Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Boone
This is going to be the worst night of those peoples’ lives.
I grin as I sit at my kitchen table, planning it all out. I can’t freaking wait. This is the most excited I’ve been all year. Wildpeak Village will be a ghost town once again after I’m done with it.
No more traffic jams on my roads, no more tourists flooding my town square, and no more Labunews or whatever the heck those creepy things were called in my stores.
“Tonight,” I say with a grin. “Christmas is cancelled.”
My inner grizzly practically gasps inside me.
“Deal with it, bub. I’m restoring balance in this town.”
He whimpers, like I just told him Santa died.
I shove back from the table, grab my coat and boats, and head out into the cold.
My truck is currently locked away at the damn impound lot, so I have to trek down the mountain on foot.
With every step into knee deep snow, I get more excited, more determined, more ready to destroy Christmas for everyone.
I’m doing these people a favor, really.
They won’t admit it, but they’ll thank me one day. All these idiots smiling and jingling and giggling their way through December like brainwashed elves—they need a wake-up call. A reality check. A big, furry, roaring reality check. And tonight, I’m delivering.
The full moon hangs low, lighting up the trees with a silvery glow as I stomp down the trail. My breath fogs in thick white puffs. My boots crunch through the crusted snow. It’s quiet. Peaceful. Exactly the way I like my winters. Exactly the way it SHOULD be.
I’ll bring silence back to this town.
I’ll make them remember that this is untamed land. Wild and primal. These are savage mountains where nature rules. There’s no place for gingerbread food trucks, people dressed as elves, and garland, bows, and bells up here.
As we get closer, the smells of Christmas fill the air. It smells like hot chocolate, cinnamon, ginger, roasted chestnuts, and peppermint.
My bear practically swoons inside me, inhaling like he’s about to float away on a sugary Christmas cloud.
I grumble when I feel his excitement building.
“We’re not here for that,” I mumble to him.
The main road and town square is even more packed than it was this afternoon. Everyone is out. Where do these damn people come from? Can’t they stay in their crowded cities and leave my town alone?
The entire town square is glowing. Twinkling lights everywhere. Kids running around with blinking red noses. Couples holding hands. Tourists snapping photos and smiling like doofuses. It makes my blood boil.
I look up at the huge dark pine tree in the middle of it all and grin.
They cut that beautiful tree down for this?
“I’ll get revenge for you,” I whisper to it. “Those lights will never come on.”
My bear is excited by all the people. He keeps perking up and running around inside, taking in all the scents, hoping to catch hers.
I’d laugh at him if it wasn’t so damn pathetic.
He really thinks he’s going to find his mate here? I definitely wouldn’t want any girl who would be celebrating here tonight.
“Hey!” someone shouts as I push through the crowd. “Watch it!”
I don’t even turn around. I just march over to the unlit tree, making my plan.
A large man in a flannel shirt catches my eye in the distance and it makes me stop in my tracks. He’s a grizzly shifter. Like me. I can smell it on him.
I grit my teeth and scowl when I see the big smile on his face. What the hell is he so happy about? Look at what they did to our mountains?
But then I notice what’s got him smiling. A young boy, probably about four or five, comes running over with felt antlers on his head and a half-eaten candy cane in his hand. He’s laughing—practically bursting with joy—as the man scoops him up in his big arms and puts him on his broad shoulders.
For a moment—just one small, heart-stopping second—something in my chest goes warm.
His mate comes over, hooks her arm around his bicep, kisses him on the cheek and cuddles in close.
My heart thumps strangely.
Like it forgot to do its job for a second and had to reboot.
I swallow, frozen in place as I watch them smiling at each other.
I can’t help but wonder… What would that even be like?
A woman who looks at me like that…
A kid on my shoulders…
A life that isn’t just… silence.
And emptiness.
My grizzly senses the shift in my mood and perks up hopefully. He’s been wanting that for years.
“Nope,” I mutter, yanking my head away and shaking out of whatever that was. I push the strange uncomfortable thought down into the deepest darkest parts of me where it belongs. “Not happening. Ever.”
I force a scowl back onto my face and stomp deeper into the crowd, heading for the tree.
This is what I need. Right here. This is going to be great. This is what will make me happy.
My happiness will come from seeing every last one of these people screaming as they sprint back to their overpriced hotels, packing their cars, and leaving for good. Freedom from all this holiday insanity is what will bring me joy.
I grin as I figure out the logistics.
Microphone feedback fills the air, grabbing everyone’s attention. “Tree lighting in five minutes!” the mayor says excitedly.
The crowd cheers. I can feel the excitement building as everyone gathers around.
It’s time.
My bear is urging me to wander through the crowd. I know what he wants. I know who he’s trying to find. Why can’t he just get with the damn program?
I head in the opposite direction, heading to the dark alley between the barber shop and the new candle store.
A whole store. For candles. Candles of all scents and colors.
My heart starts thumping with rage just thinking about it.
Candles are for utility. For light. Who needs anything but a white candle? It’s ridiculous.
“Focus,” I remind myself, trying to stay steady. I have a job to do.
I slip into the dark alley and hide behind the dumpster. No one notices me here. They’re all looking up at the tree, excited to see the lights come on like they’re caveman who’ve never seen electricity before. Idiots.
I need you on this, I tell my inner bear as I take off my flannel sweater and pull off my T-shirt. You’re going to run into that crowd, roaring your head off.
He just whimpers and sinks down low.
Don’t play with me on this, I warn him as I yank off my boots and socks. We’re doing this. These are your mountains too!
He circles inside, whimpering like he doesn’t want to do it. I can feel the hesitation in him.
It makes me angry.
“I want you roaring up a storm,” I growl as I yank out my belt and pull down my pants. “I swear, I won’t let you out until September if you don’t do this!”
There’s probably about a minute left until the lights come on. Everyone is crowding around. Everyone in town. Every single one of these annoying tourists.
They’re all there.
“I mean it,” I warn him as I yank down my underwear and stand in the snow. “Scare everyone off. Push over the tree. Attack all the decorations and the food trucks. Destroy Christmas.”
I clench my teeth, loosen my muscles, and bring my grizzly bear forward.
A grin hits my lips as I feel the shift roll through me.
Bones crack. Skin tightens. Muscles stretch and burn until they’re twice their size. Fur sprouts out in thick waves.
A deep rumbling snarl vibrates out of my chest as a savage tearing sound rips through the air and I drop down onto four massive paws.
Time to strike.
Go, I urge him.
My giant grizzly lumbers out of the alley and onto the sidewalk.
There’s a little less urgency and roaring for my tastes, but it seems to do the trick.
“GRIZZLY!” a lady screams so loud it makes our ears ring.
A collective scream rips through the crowd as everyone sees us coming.
I grin, feeling better already as people scatter in terror.
Roar, I command him. Let these people have it!
He grumbles instead.
Let’s go!! Roar!
I push him forward, commanding him to sprint into the town square. To give these people what they deserve.
He… sits down.
Don’t even! I snap. Get up!
He huffs.
Some people stop running. They just watch from a distance. Some even take pictures and record, smiling like they’re enjoying this!
Stand up! I roar. You’re embarrassing me!
He looks over his shoulder, utterly unimpressed.
Growl, I demand. Let out a roar. Do something scary!
He spots a candy cane on the ground and picks it up.
“Aww,” someone in the crowd says. “He’s eating a candy cane.”
“So adorable,” another says.
I’m livid. I’m like a volcano about to blow.
Get your ass over there, I hiss. And knock down that damn tree!
I push him forward with all I got and he lurches forward, dropping the candy cane, thank god. With me pushing and shoving and threatening him with everything I can think of, he waddles over to the Christmas tree and looks up at it.
Push. It. Over.
He takes a slow, exaggerated step forward and starts rubbing on it lazily.
Push. It.
But then…
Something gets his attention.
Or, someone is more like it.
And I know my plan is ruined.
In fact, my whole life might be ruined along with it.
It’s her.
I know it immediately.
It’s our mate.
She’s here.