“Trust me, I don’t think I cared at the time. So was this like renewing our shifter vows?” I teased weakly.
“Sorta. Sometimes our souls like to remind each other we belong together.”
“I approve.” My eyelids fluttered in an attempt to defeat the haze spreading like fog over my brain. “So good,” I slurred.
Russ chuckled. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas.”
— — —
When I awakened in the morning, Russ was passed out beside me, snoring the most horrific train wreck-like noise from his open mouth. I giggled for a moment at him, wondering how I’d ever become accustomed to sleeping through it, and then I tiptoed from the bedroom to make us Christmas breakfast. I grabbed my robe along the way and belted it up tight.
Usually, after a night of amazing, knock-my-socks-off sex, the first to wake in the morning was charged with making breakfast for us both. Sometimes I pretended to be last out of bed to enjoy his steak omelets.
“Hm. Maybe a light breakfast. Christmas dinner is going to be hu—” The words ended abruptly, dying on my tongue as I stepped around the corner into my kitchen.
Santa Claus had transformed my kitchen into a quaint dream come true.
“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.”
A shiny black and chrome glass top stove stood in place of the old model I’d come to share a love-hate relationship with. A big candy cane striped ribbon gleamed from where it had been tied around both handles of the double oven.
“I have two ovens!” I squealed and clapped my hands together, bouncing on the balls of my feet before running over to examine the rest of the kitchen upgrades. A brand new rolling kitchen island had been set on the open floor, no doubt to appease my complaint of never having enough preparation space.
The double basin sink was also brand new. The rusted faucet of the original single basin sink sometimes sprayed water everywhere. Whatever Russ had installed at the time of gutting the old structure on the property and building his own home, had been inexpensive. He’d fessed up to it many times, but I’d never meant to imply it wasn’t good enough. That I wasn’t happy and grateful for everything we had together.
I turned the water on and off, feeling like a child when I realized the faucet detached from the curved base and became a sprayer.
I guess this is what it’s like when you’re an adult. You go from being excited at Christmas over toys and video games to losing your shit over kitchen appliances and… My eyes darted to the dinette table. I blinked at the new mixer that had somehow escaped my notice. I tried to count the number of attachments beside it and lost count.
“Do you like it?”
Russ had snuck down behind me while I marveled over my gifts. I squealed and threw myself into his waiting arms. “Oh, Russ, you didn’t have to do all this.”
“I know, but it’s about time we turned this place into a real home. Besides, you love to cook.”
“I do, but this is — you went above and beyond, Russ. When did you find the time to do all of this?” We’d been together since leaving the house for Ian’s Christmas Eve party, and then we both fell asleep at the same time. Or so I thought. My overactive imagination pictured him rushing around the kitchen in the dead of night while I lay passed out in post-orgasmic bliss. I giggled.
“You’re worth it. As for when… I bought everything awhile back. Juni and Nadir installed everything before they came to the party last night.”
“So that’s why you didn’t let me in the kitchen.”
A bashful smile lit up his face. “I didn’t wanna ruin the surprise. Besides, after watching you in that dress all night, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on you.”
“Sweet talker.”
“Every word true, darlin’.” Russ reluctantly separated from me and plucked up the cordless phone. “I have one more gift for you this morning.”
“I have a gift for you, too, but uh, why are you calling Taylor?” I asked while watching him dial familiar numbers on the touchpad.
“It’s where I hid my other gift for you,” Russ explained. “Hey, Tay. You awake and free to meet me with that special surprise?” He listened then nodded. “Great. Meet you outside.”
“No, don’t hang up yet! I have a gift I need Jada to bring over.”
Russ furrowed his brow and covered the receiver. “Taylor says they’ll both be here in about thirty.”
“Can you go get Mateo? I’ll shower real quick and whip up an amazing breakfast on our new stove.”
“Taylor, meet me at Ian’s instead, okay? Shorter walk for you. Thanks, man. Dani will be here to meet Jada.”
He hung up and grabbed a sweatshirt off the back of a nearby chair. My husband slipped his boots on with his pajama pants, kissed me on the nose, and headed out. I took the world’s quickest shower then made it downstairs in time to start a batch of pancake batter before the doorbell rang.
Jada arrived with the puppy in her arms. I welcomed her in, giddy with excitement.
“She wasn’t a problem, was she?” I asked.
Jada shook her head. “I told you before, the most trouble we had from her was a severe crush on Taylor. You can tell she has a little training, but her bladder is tiny.”
“Thanks for watching her like this.”
I took the energetic puppy into my arms. And while a couple days had passed since I’d bathed her, the fresh and clean scent of her dog shampoo still clung to her fur. The puppy snuggled into my chest, an affectionate, warm furball.
“All right. I better get out of here. We had to split ways to keep Russ from seeing your gift, so I took the car while Taylor walked.”
My heart leapt in my chest, a rush of excitement powering through my veins. What was this top secret gift? “He already bought me half of a new kitchen. What else did he get me? Tell me, Jada. Please!”
Jada mimed zipping her mouth shut. “See you for Christmas dinner!” And away she bounded to her car.
“C’mon, you, let’s get you under the tree.”
Trigger ambled over and greeted his new little friend with a warm snuffle and a few licks. Our unnamed pup happily abandoned me to chew on her big brother’s ears.
All of her belongings had been stowed in the trunk of my car where Russ didn’t pry. He usually stayed out of my personal things unless I asked him to help bring in the groceries. I planned to bring them in after the big reveal, once he was acquainted with the pup and she was ready to settle down in her new home. I couldn’t wait. Excitement trilled through me, speeding my pulse along.
Would he love her? Part of me worried he’d intended Trigger to be his only dog, but my mind went back to his words in the forest. Every boy deserved to have a dog. Our new pup would be a companion for Mateo as much as Russ.
I’d hoped to let Mateo find her beneath the tree, but she took off toward the door the moment it opened, barking in greeting. Russ glanced down at his feet with a bewildered but priceless expression once he found the noise’s source.
My son answered her with a cheerful, “Woof woof!” then wriggled in his father’s arms until he was set down.
“What’s this?”
“Merry Christmas,” I replied. “She’s my gift for both of you.”
“She?” Russ clarified. His brown eyes had grown large with surprise. He crouched down to meet the curious puppy and scooped her into his arms. Mateo was quick to follow, enraptured with the new addition.
“I picked her up two days ago from a breeder in San Antonio. Wonderful woman.”
“What do you think, little bud? Do you like her?” Russ turned his gaze on our son, who was grinning from ear to ear. The puppy scrambled from my husband’s arms, eager to play with someone more her size.
“Trigger came with me when I picked her out. I hope you don’t mind.”
“She’s beautiful, Dani. Thank you.” Moisture gleamed in his eyes as he looked between Trigger and the puppy with our son.
“I’m glad you like her.” Relieved, too. Th
e rapid beating in my chest finally chilled, replaced by an exhausted sense of peace.
“Guess it’s time to introduce you to your last gift, too,” Russ said. He delved his hand into the front bib of his sweatshirt.
My husband brought a petite, orange and cream ball of fur from the pocket and offered her to me on one of his huge palms. Its sleepy yellow eyes peered up as I took her. “She’s all yours, darlin’. Merry Christmas.”
The little orange tabby put her pink padded paws on my face and licked my nose with her rough tongue. “Russ, she’s adorable. When did you get her?”
“I found her hiding beneath a car in the grocery store parking lot about a week ago,” Russ admitted to me. “I’d gone to get that carton of eggs you asked for, and she came right on out to meet me. Seemed like providence, you know? So I took her to the vet, had her cleaned up, and hid her at Taylor’s place.”
Poor Jada and Taylor, pet-sitting two baby animals at the same time, all while keeping it a secret.
“I can’t believe we both hid pets for each other at Taylor’s house.”
“I would have used Ian since Leigh is into the animal rescue thing, but we were sure Sophia would tattle to you about having a kitty.”
I laughed in a failing attempt to keep my emotions in check. My eyes burned with unshed tears, the fat, stinging droplets threatening to roll from my lashes. “The same thought crossed my mind about the puppy. Listen to the sound she’s making. Aww,” I cooed. The kitten pawed at my chest and bumped her head beneath my chin as I held her close. She didn’t meow; tiny chirping noises came from her instead.
“Poor thing had some bark caught in her throat, so the vet said it was good I found her when I did. She was the tiniest thing when I picked her up. I guess food, affection, and a warm bed filled her out some.”
I leaned up on my tiptoes to kiss my husband’s cheek. “You are the best.”
“Merry Christmas, Mrs. Hawkins.”
“Merry Christmas, Mr. Hawkins.”
His thumb swiped over my cheek after the first tears fell. “It’s good to be home, Dani. You and Mateo are the ones who keep me here.”
I’d gotten my Christmas wish, and I had never felt more blessed.
My family and home were the only gifts I needed.
ABOUT
Wild Operatives
The Wild Operatives are a series of stories following the adventures of special operative shapeshifters embarking on their most difficult mission: the search for love. They may be read as standalones or in published order to enjoy the overall story arc. There are no cliffhangers.
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Vivienne Savage
Vivienne Savage is a resident of a small town in rural Texas. While she isn't concocting sexy ways for shapeshifters and humans to find their match, she raises two children and works as a nurse in a rural retirement home. Visit Vivienne at her website and receive a free book when you sign up for the mailing list.
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Mated By Christmas
Redstar Werewolves
Loribelle Hunt
It's been eight years since Dane started a war with the Magical Council, but with his power now consolidated and treaties signed with most of the North American lupine packs, it's time to give himself the ultimate Christmas present. His mates. Kade, one of those mates, is in complete agreement. Thankfully, they know just where to find her.
Finley Saren joined the Redstar pack after hers disbanded, but she thinks it's just a temporary stop. When her former lover Dane shows up with her teenage crush Kade, she welcomes every kiss and touch. Will they make all her Christmas wishes come true or turn her life upside again?
ONE
Finley Saren ducked the kick directed at her thigh with the ease gained from years of training and fighting. Dealing with a challenge from a werewolf she'd already defeated once was definitely not how she'd intended to spend her last day off before Christmas, though. She'd held back with previous challengers, down played her true strength. Her patience with the effort to blend in had run out. Baker pulled his arm back to throw a punch and Finley moved in, punching him once in the chest to knock the breath out of him and a second time to put him on the ground. The crowd, which had been cheering or hectoring, fell abruptly silent. Finley knelt next to Baker, leaned in close enough to warn him.
“Try this again and I'll really hurt you. Or kill you. You understand?”
He nodded, his scent turning the sickly sweet of fear, and she knew what he saw in her eyes. Death and the determination to follow through if he pushed her again. But now she had a more serious problem. She rose and turned to face Liza, Redstar's paladin. The position was ancient. Third in the hierarchy, Liza was a kind of modern day knight who stood in front of the pack's alpha and beta, Caleb and Zach, who also happened to be her mates. Neither were in the clearing where moments ago several pack members had been decorating for the upcoming Christmas party, but Finley knew they'd get a full report. Sighing, she crossed the clearing to join Liza.
“You've been holding back,” Liza drawled. “I was wondering how long it'd take before you showed your claws.”
She only scented curiosity from Liza. She knew better than to let her guard down, though. All paladins were strong but Liza was half witch half lupine, and one who couldn’t shift at that, which made her rise to power remarkable. Some found it dumbfounding, but not Finley. She recognized the predator that always lurked in Liza's eyes. Instead of responding to the paladin, she waited her out. Around them the members of the pack helping with the decorations and lights went back to work, conversation and laughter rose and fell as people began to relax.
“What really happened to Waterford?” Liza finally asked.
She'd been waiting for someone to ask and was surprised it had taken so long.
“You know most of it.”
When she'd come to Redstar a few weeks ago she'd told Liza, Caleb, and Zach everything that didn’t feel like a betrayal. The story was simple and tragic enough without adding her frustration and anger to the tale. This time Liza waited her out.
“You know we were attacked by rogues. Our alpha and beta weren’t strong enough to hold the pack together and stop the encroachment. And they refused to step down and allow those who could to take over. We couldn’t trust them after that.”
Without trust there was no hope for Waterford. She didn’t have to tell Liza that.
“The strongest left to form a new pack, most of the younger members went with them. After that, those of us left held on as long as we could, but then the alpha and beta were killed so we disbanded.”
The majority of them went to the new pack, Freegate, but she'd come to Redstar, her grandmother's pack.
“Why come here and not join Freegate? And don’t tell me family,” she tacked on when Finley would have done exactly that.
“I don’t belong with them.” She couldn’t quite hide the bitterness.
“You blame them.”
It was stupid. The defectors had done what they had to to protect their mates and families. She could join them at any time, however. The invitation had been left wide open. It would require her to make a choice, a concession, that she couldn’t though. Liza didn’t speak again for a couple minutes.
“There are other packs. You should be a paladin or a beta.”
She didn’t bother to deny it. If things hadn’t gone so wrong in Waterford, she would have been its beta. Too much had gone wrong though, too many had died. She didn’t want to ever feel that helpless again. Liza sighed.
“I understand you need time to heal. To come to terms with what happened. We're not kicking you out, but you and I both know Redstar is just a resting place for you.”
“So don’t overstay my welcome?” she asked drolly.
Liza grinned. “I have a feeling you'll find a permanent home sooner than you think.”
“You have visions?”
It was a reasonable question. Liza was a w
itch after all, but she shook her head.
“Nope. But I have excellent instincts.”
So did Finley and she had the sneaking suspicion Liza was spot on. She couldn’t stay here indefinitely so she should be looking for a real home. But it sure as fuck would not be Freegate. The paladin gave her a considering look.
“You should run it off. Come up to the house for dinner tonight. We might have some options. Bring your houseguests with you.”
She arched her eyebrows. “I have houseguests?”
“Well, actually you’re the guest. They live there. Harper or Gabby didn’t tell you? Kade and Dane will be home in a couple hours.”
Kade and Dane together?
“I didn’t realize they were involved.”
It was a blow she hid. She'd met Kade when she was sixteen and he was passing through Waterford. She'd experienced her first real case of insta-lust on the introduction, but he hadn’t looked at her twice. Of course, he was about six years older than her so she couldn’t have expected anything else, and she'd never run into him again. She hadn’t forgotten, though. Had always wondered what would happen if their paths crossed once she'd reached adulthood. Dane, on the other hand. She'd spent two very hot weeks with the wizard a couple of years ago. A part of her had always regretted not leaving with him when he'd asked. It had blown into full fledged remorse after the death of her pack. She admitted, if only to herself, that he was part of the reason she'd come to Redstar. She had family here, yeah, but so did he. His sister, Harper, had sought asylum with Redstar eight years ago and had been mated to the pack's healer and one of its senior soldiers almost as long. Finley had known eventually he'd return.
It was his leaving that woke her up. Made her see what a strong connection she was throwing away. He was her mate. She'd hoped and prayed there was a way back from the loss, to rekindle their relationship. She'd thought they'd figure it out. She hadn’t expected him to return with a lover, though. And that lover was Kade? If she needed a sign from the universe that her time here was coming to an end, well she'd received the damned message loud and clear.
Sugar, Spice, and Shifters: A Touch of Holiday Magic Page 74