Monsters Under Mistletoe

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“ B ear!” Declan’s voice came through the speakers, filling the car. “Where are you? Did you get lost? Smell some honey?”

Slow breath in, slow breath out. Holly didn’t hate her nickname—she usually enjoyed the jokes and teases—but sometimes, it rubbed her fur the wrong way. “Is Marcus there?”

“Yes.”

When nothing followed, just the expectant silence of the infuriating man on the other end, she cursed. Leave it to this asshole to make her spell everything out. “Can you put him on the phone?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he drawled, his smirk clearly spoken through his tone. “His weight would probably break the phone, and then where would we be?”

“Asshole,” she responded, smiling in spite of herself, in spite of the building adrenaline coursing underneath her skin. “I need to talk to Marcus.”

“Geez, no need to be testy.” He shuffled the phone, and then a barrage of sound filled the car, Declan’s voice booming in next. “Okay, little Holly-Berry, Marcus is here.”

She was not about to have this conversation on speaker phone where damn well anyone could hear. “Declan, you better run the next time I see you because I’m going to staple you to a tree and claw our your—”

“Hold on a second, Holly,” Marcus interrupted. “If you finish that threat, it becomes premeditated.”

There was a shuffle and a few choice complaints from Declan before the background noise disappeared and Marcus’s voice came clear through the line. “Alright, you’re on the phone with me. Everything okay? Are you safe?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” The next road sign came into view, boasting a city named Greenmere was four miles away. Good, good. Somewhere she could stop at. “I need to take a detour.”

There was a shift through the phone, almost as if he was finding a quiet corner to talk to her. “What’s going on?” he asked.

It’s just Marcus , she told herself. Safe, newly mated, protective and caring alpha Marcus. “My heat’s coming.”

The silence rang loud, the exit for Greenmere coming up, a few promising lights filtering onto the highway. Maybe the town wouldn’t be as small as the last one.

“I’m going to find a room and hunker down for the next few days,” she rushed out, thankful it was only Marcus on the other end and Declan wasn’t the one reacting to the news. “I was hoping to help get the move going before it hit, but I can already feel the build.”

“Are you safe? You’re not in heat now, are you?”

Part of her warmed at the question, some of that adrenaline fading. “No, not yet, but it’s probably going to start tomorrow, and considering the current living situation…”

The entire pack was moving, figuring out what life looked like, bunking in the main house of the new property until they could finish renovating and building all the little houses they planned along the property. Throwing a wolf in heat in the middle of that would be hell on earth.

“No, that’s a good call. No one’s prepared for that.” He blew out a breath. “Where are you staying?”

“Greenmere, I think. I’m coming up on it now.”

“Oh, good. That’s the closest city nearby.” He laughed. “Well, ‘city’ is a loose term, but it’s bigger than Silverwood and there’s a good chance you’ll find a hotel. And they have a decent non-human population, so they’ll be a little more prepared. Do you mind sharing your location with me for the next hour? At least until I know where you’re staying?”

“Sure, I’ll do it as soon as I park.”

“And you’ll make sure your room has locks, that you warn the staff to put you away from other shifters—”

“Yes, yes,” she answered, finally turning on the exit and finding a pretty lively town for 9:17 at night on a Wednesday. “And I’ll make sure to order water and food when I can safely answer the door.”

“Do you, uh…” He swallowed, a rare moment of hesitation from her pack alpha. “Do you need…toys?”

Blood drained from her face. “Respectfully,” she said, voice tight, “if I did, you wouldn’t be the person I would ask.”

“Fair enough.” He coughed, clearing his throat, sounding just as embarrassed as she felt. “If you need anything, just call or text. I’ll check in on you in a couple of days.”

“Thanks.” She hung up abruptly, horrified that Marcus had just asked if she needed toys . He’d been a brother figure since before she could remember. Almost as much as her actual brother.

Actually, it would be less weird from Tim because he refused to allow anything be weird.

The ‘city’ sprawled out in front of her, quite a few businesses along the main road. Most of them were closed, but a few restaurants and bars were still open. The busiest place seemed to be a coffee shop, the name—well. It definitely got a smile out of her, the sign boasting S’EXPRESSO BEANERY: We know how to treat your bean.

Fuck it. It was hilarious and bold and apparently beloved by the city, considering the amount of cars parked in front, and she was willing to give them a shot. If anything, she’d get a cup of coffee and hopefully a few recommendations for where to stay in town.

There weren’t any open parking spots on the street, so she followed the signs and lights around the back, a well-lit and busy parking lot waiting for her. A single spot was open, almost as if it were waiting for her. As soon as she turned her car off, she shared her location with Marcus and double checked that she hadn’t left anything out that would entice someone to look through her windows.

Though, there were so many people out, she didn’t think she needed to worry. It was very different from the dark lots she was used to back home.

Locking her car, she tucked her phone and keys into her coat pocket, the winter chill starting to settle in. Would it snow here? It would be a pretty town with snowflakes drifting down at night.

She nodded at a few of the greetings from people she didn’t know, some dressed for the weather and some dressed for a rave. It was a little jarring to see so many people in barely more than lingerie, but there was a first for everything. Maybe there was a themed party?

Walking around to the front of the building, Holly took better stock of the cafe. The shop was decked out in Christmas decorations, the windows painted with reindeer pulling a sleigh across the entire front, presents and trees and stars decorating around the frame. From the tree hung a bra and panty set.

Was it a…’specialty’ coffee shop?

Opening the door, she stepped in, and for the first time she could remember, sight and sound hit long before scent.

People were everywhere, and most of them were barely wearing clothes. Three women were chatting at a large table near the door, all of them wearing different variations of lingerie paired with heels and garters and smoky makeup to complete the look. A few men were wearing corsets, shaping their long, lean frames and showcasing the muscle in their arms and shoulders to perfection. In contrast, the few people in regular clothes almost seemed odd, but no one batted an eye at the display.

It was as distracting as it was effective, and heat raced up her neck, her cheeks flushing as she breathed through the onslaught. The scent of coffee finally hit, powerful and wonderful and calming as it cut through the noise of everything else. Clearing her head, she stepped away from the door and finally turned toward the bar across the room.

A large cloaked figure was working at the register. She’d heard of wraiths before but had never met one, though she was certain they didn’t usually wear leather bondage straps outside their cloaks to show off the surprisingly strong build underneath.

Making drinks was a gorgon, a bright dazzling woman wearing a scandalous Santa dress. As Holly looked more closely, she bit back a laugh—each snake had its own Santa hat, the woman’s head a moving Christmas display.

That was someone Holly wanted to be friends with.

She was talking to someone on this side of the bar, a tall man with his back to Holly. He had thick black hair that brushed his ears and the band of a black apron string around his neck. The rest of his back was completely bare, a beautiful cascade of muscle that was only interrupted by long, red wings tucked out of the way of anyone walking past.

Holly’s eyes continued down, following the lines of the apron sides until she stuttered. The straps were framing the most perfect ass she’d ever seen. Taut and muscular with enough give that she could imagine her fingers imprinting into him, the ruddy color of his skin flushing as he snapped into her over and over.

His tail flicked into focus, a spring of mistletoe tied near the end. What kind of trouble did he get into with that?

He turned abruptly, offering her more to look at. Even with the apron falling down to his mid-thigh, the man’s form wasn’t hidden. Strong shoulders, carved arms, a breadth of chest that made her want to scrape her fangs down to see if she could mark the skin. Two horns rose behind his ears, twisting forward to curve back over his skull and ending with an upward point toward the sky.

An incubus, she realized when her eyes met his, a flash of fire leaping up her as he smiled.

Her body flushed, her stomach spasmed, an ache deep in her core thrummed through her, image after image of this man slaking the burn that was coursing through her.

Shit . Oh no no no. Stumbling back a step, Holly tore her eyes away from the visual buffet, dug her sudden claws into the palm of her hand to pull her body out of the spiral it was currently on.

Too late. Her heat had started.