by E A Price
Maris shrugged. Her mother had gone through loser after loser before she met George. They were always married, or violent or sometimes both. She supposed George, while grumpy and gruff and dismal, had an advantage over her mother’s exes in that way. He’d been mated years before meeting Marla, but it had ended unhappily. Maybe she should just save herself some pain and not bother mating at all.
“That will change when you meet your mate,” he said softly.
Maris wasn’t so sure about that. She wasn’t sure she wanted to waste her time on someone who was just going to break her heart.
She looked at Clay, and he smiled kindly at her, and she was struck by his warmth and compassion. Tingles spread through her right to the end of her toes.
Impulsively, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. Surprised at first, he froze, but he quickly deepened the kiss. He tasted like soda and strawberries, and Maris moaned as desire coursed through her. But then he froze again. Clay grasped her shoulders and pushed her away.
“Clay?” she murmured, slightly dazed.
“This is wrong; this is a mistake.”
“But…”
“I’m sorry.”
He took off like he was on fire and her inner reindeer mewled in regret.
*
Clay jogged all the way home before he remembered his car was back at his sister’s house. Well, he’d go and get it later – when he was certain Maris was gone.
He slowed to a walk and ran his hands through his hair. The hell was he thinking? Maris was nineteen – she was little more than a child, and he was a damn dirty old man. His reindeer huffed, but Clay ignored him.
He thought of his first mate and felt disloyal. He had loved Crystal with all his heart. But Maris… He’d noticed it a couple of weeks ago when he saw her selling pretzels on the street. She was wearing some tiny shorts and a red t-shirt with a cartoon pretzel on. Her hair was swept back into a bouncy ponytail, and she looked so fresh and young and beautiful. She had been selling some idiot a pretzel. The slick male was trying to flirt with her, but she just smiled and sent him on his way. He was glad of that because he would have had to intervene otherwise. You know, for her sake.
But he wasn’t interested in Maris; she was far too young for him. It was just a moment of madness – that’s all it was. It was a mistake, and not one he was going to repeat.
Four
Nearly seven years later
Maris sipped at her cider, pointedly ignoring the longing looks Alden was throwing at her. Alden, the herd historian, had a crush on her, and she was trying to do everything she could to discourage it.
Hell, she frequently told people that she had a wedding dress and invitations picked out for her and Branch’s future wedding – what else was she supposed to do? She pretended that she was crazy for Branch at every opportunity and let everyone think she was totally stalking him, and yet, in spite of her apparent desire to be with Branch, still Alden thought she was mate material. Or at least girlfriend material. Or maybe one-night-stand material. She had no idea what the guy wanted from her.
Branch and Harlan hadn’t mated anyone yet. She wished they would. Wished they would get her off the hook, so she no longer had to pretend.
Though, honestly, she didn’t just pretend for her mother’s sake – or to get her mother off her back. No, it was partly for her sake. As long as everyone thought she was obsessed with Branch, none of the other males pursued her. She was left alone. Well, apart from Alden who was kind of a soppy individual.
Awareness coursed through her as she noticed Clay arrive. He got out of his car with long-legged ease and sauntered towards his sister and nephews.
She hated the way her eyes were always drawn to him. Her crush on him had persisted for nearly seven years and no matter what she couldn’t shake it. She was such an idiot. Clay could barely even look at her – she was nothing to him. While she mooned over him, he barely even remembered that she existed.
The herd was having a fireworks and cider evening. Martha organized so many events like it, though Maris tended to avoid as many as she could. Her mom was there with George. He was standing with his friends, with a sour look on his face. Her mom was trying to engage some of the female herd mates in conversation, but they were blanking her – as usual.
Maris put in enough appearances to make it look like she was chasing Branch, but otherwise, she steered clear. No point in making herself look like a total fool in front of Clay. Besides, mostly she was away from home. She was still doing some modeling and some ad work, so she traveled a lot, and she preferred that.
Alden sidled a little closer to her, and she rolled her eyes.
“Hi, Maris,” he said.
“Hello, Alden, how are you?” she muttered.
He replied that he was well, and that seemed to be the end of the conversation, until – while trying to impress her – he said something he really shouldn’t have.
“Did you hear about Branch – he has to mate someone by Christmas, or he’ll lose the entire herd,” he blurted.
Maris stared at him. “He’s being forced to mate?”
“Yeah, it uh, he’s being challenged…” Alden looked at her awkwardly.
Crud, this might mean she needed to up her game with Branch. Perhaps she should send out wedding invitations – that was sure to get him on the move.
*
“Clay, are you even listening?” asked his sister in amusement.
“Yes,” he replied automatically.
“Then what did I just say?” She really could channel their mother when she wanted.
Clay thought about it for a split second. “That the situation with Branch is unfair.”
Martha narrowed her eyes. “Lucky guess.”
His nephew, the alpha, was going to be forced to mate. He had been challenged by a distant relative of theirs for the right to be alpha of the herd. An old law said that the alpha had to be mated else he would lose the herd. It was a crisis, but he was sure Branch would take care of it. Or at least he told himself that so he didn’t feel so bad that he was thinking of something else – or someone else.
He should be listening to what Martha was saying, but no, his attention was focused on Maris, currently talking to Alden. Like always, his attention was drawn to her. He was a dirty old reindeer, and he couldn’t help himself. He had lusted after her for years, and no matter what he did, he couldn’t keep her out of his mind.
He had kept track of her over the years – verging on stalking her. She’d dated a little, and there was one time when she was briefly engaged to a male, but it ended as quickly as it started.
She was still free, still available, still as beautiful as always. More so. She had been exceedingly cute at nineteen, but now at twenty-five, she was devastatingly beautiful, and he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
It had started slowly, but over the years, now he barely felt like he could breathe when she was around.
He noticed her detach herself from Alden and walk over to the cider barrel. Clay quickly excused himself from his sister – who was thankfully engaged in speaking to her daughter, Ariel, and swiftly moved in the same direction.
What he was going to say, he had no idea. But he wanted to say something, even if was only hello. She had been away for over a month – some hand modeling thing in California, and her absence had been keenly felt. Well, by him at least, and possibly by Alden who panted after her like a puppy.
He had almost made it to her when someone popped into his line of vision.
“Clay!” cried Bella.
“Ah…”
“So good to see you!”
She threw her arms around him in a hug, and with no small amount of disappointment, he realized he had lost Maris in the crowd.
Damn.
Five
Maris ran her hands down her dress. The dress had been a gift from her mother. It was striped, red and white, and incredibly short – she looked like a slutty candy cane, but her mom had been so pleased when she
gave it to her, and Maris didn’t want to let her down.
It was the herd office Christmas party. Technically Marla and Maris weren’t invited, but George was – he was head of legal for the herd’s company.
“Doesn’t she look lovely, George?”
George grunted, and Maris rolled her eyes.
“Branch will be here somewhere,” said Marla with something approaching excitement.
“Yes,” agreed Maris in irritation.
Fine, she could annoy him and send him running, then maybe she could enjoy the party a little and go home – daughterly duty done.
She wandered around for a few moments, and on spotting Branch waved at him overtly.
“Alpha,” she called, “what do you think of poinsettias for centerpieces?”
It was almost comical the way he ran off. The big bad alpha was actually a little afraid of her, and she kind of liked it. Mostly, she was ignored by the herd, so it was kind of nice to wield even a small, weird amount of power.
She had also already asked his sister, Ariel to be a bridesmaid, so she was golden for the time being.
Maris found Martha walking in her direction, and she decided to duck away. She was a nice enough woman, but she would give Maris a half hour lecture on why Branch was not the male for her. Maris already knew he wasn’t and she didn’t need anyone to confirm that.
She grabbed a glass of punch and ducked into the office break room. She tried the photocopying room first, but well, there were plenty of people already in there – yep, photocopying their butts. The room was overflowing.
In the break room, there was just a couple of females herd mates. She said hello to them, and they quickly blanked her and left.
Maris took a sip of punch, winced at the strong taste and poured it down the sink.
“Hey.”
Maris turned and donned a polite smile as she found herself faced with someone she didn’t know. He was tall and handsome with an attractive smile and bright twinkly eyes. He wasn’t a member of their herd, and from his scent, she suspected caribou shifter.
“Hello,” she said.
His smile deepened even more and she… felt nothing. Nada. Zip. It was surely a panty-dropping smile, but it was useless against her. Nope, somehow she still preferred the grimace that came over Clay’s face whenever he saw her. She was sad and pathetic, yadda, yadda, yadda. But she didn’t care.
“I’m Jason,” he said, moving forward, offering his hand as proof that he came in peace.
“I’m Maris,” she said shaking it.
“Are you a member of the herd?” he asked, holding onto her hand.
She kept her smile in place, even after she no longer felt like smiling anymore. “I am. Are you a guest of the herd?”
Maris tried to wriggle her hand free, but he didn’t want to seem to let go. Oh dear.
“Yes, a herd mate of mine is dating a herd mate of yours. She didn’t think your herd would mind a few of us joining in the festivities.”
“The more, the merrier, I’m sure,” she said politely.
His eyes dipped down her body, and she wished her mother’s taste in clothes wasn’t quite so flamboyant. “Didn’t you enjoy the punch?”
He nodded at her empty cup. He must have seen her pouring it away.
“Not really, I think I’ll just get a soda instead.”
With tremendous effort, she managed to free her hand and quickly strode over to the refrigerator, pulling out a can of grape soda. Truthfully, she was never a big drinker. Her mother always discouraged it because she believed it was bad for the complexion. Also, Maris knew that her maternal grandmother had been a drunk and Marla wasn’t happy about being around anyone who drank because of it. Though, Marla wasn’t aware that Maris knew that.
“Yeah, the punch is a bit on the sour side. Why don’t we go get a drink together?” Again he threw the megawatt smile in her direction.
Maris was starting to hate that smile. “Thanks, but I’m kind of enjoying the party.”
“Says the girl who is hanging out alone in the kitchen,” he chuckled.
“Well, I was just getting my soda.” She held it up as Exhibit A.
“C’mon,” he entreated, his eyes flashing slightly, “it’s just a drink.”
Maris tried to ignore her trembles of unease. “I’m sorry, I just don’t want to. It was nice to meet you.”
She started walking towards the door, and Jason stepped in her way. Yep, she figured as much. Maris didn’t feel unduly worried. She was a reindeer shifter – she could shift into a large beast at the drop of a hat. Plus, she was in a building surrounded by other reindeer shifters. But, still, she didn’t like aggressive males getting in her face.
“C’mon,” he purred. “We could have some fun together.”
“I already said no,” she said quietly, glaring at the male blocking his exit.
His eyes narrowed at her in disbelief, and he let out a bark of laughter. “You know I’m the eldest nephew of my herd’s alpha.” No, she obviously didn’t know that – she didn’t know him at all! She wanted to say that but held onto her tongue. “Most females would be flattered.”
“I’m not most females,” she replied curtly. “Please move. I’d like to leave.”
“Everything okay, Maris?”
Oh, she almost cried as she heard Clay’s mellifluous tones. Her reindeer chuffed, and she inhaled his exquisite, beautiful scent. She wasn’t sure she’d ever been so happy to see him. No, that wasn’t true. She knew in her soft, lovestruck heart that she was always this happy to see him.
Maris stepped back, and Jason moved to one side as Clay squeezed into the room. The two males stared at one another.
“Clay, this is…”
“We’ve met before,” said Clay gruffly.
Jason smiled only it wasn’t quite the same smile like the one he directed at Maris. No, this one could free the fires of hell.
“Of course, Clay, how are you?”
They shook hands, though perhaps it was more appropriate to say they arm wrestled without raising their arms.
“Good. How’s your uncle?”
“Good.”
“Good.”
“Good,” muttered Maris, feeling left out.
“I better get back to my herd mates before they start challenging anyone to play strip poker. Nice to meet you, Maris.” He winked at her and sauntered away.
Maris turned to Clay, blushing slightly. She’d been tongue-tied and embarrassed around him ever since their ill-fated kiss.
“Umm, thanks, I…”
“I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?” growled Clay, irritation written all over his face – in cursive no less.
“Just me trying to tell him to get lost politely. I was about to turn less polite when you came in. How do you know him?”
“His herd owns some very successful restaurant chains. We’re in negotiations for them to open restaurants in several of our resorts.”
“Oh.” She looked at him, aware of her cheeks slowly turning pink. “How are you, anyway? I rarely see you these days.”
Clay smiled slightly. “Well, you were in California for over a month.”
Maris frowned. “How did you know that?”
The only person she told was her mom. Nobody else in the herd would really care.
He looked mildly guilty for the briefest of moments. “Ah, George told me.”
“Oh. So, do you…”
“Clay, there you are!” cried Bella striding into the room.
Maris had to stop herself from growling. The woman was everywhere, always trying to get Clay’s attention. Maris felt annoyed because that was generally what she was always doing, but Bella seemed to be better at it.
Bella had briefly moved away when she got married five years ago. But, she was divorced and back again now, and again, she had decided that Clay would make an ideal mate.
Bella gave Maris a cursory glance and then ignored her completely.
“Martha is looking f
or you,” she said to Clay.
“I was just,” he started.
“She said it was life or death.”
“Right,” he murmured, and Maris felt her heart sink. It always did whenever she realized he had zero interest in her, though, it never stopped her from hoping. He smiled at her. “Take care, Maris.”
“Yes, you too.”
Bella gave a triumphant little smile and followed him out of the room, leaving Maris staring at the wall, holding a can of grape soda. She always had this dream, this fantasy, that one day he would tell her that that moment they had, that kiss wasn’t a mistake, that it had been wonderful, that it had opened his eyes to her – as it had for her. But, it was starting to seem less and less likely it ever would.
“Hey, you okay?” asked Ariel.
Maris snapped to attention and nodded. She noticed Ariel appeared a little flustered.
“Are you okay?”
Ariel sighed. “Just, frustrated.”
It was left unsaid, but Maris knew she was frustrated with a guy.
“I know how you feel,” she muttered in consolation.
“Because of my brother?”
“What?” she asked in frank surprise, before remembering her number one wish was supposed to be that she mate Branch. “Oh yes, of course. Yes…”
Yes, that was it. It wasn’t that she was mooning over Ariel and Branch’s uncle or anything like that. Nope, that wasn’t it at all.
Six
Clay jabbed a particularly sour looking angel decoration onto the tree and then glared at it as it frowned up at him. His sister’s taste in Christmas decorations left a lot to be desired.
Martha held an annual tree trimming party. He wasn’t sure if she just liked parties or wanted some suckers to come and help decorate her trees.
Whatever the reason, he was in a foul mood to begin with, and getting needles stuck all over him while trying not to break her delicate ornaments – because every single one of the monstrosities was precious – was not helping.
His thoughts consistently turned to Maris. Not that unusual. But rather than seeing the long-legged beauty smiling at him, he was now picturing her smiling at that… that damn caribou. He was probably only a year or two older than Maris, and possibly an ideal match for her. It was just that whenever he thought of the bastard touching her, he wanted to shift into his reindeer and ram his antlers into the oily bastard’s chest.