Christmas Moon (12 page)

Her heart froze as she reached out, her
fingertips gliding over the smooth paper. He’d gotten her a
Christmas gift. He’d know her what, a week? And he’d gotten her a
gift. She hadn’t gotten him anything.

Hunter turned toward her and paused. He
cleared his throat softly. “Ah, that was for, well...today I guess.
It’s Christmas Eve after all. I planned on taking it over to your
house this afternoon.”

“I didn’t...” She looked up at him, lost for
words.

“It’s not about getting me something. I saw
that and thought you needed it. Open it.” Hunter nodded toward the
small package and she couldn’t resist.

“You’ve done so much for me,” she said, even
as she gently tore through the paper.

“Not nearly as much as you’ve done for me and
my pack. But this gift isn’t about any of that, it’s about
you
.”

A soft cry fell from her lips and she saw
what was inside. A crystal ornament sat in a clear box. It
sparkled, silver glitter inside the orb, but it was the beautifully
written
Arianna
in brilliant silver that brought tears to
her eyes.

“To honor your first Christmas with her
again, even if she’s only here in your heart.”

Bree blinked against the sudden tide of tears
and stepped away. She wanted to turn and run. To get some space and
be able to breathe. Then Hunter touched her arm, just a light brush
of his skin against hers, and she gasped. “You have no idea how
much this means to me,” she whispered.

She forced herself to look up at him, despite
the tears blurring her gaze.

“No, but the moment I saw it I thought you
needed it.”

The words touched her heart deeper than she’d
ever thought anything could again. He hadn’t just thought she’d
want it, but that she needed it. Bree closed her eyes. God, how
right he was. She needed this shot at moving on, this
beginning.

And he was right. This Christmas would be her
first
real
Christmas since Ari’s death. The first one where
she let herself feel and live again.

Her eyes opened and she shook her head, still
lost for the right words to describe her gratitude. They didn’t
make words strong enough to tell him just what he’d done for her.
“Thank you.”

“I’d do it again,” he said softly. He tucked
a strand of hair behind her ear. “Stay. Spend Christmas with me.
The pack comes here for Christmas Eve and we celebrate together,
but on Christmas day they all go to their individual families. No
one should have to spend it alone, so why not together?”

Bree leaned her face into his touch and
brushed her lips against his wrist. “I’d love that.”

“Then why don’t we hang this up and go to
bed?”

Bree picked up the ornament and felt the
tears trickle down her cheek. Ari would have loved it. And Bree had
no doubt that her little girl was staring down at her, dancing in
the heavens, at the delight of having an ornament just for her to
hang on a Christmas tree. “May I?”

“Of course.” Hunter led the way into his
living room. Garland hung over the fire place along with an
assortment of stockings. A large tree ate up one corner of the room
with piles and piles of presents underneath—no doubt for the
various members of his pack. “Why not put her right under the
angel?”

Her breath caught as she looked up at the
angel in a glowing white gown, white and gold wings spread wide as
she glowed over the tree. Fresh tears started to pour as Hunter
lifted her up so she could hang the silver ornament just below the
angel.

“Thank you,” she said and leaned into him,
not even bothering to wipe away her tears. There was so much joy in
this moment. Hope. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. She looks perfect up
there.”

Bree stared at the ornament in honor of her
daughter, the crystal glowing with the lights of the tree. An image
of Ari’s smiling face, alight with Christmas joy filled her mind,
and she leaned her head against Hunter’s chest.

She did look perfect up there, one angel next
to another.

In the window behind the tree, the full moon
shined down through the glass, silver highlights streaming through
the Christmas lights. Bree closed her eyes. Ari had to be smiling
down on her now.

***

The scent of bacon sizzling on the stove in
the kitchen drifted through the house and Bree buried her face into
the soft pillow. Oh, she could get used to this, waking to the
smell of breakfast already being made. Her stomach rumbled and she
grinned, shoving out of bed. She made it as far as the door before
she paused.

Voices drifted down the hall. Hunter had
warned her that the pack came for Christmas Eve day, but that had
been a distant thought last night. What with everything that had
happened with the rogue, his touching gift in honor of Arianna,
sleeping in Hunter’s arms. Now, she hesitated and bit her lip.

So far the pack had made it clear that they
didn’t like her. At least the young ones had. Would she be walking
out into chaos? And worse, she thought as she glanced down at the
oversized sweatpants and t-shirt she’d borrowed from Hunter, what
would they think when she came striding out of their alpha’s
bedroom dressed in his clothes.

And hell, when had she ever cared what
strangers thought of her?

“Bree,” Hunter called softly through the door
and she pulled it open just enough to look at him. His hand was
raised to knock but he paused, a smile touching the edge of his
lips. It warmed his face and there was a softness to his eyes that
she was sure she’d never grow tired of. “Breakfast is ready.”

“I, uh…” She glanced down at herself again.
“Find myself at a loss for what to wear.”

“I like what you’re wearing.” He would. Bree
snorted, only to draw a laugh from him. “Besides, those that are
here aren’t dressed to impress, and in case you haven’t noticed,
I’m not dressed either.”

He’d added a shirt, which she
had
noticed, but now that he mentioned it, he was still in the same
loose, baggy pants he’d come to bed with last night. Hunter pulled
the door open a little wider. “After breakfast I’ll take you down
to your house so you can get something to wear, okay?”

Like she had a choice. She could hide in
here—and she’d never been one for hiding—or she could face the
crowd and get a free meal out of it. “The bacon is more
motivational than you,” she murmured, drawing a laugh from him.

“Whatever works?”

“Okay.” She ran a hand through the tangled
locks of her hair. “
If
I get a hairbrush first.”

“Hairbrush and a new toothbrush are on the
sink in the bathroom. I’ll fix you a plate.”

With that he left her to return to the crowd
building in the rest of the house. It was all Bree could to do walk
to the bathroom and not slip out the window. She’d faced
wolf-shifter packs before, but never as an insider. She’d always
been the Hound looking in, the Hound most likely accusing one of
them of a crime.

And while she wasn’t exactly a key part of
their alpha’s life, she wanted their acceptance. Wanted to belong
somewhere again. Bree quickly finished up in the bathroom, took a
deep, steadying breath, and then headed toward the kitchen.

It was more crowded than she’d expected, with
the dining room table already filled, as well as the bar. Hunter
lounged against the counter chatting with another male. He’d been
right though, more than half of the guests here looked like they’d
rolled right out of bed.

Bree surveyed the crowd only to find a
familiar face staring out at her from the table. “Bree, right?”
Rylie called and the room quieted, more than a few turning to get a
good look at her.

Maybe she should have insisted on going home
and getting dressed first.

She gave a shaky nod, her knees threatening
to buckle out from underneath her. But the woman just grinned and
headed her way, only to wrap Bree in a hug. “Thank you.”

Color heated her cheeks as Bree hugged the
woman back.

“You’re welcome, I was just...” The words
died in her throat. Doing her job? Being a Hound wasn’t her job.
She glanced at Hunter instead. “Helping a friend,” she finished
instead.

“Well that’s good to hear,” someone else
called out, a male voice this time. Rylie let her go and stepped
back, and she saw a dark skinned man grinning up at her from the
table. He swatted the back of the head of the teenage boy sitting
next to him. “My son and his friends owe you an apology.”

The boy winced and muttered, “Sorry.”

His father grunted, not satisfied, but
obviously knowing when to pick his battles. A few other voices
muttered their apologies as well.

“I don’t think anyone knew what to expect
when you moved in, doll,” an older woman said from the head of the
table. She had curly white hair that framed her face. It drew out
the brilliant green in her eyes, but there was something oddly
familiar in the way she looked at Bree. “And not all of us have the
best manners.”

She leveled the kids with a grumpy look,
which drew out a few sincere sounding apologies from the group of
kids.

“It was nothing,” Bree said.

“Oh child, it was something all right. The
kids might not understand what you did for them, but those of us
who’ve been around the block a time or two, do. You had their backs
from the get-go, despite their little pranks. And you had the
pack’s back when you helped our Rylie.”

“Well thank you.”

The woman snorted. “Now come sit and
eat.”

She waved toward the empty chair beside
her.

“I’m not sure she wants to sit next to you,
mother,” Hunter said, a smile on his face as he stepped up next to
Bree, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You’re known to bite.” He
leaned in to murmur in Bree’s ear, but in a room full of
wolf-shifters everyone there could hear. “Rylie is probably your
safer bet.”

“Ignore him,” Hunter’s mother said. “I want
to hear about your daughter.”

Warmth filled her heart and Bree carefully
took the seat next to the other woman. “And I’d love to tell you
about her.”

Because Arianna would have loved every minute
of this morning. The laughter, the food, the feeling of family. As
Hunter took the seat next to her, Bree had to blink back tears. He
didn’t know how much he’d done for her.

She’d gone from a woman lonely and desperate
to forget, to someone who wanted to remember, and somehow, was
surrounded by others who genuinely seemed to like her. Hunter
leaned in and touched his shoulder to hers. “Don’t say I didn’t
warn you.”

“Hush boy,” his mother muttered, but there
was a playful edge to the wolfish grin that spilled over her face.
Her gaze darted back to Bree’s. “I lost my first child, Hunter’s
old brother, when he was three. Memories are the most important
thing. Cherish them. Especially on days like today and
tomorrow.”

She reached over and grabbed Bree’s hand.
Bree relaxed at the touch. “And if you have no one else to spend
tomorrow with, we’d love to have you.” A devilish gleam flashed in
her eyes before she added, “It gets tiring having only Hunter to
spend the holidays with.”

“I’d love that.”

“We would too, dear.”

Bree let the joy and happiness that filled
the room wrap around her, all the guilt and regret from the past
slipping away. She’d missed moments like this, where a room could
be filled with warmth and the chance at new memories. New hope.

Hunter leaned in and whispered in her ear.
“Merry Christmas.”

And the first of many more to come.

This story is for the fans of Shifter Town
Enforcement. Thank you guys for loving this series. I hope this
little novella helps to tide you over for the next novel.

And thank you to my friends and family, who
taught me the meaning of Christmas. A holiday about being together,
about finding hope, and living in joy.

Thank you for reading.