Winter Awakening

by Tl Reeve

  “We aren’t. We’ll go for a run tomorrow or some other time, when the boys aren’t around.” She handed the boxes to her father. “Can you put them in my truck?”

  “Don’t let your mother get you worked up.” He turned and headed back outside.

  “I won’t.” She grabbed two more boxes as Meadow appeared at the door.

  “I’m ready.”

  “Great. Let’s go.” She hugged her mom. “See you at the Solstice.”

  Chapter Eleven

  The pack gathered in the middle of town as they had the year before for the festivities. Dylan and Charles played with Sam and a couple of other pups from the pack. Sarah, for all of her, “I’ll be there in ten minutes,” hadn’t shown yet. Ero worried something had happened to her. Joe and Claire had arrived a few minutes before and assured him she was fine. Yet, nothing.

  He made another circle around the area and came up empty. “Have you seen her?”

  Luc glanced around at the other members of their pack. “No. Not yet.”

  A few minutes before, they had given Gee the bracelet and the mating blanket. After grunting out his thanks, he placed them on the table and accepted Jason and Reva’s item. The bag of coriander left Ero confused, but, Jason seemed downright happy about it.

  Reva hung close to his side, too, practically clinging to him as they moved through the crowd to say hi to everyone.

  “Isn’t that Rebel Jimenez?” He pointed to the older man glaring daggers at the back of Jason’s head. Rumor had it he’d become a recluse when his mate died. Questions swirled in Ero’s mind on why the guy never died of his grief. Maybe he’s too stubborn to die. Or too mean.

  “It is. The old bastard never does group activities. Wonder what has him out?”

  “Don’t know. But, I don’t like how he’s looking at Jason.”

  “We’ll keep an eye on him. It looks as though Jason has made a new friend, and he seems happier than he has been lately.”

  “I noticed, too.” Luc glanced at Ero. “What’s up with their item?”

  “Not sure. Interesting, though.” His brother craned his neck, trying to find their mate. “This is crazy. Sarah should be here by now.”

  “I’m worried.”

  “We’ll give her another five minutes then we’ll go looking for her.” Ero took a sip of his drink.

  The soft murmurings and laughter surrounding them got louder as the crowd seemed to surge together. Their heads were turned toward The Den, and then the group parted as someone stepped through the crowd. Scratch that, two people. What in the hell is going on here? The glow of the fires along with the tea lights and lanterns cast large shadows on everything, practically obscuring his view. When the throng opened, he took a step back.

  Ero blinked. He glanced at Luc then back at the woman standing next to Sarah. “Meadow?”

  She squeaked then charged at him, jumping into his arms at the last second. “I missed you so much. I thought I’d never see either of you again!”

  He didn’t want to let her go. “You lied to us.”

  She laughed as he set her down. “Well, really your mate did. She wanted to surprise you for the Solstice.”

  Ero glanced at Sarah who waved at him. “You”—he growled and took a step around his sister—“have a lot of explaining to do.” Before she could say anything, he gathered her up in his arms.

  “Happy Solstice?” She laughed when he slapped her butt.

  “We were supposed to get her today.”

  “I know.” She shrugged. “But, there was so much to do.”

  “When did she get here?”

  “Two days ago, big brother. I’ve been staying with Miss Claire and Mr. Joe.”

  “You are in so much trouble when we get home.” He kissed Sarah. “Thank you.”

  “What are mates for?” She wrapped her arm around him as they ambled back to where Luc stood with their sister. “Let’s party.”

  The look on their faces had made it worth it for her. Sarah stood between her mates while Dylan and Charles added their ornaments to the community tree. Then Ero handed her a small box.

  “I think you should do the honors. Open it.”

  She pulled the tab and gasped. A painted glass bulb ornament sat inside. Blues, grays, and purples made up the winter scene. In the clouds were the faces of three wolves, and below them, two pups stood on the ledge overlooking the Black Hills. It was beautiful and completely breathtaking.

  “This is…amazing. Who made it?”

  “Tinks.” Ero took the box away from her as she went to hang the ornament. “You’re not the only one who can do things on the sly.”

  “Well, it is perfect. You did well, mate.” She brushed a kiss across his cheek.

  “Mom, can we go play with Jordan and Jessie?” Charles came to a screeching halt beside her, Dylan and Sam right behind him.

  She glanced to where Hannah stood near the kids with a couple of females from the pack. “Sure. Be good. Don’t be rough with her. She’s a girl.”

  “Aw, Mom. We won’t do anything bad.” Dylan waved at her as they hurried toward the other children.

  “Looks like they’re coming into their own.” Luc wrapped his arms around her from behind. “Not to sound like a jackass, but you did the right thing coming home.”

  She nodded. “Every day I wake up and am thankful I did. Now, I have two more reasons to be here. And I have a sister. Something I never thought possible.”

  Meadow grinned. “I feel the exact same way.” She leaned in. “But my hair is totally going back to the way it was, and, you should know, I have tons of tattoos.”

  Ero barked out a laugh. “Sis, we don’t want you to be anyone other than who you are. We’re just happy you’re home.”

  “Where you belong,” Luc added.

  Together, they walked back to where everyone had gathered around the fire. Gee sat on a log facing the fire pit, a cup in his hand and a thoughtful expression on his face. Moments later, the boys joined her as well. Whispered conversations started off on her right side, as Tinks, along with another boy, the one Sarah believed Dylan had called Jordan came through the group and stood before Sayer and his new human mate Kizzy. She tried not to pay attention to the conversation, but the minute Tinks said brother, she did.

  She didn’t know a whole lot about Sayer. She remembered him coming to stay with them a few weeks before her mom and dad sent her and Jason away. She also remembered her mother and father talking about a baby turning up in a field. Whoa.

  The tree sparkled, a million lights glittering. Glass balls, stuffed animals, handmade ornaments—each one represented a couple gathered nearby. Ero and Luc took Sarah’s hands as Caitlyn Burrows stepped forward to hang a pink baby’s rattle. Several called out their congratulations, and she dipped her head, blushing. Ven, Caitlyn’s mate, took her place to hang a matching blue baby rattle next to hers. Cheers rose, and he turned to take a bow.

  Kizzy Rhapsody, another newcomer to the pack and mate to Sayer Blackcrow, took her turn before the tree. When she hung a TARDIS ornament on a branch, Sarah grinned. Jason loved Dr. Who, had even binged on the show a time or two with Dylan and Charles.

  Sadie, another new arrival, went next, tucking a chunk of glittering dogtooth spar between two thick boughs. A matching necklace glinted against her thick, dark wool sweater. Easton took his place at her side to hang a compass. “So their souls can find their way home.”

  When Gee began to speak, Sarah gave him her full attention. She’d loved his stories as a child, and today was no different. A hush fell over the gathering when Gee stepped forward. “Two boys lived with their grandmother in a wigwam. One day, the boys went hunting and, while they were gone, a stranger came then waited for their return. By the sunset, they returned with a large buck. The grandmother invited him to stay for dinner, and he accepted.”

  His voice rose and fell, the hypnotic tones of a born storyteller capturing everyone in his spell
. “Now, after they ate, the man asked if he could stay for the winter. The grandmother agreed, and since he was a shaman, he would help the boys hunt. The man’s name was Winter Snow. When spring came, the man departed, with many thanks for her hospitality, taking with him her two grandsons who’d been turned into winter’s snow.”

  He spun a wonderful tale about the snow and when he was done, the snow began to fall, almost as if on cue.

  An air of expectation settled over the crowd as the bear yielded his place to Drew. All eyes turned to their alpha. A ripple of excitement ran through the pack, and one or two dropped to their knees, their wolves eager to shift. “My pack. My friends. Welcome to our annual celebration of the Solstice. The nights are long, the weather hard, and the moon rules the skies. This is our time. The wolf’s time. The hunter’s time. Run far and fast. Coat the land with our scent so any who dare to stray into our territory will know they face a united force, ready to protect all who call Los Lobos home.”

  Howls and cheers filled the air. Sarah and her small family pack joined in.

  Drew let the wolves give voice for a few moments before he waved his hands for silence again. “Who wishes to join us? Who claims the right to call the Tao Pack their own?”

  Kizzy—the human who’d hung the TARDIS—stepped forward. Sarah glanced at Sayer. Nervous energy rolled off him in thick waves as he clenched his jaw and fists. The spunky girl and Drew exchanged quiet words.

  “Can I join you?” She canted her head. “Is that possible? I won’t go furry or anything, but I’m kind of in the market for a new family. I like being here even if you’re a secret society of wolves and keep everything so hush-hush.” She made air quotes, and Drew chuckled. “My best friend and my mate are here, and there’s no place I would rather be. This is my home and you, if you’ll accept, are my family.”

  Tears gathered in the corner of Sarah’s eyes. The welcoming of a pack member was a special occasion, and something she was honored to experience with everyone.

  “And do you remember what I told you when we met?” Drew asked.

  She nodded. “I’m not leaving. I’ll help wherever I am needed, and your secret is my secret.”

  “Give me your hand, then, Kizzy Rhapsody, and swear a blood oath to your alpha and pack.” Drew nicked her palm then his own with a small pocket knife, and they clasped hands.

  A shudder worked through the pack, as they opened to welcome the newest member.

  Kizzy gasped. Her free hand went to her chest as she glanced around the group gathered there. “Oh my.” A tremulous smile tugged at her lips. “I’ve never experienced anything like that before.” Amazement filled her soft voice. “It’s like every single one of you are right here.” She tapped the area over her heart. “And I’m right there with you.” She sucked in a breath. “Wow.”

  Drew let her hand go. “Welcome to the pack, Kizzy.”

  A surge of joy filled Sarah, and she squeezed her mates’ hands.

  Sadie moved into the empty circle before Drew, and her mate, Easton, took up the same stance as Sayer.

  “I would join you. I would call you alpha, if you will have me.” Her steady voice filled the night air.

  “And do you remember what I told you when you first arrived?” Drew asked quietly.

  She nodded. “I know who I am, who I want to be. Not a Burrows. Nor a King.” She turned to look at Easton over her shoulder. “I am a Quaid. Now and always.”

  “Give me your hand, then, Sadie Quaid, and swear a blood oath to alpha and pack.” Drew nicked her palm then his own with a small pocket knife, and they clasped hands. A shudder went through the pack bonds as they opened to accept the newest wolf into the Tao Pack.

  “Are you ready?” Luc brushed his lips across her ear.

  Sarah shivered. “To run?”

  He nodded.

  “Of course.” She grinned. “Boys, here are the rules. You have to stay with us. No running ahead. Got it?”

  “We understand.” Dylan bounced beside her. “Is everyone going to be wolves?”

  “Everyone who can shift will be,” Ero answered.

  “Cool.”

  “Last one into the woods is a rotten egg.”

  She grabbed Charles’ hand. “Hold on a second. You can’t go till the alpha goes.”

  Her sons stopped in their tracks. “Rules?”

  “Yep.” Ero ruffled her hair. “Now, pay attention.”

  One by one, the Tao pack began to shift. The freedom of being a wolf called to her. She found a spot near her sons, but out of their line of sight, and removed her clothes before opening to her wolf. The heat of her spirit consumed her, her wolf emerged from the light, and, in the blink of an eye, she stood on four legs, free.

  Trotting to her boys, she rubbed against their legs. They latched onto her fur with their fists, not enough to hurt her, but to stay close as they climbed into the hills. Yes, she’d made the best decision by coming home, and, as her mates flanked them, she knew there was no place else she would rather be.

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  Winter Fairy Tale by TL Reeve

  Chapter One

  “Fuck, I shouldn’t want you this much.” Sayer Blackcrow fisted Kizzy Rhapsody’s hair and slanted his mouth over hers. He cursed the yearning in his voice and the throbbing dick in his pants.

  For the past three months, every time Elle visited her best friend in Hill City or Custer, he trailed them. Or, as the matrons had asked, protected them. In the beginning, he’d hated it. He couldn’t stand being around humans. He didn’t trust them. Didn’t see the point of it. They did more to hurt the world than they were worth, and humans, though some of the pack had mated them, brought nothing but death to their front doors.

  Yet, the second he caught the hint of sugarplums clinging to her…tasted the scent on his tongue—so potent he thought pure cane sugar had been poured over his taste buds—he’d been hooked. He craved being around her more. Inhale more of her sweetness.

  Mate.

  No. No way in hell he’d mate a human. He considered her an infatuation. If he fucked her enough times, he’d sate the need to be around her. Her scent wouldn’t grab him by the balls anymore—like it did at the moment.

  He curled his lip and slammed their bodies against the wall of her small cabin, rattling the knickknacks hanging there. His free hand slid up her thigh, pushing her long-ass fugly night shirt out of his way. He hated the thin piece of material. The way it clung to her curvy body, showing off her puckered nipples when the blast of cold night air hit them as she’d opened the door to greet him, moments before. Hated the way it made his mouth water with anticipation.

  “Shut up.” She pulled the zipper of his jeans down then went to work on his belt. “You’re always trying to ruin this. Shit. Move, dude.”

  Pushing his thigh between hers, he growled in her ear. “You’re nothing but trouble.” He sucked her earlobe into his mouth and nipped at the sensitive flesh.

  “I resemble those remarks.” She bit the juncture of his neck and shoulder then ran her tongue up the column of his throat.

  “More screwing, less talking,” Sayer snarled.

  “Such a romantic.” She pushed his shirt off his body as she urged him backward toward her bed.

  “Never. It’s a bullshit concept.” He wrapped his arms around her before switching their positions, covering her body with his as they fell onto her mattress. “This though. This right here….” He nipped at her ample hip. “This is what real men want.” Or wolves, in his case.

  She writhed below
him, digging her nails into his shoulders. “You talk too much. We don’t have a lot of time.”

  They never did. He made sure of it.

  He took off at the end of his shift as pack protector and raced home to grab a quick shower then drove the thirty minutes it took to get from Los Lobos to Custer, which, in a few weeks, would be near about impossible to do. The snow would keep him bound to his pack and away from the one woman he wanted everything and nothing to do with.

  “Don’t forget.” She handed him a condom.

  “Wouldn’t have.” He continued to kiss a path up her body. “Shh.”

  Drawing her soft-pink nipple into his mouth, he sucked on it while flicking the tip of his tongue over the hard point. Her sigh and wiggle of her hips set his blood boiling. Shit, even if he didn’t want anything to do with her, he still enjoyed the sex. For being a quirky little thing who annoyed him most days and mildly amused him others, she got into “bumping uglies”—as she called it.

  “Hurry,” she whimpered.

  Hell no. He wanted her so sated she fell right off to sleep by the time he got done with her. “My pace. Not yours.” He kissed the space between her breasts then drew the other taut bead into his mouth and showered it with the same attention.

  “Bastard.”

  He smiled against her flesh. “Yes I am.”

  He ripped away her panties, and the wet heat of her pussy seared his cock. Sayer ran his finger along her slit then shoved his middle finger into her tight channel. He groaned. Always ready. Always so hot. He fucked her in long, torturous strokes while rubbing her clit. When her knees shook and she began to whine, he pulled back. Picking up the foil square, he tore it open and sheathed his length within the rubber barrier.

  He despised it.

  He craved to know the feel of her pussy gripping him while she climaxed around him bareback. Wanted to feel her sweet cream drenching his cock.

  “You know what to do.” He adjusted his position and waited for her to reach between her legs and take him inside her. “Tick-tock. Time’s wasting.” He pushed his jeans off, leaving them in a crumpled heap by the bed.