Joy to the Wolves

by Terry Spear

  “Oh yeah.” She kissed him on the mouth as they continued to dance, their bodies working up the heat, and he knew if anyone was watching them dance, they’d realize no other bachelor males had stood a chance. “I just wanted you to be sure.”

  He chuckled and kissed her again. “Are you kidding? I am.”

  Brooke laughed. Josh loved her laughter. It made him feel lighthearted, and he would always remember this pack Christmas party above all others. His first with his lovely mate.

  She rubbed up against him in her pretty red sweater dress. “This has been the perfect day, and you’re making me hot and needy.”

  Josh smiled down at the vixen. “You’re the one who’s making me rise to the occasion.”

  Trying to get his mind off what her body was doing to his, since they couldn’t do anything about it right this minute, he glanced around at everyone else who was dancing. One of the older wolves was playing Santa, sitting on a throne while the reindeer were nibbling carrots on either side of him and the kids were standing in line to sit on Santa’s lap to tell him what they wanted for Christmas.

  Someday, Josh figured, he and Brooke would have kids of their own standing in that line to sit with Santa. He couldn’t believe they were mated already, but he sure was glad about it. When he retired, he could be there with her day and night and always protect her.

  He thought of Christmas Day and what he could get for her. He knew she said she didn’t want anything, but what would be the fun in that? Then he thought of the perfect gift. She’d mentioned she needed to renovate the kitchen. The pack had a cabinetmaker, plumbers, and electricians. He’d make up a gift certificate for her for one completely overhauled kitchen, and he’d take her all over to find just the right tile, appliances, and cabinet styles to create the kitchen she’d love. He’d get a book on different styles of kitchens to give her some ideas of what might work in addition to the gift certificate, and she could have a new kitchen after the holidays.

  “Hey, did you want to get something to eat?” she asked after dancing a few dances.

  “Sure.” He took her to one of the tables filled with platters of turkey, ham, and cheeses, potato salad, green salad, and pumpkin pie, cherry pie, pecan pie, and chocolate cake topped with a snowman decoration, with wolves on either side of him and trees behind them, perfect for a wolf Christmas party.

  They filled their plates and picked up cups of mulled wine and sat at one of the tables at one end of the barn. The tables were covered in red tablecloths, and each had a poinsettia bouquet in the center, making them perfectly festive.

  Adam and Sierra joined them, and then Maverick did too. Josh noticed Lucas was dancing with a teen girl, the one he was living with now. He was glad to see Lucas having fun.

  “He’s enjoying himself,” Brooke said. “I didn’t think I’d ever say this, but I’m glad he stole the reindeer before he got into any other trouble and you were able to catch him at it.”

  “I agree,” Josh said.

  “Some of the male teens in the pack don’t.” Sierra sipped some of her mulled wine.

  Josh noticed two teens watching Lucas dancing, their arms folded across their chests, their expressions dour.

  “Maybe one of them is the old boyfriend,” Adam said.

  “As bachelor males in a pack, they have to learn only one gets the girl and gets her for keeps,” Maverick said, saluting Josh. “It’s good they learn that early on and how to process it. From one who knows.”

  Josh chuckled.

  Adam saluted Maverick with his drink. “That goes for me too.”

  Then they saw Ethan heading their way with a plate full of food.

  Josh was glad he could join them.

  * * *

  “You’ve heard Brooke and Josh are mated, haven’t you, Ethan?” Adam asked.

  “Aw, hell, that’s the end of me trying to win you over,” Ethan said to Brooke.

  “Once Josh accused Brooke of stealing our reindeer, I knew he was after her, and not for the aforementioned crime,” Maverick said.

  “You guys gave up too easily,” Brooke said.

  “They knew it was a lost cause.” Josh kissed her.

  Ethan gave her and Josh hugs, congratulating the two of them.

  “Hey, are you ready to run?” Brooke asked when everyone had finished eating.

  “We might have even more pack members running with us, if that’s okay with you,” Maverick said. “Everyone usually finishes off the party with a wolf run.”

  “Oh, do we need to wait until Cassie or Leidolf say it’s time to run as wolves? I don’t want to mess up their party. I never even thought anyone else would want to,” Brooke said.

  “No, not at all. Everyone does their own thing, so you can run when you want to,” Josh said. “Come on. Let’s go find a place to strip and shift.”

  Josh and Brooke hurried to strip off their clothes behind a barn. And then they shifted.

  God, he loved her. This time, running as wolves was different because they were mated. He nuzzled her face, nipped her ear, and licked her cheek. She nuzzled him back and rubbed her whole body against him, telling him she had claimed him too. He couldn’t wait to take her home and make love to her. But he loved this time with her as a wolf too. She was beautiful and all his.

  Adam, Ethan, and Maverick soon joined them in their wolf coats and greeted them. Then they all took off running. They were having a ball. Josh was glad she could set the business of the armed robbers aside for the moment and just enjoy being a wolf. He was having the time of his life, racing alongside her. He’d always enjoyed running as a wolf, running with his brother, Ethan, and Adam, but running with his mate was the best thing ever—with her licking and nipping at him in playful fun, chasing his tail around, teeth ready to bite.

  He swore the other guys would have been laughing up a storm if they could have while in their wolf coats.

  They ran down to a river, and she stood watching the trout swimming in the water. She suddenly woofed. She wanted to fish. They could certainly do that and have a fish fry some other time. He couldn’t wait to do everything with her, this season and every other.

  Then they ran through the woods across the river and heard wolves howl. Other pack members were now taking a run. Josh howled back, and Brooke howled with him, her wolf’s voice melodious and enchanting. He would know it always now, just as she would recognize his howl if she heard it again. Adam, Ethan, and Maverick took up the chorus of howls.

  Then they continued exploring, racing, Adam and Maverick tackling each other, something Josh would normally have taken part in. This time, he was sticking with Brooke. He wanted to enjoy every wolf moment with her.

  He thought of Lucas being at the house tomorrow, when Josh would have spent the day in bed with his mate. He sighed. Lucas wanted to earn some extra money for Christmas presents, and if Josh and Brooke really wanted to spend some time alone with each other during the day—like he was certain they would—they could send Lucas out to get lunch or something.

  Brooke finally nipped at Josh and turned to head back to the ranch. He hoped that meant she was ready to go home, but they needed to drop by his and Maverick’s ranch so Josh could pack some of his things. Adam, Ethan, and Maverick followed them back to the ranch house. When they reached the barn, Josh and Brooke quickly shifted and dressed. Maverick, Ethan, and Adam had disappeared but soon joined them, already dressed.

  “We’ll head to the ranch so I can pack some more clothes and personal items,” Josh said.

  “I’m going to relieve the other officer watching over the store,” Adam said. “I’ll see you in a little bit.”

  “Yes, and you have to join us for breakfast,” Brooke reminded him. “Lucas will be joining us to help with my website and online store.”

  The idea of Josh moving in with Brooke permanently and having her to love on anytime they c
ould get away hadn’t sunk in yet. But he was certainly ready for that.

  Chapter 24

  Josh and Brooke said their goodbyes to the rest of the pack, carefully put the Santa suit and Natalie Wood’s coat set in the car, and then Josh drove them to the reindeer ranch. Maverick followed behind them in his truck, pulling the trailer carrying the reindeer, but they lost him somewhere along the way.

  “What are you going to do about the clothes from Miracle on 34th Street?” Josh asked.

  “I could sell them, offer them to a museum, or make a special display for them at the store to bring in more business,” Brooke said.

  “I’d display them in the shop. Make up a poster with a picture of the movie cover and some particulars about the story since it’s your favorite one.”

  “That’s what I’ll do.” That was what she was leaning toward in the first place. “I love the pack. I just hope the bachelor males aren’t mad at both of us for not giving them a chance with me.”

  Josh chuckled. “They’ll get over it. Besides, the pack still has two eligible she-wolves to date. Who knows? Maybe others will join us unexpectedly like you did. I’m surprised we never saw you when you visited your great-aunt.”

  “Except for during the summers, I rarely was able to come here, with helping to run the shop back home. My great-aunt didn’t attend a lot of pack functions here either because she was busy running her shop. You know how that is if you don’t have anyone to help. She didn’t hire anyone to work for her, even near the end, because she had her way of doing things. When I visited, I’d want to help her organize things, and she’d tell me not to because she wouldn’t be able to find anything after I left. I still can’t believe she had so much valuable stuff she hadn’t tried to sell.”

  “She was probably like you and unable to keep up with all of it. She might not have had the contacts like you do to sell the really rare items to collectors either.”

  “That’s true. When I visited with her, she knew the value of antiques, but a lot of her connections had died. You know how it is with human connections. They don’t have half the life expectancy that we do. And she wouldn’t get the internet, which is the way I make a lot of my connections for the big stuff now.”

  When they reached the ranch, she took in the size of the ranch house and the Christmas lights on the house and the big red barn and several other buildings, but the red barn was what caught her attention. She stood in awe of the whole place: forested land, a river meandering through the meadows down below, even a small Christmas tree farm. She loved it.

  A hand-carved, gilded sign hung over the entrance to the barn: WILDING REINDEER RANCH. Nearby was a corral with another engraved sign: REINDEER MAKE DREAMS COME TRUE.

  Another smaller corral was near that: Where the Magic Begins.

  “That’s the corral for the reindeer calves when tour groups come out to see the reindeer. We’ll let the kids go in and pet them,” Josh said. “Come on inside and meet the reindeer.” He turned on the lights inside the barn, and it was just like Christmas. Little colorful lights twinkled over each of the stalls, and each had a hand-carved sign with gilded letters proclaiming the name of the reindeer. Each stall was trimmed in gold, and the whole barn was painted red inside, including the siding and stall gates. Up above, the ceiling was blue, covered in stars and the moon.

  “This is beautiful. I expected a working barn, not a showcase work of art.”

  “We have tour groups come here year-round, actually. So we wanted to make their trip truly special. We considered just making it all natural, but reindeer are part of the magic of Christmas, so we opted for a more magical setting.”

  “I love it. Who made the signs for the reindeer?”

  “Maverick. Woodworking is his hobby. He made them for the corrals too.”

  “Oh wow. I’m hiring him to make some display signs for me.”

  “I’m sure he’d love to do that. Just tell him what you want, and he’ll do it.”

  “You know, he could make signs to sell in the shop too. Whatever sold would be his own money. I wouldn’t charge him to put them in the shop. I love hand-carved and painted signs. They sell well. Created just like he does, too, with a vintage look. I won’t have to buy them to stock my shop.”

  “That sounds like a good deal.”

  “Do you do anything creative?”

  Josh smiled. “No. I hope that doesn’t change our status.”

  She laughed. “No. I can set up fun displays, but when it comes to creating arts and crafts? No talent whatsoever.”

  “No time either, I imagine.”

  “You’re right. Sierra says she does artwork other than police sketches. Maybe she’d liked to display some of her art in the shop. In fact, anyone who creates arts and crafts in the pack could have an outlet for their work. My mother was big on embroidery, but after she made so many pictures and pillowcases and gave away so much of it, she didn’t have anyone else to give her artwork to. She finally started selling it in their store. Maybe others have crafts they do like that.” She realized how much she could offer to the pack, and she felt really good about it.

  “That would be great.”

  Brooke walked through the barn, seeing each of the adult reindeer and the calves, petting the ones that greeted her. They all had their own personalities, nudging her for more petting, licking in greeting, more aggressive or shyer.

  Then Josh brought Brooke into his arms and kissed her. “I love you, Brooke. I can’t believe my good fortune that I met you before any of the other wolves did. And that you fell in love with me and no one else.”

  “Oh, you are so right about that,” Brooke said, then kissed him back. “I thought there was something wrong with me. Here I’d met both you and Maverick, and he was being really sweet to me, and you weren’t, yet who could I not quit thinking of?”

  “Are you kidding? After all the harassment over the reindeer? That was just a ploy to get your attention and to have a reason to keep seeing you. Even Maverick told me that.”

  They heard Maverick’s truck pull up outside.

  “He must have stopped for gas. I’ll go help him unload the reindeer.” Josh headed outside, and Brooke followed him out.

  She smiled and waved at Maverick. Then Josh helped him unload the reindeer and put them up for the night.

  “I love the signs you made. Can you make some for me? I’d pay for them.” Brooke didn’t want Maverick to think he had to do a lot of work for her for free. She explained about showcasing his work at the shop so he could earn some extra money.

  “I’d like that. I’ll get on it when I have free time.”

  “Okay. Since you have such a showcase here with the reindeer, the big red barn, and the Christmas tree farm, I think the vintage truck will work well as part of your displays, don’t you? You could decorate it for all the seasons, for the special holidays. Just have fun with it. You could paint the name of your ranch on the side. That will be my Christmas present to both of you.”

  “Who gets to drive it first?” Josh asked his brother.

  Maverick laughed. “Thanks, Brooke. I can’t tell you how much that means to us.”

  “You’re so welcome. You don’t mind that we’re mated, do you?” She knew it would be a big adjustment when the brothers were close and lived and worked on the ranch together.

  “I should be upset you and I didn’t tie the wolf knot, but I’m glad that if it was going to be someone other than me, it was my brother.” Maverick gave her a big hug. “Welcome to the family, Brooke. I can’t think of a nicer and more fun person to have as a sister-in-law.”

  She hugged him back. “Thanks, Maverick. I’m so glad to be part of the family.”

  “I’m going to head on inside and pack some bags,” Josh said.

  “I’ll help you.” Brooke hurried after him.

  Maverick followed them to the
ranch. “Do you need some boxes?”

  “Yeah. We can haul more stuff over later in the truck. I just want to get most of my clothes.”

  “The ranch is nice and spacious. You won’t miss living here, will you?” Brooke started to pull clothes out of Josh’s drawers while he began to grab the clothes hanging in the closet.

  “No. We have four thousand acres—”

  “And my thousand acres bordering your land,” Brooke added.

  “Uh, right.” Josh smiled. “If we ever decide to, we can build our own ranch house out here. Otherwise, I’m fine with living in town. We might come out to the ranch to enjoy the wide-open spaces during the days when the shop is closed, once we deal with whoever is trying to steal from you. Or at night to go running as wolves. The land and everything on it is ours, too, even though I’m moving in with you. There’s a guesthouse on the ranch we can use if you don’t want to build a larger home of our own. That way, when Maverick finds a mate of his own, he can have the house.”

  “That sounds like a good deal. I’m so thrilled we’ll be able to run at either ranch. I love the river running through your property and the forested land. It’s perfect for exploring as wolves. Do you harvest the Christmas trees?”

  “We lease the land to another wolf who grows the Christmas trees and sells them. It’s the perfect setup for all of us. We use the Christmas trees for a backdrop for promotional pictures of the reindeer, and for tour groups, we have a photo op with visitors petting a reindeer while standing in front of the Christmas trees.”

  Maverick brought in some boxes and began packing them with clothes.

  “That’s really neat.”

  “Whatever we can’t fit in the car, we can get later,” Josh said. “When we have time, I can’t wait to take you all over the property, running as wolves to see the sights, Brooke. Anytime you want to go running with us, you can, too, Maverick.”

  “Thanks, I’d like that,” Brooke said, and Maverick agreed.