A Second Christmas Moon (Evergreen Hollow #1)

Chapter 1

Keena Bolden hated every single holiday twinkling light and now she had to go into town and be assaulted by the town’s Christmas joy.

She stood in the mudroom of her cabin with one hand resting against the wall while she shoved her boots on. She tried to not think about the garlands that had been draped around the railing outside or the wreath that had been left on her porch the week before.

She’d taken it down the same day and tossed it in the storage bench by the door. One of the pack members had been kind enough to bring her one to help make her home holiday-ish, but she just couldn’t stomach the sight of the red ribbon and pinecones on her house.

The cabin was too damn quiet.

She grabbed her coat from the hook by the door and shrugged into it. Outside, the wind moaned through the trees that surrounded her property.

Her cabin sat a few miles outside of town and was tucked deep enough into the woods that she could pretend that Evergreen Hollow and its cheerful holiday madness didn’t exist.

As an enforcer for the White Pine Pack, she didn’t have the luxury of locking herself away until after New Year’s and waiting for the season to pass.

She had responsibilities. She had to patrol, check in on pack members, ensure tourists were kept from wandering where they shouldn’t, and ensure the town was well protected.

The holidays always brought more traffic to town, which meant more work for the pack, and more reason for Keena to keep moving.

Staying busy was the only thing that kept her from drowning.

If she slowed down—if she let herself sit too long—her mind would drift back to the night she lost her mate. She’d replay receiving that phone call and then she would fall deep into the grief that had split her open completely.

It had been five years and she was still trying to piece herself together.

Her gaze landed on the wooden plaque that hung near the doorway. It had been carved by one of the White Pine elders and gifted to her. The words were etched deep into the wood in elegant script, surrounded by a border of hand carved pine trees.

The pines remain strong even through the harshest of winters.

So do wolves who survive heartbreak.

Every member of the White Pine Pack knew the saying. It was written in the pack archives, stitched into family histories and murmured by the elders when a loved one passed on to the afterlife.

It was one of the oldest beliefs the pack carried, passed down from ancestors who had crossed the brutal winters and buried loved ones beneath frozen ground, yet kept going because there was no other choice.

When her parents had died, Keena had found comfort in the saying.

Her father had died in a wolf attack. He’d been a great enforcer of the pack.

There had been an attack from a rival pack and he’d suffered wounds that had been too great to overcome even for a shifter.

Months later, her mother had passed away from a broken heart.

Keena had been around twenty years old when they had died.

She’d held onto the plaque when it had been presented to her. But now she despised the saying after the death of her mate.

She hated how easily people offered the words as if it fixed everything. As if surviving heartbreak was some noble thing instead of a punishment.

She now understood how her mother passed away. Her heart couldn’t stand the thought of going through life without her fated mate. Shifters could live after their mate’s death, but for some reason her mother’s heart chose to give out.

Keena had tried therapy after Lizzie had died. For a while, she’d made herself go weekly. The therapist had been kind and asked her to talk about her grief, to talk about the good memories she’d shared with Lizzie, and then speak of the future.

Keena had tried. She truly had, but then during one of the sessions, the therapist had smiled sadly and said, “The pines remain strong even through the harshest winters…”

Keena never went back.

Her wolf stirred beneath her skin. She was restless and sensed the turn in Keena’s thoughts. The animal never liked when Keena lingered too long in her grief. The wolf prowled constantly these days. She was protective and frustrated as if she too didn’t understand why half of their soul was gone.

“I’m going,” Keena murmured, more to herself than the wolf inside of her.

She grabbed her keys from the small dish on the table and stepped outside.

Cold immediately bit her cheeks. The December air was sharp enough to sting and snow crunched under her boots as she crossed the short path to her idling SUV.

She congratulated herself on utilizing the remote start to allow it to heat up while she got ready to leave.

Around her, the woods stretched silent and beautiful. The white pines towered high and proud against the snow covered ground. Their branches were dusted in snow and for one brief stupid second Keena remembered the first winter she and Lizzie had spent in the cabin.

Lizzie had stood in the yard with snow in her dark hair and had insisted that they cut their own tree from the back of the property. She’d dragged Keena through the knee-deep snow for an hour before she settled on the most lopsided little pine tree that Keena had ever seen.

“It’s charming,” Lizzie declared. Her hands were on her hips, her cheeks were pink from the cold and her smile was bright.

“It looks like it lost a fight,” Keena chuckled. She tilted her head as she stared at the small tree.

“It has so much personality,” Lizzie giggled.

Keena rolled her eyes. “It looks sad and has holes.”

Lizzie had batted those dark eyelashes at her and Keena’s heart melted. “It’s perfect for us.”

Keena swallowed hard and yanked open the SUV door, got in and slammed the door. Warm air spilled from the vents and she sighed at how nice and toasty it was. One good thing.

She backed out onto the narrow road lined with snowbanks that led toward town. The further she drove, the more signs of Christmas appeared.

Garland was wrapped around mailboxes. Fake reindeer stood in front of someone’s yard. Wreaths were hung on doors. Even the gas station near the edge of town had strung white lights along its roofline.

By the time she’d reached Evergreen Hollow, her chest had already started to ache. Main Street looked even worse up close.

The sidewalks bustled with people bundled in coats and scarves. Their arms were full of shopping bags and almost everyone carried cups of coffee or hot chocolate. Children laughed as they darted between adults and Christmas music drifted from hidden speakers mounted beneath the eaves of the shops.

It was impossible to ignore the season here. Even the bakery windows were painted with snowflakes and candy canes and the display window in the toy store displayed a model train circling a tiny winter village that looked just like Evergreen Hollow.

Keena sighed and gripped the steering wheel tighter. Why did the Moon Goddess bless her with a mate only to take her away? They had been so happy—she had been happy.

She and Lizzie used to walk these streets in December just like all of these people.

They’d spent entire afternoons ducking in and out of shops and stopped at the bakery every time because Lizzie had insisted that Christmas cookies tasted better when it snowed.

The memory rose so quickly it stole Keena’s breath.

Her phone rang through the vehicle’s speakers before she could sink too far into the ache that had bloomed in her chest. She glanced at the screen and immediately straightened in her seat.

Rue Biljon.

“Morning, alpha,” she answered.

“You’re on your way into town?” Rue’s warm voice came through the speakers.

“I just turned onto Main Street.”

“Good. I need you to make one extra stop while patrolling.” Rue paused for a moment. “The new bookstore is open. I’d like you to check in with the owner. Make sure she’s settling in all right.”

Keena frowned as she turned onto the road that led toward the square.

“The bookstore?” she questioned.

“Hearth and Story. The old Mercer building,” Rue said.

Keena knew the place, everyone in Evergreen Hollow did. The building had stood empty for nearly a year after the previous owner had retired, but the renovation crews had been in and out for weeks working on it.

“I thought the human council was handling the welcome committee?” Keena said. Evergreen Hollow was a town integrated with humans and shifters. They had lived amongst each other in harmony for generations and the humans were just as involved with town business as the shifter community was.

“They are. But this is separate.” There was a smile in Rue’s voice now.

It was the one she used when she knew she was asking for something Keena wouldn’t love doing.

“New people in town deserve to know that everyone in Evergreen Hollow welcomes them, and since she’s opened a business on Main Street, I’d rather have one of ours check in on her too. ”

It meant that Keena wasn’t really being asked.

“Fine,” Keena sighed. “I’ll stop by.”

Rue fell quiet for a moment.

“How are you holding up?”

Keena’s jaw tightened. She knew Rue was eventually going to ask her. She kept her gaze on the snow covered road. The plows hadn’t done the best job clearing the streets.

“I’m fine,” she said.

“Keena.”

She hated how gentle Rue sounded when she used that tone.

It made something fragile shift underneath her ribs.

Rue had been alpha for twenty years and she’d known Keena long before she’d taken over leadership of the White Pine Pack.

She’d been through the worse of it. She’d sat with Keena after the repast when everyone else had finally gone home and Keena had been staring at the front door as if Lizzie might walk through it.

“I’m working,” Keena said. “That’s enough.”

“It doesn’t always have to be,” Rue said quietly.

“I know.” Keena exhaled through her nose. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened a bit. She focused on the road and ensured her SUV moved forward without slipping.

“If you need anything, you come to me. I mean it.”

The pain in Keena’s chest lessened a bit. Her alpha meant well—she always did. That’s why she made a good leader of their pack. She was always there for every single member.

“Okay,” Keena said.

“All right. Check in on the bookstore, finish your patrol and try to not bite anyone who says Merry Christmas.”

“No promises,” Keena snorted.

Rue laughed. “That’s my girl.”

The call ended and Keena tried to relax and take in the town as it passed and something settled in her gut. She no longer knew how to love this place.

Rue’s concern lingered with her, and she appreciated it, but the concern didn’t change anything. It didn’t bring Lizzie back, and it didn’t make Christmas hurt any less.

Her wolf stirred again, more insistent this time. It wanted out.

“Later,” Keena frowned.

The animal had the nerve to huff her annoyance.

She pulled into a spot near the square and cut the SUV’s engine.

For a moment, she stayed in the driver’s seat and looked out at the town in all of its winter splendor.

Snow drifted lazily from the sky and snowflakes caught in the glow of the streetlamp already flickering on against the darkening afternoon.

Somewhere nearby church bells rang the hour and laughter rose over the low hum of conversation and the holiday music.

Keena could admit her town was breathtaking. Her wolf pressed harder, restless now and almost seemed to be agitated. Keena rubbed the back of her neck.

“What is your problem?”

No answer of course. Just a sharp pulse of urgency that made no sense.

Maybe her animal wanted to be let out to stretch her legs and wanted to feel the cold air and the snow beneath her paws. That sounded better than spending another minute parked in the middle of town with memories threatening to drown her.

She shoved open the door and stepped out.

The cold wrapped around her instantly. The scents of the town accosted her—pine, sugar and smoke from wood burning fireplaces. Beneath it all was the low thrum of dozens of heartbeats and voices layered together. Her senses were picking up everything.

She shut the door and glanced across the street.

The bookstore sat near the center of Main and Birch.

Its front windows glowed amber against the early winter dusk.

A painted sign hung above the door in elegant gold lettering spelling out Hearth and Story.

Through the large front windows, Keena could make out the bookshelves, the soft glow of a fireplace and a cluster of chairs arranged around a rug that looked entirely too inviting.

A strange sense settled low in her belly.

Not dread or fear. Was that anticipation?

She frowned. Why the hell would she be nervous to meet a bookstore owner. Her wolf gave a sudden, eager shove against her skin.

The animal had gone from restless to fully alert and every instinct suddenly focused on the shop across the street.

Keena’s pulse kicked up a notch.

“What the hell…” she murmured.

She started across the street and her boots crunched over the snow in the road. The closer she got to Hearth and Story, the stronger the odd sensation became. It spread through her belly, rose up through her chest and settled there.

By the time she reached the sidewalk, her wolf was pacing so hard inside her that she could barely think.

Keena caught a brief glimpse of herself in the window. Her brown skin, dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, and amber eyes. She tried to erase the intense expression she was told she always had on her face. She didn’t want to meet the human owner and appear as if she’s a bitch.

She reached for the door.

One quick stop and be pleasant, she reminded herself. Make sure everything is good then get back to work and patrol.

This would be easy. She could handle this. Her wolf practically snarled at the lie.

Keena wrapped her hand around the brass handle and pulled the door open.

A rush of warmth greeted her first. Coffee and pine and something sweet from the bakery case beyond the front counter.

She blinked at a scent that was so rich, and so intoxicating so achingly right that the entire world stopped turning.

Keena froze on the threshold. Her heart slammed once against her ribs as her wolf surged forward with a force so violent it nearly buckled her knees.

For the first time in five years, Keena Bolden forgot how to breathe.