A Brac Pack Crazy Family Christmas 24 (20 page)

* * * *

The children were wrapped in warm clothing as the sun finally set, allowing the vampires to come out as the play got under way. The seats were all filled, the Lakelands in attendance as the curtain slid open.

Sloane laughed when he saw Keata dressed as the Virgin Mary and what looked like a pillow, or something small and round, shoved under his costume. Maverick had picked the right person for that part.

Keata was every bit feminine and more. Drew stood next to him as the donkey carried Keata to the inn.

Sloane wondered what his cousin was smoking when he made Cecil the angel. The guy was far from it.

“We need a room, sir. My wife is close to delivery and needs a place to lie down,” Drew said to Tryck, who was the innkeeper.

Again, what the hell had Maverick been smoking?

“My rooms are full. You should have used Priceline,” Tryck said as he stared at Mary. “But she’s welcome to take a room.” Sloane smacked his hand over his face. Did Maverick even
read
the play, or had he written one of his own?

Drew looked at Tryck nervously and then grinned. “How about I kick your butt? Now give us a room.” The children giggled as the adults laughed. Sloane looked around.

Maybe being a part of this family wasn’t so bad. They were all loony, but weren’t all families?

* * * *

Steven cuddled closer to Roman in the cold as he watched the most bizarre play he had ever seen. There were actually live animals running around the stage. Had the alpha lost his mind?

“Just kick the sheep aside,” Tryck said as he showed Joseph and Mary to the stable. “I plan on having lamb for dinner anyway.” Steven gaped at Tryck Santiago. He had heard the Santiago brothers weren’t right in the head, but now he knew the rumor to be true.

The guy was off his rocker!

“The place is a little dusty, but it’ll do. Cop a squat anywhere,” Tryck went on.

Steven glanced up at Roman who was watching the play with a wide grin on his face. Steven was always in awe of his mate. Roman was a godsend at a time in his life when the devil was hot on his heels, and he would forever love the bear for that.

* * * *

Alex laughed hysterically as Drew tried to help Keata off of the live donkey. The animal was acting skittish, but who could blame it?

There were wolves and bears all around.

“I think my water broke!” Keata yelled and then let out a strange gurgling noise. Alex wasn’t sure what that sound was for.

Maybe the water?

Dr. Nicholas ran over to Keata, dropping to his knees as he pulled his stethoscope from his black medical bag.

Alex nearly peed his pants from laughing so hard. He wasn’t the only one. Everyone around him was outright laughing. He could see a wide grin on the alpha’s face as Maverick watched the play from the side of the stage.

“Your contractions are one minute apart. If you don’t deliver soon, I’ll have to induce your labor.” Alex fell into Gavin as he laughed until tears were streaming down his face. He wasn’t sure if the actors were ad-libbing, or if Maverick wrote the play.

Gavin chuckled as he pulled Alex into his lap. Alex rested his back against Gavin’s strong chest, feeling the new Christmas stockings riding up his rear end. He wiggled around a little and then settled back.

“I think I’m going to pass out,” Drew said as he paced the stable.

“Hey, doc, got a sedative for me?”

Alex laughed harder, cuddling into his bear. He was the happiest he’d ever been in his life, and Alex had a wonderful family that accepted him for who he was. What more could a guy ask for?

* * * *

Tater cocked his head as three motorcycles roared into the back yard, carrying the three wise men. Since when did Harleys carry them to the stables? He laughed when George almost lost control and started yelling about the mechanical contraption.

“We’re here. You can start the celebrating now,” Dagon said as he strutted up onto the stage in his flowing gown. “Where’s the cub the king wants dead?”

Olsen laughed next to Tater, falling into him as he wiped at his eyes. “This has got to be the strangest play I’ve ever seen,” Olsen said as he chuckled some more. “I love it.” Tater grinned at his mate, wondering if he could have been any luckier. Olsen was everything a man could ever want.

“
Ah, you think the sweetest things,”
Olsen said through their bond.

Tater grunted, knocking shoulders with Olsen as he turned back toward the play.

* * * *

Curtis sat there slack-jawed as the animals ran amuck. He’d never seen anything like this in his life!

“You got to admit, Maverick knows how to put on a play,” Chauncey said from beside him as he chuckled.

Micah continued his narrating as Drew paced the stage, biting his fingernails as Nicholas continued to examine “Mary” as Keata lay on the hay.

“Doesn’t she have to like, push or something?” Drew asked frantically.

“Go smoke a cigar out in the waiting room,” Tryck grumbled.

“Surprise, it’s gonna be a boy.”

Curtis laughed as Chauncey wrapped a big mountainous arm around him. He cuddled close, still glowing in his newly mated status.

Their fingers entwined, showing Curtis how vastly different their sizes truly were.

He loved it.

He’d never met anyone as laid-back and fun as his bear, and Curtis knew his life was going to be one hell of a joyride as long as Chauncey was the one driving.

* * * *

D scratched his head as he watched someone dressed as an angel walk out on the stage eating a cookie. “There is a child prophesized that will be born and a new era will begin. In a galaxy far, far away, the child will learn under Yoda and become a strong Jedi Knight.” Okay, this was
not
the nativity scene he had seen on television.

For one, the angel looked like he should be wearing horns instead of a halo. And secondly, Mary was a woman! Okay, the guy up there did resemble a woman, but still.

“You like it?”

D swallowed and looked over his shoulder to see Sloane sitting behind him. The only reason he came was because Pa promised him a pot of coffee if he showed up. “It’s, uh, different,” he said nervously as his eyes darted back toward the stage, seeing Mary push a doll out of her dress as a doctor checked the guy’s vitals.

He wondered if there was any sane person here besides the cubs.

They were all out of their damn minds!

“Leave it to my cousin to do it Brac style,” Sloane said as he took a seat right next to D.

D swallowed harder as he leaned away. This wasn’t right. Shifters and vampires did not mate! They were enemies. Cut and dry, it was that simple. Why did the wolf insist on torturing him?

“Relax, Dudley. I’m not going to eat you,” Sloane said as he draped his arm over the back of D’s chair and then turned his attention to the stage.

Yeah, and there really is a Santa Claus, Virginia.

* * * *

Maverick chuckled as the play came to its conclusion. He knew it wasn’t what everyone was expecting, but all he wanted was for everyone to have a good time and the cubs to laugh. Watching Kyoshi strut across the stage in his cow costume was hilarious. The mate may have kicked up a fuss, but he knew Kyoshi was having a good time.

Too bad Nero had been too damn traumatized by his missing gloves to play the goat. That would have been hilarious.

He liked that they all were having a good time.

That was what Christmas was about, family, good times, and plenty of laughter. The gifts were only a bonus.

“And that concludes the nativity scene, shifter style,” Micah boosted proudly from the side of the stage.

Loud claps and cheers rang out into the night as the cast took a bow. Maverick could see the wide grins on everyone’s faces. Even Tryck was grinning from ear to ear.

Maverick knew what the hell he was doing. When would they learn?

He snorted.

Never.

But this was his family, and he loved each and every one of them.

The Den was now filled with small pattering feet and a variety of the paranormal world that made life at the Den always interesting.

Nero began to play Christmas music, everyone chiming in as the off-keyed singing began. Maverick chuckled as the babies ran around singing and trying their best to get to the animals.

God he loved his family.

The oven was even fixed and Christmas dinner awaited them.

Maverick stood on the side of the stage, his eyes cutting over to the elf who was duct-taped to the chair as he sang along with everyone else.

He knew Melonee still had time before she was old enough to mate the bastard. Maverick could care less who his daughter was mated to, they would never be good enough for her.

Waiting until she was old enough for Ruttford was already making his teeth grind, but knowing that she was growing up into a gorgeous young woman who was going to be mated soon made him want to kill the elf.

He sighed as he ran a hand over his chin, staring at the man who would soon steal his daughter away.

Now what to do about Ruttford?

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE BRAC PACK AND THE LAKELANDS! MAY YOU FIND YOUR SHIFTER IN YOUR STOCKING.

THE END

WWW.LYNNHAGEN.COM

Lynn Hagen loves writing about the somewhat flawed, but lovable. She also loves a hero who can see past all the rough edges to find the shining diamond of a beautiful heart.

You can find her on any given day curled up with her laptop and a cup of hot java, letting the next set of characters tell their story.

Also by Lynn Hagen

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Brac Pack 19:
Dagon’s Ride

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Brac Pack 20:
Steven’s Journey

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Brac Pack 21:
Alex’s Secret

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Brac Pack 22:
Tater’s Bear

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Brac Pack 23:
Curtis’s Dads

For all other titles, please visit

www.bookstrand.com/lynn-hagen

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com