by J. K Harper
Thor laughed. “Gee, thanks. Though I'm pretty sure she’s already decided to keep me.” That dopey smile he wore every time he mentioned Brynna’s sister spread over his face as he flashed the engagement band on his left hand.
Brynna's glance flicked to the bright glint of the brushed titanium band that indicated Thor's taken status. Swallowing the sharp lurch of a sigh, she beamed a quick smile before hiding her face between her arms as she grasped the railing and leaned into her stretch. She was utterly thrilled for her sweet sister. But shameful as it was, Brynna couldn't help the tinge of jealousy that her sister had found the perfect man while Brynna was still single.
Stupid, she muttered to herself. She was about to go back to the most amazing, exciting life ever. She didn’t need a permanent guy in the whirlwind hustle and bustle of global travel guiding. And it sure wasn't like she pined for a normal existence of being married—mated, the internal voice insisted, which made her frown again—complete with white picket fence, a sweet and slightly goofy dog, and a little bun in the oven.
No, Brynna wasn't like her sister, Alina, who was perfectly content to settle down with Thor into just such a normal, simple life here in Deep Hollow. Their lives were complete with stable jobs and a nice little house that did indeed have a white picket fence and a very sweet, goofy golden retriever in residence who didn't mind being owned by two shifters, even if Thor was a hulking bear shifter. And very much unlike Brynna, Alina enjoyed her yearly shifter duties and didn’t mind doing them forever.
But not Brynna. Nope. None of that was for her. She’d always had much bigger dreams. The sooner she could get out of Deep Hollow and return to living on her own terms, the better off she'd be.
Then why, she reluctantly mused as she kept stretching, did seeing an engagement ring make her feel wistful? Worse, why did it make her think of that certain pair of brilliant blue eyes, wildly talented lips, muscles that went on for days, and a quick, funny, interesting mind that turned her on like that of no other guy she'd ever met? A guy she thought she'd never see again—until she ran into him just the other night.
She’d felt herself once more falling so hard for Wyatt Webber she was afraid she might never find her way back up. Even if he was the most domineering, possessive, intense guy she’d ever known.
Yes, the voice inside her whispered, very firmly. Him. Wyatt. He's mine.
No, she commanded herself back just as firmly, pushing away a nip of pain somewhere in the vicinity of her chest. Damn you, Wyatt. Damn you for coming back here too.
Abruptly straightening up, she turned toward the path. “Do you mind if we head back to the cars now? If you're going to clear me, I need to start packing. Today.” Without looking at Thor, Brynna slipped around the railing and began to walk with a brisk stride to the small side path that led away from the creek walkway and back to where they’d parked.
“Uh, right now?” he called from behind her, jogging the few steps to catch up. She could hear the confusion in his voice. “But it's Christmas in just a few days. I thought you planned to stick around for that.”
A frown creased her face again. “Nope. You know how much I can't stand this time of year.”
Well, that's kind of a lie, the voice murmured at her. You like it. Admit it.
Not the voice, but her voice. The part of her she wanted to deny existed. She grunted low in her throat, not even meaning to do so. A peeved little deer grunt.
That was her shifter side. A reindeer shifter. Dumbest shifter type in the world.
An aggravated snort rattled inside, accompanied by what felt like a sharp kick to her thoughts by little deer legs.
It was definitely time to escape this town. Too bad she couldn’t really leave behind her shifter side. It might be cute, but she didn’t need it out in the world.
Feeling another snort start to bloom inside her, one that threatened to roll out of her mouth, she quickly said out loud to Thor, “You guys can all enjoy Christmas without me being here. Besides, it's not like I've been here for the holidays once ever since I left. Everyone else can handle it without me.” She managed to keep her tone light.
Chancing a glance at her future brother-in-law, she saw concern etched over his expression. For some ridiculous reason, that made her even more annoyed. “Christmas isn't my job, Thor!”
Brynna winced. That had come out harsher than she'd intended. “Sorry. I just mean—Deep Hollow isn't my home anymore,” she said softly. “Everyone here has to accept that. I'm grateful I could come here to heal, and it was good to spend time with family and old friends, but it was temporary. Now I'm ready to leave. And you yourself said I’m all healed up now, so I can leave.”
Silence. Smart man, he didn't press on that touchy subject any longer.
Finally, he just shrugged. “Okay. But you will be back in the spring for the wedding, right?” Slight anxiety tinged his voice. Big bear shifter that he was, her sister had him utterly wrapped around her tiny, cute finger. “Alina will kill me if I said you were ready to go and it meant you were gonna bail on being the maid of honor. This wedding day thing is so important to her that she's kinda turning into a basket case over the details.”
Brynna stifled a chuckle at Thor’s worried expression. He might be a big, brawny bear shifter, but his tiny mate definitely ruled their little roost. Although shifters usually had a mating ceremony when they cemented their bond, there were so many mixed pairings in this mixed town that most mating ceremonies were now heavily styled after a traditional human wedding. Alina and Thor's wedding was planned for late spring in a huge, blow-out celebration to which practically the entire town had been invited. Alina had definitely gone off the deep end when it came to planning it.
Brynna nodded vigorously. “I’ll definitely be back for that. She'd kill us both if I didn't. I just need to get out of here for now. There's too much—distraction,” she settled on after a moment of searching for the right word. Distraction was as close as she could come to putting a label on everything that had been spinning uncontrollably inside her since a few nights ago. Distraction with blue eyes and a deep, rumbling voice that could bring her to her little reindeer knees.
Sexy jerk of a bear.
“Sounds good,” Thor said, back to his usual easygoing manner. His laid-back, accepting nature was part of the reason Alina liked him, Brynna knew. Simple, uncomplicated, and nice. Just like Alina.
She sighed to herself. She’d never had it so easy. Labeled headstrong and even rebellious since she was little—though she preferred to think of it as being determined and self-assured—Brynna had pushed aside her shifter heritage from the word go, making her life crazy complicated in too many ways. After all, she hadn't exactly been asked to be born a reindeer shifter. Being back here now for as long as she had made all those uncomfortable memories crowd into her mind every day, made the little reindeer voice in her head more insistent, and made the differences between herself and every shifter in this town who was completely at peace with themselves that much more pronounced.
Being back here was too freaking hard to deal with, and she was done.
She didn't care that it was Christmas soon, that her family had been excited at the thought of her finally being back here for it. She needed to leave now. Especially since those molten eyes she couldn't get out of her head had haunted her every moment since the other night. The eyes that set her on fire and made her want to throw herself into Wyatt’s arms like a loony, moony girl instead of the sophisticated world traveler she was now.
Darn that bear shifter and his darned panty-melting ways.
“So,” Thor said, pulling up alongside Brynna, shaking her out of her thoughts. “You’ll at least stay for our pre-holiday dinner tonight, won’t you?” Alina had been planning the casual get-together for weeks. “We could also call it a going-away dinner for you. A temporary going away, that is,” he added quickly, laughing as he slung a brotherly arm around Brynna's shoulders. “We really need to emphasize that to my beloved bride-to
-be or else she'll—”
Sudden movement ahead halted them both into wariness. Around a curve in the little side path, a guy almost ran right into them.
Brynna’s breath caught in her throat.
His enormous stride somehow took up all the space in the path. Tall, broad, drop-dead gorgeous, with the most intense blue eyes and the faint shadow of a beard Brynna had just recently felt scrape across her face, raising a thousand delicious tingles and the desire to feel it scrape somewhere else on her body too. He wore a ridiculous red t-shirt with the words holiday mode: on written in bright green letters across his very broad chest. The second he laid eyes on Brynna, he stopped dead.
Her heart fluttered in her chest. Stupid little heart. “Wyatt,” she breathed, as startled to see him here as he was to see her.
Wyatt, her reindeer echoed, just as taken with him. Mine.
What? No, he wasn't mine. He was just a part of her ancient history. In fact, he was just a jerk of a guy based on his macho man actions the other night. All brawn and no manners. In fact—
Oh, no. Brynna's insides lurched as Wyatt's eyes narrowed to nearly glowing slits as he stared at Thor. His bear was roused, lurking just beneath the surface. Barely controlled bear. No manners, for sure. Wyatt wasn't just startled to see her here. He was startled to see her here with another guy. A guy he didn't know. A guy whose arm was around her shoulders.
Ohhh, shit.
Wyatt's entire face turned to granite. Thor sensed the danger, his companionable arm slipping off of Brynna's shoulders as he tensed. In a split second, Brynna knew exactly what was going to happen. She knew Wyatt far too well, even if it had been almost five years since she'd last spent real time with him.
After all, she'd seen this aggressive, possessive side of him again just a few nights ago.
“Wyatt, don't—” was all she managed to get out before all hell broke loose.
Wyatt lunged forward, mouth opened in a snarl, his hands reaching right for Thor's throat to squeeze the life out of him.
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Read More by J.K. Harper
In the mood for something that’s romantic but still scorching hot in the bedroom? Check out my Black Mesa Wolves series! Start with the romance between pack wolves Lily and Kieran in Book 1, GUARDIAN WOLF.
How about Beauty & the Beast…with dragons? Meet fire dragon shifter Ash and sword-wielding beauty Teagan in BURNED, part of my interconnected standalone Dragon Mates series!
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About J.K.
J.K. Harper is a USA TODAY bestselling author. She lives in the rugged, gorgeous canyon country of the Southwest, which is a great place to let her imagination run wild.
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Series by J.K. Harper:
Dragon Mates
Wicked Wolf Shifters
Black Mesa Wolves
Silvertip Shifters
