Authors: Loribelle Hunt
Christmas Moon
Lunar Mates: Book 5
Christmas Moon
By
Loribelle Hunt
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Christmas Moon
Copyright© 2007 Loribelle Hunt
ISBN: 978-1-60088-207-4
Cover Artist: Sable Grey
Editor: Leanne Salter
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
Cobblestone Press, LLC
Dedication
To the people who keep me sane—Crystal, Dayna, Jen, and RG. Thanks ladies! Wouldn’t have finished this one without you!
Chapter One
“I don’t think we have a choice, Jackson.”
“Yeah, maybe. But I hate bringing in an outsider. It would be different if this woman was from our world.”
Crossing his arms over his chest, Abel Williamson leaned against the wall and watched the verbal volleying between his Alpha and Beta. They’d been at it all morning, and he resisted the urge to grin. As the pack’s new Enforcer, witnessing the spectacle was becoming a regular occurrence.
The matter on the table was whether to hire an accountant for the pack or not. No doubt, they needed one. The real dilemma was where to get one. Such a sensitive position would normally be filled by a were or a were’s mate. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anyone qualified for the job. So the search had been extended, a few interviews conducted.
He was in charge of security, and his backgrounds checks had ruled out all the candidates. Save one.
“What do you think, Abel?”
About damned time they asked him. He met his Alpha’s gaze and nodded his head. “She’ll do.”
Oh yeah, she’d do all right. Probably would work out just fine as the new accountant, too. That was the least of his concerns though. Both men’s gazes sharpened on him. Damn. Something in his tone or his eyes or his bearing must have given away his intent. Maybe he should have stuck with Hunting.
Jackson grinned and leaned back in his chair. “It’s like that, is it?”
Abel shrugged. What could he say?
“What does Cain think?” Billy asked.
“He hasn’t met her, remember?”
How could he? His twin was still a Hunter. And in the end it didn’t matter what his brother thought. You didn’t pick your mate. Fate did that for you.
Jackson sighed. “This complicates things. First, she knows nothing about werewolves, and there’s no way to bring her here without her discovering us. Then when she gets here, it’ll be to not one but two mates. You’ll have to tread very carefully there.”
He wasn’t so sure. She didn’t strike him as the
spooks easily
type. But he’d been wrong before and had the scars to prove it. Time would tell.
“Summer liked her, and Chloe’s known her for years,” Billy said. “I’d trust their instincts any day, and they both think she’ll be a good addition to the pack.”
Jackson nodded again, and Abel recognized the look on his face—a cross between defiance and acceptance. He spoke to Billy. “Make the arrangements. She can have the old Wilkes cabin.” He cast a look at Abel. “Until the other arrangements are made.”
Abel squashed his sense of triumph, his Hunter training still ingrained enough that he loathed to reveal his thoughts, his emotions. The conversation continued, changed, went on to other business. He forced himself to stay still when his body wanted to fidget. To concentrate when his mind wanted to wander. Finally, it was over, and he was free to leave.
Striding out of the house, he walked around back to the path that led to the old Wilkes’ cabin. Billy had given him the key, and he shoved it in the rusty lock, twisting it till the door gave way, and stepped inside. The rush of air disturbed what looked like a century’s worth of dust, and he sneezed through the swirling dervishes. This wouldn’t do at all. As he walked through the small house, a plan formed in his mind, and by the time he left he was smiling.
It would take a cleaning crew weeks to make the place habitable, and the furniture all had to be replaced. Other sleeping arrangements would have to be made, and he just happened to have a five-bedroom house right down the path. He flipped his phone open as he walked in that direction, dialing the number from memory.
“Yeah,” came the clipped response on the other side.
He grinned. Sounded like he’d disturbed Cain’s beauty sleep. “Late night?”
A snort. A laugh cut off so quick it was more a bark. “A completed mission at least.”
“Good. You can head home then.”
There was a long pause. Abel had retired a few months ago. Cain had insisted he wasn’t ready, yet. Things were different now.
“Did you get that picture I emailed you?” He walked into the house, down the hall to his office, and opened the folder sitting on his desk. Staring down at her photo, he waited for his brother to answer.
“A picture doesn’t tell me anything. You could be wrong.”
He smiled. “I’m not.”
Another long pause. Cain was thinking; Abel felt it over the distance between them.
“What if she can’t accept two men? If I come home…you know there’s no going back from that.”
He trailed one finger over the photo, down her cheek to the elegant line of her throat, then traced the long, curly hair that blew free in the wind. Determination rose in him. She’d accept them.
“We’ll convince her,” he answered softly, feeling conviction and strength of purpose sweep through him. She was theirs. They’d have her. What alternative was there in the end?
There was a long, soft exhalation on the other end. Cain hadn’t met her, but he felt how powerfully Abel wanted her. The bond between them had always been strong, and distance didn’t temper it at all.
“I’ve already accepted another assignment. It’ll probably be a couple of weeks before I can get there.”
Just in time for Christmas, and it was a Christmas moon year—a full moon on Christmas night. A good omen, and an excellent time to take a new mate.
“Good. I’m not sure when she’ll start the job. Probably no sooner than that.”
Cain growled. “What job? No mate of ours needs a job.”
Abel grinned. He had a feeling this mate of theirs would push every single one of Cain’s buttons. Should be interesting to watch.
“We’re offering her the accountant job.” He paused, letting it sink in. He’d kept his brother informed of pack happenings.
Cain didn’t disappoint. He growled again. “That’s too much exposure, Abel. Tell Jackson no.”
He laughed. “How do you propose I get her here then? She doesn’t know anything about us.”
The wind howled, and he looked out the window to see snow flurries. The promised first snow of the season had arrived.
“Shit.”
Yeah. He considered the differences between him and his twin. Deep down they weren’t very different. Hard men. Well-trained fighters. Fiercely loyal to each other, family, pack. But superficially they were night and day. Where Abel was good-natured, Cain was broody. Abel was open, and Cain was reserved. This could be a serious problem.
“You might need to work on that temper of yours some. She’s a mate, not a subordinate. I didn’t get the impression she’ll take to orders well.”
“She’ll get over it. Talk to Jackson about that damned job.”
He snorted. Not likely. But before he could reply, Cain hung up. He shook his head. He’d deal with his brother later.
* * * * *
Delilah opened the SUV door and shivered against the cold. When Jackson made her the job offer two weeks ago, she’d leapt at it. She wanted out of the stifling corporate world. What she’d neglected to consider was the climate difference between Orlando and the Appalachian Mountains. Her thin sweater did nothing to protect her against the cold, night air.
At least she’d experience her first white Christmas. She was taken aback when they insisted she make the move so close to the holidays instead of waiting until after the new year. But anticipation trumped surprise, and she’d jumped at the chance to spend the holidays with friends, something she hadn’t done in years. Usually she spent the day by herself.
Billy rushed around the Tahoe to help her out, and she smiled her thanks. Words wouldn’t have been heard over the howling wind, and she was distracted anyway. The door to the house had been thrown open, and a dark figure rushed down. Who was this?
Where
was this? They’d promised her a house as part of the job, but Billy said it was still being cleaned and upgraded. She’d expected to be taken to a hotel. Instead, they’d left the small airport and driven up the mountain to this house.
The stranger reached them as they rounded the front of the car. It was dark, and she was hunched over against the cold. She didn’t get a good look at him except to note he was huge. He seemed broad as a wall towering over her. Pulling off his coat, he draped it and his arm around her, effectively taking her from Billy’s care into his own.
She was bemused and charmed when he pulled her forward, placing himself between her and the worst of the wind. Inside, he left her on a couch before a roaring fire and disappeared. When he returned, he handed her a cup of hot tea. She smiled, charmed even more.
She was an orphan. No one had cared for her since the long string of foster homes she’d escaped years ago, and care wasn’t exactly the word she’d use to describe them. Once, she’d thought she’d find her own place in the world, create her own family. That hadn’t worked out, and she’d accepted there was just something missing in her, something that never really fit in. Or maybe there was too much in her. Her strange affinity with animals had freaked out more than one boyfriend.