by Anna Lowe
“A-ba-ba,” Soren echoed, making everyone laugh — including him. The funny thing was, the laugh loosened him up just enough to let his heart whisper something into his mind.
He looked around the room. All the healthy, happy faces. The beautiful Christmas tree, so tall it scratched the ceiling. The stockings hung from the stairs, promising little surprises. Then he took a deep breath and tried putting all that into words.
“Fifteen months ago, we lost everything,” he started, and a hush fell over the room. “Well, we thought we did. And last Christmas — well, there really wasn’t anything to celebrate.”
Janna nodded and squeezed Cole’s hand.
“But this Christmas…” Soren went on quickly, then trailed off again when he looked at his mate and son. How to summarize all the riches fate had blessed them with since then?
His heart thumped harder, giving him the answer.
“This Christmas, we have everything.” He looked at Sarah, his brother, and each of the others in turn. “We have each other.”
Even Ty Hawthorne, the tough alpha of Twin Moon Pack, exchanged soft glances with his mate, Lana.
“We have more than we ever dreamed of.” Soren paused and shook his head. “Destiny sure has a funny way of working. It’s brought us enemies, but it’s given us allies, too.”
He looked to Tina and Ty, who nodded in return.
“Destiny gave us family,” Soren continued, thinking of Todd and Anna, who’d always be a part of his clan, no matter how far away they lived. “Destiny gave us a home. A future.” He grinned at Teddy, sitting wide-eyed in his high chair.
Soren paused and looked at the misty-eyed faces gathered around the table. Had he said enough?
Sarah gazed at him with a look so proud and loving, his heart thumped harder, adding one more sentiment.
“This is the first Christmas that’s felt joyous since… Well, since I was a little kid.” He nodded to himself, because joyous was exactly the right word. They had so much to celebrate. So much to appreciate.
He raised his glass and spoke gruffly. “Merry Christmas, everyone.”
“Merry Christmas,” they murmured.
Whew. His stiff shoulders loosened up a bit again, and he sat back in his chair.
Simon gave him a thumbs-up. Janna winked. Rick Rivera gave him a respectful nod, and Sarah beamed.
Not too bad? he asked Sarah, shooting the question into her mind so no one else could hear.
You did great. She smiled. Really smiled, like a great day had just gotten even better. And dang. Maybe it had.
Especially when everyone clinked glasses and drank. Even Teddy held up his own plastic bottle with a little guidance from Sarah.
“So carve that turkey already,” Janna prompted Simon.
“Hang on,” Jess said. Her voice rose just enough to make everyone’s head turn. “We have something to say, too.” Her eyes sparkled, and Simon’s did too.
Soren cocked his head. Now what were those two up to?
“You say it,” Jess told Simon. Her face was as pink as Soren had ever seen it, and damn did she glow.
“No, you.”
Huh. Simon glowed, too.
Jess raised her glass. “Well, this pack has grown pretty quickly—”
“This clan has grown pretty quickly,” Simon corrected, grinning at their standing joke.
The she-wolves insisted on calling their tight band a pack, while the bears called it a clan. Soren called it a clan, too, but he couldn’t really care less. What counted was how they stuck together through thick and thin.
“Either way, it’s about to get bigger by one,” Jess said.
Janna squealed. Sarah clapped her hands together at her chest. Cole hooted.
Soren looked around. What was going on?
Sarah elbowed him in the ribs and mouthed something he didn’t quite get.
“We’re having a baby,” Jessica and Simon said at the same time.
Soren sat still as the joy crackling softly in his soul jumped up a notch. When Teddy was born, he’d been overjoyed, of course. But he’d never really understood why everyone else had been so excited, too. It wasn’t their baby, after all.
But finally, he understood. Jessica and Simon were having a baby, and that baby was clan. That baby was a miracle for him, too.
“That’s great,” he said, suddenly grinning from ear-to-ear.
“Congratulations!” Everyone burst out in excitement.
Simon, he could tell, was trying — and failing — to hide how ridiculously pleased he was.
“That’s awesome,” Janna cried, hugging her sister.
“It is awesome,” Jessica agreed.
Soren couldn’t suppress a grin. He was going to be an uncle, and Teddy was getting another cousin in addition to Ben and Fay. Soren was just getting ready to take another swig from his glass when Tina cleared her throat and stopped everyone.
“Must be something in the water.” She smiled. “I’m expecting, too.”
The room really did burst into a hubbub then, with everyone exclaiming and congratulating at the same time.
Lana hugged Tina. Janna embraced Cole. Summer kissed Drew. Everyone was hugging and milling around. Soren found himself at his brother’s side, clapping him on the back.
“So, you’re gonna be a dad, huh?”
Simon’s eyes danced. “Yep. Can you believe it?”
Soren was about to joke that, no, he couldn’t, when he considered how far they’d both come in the past couple of months.
“You know what? I can believe it. You’ll do great.”
Simon, for once, was speechless, and Soren chuckled out loud. His little brother, the expectant father. It was funny, the way life cycled around.
It took ages for everyone to settle down again, but finally, they dug into the meal, still giddy with excitement.
“Watch out, Janna,” someone joked. “You’ll be next.”
Janna laughed and threw her hands up. “Not me. I’m happy being the world’s best aunt.” She turned and winked at Cole. “For now, at least.”
Soren looked at Sarah. Could be us next time. Baby number two.
She spooned another bite of sweet potato into Teddy’s mouth and shot Soren a coy look. Could be.
Soren did his best not to get carried away on that thought. A little brother or sister for Teddy would be amazing, but he could hardly imagine life getting any better than it was right now.
And for the first time in a long time, he heard destiny chuckle in his ear. A nice, good-natured chuckle, not a warning.
Wanna bet?
* * *
Thank you for reading Celebration! I hope you enjoyed this cheery holiday story and that you’ll please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. Reviews help independent authors reach a wider audience and guide readers to stories they’ll love.
When you’re done with that, head straight into your next romantic adventure with Anna Lowe’s new ALOHA SHIFTERS series - Magnum, PI with a shifter twist! Nothing is forbidden to this elite corps of shifter bodyguards and private investigators…except falling in love. A thrilling new series set on the tropical shores of Maui featuring dragon, wolf, bear, and tiger shifters. Each story is packed with action, emotion, and romance! It all starts with Book 1 - Lure of the Dragon. Read on for a sneak peek or order your copy here today!
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Sneak Peek: Lure of the Dragon
Aloha Shifters: Jewels of the Heart, Book 1
Nothing is forbidden to this elite corps of bodyguards and private investigators — except falling in love.
LURE OF THE DRAGON
Good dragons? Bad dragons? Twenty-four hours ago, private chef Tessa Byrne didn’t know about the terrifying world of shifters. Now she knows too much, like the fact
that a ruthless dragon lord is determined to claim her — forever. Tessa flees to Maui, where sunny skies, swaying palms, and a handsome stranger conspire to play tricks with her heart. Can she truly trust Kai Llewellyn and his band of battle-hardened shapeshifters to save her from a gruesome fate?
Don’t trust a human, and never, ever fall in love with one. Those are lessons Kai learned the hard way. But Tessa is different. Her emerald eyes mirror the mysterious pendant she wears, and her flaming red hair makes his heart race. Is his inner dragon just greedy for a new kind of treasure, or is Tessa his destined mate?
* * *
Tessa took two shaky steps toward the ornate gate of the private driveway and stopped. Was she really going to do this?
You can trust them, Ella had said. Ella, the neighbor who’d come along at exactly the right moment and saved her life.
Tessa bit her lip. The fabric at the shoulder of her shirt was ripped, and her throat ached from the attack. Her fingers were still shaking, and her mind was haunted by visions of a terrifying beast. How could she trust anyone after what had happened less than twenty-four hours before?
You have to trust them. No one else can protect you from that monster.
Crickets chirped from the lush foliage, and a bat flew overhead, a splotch of black against the dark night. Palms swayed in the tropical breeze, echoing Ella’s words. No one else. There’s no one else.
Tessa shivered in spite of the balmy night, unwilling to trust her own senses. Sure, the sea was whispering over the shore in a reassuring way. And yes, the moon’s rippling reflection over the Pacific should be soothing, like the sweet scent of hibiscus. But even the island paradise of Maui could try to deceive her. Nightmares could break the deepest peace — real-life nightmares she couldn’t block out of her memory no matter how hard she tried. She could still see the glowing eyes of the creature that had attacked her.
Mine. You will be mine, his voice boomed in her mind.
She drew a deep breath and looked over her shoulder, wishing she hadn’t sent the taxi away. The past twenty-four hours had been a whirlwind. She’d barely slept, and fear pulsed through her veins like poison. How could she possibly judge whom to trust?
She tipped her head back at the stars and gulped. She was alone at night in a remote corner of Maui, far off the beaten track, about to knock on the door of a complete stranger for help.
A very rich stranger, she decided, inspecting the gate. There was an elaborate design in the middle, but she couldn’t quite make it out. Something swirly. Toothy. Wait — was that a tail? Shit, was it a dragon, or was she seeing things?
She shook the thought away and told herself to think. A gate that massive must protect a hell of an estate — a seaside estate in Maui that had made the taxi driver whistle when she gave the address back at the airport.
“Koa Point Estate,” he’d said. “You’ve got the right friends, miss.”
Tessa gnawed on her lip. These weren’t friends. They were complete strangers. And anyway, the man who’d attacked her in Phoenix was rich, too. Rich didn’t mean trustworthy — or even human.
A tremor went through her at the memory of her attacker’s fingernails turning into claws and reaching out for her.
Mine. You will be mine.
Tessa shook her head and turned back for the road. Who knew what secrets lay behind that gate? It would be safer to head back to Lahaina and find a hotel for the night. After a good night’s sleep, she could—
The beams of twin headlights blinded her, and a powerful engine purred into the driveway. Tessa froze as a vintage Jaguar approached then stopped. For a moment, nothing happened, and Tessa considered whether to run, but her legs stayed rooted to the spot.
The driver’s door opened, and a tall man climbed out. Tessa squinted against the lights, trying to make out his face as he stood silently inspecting her for a full minute.
“Have you decided yet?” His deep voice boomed, making her jump.
Tessa clutched her bag to her chest. “Who are you?”
He stepped forward, and a tiny grin formed at one corner of his mouth. “Who are you?”
Tessa tried to form an answer, but her lips were shaking, as was the rest of her body. Was this man a potential ally or a deadly foe?
His dark hair and bright blue eyes contrasted with the pure white of his dress shirt, open at the neck. Sharp, angled features cast their own sub-shadows over his face. Tall and imposing, he seemed perfectly at home in the night.
Vampire, her subconscious screamed. He must be a vampire.
Tessa discarded the idea a second later. Surely a vampire would give her creepy vibes. Despite the fine cut of his clothes, this man exuded an untamed, animal feel, like a lion or a wolf. A predator just as capable of ripping an enemy limb from limb as he was of protecting the one he loved.
A little shiver went down her spine.
Tessa tried to shake the feeling off and collected her thoughts. She doubted he was a vampire. Ella had sent her to a band of shapeshifters, right?
“I’m Tessa. Tessa Byrne.”
She hadn’t intended to give her full name, but damn. There was something fiercely commanding about the man — that, and he was so blindingly handsome, even in the dimness of night — that her brain had short-circuited.
“So, Tessa,” he murmured like a man savoring a new brandy. “Have you decided yet?”
“Decided what?” she asked, taking another step back.
“Whether you’re coming or going.”
Coming, part of her brain said. The part that couldn’t help noticing the ripple of muscles under the thin fabric of his shirt.
Going, the terrified part of her soul screeched. Go, quick.
But she didn’t move. She couldn’t. Or maybe she didn’t want to, because that might mean losing sight of him — and being alone when instinct screamed at her to stay.
“I’m…I’m not sure.” God, she hated being indecisive. Her whole life she had been confident, capable, and strong. But ever since she’d been attacked by something not-quite-human, she didn’t know where she stood anymore.
He stood studying her for a full minute before speaking again. A minute in which his eyes grazed over her body and his nostrils flared. A lot like her attacker had, and yet in a totally different way. For some mystifying reason, this stranger put her at ease, whereas she’d been wary of her attacker long before he’d shown his true self.
When the man locked eyes with her, her heart thumped hard and heavy, and an achy sensation set in under her ribs. An inexplicable yearning sensation, as if she’d been missing something terribly important all her life and only realized it now.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
She shook her mind back into focus and asked herself the same thing. A gentle sea breeze kissed her cheeks, reminding her where here was. Maui. A speck of an island in the middle of the Pacific. Would she be safe here?
“Ella sent me. She said to come to Koa Point and ask for help. She said to explain what happened.”
“And what might that be?”
“I was attacked by Damien Morgan. Last night, in Phoenix.”
The words came tumbling out, and when the man didn’t react, Tessa panicked. Had she said the wrong thing?
Then she realized he had gone stiff all over, and his eyes were no longer on her, but sweeping the darkness behind.
“Come with me,” he said curtly, tapping a keypad beside the gate.
Fear nipped at her heels, and she hurried toward the car. His voice was that urgent, that convincing.
“Get in,” he said, motioning her to the passenger seat.
His arms were so long and sculpted, she did a double take before obeying. The man was built like an Olympic swimmer — the big guys who swam butterfly, with incredibly broad shoulders and lumps of muscle along both arms. Even when he slid into the car beside her, he was pure, coiled power.
He hit a remote control, murmured something Tessa couldn’t hear into a speaker,
then drove in.
Tessa clutched at her leather seat, wondering if running away would have been the safer bet. But it was too late now.
The driveway was full of twists and turns, hiding the view ahead. The moon peeked from between the palms, giving her short glimpses of a varied landscape: patches of perfectly trimmed lawn between thick bamboo stands and huge, leafy bushes that whispered and swayed. One sweeping curve later, the driveway ended at a long, arched garage. It looked like a stable, making Tessa wonder how many thoroughbred engines lay slumbering inside. The man parked and stepped out of the car in one smooth motion.
“Follow me.”
He motioned her down a flagstone path between lush bougainvillea and palms, following closely enough that it ought to make her nervous, yet she felt comforted instead of crowded. As if he was protecting her back, making sure she was safe.
But when they came out into a clearing lit by tiki torches, Tessa halted in her tracks. She’d been expecting a breezy mansion, perhaps with a uniformed servant or two, but what she saw was an open-sided shack with a thatched roof bristling with guards. Well, the four men there looked like guards. They were big — really big, not to mention intent and focused as she approached. They held their arms away from their sides, ready for imminent action. Like this was a war zone and not Hawaii.
Then she remembered what Ella had said. They’re Special Forces. Well, they were. Men with rough backgrounds and tough starts. But don’t let them scare you. They’re puppies inside.
Tessa balked, because rottweiler was a more apt description of the men before her now.
The tallest of the four stepped forward and shooed her into the building with a gravelly, “Come in.”
When she hesitated, the man who’d met her at the gate nodded her forward with a gesture that said, Don’t worry. I will keep you safe.
She might have snorted at the idea, but then she saw him glare the other men down in a distinct, touch-her-and-you-die stance. So she stepped forward, wondering why she trusted him already. Why she trusted any of them.
“Sit down,” the tall man said. “Talk. Explain.”
He was definitely military, she decided, even if the surroundings were anything but. The open-air structure resembled some luxury apartments she’d seen — the kind of place with a big, open layout, except without walls. There was a living area with four couches set in a square. A wide dining table surrounded by heavy chairs stood to one side. A designer kitchen occupied the left side of the structure, complete with an island and a rack of hanging copper pots — the kind of kitchen she would have loved to explore if she wasn’t completely on edge. A huge grill took up one corner, and an oversized stainless-steel refrigerator stood beside a deep sink. The sea breeze wafted through the space since there were no walls, just posts supporting the broad roof that extended a good yard over each side.