Christmas for the Wolves & a Wolf for Valentine's Day (Grey Wolf Pack) (5 page)

All of Ilse’s five children had turned out to be wolf shifters. She met her true mate when she came to America on a student exchange program; after she met him, she never went back to Sweden.

When Hans and Melanie arrived, it was to find Noa had already come home. Noa was quite average for a wolf shifter. She was five foot eight and willowy, but still toned and athletic. Noa, like her siblings, had reddish-blonde hair, and she wore hers long and in a braid. Her soft green eyes sparkled; Melanie didn’t think it was possible, but she was even lovelier than her mother and twin sisters.

Melanie had a flash of high school history; one of her teachers obsessed over mythology, and had droned on for hours about the Norwegian myths.
In particular the Valkyries. Okay, so she wasn’t actually Norwegian, but Noa definitely fit the bill as a Valkyrie.

Noa pulled Melanie into a warm hug. “I’m so pleased to meet you; I’m so glad that Hans found you. I’ve heard that he’s like a whole new person.”

Hans grunted in annoyance as he dropped their case to the ground.

Melanie held up her hands. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let’s not go nuts. If I had to make a guess, I’d say he was like five percent less of an asshat since we got together.”

Noa’s eyebrows shot up her head. She looked at Hans and saw him grinning. Damn her brother had it bad.
Usually he’d go ballistic if someone called him an asshat
. Instead, he just looped an arm around Melanie’s waist and kissed her temple.
Wonders will never cease…

Melanie reached out and squeezed Ilse’s hand. “Thank you so much for inviting us for Christmas.”

“Oh my dear, you don’t have to thank me, we’re family, I expect you to come to my house every Christmas.”

“Great,” muttered Hans. Melanie elbowed him. “Yeah great, of course, Mom.”

Ilse teared up and kissed Hans on the cheek.

Her other four children rolled their eyes.
Why did their mother have such a soft spot for her worst kid? They were all so well behaved!

Ilse dried her eyes and clapped her hands together. “Okay, so Hans if you can get dinner started, I’m just going to make a quick phone call, and the rest of you can relax.”

The Lucas,’ like numerous other pack families, celebrated with a meal on Christmas Eve and then opened presents before bed. On Christmas Day, they shifted and went out hunting and running, or at least the wolves did, Ilse usually went for a walk. She was pleased now to have Melanie for company.

The twins and Acksel went to watch TV, while Noa went to her room to unpack.

“I can help with the cooking too,” offered Melanie. “I’m an okay cook, not as good as Hans, but I’m pretty handy when it comes to peeling carrots.”

Ilse waved her hand. “Nonsense my dear, you should just relax and let us take care of you.” Ilse bustled off to the phone.

Melanie slipped her arms through Hans.' “Well, maybe I’ll just watch you cook then.”

Hans raised an eyebrow. “You want just to sit and watch?”

“Sure, nothing sexier than a man who can cook. You should hear Kayleigh go on and on about Don cooking. He cooks all their meals.”

Hans snorted as he led her into the kitchen. “He has to, unless he wants food poisoning.”

Melanie pouted.
He was referring to an unfortunate dinner a week ago, when Kayleigh had tried to make chicken chasseur.
“Oh, come on, I’m sure Kayleigh wasn’t trying to poison us intentionally…”

“The chicken had blood oozing out of it!”

“Hey, she felt bad about that.”

“Hopefully bad enough never to step foot in the kitchen again,” murmured Hans.

There was a banging at the door, followed by the thunderous sound of Noa running downstairs. “I’ll get it; that’s for me.”

Noa had opened and closed the door before anyone could react. Melanie peeked through the kitchen curtain, to see her sister-in-law chatting to a young pack member called Hunter Donaldson. She didn’t look overly pleased to see him.

Hans leaned over Melanie’s shoulder. “Who is she… for fuck’s sake!”

Hans started to move to the door, but Melanie clasped his shirt. “Don’t interfere.”

Hans stared at her in wide-eyed disbelief. “I’m sorry? You’re telling me not to interfere?!”

Melanie watched the two young wolves with interest. “I mean, don’t so something stupid like punch him, I doubt Noa would thank you for it.”

Hans balled up his fists. “That boy’s an asshole! They used to date. One minute they’re all happy, and next she’s crying her eyes out.”

“If Noa looks like she needs help, by all means go out there, but otherwise leave her be.”

“I just don’t like seeing men sniffing round my sisters.”

Melanie chuckled at her overprotective mate. “Well, get used to it. Your sister’s beautiful, I’m not surprised boys are interested.”

Hans clucked his tongue at her. “You’re far more beautiful than she is, and men aren’t sniffing round you.”

“You’re wrong, and I wasn’t looking for a compliment. And even if men were interested in me, they’d be too terrified of you to show it.”

Hans rubbed his thumb over her shoulder. “Sugar, you don’t have to look for a compliment; you’re the most beautiful woman in the world. I’ll never stop saying that, and I’m glad men don’t realize it. I don’t want to have to beat up loads of men for looking at you… I mean, I will, but I don’t want to… alright, I sort of want to.”

“Ummmmm…” she moaned as his fingers danced over her bonding mark.

Melanie jumped as Ilse came into the kitchen. Hans scowled at his mother.

“Alright you two, this meal’s never going to get made if you start that… unless you’re trying to make me a grandchild, then by all means, have at it.”

Ilse hadn’t exactly been subtle about dropping hints.
She wanted grandchildren, and she wanted them soon.

Melanie turned beet red. “Nope, cooking it is.”

*

“I can’t believe this!” snarled Hans.

Melanie smirked. “It’s kind of cute…”

After dinner, Hans and Melanie decided to unpack in their room. They’d discovered they were sharing Hans and Acksel’s old room.
And were sharing bunk beds
.

Ilse of course had her room, the twins shared a room, Noa still had her room, and Acksel was sleeping on the couch.
Which left one room for Hans and Melanie
.

“We should kick Noa out of her room,” grumbled Hans.

“We can’t, it’s hers. Technically she still lives here, and we’re the guests. It’s only for four nights.”

Hans folded his arms. “But how are we supposed to have sex in that thing?”

“Yeah, I’m not sure we should have sex in your family’s house.”

Hans’ wolf yowled furiously. “What?!”

Melanie stood up and folded her arms too. “Your whole family will be able to hear us. I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Hans spluttered. “But… but…”

Melanie ignored him and walked round the room, fingering the books and posters. “Is this your poster of Buffy the Vampire Slayer?”

Hans tapped his foot. “You know it isn’t, Acksel used to have a thing for that girl in it.”

“Sarah Michelle Gellar? You know, you kind of remind me of Angel the vampire…”

Hans harrumphed. “Whatever, I didn’t watch it… and, if anything, I’m more like Spike.”

“Didn’t watch it my ass! Look, stop pouting, it’s not for long. Maybe if we’re quiet we can do it in the shower.”

“What about all the screaming and the moaning…”

Melanie raised an eyebrow. “Well, you’ll just have to control yourself. Now come on, let’s unpack.”

Melanie picked up a large brown package. “What’s this?”

Hans made a grab for it, and Melanie twisted away. “It’s nothing.”

“Yeah, I can tell by your actions that’s the truth… is it a gift? For me?”

Hans’ guilty look told her it was. After Hans had railed about how ridiculous and consumer-driven Christmas was, they’d decided not to buy each other gifts. For one thing, she couldn’t even begin to think of what to buy Hans.
What do you buy the man who has nothing and wants nothing?
For another, she couldn’t think of anything she wanted either. If she needed or wanted something, she bought it. She wasn’t into expensive things like jewelry or perfume.
She was low maintenance
.

So this gift was a complete surprise.

“You can open it if you want,” said Hans awkwardly.

Melanie eagerly pushed the paper off and gasped. It was a small painting of her mother.
It was beautiful, truly beautiful.
Melanie had often complained she didn’t have a good photo of her mother.
Sometimes she felt so disconnected from her childhood.

Hans rubbed her shoulder. “I know you miss your mom, so I thought it might be nice to have a picture of her in our home.”

“It’s beautiful.”

“Rosalee did it. I gave her all the photos I could find, and she managed to put this together.” Rosalee was the female Alpha and a talented artist.

Melanie stared into her mother’s soft, brown eyes. She’d always been so joyful and full of life. “Thank you for this, it’s really, really beautiful.”

Reverentially she placed the picture on top of what had to be Acksel’s old desk.
It was unlikely Hans had ever used it to do homework; it was unlikely he’d ever done any homework
. She turned and gave her mate a deep, hungry kiss. Her fingers grasped at his shirt and pulled it over his head. She started fumbling with his belt buckle.

Hans ran his hands down his mate’s back. “Not that I’m complaining, but I thought you said…”

“I don’t care what I said; I fucking love you Hans Lucas, and I don’t care who knows it!”

*

Two hours later, the family sat round the TV, in their pajamas, watching a Christmas movie. Noa had chosen it, so it was While You Were Sleeping. Hans was in such a good mood he didn’t complain once.

The twins were flicking disgruntled glances at Hans and Melanie.
There were things they could never un-hear
. They couldn’t look at their brother in the same way again.

Noa and Acksel were trying not to chuckle while Ilse was looking pleased.
She was determined to be a grandmother, so the more they were together..
.

Hans reflected that bunk beds weren’t that bad after all, and if the last two hours were anything to go by, they were kind of versatile. Melanie snuggled into his chest, curling her fingers into his pajama top.
Yep, he was going to enjoy spending Christmas in bunk beds. Mine
.

Delilah & Andy – Grudge Match

23
rd
December

Andy Harper watched, with a mixture of happiness and annoyance, as his mate was led around the dance floor by another man. Andy, a black bear shifter, had recently mated with a wolf shifter called Mac Grey. Her real name was Delilah, but only he got to call her that. Well, him and one other.
The one she was dancing with…

Alright, she happened to be dancing with her brother, Adam, the Alpha of the Grey wolf pack that Delilah belonged to, and of which he had become an honorary member. Despite how irrational it was, he couldn’t help but be a bit peeved at seeing her in his arms.
Okay, so yeah, maybe it was a bit sick and wrong, but he was jealous.

The sooner the song ended and Delilah came back to him, the better. Their mating was still new; they were still in the honeymoon period. But, he had a hard time imagining ever not wanting to rip her clothes off at any given moment of the day.
In fact, how soon could they get away?

It was Adam’s wedding day. They were at the reception being held in the new pack recreation centre. Delilah was a bridesmaid. The long, flowing pink dress looked beautiful on her tall, slim frame. She always thought she was gangly, but to Andy she was graceful and lovely.
She was a goddess to him
.

Andy was sitting with other pack members, Gabe, Kira, Jolene and Jake. Gabe and Jake worked with Delilah as Sheriff’s Deputies. They were talking about their plans for Christmas, but Andy wasn’t listening, all of his attention was riveted on his mate.

Besides, the party was winding down. Pregnant females had been led away by overprotective mates; pups had been dragged away by irritated parents, and older pack members had gone home an hour ago. People were slowly starting to drift toward their homes, and it was time they did the same.

He had been tormented all day by the sight of her looking so beautiful, and his arousal was sky high.
Now it was time he did something about it.

They had met in August but hadn’t bonded until November. The path to their happily ever after had not been easy, and after much-wasted time he didn’t want to miss another moment.

Andy abruptly got to his feet, mumbling ‘excuse me’ to the other pack mates. He smiled and dodged round his ex-wife Esther and her wolf mate Felicity, before alighting on his mate and her brother.

Andy approached them. “May I cut in?” he asked with steely determination.

Even if Adam said no, he was cutting in. Adam may be her brother and her Alpha, but Andy was her mate. They had almost come to blows over this a few times. Andy disliked Adam gruffly ordering his mate around, but Delilah didn’t seem to mind. As a wolf, taking orders from the Alpha was natural. It wasn’t quite the same for bear clans; the need to live in groups, and obey the strongest male, wasn’t as deeply ingrained into their psyches as it was for wolves.

Adam cocked him a smile. Ordinarily he might have argued, but he was just too damn happy at that moment. “Course.”

Delilah kissed her brother on the cheek. “Congratulations, brother.”

“Thanks, little sis.’”

Adam happily tripped off back to his mate, Rosalee, as Andy encircled her in his arms. Delilah pressed her cheek against his hard chest. She’d always felt so goofy until she met Andy. He made her feel so small and feminine. At five foot eight she was kind of tall, but he was still just over a foot taller than her.

She was even coming round to the name Delilah. She’d hated it as a kid, and instead had gone by her middle name Mackenzie, which inevitably shortened to Mac over time. Her late mother had been disappointed that she didn’t like the name, but hadn’t argued; Delilah felt infinitely guilty for that now. Andy thought it was a lovely name, whereas he thought Mac was more suited to a middle-aged, balding trucker.
She was kind of thinking of reclaiming her name
.

Andy leaned down, a whisper away from her lips. “Let’s go home.”

Mac’s face lit up briefly, but then fell again. “I’d love to, but Adam…”

Andy ignored the inner growl of his bear. “The party’s winding down now.”

Delilah ummed and aahed. “I guess, but maybe I should talk to Adam…”

The bear huffed. It was always ‘Adam this’ or ‘Adam that.’ What about him?
Yes, okay maybe he was a petulant child, but he wanted to be first in his mate’s affection.

Andy ground his teeth to stop himself from lashing out. “Fine, let’s go ask permission from your brother to leave.”

Delilah clucked her tongue in disapproval. “That’s not what I meant…”

“Yes it is!” he hissed.

“Don’t be like that,” she whispered furiously.

Her wolf was getting antsy. When they first got together, Andy and Adam had been a little testy with one another. But she thought things were getting better.
Evidently, she was wrong
.

Adam was her big brother, and her Alpha; after being the most important man in her life for so long he was a little displeased at being displaced by a bear.
Wolves could be pretty territorial
. Adam went out of his way to irk Andy.

Meanwhile, Andy was irritated by the fact that she did defer to her Alpha. Andy wanted her to defer to him, and him alone.
She underestimated just how possessive bears could be
. It wasn’t just her though; apparently her pack mate Felicity was also undergoing a similar, difficult transition with her bear-mate Esther. Although, it probably wasn’t as bad for Felicity, given that she wasn’t the Alpha’s baby sister.

She was annoyed at Andy for making her choose between the two most important men in her life, but also sympathetic.
If the roles were reversed, Delilah might feel the same way
.

“I’ll wait outside,” he muttered before leaving her on the dance floor, alone.

Delilah sighed and went in search of Adam.

*

Delilah was silent all the way home. Andy flicked concerned glances her way; he tried to probe their bond, but found her firmly closed for business.

When they arrived home, she stomped up the stairs to their bedroom, without a backward glance. Andy locked up the house and followed her slowly.

His bear grumbled at him in disapproval.
So maybe he wasn’t altogether happy with the situation, but he shouldn’t take it out on his mate.

Andy walked into the bedroom, trying to think about what to say to her, to make things right. He stilled as he saw her stood by the closet, clad only in a pair of white, lace panties. His eyes devoured her tall, lithe body, her long legs and her small, ripe breasts.

She disappeared into the bathroom. Andy quickly shed his clothes and sat on the edge of the bed, eagerly waiting for her. A few moments later, Delilah came out, her cheeks pink from being scrubbed clean, and her panties nowhere to be seen.

He started to stand. “Honey, I…”

Delilah came over and straddled his lap, directing his head to hers for a devastating kiss.

Finally coming up for air, he tried to apologize again, but she shook her head. “Doesn’t matter, big guy, doesn’t matter.”

Delilah reached down between them and stroked his hard member. He groaned lustfully as his bear howled happily. Bracing one hand on his shoulder, she used the other to rub the head of his cock over her sensitive nub. Delicious bolts of electricity shot through her body. She moved him to her entrance, and gradually impaled herself.

Her wolf yipped excitedly. Her wolf had been a little standoffish for a few days; the animal wouldn’t be truly happy until Delilah disclosed her little discovery to their mate. But Delilah was waiting for the right moment. The wolf, however, was thoroughly on board with what they were doing now.

Delilah rested with him fully inside for a few seconds, delighting in the feeling of fullness. Andy cupped her ass and began lifting her up and down his length. She pushed herself up and down on him, claws digging into his shoulders as she reveled in him dragging in and out of her, tightly rubbing inside her. He began pushing into her with more force, his bear roaring at him, eager to reach their climax.

Andy bent his head and sucked at the smooth orbs of her breasts. He licked and bit her nipples, making her cry out and furiously clench around him. The added tightness was too much; Andy felt his orgasm surge through him as he exploded inside his mate, triggering her climax.

Andy released her breast and cried her name as his bear bellowed. Delilah screamed her completion as her beast yapped like a puppy. Panting, and trembling, they clung to each other, riding out the shared waves of pleasure.

Andy stood up, his softening manhood slipping from her. He lay his mate down and stretched out behind her, pulling the covers over them. He kissed her bonding mark, and they drifted into sleep.

*

24
th
December

Andy watched as Delilah slipped into her Deputy’s uniform. Andy didn’t have to work; Bar Luna, where he was a bartender/bouncer, was going to be closed for a few days. The manager, Kim, and her five-year-old daughter were spending Christmas in Alexandria with her boyfriend, Ed.

Delilah, unfortunately, did have to work. Sadly, the Sheriff’s station never closed. Thankfully, she wasn’t working on Christmas day at least. Another Deputy, a bobcat called Deanna, had agreed to work.
She supported her younger siblings and needed the money.

His bear whined. “Just five more minutes…”

Delilah chuckled. “No way, if I get back in that bed with you I doubt I’ll see daylight at all today.”

Andy smirked. “Well, that’s true.”

Delilah blew him a kiss. “See you later, big guy.”

She wiggled her ass as she sauntered away.

“Love you, honey,” he called.

“Me too.”

The door slammed; he heard her car driving away. He eased out of bed, stretching before checking the weather through the window. It was cold, but not too cold. With no work and Delilah otherwise occupied, he was at a loose end, so running as his beast would be ideal.

Andy trundled downstairs and out into the cool winter air. He didn’t bother locking the door behind him, just about the only time they ever did was when they were sleeping.
Anyone would have to be mad to try and steal from a black bear and a she-wolf.

He quickly shimmered and shifted to his beast. He sighed as a feeling of freedom stole over him. Shaking out his shaggy limbs, he bounded off the porch and lumbered into the woods.

The bear roared happily.
This is just what he needed; a nice run to get rid of some of his frustrations
. Delilah had been a little quiet this past week; he worried it was because of his dissatisfaction with pack life.
He hadn’t exactly held back on complaining
.

He hadn’t considered the difficult position she had been put in due to his actions. Guilt washed through him. At the time, he’d assured her he had no problem and had readily joined the pack, but ever since it happened, he’d complained and made life hard for her. He needed to get over it; he needed to show her that it didn’t matter.
Because, ultimately, it didn’t, as long as he was with her, nothing mattered
. He could put up with anything just to have her as his mate, and the last thing he wanted was for her to regret mating with him.

He needed to suck it up, and get over it. Delilah was his; she belonged to him.
And no one was ever going to take her from him…

The bear sneezed as a snowflake fell on his nose. It was starting to get a little too cold; he should turn back. He’d go home and start thinking about how he could make this the best damn Christmas she ever had.

The bear sniffed and stilled. He smelt his mate. Her sweet scent of honey buns lingered in the air. Was she here? He knew she hadn’t been out this far in over a week before today. He snarled as he scented blood.

The bear took off, following the scent. Blood pumped through his limbs as he rushed toward her.
Please be okay, please be okay
. He came to where the scent was strongest, wildly he looked around but there was no sign of her.

He sniffed and jogged over to a tree stump; behind it was a pile of clothes - Delilah’s clothes. He frowned; he’d never seen them before. They looked kind of old. He pawed through them, finding baggy tshirts with cartoon characters on. From photos, they looked more like her teenage wardrobe;
Batgirl tshirts weren’t really her style anymore
. Who would have kept these clothes?

His fur stood on end as he caught the scent of someone else.
Someone familiar
. He whirled round as two loud bangs resounded through the woods.

The bear staggered back as both bullets hit him in the chest, and he fell to the ground with a thump. He roared as the shooter crept closer to him.

“Fucking bear!” snarled the shooter venomously.

It was Luke
,
Delilah’s ex-boyfriend
. The male wolf had attacked her and tried to force her into bonding, even after she had bonded with Andy.