Shifters in the Snow: Bundle of Joy: Seventeen Paranormal Romances of Winter Wolves, Merry Bears, and Holiday Spirits

by J. K Harper

  “I made Bryce swear that come hell or high water, he would take care of the cub I’d found. If I was going to agree to be his mate, I fully expected the pack’s protection to extend to that baby as well.

  “Of course, to a wolf in heat, no promise was too big to give. He was blinded by his wolf-blood’s aching need to claim me, and I used that to my advantage. I secured not only my future with that mating, but the future of that abandoned bear cub as well.

  “So with his promise to protect that cub in place, I agreed to accept his claiming bite, and wow, did he claim me but good!

  “He did this thing with his tongue, oh my!”

  “Oh! Was it kind of a swirly thing, where he uses the tip of his tongue to tease you with these slow circles, right before he switches it up to flick you and rub the flat of his tongue over you, like he’s lapping up cream?” Enid asked.

  “Oh, gross! Mom, stop! No one wants to hear that,” Ivy said, covering her ears in disgust.

  “Speak for yourself,” Keelyn said. “I think this might be my favorite part of this whole story. Stop acting all innocent over there, you’re mated, and married, to two sexy enforcers. Two! That’s twice the tongues, twice the swirling flicks. You can’t act all innocent when you have two mates.”

  “Having two mates does not mean I want to hear the details of my mother’s sex life!”

  “Oh, whatever. Be glad she still has one! That bodes well for all of us as we head into our own futures. Now, back to hearing about Bryce. Please, continue. Share every hot, swirling, flicking detail.”

  “Well, once I was all claimed and officially his, I was allowed out of the den. There was this one place Bryce loved to take me. He knew of this secret spot where there was this fissure in the middle of this river.

  “The river mostly flowed on by, but there were these rapids and this fissure in the middle of them. If you knew about the cavern system that ran underneath that river, mostly parallel to it, you could find this open, calm swimming hole that was hidden from the whole world.

  “There was a massive, interlocking set of caves and tunnels under there, but there was this one large, flat rock right smack in the middle of that calm section. The fissure from the rapids above was right over that rock. And if you laid just right, the water falling from above hit with this perfect amount of driving pressure. Bryce loved to watch, you see.”

  Chapter 4

  “He would spread me out on top of that rock, naked. He liked how the water would drip onto me, and he’d tease my nipples, kissing them and sucking them as the water from above splashed down over me.

  “He’d make me keep my thighs closed tight, at first, so the water would splash down over my mound, but then just softly trickle as it found its way between my legs. He’d then torture me so deliciously. He’d kiss his way down my body, until the heat of his mouth fought and danced with the coolness of that falling water.

  “That’s when he’d do the thing with this tongue. He’d cover me with the heat of his mouth, his tongue lapping me and teasing me, as the water would trickle around the seal his mouth made. Then, right as he knew I was about to fall over that orgasmic cliff, he’d do this pulsing thing with his tongue that pushed and pulled somehow. Amidst all that soothing water, his tongue would counter that soothing and pull the most intense, rolling orgasms out of me.

  “As I writhed under his tongue and came, again and again, screaming out his name to the rapids above us, he’d pull his mouth from me and slide his cock deep. He’d pin me there, driving into me with his thrusts until the squeezing waves of my pleasure guided him to his own release.

  “When we were spent, he’d lay with me on that rock, beside me, whispering words of such love and devotion that I found myself starting to fall for him.

  “His wolf’s love was true, and as I listened to him, I’d be tortured all over again. Only this time, instead of the sweet torture of his lovemaking, it was the torture of my own guilt, as I still planned on leaving him as soon as I felt that it was safe to do so.

  “My plan all along, from the moment I entered the cave that led me to his pack, had been to save myself and that poor, defenseless baby any way I could, only it was getting harder and harder to keep that plan alive.

  “I was tying myself more firmly to all of them the longer I stayed. But the longer I stayed, the less I wanted to sever those ties. I’d never meant to stay forever. I was a human, living underground in the company of wolves, with a baby who had started shifting bear.

  “One day, news reached the pack that a small human hunting party had been found dead. It looked like they’d been killed by a mountain lion or cougar shifter. From the descriptions given of what was left of the humans, I was convinced that my husband was one of the dead.

  “I figured he’d come looking for me again, only this time with help, probably under the guise of finding the wife who’d ‘disappeared’ and was most likely in danger out in the woods all alone.

  “I was free! I could take the baby and leave, we could make a life for ourselves somewhere far away and above ground, only…”

  “Only what?” Bella asked.

  “Only my son—we’d only been together for a short time, but I already thought of that baby as my own son—he’d found a best friend.

  “One of the wolf cubs, the Alpha’s son, to be exact, and he had become fast friends. They did everything and went everywhere together, from the very first moment that baby finally shifted bear in the middle of a den of wolves. They were inseparable.

  “And I didn’t have the heart to be the one to separate them. What did I know about raising a shifter? I mean, it was fine when he was in human form. Before his first shift bear I was able to pretend that he was just another human baby, but once he shifted I was forced to admit that I had no idea what to do anymore.

  “Plus, the pack had mostly started to accept me, and him, and we were finding our way. Now we all live well, and above ground, but back then they were just talking about moving the pack. Even though we were still living in the caves then, I liked it there.

  “And I was certainly enjoying my time with Bryce. I was even starting to fall in love with him. He was a great father as well, even to a cub that was neither his, nor even his species.

  “I didn’t know what to do. My husband was most likely dead, so that threat was gone. Did I still want to run? If I did run, would my new pack, my new husband, let us go? Or would they turn on us and kill us like they’d first intended, even after getting to know us?

  “Was he truly as in love with me as he came across? Was I really falling for a wolf? Or was I just afraid to leave?

  “I didn’t know what to do, so I didn’t do anything. I stayed. We stayed. A mismatched pair, human and bear, amidst an underground wolf pack.”

  “Hey, there you are,” Mac’s gentle but booming voice fell over their table as the wedding party carried on largely unnoticed all around them. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

  “I’m kind of hard to miss, love,” Bella teased him. “I’m the hugely round, pregnant one in the white tent of a dress.”

  “Like I don’t know where you are at all times, my mate. I feel my heart move whenever you do. No, I meant my mother. I’ve been looking all over for her, so I could finally introduce you two. Who knew she was sitting here with you all along?”

  All five women surrounding the mother in question asked the same question at the exact same time.

  “She’s your mother?”

  “The one and only. The other most important woman in my life, the first one of Bane’s pack to take me in. Who did you think she was? You all looked too deeply engrossed in conversation to be talking about the snow finally falling outside. If this keeps up it may be a white Christmas again this year. Oh! Were you taking bets on when the baby would be born? Everyone else seems to be. Betting does make people look all serious, like you guys did. What? Why are you all looking at me like that? Did I interrupt something?”

  Bella was the first to
turn her attention back to the woman Mac was saying was his mother.

  “The bear shifter baby you tripped over in the woods was Mac? My Mac?”

  “Yes, of course. I thought you knew that. I was telling you all the story of how Mac and I came to be part of Bane’s pack. Of course Bane was just a cub himself back then. He was the wolf cub I was just talking about. The Alpha’s son. He and Mac were inseparable from the moment Mac shifted bear for the first time. I just told you all that.”

  “Ah, telling stories. No wonder you all looked so enthralled,” Mac said.

  “Why didn’t you ever tell me the story about how you came to join Bane’s pack?” Bella asked her mate.

  Mac just shrugged, “Guess it never came up. We have been quite busy lately. Has she gotten to the part where we run into her husband out in the woods?”

  “The dead husband who had been trying to kill her? No!”

  “Yeah, turns out he wasn’t dead after all. That’s the best part of the story,” Mac said.

  “Maybe for you. I liked the part in the caves under the rapids,” Keelyn teased.

  “The swimming hole? Why? What happened there?” Mac asked.

  “Never you mind, son,” the lady said, smiling.

  “Hmm, with that look on your face, I’m sure I don’t want to know. Hey, Mom, can I steal you away for a bit? I’d like to introduce you to the king, and Bane has been looking for you, too.”

  “Of course. Ladies, I’ll have to finish this later.”

  Her words were met with a chorus of no’s as everyone protested her leaving them hanging, again.

  “Wait, before you go,” Keelyn stopped her. “What is your name? We’ve been calling you ‘that lady telling that story.’ I’m sure we’ll be calling you ‘Mac’s mom’ from now on, but we still haven’t been properly introduced.”

  “You’re right! I’m so sorry. My name is Leesa and it has been a pleasure talking to all of you. I haven’t told that story in many years, since everyone back at the den already knows it.”

  “Is Bryce here with you? We haven’t seen you with anyone even close to resembling a mate.”

  “Bryce? Oh he…”

  “Leesa! There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you,” Bane said, appearing behind Keelyn out of nowhere.

  Bane extended his hand and Leesa took it. As she rose to her feet, Bane wrapped both of his huge arms around her tiny body and hugged her so hard her feet dangled above the floor.

  “I’ve missed you, Mama. I see you’ve all met my second mother,” Bane said, grinning at the women around the table as he still hugged her close.

  “This woman used to defend me to my own mother when I’d get in trouble. Usually Mac and I were together when we’d get caught, and she would face my fierce mother, standing toe to toe with her human form and often even Mom’s wolf, putting herself between Mom and Mac and I, trying to convince her not to kill us both.

  “Hey, Drake wants to meet the lady who raised Mac and helped raise me. Can we borrow you for a bit? Oh, Enid—he’s been asking for you, too.”

  “I can’t believe you never told us about how Mac came to join you guys,” Keelyn said, smacking Bane as he stood behind her.

  “Oh, she’s telling stories, is she? That’s a good one. Have you told them about how we got shot at?”

  “What do you mean, ‘we?’” Leesa teased him. “If I remember correctly…”

  “No!” Ivy yelled, stopping the conversations not only around their table but also several surrounding tables as people looked their direction.

  “Is it time?” Someone yelled their way.

  “Is Bella having that cub?” Another voice threw out.

  “No! Jeez people, relax,” Ivy said to the room at large before addressing her table again. “Don’t start any more stories! We haven’t heard the end of this one yet. Keep it in order, people. I don’t want to miss anything.”

  As Mac and Bane started to pull Leesa away from the group, she assured them all that she’d tell them the rest later, and as they started to walk away, Bane leaned down to Keelyn and whispered in her ear.

  “We’re next. You ready to marry me with full knowledge this time?”

  “You mean unlike last time, when you bit me, claiming me as your mate, without telling me what it meant?”

  “Exactly,” he grinned, kissing her lips as she narrowed her eyes up at him.

  Leesa looked back and forth between the two of them, shocked.

  “You did not!”

  “He did!”

  “Your mother and I both raised you better than that!”

  “There were extenuating circumstances.”

  “Hmmm, I bet.” She turned back to Kee before saying, “So I’m not the only one with stories to tell. Does yours also involve a large, flat rock under a waterfall?” she asked, asking Keelyn in code if it was that kind of a story.

  “It does, only our waterfall was more of a burning hot campfire, beside which was a wolf-hunter who had no idea she was keeping warm with a wolf.”

  “Now that sounds like a story.”

  “One I’ll be glad to tell, after you finish yours first,” Keelyn said.

  “Deal.”

  Chapter 5

  Keelyn’s Wedding

  Keelyn eyed her sister Bella as they all lined up and prepared to walk down the aisle, again. She knew her mind was supposed to be on Bane, who was waiting for her at the other end of that aisle, but Bane was already her mate and didn’t look like he was about to birth a baby any second.

  “Hey, Bell? You good?”

  “Hmmm? Oh, yeah. I’m fine. Why?”

  “Am I seeing things or is your belly hanging a bit lower than it used to be?”

  “I can’t tell. Mom said I’ve dropped, but the view from this angle hasn’t changed all that much. I still can’t see my toes, or Mac when he’s down, never mind. There’s definitely still a baby in there, though.”

  “She’s dropped. It won’t be long now,” Enid said, as she hugged them all one by one on her way by to go sit in the mother-of-the-bride seat she’d been wearing out lately.

  “It’s not fair that I’m the only one who can’t tell,” Bella said.

  “Take a deep breath,” Enid ordered.

  Bella inhaled, exhaled and shrugged.

  “See? No baby up under your ribs anymore. Bet you have to pee, though,” Enid teased.

  “All day,” Bella answered, rolling her eyes. “Like, every ten minutes. Speaking of, we should probably get this party started so I don’t have to leave in the middle to pee, again.”

  “That’s ‘cause she dropped, like I said. Her head is using your bladder as a pillow now instead of your lungs. That’s how you can tell, the rest of us can just tell by looking at you.”

  “So what does that mean? How long do I have?”

  “It’s your first,” Enid shrugged.

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning hours…”

  “What?”

  “Or days. Or weeks. Who knows, really.”

  “Great.”

  “Well let’s go, then,” Ivy said.

  “In a hurry are we?”

  “I’d love to say I have your best interest at heart, Bell. That the sooner we do this the sooner we can get you off your feet…”

  “But?” Bella grinned, knowing that wasn’t it. “You went first, you already had your wedding night.”

  “Please. My two don’t need a wedding night for an excuse. Or night, even, come to think of it. Or a bed. Like this morning, we…”

  “So what’s your hurry then?”

  “Leesa. She said she’d come by our table and tell us about running into her not dead husband in the woods. I’m dying to hear how that went.”

  “I thought you didn’t believe her story.”

  “That was before I knew she was talking about Mac. Can you imagine? I wonder if they ever figured out what happened to his real parents, and why he was left like he was.”

  “Guess we’ll hav
e to hear the rest of the story to find out. If Bella doesn’t drop that kid on her way down the aisle, that is.”

  “Like I wouldn’t just scoop her up and keep on walking, so as not to ruin Kee’s wedding day.”

  “You three are hilarious,” Enid said, pulling their attentions back to her.

  “Wait ‘til it’s your turn, Mom, we already have a plan that would make me giving birth en route look like child’s play. Mae is going to shift mid-ceremony and…”

  The look Enid gave her was nothing short of parental, and Bella stopped teasing her, mid-sentence.

  “Is that mom look automatically issued when you become one or does that come with practice? Cause I have the feeling I’m going to need to get me one of those,” Bella leaned over and whispered to Ivy as Enid turned her attention to her eldest.

  “You look beautiful, Keelyn. If I’d known all I needed to do to see you in a dress was to marry you off to a wolf, we would’ve started moving in shifter circles years ago,” Enid teased, barely holding back tears.

  “All my babies, married women now…”

  “Or most of them, anyway. All this talk is keeping Kee from finishing the job, you know,” Ivy whispered back at Bella, who just chuckled under her breath, knowing better than to say anything back, as close as she was to their mother at that moment.

  “…carrying babies of their own…”

  “Don’t look at me, I am so not ready for that yet,” Ivy shook her head no as Enid adjusted things on Keelyn that didn’t need adjusting before their third walk down the aisle together, in a different order each time.

  “Go sit, Mom. We’ve got this. Enjoy your last one to sit and watch. Next time you’ll be the one standing up there.”

  Bella couldn’t resist teasing her mother one last time as she turned to go find her seat, “If I toss something warm and squirming in your lap as I pass by you, just bundle it up and hold it ‘til I can nurse it, after the wedding.”