The days flew by and Christmas had arrived. Werewolves do celebrate, even though they aren’t Christian. It is a chance to eat and be with family, plus it helps them fit in with the humans.
With such a large Pack, there were a few things different. Christmas morning and the big lunch meal was held by the families. In the late afternoon, the whole Pack would gather around the big tree in the dining room for “grazing, gaming and shaming” time.
The ‘grazing’ was when every adult or mated pair brought an appetizer and a dessert, and placed them on a long table; over the course of the night, people would take a plate and walk down the line, snacking on their favorites. ‘Gaming’ time was just that, there were tournaments for Bridge, Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit on one side, while computer gaming setups on the other had tournaments in Mario Kart, Madden 15 and Halo. And ‘shaming’? Well, that was the focus of the Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest. Everyone attended in their worst sweaters, hoping to win the $500 grand prize. If you were judged “not ugly enough,” you were fined $25 and forced to wear a sweater of Luna’s Choice- after she got everyone’s attention and there was open season on your fashion sense. It was all in good fun.
The day after was spent mostly outdoors, it had snowed heavily and the deep powder made it tough for even the wolves to get around. We did pull out the toboggans, and I had a fun afternoon playing with the young children on the hill out back. All too soon, it was time to leave again. I had to get back home and get ready for my new team members.
My thumb was much improved, so I split the driving with Marge on the way home. I was still wearing the Luna’s Choice sweater I had paid for- red and white and green, with reindeer making baby reindeers as the pattern. We met Mabel in town for dinner, so she didn’t have to cook, then we went home.
When the headlights swung past the front of the house towards the opening garage door, I caught the movement on my front porch. A large black wolf, with a white streak on his chest, was thumping his tail as he sat up in front of the door.
“Is that?” Marge was staring at the wolf as I pulled into the garage.
I nodded. “Can you take the stuff in, I’m going to talk to him.”
“Will you be safe?”
I smiled. “He’s my mate, he won’t hurt me.” I walked out of the garage, grabbing some sweats from the cabinet on the way. Werewolves kept lots of extra clothes around because of the shifting. I walked onto the porch, and he moved up to greet me, his tail wagging furiously as I ran my fingers through his fur. The tingles were addicting, and the mate pull was making itself known.
“Come on, let’s go where it’s warmer.” I opened the door and walked into the foyer, leaving the clothes on the table by the door. I didn’t look back as he shifted and pulled them on, I just sat on the couch in the living room and waited for him. My eyes widened as I saw him walking in, pulling the sweatshirt down over his well-defined abs.
“Ella.” He walked over and sat next to me. “I’m sorry.”
*********
“You didn’t call me,” I said as I looked down at his hand, which was moving towards my leg. “I thought you had rejected me.”
“I… I had a lot to think about. I didn’t want to do this over the phone, you deserve this in person.” Oh Luna, here it came. I steeled myself to the rejection, hoping it wouldn’t hurt too much. I had seen what it did you shewolves, and it wasn’t pretty. “I wanted to apologize for being such an ass before. I didn’t know, and when I found out, I had to recognize the truth and what it meant. Now that I know what I want, I had to do this in person.”
“I’m sorry, too. I gave up on you, I listened to the doctor and I reached out to a friend instead of waiting. My heart broke when you came to me and I knew what you smelled on me.” Tears started to flow down my eyes as I looked down, my hand protectively moving over my babies. “And then to know that I’m pregnant, with twins none the less. I understand, really I do. Please, just do what you came here to do before I lose any self-respect I somehow retained.”
He got off the couch and kneeled in front of me, taking my hand in his. “I, Craig Robert Anderson…” Here it comes, I thought to myself. I closed my eyes, anticipating the pain as my heart would be ripped out and stomped on in my own living room. “Accept you, Ella Grey, as my mate.”
“I accept your rej… wait… WHAT?” My eyes flew open as the words made their way through my head. “You want me?”
“How could I not want you, Ella? You’re my other half. You’re amazing. I am the luckiest wolf in the world.” I couldn’t think, I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t move. I just sat there, jaw down at my chest, as I looked at this man, this wonderful man who had just given me his heart. I was still frozen when he picked me up and sat back on the couch, holding me on his lap with his strong arms pulling me close.
There was no holding back the tears as I sobbed onto his chest. My right arm went around his chest, squeezing him tight, while the left went behind his neck, keeping the bad thumb safe. He didn’t say anything, he just held me and stroked my hair as his nose was buried in my neck. We sat that way until my tears were finally gone and I could sit up again. He pulled some Kleenex from the box on the side table and handed them to me. I looked down, shocked at the size of the wet spot my tears had left on his sweatshirt, but he didn’t care.
I blew my nose and wiped my face, all the while gathering myself to face him. When I was ready, I straddled his legs and put my hands behind his neck. “And I, Ella Grey, Alpha of the Belden Pack, accept you as my mate.” We moved together as if rare earth magnets were in our lips; I pulled him to me and kissed him with all the emotion and love I could find.
It was the kind of kiss that made every kiss you’ve had before fade into nothingness. Mark’s touch was a distant memory as our tongues moved against each other, as our bodies found new ways to become even closer. He made the blood rush to my loins, and the butterflies take flight in my stomach.
He was my mate, and this moment was everything I had dreamed of when I was younger. I loved the kiss, but I wanted more. I pulled back from him, panting in need as I looked into his green eyes. “Mark me,” I said. “Make me yours.”
He leaned forward, placing his forehead on mine as his hands ran down my sides to my hips. “I can’t, Ella.”
“Why?” My voice broke, making it sound more like a cry than a question.
“I have to wait, Ella. It’s too dangerous for us right now.” My body ached from the loss of contact as he moved me to sit next to him on the couch again. He turned slightly, so that our knees touched, never letting go of my hand. “If I do what I want, what my wolf is imagining right now, I’d claim you and mate you tonight.”
“I want you to, Craig. I need you.” I didn’t understand the emotional rollercoaster I was on.
“I know, but my first responsibility is to protect you. I don’t like it, but I don’t have a choice. Let me tell you what is happening so you understand.”
I realized that I had been drinking too much and I had to pee. “All right, but I need to take a quick break. I’ll be right back.” I got up and almost ran down the hall to the bathroom; finishing up quickly, I washed my face and tried to fix my hair before I went back out there. I opened the door, and froze when I heard Marge.
“So you’re her mate.”
I moved to where I could see around the corner. He stood up and moved towards her, his hand out in greeting. “Craig Anderson, pleased to meet you…”
“Marge. Marge McDonald.” She moved closer, then faster than I could follow her right fist flew out and caught him on the right cheek. He went flying, his head leaving a dent in the wall behind the couch.
“Marge! What the hell?” I ran over to the couch, where Craig was sitting up, his fingers checking the back of his head for blood. I could see the reddening of his cheek, he’d have a nice shiner soon.
“That’s for attacking my Alpha, the Luna and killing Beta Darryl.” She picked up the magazines that had been knocked off the table, then clapped her hands together and smiled. “Now that we’ve got that settled, would you like any coffee?”
“No, thank you. I would appreciate some water, though.”
I asked for some juice, and she walked off to the kitchen. “I’m sorry about that. Marge is very protective of me, always has been. You don’t have to worry about her, though, she made her point and you’re like family now.”
He rubbed his face. “Good thing, she still packs a punch.” He smiled as Marge walked back in with our drinks and a small tray of cheese and sausage. “Come here, I need to tell you my story.” He had moved into the corner of the couch, moving his right leg to the back he patted the cushion between his legs. I walked over, sitting down and reclining against his chest, my head nestled on his shoulder. I’d never felt as safe as I did now.
“So, after that weekend conference, my Dad was furious. He came home yelling about how you had killed Tanner’s youngest boy while your parents were negotiating a treaty. He said they were so furious, they killed your parents but you got away.” He was rubbing his hand over my stomach, his thumb slipping under my shirt and spreading tingles all over. “He said Alpha Goodwin and Alpha Tanner were taking the lead on finding you and killing you. He and Alpha Lewis were making plans to take over your Pack.”
“But Alpha Goodwin’s people were the ones who took Marge and Mabel hostage.”
“Oh, I know, and that really made him livid. When they finally sent me and a few others to this territory, his men were already here and your Pack members were gone. That he did that without the others… he thought he had a good alliance. Then he said you escaped after killing another Tanner son. Goodwin convinced us that we could put together a team and take you out, then he would let the three Alphas split the territory and the Pack assets. He didn’t tell anyone that you had already lost your wolf. If we had known that, we would have known that the Pack wasn’t coming back.”