Chapter 21

Candice moved closer to Owen so when he leaned down to get the stick to protect them, she was still standing tall and protectively. “David? We’re halfway to your place on the trail by the lake, and we’ve encountered a cougar.”

“We’re on our way.”

Candice knew she could be scary looking to humans as a wolf, but as a human, that cougar was beautiful but scary looking too. As soon as Owen had the stick in hand, she said, “The guys are on their way.”

Suddenly, New Year’s noisemakers blasted the quiet woods from the direction of David’s house and he, Gavin, and Cameron began shouting. “We’re coming to your rescue!” “Never fear, the wolves are here!” “Don’t run, whatever you do!”

She smiled at their words. The cat dashed off, way outnumbered by a pack of wolves. Candice had never had any moose or cougar encounters where she’d lived in South Dakota, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t have if she’d continued to live there and walked in the woods alone. She was glad to have the full support of her new family, though she still wished her uncle had joined them. He was probably so set in his ways that he didn’t want to be bothered with coming here to see them. Not to mention that the accommodations wouldn’t be half as grand, and he would be outnumbered by a pack of wolves.

David laughed when he saw Owen with a tree branch in hand. “Glad we came to rescue you if that’s all you had to defend your ladylove.”

“Thanks for coming. Appreciate your show of support, as always,” Owen said.

Cameron was already on his phone. “Yeah, honey. They’re fine. We’re headed back right now.”

Before long, they were inside David’s home, singing Christmas carols, playing games, having dinner, and opening one Christmas present each. Candice couldn’t believe how different the Christmas holiday was with a mate by her side and a whole pack to enjoy the holiday spirit with. There was something to be said about their alone time, but quite another with seeing Christmas in a different light. The kids were a lot of fun, and she was even thinking about the day when she would have some of her own.

After the Christmas Eve celebration, Gavin dropped them off at their home, nobody wanting them to walk alone through the woods that night. Everyone planned to sleep in the next day, except for Faith, who said the kids would be up so early that she didn’t expect to sleep in for the next few years on Christmas morning.

Candice had laughed about it, usually being a morning person herself, but with Owen making love to her in the middle of the night, she was glad they could just chill out in the morning.

* * *

The next morning, Candice woke to the aroma of bacon and eggs, toast, coffee, and tea, surprised her mate had gotten up and she hadn’t even noticed. She must have been tired. She slipped on some pajamas and her robe, and pulled on mukluks, then left the bedroom to give Owen a Christmas morning hug and kiss. “You’re up early after being up so much last night.”

He chuckled and pulled her into his arms to kiss her. “I couldn’t sleep… Too excited about Christmas. It’s not just the kids who can’t wait for Christmas morning.”

She laughed. “Like when you were little?”

“Yeah, but not so much about presents like back then, though I hope you love yours. This time, it’s all about you being here in my life. I couldn’t be happier.”

“I feel the same way about being with you. I couldn’t be happier here, but I don’t look forward to packing up the house in South Dakota.”

“We’ll tackle that together, and before you know it, you’ll be completely moved over here. We could just pay to have it done for you.”

“I still need to pack my personal belongings and decide what I want to get rid of first.”

“Are you ready to eat? I didn’t mean to wake you if you needed to sleep longer, but—”

“You couldn’t wait to open presents.”

“I can’t wait for you to see yours.”

“I’m ready.” Candice wondered what he had gotten her that he was so excited about. His brown eyes were alight with happiness, and he smiled every time he mentioned it. Not only that, but he had a ton of gifts under the Christmas tree for her.

They ate breakfast, took turns picking out gifts from under the tree for each other, then sat back down on the couch to open them.

She laughed when she opened the Santa box and found a winter wet suit for canoeing when it got colder in the fall and winter. “This will be perfect when I fall off slippery docks into the cold lake.”

“There won’t be a next time. But if we ever have the misfortune of flipping the canoe accidentally, you’ll be prepared.”

Owen opened a package containing a fine set of carving tools, sizes he didn’t already have. He laughed and handed her a Christmas card.

She opened it, smiled, and handed him one. Each of them had given the other an IOU for one hand-carved hiking stick for walking in the woods, though she meant to purchase a hand-carved one for him, wolf head and all. “For protection against—”

“Cougars, bears, you name it.”

“Sounds good.” She opened boxes containing five sexy nighties—all lace and silk, from blue to red.

“Because you don’t need the warm flannel pajamas when I’m heating you up all night.”

She laughed. “I don’t wear them that long anyway.”

“Less is always better when it comes to nightwear,” he said, squeezing her thigh.

She’d gotten him a butternut leather desk chair and new laptop for their office, for when they set it up just the way they wanted it.

“I’ll put the chair together right after we finish here, and we decide where we want everything to go.”

“Okay, sounds like a great plan.” She really needed to have things set up for writing full time, so she was glad he wanted to do that next.

Owen gave her a hand-carved white wolf ornament to welcome her into the pack and to his life.

“I knew you were making one for me on the sly. Did you have many splinters in bed?”

He laughed. “I worked on yours at the office on my breaks.”

“That’s when you did it. Here I kept trying to see which one was mine, and none of them were. Well, I love it, and it’s going to sit on my desk so I can enjoy it year round.”

Candice gave him a hug, and he kissed her. Then he opened a Christmas box filled with ten narrow-lined notebooks to use to handwrite in bed or on the couch. He laughed about that. “Are you trying to tell me you want me to write lots of novels, not just the one?”

She smiled. “Practice makes perfect.”

Candice also gave him one of those Zero Gravity Pens that wouldn’t run out of ink if the pen wasn’t tilted just right. He could write at any angle, underwater, over wet and greasy paper, and in a wide range of temperatures. Even in bed. Though she suspected as soon as they got into bed, that notion would fly out the window. He tested out the pen right away and gave it his seal of approval. It worked upside down and every which way.

And she had picked up a red apron for him—Caution: Extremely Hot—because he’d really gotten into cooking with her and for her, and she loved him for it.

“I will model the apron a little later when we’re baking cookies, but only if you wear yours. Let’s grab a cup of coffee—and tea for you—and walk outside to see beautiful Christmas Day on the lake.”

“Sure.” Candice made herself a hot cup of cinnamon tea and straight coffee for Owen while he cleaned up the wrapping paper. Then he led her outside, and she couldn’t believe her eyes.

She cried. She couldn’t help it. He had gotten her the most extraordinary gift of all—a gazebo right next to the lake. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t gone out on the deck since she’d been home and seen it. Now she wondered what he would have done if she’d said anything about going out to see the lake.

“Oh, Owen, I. Love. You.” She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him generously.

He grinned and hugged her tight in the cold morning air. “Thank you for being my mate.” And then he kissed her right back, lifted her in his arms, and returned to the house.

They couldn’t finish Christmas morning without returning to bed and making love. “You are my best Christmas present of all.”

“Same for me, Owen. I’ve never had such a wonderful Christmas.”

After making love, they napped before they set up their office.

Then it was time for Christmas dinner. She’d dressed in a red-and-green-plaid skirt and a green sweater—because she thought it looked better on her than red—and was just putting on one of her boots when she felt the urge to shift. She couldn’t believe it!

She ground her teeth and tried to fight it, wanting more than anything to halt the shift, though she knew if she stopped it, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t have the urge again while she was getting ready to eat at the MacPhersons’ house.

She fought the tears, hating that she was going to ruin everything for everyone. Owen was gathering some last-minute presents for everyone else, and she just couldn’t tell him, because she knew she’d cry and ruin the day for him. As a wolf, she couldn’t cry like she did as a human. She started yanking off her clothes and tossing them on the bed.

Then she shifted.

* * *

Owen had boxed up all the remaining gifts for the other pack members and wondered what was taking Candice so long to join him. Last night, they’d baked some of that cheesecake her uncle’s chef had served with the candy canes on top, so he brought it out of the fridge to take that too. When she still didn’t come out of the bedroom, he suspected the worst. She had turned into a wolf. He knew she’d be upset about it and didn’t want him to know. Not that she could hide the fact from him or anyone else.

“Candice?” he said, heading for the bedroom. He walked into the room, and sure enough, she was sitting on the floor, one woebegone-looking wolf. He crouched down and hugged her. “You know you are one beautiful wolf, and I’m proud to have you for my mate.” He was certain that wouldn’t make her feel any better, but he would do anything to cheer her up. Except shift. He wanted to, but he couldn’t.

“I’ve got everything ready to go. I’ll just take it out to the car now.” He started hauling presents and the cheesecake out to the SUV, and while he was out there, he gave Cameron a heads-up. “Hey, just wanted to tell you that we’re on our way in a few minutes, but Candice shifted and I’m sure she’s upset about it.”

“Tell her we’ve all been there, and we’re used to it. No problem.”

“I will, but I don’t think that’s going to cheer her up. I tried to call on the shift, but it’s not happening for me.”

“Okay, we’ll ask if either Gavin or David can shift.”

“Thanks. Got to go back inside and check on her.”

“I’ll let Faith and the kids know.”

Which meant Cameron would tell the kids to make her feel better about her wolf half when she arrived. When Owen went inside, Candice was pacing across the living room floor, just like a caged wolf would do. He sighed. “Are you ready to go?”

He was prepared to skip the dinner, if she really didn’t want to go, but he thought it would be good for her to be with everyone else and to see everyone was fine with her being a wolf for Christmas.

* * *

As a wolf, Candice glanced at Owen when he asked if she was ready to go, and then she paced in annoyance across the living room floor, hating that she had turned into a wolf, and that her poor mate had to put up with her irritability. It was Christmas Day, and she should be grateful to be among friends. She guessed it was because for the first time in three Christmases, she was going to actually celebrate a dinner with friends and family. Not sit alone, being whatever she was bound to be for the day—wolf or human. Back in her home in South Dakota, it didn’t matter. Here, she was so looking forward to seeing everyone and being human when she did it!

She couldn’t help feeling everyone might wonder what they were in for by taking her into the pack.

She growled and paced some more.

“I wish I could change too,” Owen said. “I’ve tried, and it’s just not happening.”

She came over and licked his hand. He petted her head. She wanted him to know she wasn’t upset with him. This was her issue to deal with, not his. When he went out to the SUV to load packages, he was gone for a few minutes more than needed, and she suspected he was probably alerting Cameron that he might be bringing an aggravated wolf mate with him.

Candice fought growling again. She felt like a little kid who didn’t get what she’d wanted for Christmas, when the problem was anything but.

Owen went into the kitchen and pulled out a wolf dish for her, filling it with water, and set it on the floor. As much as she’d rather be drinking spiked eggnog, she was dying of thirst and walked over to the bowl and greedily lapped up a ton of it. She guessed she’d worked up a thirst from all that pacing.

“Sorry I didn’t think of it sooner. We’ll drive over so we can take all the gifts and a change of clothes for you for when you shift back.”

She didn’t want to eat as a wolf. If she had to, she wanted to take leftovers home and eat them later. It was one thing to eat as a wolf out of necessity. Another, when everyone was eating in celebration of the holidays.

Before Owen could convince her to go outside with him and get in the car, they heard snowmobiles, two of them. Instantly, she thought of the snowmobilers who had started the avalanche that had brought Owen and her even closer together.

Owen grabbed his jacket. “I’ll check it out. You stay in the house.”

She growled. On the one hand, she was thrilled they’d made love and opened their Christmas presents before she’d had to shift, though she still couldn’t believe he had bought the beautiful gazebo for her and everyone had chipped in to make it happen while they were away.

The snowmobiles parked outside their house, and Candice wondered who would be visiting them now. She went to the front office and tried to push aside the blinds with her nose and stared wide-eyed at her uncle and Jim, who’d brought tons of gifts on two sleds. So thrilled she could barely think straight, she woofed and tore out of the office, then headed for the wolf door. Bolting outside, she raced around the house until she reached the corner and heard Owen say, “She’s turned and not happy about it. Come on inside, and we’ll make you something hot to—”

She darted around the house and jumped at her uncle, her paws landing against his chest in greeting, knocking him over in the snow. She licked his face, and Jim and Owen smiled.

“Merry Christmas to you too, Candice,” her uncle said, laughing.

She woofed at him and they headed inside, carrying some of the packages with them. They left the rest on the sled, and she suspected they were for the others in the pack.

“We’re due to go over and have dinner in about twenty minutes, and of course we want you to come with us,” Owen said.

“Cameron and Faith already know. I wanted my coming for Christmas to be a surprise for the two of you.”

Candice was glad she had sent her uncle Christmas gifts from both of them already, but she hoped he didn’t feel visiting them was a letdown from the way he normally lived, with a chef to prepare his meals. Not to mention that it was hard to have a conversation as a wolf.

“I’ll show you the house first and the guest rooms.” Owen took them through the house and Candice followed them, which made her think she looked like she was a puppy dog. But she didn’t mind. She was so glad her uncle was here. And also Jim, who helped her uncle out so much.

Jim carried their bags to the two guest bedrooms, and Strom said, “I’ll be out in a moment.” Then he disappeared down the hall.

Owen fixed Jim a gin and tonic. “What would Strom like, do you know?”

“A Kentucky bourbon neat, but I don’t think he has a drink in mind right now.”

“Oh?”

Then a black jaguar joined them, and Candice couldn’t have loved her uncle more for doing this for her. Instead of being annoyed that she was an Arctic wolf who had trouble controlling her shifting, he was showing her he loved her just the way she was.

She couldn’t believe he was a rare black jaguar either. She’d envisioned one like Everett in a gold coat and black rosettes. Her uncle was beautiful. She nuzzled his cheek, and he licked hers. Then she saw Jim and Owen taking phone shots of the two of them—the white wolf and the black jaguar. Christmas couldn’t have been any more special than this.