“Merry Christmas Eve,” he whispered.
* * *
“So, what’s the plan?” I asked him later, as we lay in bed after sleeping.
“Well, first we go see the clan, and get back into running things. I’ve been gone for a year, too,” he said, his bear making him poke her in the stomach to get her bear to come out and play. She laughed and poked him back.
“Yes, you have to take your rightful place as Alpha.”
“And then, we need to figure out who has such a vengeance against you, me, the clan, the valley…everyone!”
“Wonderland Valley used to be an amazing place. It was vibrant, and peaceful, and full of loving bear shifters,” I said, burrowing closer to him so our bears could snuggle.
“And it will be again. Nothing, and no one, can take away what we have in the valley. Wonderland Valley will be great again. We’ll figure out how to help our clan, and who has it out for us. Nothing is ever going to tear us apart again,” he said fiercely, the true Alpha within him clear as day.
“But first,” he continued with a sexy smile, “my princess and I are going to make sweet, sexy, bear love for at least the next week,” he finished with a laugh into her neck. “You’re my Christmas present!”
She laughed, too and pulled him tight, loving the feel of him next to her.
The Alpha had returned.
* * *
The Panther King
The Shifter Inside Has Caused Him Unimaginable Pain
Beth is a beautiful, happy, curvy woman that's had her share of normal dating mishaps. Besides the occasional student acting up in her music classes, her life couldn't be better.
That is, until a man violently attacks her.
Just when she has lost all hope, a wild animal with golden eyes appears out of nowhere and saves her, but not before her attacker ruins any chances of her playing music again. Despondent that she will spend the next few months in physical therapy and unable to work, and afraid for her security, she falls into a depression.
And then billionaire Jonathan King enters her life. With his golden eyes and charming personality, she is unable to say no when he invites her to recover in his penthouse. The attraction is instant, and his kind personality is everything she needs.
However, Jonathan isn't everything he seems. Will his secret tear apart these Fated Mates?
This is a 15,000+ word novella. It is a standalone with no cliffhanger. This is the first novella in a 3-part series of standalone books (same world, some of the same characters, HEA at end of every book). The Panther Promise (#2 in the series), and The Panther Reign (#3 in the series) are available on Amazon. The series is now complete.
About the Author
I’m Amanda Jones, and every story I write has a Happily Ever After or a Happy For Now ending. I write Paranormal Romance with shifters, vampires, and lots of otherworldly delights.
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Grizzly Bell Rock
by Cynthia Fox
Chapter 1
“Who the hell gets married on Christmas Eve?” Gracie grumbled as she searched the storefronts and tried to avoid the holiday shoppers darting across the street.
“Your sister,” Catherine shrugged.
“She’s your sister too.” The Jeep Wagoneer came to a stop in front of a flower shop brimming with wreaths and poinsettias.
“Not claiming her at the moment. These wedding errands are getting old.”
“I had no idea finding mistletoe at Christmas would be so difficult,” Gracie said, scanning the colorful plants in the window. “This is the last shop in town. If we strike out, we’ll just have to convince Paige to use poinsettias or miniature wreaths.”
“There’s always plastic,” Catherine said while struggling to get out. “Get this damn seatbelt fixed while you’re home. It’s either a straightjacket or it doesn’t work at all.”
“On the ‘to do’ list,” she said with a wave of her hand. “Don’t come back empty-handed. We are not using plastic for our baby sister’s wedding.”
Six months ago, when Gracie first learned of the engagement, she would have suggested poison oak. She loved Paige to the moon and back, but the green-eyed monster had briefly taken over her heart. In her mind, the eldest sister always walked down the matrimonial aisle first. Really, Gracie was supposed to do everything first. College? Check. Great career? Check. Favorite, most dutiful daughter? Check. Set a good example for her sisters? Check.
“I’ll get to it,” Gracie would say when people asked if she had a steady beau. Dating wasn’t the problem. Her job in the financial sector provided an impressive buffet of dicks to choose from. The problem was those beautiful rods were usually attached to six feet of pure douche. She loved masculine men with take-charge attitudes, but money and success were nothing without character. Gracie would need to expand her dating circle soon, though. With Paige about to leave the family fold, she now had only one sister standing between her and a life of spinsterhood. Catherine probably wouldn’t hold out for long either. She was halfway through her second year of college and loving every minute of it, especially the fraternity mixers.
Gracie hadn’t even given much thought to marriage until Paige had to go on and flip the apple cart upside down, literally. She met her fiancé at the supermarket after an innocent grab for apples created an avalanche of fruit. The sweet produce clerk who helped clean up her mess turned out to be an heir to the supermarket chain. They were perfect for each other. The kind of perfect that almost made you want to puke, but also made you want to fall in love too. The green-eyed monster was soon exiled and replaced by the love unicorn.
Paige reasoned that Christmas nuptials would be convenient for everyone, with Catherine home for winter break and Gracie always taking the full week before Christmas off from work. Most of the wedding details were already completed. Miniature trees were decorated with ornaments as centerpieces for each table. Hot cocoa and gingerbread houses were ready for the dessert bar. Only the favors needed to be checked off the list. Paige had it set in her mind that mistletoe bundles tied with red ribbon were the only way to go. “It will be a kiss fest,” was how she explained it. Catherine was in charge and forgot to order the bundles online ahead of time. Now every conceivable place had sold out and Paige was blissfully unaware. Her sisters were determined to keep it that way.
Catherine shook her head as she exited the flower shop.
“Get back in there and look again,” Gracie ordered as she reached across the seat and tried to keep the passenger door closed.
“They’re sold out!” Catherine argued, wrestling the door open. “But the florist told me where we can find some.”
“Fantastic! Tell me where to go.”
“It’s called Kind Herb and Apothecary.”
“Kind Herb?” Gracie asked, rolling her eyes. “This is no time for a weed run.”
“I’m serious,” she said, laughing and crossing her heart. “The florist swears this place is legit. Start driving east on Main.”
“And then where?”
“East until we hit Thorny River.”
“Right or left after that?”
“Umm … neither.” She coughed into her hand as she spoke, attempting to hide her words. “Across – cough – the bridge – cough.”
“No fucking way!” Gracie brought the car to a screeching halt. “Dad will kill us.” She turned towards Catherine and glared. “This is all your fault.”
“You’re right, it is my fault. So, let me drop you off and I’ll go up there by myself.”
“Catherine Louise O’Reilly, you will do no such thing! You can’t go into shifter territory alone.”
“Okay, Mary Grace O’Reilly, what do you suggest?” She swiveled to face her sister and whispered, “This could be our little holiday adventure.” She held her hands in the air, pumping them up and down. “The heroic mistletoe hunters will return victorious and no one will be the wiser. The other option is to tell Paige the bad news … and comfort
her as she cries.” Catherine turned her eyes downward and let her lip quiver for emphasis.
“Well, we can’t let that happen … can we?” Gracie took a deep breath and thought about it. It’s for Paige. And my life is boring, but it’s really for Paige. “I could use a little adventure,” she said with a sly smile. “Are more people from Oak Grove crossing the bridge these days? Do they welcome us on the other side?”
“The florist seemed to think so, although when I complimented her perfect teeth … she said ‘all the better to eat you with’ and cackled.” Catherine lunged forward and snarled.
“Not funny. I believe Dad was more afraid they would impregnate us than eat us, though.”
“Geez, I would hope they’d eat us before sticking it in. Just a few licks to get me warmed up, anyway.”
“You are dirty. I love you, but you are filthy, dirty.” Gracie took another deep breath before putting the car back in drive. “Over the river and through the woods … possibly never to be seen again.”
No one in the O’Reilly family had ever ventured to the area past Thorny River. Rumor had it; the land was barren and prickly like the gooseberry and blue spruce bushes that gave the river its name. Half animal-half human creatures were said to roam the area, multiplying wildly and wreaking havoc on the ecosystem with their debauchery. Growing up, Oak Grove children were told never to cross the bridge. No one ever offered an explanation as to why the bridge was the proverbial line in the sand since shifters could just as easily cross into Oak Grove. When Gracie asked her teachers about this, they told her to “behave.”
Catherine bit her lip as she stared out the window. “Do you personally know anyone who’s, you know, crossed over?”
“To the dark side?” Gracie joked. She furrowed her brow as she thought. “You know what? I don’t. It was always ‘a friend of a friend’s daughter’ or ‘so and so’s cousin once removed’ was chained to a bed somewhere being ravaged by lions and tigers.”
“And bears, oh my,” Catherine added. “A ravaging sounds pretty damn good right now.”
“You’re in college. Ravaging 101 is a bona fide subject.”
“Yes,” she sighed, “but some of these fraternity guys are douchebags in training. They will probably end up at your firm.”
“Great. Lucky me.”
“Why don’t you leave the city and come back to Oak Grove? The world has enough stock analysts. Come here and help our townsfolk plan their way to stress-free retirement.”
“You know how you have a stress-free retirement? Marry a supermarket heir.”
Catherine laughed and said, “He doesn’t have any single brothers. Already checked.”
“Did he have her sign a prenup?”
“No. They’re in it to win it. Can you imagine, though, if you had to sign away part of your fortune to anyone you’d married for a short time or, even worse … simply slept with?”
“You would have nothing left,” Gracie smirked. “I’d only be out a few shekels.”
“Whatever. Your ass has its own stock ticker to guide the men in.”
Gracie laughed so hard she swerved a little. “Whoa! Sorry.”
“I’m that funny. Totally understandable.”
“God, I miss laughing with you guys,” she sighed. “Can you believe Paige is getting married?”
“It hasn’t sunk in yet. I still picture her as the clever girl who locked us in our own room.”
They laughed until they gasped for air while they remembered the incident from a past winter break. Paige was only seventeen and wanted to take her friends to the movies. Catherine and Gracie were hell bent on attending a party full of hot water polo players. It would have been simple for the sisters to work together and get everyone to their preferred destinations, but the O’Reilly sisters enjoyed torturing each other.
Paige had the keys in her hands and was halfway out the door before Gracie and Catherine snatched them away, tossing them over her head in a game of catch. The tormenters ran to the room they shared in the front of the house and were in the process of celebrating when they heard a click behind them. Gracie ran to open the door, twisting the knob with all her might before she noticed the doorknob was reversed with the lock on the outside. Paige’s victorious squealing echoed through the house. “It worked! I’ve been waiting all week!” She dug out the spare set of keys and zipped off to the movies before Gracie and Catherine even had the screen off the window for their escape.
“Maybe we should lock her in a room before her wedding?” Gracie suggested. “You know, for old times’ sake.”
“She’s probably already considered the possibility and has a million ways to hurt us planned and ready to execute.”
“Good point.” She nervously pointed out the windshield. “There’s the bridge. Last chance to turn around.”
Catherine looked at her incredulously. “You tell me I might be ravaged and then expect me to change my mind? Onward!”
Gracie felt her foot pressing harder on the gas pedal as if it knew something good was waiting around the bend. They held their breath as the metal bridge rumbled under the tires, sending vibrations up through their bodies. They searched for the wasteland they’d been warned of, but what they found instead was even more surprising … it looked exactly like the countryside in Oak Grove. The trees and bushes glistened with various amounts of snow, creating a winter wonderland for miles.
“Am I seeing things?” Catherine asked. “This actually is beautiful, right?”
“Breathtaking.”
“What if it’s all been one big lie?”
“Like someone started the rumor on April Fool’s Day and never revealed the joke?”
“Exactly.”
“We haven’t seen any signs of life. Let’s not jump to conclusions just yet.”
They drove for another forty minutes through winding hills until a town appeared in the distance.
“Look!” Catherine yelled, pointing forward and slapping her hand on the dashboard.
Cabins dotted the hillside. Smoke curved up from their chimneys, filling the air with the light scent of burning wood. The hills soon gave way to a valley with buildings on either side of the main road. A large sign spanning the width of the street welcomed you to Mistletoe Hollow.
“Mistletoe Hollow,” the sisters chimed in unison.
“Cute name,” Gracie said. “Even cuter buildings. Look at this place.”
“It’s like one of Norman Rockwell’s wet dreams.”
“Ewww, but you’re right.” Gracie slowed to examine the storefronts. “Do you have an address for the herb shop?”
“It’s supposed to be a red building.” Catherine suddenly got quiet. “Oooh,” she whispered.
“What are you oohing at?” Gracie turned to see what had distracted her sister. “Oooh.”
“Uh-huh … oooh.”
The object of their admiration was a tall, muscular man loading gallons of paint into his truck. His flannel shirt was rolled up at the sleeves, revealing ripped forearms and tan skin.
“You can just drop me off here,” Catherine mumbled.
“Focus,” Gracie said, tilting the rearview mirror to catch another quick glance of the man. “We’re on a mission.”
More people appeared as they drove along downtown. All the men were rugged and handsome. The women were beautiful with glossy hair, fresh skin, and curves for days.
“Are ugly people not allowed here?” Catherine joked. “I feel like we’re lost in a sexy Mayberry.”
“Check out the curves on these women. Smokin’ hot! Maybe it’s the shifters who don’t want the humans here to muck with their fantastic DNA.”
“Hey, I’ve never been happier about our O’Reilly hips. If we can’t find any mistletoe, I’m definitely leaving with a few phone numbers.”
“Pretty sure a place named Mistletoe Hollow will have mistletoe.”
“I see a red building! Up ahead on the right.” Catherine pulled down the visor and reapplied her lip gloss.
“Just in case.”
“Gloss me,” Gracie said, puckering her lips towards the outstretched applicator. “Yep, just in case.”
They parked in front of a storefront with brightly painted red siding and white trim. A porch extended out front towards the street made from decorative pillars and delicately carved panels. They sat in the car, waiting for movement in the store.
“You go on in,” Gracie said with a gentle nudge. “I’ll leave the car running.”
“I don’t think so,” she said, reaching over and grabbing the keys. “There’s no I in mistletoe.”
“Umm … it’s the second fucking letter in the word.”
Catherine laughed at her silliness. “I’m nervous! Let’s do this.”
They walked across the porch and froze in front of the door. Gracie peered inside before slowly turning the handle and pushing the door open. The smell of cinnamon filled the shop, swirling around their heads and welcoming them inside. A Christmas tree twinkled in the far corner with a small train circling the base. It would have passed for any family room in Oak Grove if not for all the glass jars containing herbs. The shelves lining the walls were full of them.
“Hello? Anyone here?” Gracie called out.
“Grrrr!” came bellowing from behind the counter.
The sisters screamed and turned to escape, but forgot the door opened inward and slammed into each other in a pileup. The growling turned to hysterical laughter as two men popped up from behind the counter, congratulating themselves on their scare tactics.
“That never gets old,” said the lighter-haired gentleman.
“I’m sorry,” said the taller one with the scruffy chin. “We can’t resist doing that to newbies from Oak Grove.”
“You guys are dicks,” Catherine said, clutching her hand to her chest as she caught her breath. “Is it that obvious?”
The taller one opened his eyes wide and darted his gaze around the room with a fearful expression as if he were imitating them. “Umm … yeah, pretty obvious.”
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