Behind the steering wheel of her mother’s old Camaro, Clementine went through the motions of starting the engine, fastening her seatbelt, and adjusting the gears.
Intuition told her he was standing on the front porch. She didn’t check for confirmation. As she reversed and turned her car, a deafening roar shook the night sky. He’d shifted. The bear was out.
It would protect its vulnerable family to the death. Her death, specifically.
Clementine drove in a daze. She skidded on the icy asphalt, but barely noticed. The roads were empty. Most people were now home, enjoying the longest, darkest day of the year beside their loved ones.
She finally pulled over to the side of the road when she’d cleared Harpers Ferry by a good fifty miles. She wasn’t even sure how she’d managed to cover that much distance. It felt like only seconds had passed since she’d navigated the Afters’ long driveway.
Clementine turned off the engine and sat in silence. Cold seeped in from outside. The tears were back, stinging her eyes. This time, she let them fall.
Snow drifted from the heavens while Clementine Weatherspoon wept.
Chapter 7
As the sun rose over Ever Afters on Christmas morning, Clayton sat alone in the snow. He’d spent every night out here since he’d watched Clementine’s tail lights disappear down the long stretch of country road.
He hadn’t bothered to change back into Clayton. He’d remained in his grizzly. It felt safer.
Clayton Afters had never thought of himself as a coward. But the idea of returning to his human skin terrified him more than the actual curse that loomed over his head.
The stomp of Wellingtons on snow heralded Vangie’s approach. He’d heard her in the house well before she’d ventured outside.
“All right, asshole,” she called, drawing closer. “Enough’s enough.”
She sank onto the snow by his side and held up two mugs of black coffee.
“C’mon, your Joe’ll get cold. Shift.”
He grunted. Bossy sow.
“Clay, shift. This is ridiculous. You’re gonna get stuck like that!”
He shot her a look.
“Hell, you don’t know! It could happen.” She took a long swig of her coffee.
Clayton lowered his head.
Vangie sagged against his side. She gazed up at the apple tree and sighed.
“You know, at the very least you could just switch over for a hot minute and tell me how the hell this happened,” she said, waving her hand at the greenery.
Clayton offered a disinterested snort.
“I hate talking to myself.” Vangie leaned up and flicked his right ear. Clayton snuffled and snapped his teeth at her hand. She withdrew, unimpressed. “I’m gonna tell Braxton when he wakes up. Just you wait. He’ll beat you up in your sleep. Until then, I’m just gonna sit here and annoy the shit out of you until you shift and talk to me.”
She slurped her coffee. Loudly. Clayton laid his head on the snow, ignoring her.
“I’ll tell a story, shall I? It’s Christmas, after all! T’was the night of winter solstice, and my grumpy, anti-social brother goes home early. All by himself. As always. Only, maybe not. Because creatures stirred all over the goddamn living room floor. Seriously. I’ve had the windows open for two days and it still smells like a stone-cold bone zone in there, dude.”
Because it had been. He’d initiated his claim. Instinctually, he already thought of himself as mated. She was his, regardless of anything he’d said to her before he’d basically threatened to eat her.
And not in the fun way that had made her quiver and cry his name.
“She left her jacket, you know,” Vangie said, wiggling her eyebrows. “She smells all purdy and stuff.”
When Clayton didn’t reply, Vangie poked his hump with an index finger. Repeatedly.
“So you won’t mind if I toss it into the fireplace, right?” she asked, still poking. “Her jacket, I mean. The leather one that smells like sage and frankincense and whatever other hippy shit she’s apparently into.”
Clayton snapped his head to the side and snarled at his sister.
Vangie smirked. She stood and broke into a sprint. She was headed back to the house. She was going to throw Clementine’s jacket into the fireplace. That, or she was bluffing. And even if she were bluffing, she’d end up touching the jacket.
Then the jacket wouldn’t smell like Clementine. It’d smell like Clementine and Vangie.
Panic flared in his chest. He was up and bounding on all fours before he could think better of it. He hadn’t even realized his mate had left something behind. Losing the one piece of Clementine he had left was enough to break through the mire of his self-loathing.
When he reached the back door, Vangie stood in the doorframe with her arms crossed.
“You ain’t coming in here like that. We’re not doing this whole Beary Merry Christmas bullshit. Shift, and I won’t burn the jacket. I’ll do it. I’m not even kidding at this point, Clay. You’re scaring the shit out of me. You can’t leave me alone like this. Not today. Don’t you dare leave me alone today.”
Vangie’s trademark snark wavered.
Clayton shifted, ashamed of himself. He couldn’t leave her alone. Not when he had only two Christmases left. That estimate was certain now. A true mating would never happen, not fully.
Because Clayton Afters was a damn fool.
Vangie stepped away, allowing him entrance. She waved at the kitchen table.
Clementine’s jacket was still draped over the back of the chair she’d sat in. He sniffed once, twice, and calmed. Vangie hadn’t touched the jacket. The leather was still all sage, verbena, and a forever Clayton had pushed away.
“Can I make I suggestion?” Vangie asked, returning from the laundry room. She tossed a pair of sweatpants at his head. “Well, three suggestions. The first being: shower. You stank, boy.”
She was right, of course. Three days as a bear, and he was rank. Just the same, Clayton threw her a dirty look.
“Second, once you smell less like something that crawled outta Dalton’s armpits, we’re going to have Christmas breakfast together. And I suggest you use that time to talk to me. Because gasp, shock, awe, I’m here for you, you big dum-dum.”
Clayton ruffled a hand through his hair. “And what’s the third suggestion?”
“Easy.” Vangie shrugged as she poured a fresh cup of coffee for herself. “Go get her, dumbass.”
* * *
“Winter Solstice” is a prequel to Gen Géricault’s Ever Afters novel series.
Book 1 available in November 2015.
About the Author
Gen Géricault grew up on ghost stories, iced tea, and her granny's peach cobbler. She called the historic city of Savannah home for most of her life, but she now lives abroad.
Her stories explore love, longing, and the tangled truths behind the things that go bump in the night.
She also publishes M/M paranormal romance as G.G. Géricault.
Mailing List | Amazon | Twitter | Facebook | Website
The Panther's Runaway Surrogate
by Alyse Zaftig
Gerard’s Investigation
Guillermo
"I need to find her. Yesterday."
Guillermo threw down a manila envelope on his private investigator's smooth mahogany desk.
"Who is she?" Gerard picked up the manila folder and dumped the contents on his desk.
On top was a picture of a young girl. She was pretty in a girl-next-door way, nothing like the kinds of women who were photographed with Guillermo on the red carpet when he made time for that nonsense. She had dark skin, laughing eyes, and a two-toned mouth that begged to be kissed. Guillermo was pacing in front of the desk with barely leashed energy. If he were a panther, his tail would be lashing right now.
"Pretty girl," Gerard told Guillermo without a shred of interest. "Who is she to you?"
"She's going to have my baby in a few weeks. I anonymously hired her to be my s
urrogate."
"And you're involving me? Why? I deal with your business matters, not with your women. That's on you. Congratulations on becoming a father."
Guillermo rubbed his eyebrow. "She ran away," he admitted.
Gerard raised one eyebrow. Who would dare run away from Guillermo Torres? "Okay then. Talk to me. When did she leave?"
"She's so close to the birth." Guillermo sighed, and he sat down in one of Gerard's chairs. He covered his face with his hands. "I should have stayed away from her."
"What happened?"
"I got too close to the sun, and the wax melted off of my wings." Guillermo's voice was a little muffled from his hands, but Gerard frowned.
"What did you do?" He couldn't stop the slight note of censure in his voice. True, Guillermo employed him, but it wasn't like Gerard needed his money.
"I visited her. A lot. I didn’t tell her my name.“
"You're not supposed to do that."
"You sound like my lawyer."
"Your lawyer sounds wise."
"I couldn't help it. At first, it was because of my baby...later, it was because of her. She's so..."
Gerard looked back at the picture. "Nice?"
Guillermo exploded out of his chair. "She's so much more. Funny. Sweet. Loving. I wish that I had just told her from the beginning who I was."
"You didn't?"
"No, of course not...my lawyer said that Guillermo Torres should never enter the picture. Emilio Torres was a different story."
"Oh?"
Guillermo flushed. "My mother...when I was small, she called me Emilio. They'd had a fight in the hospital when I was born, and my father won. I was named after his father, did you know that?" He ran a hand through his hair, and Gerard shook his head.
"But my mother had always intended to name me Emilio, and it was my middle name. Her entire side of the family called me Emilio, and my father didn't get involved. As long as the paperwork said that I was named Guillermo, he didn't care what my mother and her family called me. He wasn't around very much, anyway."
"So you visited your surrogate as Emilio..."
"She found out." Gerard could see the hint of pain in Guillermo's eyes. "She found out who I was. I knew I shouldn't have sent my old nanny to take care of her, but I couldn't resist. My nanny had just retired, and I needed someone to look after my future child when I could not. It seemed like a perfect solution at the time."
"And your nanny...does she call you Emilio or Guillermo?"
A slight smile touched the corner of Guillermo's mouth. "Gui, really. She said that Guillermo was much too big of a name for me, and that I needed to grow into it."
Gerard flicked his eyes over his client. Guillermo had certainly grown into his name in spades. He was gigantic, 6 feet and 5 inches at least, perhaps more. As the scion of a very wealthy Ecuadorian family, he had been born with a ten-figure net worth. And he carried that self-assurance around him like a cloak. Other people were intimidated by the pure, bone-deep confidence that Guillermo had been born with, but Gerard didn't care. After all, he had it, too.
"Give me some time." Gerard spread the papers on his desk. "I will find her."
Guillermo nodded. "I am counting on you. You are the best investigator in the DC area. Goodbye." He left Gerard's office, and Gerard sat back in his chair, looking at all the information that Guillermo had given him.
He picked up the phone.
Restaurant Shift
Devanta
"Hello?"
"Can you pick up my shift tonight? I'll cover one of yours next week, I promise." Sheila giggled and there was the muffled sound of a kiss. Devanta sighed. Sheila forever shirked work, and she never followed through on her promise to reciprocate the favor. But with the baby on the way, Devanta needed every penny that she could get, even if it meant working extra shifts, covering her irresponsible coworker, one of whose boyfriends was in town for a little rest and relaxation. Devanta was sure that Sheila was helping him relax, but resting was probably not what they were doing.
"I can do it." Her head ached, and she saw tiny sparks in the air in front of her, her migraine’s aura. Devanta calculated just how many hours she had slept in the last 48. Maybe 5. Insomnia was her best friend at the moment, after running away from Emilio...well, Guillermo...once she had found out his real identity. It had been so much fun until the music stopped. It didn't matter. No matter how tired she was, she would not sleep for a long time.
"Thanks, darling. You're a peach. I owe you one!" Sheila sang into the phone. She hung up, and Devanta put down her phone. It was a pre-paid StraightTalk phone from Wal-Mart. While it wasn't the newest iPhone, it was more than enough than what she needed. It was also much harder to track, considering that she had paid in cash for it and used a reloading card in order to put more minutes on it. She hoped that she would not have to keep up the stupid secrecy for the rest of her life, but she wanted to keep herself safe until the baby arrived. She had not yet made a decision about what she would do when the baby came, but she would cross that bridge when she got to it.
Devanta got dressed in the standard uniform. She hated the scratchy red polo shirt with the embossed logo, but she wore it every day. She had taken the first job that she could, and it was working as a waitress at the local TGI Friday's. It was attached to the mall.
She checked her phone for the time. She needed to hustle if she wanted to be there for the dinner shift. She pulled her hair back into a bun, and she checked herself out in the mirror. No amount of under-eye concealer could possibly mask the bags under her eyes. She slapped her cheeks a little bit so she looked less dead. It didn't really work. She shrugged. It was not as if any of the customers really cared what she looked like.
She clocked in, and she started her side work nearly immediately, since there were no customers yet at the very start of the dinner shift.
The door to the restaurant opened, and all of the color drained out of her face. Devanta put her hands on her hips and jumped out of her chair. How did he find her?
"What are you doing here?"
Guillermo walked to her, so that they were less than a foot apart. "Did you honestly think that I would let you take my child and disappear?"
"We don't need you." The sparks in front of Devanta's eyes swirled, and she fainted straight into Guillermo's strong arms.
Medical Care
Guillermo
Guillermo looked down at the pregnant woman in his arms, and he sighed. Women were so complicated. He had gotten a surrogate so that his life would be less complicated, not more. It was clear that the experience was not turning out as he had expected. There was a man in a black button-up suit and jeans. "What's happening?"
Guillermo nodded at him. "I am taking her somewhere safe now. She is quitting, effective immediately."
Guillermo turned away from the open-mouthed manager. Frowning at the way that her skin got goosebumps in the cold outside, he carried the unconscious woman into his limousine. Guillermo would take her home. She would only have the best of care.
When his driver arrived at his house, he picked her up and carried her into his home, wishing that he had a coat for her. He did not invite many women here. Despite having too many lovers to count, he always insisted on being in their space, not his. His place was sacrosanct. Now, for the first time, he was bringing a woman into it.
Jimena, his nanny and Devanta's companion during her pregnancy, crossed her arms.
"What did you do to that poor girl?" Jimena had never liked lying to Devanta about who Guillermo actually was, and a thought came to Guillermo, one that he had not considered before. Had Jimena's slip been deliberate?
He shook his head. Jimena had agreed to keep his secret. While she had not held with the deception, he knew that she wanted Guillermo to have a child desperately enough to play along.
"Nothing at all," Guillermo said piously. "She just up and fainted. I brought her home so that we could take care of her."
"Oh, Gui," Jimena si
ghed. "Didn't you think to ask?"
A bit of color touched Gui's cheeks. "She needed someone to care for her," he said in a tone that had gotten him spankings as a young child.
Jimena shook her head. "Well, she is here now. We can put her in one of the bedrooms upstairs. It isn't like you don't have a million to spare."
Guillermo walked up the stairs with Devanta in his arms, extra careful because she was pregnant. He tried to jostle her the least amount possible as they went upstairs. Jimena followed him upstairs.
Jimena opened the door to the bedroom closest to the stairs, and she moved the comforter and the sheets. He laid Devanta carefully on a bed. He liked looking at the curve of her stomach where his child was. He could not wait to meet his baby.
Jimena told him, "Go."
Snapped out of his reverie, "Why?"
Jimena shook her head. "Don't make things worse. You need to go now. The two of you will sort things out later."
Guillermo walked out of the room. His head was spinning with the idea that he would be a father soon, now that he had tracked down his surrogate. He had already booked her an anonymous suite in the nearest hospital. As long as he funded a new wing, the hospital would not ask too many questions.
Guillermo's phone buzzed.
Any luck?
Guillermo smiled. Got her. Thank you.
Good.
Gerard and Guillermo didn't need to talk a lot, but Guillermo used Gerard's services often enough that they talked on a weekly, if not daily, basis. Having someone with Gerard's skills on his payroll would have been better, but Gerard did not need money. Guillermo suspected that the investigation agency was more of a pet project than a real job, but as long as the results were there, he did not care what Gerard did or did not think of his own agency.
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