Shifters of Silver Peak: A Very Shifty Christmas

by Georgette St. Clair

  “He came into the kitchen and helped himself to some of the stew that I was cooking for dinner,” DeeDee said, shaking her head and looking bewildered.

  “Who had access to the kitchen?”

  “Anyone.” She was in tears. “I’m not by the stove every minute – anyone could have come in here. But…everybody would have been served that stew. All of you. And the kitchen staff too.”

  “It’s you,” Elmira hissed, glowering at Nelda. “You’ve always wanted revenge. I will kill you for this.”

  “No, you won’t!” Teddy shrieked. She hurled herself at Elmira and latched on to her wrist with her teeth. Elmira snarled, started to shift, and Nelda shifted first and knocked her to the floor. The pack members pulled them apart as Camden knelt by his brother, stroking his sweat-soaked hair and growling softly.

  * * * * *

  Tears burned Valerie’s eyes as she paced around in the hospital’s underground parking lot. It was dim and creepy down there, and despite her wool overcoat and warm clothing, she was chilled to the bone.

  She’d told Morgan that she was going to use the ladies’ room, then snuck out and headed down here. Her car was parked nearby, and in a minute she’d be climbing in and driving away from him forever.

  Festus was still in the ICU, with his mother and brother by his bedside. He would live. He hadn’t eaten much of the stew, fortunately.

  But there was only one way to ensure that this would never happen again – that the attacks would stop. There was only one way to protect Morgan’s family from another Christmas heartbreak.

  She heard angry footsteps clattering across the concrete toward her. She’d sent a text and asked Nelda to meet her down here – alone.

  “What are you doing skulking about in the shadows?” Nelda said irritably. “It smells down here, and I was in the middle of teaching Teddy about how to mix and match patterns without clashing.”

  Valerie took a deep breath. Be strong, she told herself. “I want to tell you that I’m leaving. Morgan. The pack. I’m leaving town.”

  Nelda stared at Valerie. “Leaving?” she said, shaking her head slowly. “Why would you do that?”

  Valerie was confused.

  “I thought you’d be tap-dancing with joy,” she said, as tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. She wiped at her cheeks with her sleeve. “I’m going to inform Morgan that I am infertile and therefore disqualified,” she went on, her voice hoarse with sorrow. “I heard you talking on the phone about how that would make me ineligible to be his mate. He still has time to find someone else.”

  Nelda opened her mouth to say something, closed it again, then shook her head. She cleared her throat. “Well, there’s always adoption. I don’t know what the pack charter says about that.”

  “What?” Valerie sniffled hard. “No, I’m not actually infertile. I’m just going to tell Morgan that. Well, I’m going to send him a letter.” Pain lanced through her, and she swallowed a sob. She took a deep breath and told herself again to be strong. “I can’t tell him to his face.”

  “You’re saying my son, my son, isn’t good enough for you? You’re coming up with some phony excuse to dump him?” Nelda said indignantly.

  “No, that’s not what I’m saying at all,” Valerie protested. “I love your son. But I can’t have him lose two parents.”

  “Well, you are clearly insane.” Nelda regarded her with narrowed eyes. “But still. My son loves you. You make him happy. We might be able to find treatment for you.”

  Now Valerie was starting to get pissed. How long was Nelda going to try to play this off?

  “Nelda, come on. I know it was you behind all the attempts on my life. Today confirmed it. Hud and CoraBelle were in the guest house all afternoon. The only ones with access to the kitchen and the motive to actually commit murder were you and Elmira. And it couldn’t have been Elmira, because Festus was poisoned, and she would have found a way to make sure her boys didn’t eat the stew.”

  Nelda actually let out a very unladylike snort of contempt. “You cannot be serious.” Okay, so apparently Nelda was going to try to play this off forever.

  “It had to be you. And I don’t want Morgan to find out, and I don’t want him to have to banish his own mother, or…worse. Honoria and Homer need you. I’ll leave.” She hesitated. “I don’t know what we’ll do about Teddy. Since you’re a poisoner and an attempted murderer.”

  “Teddy stays with me,” Nelda said indignantly. “She actually listens to my advice about fashion and etiquette. I’ve just finished teaching her what forks to use. She’s not going anywhere. And furthermore, get it through your thick human skull - I was not the one who poisoned the stew. I did not make any attempts on your life. And now I realize that you actually do love my son, and I know that he loves you. I don’t understand it, of course,” she added, looking down her long nose at Valerie, “but since he loves you, I would rip the throat out of anyone who tried to harm you.” She smiled and let her fangs descend to show she meant it.

  “And why would I put poison in stew that we all were going to eat?” she added. “How, exactly, would that work?”

  “You’re clever. You could have figured out a way. Made sure that the poisoned stew went only to the intended targets. Maybe you were planning on just poisoning me, Festus and Elmira and Camden…” She trailed off. “Okay, that would be pretty hard to pull off. So…Elmira then?” Valerie said, bewildered. “But it couldn’t be.”

  Elmira stepped out from behind one of the cement columns, holding a small pistol, which she pointed at Nelda’s chest. Silver bullets, no doubt.

  “I am insulted,” she said.

  “Not nearly often enough.” Nelda’s lip curled back in a sneer.

  Valerie looked around in alarm. They were all alone. Her, Nelda, and a crazy woman.

  “I am insulted that you don’t think I’m strong enough to make the necessary sacrifices,” Elmira continued, ignoring Nelda. “You two are idiots, by the way. You don’t deserve to be the Alpha’s mate,” she said scornfully to Valerie. “Really. A human? And a sniveling, simpering sort of a human at that, one who runs around giving handouts to the dregs of society? My Camden will make a much better choice.”

  “You put poison in the stew? You would have had to eat it too,” Valerie protested. “Were you willing to die along with everyone else?”

  “I’ve been taking the antidote for months now, and giving it to Camden as well. You just never know when you’re going to need to poison someone.” Her eyes glittered with a crazy light. “And, bonus, I’ve been feeding it to my dear Nelda too. I snuck into her house back in California and put it in her favorite teabags. After all, when the dying started, I would need someone to blame.”

  “The car.” Valerie looked at her in horror. “You let Festus get in the car after you tampered with the brakes. You stood there and watched us drive off, knowing he could die. You’re a monster.”

  Elmira smiled. “Thank you,” she said smugly. “Rather brilliant way to throw suspicion off me and get rid of an embarrassing weakling of a son at the same time, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Mother?” Camden called out from the shadows. They heard his footsteps clomping toward them.

  “My son,” Elmira said, glancing at him with fondness. “My Alpha.”

  While her attention was distracted, Nelda made a move, as if to rush her. Elmira shook her head chastisingly. “Ah, ah, ah,” she said, pointing the gun right at Nelda’s midsection.

  Camden trotted up to her, standing by her side. “You poisoned Festus?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “You know how weak he is. Has he ever won a single fight against you? He was sickly even when he was a pup. I should have taken care of it back then, but your father wouldn’t let me.”

  She smiled fiercely up at her son.

  “You will be Alpha. It’s your destiny. Your father was Alpha…for one glorious day, until her mongrel of a son stole it from him.” She looked bitterly at Nelda.

  “You
vile, low-rent bitch,” Nelda snarled.

  Elmira perked up and smiled brightly at her. “Now, now, that’s no way to talk to the mother of your pack’s future Alpha. Of course, you won’t be here to witness that. First you’re going to murder Valerie by ripping her throat out, because you can’t stand the idea of her marrying Morgan. Everyone knows that. And when I catch you in the act of killing our Alpha’s mate, I will have no choice but to shoot you.”

  “Your plan won’t work. Camden still can’t beat Morgan. He still won’t be Alpha,” Valerie said, her heart thudding in her throat.

  “He won’t have to. I’ll find a way to kill Morgan. Maybe Morgan will commit suicide after Valerie dies. That’s what it’ll look like, anyway.” Her voice rose higher and higher. “And then Homer and Honoria, those two little mongrel curs with their disrespectful—”

  “Mother,” Camden interrupted her, patting her shoulder. “Calm down. We’ve got work to do here.”

  Elmira blinked hard. “Right. Right. Of course. You’ll do the honors. Go rip Valerie’s throat out. Don’t worry, we’ll clean you up nice and pretty before anyone gets here.”

  Valerie felt faint with horror. Could this really be happening? Wasn’t there at least a way to warn Morgan? Homer and Honoria…what would happen to them?

  “I will attack Camden when he comes for you. Run, and scream very loudly,” Nelda said in a whisper, stepping in front of Valerie.

  “Hurry up, Camden – that bitch has been on this Earth for too long already,” Elmira said impatiently, nudging her son with her elbow.

  “Sure thing, mother.” He looked over at them, then at Elmira. “There’s just one little thing, though.”

  “What’s that?”

  He slapped the gun out of her hand, furiously, and it clattered on the concrete floor. She cried out in surprise and alarm, and staggered back.

  “Camden?” Her voice went high and quavery.

  “I love my brother. How could you? How could you?”

  He struck her on the head with his fist, and she fell to the ground with an outraged yelp.

  “Did you get everything you needed?” Camden called out, in the direction of one of the concrete columns near Nelda and Valerie.

  Morgan stepped out of the shadows, his face grim, and ran over to Valerie.

  “Morgan?” Valerie sagged into his arms, her knees going weak. “How did you find me?”

  “Well, you went to the bathroom and disappeared, even though there’s a murderer out there stalking you, so I went looking,” he said with exasperation. “I followed your scent, and I met Camden on the stairwell. He told me that he saw you sneaking off, then saw his mother following you, so he wanted to find out what was up.”

  “Camden, why?” his mother wailed, blood running from her nose. “Why?”

  “You tried to kill my brother, you crazy bitch. And you tried to make me Alpha by cheating. What kind of Alpha would that make me? A weakling who doesn’t deserve it!”

  “Nooooo!” his mother wailed. “You must be Alpha! I don’t care what they do to me, you have to promise me that! Get stronger, strong enough to kill Morgan yourself! You have to!”

  He looked down at her with disgust. “If that’s the thing you want most, than I will never, ever be Alpha. Not of any pack, ever. Not even if the position were handed to me,” Camden said.

  Elmira moved quickly then – so fast that nobody had time to stop her. She lunged for the gun and grabbed it. Camden leaped in front of her, blocking her.

  “You aren’t touching them. Shoot me if you want,” he said bitterly. “You might as well. You’ve disgraced our lineage and the memory of my father.”

  Instead Elmira turned the gun, pressed it against her heart, and shot herself. She toppled to the ground with a thud.

  “Mother,” Camden moaned, a low, heartbroken sound.

  “Oh, Morgan.” Valerie burst into tears, and Morgan gathered her in his arms. She cried into his chest, shaking with relief…and pity. Elmira had been evil, true, but it was terrible that Camden had been forced to see what he just had. And poor Festus – poor, sad Festus – so desperate to please a monster who’d been born with a heart of ice.

  Valerie felt someone patting her on her back, and she looked up in surprise.

  Nelda.

  “She’s a keeper, son,” Nelda said with a decisive nod. “Now if we could just do something about her taste in clothing, she’d be the perfect mate.”

  Epilogue

  Nelda legally adopted Teddy. Morgan decided to make Silver Peak his permanent home. The Rosemont pack followed him there, and Nelda and her children moved to a house near Morgan’s. Nelda helped the shanty town residents incorporate into their own little city and start their own business making mail-order Christmas decorations. She was named co-president of the Ladies Benevolent Society.

  Nelda started dating Arthur, and thought nobody knew. Actually, the fact that Nelda and Arthur were dating was the worst-kept secret in the Rosemont Pack, in the history of ever.

  Festus recovered from the poisoning. He was deeply hurt by Elmira’s rejection of him, but Morgan made sure to invite him and Camden to Christmas dinner, New Year’s, and all his family holidays. He and Camden are closer than ever, and without Elmira’s influence, actually became pleasant and responsible members of the pack. Morgan recently gave them both promotions in his company. Honoria and Homer were accepted into Harvard.

  Valerie’s birthday, six months after Christmas

  “Birthday breakfast in bed? Oh, you should have,” Valerie said, sitting up and yawning hugely.

  Morgan set the tray down in front of her with an enormous grin on his face. She looked over the tray for a moment before it dawned on her what he’d done.

  There was a vase full of daisies on the tray. He had a big mug of cinnamon latte sitting next to it. And wrapped around the mug was a cozy made of…herringbone tweed.

  “You remembered,” she said, blinking back tears.

  Her favorite flower. Her favorite drink. And herringbone tweed, the half-joking guess he’d made at her favorite color the day she’d tried to quit.

  “There’s also a whole buttload of jewelry and other stuff,” he assured her. “And my family is coming over for lunch.”

  “Oh, Morgan. I appreciate the buttload of jewelry, but this…” She gestured at the tray. “You have no idea what this means to me. You’re the best mate ever.”

  “I am, aren’t I?” he said smugly, sitting down next to her.

  “Don’t ruin it,” she said, laughing. “Or I won’t give you your present.”

  “My present?” He looked surprised. “What is it?”

  She moved the tray out of the way, flashed him a wicked smile, and dropped the sheet to reveal her naked body.

  “Mmmm. I don’t even have to unwrap it,” he said, moving in to kiss her.

  THE END

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