don’t get to say that to me.” I push my uneaten pie toward him. “Let’s get the check so you can take me to the police.”
Chapter 10
Ryan
* * *
The last thing I want to do is let Chrissy go, but my mate does the right thing, and that matters. After I ate the rest of her pie, I paid the check and we got back in my truck. The inside of my vehicle is warm from running while I cleared off the snow to drive, and Chrissy is wrapped up in my fleece like it’s a blanket with her hair still tucked inside. I want to be the one she’s wrapped up in. I hand her my phone. “Find us a station north of here and I’ll drop you off.”
“Will you come inside with me?” Her eyes are filled with hope, and I want nothing more than to be by Chrissy’s side through anything, but I have responsibilities, too. I open my mouth to speak, but she says, “You’re Santa. You can’t.”
I sigh as I back up the truck to leave the diner. “I can come in with you, but I’m not sure how long I can stay. And I’ll definitely be back after Christmas, no matter what happens.”
“Of course,” Chrissy slumps down in her seat and taps on my phone.
Heavy snow is falling, and my visibility is impaired by the reflection of the headlights bouncing off the sea of white flakes. I’m torn. My heart aches thinking she believes I’m just another person in her life who is going to let her down, but no matter how in love I am with her, I can’t back out on an entire town waiting for their Santa. “I hate this.”
“Hate what?”
“That I can’t stay with you at the station. That I can’t be with you on Christmas.” I hold my hand out to her. “I hate that I’ve finally found my true mate and can’t be by her side to protect her.”
She places her hand in mine and squeezes my fingers. “I’ll be fine.” She lets out a big yawn. “I’ve slept in worse places.”
“I don’t suppose I can convince you to wait until morning so I can get you a lawyer.”
She doesn’t reply, which makes me think she’s considering it, but then she lets out a heavy sigh and her nails tap on the screen of my phone. If it weren’t close to midnight, I’d take that phone from her and make a call to the alpha of the Caron clan in Arctic Point to get a lawyer for Chrissy tonight. It’ll be the first thing I do in the morning.
She says, “There’s a detachment center in St. Pete, about thirty miles north.” She yawns again.
I nod and glance down at the speedometer to see I’m travelling at about thirty-five miles an hour. “Because of the storm, that’s going to take a while. Why don’t you try to get some sleep?”
“Okay.” Chrissy reaches to the side of her seat and lowers the back before curling up for a nap. “Ryan?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you for saving my life.” When I glance over, she smiles. “You’re going to be a great Santa.”
“You’re welcome, and I still think you’d make a great elf.”
She chuckles, and in what seems like less than a minute, her breathing slows, and I think she’s fallen asleep.
I focus on the road as the windshield wipers hum and thump softly at a steady beat. As a warrior I’ve been trained to protect my clan at all costs, and the fact I’m about to leave my true mate in the hands of human authorities is eating me up inside. I wrack my brain trying to figure out a way around it. But when I can’t, I begin to calculate how long it will take me to perform my Santa duties in Arctic Point and get back on the road to be with Chrissy.
I wonder if a lawyer will be able to get her back to the US for Christmas. Considering drug trafficking is a serious offense, the idea things will go smoothly seems unlikely. My stomach knots up when I imagine her stuck in legal limbo. She could—
I inhale sharply when a large black object appears before me. My knuckles go white when I react automatically by swerving to avoid it. But the slippery road makes the truck slide out of control, and I catch a glimpse of a large tree before I hit it square on.
My body jerks forward before my seatbelt cuts into my torso, and when we stop, tiny bits of glass rain down in my lap. I see the tree landed on the truck, and I put the vehicle in park as I blink, trying to process what happened. I look at Chrissy to make sure she’s okay. She stares at me with wide eyes but appears to be unhurt. Before I can ask, the roof of the truck groans under the weight of the tree, and a new adrenaline spike slices through me.
“Get out.” I say as I reach over to unbuckle Chrissy. We both scramble out of the truck, and I rush to Chrissy’s side where the combination of my werebear strength and adrenaline makes it possible for me to push the tree off the truck. It falls to the side of the road with an earth-shaking thud.
“Oh, my god,” Chrissy says as she surveys the truck. The roof is dented, the windshield shattered, and the front grill is smashed. One of the headlights fizzles out as we stand there.
“Yeah. I think I saw a moose, and when I swerved to avoid it, I found a big tree instead.” I let out a whoosh of air and look at her. “Are you hurt at all?”
She shakes her head. “What are you going to do
about Christmas?”
I chuckle. “One thing at a time. Let me find my phone so I can call a tow truck.”
When we get back in the truck, I turn the engine off and find the cell on the floor. But when I turn it on to make a call, I notice I haven’t got service. “We aren’t calling anyone,” I say. “No service.”
“So we flag someone down?” Chrissy pulls my fleece tighter around her body. Snow is in her hair, and she brushes it off with her fingers.
“If we see anyone. I think I only noticed one car go by us since we left the diner.” I think about how quickly Chrissy is going to get cold and the fact I should put out flares or some sort of warning that we’re off the side of the road in case someone comes by.
My luggage is in the back, and I reach behind my seat to pull out my winter jacket. “Here,” I say when I hand it to Chrissy. “I’m going to look for flares.”
Strong wind makes the snow coming down sting my face when I get out. I notice the truck is already covered in fresh snow when I tug on the rear door on my side to lift the back seat up where jumper cables are stored. In my search, I find orange hazard signs I can set out, but they’ll be covered in snow pretty quickly. Not that it matters, because it’s going to be a rare driver who would venture out in a storm this time of night.
“Are you finding anything?” Chrissy asks as she leans over the seat.
“Not anything useful. I’m afraid we might be here for the night.” I close the seat hatch and climb into the truck and shut the door to keep snow and cold out.
“Oh.” She frowns and begins to remove my jacket. “You’re going to need this.”
“Keep the coat on, I’m fine.” I grab my luggage to search for a hat and mittens for her to put on.
“Don’t be silly. You’re going to freeze.”
“Have you felt my hand? My kind runs hotter than you do.”
“Your kind.” She chuckles and begins to remove my fleece. “At least wear this and I’ll take the jacket.” She hands the fleece to me and glances around the back seat. “Do you have a blanket?”
“No.” I hand her a hat.
“What?” She pulls the knit cap over her head. “You call yourself a Mainer, and you don’t keep a blanket in the car for situations like this?”
I shrug because I can’t tell her that in situations like this my kind can shift into a bear and be just fine with fur. “I do have hot chocolate,” I say as I hand her a pair of gloves.
“Hot chocolate?”
“The guys at work thought it went with the Christmas theme. I’m not sure how hot it is. It’s been sitting in the travel mug since this afternoon. I never touched it. You’re welcome to it.”
She grabs the drink and takes a sip. “It’s still warm.” She smiles and takes another sip. “And it’s peppermint. I think I like these guys.”
I grin at her as I climb into the front of the truck. “They’d like you, too. Want to hear the horn?”
She giggles when I hit the horn and sleigh bell music begins to play. “Are they the ones who put the red nose on the front too?”
“That and the graphics on the side to make the truck look like a sleigh. I think they had a little too much fun with the project.”
“I think it’s great. The kids are going to love it when you roll into town.” She frowns at me. “Where are your hat and gloves?”
“I’m fine.”
She huffs and climbs into the back seat of the truck. “Let me see what I can find for you. There must at least be a Santa hat.”
She grabs a large red bag that looks like a present sack. It contains my Santa costume, and she pulls out a red stocking hat. She laughs and hands it to me. “This is perfect for hot Santa.” I put it on to keep her smiling. She pulls out the costume coat and holds it up. “We can use this as a blanket. And…”
Chrissy pulls out another red velvet item, and when she holds it up, it appears to be a Mrs. Claus costume coat for a shorter, smaller person her size. Her voice is chilly when she asks, “Who is your Mrs. Claus?”
“I have no idea. I didn’t pack that. The guys must have put it in there.” I’m not sure if I should tell her why. It had to be a joke, because most werebear women are larger than Chrissy, and because everyone knew I volunteered to go to Arctic Point with the hope I could find a true mate.
“I see,” she says as she folds it up to put it back in the bag.
She’s upset, and even though I’m not sure how it will go over, I think she needs the truth to ease her mind. “Remember how I told you that Christmas with my family would mean that they’d mention how sad it is I’m single?”
“Yes.”
“Well, my entire clan knows I want a true mate and that I was hoping to meet someone in Arctic Point. I’m sure the guys put that in there as a joke.”
“How convenient that you ran into me. The perfect size for your Mrs. Claus.”
I know she’s being sarcastic, but I smile, because it is the kind of convenience that happens in my world. “We can thank destiny for that.”
Chapter 11
Chrissy
* * *
Ryan seems to think the Mrs. Claus costume I found is funny. But I don’t. It’s possible it was a joke from his coworkers, but it’s a pretty huge coincidence that the costume looks like it would fit me perfectly. Did he plan to kidnap me tonight? Was he in on Fred’s— I shake my head at myself for letting my imagination get away from me. Fred couldn’t have known I’d take the car seats out of the van. But still…
I take another sip of peppermint hot chocolate and wait for the sugar to soothe me as I think about what I know about Ryan. The man is large, fit, and can take a bullet in the butt without too much pain. He saved my life and claims he’s my protector. He supposedly works as something he calls a warrior for a large community he calls a clan, and I gather that means he’s like security detail.
I shift the Santa coat around my legs to cover more area. Probably the most confusing part about Ryan is how I feel about him. The man makes my blood run hot with desire, and my heart is full of emotions that are awfully similar to love. Actually, they’re better than the love I thought I felt with Fred. I feel safer. As if there are no conditions on the feelings I have for him. It’s like no matter what he does, my heart is going to want him anyway.
“You’re awfully quiet over there. Are you upset with me?”
“No.” I can’t see Ryan now because he turned off the lights to conserve the battery. Wind howls outside of the truck, and I burrow down deeper into his huge jacket. “I’m just trying to figure out who you really are. And what we—what’s going on. I don’t know what to believe.”
“I know it’s confusing. The true-mate bond is intense, and I bet it’s scary if you never knew it existed. But isn’t your heart telling you that you can trust me?”
I take off a glove to feel for the cup holder and set the hot chocolate in it, then I put the glove back on and tuck my hands under my makeshift blanket to warm them between my legs. My heart does want me to trust Ryan, but the things I believed about Fred tell me I’m not the best judge of character.
“You’re getting colder,” he says.
“You can tell that over there?”
“I can hear you rubbing your hands together. I know a way to warm you up.”
I let out a snort even though there wasn’t a hint of teasing in his voice. “I bet you do.”
“Seriously, Chrissy. It’s going to be a long night, and wouldn’t you rather be warm?”
Even though I don’t think he’s talking about sex I say, “Does that line work for you?”
“I’m not suggesting we take off any clothes, but if we got in the back seat we could lie down and I could wrap my warmth around you.”
I like the idea of him spooning me, and I know he’s right that it’s going to be a cold night if I try to tough it out alone in the front seat, but I’m afraid of what this true-mate thing we have is going to do.
“You don’t trust me.”
“No. I do. But—will our bond get stronger the longer we touch?”
“No. I need you to understand something.” He reaches over and touches my arm, and when the warmth of his fingers travels through my limb toward my heart, I reach to take his hand. He says, “This bond that we have is strong, and it’s something I don’t want to deny. I don’t want to live without you, but you have a choice, Chrissy.” He squeezes my fingers. “You do not have to be with me if you don’t want to be. In fact, the only way I want you to be with me is if you truly believe you can’t live without me.”
I take a moment to consider his words, and it makes me think about Fred. I spent so much time hoping for a relationship that was never going to be. And he strung me along, all the while not feeling anything close to what I did. I don’t want to be with someone like that again. “Halfway isn’t good enough for me either. But—” I let the word hang in the air unsure of what it is I’m feeling.
“You’re not there yet, and you’re afraid your physical attraction to me is clouding your judgement.”
“Something like that.” As I say the words, I realize that’s not exactly true. While my physical attraction to him is stronger than anything I’ve ever felt, that’s not what is scaring me. It’s the charming words and promises from Ryan that I don’t dare to trust, no matter how much I want to. “I need time.”
“You can have as much as you want.”
That’s good, because I’m afraid I’m going to get plenty of it once I turn myself in. While I unknowingly took drugs across the border, that’s going to be hard for me to prove. I don’t believe for a second the mess I’m in is going to be an easy one to get out of.
My body shudders with a shiver and Ryan wraps my hand between both of his. “Let me be your blanket.”
“Okay,” I say, because if I’m already shivering there’s no good reason for me to fight his plan. I move to climb into the back seat. It takes us a few moments to get arranged, but once his arms are wrapped around me and my back is against his chest, his warmth begins to sink in. I sigh with the comfort of it.
