"I couldn't shift in front of them so I took off. I out ran them no problem but by the time I was sure they couldn't track me, I was a long way from home. It took me awhile to get back. By the time I made it home I realized what a damn fool I'd been to think I could ever take a mate."
Dan's eyes went cloudy and his voice faltered on the last word.
"Andi, I knew you as soon as I walked into the coffee shop that day. You're the woman for me. The only woman I'll be with for as long as you're alive on this earth. But I can't ask you to be my mate. Turning you would mean putting you in the same constant danger of being discovered. I don't want that life for you."
"Turn?" Andi wasn't sure she understood.
"Yeah. Turn. Make you into a bear shifter like me."
"And we can't be together if you don't Turn me?" She stirred her coffee with a long spoon.
Dan was quiet for a minute, "Yeah. We could. But shifters live a long time. If you don't Turn there'll be other challenges too."
"Don't you think this is the sort of thing you should let me decide? Before you go off walking away from a good thing? If I'm your mate, as you put it, don't think you think that maybe I feel that too? Maybe you're my mate too?" Andi wasn't sure it really worked that way but it seemed as good as any other explanation for the way she felt about him.
"You'd wanna be with a big ol' grumpy bear?" Dan leaned forward across the table and gave her a hard look.
"Yes. Yes, I would want to be with a big ol' grumpy bear." She scolded, "At least," she dropped her eyes and whispered softly, "I want to be with this grumpy bear."
Dan reached across the table and took her hand in his, "Even if he ruined your Christmas by throwin that no good loser out?"
Andi laughed, "I take it back. You saved my Christmas by throwing that no good loser out."
Epilogue
Andi discovered that Mike hadn't even bothered going back to the apartment after his encounter with the angry grizzly. She opened the door to find his duffle bag still sitting where he'd left it, a voicemail on her cell phone proclaiming that he'd gone back home and that she could "damn well" be sure she wasn't welcome to join him.
Dan had laughed heartily and played the message several times just to hear the fear in Mike's voice as he told her he would never set foot in Silver Peak again.
"Fine by me," Dan said as he deleted the message on her phone, "We can ship him his stuff," he frowned as he kicked the heavy bag, "C.O.D." he added.
* * *
Midnight rang in to the sounds of several hundred of their friends and neighbors at the Coydog's annual festival as nearly everyone in town gathered with their best noise makers to chase the evil spirits away from the new year.
Andi stood on the shore by the upper lake and watched the party rage on the decks above them after a traditional kiss to start the new year right. Dan wrapped his arms around her shoulders as the partiers above waved down at the couple by the frozen edge of the water.
"So...by this time next month?" She asked as she waved back at Jen and her new suitor.
"Full moon should be right around the end of the month." Dan whispered against her ear in the deep, husky voice that set her insides on fire.
"And then I won't be so cold out here?" She laughed as she threw her arms back around his neck and looked up at him.
"You won't be so cold," He promised.
"Then let's get home and do this." She tugged at his neck until he bent down to kiss her again.
His hands slid down over the waist of her jeans, cupping her ass in his broad palms and pulling her against his growing hardness, "Or we could just do it right here," he rasped against her neck.
Her hands slid under the edge of his thick flannel shirt, "Or we could do it right here," she giggled as his hand made it's way into her pants, his fingers pressing into her moistness.
Andi moaned against him and let him carry her to the blanket he'd laid out out of sight of the rest of the party. Laying down on the blanket over the bed of snow, they kissed and groped while the music played on above them.
She was already eager from an evening of dancing and teasing, her anticipation heightened by her decision. Dan knelt between her knees, his warmth keeping her from trembling with the cold but not from her desire, "are you sure?" He asked yet again.
She bit her lip and nodded firmly, pulling his hips toward her so that she could feel him inside her. Rocking her hips against his, she closed her eyes and savored the pleasure of him moving with her.
The bite was unexpected. Just at the point when the stars were beginning to spin above her, when she felt herself calling out, her voice lost in the noise above, his teeth sunk into her shoulder and latched on as he rode out his climax and hers.
They relaxed together and Dan gently kissed her new wound till it no longer burned.
She watched the waning moon as it slowly crossed the sky. It's phases had never meant much to her till now.
"You're mine now, you know," Dan murmured groggily against her, "You're stuck with this grumpy ol' bear."
"I love this grumpy ol' bear," She smiled as she brushed his hair from his face.
"This grumpy ol' bear loves you too."
* * *
Thank you for reading
How the Bear Stole Christmas
A Sierra Moon Shifters Book
I hope you enjoyed Andi and Dan's story.
Look for the next book in the Sierra Moon Shifters series: Bearly Sleeping
Other books in the Sierra Moon Shifters Series:
Quest of the Alpha: Sierra Moon Book One
Return of the Pack: Sierra Moon Book Two
Mated for Life: Sierra Moon Book Three
Lion in Wait: Sierra Moon Book Four
About the Author
Inspired by the real lives and loves of the women that she's known personally, Claire prefers to create heroines for real life-- what we see in ourselves, what we see in others, and what we want to be.
A little too curvy? A little past our prime? A little too picky to settle for anything less than the real thing in the right package? Claire's heroines always meet their match-- and their mate--whether it's a ruggedly handsome adventurer, or a seriously sexy alpha bear shifter, or just the new neighbor across the hall.
Whether you prefer your happy endings with a dose of reality or in the paws of a sexy shapeshifter, Claire probably has a story for you.
Most of Claire's books are in short story format because that's what she loves to read herself. Perfect for a bedtime story or a lunch break read.
If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review to help others find it.
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Visit Claire's Website
New Year Wolf
by J.K. Harper
Chapter 1
The solid thwack of fist meeting flesh in a decisive thump tore through the already heightened frenzy of the room. With a roar, the amped crowd whooped and hollered their approval as the young wolf shifter in the ring shook his bloodied hands over his head in exultation before taking a small victory lap.
Rielle Amoux's face blazed into a thrilled smile as her wolf howled appreciatively inside her. Who knew she'd ever be so excited to see such wanton carnage? Then again, a lot of things had changed after she'd recognized her soul mate in the roughest, toughest, sexiest wolf she'd ever known. She looked around for him, knowing he'd be front and center watching his fighter win the match.
“Ah, hell, yeah!” the voice of said sexiest wolf shifter ever shouted from the side of the ring. “Winnah, winnah, chicken dinnah!”
Rielle giggled at the goofball coming out in her mate as the tall, supremely well-built man easily vaulted over the ropes and flung himself into the ring to pummel the victor with enthusiastic slaps to the back, then a huge hug that lifted the younger shifter off his feet. The winning fighter seemed about ready to squeak in the bear hug he got from his tr
ainer and Rielle's mate, Caleb Bardou.
It was a totally manly style hug, of course, Rielle noted, shaking her head although she still smiled with bursting pride. Cub did well, her wolf whispered. Yes, the cub had, so he deserved a hug. Wolf shifters tended to touch a lot anyway, within reason. But of course Caleb was nothing if not a guy's guy, so manly-man type hugs only. No one in the world knew his soft side except for her. And that, she thought with immense, suddenly blushing satisfaction, was a secret she'd always keep.
Mate, her wolf agreed, looking out of Rielle's eyes with what she knew would be a slight golden glow. It was really nice to be among shifters and not have to hide such aspects of her true self.
A nudge on her shoulder reminded her of her keepers. Caleb's older sister, Lily, and her mate, Kieran, flanked her on either side. Rielle, who usually felt pretty secure in her own safety as she went about her life, had protested only mildly when Caleb had laid down the rules for her attendance at this all-important fight.
“If you plan to be there, Ree,” he'd said with the solemnity of a proclamation, “some Pack Guardians are coming to watch over you. I can't be distracted worrying about you.” His ruggedly gorgeous face had settled into the deadly grim expression that stopped many a shifter cold just at the sight. “The fight ring audience is no place for a wolf with no street smarts or fight skills of her own.”
“I do so have street smarts,” she'd said with a tiny huff, raising her eyebrows at him as she mocked glared up at him. He towered over her by more than a foot.
“Yeah?” he'd said, narrowing his brilliant azure eyes back down at her. “Prove 'em.”
“Oh, I will,” she'd promised, her voice going suddenly husky. “Later tonight, when we're home alone.”
She'd really enjoyed seeing Caleb's face change from overly protective to majorly aroused in about half a heartbeat. They'd had a lot of fun, um, role playing lately. She never would have thought it, but Rielle was pretty shameless when it came to researching sexy new scenarios for them to act out. Especially when they ended up with both of them screaming in sheer bliss.
In her mind, her wolf lolled her tongue out in approval of such antics. Rielle forced herself to focus on the here and now before her baser emotions started broadcasting to the shifter crowd. Because Caleb had been right, of course. The fight scene for shifters, while totally sanctioned and legitimate, tended to get pretty crazy. Rielle wasn't a Guardian, who trained long and hard to keep battle ready, and she didn't have the skills to keep herself safe among a crowd of shifters hungry to watch some bloody battering that would have sent every participant to the hospital had they been human. Small but feisty redhead Lily and long, lean Kieran were both Guardians for the Black Mesa Wolf Pack. They were also both alpha wolves, which afforded them even more instinctive respect from every shifter they encountered.
“My baby brother, the head dork of dorky quoters and king of the ring,” Lily said with an expressive eye roll. But pure big sister pride shone through her voice. “I'm so glad we got to be here to see this!”
She and her mate had accompanied Rielle to the fights with some eagerness. Caleb's new star as a fight trainer was rising. To see him recover from the most devastating blow of his life was something his immediate family enjoyed watching. He was teaching and leading by example, and it turned out he was really good at it. Good enough to gain the respect of the shifter cage fighting world.
And, Rielle knew, he still secretly hoped good enough to regain the respect he'd lost when he'd let down his own pack last summer. And maybe even regain his old position as a Pack Guardian.
Lily went on as she watched her brother, who was now exchanging high fives with admirers on the other side of the ropes but motioning for them to congratulate his fighter as well, “Just look at him. His own training business, and now this win? He'll be beating them off with a stick. I knew he could do it,” she ended with the same fierce delight Rielle felt.
Dark yet usually easily smiling Kieran, whose rangy yet well-muscled bulk had kept any potential troublemakers well away, gave Rielle's other shoulder a light squeeze. “Think he's a keeper, Rielle? I don't know, he still looks a bit like rough trade to me.”
Rielle was used to his teasing by now. “Oh, I think I'll keep him,” she said through a smile. In an arch tone, she added, “He's pretty handy around the store, too, now that I have him trained.”
Kieran didn't quite manage to smother a snicker as he looked at the sweat-covered, still victory-yodeling Caleb. Lily guffawed out loud though. She said, “I'll bet you do have my big baby brother well trained, Ree. I can just see him handling all those nice dresses with the daintiest of care in those meaty paws of his.” She snorted again with laughter, although the big sisterly fondness still rang through.
Rielle started to respond, but then her breath caught in her throat as it always did when Caleb turned to look for her. Her wolf practically purred. Despite the roaring crowd and the fact they were surrounded by potential clients who needed to see him as a big, bad wolf shifter, her big, blond, badass shifter mate blew her a kiss anyway, also giving her that silly little salute they'd started to do with one another. After she returned the kiss, she managed to answer Lily, “He does okay. He's got many skills,” she added in prim tones, which set Kieran off again while Lily pretended to cover her ears in horror.
The upscale clothing store Rielle managed in Durango was her pride and joy—well, after her pride and joy of being her pack's historian, that is—and getting her burly mate to sometimes help her install new lights or tall shelving units was a feat she'd never thought she'd achieve. But she had to admit Caleb was putty in her hands.
Then again, she was putty in his, so it all worked out in the end. She really never would have had any interest in coming to this sweat-stinky, bloody, testosterone-laden fight club just on the outskirts of Black Mesa territory if it wasn't for the fact that her mate had forged his own path to become not only the best fighter in his division, but also a very smart trainer of other fighters. Today's win by the young wolf he'd been bringing along for months now, along with Caleb's win in his own division earlier in the night, meant that both would be going to the regional finals just after the new year rolled over. And that was a big deal to her mate, so it was a big deal to Rielle, too. Even though, she thought with wrinkled nose, it did smell a bit like wet, mangy, street-savvy dogs in here. Not that she'd ever mention that to Caleb. She was actually very glad Lily and Kieran were here with her. This scene was definitely more than she'd want to handle on her own.
But seeing the triumphant look in Caleb's blue-eyed gaze right now meant more to her than most of the shifters here could ever imagine. After Caleb's humiliating stripping of his role as a Pack Guardian over the summer, her mate had floundered to understand his life's meaning and purpose.
“If I can't fight the bad guys, Ree, who am I?” he'd asked her one night, very late, in that hurt, somewhat lost little boy voice no one else ever got to hear. Showing her the vulnerable side he so skillfully hid from others by still playing the blustering, somewhat goofy tough guy who never backed down from a fight.
Except when he wasn't allowed to fight anymore. Not for his pack, at least. His life's purpose of protecting his pack from the increasing threat of rogue wolves had been cut off at the knees when he'd made an incredibly poor decision and paid dearly for it. The Black Mesa Pack alpha was perhaps the most fair man Rielle had ever known—but he was also unrelenting in his justice. Even when that justice had to come for his own son. He'd removed Caleb as a Pack Guardian, and she thought the world might come crashing down on Caleb after that.
But it wasn't the end of the world for her mate. He was stronger than he knew, and he was proving right now that he could make another life for himself.
Looking at the enormous grin on Caleb's face as he welcomed more whooping congratulations from the increasingly excited crowd, Rielle was suddenly so overwhelmed that he'd managed to find his path that her eyes misted over. Caleb might have
been down, but he wasn't out.
Hell, yeah, indeed.
Rielle was so busy admiring her mate's moment of glory she about jumped out of her skin when someone else suddenly lightly grasped her arm to get her attention. A low voice, smooth and just the slightest bit aloof, said into her ear, “Looks like your mate is riding high, Rielle. I wonder if perhaps he might have a moment to spare for me.”
Shocked, Rielle whirled around to look right into the carefully blank face of Luke Rawlins—former rogue wolf and Caleb's most sworn enemy.
Chapter 2
“Hell, yeah!” Caleb shouted again, completely pumped. He'd known Bran could do it. He'd been training the cub for three months now, working him hard. And it all paid off today, right now. Bran had won the cub division, while Caleb had won his own light heavyweight division about an hour earlier. After a rocky start in life, this was exactly the kind of direction Bran needed.
Their wins meant they were both going to the regionals. Where even more shifters would see that not only could Caleb Bardou walk his fighting talk, he could train it into others, too. Caleb's Cage Killers was going big-time, baby. His wolf yelped with excitement, barely restrained from bursting out. Actually, Caleb had gotten a lot better at controlling his wolf these past several months. It was like having his deadliest weapon even more refined.
Pretty cool, really. His wolf growled something vaguely disdainful at the thought of being leashed in any way, but stayed firmly in Caleb's mind. It was a heck of a lot different than half a year ago, when he'd struggled daily to control his temper and his wolf from bursting out to just go kind of wild and stupid everywhere. Now, he had a better handle on things.
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