Howl for the Holidays

by Keira Blackwood

  “You’ll be a great mom,” she said.

  “Thanks,” I said, and hugged my friend.

  They didn’t stay long, and then it was just me and my mate. He sat down in the rocking chair set up between the two beautiful cribs, and I sat in his lap. Harkins wrapped his arms around me, and we took in the completed nursery. It was the final touch to our new house, to our new life. All that was left was waiting for the twins.

  Everything was different since we’d spent those nights out in the mountains. The sadness that I’d seen in Harkins was gone. He smiled, he hummed, and those little lines by the sides of his eyes grew more noticeable.

  We became closer with every passing day. He read stories to my belly, and held me while I slept. We ran through the woods at night as wolves, and visited my family every holiday.

  Harkins nuzzled his nose in the crook of my neck and breathed me in. I savored the comfort of his arms and his scent—saltwater and sand. I turned to him and met his eyes. He gave me that same look. The one that he gave me every day, the one of love and longing. It was a look I cherished from the man I loved, my mate. James Harkins.

  Also by Keira Blackwood

  The Sawtooth Peaks Series

  The Sawtooth Peaks Complete Series Box Set

  Running to the Pack

  Defending the Pack

  Uniting the Pack

  Protectors of the Pack

  Bodyguard

  Enemies

  Heir

  The Riverwood Series

  The Riverwood Complete Series Box Set

  Grizzly Bait

  Grizzly Mate

  Grizzly Fate

  Continue reading for previews of Running to the Pack, Bodyguard, and Grizzly Bait!

  Running to the Pack: Chapter One

  Hailey

  The phone book shook in my hands as I rifled through the pages. Though it had sat on the counter for years it still felt brand new. The stiff spine made it difficult to read the listings toward the center and my eye that was almost swollen shut made it hard to read at all. I picked a cab company at random and set the book down on the counter. I couldn't take comfort in anything familiar. He knew my habits, he knew too much of me. I struggled to focus on pressing the right numbers as my fingers trembled.

  Two rings then a deep voice with a thick, Eastern European accent spoke, "City Cabs. How I can help you?"

  "I need a cab as soon as you can. Four fifty-nine South Walnut Street," I said, appreciating his directness. I was in no condition for pleasantries, just barely holding it together.

  "Five minutes is okay?"

  "Perfect." I hung up the phone. Just five more minutes.

  The knot in my middle twisted and squeezed. I rushed around my small apartment looking for what I needed. There was no time to worry about the rest. Ding. Another text. Inhale deeply, exhale slowly. Inhale deeply, exhale slowly. I emptied my drawers in huge armfuls, dumping them into the open suitcase on the bed. My racing heart threatened to pound its way out of my chest as I collected my belongings. Ding. I swallowed hard, fighting the urge to vomit. It would be over soon. I just needed to focus. I grabbed the framed pictures from the nightstand, the two pictures I could never replace, memories of the people that mattered most to me. I rested them on top of my clothes, careful not to break the glass. I stuffed in the dangling legs of pants and sleeves of shirts and zipped my bag shut. I glanced at the phone sitting next to my packed bag on the bedspread. I wondered if I should take it. What would happen if he found me and I had no way to call for help? I was sure no one could help me in time anyway. He was too smart to get caught. The restraining order meant nothing to him. When he wanted to reach me he did. We'd been through this already. What if I brought the phone along and he had some way to track it? Knowing him, he probably did. Too risky.

  I grabbed my suitcase and purse, and left the phone on the bed. Ding. I was surprised I could still hear anything over the thrum of blood pounding in my ears. Inhale deeply, exhale slowly. Yeah, I should leave it, I decided. I threw on my favorite grey hoodie, pulling the top over my head, and tucking my thick, brown curls in behind my shoulders. I checked my reflection in the mirror by the door and slid on my aviators. They almost hid the purple and blue marring my left eye. There was no covering the slice on my lip, so the glasses would have to do. I didn’t recognize the hollow shell of a woman that looked back at me. I always thought thinner would be more beautiful, but what I saw wasn't beauty. I hated what I saw—fear.

  I was doing what I was best at: running away. I lifted my sunglasses and looked out the peep hole. He wouldn't just stand around in the hallway where I could see him, but I had to check. It looked clear. Inhale deeply, exhale slowly. I squeezed the handle of my rolling suitcase and closed my eyes. I can do this, I told myself. Everything would be better once I got out of this godforsaken city. It doesn't hurt to lie to yourself if it keeps you moving. I moved into the hall, looking both ways. Empty. Inhale deeply, exhale slowly. Ding. I slammed the door behind me, harder than I should, shielding me from the sound of him reaching for me. I rushed down the hall toward the closed elevator doors. The floor numbers were ticking up. Someone was coming.

  I feared it could be him. I debated what would happen if he was there. Did he know I was running? He shouldn't; I was so careful. This was the one day all month that asshole would be stuck in surgery and conferences without taking breaks alone in his office. But even during conferences he made time to text. I waited long enough for him to be halfway into the first meeting, hoping he would be too involved to keep close tabs on me. I prayed I was right. Even if it wasn't him in the elevator, I didn’t want to run into my neighbors either. I couldn't wait to find out. I ducked into the stairwell and lifted my bag into my arms, squeezing tightly as I rushed down the stairs. My feet were racing almost as fast as my heart. From the lobby I could see the yellow sedan pulling up to the curb in front of my building. The cool autumn air bit at my face and hands, another reason to be thankful for the protection of my hooded sweatshirt. I opened the back door by the time the cabby stepped out of his door to help me.

  "Want to put bag in trunk?"

  "No." I squeezed my bag against my chest and climbed in.

  "Okay,” he said with a confused look. "Where to?"

  "Bus station."

  "Okay." He looked once more at me, concern in his warm, brown eyes, before turning forward and driving away. He left me in peace, and I was thankful for that.

  I watched my building shrink and disappear behind us, my life with it. The streets were lined with familiar buildings, with the familiar bustle of city life. I had only spent three years in Elkston, but I had made friends, had my own place, and had taken three years of college classes. I closed that chapter of my life, sooner than I had intended. I said no goodbyes, and had no idea what would come next. I sank back into the seat and let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding. Tears streamed down my cheeks, as I repeated to myself: inhale deeply, exhale slowly.

  Running to the Pack: Chapter Two

  Cole

  I kept the damned florescent lights in my office to a minimum, sitting as close to the window as the desk allowed. Even as the sun lowered in the sky I preferred the natural light, or lack thereof. Dense trees clustered behind the glass. A mix of softwoods, from tall and slender lodgepole pines to the reddish-brown western larchs, coated the sharp inclines surrounding the town of Sawtooth Peaks. Yellow needles blended among the sea of evergreen and brought the colors of autumn to the otherwise verdant landscape. The yellow sky mirrored the forest floor, mixed with oranges and pinks, a swirl of color that promised the day would soon be at an end.

  At work I surrounded myself with deep, rich, wooden furniture inside the office, a change I made when I inherited Sawtooth Den. I added forest green cushions, with pillows, curtains, and flooring all in natural creams, greys, and browns. My legacy in linens. It helped make time at work a bit more bearable, a bit more like where I should have been—outside. Tilting my head
back I finished the last of my coffee, wishing it was something stronger.

  "But Cole," she purred, full lips open, eyelids heavy as she looked at me through mascara drenched eyelashes. Callie laid it on thick. Hands on the front edge of my desk, she bent at the hip to be sure I got a clear view of her overflowing breasts in her low-cut tank. Her hips swayed slowly behind her, displaying her submission to me. Anyone who walked by my office would see her perky ass up in the air, barely covered in tiny shorts.

  A growl rumbled in my chest, my inner wolf pleased to take her up on her unspoken invitation. I ignored my animal side. I brushed a hand through my black hair, taking a moment to admire the view. She was a lovely female, with long, blonde hair. A bit thin for my tastes, but pleasant curves where she had them. The essence of autumn mingled with her natural scent: crisp mountain air, freshly fallen leaves, lingering moisture from the morning's rain. She must have been out running in the morning. I longed to do the same.

  "We've been through this, Callie." Callie slid a finger between her full, red-stained lips, gliding her tongue around its tip. Moving slowly downward, her fingers traced her neck. Her head tipped to the side, exposing the moist trail of her finger down her neck. Not just an invitation for a good fuck. An invitation to claim her. Her hand rested on her breast, where she lingered and squeezed.

  "Mmm," she moaned. "I could give you a big litter of beautiful cubs."

  "You should go," I said, my voice low and even. It wasn’t a bad offer, a beautiful woman and a beautiful wolf. But one thing my wolf side and my human side agreed on, she would not be my mate. Callie gave me one last pouty lip as she stood slowly, pressing her chest out at me. She turned and walked away, swaying her hips to make sure I knew what I was missing out on.

  A knock on the open door and my half-brother stuck his head in, his eyes following Callie as she left. "Damn, man," he smiled as he strolled into my office. He sunk into the evergreen-cushioned pine chair across from my desk and propped his feet on top of my paperwork. I sighed in response but he ignored me. "I would love to get me some of that ass."

  "Help yourself," I grumbled, swatting his feet off.

  "I would man, but it's always you. The ladies love your big, dark, brooding giant look.” He gestured a hand up and down at me. “Man and beast," he said with a smirk. My brother, the only one in the pack that I could spend time with without the constant reminder of my responsibilities, was a good-looking wolf himself. I got my dark hair from my mother, but large size and hard features from our father. Lance was a male version of his mother, smooth and graceful with short, silver hair as a human, and a matching silver coat as a wolf. His sharp blue eyes and devious smile spoke to his personality. It was impossible to look at that grin and not know he would show you a good time. She-wolves and human women threw themselves at him, wanting exactly that. As the eldest son of the last alpha and the largest wolf in our pack, it was assumed I would be the next alpha. So more often than not, propositions to me were by she-wolves looking to be my mate, for life. I carried the burden of being next in line while Lance enjoyed life, something I loved about him and wished I could manage to do myself.

  “You do just fine,” I said. A smile spread across my face, inevitable in his company. “I seem to remember a set of golden-haired triplets not so long ago.”

  “Oooh, yeah, the Hawthorne sisters. That was a fun couple of days while their pack was passing through.”

  “It would have been more fun for me if I didn't find the three of them all over you. On my desk.” We shared a laugh, and I enjoyed the distraction from my work.

  “Well, I should be heading out. I'm taking the new girl to dinner. The one with the red hair.” He gave me a wink as he stood and started toward the door.

  “Shea.”

  “Hmm?” He asked, looking away and clearly not listening.

  “Her name is Shea,” I said.

  “Thanks, bro!” Lance gave me a wave then put his hands in his jean pockets as he strolled out the door.

  I looked down at the mountain of papers on my desk, and returned to entering expense amounts from receipts into the spreadsheet on my laptop. I knew keeping the books was a good way to learn the ins and outs of our family business. Owning half of the business kept me interested in its success, but I didn’t really care about the details. I was more interested in the scout reports from wolves in the field, but it was all still paperwork. All I could think about was getting out of my office, out of the bar, and into the fresh fall air. The more time I spent in this room, the more suffocated I felt, but duty first.

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  Bodyguard: Chapter One

  Alex

  Weathered, wooden rafters crossed the ceiling above the mattress that smelled like dust and mildew. It was a rare occasion that I resented my sharpened sense of smell. I always knew who approached me before they came into sight. Lies and fear were easily distinguishable. The flavors of a well-cooked meal preceded the taste in the scent. But sometimes, it was a curse, like when I was forced to talk to Leonard Fallow. My father’s middle-aged business partner wore a crisp suit, but never seemed to bathe, and his teeth were well on their way to rotting out of his mouth. Mr. Fallow preferred to stand close to me, too close for comfort even if he hadn't smelled like a landfill. This was one of those times. The cabin wasn’t as bad as Leonard, but the musty odor was a consistent agitation, especially with a glorious escape from the city so close by.

  I rose from the bed and listened to my jailers.

  “Found a seller for the L88 I’ve been looking for,” a deep voice said.

  “What year?” a second asked.

  “Nineteen Sixty-Eight,” said the first.

  “If you’re going to spend that kind of money why not get the Shelby GT500? It’s so much sexier.”

  Cars. I checked their mindless chatter for any sign that the guards outside of the closed bedroom door were paying attention to my movements.

  “Corvettes all the way,” said the deeper voice.

  “I don’t know how you get Vanessa to agree to it.”

  “I don’t ask,” said the first.

  They were not. Hunter was allowed to come and go as he pleased, but not me. He was only two years older, and I was just as capable of taking care of myself as my brother. Hunter went to work, and helped with the investigation. I was taken from my apartment without the opportunity to contact my clients, gather more than a few clothes, or do much of anything but sit around in the musty room. Our father was being sexist and unfair, and I was fed up. Through the open curtains laid miles of vast evergreen forest, beckoning me to come and play. Shadows from the tall pines encouraged growth on the forest floor. The vegetation was greener than the grass in the yard, and even more so than what little grew in the city. Looking at the tree line was like looking through a window to an enchanted playground that was impossible to resist. It had been more years than I cared to count since I had been given this opportunity, and I’d be damned if I let it go to waste sitting in this battered cabin just a few feet away. The place had really fallen apart since mom had died. It used to be clean, and well maintained. The scent of sizzling bacon had wafted up through the halls to wake me every summer morning that I had spent here as a child. After sitting unused all of this time, it smelled like dust and the rodents that had made a home in the walls and furniture. It had been left to rot. Mom never would have allowed this, and there was no way I would just sit and wait to be summoned. Not here. I could be surrounded by nature instead of locked in a room waiting for huge men in business suits to barge in whenever they pleased. I unfastened my jeans, and lowered my panties with them to the floor.

  “Black. I get as many as I can in black.”

  “Why does it matter?” the second asked.

  “I don’t know. I guess I’m like Batman.”

  “Sure,” the second snorted.

  Careful not to make a sound, I pulled my t-shirt over my head, and unsnapped my bra. The worn but s
oft carpet silenced any noise my footsteps would have made as I scooped my clothes up into a ball and set them on my borrowed bed. Sunlight waned, deepening the shadows of the alluring forest. Moonlight would soon be all that lit the world, changing the forest into a realm suited only to beasts, a primal call to my inner wolf. The short distance to my playground was clear of guards. Just one pane of glass between me and freedom. Pulling up on the wooden frame, I held my breath for fear of sound. The glass moved, but popped as the weathered paint on the wood unstuck from the sill below. I cringed at the noise, and the voices ceased. Little time remained before one of my father's guards would come in to check on me, as they always did. It had been too long since they had last barged in, the next assault on my privacy would be any minute, sooner if they had heard the window. It had to be now. I lifted the glass the rest of the way and climbed through as quickly as I could, feet first. With my toes and fingers locked in the white wooden rungs, I grasped the trellis and scaled down the back of the safe house. It was just like it had been when I was a child—a grand escape down the trellis to play outside when I was supposed to be in bed. Mom had taken Hunter and me here, every summer before she died, for a break from city life. If my father had been around when we were young, he would have known better than to give me this bedroom. Voices carried from the front yard of the cabin, around to the back where I climbed downward. A door inside the house squeaked when it opened.

  “Fuck,” the deep voice said from the open window of the room I was expected to stay in. It had to be now if I would ever get the chance to enjoy the forest just outside of my city.

  Fresh-cut grass tickled between my toes, cool compared to the heat of the humid evening air. Closing my eyes, I let my inner wolf take over. My bones cracked, painful only for a moment while they rearranged. Fur spouted, the pressure of hair pulsed outward over every inch of my skin. My face elongated and my senses heightened. Concern over my father and his enforcers faded to the back of my mind, while the draw to the forest grew stronger. The gentle sound of rustling branches traveled with the cool, soft breeze. With it came the mingling scents of dry wood, conifer needles, and moist, ground-covering foliage.