CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Preston
Nightshade Bear Territory
We left the tree decorating party with Baby Andy and Mori in tow.
The latter was helpful to carry all the leftovers and desserts our parents sent us home with.
Yule was still a week away and there were so many seasonal desserts I hadn’t had a single bite of this year.
There was still time and then would come the New Years food too.
“And you’re sure you’re done matingmooning?” Mori asked us as we walked home.
“I don’t know that we’ll ever be done, Mori,” I teased him and squeezed Wess’s hand with my free hand. “But it’s time for you and Andy to come home. Besides, if we leave you to your own devices much longer Lero’s going to beat you up.”
“As if he could,” he rolled his eyes. “He’s going to get eaten by an invisible man.”
Wess side eyed him and let out a long breath. What was everyone’s obsession with Lero recently? Sure, he might need a little extra attention since they never did find him another last minute Mated for the Holidays match but surely they could stop watching him like he was a crazy person.
“Stop!” Wess hissed and we all froze. Even baby Andy went still in my arms and hid his face in my chest. Wess sniffed the air and a second later Mori and I were sniffing too.
Big boot prints lined the sidewalk the rest of the way to our house and then up our walk.
A shadow flickered in the big picture window.
Wess passed off the rest of the desserts he carried to Mori’s levitating stack.
Mori grunted as the extra weight hit his magic but he didn’t complain.
My heart thrummed in my ears, and I wished my machete was in my hand instead of under my armchair.
The door was ajar as if we hadn’t pulled it closed behind us when we left.
Except we had. I checked that it was locked three times before we left for the Yule party as had become my habit since the whole Sharon Claudis mess started.
Wess didn’t call out or warn whoever was inside.
He kicked the door and icy air bolted into the house as he did so.
“Shit! It’s me!” Colton’s voice carried down the sidewalk, and I raced up the path, slipping and sliding on ice, as Baby Andy held on for dear life.
“It’s me!” Colton said again as ice crashed into something inside the house.
“Wess!” I called out now that I knew there wasn’t some mad woman waiting inside the house to sacrifice my baby to some long forgotten magical gods. “Wess! Mate! Babe!”
Colton was nearly behind the tree with ornaments all over the floor. Thankfully, Mori had cast a ‘don’t break me’ spell on them after the last broken ornament. Wess stood panting in the middle of the room.
“Babe!” I said, sliding Baby Andy into Wess’s arms. It was the quickest way I knew to calm down any decent alpha.
“Sorry, Preston,” Colton said, sliding out from behind the tree.
Mori burst into the house, the food boxes chasing behind him and went straight to the tree’s aid.
“I was bringing presents to surprise you. I had on pheromone blocker spray so you could tell Andy they were from Santa bringing them early. Well, that’s how I signed the tags anyway,” Colton explained.
“I thought I had a bit more time before you guys got back. I counted on the debating to last longer than it did, I guess.”
“That’s why it smells like candy canes,” I said mostly to myself.
While Mori fussed about the tree, working to ensure it would survive the cold blasts it just received, I checked on Colton who had thankfully dodged whatever icy bolts my mate had shot at him.
Colton was fine and maybe even a little impressed with Wess’s speed but my mate didn’t budge from his spot.
“Who else is with you?” Wess finally asked and I sniffed the air out of habit.
“No one,” Colton shook his head.
“The gift bag on the coffee table. Did you bring it? It doesn’t match everything else,” Wess said.
Everyone looked at the bag. Colton didn’t bring it. That much was clear over our family link.
“Out of the house!” Wess said and I thought he was about to go off on Colton, but he was pushing me out of the house and grabbing the back of Mori’s shirt trying to get both of us out with one hand without putting down the baby.
“Stop yanking on me!” Mori growled. “I’m trying to take care of the tree. Sure, it usually survives winter but not the polar bear balls you just tossed at it!”
“Now!” Wess growled and the hair on the back of my neck stood up.
Our neighbors who were home had come out of their houses and I started to wave to let them know everything was fine but Wess shouted that one of them should get Barry right now and everyone who had just came from the party headed back towards my parents’ house as if there was a prize for getting there first.
“Take the baby and stay here,” Wess said, trying to pass Baby Andy off to me. “Well, stay further down the walk but stay outside. If you get cold go to your parents’ house.”
“What’s going on? It’s a gift bag. Surprises aren’t all that uncommon here…” I started but he shook his head.
“Mate, does Baby Andy have a grandmother who isn’t Sharon?” Wess asked and my blood ran cold in my veins.
“No, but….”
“Do you or Mori have a grandmother? Because I don’t.”
“No, but…” I started and he shook his head at me.
Baby Andy had a death grip on his sweater. He stopped trying to pass him off for a second and kissed the top of his head.
“I’m going to see if Venal is still…” I started but Wess grabbed my arm.
I looked at it and then at him and I would’ve bitten anyone else as hard as I could’ve.
Only it was Wess. He’d been nothing but kind and protective since arriving in Nightshade Bear Territory.
He wasn’t hurting me and I could’ve pulled away but the look in his eyes told me he really believed what he was saying.
“The tag on the giftbag says ‘to Andy from Grandma.’” He said a second later.
“Motherfucker!” Mori swore under his breath and sprinted back into the house. “If she’s trying to blow someone up it’s not going to be the tree!”
Colton followed on his heels and I made a dash for the backyard to cut through to where Venal was buried in the snow.
Wess still had Baby Andy and he’d do anything to keep my baby safe.
I didn’t look over my shoulder to see if anyone followed me until I saw the snowbank where he was buried.
It didn’t look disturbed, but it had been snowing so hard that footprints might’ve been hidden and any holes dug refilled.
I dropped to my knees and dug where we had just checked on him this morning.
I dug and dug until my fingers were numb and then I finally saw him – frozen beard and all.
I covered him back up before flopping onto my back in relief.
I panted, sinking into the snow and letting the cold spread over my body.
Sure, my hands were cold but the rest of me wasn’t fairing too badly.
I let my eyes drift closed and then the world exploded.
Birds flew from the trees as the ground shook.
I glanced at the house, waiting for the pieces to fly in every direction.