OF MISTLETOE

AND MATING

JESSICA LYNCH

Copyright © 2019 by Jessica Lynch

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means, including information storage
and retrieval systems, without written permission from the
author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Cover by Jessica Lynch

CONTENTS

Foreword

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Epilogue

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About the Author
Also by Jessica Lynch

FOREWORD

Surprise!

So, first off, Merry Christmas and happy

holidays! Like last year, with

Let Nothing You

Dismay

in the Hamlet series, I’m releasing a

surprise holiday-themed short story. This year it’s
part of the Claws Clause series.

The whole holiday season, from Halloween

through New Years… it’s my favorite time of year.
I love everything about it, from dressing up and
trick-or-treating to decorating the Christmas tree
and exchanging gifts. And, since I’m currently
working on the second book in this series, I started
to wonder how the couple from the first book,
Maddox and Evangeline, would celebrate the
holidays.

The more I thought about it, the more I decided

it might be nice to take some time out of my

schedule and see if I could make a short story out
of it. Well, here it is! And, since it takes place while
Colt and Shea are off dealing with the Nightwalkers
(you’ll read all about that in the upcoming book,

Season of the Witch

), you get to see Maddox and

Evangeline’s Christmas celebration in Of Mistletoe
and Mating.

Plus, even though it’s a steamy holiday short, it

actually sets the stage for some important things
that will come into play later in the series so that’s
fun, too :)

I hope you enjoy!

xoxo,

Jessica

PROLOGUE

1. The Alpha makes all of the laws.
2. The Alpha is responsible for upholding all

of the laws.

3. See #1.

— Pack Law

E

1

vangeline woke up slowly.

The room was quiet. Peaceful. It had

snowed the night before and she stayed up late,
watching the big, fat flakes drift down while she
waited for her mate to return.

Of course, as usual, Maddox stayed out far later

than she could keep her eyes open. With the stress
of everything that had been going on these last few
weeks, Evangeline found it harder and harder not
to just give in, pull her blanket over her head, and
go to sleep. Thanks to the potion Luciana—the
head witch of Coventry—brewed for her,
Evangeline could finally have dreamless nights
where she didn’t have to worry about Priscilla
Winters trying to harm her while she was
unconscious and too vulnerable to fight back.

Because, though it was now December and no

one had seen or heard anything about the psychotic
witch since June, Cilla was a constant threat that
hung over Evangeline’s head. Maddox wouldn’t let
her forget that the witch was still out there, and he
vowed that, between him and his brother, the two
shifters would track the witch down and have her
tossed in the Cage.

Only Colton was dealing with a whole other

threat currently, and Maddox decided that whisking
his mate away to the solitude of the mountains was
his best option while Evangeline was still at risk.
Which was fine—she’d do anything that made her
mate happy—except for the fact that he didn’t
seem to realize how worried she was about him.

It was a relief when he slipped into their bed

sometime late last night, pulling her close and
nuzzling her neck, letting her know that he was
home.

That he was safe.
Evangeline knew she was being ridiculous. Her

mate was a big man, with shoulders that put any
linebacker to shame, and sculpted muscles that she
adored running her fingers over. He was also an
alpha wolf shifter who could transform into an
oversized grey wolf with a snap.

His fangs were longer than her pinkie finger

while he was in that shape. His claws were sharper
than a chef’s knife. The laws regarding Paras might
have blunted them a little, but when it came to

protecting his territory—his home, his pack, and his
family—Maddox would stop at nothing to keep
them safe. His obsessive need t0 mark his territory
lines and patrol the boundaries surrounding the
rustic, two-story cabin he claimed as his showed
just how far he was willing to go.

Even if Evangeline wished he’d spend more

time inside of the cabin with her than outside
guarding over it…

Hey, at least he was in their bed now. Or, she

amended, the bed that would be theirs for the
foreseeable future. Their home was back in Wolf’s
Creek. The bed they were lying in? The cabin in the
mountains where Maddox had taken her after he
claimed her nearly six months ago.

And, okay, the same cabin he brought her to

after he abducted her last summer.

Cilla couldn’t get to it. It was on pack land,

tucked away, secluded and protected. The group of
Nightwalkers that were terrorizing the area
surrounding Colt’s Bumptown, all the way to
Grayson, where Evangeline used to live? She was
sure they couldn’t touch them there, either.

Which was a good thing. Due to her history

with a Grayson police officer, and her being mated
to an Alpha’s son, the Nightwalkers were as much a
danger to Evangeline as Cilla was.

Hiding out in the mountains, she was as safe as

she could be—but tell that to Maddox’s wolf. The

overprotective beast wouldn’t settle for less than
constant patrols, marking the outer boundaries of
pack land, verifying that no one else was around for
miles.

Once he was satisfied, only then did her mate

return to her side. The dip in the bed as Maddox’s
weight joined hers on the mattress woke her up last
night, alerting her to the fact that he’d finally gone
to bed.

To her surprise, Maddox had reached out for

her when he slipped into the bed, his hand going
straight to her hip. She was wearing pajama pants
that had shifted while she tossed and turned,
leaving the patch open and inviting for her mate.
He had barely grazed the curve of her naked skin,
though, when he pulled his hand back like he’d
been burned.

“It’s cold as shit out there,” he said, shaking his

hand as if he was trying to get rid of the chill.
“Sorry, Ang.”

The way he touched her before immediately

moving away left her feeling far colder than the
temperature of his skin.

He’d been doing it a lot lately. Moves just like

that, where he absently went to stroke her, nuzzle
her, kiss her… then didn’t. He just stopped.

Mating?
Forget it.
She kept waiting for him to make the first

move. It had been ages since he even tried. When
was the last time they actually mated?

Beginning of December?
Maybe.
Disappointed and feeling rejected, Evangeline

had murmured something that might’ve been an I
love you or maybe you’re right, but was really a
what’s wrong with us before she rolled over, curled
up in a ball, and drifted off to another uneasy sleep.

When she woke up the next morning, the quiet

was the first thing she noticed. Quiet… because
there were no loud snores coming from the wolf in
bed with her.

Because there was no wolf.
Maddox had already left the room.
Her heart sank. He’d probably risen with the

sun, waking up early to check his traps, his marks,
his territory and make sure that no one had
attempted to cross the lines while he got a couple of
hours of shut-eye.

It was something he’d been focusing on since

they came to the cabin. As second-in-line to take
over the pack when his father, the current Alpha,
finally gave up the reins, Maddox could’ve
arranged for some of the unmated packmates to act
as additional soldiers. Could’ve, but didn’t. As
much as he trusted his packmates, the only person
he would let around his mate was his brother, and
since Colt was already preoccupied, that left

Maddox to run the watch all on his own.

She tried to tell him that it wasn’t necessary.

She’d been more than fine the first few months
after Cilla first transported her away and, well,
nearly killed her. But then the Nightwalkers tried to
use her as leverage and… yeah. Maddox was too
stubborn to let that go.

But Evangeline was secure now. And all she

wanted was to spend a cozy, quaint Christmas with
the mate she adored.

Too bad they weren’t on the same page.
They never really had a chance for a

honeymoon. When they were married three years
ago, the near-fatal accident that Cilla orchestrated
came right before they could celebrate their
elopement. Then, after Maddox served his time in a
Cage while Cilla held Evangeline’s memories
hostage, her mate had only one thought on his
mind: getting Evangeline to remember him so that
he could finally claim her as his bonded mate.

Which he did, but there still hadn’t been any

time for a true honeymoon. Evangeline was still
getting used to her memories coming back to her in
waves, then pieces, and there was the question of
where did Cilla disappear off to and what the
jealous witch was plotting now?

This was supposed to be their time together.

That’s what Maddox said when he first proposed
the idea of their spending Christmas together at the

cabin that meant so much to them.

Evangeline went along with it because, even a

month ago, she had started to sense her mate
pulling away from her, both physically and
emotionally. In the weeks since they moved into the
cabin for the holidays, it had only gotten worse.

And then there was last night. She could still

feel his hand against her hip, the possessive brand
that warmed her all the way to her heart—until he
jerked it away, making another excuse to put more
space between them.

So they slept in the same bed. It might as well

have been different worlds.

She shook her head, then threw back the

rumpled comforter. No use in sitting in bed and
moping all day. When Maddox came back from
wherever he’d run off to this time, she’d confront
him.

He was keeping something from her. She knew

him well enough to tell when he was being
secretive.

After his desperate approach to get her to

remember him, the way he drugged her then
kidnapped her so that she’d remember who he was
and that she was his wife, Maddox swore that he’d
never keep secrets from Evangeline again. It was
the only thing she asked for back then.

It was all she wanted now.
Christmas was in little more than a week. If

that’s all he gave her for a gift, she’d get to the
bottom of why Maddox seemed to be regretting
their mating.

He was her mate. She was his. They had a

marriage certificate and a bonding license—plus
Evangeline had Maddox’s bite—or prove it.

If he changed his mind about them, he owed her

an explanation at least.

E

VANGELINE

WAS

IN

THE

UP STAIRS

SHOWER

.

Maddox could hear the soft spray of the water

against the tile the instant he let himself back into
the cabin. Just imagining his mate’s gorgeous body
standing beneath the water had his cock twitching,
going instantly hard. If he thought she’d welcome
him, he’d shuck off his clothes, his boots, and go
join her for a little shower sex.

With a rough hand, he palmed at his erection

through his jeans. He needed to tame the bulge
because, honestly, Maddox wasn’t so sure that
Angie would welcome him.

Ever since he brought his mate back to this

cabin, leaving their fledgling home in Wolf’s Creek
behind them, she’d been giving him the cold
shoulder. He didn’t want to push her, not when it
was still so soon after the trauma she went through,

but giving her her space was giving him the worst
case of blue balls he’d ever known.

For his mate, though, he’d deal with it.
Besides, with Christmas quickly approaching,

and no news from Colt, Dodge, or any of his other
contacts about their hunt for Cilla or the
Nightwalkers, there was no time to even think
about mating. When he could be sure that not a
single threat existed against his Evangeline, only
then could he give in to his urges to climb on top of
her and get inside of her where he belonged.

As his father told him repeatedly, there was

more to being mates than just mating. No matter
what, her needs had to come first—even if that
meant ignoring his own.

Because his Ang was a human, her hearing was

nowhere near as good as his. Locked in the
bathroom, with the sounds of the shower echoing
around her, this was as good a time as any for him
to make the call he’d been meaning to make.

Reception was shit out on the mountain. He

learned that when he’d brought Evangeline here
during the few days when she was his captive
instead of his mate. He couldn’t get a single bar
outside of the cabin which made sense. It was pack
land, and the shifters who made up their
community knew how to navigate the caves, the
trees, and the terrain. No trespassers would.

Why would the Alpha give them the chance to

call out for backup or help?

Nope. The only spot that got any service was

right inside of the cabin.

He’d have to make this quick, though. Grabbing

his phone from his pocket, he pressed a button.
There were maybe three people that he kept on
speed-dial.

His brother was one of them.
Colt answered on the third ring. “Yeah?”
“It’s me.”
“Figured when your name popped up on the

screen. What’s up, Mad?”

Maddox could hear noises coming from just

beyond Colt. Unless he was mistaken… “What’s
going on with you? It sounds like fighting.
Everything okay?”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about me. What about

you?”

When it came to sensing a lie, a shifter needed

his nose and his eyes to tell when an opponent was
being deceptive—neither of which he had while he
was on the phone. But this was Colton, his younger
brother, and Maddox had a sixth sense when it
came to Colt being less than honest.

Colt was totally full of it right now. But, since

he was also more than capable of handling
whatever was going near him, Maddox was willing
to let it go. “Just checking in. Any update on
Cilla?”

“Nope. Sorry, bro. I thought I might have gotten

a lead, but it didn’t pan out. I’m still working on it,
though. Word is she might’ve hooked up with this
gang of corpses I’m trying to flush out of town.”

Corpses. The Nightwalkers. “Fucking A. Kill

two birds with one stone. Throw Cilla in a Cage and
get yourself a couple of fangs. Merry Christmas to
you.”

Colt’s laugh came out like a bark. “You know it.

Speaking of… how’s the gift for your mate coming
along?”

“The bike? Ralphie came and dropped it off the

other day. I’ve got it hidden out in the trees since
it’s gonna be a bitch to wrap, but it’s perfect. Just
what I ordered.”

“Not that one,” Colt said. “The big one. One of

the runners get my plans to you?”

They did. And, because they were Colt’s

design, they were perfect—and super fucking
complicated. Because of the degree of difficulty,
and the fact that Colt was too busy to come and
help him knock it together, it was taking longer than
he’d expected to get right. He’d come up with
excuse after excuse to sneak out into the woods to
work on it, staying out late and waking up early,
and he felt Evangeline’s loneliness through their
bond like an ache that wouldn’t go away.

It would be worth it. And while his mate might

be left alone for a little longer, it would all change

after he gave her her gift.

“Yeah. Thanks. Got the tools, too, and they’ve

been a big help.”

“If you need me to take a trip over, I might be

able to fit it in. I’m sorry that I won’t be able to be
there on Christmas, but I could probably spare a
night before then.”

“Nah. Don’t worry about it, Colt. Finish what’s

on your plate and you, me, and Angie can have a
Christmas get-together in the New Year. If you
want, you can even bring your witch with you.”

“Don’t

have

a

witch,”

Colt

retorted

automatically. “But, okay. I’ll see if Shea wants to
come.”

Maddox blinked, stunned. This was the first

time he’d heard his brother say the raven-haired,
purple-eyed witch’s name out loud instead of
saying her, witch, she or you.

Before he could remark on it, though, Colt hung

up the phone and he was left teasing a dial tone.

A

2

couple of days later, nothing had changed.

Not really.

Not for a lack of trying on her part, either. It

was just, every time she tried to have a heart to
heart with Maddox, he looked at her with such
adoration, she couldn’t help but convince herself
that she was overreacting.

Then he’d disappear again and she’d regret

staying quiet.

It snowed again, too, which, Evangeline was

beginning to understand, was pretty normal for the
mountains this time of year. It was so chilly, she
was grateful for the space heaters on every floor
and in every room of the cabin. Maddox might not
feel the cold, but she sure as hell did, and it was
warm and cozy inside, with or without her mate to
warm her up.

The morning before, Maddox did surprise her

with a Christmas tree that he cut down himself and
carried it inside. He lifted it single-handedly,
placing it in a tree stand that he pulled out of a
closet somewhere, then left it alone so that the
branches could fall.

By the next afternoon, the whole cabin smelled

faintly like pine. Despite her grumpy mood, having
the tree up made her smile. And that’s when
Maddox walked into the front door with an armful
of cardboard boxes and an impish smile on his
rugged face.

“What’s all this?” Evangeline asked.
“My dad arranged for it for me. Since I didn’t

want to leave this territory, one of the betas went
back and got these boxes out of where Colt kept
them in storage.” After setting the stack down, he
popped open a couple of the boxes until he yanked
out a plastic container full of shiny, glittering
ornaments. “Can’t have a tree without any
decorations.”

Her breath caught in her throat. A sheen of

tears covered her eyes as she murmured throatily,
“Oh. Maddox… that was so sweet of you.”

“You recognize them?”
Evangeline reached into the container he held

out to her, lifting out a gold ornament that reflected
her beaming face.

Recognize them?

Of course she did.
Back when they first met, around the time she

was accepting what it meant to be a shifter’s mate,
Evangeline celebrated her first Christmas with
Maddox. It was right after she moved from
Woodbridge to his Wolf’s Creek home to be closer
to him.

A bachelor pad just crying out for a woman’s

touch, Evangeline spent that whole December
creating a magical holiday season that neither of
them would ever forget. From the tree they cut
down together to the meal she hosted for half the
pack, it was one of the memories she treasured the
most once Cilla’s spell was finally lifted.

She remembered the ornaments the most,

though. Because Maddox was a shifter, she refused
to let a single piece of silver decorate their home.
Every bauble, every decoration, every strand of
garland even was purposely chosen in shades of red
and green and, most importantly, gold because it
matched Maddox’s stunning eyes.

Just like this one.
She gave her hand a twirl, watching the

ornament glitter and spin, and she smiled.

“I do. They’re perfect, babe. I love it. Thank

you! I can’t wait to put them on the tree.”

“I’m glad. I know I’ve been busy, trying to

track down Cilla, checking in with Colt, running
border checks… I didn’t want you to think I forgot

about Christmas. This time is for you and me.”

She was so touched by his gesture that she

wasn’t thinking clearly. That was her only excuse
for what she let slip as she marveled at the
ornament in her hand.

“I know. That’s what I told my mom.”
“Your mom? You talked to your mom? You

didn’t tell her where you are, did you? You’re only
safe so long as no one knows where we are. Pack
knows, that’s about it, and it’s really just Colt and
my dad. I won’t risk you, Angie. I won’t do it.”

Evangeline set the ornament down. She didn’t

want to accidentally break it; the way her hands
were suddenly shaking, that was a possibility. “I
didn’t tell her where we were spending the
holidays, Mad. Calm down. She invited me over for
Christmas and I told her we had plans. She
understands.”

The scowl he was wearing actually deepened.

“Invited you, right? Not us.”

“It’s not like that—”
“No? Let me guess. When your mother offered

the invite, did she mention that Wright’s gonna be
there, too?”

Adam Wright. Her ex… something.
“Maddox. Adam’s an old family friend. If he

goes to my parents with his mother, I can’t stop it.
I’m not going to be there. What does it matter?”

“What does it matter? You can’t be fucking

serious. I mean, when is Wright gonna get the hint
anyway? We’re already bonded, and I claimed you
for life. You’re mine, Ang.”

Her hands went straight to her hips. “Am I?”
The words just popped out of her. She wasn’t

even sure that she said them out loud until Maddox
reacted.

Her mate went predator-still. “What’s that

supposed to mean?”

What did it mean?
She wasn’t sure. It wasn’t something she said

on purpose, and considering she knew damn well
that Maddox hated Adam—even more now since
the Nightwalkers wouldn’t have come after her in
the first place if it wasn’t for his position in the
Grayson Police Department—it probably wasn’t
the smartest thing to say to her jealous mate.

She knew that, and since she couldn’t take it

back, she pretended it didn’t mean anything at all.

A flippant wave of her hand. A shake of her

head as she reached into the nearest box, snatched
a stocking, and turned to look for a pin. “Nothing,
babe. I’m just… I’m tired. It’s making me snappish.
Don’t mind me.”

“Hey… that’s alright. You want to wait to

decorate?” he said, concern lacing his rough tone.
“We don’t have to do this today.”

Evangeline noticed the way his anger

disappeared in a heartbeat, at the very second he

thought something was wrong with her. Was it
manipulative? Maybe. But she didn’t want to be, so
she quickly shook her head.

“Christmas is in a week. I think we put it off

long enough, don’t you?”

“Yeah. Sorry. That’s my fault, too. I’ve just

been so busy… you looking for something?”

Evangeline glanced down at the stocking she’d

been mangling in her grip as she absently dug
through another one of the boxes. “A pin or a nail.
Something like that. I was gonna hang this stocking
up by the tree.”

“I got it. The box of pins was tucked by the

ornaments. I just saw them.” As if he needed
another excuse to get away from her, Maddox
hunched over, reaching inside of another one of the
open boxes. “Wanna grab my stocking? I’ll hang
them next to each other.”

“Wha— oh. Yeah. Sure.”
She bent over and grabbed the red stocking

with Maddox’s name stitched in gold, suddenly
grateful that she’d thought ahead and bought gifts
for her mate right after he announced that they’d
be spending a quiet Christmas together at the cabin.
They were all hidden away in one of the empty
bedrooms. She’d been so happy when she finished
wrapping them, proud that she snuck them in under
his nose and hidden them before he went searching
for them.

Maddox, she remembered, loved Christmas.

Their first holiday together, he sniffed out every
single gift.

The way things had been lately, she wasn’t even

sure he noticed her attempts at being sneaky. Or
that a present could even begin to smooth things
over between them.

Evangeline handed Maddox the stocking. “Here

you go.”

He tacked the two next to each other, smiling to

himself when “Evangeline” and “Maddox” were
hanging side by side.

“Together,” he said, more to himself than to her.

“Just like it should be.”

If only.

A

FTER

THEIR

SMALL

FIGHT

AROUND

THE

C

HRISTMAS

tree, things went back to normal for a little while.

Well, almost.
Maddox still wasn’t showing any signs of

wanting to be intimate with her. The one time they
were heading toward the back door together and
Evangeline pointed out the mistletoe she hung near
it, he offered her a quick peck on the cheek before
bolting out into the backyard. He shifted into his
wolf without even bothering to strip down first,

leaving Evangeline to gather the scraps of his
tattered flannel and torn jeans from the snow-
covered ground.

At least he returned from patrol not much later,

wearing a sheepish expression and absolutely
nothing else. Her hormones kicked into overdrive
when she noticed that he wasn’t even a little
shriveled from the cold. In fact, under her
approving gaze, he was already half-hard.

Before she could make a move herself and

show her mate just how much she missed his body,
Maddox barked out a quick apology before her big,
bad wolf dashed up the stairs, heading to their
bedroom. When he came back down, he was fully
dressed.

Well. That certainly killed the mood for her.
Evangeline sighed as she sank down on the

couch. Maddox went into the kitchen, whipped up
a plate of sandwiches for them to share, then joined
her. The cabin didn’t get cable, but it did have a
pretty good wi-fi signal, and the two of them
snuggled on the couch, streaming nostalgic
Christmas movies on the television mounted to the
wall.

It was nice. Maddox held her hand in his giant

one, pulling her close as he nuzzled his nose in her
long hair, breathing in her scent. She arched her
neck, inviting him to kiss her skin, and even if
Maddox didn’t take the hint, he was still there with

her.

She’d take what she could get.
When the third movie ended and Evangeline

turned down his offer of another sandwich,
Maddox untangled his arm from around her
shoulder and sat up on the edge of the couch. He
yawned, stretched, before running his hand through
his shaggy, sandy hair. He scratched at the stubble
on his cheek, smacked his lips, and moved the
blanket away from their laps.

“Should we start another movie,” Maddox

wondered in that deep, raspy voice of his, “or
would you rather go to bed now?”

Her heart nearly skipped a beat. Was he finally

showing some sign that he was interested? “I—”

“It’s alright, Ang. You don’t have to stay up and

keep me company. I saw the way your eyes were
drooping during that last flick. Go on. You lay down
and I can clean up the kitchen while you get cozy.”

It took everything she had not to let a

disappointed frown cross her face.

Nope.
Not interested.
Tucking her hair behind her ear, Evangeline

mustered up a small smile. “Yeah. You’re right. I…
I guess I am kinda tired.”

“It got late without us realizing it and you

decorated most of the cabin on your own. I can tell
you’re beat.”

Oh? So Mad knew when she was exhausted, but

he was clueless when she was feeling horny?

Evangeline had to try. “You, um… you coming

to join me soon?”

“In a bit. I’m gonna take another run around

the mountain when I’m done first.”

Of course he was.
Her smile dipped down into the noticeable

frown she’d tried to hide before. Not now. “You
just said it’s late. Come on, Mad. Come to bed with
me. The patrol can wait until the morning.”

“Your safety is too important to me to skip it,”

Maddox told her, patting her knee once before
pulling his hand away. “I shouldn’t be gone long,
just a quick patrol to reinforce our territory lines.
You don’t have to wait up for me.”

A flash of fury mixed with sadness ran through

her.

Evangeline got up from the couch.
“Don’t worry,” she said, turning away from her

mate. “I won’t.”

M

ADDOX

WAS

GONE

.

Again.
Feeling grumpy, feeling grinchy, Evangeline

sprawled out in the king-sized bed, her body

stretched out like a starfish as the chilly sheets told
her that he wasn’t just gone. He’d been gone for a
while.

At least she knew that he did come to bed last

night. If it wasn’t for her early morning trip to the
bathroom, when she saw Maddox lying on the edge
of the bed, his back to where she’d been curled up
sleeping, she might’ve wondered if he’d slept
downstairs on purpose to avoid her.

Just like he told her not to, Evangeline didn’t

wait up for him. She didn’t. And if she was semi-
conscious when he came tiptoeing up the stairs
much later than he should’ve, well, that was just
coincidence.

What was he doing out there? She couldn’t help

but wonder. If it was just a patrol, he should’ve
have stayed out that long. But he had.

It wasn’t another woman. No doubt in

Evangeline’s mind about that. Cheating… it wasn’t
the way a Para was wired, especially not a shifter.
Mating for life wasn’t just something that attributed
to wolves in the wild. A shifter only got one mate;
for Maddox, Evangeline was it. So it wasn’t
another woman.

It was something, though.
For weeks, he’d been secretive. Pulling away,

careful in every touch, every embrace. As much as
he confessed to love her, the man she married—
that she mated—was so very different than the one

who was living with her in this cabin.

And it was about time she found out why.
Deciding she could take a shower later,

Evangeline traded her sleep pants and shirt for a
fresh blouse and a pair of jeans. Since she didn’t
know if Maddox had already gone out, she stopped
long enough to lace on her winter boots and throw
on her coat before she went out in search of him.
She was still so new at following the bond that
tethered the two of them together, but she felt an
answering tug toward the back so that was where
she went.

She didn’t have to go far. As soon as she

stepped out through the back door, she found him
walking in from the trees, wiping his hands against
the sides of his jeans as he whistled something
under his breath.

“Frosty the Snowman”? That’s what it sounded

like to Evangeline.

He paused at the edge of the yard once he

sensed her presence. She didn’t even have to say a
word. His head just jerked up, alert gaze locked
right on her.

His lips thinned. “Angie, honey? What are you

doing out here? Weather forecast is calling for a
squall. You should be inside where it’s warm.”

“I was looking for you.”
“Me? What for?”
What for? Maybe because it seemed as if she’d

hardly spent any time at all with her mate since he
brought her to this stupid cabin?

Evangeline couldn’t hide her frustration. From

the way Maddox’s forehead furrowed, he totally
picked up on it.

Good.
“Maddox, we’ve got to talk.”
At first, Evangeline thought it was what she

said. When Maddox went absolutely still, she
wondered if she could’ve brought it up more subtly
than that.

But then a warning shot through the bond, from

Maddox to Evangeline. A warning and a killer
instinct for the shifter to protect his mate.

“Babe?”
“Someone’s in our territory.”
In less than five seconds after he made that

pronouncement, he cleared the distance between
them, standing right in front of her. He placed his
claws gently on her shoulders, turning her easily so
that she was facing the door to the back of the
cabin again. “Go back inside.”

Evangeline snorted.
“Ang—”
“I’m safer with you than anywhere else,” she

argued. “And if it’s the witch, am I really safe
anywhere?”

She could tell that she touched a nerve. A

muscle ticked in Maddox’s jaw as he clenched it

tightly. He didn’t argue, though. How could he?
They both knew from experience that she was
right.

Luciana’s potion made it so that Cilla couldn’t

reach her while she was sleeping. Wide awake? If
Cilla got close enough to touch Evangeline with her
magic, not even Maddox’s brute strength could
save her.

“Stay close,” he ordered, letting go of her

shoulders. “And if I tell you to run, you go.”

She nodded. “Fair enough.”
Maddox moved in front of her, providing a

shield. He had his hands ready at his side, claws
already fully extended. She couldn’t see his face,
since his broad back was all but covering her, but
she’d be willing to bet that he was engaged in a
partial shift, ready to lunge at a moment’s notice.

His head tracked a movement that only his

shifter’s senses could read. When Maddox planted
his feet, his body twisted in one direction,
Evangeline knew that that was where the intruders
were heading in from.

She was right.
Less than a minute later, two figures appeared

in the distance. She didn’t need his amazing sight to
recognize the tall, dark-haired man who towered
over the petite blonde woman walking hand in hand
with him.

Maddox let out a huff, but he didn’t change his

position in the slightest.

Evangeline wasn’t so surprised by his reaction.

The company, yes, but not Maddox’s open
frustration.

Lifting her hand, resting it comfortingly on his

lower back, she murmured, “Isn’t that your
parents?”

Maddox didn’t relax a muscle. A growl rumbled

deep in his chest as he stared at the mated pair
leisurely approaching the cabin.

“Yeah,” he snarled. “That’s them alright.”
Evangeline frowned. “Were we expecting

them?”

“You weren’t.”
So Maddox was.
Huh.
Another secret. How freaking wonderful.

W

3

hen his mother immediately threw an arm
around Evangeline’s waist once she was

close enough to, then hurriedly bustled his mate
back inside, Maddox knew that his parents hadn’t
stopped by to wish them a very, merry Christmas.

Shit.
As if he could hear Maddox’s curse, his father

widened his stance from where he kept a good ten
feet distance between them before crossing his
burly arms over his barrel chest.

He jerked his head, one part greeting, one part

approval. “I checked the borders on our way in.
Good job. I picked up on a couple of traps, and
you’ve sprayed the mountain so thoroughly, no
shifter or corpse is gonna dare come any closer to
your lair.”

“Thanks. Until I get my paws on Cilla, I’m not

taking any chances.”

“Don’t blame you, boy. You know what you’re

doing.”

Did he?
He fucking hoped so.
Once the women had gone inside of the cabin

and closed the door behind them, Maddox dared to
peek a little bit higher.

Colton, with his teen idol, clean-shaven good

looks, took after their beautiful mother. Maddox,
though? As he glanced over at his father, careful to
peer at the other man out of the corner of his eye so
that the powerful wolf didn’t take it as a challenge,
Maddox accepted that he was looking at his future
in the next thirty years or so.

Terrence Wolfe might have been sixty years

old, but a human would’ve never been able to tell.
Sure, he had his share of marks on his face—only
they weren’t wrinkles, but scars. Gashes and lines
covered every inch of skin, each scar another fight
he survived in his four decades as a shifter Alpha
on the wrong side of the Claws Clause.

Since Paras were forced to reveal their

existence to the human world more than fifty years
ago, Terrence came into power during a time when
paranormal communities were under scrutiny by
Ants, other Paras, and the government. He cobbled
his pack of motley shifters together out of
necessity, fighting hard to keep it together, and

keep it powerful.

His dad might have been handsome once. Now?

Now, he was the epitome of Para strength, from his
shaggy, dark hair barely peppered with grey, to his
amber shifter’s eyes and a jagged scar that tore
right through both of his lips. Even when he was
trying to put his opponent at ease, it always seemed
like Terrence was scowling.

Then again, when it came to dealing with his

firstborn son, Terrence usually was.

“What are you doing here, Dad?”
“Not here as your father, Maddox. I’m here as

your Alpha.”

He could tell. As a born alpha himself, he could

pick up on the power level of other shifters as
easily as breathing. Normally, his wolf outranked
most other predatory shifters; in his thirty years,
he’d never come up against another beast in their
territory who was stronger than he was—except for
Terrence Wolfe.

His Alpha.
Growing up, his father reined in his dominance

until he had a reason to use it against his boys.
Even after Maddox and Colt got older and they
each took their respective place in the pack,
Terrence knew when to be their father and when to
be their Alpha.

Maddox had been expecting this visit. His

father wasn’t pulling any punches, either. One

quick glimpse at the man’s ominous golden gaze
warned Mad that his father’s beast was simmering
right below the surface. One snap was all it would
take. One snap and he’d be at the mercy of the
grizzled wolf’s fangs.

No one told the Alpha no and got away with it.
Because Maddox was—or used to be—next in

line to succeed as Alpha, Terrence was holding onto
his wolf by the thinnest of threads. Of course, an
essential part of being the pack’s leader was
learning control. It was one of the reasons why Colt
could never be more than a pack beta. Maddox’s
younger brother didn’t know the meaning of the
word when it came to a fight.

Maddox, though? He lowered his eyes, looking

at the snowy ground instead of meeting the
challenge in his father’s glare.

If he accepted it, there would be no going back.
Terrence snorted. “Don’t look away from me,

boy. You didn’t think I’d let you get away with
turning your back on us so easily.”

“Evangeline is my priority,” Maddox snapped

back. But he didn’t look up. Not yet. When he
recognized that the intruders were his parents, he
had retracted his claws. Now, they burst out from
the end of his fingers, slicing into the meat of his
palm as he clenched his fists. He forced them in
again before the scent of his blood carried on the
wind over to this father. Still, he didn’t look up.

“My mate means more to me than anything else—
even your plans for me.”

“Evangeline is family,” his father agreed. “And

that makes her Pack.”

Maddox jerked his head. A nod. He knew that.

From the second his wolf caught her rich vanilla
scent on the air and recognized that the brunette
beauty with the forest green eyes was its mate,
she’d been his responsibility. With their bonding,
that extended to the rest of the pack.

“I know.”
“The boy I raised to take my place would know

that a strong pack is a far better protection than one
lone wolf.”

“I’m not a lone wolf,” Maddox snarled,

bristling at his father’s calculated insult. Old man
knew exactly what he was doing, he’d give him
that. “I told you to find someone else to groom as
the next Alpha, Dad. Never said I was leaving the
pack.”

“Anyone else tries to take over the pack, they’ll

run you and your mate right out. You can’t expect
another Alpha to lead when he knows that no one’s
stronger than you, Mad. You’d always be a threat—
and, just like your brother and his witch, anyone
could use your mate against you.”

Maddox tried not to let his surprise show. It

shouldn’t be such a shock that Terrence knew what
was going on with Colt and Shea. Nothing got past

him, not when they were kids, and certainly not
now.

And he wasn’t wrong. His father was only

telling Maddox the same things he already knew.
He might not want to be a lone wolf, with his
human mate as the only other member of a pack of
two, but that was a very real possibility if he chose
to turn the pack over to someone else.

He dared a peek up at his Alpha. “You know

why I tried to give up my position, right?”

“Oh, yeah. Mating dance and the final claiming

makes all of us a bit stupid, though. I don’t blame
you for it. Your mate’s gonna be the most important
part of your life for the rest of it. But I’m not lyin’,
boy. With the power of the whole pack behind you,
nothing will threaten your Evangeline. You want to
hide her away in the cabin? Do that. But do it
because you’re the Alpha and your word is law.
You understand me?”

Maddox… did.
This time, when he met his father’s stare, he

didn’t blink. He didn’t steal a glance or look away
suddenly so that Terrence’s wolf didn’t recognize it
as a challenge. Because it was.

A challenge.
He shrugged. A nervous lump lodged in his

throat. He swallowed roughly as, inside his chest,
his wolf started to pace anxiously, ready to burst
out of his skin and into its fur.

“I’m not the Alpha,” Maddox said. His fangs

lengthened. His claws sliced out again in a snick-ing
sound that echoed throughout the yard. He leaned
forward, his body primed for the shift.

Terrence mirrored the stance, an anticipatory

smile quirking his scarred lip upward. “No. I am.”

“For now.”
“You ready, boy?”
Maddox tugged off his shirt. The cold was an

afterthought against his overheated skin as he threw
his shirt to the snowy ground. “Whenever you are.”

When his father widened his grin, the older man

made sure to show off his canines. “Then let’s go.”

A

S

SOON

S

ARAH

GUIDED

E

VANGELINE

INSIDE

OF

THE

cabin, she thought that her mother-in-law would let
her go.

She was, uh, kind of wrong about that.
Sarah Wolfe was more than a head shorter than

the six-foot-tall Evangeline. With dark blonde hair,
a pale complexion, and a gorgeous face that
belonged on a woman more than half her age,
Maddox’s mother was petite, she was sweet, and
she wasn’t just the Alpha’s mate—she was also a
wolf shifter, so she was super freakin’ strong.

It didn’t matter that, like Terrence, Evangeline

towered over her. Sarah rose up on her tippy-toes,
her arm a steel band around Evangeline’s waist as
she led her all the way through the cabin, into the
room furthest away from the back exit.

Evangeline wondered if that choice was on

purpose when her mother-in-law finally let go and,
to her surprise, moved so that she was standing
directly in front of her.

Sarah’s golden shifter’s eyes seemed to

shimmer in delight as she locked her gaze on
Evangeline’s middle.

“Congratulations, dear.”
“Congratulations?” echoed Evangeline. “For

what?”

“For your pup. And I know, I know… it isn’t

proper etiquette for me to say anything before you
and Maddox make an announcement, but I can’t
help myself. This is wonderful! I—”

Sarah might have kept on talking forever if

Evangeline didn’t squeak out one word that cut her
mother-in-law off mid-sentence:

“Pup?!”
“Oh, yes.” Sarah gestured at Evangeline’s belly.

“Pup. Baby. Whatever you want to call it, you’re
having one. And I’m gonna finally get to be a
grandma, so I guess I’ll congratulate me, too. What
an absolutely wonderful Christmas present!”

“What are you— are you kidding me? I’m…

I’m not pregnant.”

“Sure, you are.” As her wide smile drooped,

Sarah cocked her head slightly, her dark blonde bob
falling almost to her shoulder with the motion. Her
eyes flashed. “You knew that already, though,
didn’t you?”

Um, no. Evangeline didn’t.
She must have given it away because her

mother-in-law let out a soft chuckle as she
straightened. “Well, now you do, I suppose. It’s
fairly recent, I’d say, since I didn’t notice at
Thanksgiving, but you’re definitely plus one for
Christmas, sweetie.”

Evangeline blinked. Not at how Sarah put it—

Maddox’s mother had always had such a colorful
way of putting things—but at just what she was
saying.

That, after the last few months of trying,

Evangeline was—

She bit down on her bottom lip, wanting it too

badly to believe it so readily. “I don’t know. Maybe
I should get a pregnancy test or something.”

“Oh, goodness. You don’t need to do that.

This,” Sarah said, tapping the side of her nose with
a manicured finger, “is the best test around. Trust
me on this one. Maddox knocked you up and
good.”

Really?
Finally?
He had warned her from the first time he came

inside of her without a condom that pups were a
huge possibility. It had everything to do with the
make-up of a shifter. Mating was an instinct
specific to paranormal, most notably shifters. A
biological urge to continue the species.

It was also a biological quirk. Because a shifter

couldn’t reproduce with anyone but their mate, the
body didn’t respond until they found their mate.
The males didn’t get hard until then, and they were
shooting blanks until they claimed their mate.
Female shifters didn’t ovulate or release eggs until
they started to bond with theirs.

Evangeline was human. Maddox, though? A

full-blooded alpha wolf shifter, he was surprised the
first time he caught Evangeline’s scent and
absolutely shocked the first time his cock came to
life.

And, okay, it had taken them some time before

the two virgins were ready to mate. They were
careful, though. Due to her insistence that they
marry before he fully claimed her, Maddox always
wore a condom to keep him from giving in to his
instincts to bite her and breed her and bond her.

Last summer, after her memories started to

come back from the awful witch who stole them,
Evangeline realized they were married. They were
mated. They’d been bonded, too, even if Cilla’s
spell did its best to sever the tie between them.

And finally, after she slipped into his room one

night and seduced him, they claimed each other.
Maddox, by giving her his bite the same time he
gave her his seed. And Evangeline, who offered her
heart and her body and joyously took everything he
offered her.

He had warned her that first night that while

mating and claiming cemented the bond, his seed
was just that: something he planted deep inside of
her every time he came, with the hope that a new
life would start.

It hadn’t.
Well, until now.
Evangeline felt a bubble of hope rise up within

her. She’d never admit to anyone—especially not
her mate—but she’d been worrying about that.
Over the last few months, she kept waiting for the
inevitable, growing more and more frustrated when
it became clear that she hadn’t gotten pregnant yet.
She understood that it wasn’t automatic, and that it
wasn’t always easy, but she thought… well,
Maddox was a shifter. She was his mate.

Wasn’t creating pups together the whole point?
She didn’t want to let herself believe it. And

when she skipped her period last month, she had
just about convinced herself it had everything to do
with the stress surrounding the Nightwalker attacks
and how Cilla was still out there somewhere.
Because she couldn’t be pregnant at last—

Could she?

She really, really hoped so.
“I guess I could make an appointment with my

doctor just to make sure, but he’s humans only.” As
if she just realized what she said, Evangeline
cringed. “Sorry, he’s my mom’s recommendation.”

“It’s fine. I sent my boys to a vet the first

couple of years of their life because there weren’t
so many doctors who specialize in Paras outside of
our community. And after the way my T lost his
ever-loving mind every time I was with a pup, none
of them wanted to square off against the Alpha to
tend to his mate.”

Oh, jeez. Evangeline didn’t even think of that.

If Maddox was so single-mindedly focused on
doing whatever he had to to keep her safe now,
how far would he go when he found out that she
was pregnant?

Would he be happy? Or, with as distant and

secretive as he’d been lately, would he take it
poorly?

Evangeline gulped.
Her mother-in-law caught it. Pursing her lips,

reading something in Evangeline’s expression that
she couldn’t quite hide, Sarah asked softly, “You
didn’t know. Does Maddox?”

“What? No. I… I had no clue until you sensed

it and told me. I just thought it was the holiday
blues or something, plus one too many Christmas
cookies. But I’m… I’m…” Evangeline couldn’t

even say the word. She just lifted her hands,
nestling around the small curve at the bottom of her
flat belly.

Huh. So it wasn’t the cookies after all.
“So he’s not sure. But… a male wolf usually

senses these things. So he doesn’t know, but, then
again, maybe he does. It would certainly explain
some things.”

That didn’t make a lick of sense to Evangeline.

“What do you mean? Explain what?”

Sarah leaned in, then lowered her voice. “Since

I know your secret now, I’ll share one of mine.”

“No.” Evangeline’s stomach flip-flopped.

Secrets… just the word made her feel queasy.
“Please. No more secrets.”

“Trust me, neither one of these will be a secret

for long. Once my boy gets his head out of his ass
and uses his nose for once, he’ll figure out what’s
different about you. What’s making him even more
overprotective than usual. And then, after my mate
finishes up with him, he’ll stop all this nonsense
about leaving his position in the pack.”

“Wait—what?”

S

4

arah nodded.

“Oh, yes,” she said. “Didn’t he tell you?

It’s why my T and I took the run out here. Mad told
my mate that he’s planning on stepping aside,
giving up his shot at being the next Alpha, so that
he won’t have to leave you by yourself for too
long. If his wolf can sense you’re carrying a pup, it
would explain Mad’s turnabout.”

Evangeline felt her mouth drop open in

surprise. For as long as she knew him, Maddox had
always known that he wanted three things: a loving
mate, a big family, and the control of the pack he’d
been born to rule. When he thought Evangeline was
dead, Maddox sacrificed his position in the pack
while he was in the Cage, but as soon as they were
bonded mates, she accepted that he’d be Alpha one
day.

Why the hell would he give that up again? And,

most importantly, why hadn’t he told her?

Another secret?
She was so freaking over all of the stupid

secrets.

Evangeline closed her mouth, clicking her teeth

together with the force of his motion. After shaking
it off, she said, “I would never want him to do
that.”

“I didn’t say that you did.” Sarah cocked her

head again in that decidedly canine motion.
Evangeline wasn’t sure if her mother-in-law even
realized that she was doing it. “Especially now, the
two of you will need Pack more than ever.”

“I just… that doesn’t make any sense to me.

Maddox doesn’t even seem to want to be around
me. No matter what I do, it’s like he always finds
an excuse to get away. I don’t even know if he’s
gonna be happy about this news, and now you’re
telling me he’s trying to give up his alpha status?”

“For you.”
“For me? I’m sorry, and I know you’re his

mom, but… he…” Evangeline huffed, the words
spilling free without her really meaning for them to.
“He doesn’t even seem to want me anymore.”

“Oh, sweetie. I don’t mean anything by it, but

you’re such a human. If my boy is acting a little
less… amorous than he usually does, it’s because
his instincts are pulling him in different directions.

The urge to mate quiets a little when you’ve got a
bun in the oven, Evangeline, dear. It’s all about
protecting his mate, making a safe home, marking
his territory. He might not even know he’s doing it,
but it’s what a good alpha wolf is supposed to do.”

Sarah wasn’t wrong. Evangeline was human.

She thought like a human, experienced life like a
human. She’d learned a lot about Paras in the time
since she discovered she was fated to be a shifter’s
mate, but this… this was something new.

“Are you… are you sure?”
“I’m positive, Evangeline. I had two pups,

remember? I know what it’s like and, between us
girls, I was never more in the mood to get frisky
with my mate than when he’d already knocked me
up. If Maddox is too busy following his other
instincts to notice that you’ve got an itch that needs
to be scratched, it’s up to you to let my boy know
just what you need.”

Evangeline’s eyes widened. Did Maddox’s

mother just—

A loud smashing sound, followed by a throaty

howl that split through the air had Evangeline
freezing in place. It didn’t matter how many times
she heard Maddox’s wolf cry. She was still a human
and her tiny human-sized brain shrieked: monster,
big monster, freeze and don’t breathe and maybe he
won’t find you.

He was the predator, she was the prey, and it

always took her a split second to remember that if
her mate was chasing her, she had way more fun
when he inevitably ran her down.

That wasn’t his playful howl, though.
Was there a threat out there?
Cilla?
“What was that?” asked Evangeline.
“I think that’s our cue.”
“What?”
Sarah gestured for Evangeline to follow behind

her. “Come along, dear. You won’t want to miss
this and, besides, they’ll need witnesses.”

“What?!”

E

VANGELINE

CHASED

AFTER

M

ADDOX

’

S

MOTHER

.

For such a petite, gentle-looking woman, Sarah
Wolfe could move when she wanted to. Good thing
for Evangeline’s long legs because she just
managed to catch up to Sarah as the blonde tornado
burst out into the backyard.

She followed after her mother-in-law, coming to

a dead stop when she caught sight of the scene in
front of her: two wolves snarling at each other, their
fangs bared, and their hinds raised as if ready to
attack.

What the—

Evangeline turned to Sarah, worry written all

over her face. “What’s going on?”

Sarah lifted her hand, patting each strand of

dark blonde hair back into place. Unlike
Evangeline, she didn’t seem the least bit surprised
—or concerned with—what they discovered out
back.

“It’ll be fine,” she told Evangeline. “This is

how they’ve always worked out their problems.
Hasn’t Maddox told you about his squabbles with
Colton when they were younger?”

Well, sure. When they were first dating,

Maddox went to great lengths to hide his Para
status. He got this crazy idea in his head that
Evangeline would never want to be a shifter’s mate
so he pretended to be human. It didn’t take long for
her to see through his act—not that she ever cared
anyway since she loved him for him—and after he
revealed that he was a wolf shifter, he didn’t shy
away from what he was ever again.

Except for when the witch stole her memories

and she didn’t know he was a shifter, that was. But
even then, even after Evangeline worked out that
she was dealing with a Para—though she hadn’t
learned he was her husband just yet—she’d been
interested in his wolfish nature.

So, yeah, she knew all about what it was like

for him growing up as a Para. He used to love
telling her stories about fights with Colt, not to

mention the trouble the pups got into, especially
when Dodge ghosted along with them.

One problem, though.
That wasn’t Colt.
Evangeline had seen both brothers in their wolf

shape countless times before. She didn’t need Sarah
to spell out that Maddox was facing off against her
mate—Maddox’s father—to recognize that the
brindled wolf wasn’t Colt. Colt shifted into a white
wolf with arctic blue eyes while Maddox… she’d
know that big grey wolf anywhere.

Paranormal shifters were bigger than their

animal counterparts. Alphas? Double the size, easy.
As a born alpha, all of Maddox’s muscle and bulk
shifted into one hell of a massive wolf with fangs
that stretched longer than one of her fingers.

The two wolves were currently circling each

other. They weren’t fighting—but they had been.

Evangeline focused on her mate. Mud covered

his side. Snow and dirt kicked up the ground. Dots
of red sprayed against the white—blood. Someone
had gotten in a lucky swipe with their teeth or their
claws, though neither wolf appeared hurt.

Maddox’s muzzle lifted in the air. The grey

wolf’s lips peeled back as it snarled a warning at
the large brindled wolf.

One second. That’s all it took. Maddox’s ears

twitched, his head jerking to the side just long
enough for the wolf to catch sight of Evangeline in

its glowing amber gaze. Maddox’s attention strayed
to his mate—and not his opponent—for only a
second and Terrence took advantage of his son’s
lapse.

The brindled wolf leaped at Maddox, aiming

straight for the grey wolf’s throat.

The grey wolf dodged the attack, wheeling

around, its jaws snapping at the brindled wolf’s
hind leg as it landed roughly against the snow.
Terrence yipped, snarled, and kick his leg out.
Maddox let go, paused for only a heartbeat, then
dove at his father again.

After that, the fight was fast.
It was brutal.
It was decisive.
After a few terrible moments where fur flew

and blood sprayed and Evangeline fought the urge
to cover her eyes with her hands, the fight was
over. The brindled wolf lay on its back, legs kicking
out wildly, the weight of the grey wolf pinning it
down as it lowered its muzzle toward the brindled
wolf’s face.

As Evangeline continued to watch in horror, the

grey wolf closed its jaw over the brindled wolf’s
throat. Not enough to break through the fur or
pierce its skin—but enough to show that, if he had
wanted to, he could have easily torn it out.

Terrence went still.
Maddox kept the pose for a good fifteen

seconds. When the brindled wolf didn’t show any
sign of restarting the fight, the grey wolf carefully
opened its jaw, lifting its fangs from the other
wolf’s throat. It climbed off of its opponent, tail
down, ears flat, as he limped a few steps away.

It didn’t look behind it. No need. With that

decision, the grey wolf knew that it was the biggest,
baddest wolf in the whole east. It had toppled the
previous Alpha.

It was the new ruler of the pack.

M

ADDOX

SHIFTED

BACK

FIRST

.

Since Evangeline was the only non-shifter

there, she was the only one who had a problem
with the open nudity. Watching her mate strut
around butt-naked was one thing, but when she
realized that her father-in-law would shift back
without a stitch of clothing on next, she spun her
back to them, ignoring Sarah’s muffled laughter.

She heard another twang, then the rustle of

clothing as the two men yanked their clothes back
on. When Maddox softly murmured her name, she
turned around again to see that, despite the battle,
both men were upright and regarding each other
with open affection and respect.

“You beat me,” Terrence said to Maddox,

reaching up to rub the red gashes that ringed his
throat. In an hour or so, the marks would be gone
thanks to the shifter’s amazing regenerative
properties, but for now the marks remained as a
symbol of his defeat.

Mirroring his father’s stance, Maddox touched

his own neck. The ragged, ruined skin—the sign
that he wore the silver collar while he was locked in
the Cage—would look like that forever. He wore
his brand proudly, though, since it proved he’d
rather suffer in the Para prison than live for even a
moment without the memories of his precious mate.

“I did,” Maddox said.
Terrence looked over at his mate. His

expression softened when his gaze fell on Sarah.
“You witnessed your Alpha fall.”

She nodded, beaming over at him. “I did.”
His golden eyes slid over to Evangeline. “You

witnessed your mate become Alpha,” he rumbled.

Since everyone else already agreed, Evangeline

figured she should do the same. “Um. I did.”

“That settles it then. By the laws of the pack,

Maddox Wolfe is the newest Alpha.”

Then, with the three others watching closely,

Terrence Wolfe tilted his throat and offered his
human throat to his son.

Maddox tossed his head back and howled.
And, unless Evangeline was imagining it, the

wild wolves that made the mountains and the

nearby forest their home all howled back in return.

T

HREE

DAYS

AFTER

HIS

PARENTS

LEFT

THE

CABIN

,

Evangeline still hadn’t told Maddox the news about
the baby.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, either. It was

just… there didn’t seem to be any time.

After he beat his father in the dominance

challenge, Maddox was named the new Alpha of
the pack and, well, that kind of took precedence
over her news. Everything would be changing now
that he went from next-in-line to the head honcho.
And, sure, throwing a pup into the mix was another
huge change, but she had a couple of months
before she would give birth.

Maddox was Alpha of the Eastern pack today.
Thankfully, since it was so close to Christmas,

Terrence offered his son an early gift: he’d save the
announcement and the official transition of power
until after the new year so that Evangeline and
Maddox could enjoy their first holiday as a bonded
mated pair without interruption from the rest of
their packmates.

Evangeline knew that Sarah had something to

do with that. After the fight, she took her mate
aside with the excuse that she needed to tend to his

injuries. When they left the bathroom, Terrence
said he would delay the announcement until early
January before Sarah said it was time for them to
go.

The next morning, though, her mother-in-law

called convinced Evangeline to take a ride into
town with her while Maddox was missing again.

Convince was the right word.
One of the effects of the crash where

Evangeline almost died was a newfound phobia
when it came to being a passenger in a moving
vehicle. Part of Cilla’s cruel spell was forcing
Evangeline to relive the accident over and over
again until she’d been so twisted, she pushed the
last vestiges of Maddox from her mind while
experiencing pure terror at just the idea of being
trapped inside of a car. Even now that the spell was
broken, she couldn’t stop herself from imagining
the truck flipping end over end, careening off the
mountain—even if the trip was as simple as running
down to the store.

Making matters worse? The cabin was built on

the same range of mountains where Maddox and
Evangeline were forced off the mountainside. It
was such a struggle to drive up to the mountain in
the first place, Maddox had to sedate her before
they could take the trip.

No drugs this time. She couldn’t, not in good

conscience, not now that she believed she was

pregnant. And the only reason why she even
pushed herself to get inside of Sarah’s car was
because her mother-in-law found a respectable
OB/GYN who would see her on short notice.

When the human Evangeline nearly snapped

the grab bar off the inside of the car because she
was clutching it so tightly, she began to regret
forgoing the drugs.

She got a frantic call about ten minutes into the

drive. Turned out the bond alerted Maddox to her
severely anxious and fearful state and he returned
to the cabin to discover her gone. She only
managed to calm him enough to keep from dashing
after her when she confessed that she was doing
some last-minute errands with his mother and she’d
be home before he knew it.

It was the truth. Just because the main purpose

of the trip was to visit the doctor, it didn’t mean
that the two women didn’t make a few pit stops
along the way.

In a bid to keep Evangeline’s mind off of her

very valid phobia, Sarah did all the talking. Not
only was she Maddox’s mother and a very honest
and sharing woman, but Sarah had also been where
Evangeline was, pregnant and unsure how to
navigate these strange new waters.

She realized they were both at fault. Sarah

explained that, while the early stages of a shifter
pregnancy—and, just because Evangeline was

human, the pup she was carrying meant it was a
shifter pregnancy—had a female’s hormone levels
through the freaking roof, that only explained the
way she’d been feeling. Sad, angry, abandoned…
she took a situation that normally wouldn’t have
been too upsetting and turned it into the end of her
mating.

Maddox, on the other hand, might have been

subconsciously following his instincts when it came
to his pregnant mate, protecting her to the point
that he was neglecting her, the man he was should
have known better than that. Especially since it was
still extremely obvious that he was hiding
something from her.

Which was kind of fair, she admitted, since she

hadn’t told him about the baby just yet.

By the time Christmas Eve rolled around,

Evangeline decided that one of two things needed
to happen: she needed to either prove to herself
that her mate still wanted her, or she needed to
drop the bomb and let Maddox deal with it.

She couldn’t stop thinking about Sarah’s advice.

Maddox would eventually figure it out on his own,
but unless she basically jumped his bones, Maddox
might not get the hint that all she wanted was her
husband’s loving touch.

That night, when Maddox finished his patrol,

she knew exactly what she was going to do.

Hell, she seduced him once. She could do it

again.

Right?

M

5

addox thought his mate had turned in for
the night.

With the excitement of Christmas being the

next morning, Maddox put his worries off to the
side for the evening, eager to get the chance to play
Santa Claus—or, as he liked to think of it, Santa
Claws. The big gift was too damn big to even think
about bringing it inside of the cabin, but he quickly
got the last of his presents together, adding them to
the growing pile under the tree.

He was just propping the awkwardly wrapped

bicycle up against the wall behind the Christmas
tree when he heard the creak on the stairs and
knew Evangeline wasn’t sleeping.

She also was wearing a coat.
Maddox finished hiding the bike, shifting his

bulky body so that he could cover it up. Between

the size and his disastrous attempt to wrap it in half
a roll of wrapping paper, it was kind of obvious
what it was, and he didn’t want her to guess what it
was before Christmas.

He also had no clue what she was doing

wearing a coat—since the bare legs peeking out
from beneath the hem told him that she didn’t
really have any intentions of going out into the
freezing cold night.

Still, he had to ask. “Hey, sweetheart… it’s a

little late. You going somewhere?”

Evangeline didn’t answer him. She just gave her

head a coy shake. And then, to his shock and
surprise, she unzipped her coat.

His mate was wearing the teeniest, tiniest,

flimsiest lingerie nightie he’d ever seen before. A
pale pink, almost completely see-through, it had a
deep, plunging neck, and a wispy skirt that
whispered just past her pussy.

It was also brand new. He would’ve

remembered if she’d ever worn anything like this.

Evangeline bit her bottom lip, jutted out her

chin—and her chest—then let the coat tumble to
the ground behind her.

His cock punched straight to life. All of the

blood rushed straight to his groin, leaving none for
his brain as he stared at the vision of his mate in
front of him. He couldn’t think of a damn thing to
say and settled on licking his lips.

God, she was fucking gorgeous.
She shrugged one shoulder, allowing the thin,

lacy strap to slip down to the crook of her elbow. It
took half of the see-through top with it, baring a full
tit, a rosy nipple winking right at Maddox.

He stifled his groan.
What was she doing?
Did she want him to explode in his jeans?
‘Cause he might. It was definitely a possibility.
He should stop her. Unless… unless this was a

Christmas gift. Evangeline had been so distant
lately, so quiet, always looking at him with a sad
frown. And then there the dreams… at night, when
he laid beside her in bed, she would whimper and
cry and, when he asked her about them in the
morning, she always acted as

He didn’t want to push her. As soon as he

claimed her, he’d wanted to fuck her every which
way he could, whenever he had the chance. But
then Cilla stole Evangeline away and tried to really
hurt her, then the witch tossed Colt out of a fucking
window, and Maddox had to watch over his brother
while he recovered.

By the time things were slowly getting back to

normal, and he could finally enjoy the mate that
was destined just for him, danger struck again and,
damn it, Maddox knew whose needs he had to put
first.

Newsflash: it wasn’t his.

Even so, it would be damn rude to refuse a gift,

right? If that’s what his Angie was offering him, he
couldn’t deny her anything. If she wanted to show
off her body and possibly do a little more for
Christmas, could he really say no?

If this was what she wanted, he’d go along with

it, Maddox decided just as Evangeline slowly
tugged the second strap down, the rest of the
material pooling at her waist. She shimmied it down
past her ass, Maddox swallowing roughly when he
saw that she wasn’t even wearing panties beneath
the nightie.

Ah, hell.
A man could only take so much temptation.

And while his wolf was urging him to take his mate,
claim his mate, Maddox wanted to prove to himself
that he wasn’t all beast. Until Evangeline was fully
recovered, until the bad dreams went away and he
didn’t feel like he needed to hide her away, he
shouldn’t take pleasure in her body when he was
such a shitty mate, her life was constantly in
danger.

And what if, this time, his seed finally took?

Could he really bring a pup into this? When he was
newly the Alpha, and Colt was out risking his own
wolf, searching for Cilla while taking on the
Nightwalkers?

But if he refused her…
Ignoring his wolf’s howl and his twitching cock,

Maddox followed his heart—and his bond.
Evangeline had come to him, bared herself to
him… and he knew in an instant that, if he pushed
her away, he’d do far more damage than anything
his claws could do.

Besides, he really, really wanted to mate her.
No time to change his mind. No time to strip,

either. In a snap, he shifted into his wolf, let it offer
its mate an excited yip, then forced the change
back. The tatters of his clothes rained down around
him, but he didn’t give a shit. Shaking off the
remains of his shirt, his jeans, his boxers, Maddox
reached down, gave his aching erection a single,
promising pump, then curled a finger at Evangeline.

This was her show, right? Her gift? He was just

going along for the ride.

Her forest green eyes sparkled with a promise

that nearly brought Maddox to his fucking knees.
Instead of moving toward him, though, she turned
away, letting him gobble up the slight curves of her
long, slender body. Already so magnificently tall,
she glided easily on the arches of her feet, lifting
her ass high as that he could watch the cheeks sway
as she walked away from him.

The sight might’ve stunned him at first, but no

way in hell was he letting it get away. He’d follow
her anywhere. Like a puppy on a leash, he matched
every step, unable to break from her mesmerizing
spell.

She led him into the bedroom, pointing at the

bed when he stopped

He wasn’t about to ask his mate twice.
Maddox spread out on the bed, his cock

bobbing to and fro as it pointed eagerly toward the
ceiling. When he shifted to make room for
Evangeline in the center of the bed, the wayward
appendage seemed to follow wherever she went.

And, as soon as Evangeline’s soft hand closed

around its length, the damn thing still didn’t to
behave.

Maddox felt her warm breath against his

overheated skin a heartbeat before her lips closed
around the head. Control was a fleeting thing. As
her cheeks hollowed on the first drag against his
sensitive cock, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to
pump, to explode, or to lay back and enjoy her
gentle touch.

She stroked the length of his erection with her

practiced hand, her tongue laving the side between
a strong, sucking motion that had Maddox’s eyes
nearly rolling into the back of his head.

“Ang,” he grunted, trying to keep from going

off too soon. “It’s, uh, it’s been a while. Just
warning you.”

At the sound of honest need and concern in his

raspy voice, she gave the head of his cock one last
lick, her tongue lapping up the pre-cum that beaded
at the tip. After wiping her mouth with the back of

her hand, she gazed right into his dazed expression.
“It has, hasn’t it? Maybe we should get right to the
good stuff.”

Before he could tell her that was she was doing

was more than good enough, Evangeline swung her
right leg over his middle. A wet heat touched the
area right below his belly button as his mate
straddled him. Maddox felt better knowing that she
was as primed as he was which was why, as
Evangeline lifted her ass and, grabbing his cock,
started to slip inside her tight pussy, he knew that
she was ready to take all of him all the way.

It took her a few seconds to get seated right

before she slowly lowered herself on top of him.
Only when she was fully seated, skin touching skin,
did Maddox let out the breath he’d been holding.

The urge to start stroking in and out of her was

almost undeniable. He just managed to hang onto it,
though. This was Evangeline’s show—he was just
going along for the ride. As her mate, he would just
sit there and let her do whatever the hell she
wanted to do with him.

And he’d do it while wearing nothing but a

smile.

At first, she went slow. Maddox clutched the

covers with his fingers, trying desperately to hold
his claws back. His wolf was going wild inside of
him. To the beast, there was nothing so important,
nothing so freeing as the bond it shared with its

mate. When the two became one, all that existed
was their unbreakable bond.

Pleasure, too. Maddox couldn’t forget that.
She placed both hands against his chest,

scratching the shit against his skin, massaging his
nipples, scrabbling to find some kind of purchase as
she began to pick up her pace. Up, down. Up,
down. Her tits seemed to fly in his face the fast she
rode him. Maddox’s mouth watered for a nibble
and, feeling playful, he snapped his teeth when one
got near enough.

Evangeline’s moan turned into a chuckle when

she realized what he wanted. She ground her pelvis
against his, putting pressure against her clit as she
braced herself on one hand. With the other, she fed
her tit into Maddox’s mouth. He latched on,
sucking it with as much enthusiasm as he could
since he knew especially how sensitive Evangeline
was there.

It was like her nipple had a direct line to her

pussy. With every pull he took, her pussy clenched,
nearly strangling his cock.

It felt so fucking good.
He could tell she was enjoying his ministrations

by how distracted she suddenly was. Her rhythm
slowed down, though her panting picked up. She
was getting close. He could tell from the breathless
sighs, the way she grabbed onto his side, squeezing
his flesh, kneading him in frustration.

Well. He couldn’t have that.
He opened his mouth, letting her tit free with an

audible pop. Her pouty lips formed a perfect ‘o’ as
the heat from his tongue was replaced by the cooler
air. Evangeline didn’t have long to look
disappointed,

though,

since

Maddox

took

advantage of her distraction to flip the tables on
her.

With his cock still lodged deep inside of her, he

quickly reversed their positions. He laid Evangeline
on her back, angling her toward the pillows at the
font of the bed. Her mahogany hair fanned out
beneath her as he rose up high so that he was
towering over her. Grabbing her from under her
knees, he yanked her legs so that he could urge her
to link her ankles behind him.

Then, once she was comfortable and he was in

a position of power, Maddox started to pound into
her.

He knew his mate. As much as she liked to take

her time, playing with him, teasing him, loving him,
nothing excited her more or got her off quicker
than a hard, fast, rough mating. He thrust in and
out, giving her only what she could take, and when
she started chanting his name in time to his thrusts,
pleading with him to make her come, he knew he
was doing it right.

A soft cry, a throaty moan. Her heels digging

into his ass as she tried to swallow him whole. The

way she threw her head back, her tits so close, he
barely resisted the urge to bury his face in her
mounds.

She squeezed him so hard as her orgasm hit that

he couldn’t control himself. All of his good
intentions flew out the window when she whispered
his name one last time, the aftershocks of her
explosion still reverberating through her. Her pussy
clenched, his cock responded, and with a howl that
probably echoed past the trees surrounding the
cabin, Maddox shot his mate full of his seed.

Oops.
He, uh, didn’t mean to do that.

“ W

OW

.”

“Mmm.” Evangeline wanted to echo his

sentiments, but she’d been nailed so thoroughly, the
soft murmur was all she had the energy to let out.

Maddox threw his arm over her tits, tugging her

close to him. “I’ve missed that.”

“Yeah. Me, too.”
“We shouldn’t have done that, though.”
That comment right there sure as hell perked

her up. It wasn’t regret in his voice, not really, but
she caught enough of a hint of frustration to
immediately feel on guard.

Shoving his arm off of her, she turned so that

she could glare over at him. “Excuse me?”

“Not all of it,” Maddox quickly corrected. “But

I should’ve pulled out at the end.”

Her stomach twisted. “What for? I’m your

mate. Isn’t the whole point to come inside of me?”

“Normally, yeah. But, Angie… look, the

Nightwalkers have a bounty on your head all
because of Wright. I hate even thinking it, but I
know damn well that Cilla has it out for you
because of me. We’re all we got. Now I’m the
fucking Alpha, and, yeah, that gives me the might
of the whole pack to back me up against those
assholes, but it’s not the right time to bring a pup
into this.”

Forget twisted. Her stomach tightened so much,

Evangeline thought she might hurl. “You don’t
honestly mean that, do you?”

“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t. Don’t get me

wrong, though. Shit, Ang, I want to start a family
with you more than anything, but now?

“You do want to have pups, though, right?”
“‘Course, I do. Except for you, it’s all I’ve ever

wanted. And if it happened just now, we’ll make it
work. As long as it’s you and me, Angie… you and
me and our kid… I know I can handle anything.
I’m just saying… wait. Why are you looking at me
like that?”

She gulped. “Like what?”

“Evangeline Wolfe. Are you trying to tell me

something?”

She couldn’t find the words. Not yet. Not when

he just said two seconds ago that he had wanted to
wait.

Too bad Junior didn’t get the memo.
He took a deep breath. His nostrils flared and

he jolted. The next moment, Maddox had braced
himself on his elbow as he stared down at her.

Just… stared.
Evangeline met his unblinking gaze. She

chuckled weakly.

“Merry Christmas?”

I

6

n retrospect, she wasn’t quite sure what she
expected his reaction to be. When Sarah said

that Maddox would figure it out eventually—or, as
her mother-in-law put it, pulled his head out of his
ass and finally noticed her scent had changed—
Evangeline thought he’d be as excited and stunned
and, well, overjoyed as she was when she found
out.

Except, only a good couple of seconds had

passed by now and Maddox was still staring at her.

She cleared her throat. “Um? Babe? You gonna

say something?”

He didn’t. Instead, slowly inching his way down

her naked body, he snuffled at her midsection,
nosing her belly as he sniffled, then breathed in
deep again.

She knew when he confirmed what she told him

the second he pulled himself up to his knees, threw
his head back, and howled.

Evangeline had to check. She was almost sure,

but… “Uh… was that a good howl or a bad howl?”

His eyes flashed while his fangs punched out of

his gums. “You have to ask?” he said, his voice a
hoarse rasp as his wolf came to the forefront.

Moving gently, but with purpose, Maddox

shifted his body so that his arms were a cage
around her and she was trapped.

And then he leaned in.
He nuzzled her neck the same way he had

nuzzled her belly. The boneless, relaxed feeling
returned and Evangeline absolutely melted back
into the sheets. Maddox nipped at her earlobe, her
jaw, then her bottom lip. She gasped and he took
the opportunity to plunder her mouth, stroking her
tongue with his until she was breathless and, most
importantly, had no doubt how he felt about her
surprise.

When she finally got her breath back, she

gulped. “Well, I guess that answered that.”

Maddox’s laugh was a rush of heat against her

bare skin. “I thought it might. But what about you?
My human mate doesn’t howl, I get that, but she’s
been so quiet lately. How do you feel about it?”

Evangeline went still.
She had been quiet, hadn’t she? So concerned

with how distant he’d been lately—even if Sarah

explained how her pregnancy might have changed
things in some ways—Evangeline had used the
excuse of heading into the mountains to keep to
herself, never opening up to Maddox about what
was bothering her—or what she needed.

Not anymore.
They were mates. Partners. Soon to be

parents… they needed to be able to communicate.

You know what they say. No time like the

present—ha, present—to start.

“I’m happy, too,” she confessed as he moved

back to press his lips over the skin inches away
from her belly button. “Ever since you claimed me,
I’d known this was a possibility, and I’ve wanted
this. I just… I needed to know you did, too.”

Lifting his head from where he was nuzzling

her, Maddox scowled over at her.

If it was anyone else, the grimace on the wolf

shifter’s face would’ve been enough to have her
running for the window—and Evangeline knew,
since she’d had reason to do just that when her
memories were stolen. But not now. Not after the
way his whole, weathered face lit up with love as
he looked down on her moments ago.

Still, she raised her eyebrows. “Hey. What’s

wrong?”

Maddox schooled his features, making his

expression go blank. He moved again, stretching
out beside her, wrapping her up in his arms. “Don’t

worry about it. It’s nothing.”

She poked him in his side, curling into him,

resting her head on a pillow she made of his bicep.
“No more secrets. Something’s on your mind. I
want you to tell me.”

“It’s stupid.”
“Maddox, I spent the last couple of weeks

convincing myself that you regretted mating me
because it seemed like you’ve been avoiding me.”

“I would never do that, Ang—” he began.
She cut him off. “I know. Maybe it was the

hormones making me crazy, and I know better than
to doubt you, but it seemed like it. You said I was
quiet. Well, you’ve been quiet, too. We’re in this
together, now and forever—”

“Richard Marx,” interrupted Maddox. “Good

song.”

“Mad. Be honest with me.”
“Okay,” he huffed, realizing that she wasn’t

going to drop it. “Fine. But I warn you, it’s
ridiculous.”

She poked him again.
Maddox’s lips twitched. It was a half-smile, and

it was something. “It’s just… nothing can top the
gift you’ve just given me. You think I’ve been
avoiding you? Not even a little. In all honesty…
I’ve spent the last couple of weeks working on your
present and, yeah, there’s no way it can compare.
And now I’m pissed at myself for being so

preoccupied with it that I never even picked up on
the fact that you’re carrying my pup. Some Alpha
I’m gonna be with a weak nose like that.”

“Oh, hush,” Evangeline teased. “Your nose is

fine. I talked to your mother. She actually explained
that that’s kinda common for a wolf shifter who’s
got a lot on his mind. You were too close to my
scent to notice the gradual changes or something
like that.”

“Shit.” Maddox closed his eyes for a second.

“My mom knew before me? She’s never gonna let
me live it down.”

That was probably true. Since Evangeline didn’t

want to agree with him and make him more
embarrassed, she changed the subject. “So, wait…
Is that what you were doing, with all the sneaking
around? Getting me a present?”

He shrugged, the movement forcing Evangeline

to snuggle even closer as she shifted. “Patrolling
the mountain, making sure you were safe… that
was my priority. But I might’ve used any of the
extra time I could find on your gift.”

Evangeline’s heart beat a little faster. What a

sweet mate she had. Her pregnancy must’ve
already started doing a number on her because how
else could she have, for even a minute, believed
that Maddox didn’t want her.

What just passed between them was enough to

prove he did, and as she felt him stirring against her

thigh, Evangeline was ready to show him how
much she wanted him back.

“Whatever it is, I’m sure I’ll love it,” she said,

lowering her hand so that she could give his cock a
leisurely, loving stroke.

Maddox moved suddenly and she missed.
“Okay. Let’s go find out.”
When Maddox started to slide out of the bed,

she tilted her head back to look at him.

He was serious.
“Wait—now?”
“Why not?” His golden eyes lit up. “It’s

Christmas.”

It was. Glancing over at the nightstand, the

alarm clock announced that they’d boned their way
right out of Christmas Eve. The display read 12:05.
It most definitely was Christmas.

A laugh bubbled up in her throat. “You haven’t

changed one bit.”

And he hadn’t. Despite what they’d gone

through, despite the time they lost, Maddox was
still her Maddox.

They might have only spent one Christmas

together before this, but she’d heard stories about
his childhood, growing up with Colt. When they
were pups, their parents gave them each a special
present on Christmas Eve because they were too
impatient to wait until morning. Once they realized
that all of the presents were from Terrence and

Sarah, Maddox argued that—come 12:01—it was
Christmas and he wanted all of his gifts.

Wouldn’t you know? The born alpha managed

to argue his way into opening them all as early as
possible.

It was the same when he was an adult. Their

first Christmas? Very close to this one. While they
fell asleep in each other’s arms after a vigorous
round of mating, Maddox was wide awake and full
of energy as soon as the clock struck midnight. And
he insisted on giving her her present right away.

Just like now.
His smile widened, hope written in every line of

his handsome face as he leaned back into her. “You
remember?”

Remember…
She couldn’t wait until he felt confident enough

in their relationship—in their mating—to not have
to ask that question every time she mentioned the
past. Now that they had a pup on the way…
hopefully it would be soon.

For as long as she had to, she would assure him,

though. Maybe they both needed a little
reassurance: Maddox, that Evangeline remembered
who they were to each other; and Evangeline, that
Maddox was never going to leave her on her own
again.

“Remember how my big, bad wolf is really a

big kid?” she teased. She stretched her hand,

closing her fingers over his left pec. Evangeline
couldn’t quite get to his heart, but the dates inked
on his skin—the jailhouse tattoo of the day they
were

married,

and

the

elaborate

design

commemorating the day they were fully mated—
was close enough.

His chuckle rumbled deep in his chest, vibrating

all the way to her fingertips. “You sure you’re
ready for another one?”

“I’ve always been ready. I just wasn’t sure you

were.”

“A pup of our own? A little bit of you, and a

little bit of me? Except for you, Angie, it’s all I’ve
ever wanted.”

Who needed presents? His open honesty, the

hint of vulnerability, and the steel underlying his
words as he made an unsaid vow to her and their
growing family… did she need anything else?

No. However, Maddox was so excited about

Christmas, she had no choice but to nod as she
rolled away, ready to climb out of the bed herself.

“Okay,” she conceded. “Let me clean up and

get changed, then we can go open presents.”

Maddox hopped all of the way out of the bed,

throwing the covers back, and revealing the tightest
ass she’d ever seen as he landed in a protective
crouch, then spun back around. Like she thought,
his cock was already getting ready for a round—
even half-hard it was super impressive—and

Evangeline started to wonder if she could convince
her mate to stay in bed and open presents in the
morning when he gestured for her to stay.

“Sounds good to me. And, hey, if you want, go

on and take a shower. Get comfortable. I’ve got the
perfect thing for you to start with. I’ll put it on the
bed for when you’re done. So stay here, right?
Good.”

There was no time to argue. In between a stifled

laugh at his eager features and her quickly
mumbled, “Um, okay?,” Maddox blew her a kiss,
then bounded out of their room, bare-assed naked
and all.

That was something else she remembered from

their first Christmas. Maddox wasn’t the one and
done type, and that included his Christmas
shopping. She could only imagine what that
massive pile under the tree contained.

After she hurried through a quick shower, threw

her long hair up in a ponytail, and walked back into
the bedroom wrapped in a thick robe, Evangeline
discovered what the first package held.

It was a set of cozy Christmas pajamas. Red

flannel with candy canes printed all over them and
Ho Ho Ho scrawled in white letters. And, she
noticed when she lifted them out of the box, they
were zip-up pajamas, a one-piece with enclosed
feet.

Even better?

When she followed her end of the bond to

where her mate was, she found Maddox waiting
next to the lit Christmas tree—wearing the same set
of pajamas.

Her tall, buff, Alpha mate was wearing a pair of

Christmas footie pajamas, complete with a fluffy
Santa hat and a smile that, even when Priscilla was
holding her memories hostage, Evangeline still saw
in her dreams.

That, she decided, definitely counted as another

gift for her.

Maddox was a big kid at heart, but he was

super generous. His exuberance when it came to
opening presents had more to do with his delight at
handing Evangeline hers and then watching her
reaction as she saw what was beneath the
wrapping.

Up first? The big, bulky, strangely wrapped

contraption she’d walked in on as he was hiding it
behind the tree. After gleefully tearing through the
paper—what can she say? Maddox’s enthusiasm
was contagious—she saw that he’d bought her a
perfectly-sized bicycle for a woman of her height.

She was touched. Not only did her mate get her

a bike that fit her exactly, but it was also his way of
offering her back some of her lost independence.
Her fear when it came to riding around in a vehicle
had gotten easier over the years, but despite
therapy, it wasn’t entirely gone.

In a town like Wolf’s Creek, she could easily

get around with a bicycle instead of forcing herself
or tricking herself into climbing inside of a car.
Plus, the pink bicycle horn he attached to the sleek,
sporty handlebar was another clue that her broody
mate was slowly regaining some of the sense of
humor she feared he’d lost while they were
separated.

The rest of his gifts were just as thoughtful. A

bracelet studded with aquamarine, her birthstone. A
new sweater, a soft, creamy beige color that
Maddox thought would make her green eyes pop. A
fancy coffee machine, plus a gift card to their local
cafe so that she could always get her caffeine fix. A
stack of books by her favorite author.

And, because Maddox was Maddox, a

reservation for two at a pricey steakhouse for
sometime next year—when the threat of the
Nightwalkers and Cilla was over—plus a pair of
edible lingerie that she was sure he’d get a kick out
of later.

Once she was surrounded by a pile of ribbons,

bows, and torn wrapping paper, Evangeline gave
Maddox a tight squeeze before reaching for one of
the gifts she had bought for him.

He stopped her before she grabbed it.
“Hang on. I’m not done yet.”
“Really? I think I already got to everything with

my name on it.”

“Not everything. Not your big gift.”
Big gift? She had thought that that was the bike.

“There’s something else?”

“Oh, yeah. Come on. Let’s get you a coat.”
“Coat,” Evangeline echoed. “Are we going

somewhere?”

Maddox nodded. “Your special gift? It’s too big

to fit in the cabin. I’ve got it out back.”

T

EPILOGUE

here, parked in the snow, was a sled.

It was obviously handmade. Constructed

out of wood, and large enough to fit a few people
on it, the structure was closer to what Evangeline
thought of when someone mentioned Santa’s sleigh.

She, uh, she just wasn’t sure what she was

supposed to do with it.

“What is it?”
Maddox lifted his hand, scratched the back of

his neck. She could see a hint of his scars peeking
out from beneath the collar of his pajamas. He was
a shifter, so he only stopped to put on a pair of
boots

over

his

footie-covered

feet,

while

Evangeline was bundled up in a coat, scarf, gloves,
and boots.

She was still freezing, but she was also very,

very confused.

Her mate frowned. “Shit, Ang, I know it’s not

the greatest, but I thought you’d at least figure out
what I tried to make.”

She looked at it again. She already could tell it

was handmade—but never in a million years would
she have expected her to mate to have been
responsible for it. At the construction site where we
worked, he was a foreman. The wolf in charge. He
never actually built things.

“You made this?”
A nod. “Colt sent me the blueprints, helped me

figure out the measurements, offered up his tools,
but I did it all myself. It probably would’ve come
out better with his help… still, I tried.”

“It’s amazing, Mad. I mean that. I just… you

made a sled for me?”

“Well, yeah. I know you’re still working on the

whole riding in my truck thing, and I don’t want to
push you, so I thought this might be something we
could do together instead. Not in the city,
obviously, that’s what your bike is for, but when
we’re on pack land. The mountains can be damn
snowy. The sled will make it easier for you to get
around, and we can spend more time together.
Especially now… I think we both known it’s gonna
be fucking impossible for me to leave your side.”

Maddox threw a pointed look her way, his eyes

gleaming in the moonlight as his gaze locked on her
belly.

Sarah had warned her as much. If you thought a

bonded shifter guarding his mate was bad, she said,
you’d never seen a bonded shifter guarding his
mate and their pup.

There was one thing she didn’t understand,

though.

“I love it, babe. I do. I can’t believe you

actually made that for us… but isn’t it kinda
small?” It could easily fit two humans, sure, but a
shifter and his mate? Maddox would have to
squeeze. “How will be both use it together?”

“Haven’t you figured it out?”
She shook her head.
“Look.”
Maddox swooped down, picking something out

of the snow. It looked like a rope of steel chains—
definitely not silver—that were connected with a
long, narrow bar. The links jangled as he gave them
a shake, knocking the accumulated snow from the
metal. Each end of the chain was attached to the
base of the sled.

And Evangeline realized what she was looking

at.

“A harness,” she breathed out. Puffs of smoke

came out with the words as she shivered.

Maddox noticed. “That’s right. The sled’s for

you, the harness for my wolf. It’s big enough,
strong enough to take you on a ride with us. More,
it’s dying to get to spend some time with you. Not

now, though,” he added, guessing correctly that
Evangeline was about to offer to take that first sled
ride. “Now we should go inside. It’s chilly, it’s late,
and it’s my turn to open some presents.”

“I am pretty cold,” she admitted. A teasing

smile curved her lips. “If I go inside with you, will
you warm me up?”

“I think that can be arranged. After presents, of

course.”

Evangeline laughed. The high, clear sound

echoed through the dark, snowy night.

Maddox dropped the harness, then bounded

forward, scooping Evangeline up in his arms. Her
squeal of surprise mixed with delight echoed even
further. And this time? Maddox’s rough bark of
laughter joined in.

The mountains were full of the sound even after

he carried her back inside, closing the door with a
gentle slam.

Before he could bring her back to the front

room with the tree and the intricately wrapped
presents she had for her mate, plus the pile of
ribbon and paper from her own, Evangeline tapped
Maddox on the shoulder.

He angled his head, looking down at her with all

the love she felt for him reflecting in his golden
wolf’s eyes.

“Yeah, Ang?”
She pointed at the ceiling—and at the sprig of

mistletoe he had awkwardly attempted to avoid all
those days ago.

Another contented rumble started deep in his

chest. Evangeline had just enough time to tilt her
head back invitingly before he bowed his over hers,
claiming her mouth with an enthusiasm and a
passion that had her throwing both of her arms
around his ruined neck and holding on for dear life.

It wasn’t until he broke the kiss that Evangeline

realized she needed to hang on tighter. Maddox was
booking it through the cabin—only he wasn’t
heading toward the front room.

As he purposely brought them back upstairs,

she reached up, tugging the fluffy cotton ball
bouncing over his shoulder. He was still wearing the
Santa hat, as well as a look of hunger that promised
Evangeline a night to remember.

Still, giddy and excited and so incredibly in love

with this man, she couldn’t help but tease. “I
thought you wanted to go open your Christmas
presents.”

“You’re the only gift I need,” he told her

honestly, laying her down on the bed with the care
of handling something precious, “and if I don’t get
to unwrap you soon, I’m gonna mess up my new
pj’s.”

She swallowed her giggle. “That would be a

shame.”

“A damn shame.”

As the sound of her coat’s zipper being tugged

hastily down mixed with Maddox’s growl of
anticipation and the frantic beat of her heart,
Evangeline felt like the Grinch again. Only, this
time, she wasn’t dreading Christmas.

Instead, her heart seemed to have grown three

sizes that day.

For her mate.
For their child.
And for their future.
Merry Christmas indeed.

PRE-ORDER NOW

SEASON OF THE WITCH

I won’t—

Colton Wolfe has never liked
witches.

There’s

something

about

their magic. With a snap of a
finger, a witch can cancel out his
brute strength, razor-sharp claws,
and inch-long fangs. It just isn’t
natural. The Para-proof wards

constructed by witches always made his fur itch,
and it has bothered him for years how they
betrayed all paranormals by selling their services to
the highest bidders.

Then a witch nearly killed him and his dislike

turned into full-blown hate.

His brother thinks his anger is unhealthy.

Following his brush with near-death, Colt refuses to
even talk to any packmates. Dodge, his best friend
and a ghost, can’t even get through to him. Colt
keeps himself confined to his workshop, shutting
every one out. His wolf is just about rabid and he
keeps his beast locked up tight.

His wolf wants its mate. Colt won’t admit it, but

he does, too.

Only Shea is a witch.
And Colt hates all witches—
Doesn’t he?

I can’t—

Shea Moonshadow is a healer first, a witch second.
Considering her magic has a way of backfiring on
her whenever she tries the simplest of spells, she
sticks with what she knows will work. Her herbs
and her poultices have never failed her before.

Now if she could only say the same about her

brother.

Hudson is a Donor, a blood junkie who gives

blood to vampires in exchange for a high only a
dangerous Nightwalker can give. When he gets in
over his head, he does what he’s always done: runs
to Shea for help.

She can’t say no. She’s never been able to say

no.

Not to Hudson.
Not to anyone.
And that’s how she finds herself pledged to a

blood-bonding with an obsessed vampire.

When a dangerous group of Paras move in on
Colt’s

territory,

going

after

humans

and

paranormals alike, the Grayson Police Department
recruit him to take on the vicious Nightwalkers. If
it’s bad enough that Colt gets saddled with an old
enemy, it’s even worse when he discovers that his
almost-mate is in it up to her adorable purple eyes.

He might’ve put off claiming his mate. But no

way in hell is Colt—or his wolf—going to let some
Nightwalker scum take Shea away from him.

* Season of the Witch is the second full-length
novel in the Claws Clause series. It’s the story of a
grumpy wolf shifter hero and the sassy witch who
has cast a spell over him. With danger, intrigue, and
heart, watch as Colton submits to the one woman
meant for him.

Available February 14, 2020

Pre-Order Now

!

AVAILABLE NOW

MATES (CLAWS CLAUSE PREQUEL)

Maddox is a wolf on the hunt.

Paranormals exist.

More than fifty years ago,

the community of supernatural
races—shifters,

vampires,

ghosts, witches, and more—
revealed themselves to the
humans. With the rise of
technology, they couldn’t stay

hidden in the shadows like they had for centuries.
And, while rumors of their existence go back even
further than that, the announcement sent
shockwaves throughout the rest of the world.

After the shock wore off, the humans reacted.

Knowing that Paras had the strength, the humans

struggled to keep the power. And what better way
than to grab a Para by the balls?

Ordinance 7304: the Bond Laws. A set of

mandates hurriedly put in place that Paras had to
follow, especially when it came to their "fated"
unions.

The laws kept the peace. When the penalty for

breaking one was being thrown in a magic-free
prison, they had to. Ordinance 7304—also known
as the Claws Clause—keeps the Paras in line and
gives the human population an illusion of safety.
And why not? With the power of the entire
government behind the laws, even an alpha wolf
loses some of his strength.

Because one of the biggies? When a shifter

finds his fated mate, it doesn’t matter what his nose
—or

his

body—says.

His

instincts

might

scream mine, but that doesn’t mean he can run off
with his woman and claim her. To the humans,
that’s kidnapping, and it’s a big no-no.

Maddox Wolfe understood that… until the day

he stumbled upon Evangeline Lewis and knew in
an instant that this was the woman he’d spent
twenty-six years waiting for. And while his wolf
says take her, he knows he can’t woo his mate from
inside of the Cage. She’s human, so he has to think
like a human. Act like a human. Pretend he’s a
human.

Whatever it takes to make her his mate. And

since he is an alpha wolf shifter, there’s gonna be a
little stalking and hunting involved. It’s okay. His
human will eventually understand.

Get it here

!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jessica lives in New Jersey with her family, including enough
pets to cement her status as the neighborhood’s future Cat Lady.
She spends her days working in retail, and her nights lost in
whatever world the current novel she is reading or working on
is set in. After writing for fun for more than a decade, she has
finally decided to take some of the stories out of her head and
put them out there for others who might also enjoy them!

ALSO BY JESSICA LYNCH

Welcome to Hamlet

Obsession

*

Devotion

*

Don’t Trust Me

Ophelia

Let Nothing You Dismay

I’ll Never Stop

Wherever You Go

Here Comes the Bride

Gloria

Tesoro

Welcome to Hamlet: I-III

(incl. the first three books, plus Execution)

No Outsiders Allowed: IV-VI

Mirrorside

Tame the Spark

*

Stalk the Moon

Hunt the Stars

The Witch in the Woods

Hide from the Heart

Chase the Beauty

The Other Duet

(incl. the first two books, plus Track Down Dudley)

The Claws Clause

Mates

*

Hungry Like a Wolf

Of Mistletoe and Mating

Season of the Witch

Sunglasses at Night

Ghost of Jealousy

Touched by the Fae

Favor

*

Asylum

Shadow

Touch

* prequel story