Christmas Three

Christmas Three

By

Dahlia Rose

Copyright © January 2013
,
Dah
l
ia Rose Unscripted

Cove
r art by Mina Carter ©
201
3

ISBN:
 
 
978-1-939151-97-1

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this novel are fictitious or used fictitiously. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.

Sugar and Spice Press North Carolina, USA

www.sugarnspicepress.com
 

Chapter One

“I didn’t think she could out decorate Halloween but she managed it,” Alex said to himself, looking around.

Lit up candy canes placed here and there in the front yard, a Christmas tree in the living room that touched the ceiling with its brilliant star, festoons of lights draped along the stairs, garland mixed with lights running the length of the fireplace and more.

The two men didn’t know one person could accumulate so many boxes of decorations. Right after Thanksgiving, she had them come to her place to pick up boxes full of decorations. There were fifteen—fifteen big tubs of holiday cheer. That’s what she called them. When it came to Tempest
Boliene
, the guys—Alex Wakefield and Dominic Cross—never knew what to expect, but that is what they loved about their mate. That was their family: two shifters who were mated to one woman. And they swore that their life had only gotten better since she came into it. Life had been quiet since the Halloween incident on their plantation and because of that
confrontation,
they had broken away from the Acadia’s pack leader Vernon’s control and no longer had to report to him.

Still, there was a tiny bit of worry in the back of Alex’s mind because of how they had left things. They had all seen the revenge in Vernon’s eyes that night, but he left without a word. That didn’t mean Alex or Dominic didn’t recognize his scent or that of his pack’s just at the outskirts of their property every couple of weeks or so. Vernon was obviously keeping watch and so were they. He and Dom went back to the Acadia grounds every so often and marked their scent so Vernon would know that two could play that game. But it was nearing Christmas and because they loved Tempest, neither he nor Dominic cared if they had to go as far as walk on Christmas decorations to make her happy.

“Alex, taste this eggnog.” Tempest came into the living room holding a cup and looked at the string of Christmas lights in his hands. “Why do you have that?”

“I’m not taking anything down,” he answered hastily. Last year the stink eye she gave them for messing with her decorations taught them a lesson; that, and the threat of her sleeping alone in the guest bedroom. “You had some extra, so I thought we would put them around the windows outside.”

Her face brightened. “Oh, okay. Well, try this.”

He took a sip from the cup and the liquid burned its way down his throat making him cough. “How much rum do you have in that?”

“Half a bottle.
Too strong?” she asked looking into the cup. Dominic walked into the room, in his usual barefoot/no shirt way of dressing and she handed him the cup. “Taste this.”

He downed it without even asking what it was. “It’s good.”

Alex stared at his best friend. “There’s half a bottle of rum in there.”

Dominic shrugged.
“Might need a bit more.”

“What do you guys want for dinner tonight?” Tempest asked. “Don’t say cookies, brownies, ice cream or any of those combinations. I’m curbing the junk-food-for-dinner theme.”

“But we—”

“Ah, no.”
Tempest cut Dominic off with a raised finger and a stern look. “You run hot and burn through
carbs
, I get that, but you’re eating meals for dinner. Junk food is for dessert. Pick a meal or I’m serving nothing but veggies.”

“Meatloaf and potatoes, asparagus on the side,” Alex said. He wasn’t going to deal with rabbit food for dinner.
“Oh, and brown gravy.”

Tempest beamed. “I can do that.” She walked over and kissed him and then Dominic. “I love you, and I love you.”

They watched her walk back into the kitchen and Alex shook his head with humor. “We’re lucky as hell to have her, but she scares me around the holidays.”

“You’re telling me. I got that look yesterday when I asked her about the candy cane things running down the driveway.” Dominic gave an exaggerated shudder. “For a minute there I thought she was going to crack me on my knuckles with a spoon.”

“Well, this is the last holiday for a while,” Alex said.

“Wrong.
Valentine’s Day.
I saw her looking at some craft magazine showing how to make hearts with red tinsel and wire,” Dominic said. Alex met his gaze for a moment and they both shuddered this time. “Anyway, you should know that this afternoon I caught sight of one of Vernon’s pack.
Pinned him down in the woods to the west.”

“Pinned him down, meaning you caught him and let him go, right?” Alex asked. “What the fuck is Vernon’s problem?”

“Oh, I let him go, no worse for wear, just a little banged up.” Dominic met his gaze again. “I’ll tell you what his problem is and she’s making spiked eggnog as we speak. He wants Tempest.”

“Fucker won’t get her, that’s for sure. I keep hoping this won’t come down to a fight, but it’s heading that way, isn’t it?” Alex said.

“There’s going to be a fight. The thing is
,
you know we’ll win and then we’ll be pack leaders, which is the one thing we’ve been trying to avoid.” Dominic spread himself out on the couch. “They keep coming closer and closer. The guy I caught today said Vernon asked for him to keep an eye on us, our habits, and to bring him pictures of Tempest.”

“Destroyed the camera?” Alex questioned.

“Oh, no doubt,” Dominic said casually. “He wasn’t leaving with pictures of her.”

“We should tell her what’s going on,” Alex surmised.

“It will be fine. No use scaring her. Vernon will watch her from afar because he wouldn’t dare take her. He knows we’d have his neck.” Dominic stretched. “There is no way he can get to Tempest. We have no contact with his pack so no one can coerce her away from us.”

Alex nodded. “I’ll kill him if he touches her.”

“Then you’d be pack leader. Are you ready for that?” Dominic pointed out.

“It could be you,” Alex retorted.

“I’m a hothead. I can’t be leader,” Dominic said mildly.

Alex chuckled. “Uh-huh, anarchy would reign.”

“Just as long as we stay on our side of the fence and give him no reason to come here, we’re good.” Dominic rolled off the sofa. “I’m going to go see if I can snag a snack before dinner.”

“Good luck with that. If you manage it, grab me a honey bun,” Alex said.

“Yeah, I take the risk, you get a honey bun,” Dominic grumbled good-naturedly.

Alex watched him leave and then frowned deep within himself. He knew that Vernon wouldn’t take no for an answer. A war was coming and he would rip the Acadia pack leader apart if that was what was needed to keep Tempest safe.
Then you’d be pack leader.
Are you ready for that?
Dominic’s words bothered him because they may end up being true. Vernon would have to be challenged. Tempest was theirs, her scent was in his nose and he could close his eyes and always recall her taste. The three of them slept in one big bed and her smooth milk chocolate skin was only theirs to touch.

He made a frustrated sound in his throat and went back to the lights he still held in his hands, hoping it would take his mind off everything. Tempest was in the kitchen, in their home. She was safe.

* * * *

“The dishes are all done, Tempest,” Dominic said.

She looked up from the kitchen table where she was stringing popcorn and cranberries and smiled. “Thanks, Dom.”

She loved her men.
Dominic with his brooding dark good looks and gorgeous eyes.
He was so rough and tumble with a hint of that fiery temper underneath, but when he smiled it took her breath away and when he touched her, she melted in his arms every single time. While, on the other side of the coin, Alex had boyish good looks with a lighter hair color and an easygoing temperament. That didn’t mean you should take him lightly though. Her mom had always said to look out for the quiet ones and that statement described Alex to perfection. Beneath that mild manner, he could be deadly, especially defending those he loved.

“I thought you were done stringing popcorn?” Dom stuck his hand in the bowl and grabbed a handful.

She slapped his hand away. “If you and Alex would stop stealing it every time I pop a bag, I’d be done.” Tempest handed him a finished string. “Can you give this to Alex, please?”

“I bet you he’s eating it too,” Dominic grumbled.

“I’m sure he is. Tell him to stop it.” Tempest laughed as Dominic walked out of the kitchen to find Alex.

She went back to stringing popcorn and glanced at the back door, frowning. Tempest could have sworn she heard scratching on the back patio. She shrugged and went back to her task until she definitely heard a thump and then an even louder crash, which was probably the cover of the metal trash can falling to the stone tiled patio. “Dom, Alex, we have an animal on the patio again!” she called. She got up, determined to shoo an animal off the patio. Tempest turned on the patio light and opened the door, finding instead a young woman on her knees, in dirty clothing and shivering in the cold night air.

“I need sanctuary. Will you give it?” She was barely able to get the words out through chattering teeth.

“What?” Tempest frowned. “Who are you? Why are you here?”

The girl stood and Tempest could see that she was pregnant. She took Tempest’s hands in her frozen ones. “Help me. Give me sanctuary, please!”

“Of course.
Come in.”

“Tempest, no!” Alex yelled

But it was too late. The words were said and the girl scrambled inside. A howl came from behind them and then another joined in. Dominic cursed and ran outside, stripping out of his pants and shifting as he went.

“What’s going on?” Tempest looked around, panicked. The girl was in the corner of the kitchen, hiding, shivering and Alex was asking her questions. Tempest ran to the door just in time to see Dom in his pure black wolf form tackle another wolf and send it crashing into the brush. He bit the other wolf and it yelped before scrambling away. Dominic raised his head and howled louder than she had ever heard before. The sound ran down her back and left chills in its wake.
Oh, God, something is very wrong.
She looked at Alex who had dragged the girl up by the shoulders. Even though Tempest was afraid, her temper flared and she rushed to the girl’s side, pushing Alex away.

“Be gentle with her. Can’t you see she’s pregnant?” Tempest snapped and wrapped her arms around the girl’s shoulder and helped her to sit at the table. “What’s your name? Are you hungry?”

“Vanity, and yes, please,” the girl answered timidly.

“I know full well she’s pregnant and also who the father is. His scent is all over her,” Alex roared. Tempest had never seen him so angry. “You don’t know what you just did. You gave her refuge,
dammit
.”

“From a man who would make her get rid of her child, or probably eat it since she’s so far along,” Tempest retorted hotly. “How could I leave her out in the cold? Look at her! He’s not taking care of his pack, not like Jack did. They’re suffering.”

“Fuck.” Alex ran his hands through his hair and growled in his throat. “The shit is going to hit the fan now.”

“Why?”

Dominic came in just then and her question went unanswered. Alex turned. “Are they gone?”

“No, they are at the boundary of our property, but if they’re not leaving you know he’s coming.” Dominic growled. He stepped into his jeans and buttoned them before looking at the girl sitting at the table. “I should kill you. You knew what you were doing when you came here asking for sanctuary.”

Vanity lifted her head. “Yes, I did. You two stand there as Alphas and leave us to suffer under Vernon after you called Jack a friend. You don’t stay around to see how he treats the women, the children, and the men. You’ll have to intercede now.”

“Damn you.”

Dominic took a step towards the girl and Tempest stepped in his way and yelled, “For the love of God tell me what’s going on!”

“She came here and asked for sanctuary and you agreed.” Dominic growled.

“Okay, I know that,” she said as calmly as she could even though her heart was beating wildly out of her chest.

“What you don’t know is that, by accepting, you have become pack Beta,” Alex said quietly. His hands were clenched and she feared he would punch a wall. “Now Vernon can claim you as such to his Alpha and take you as his mate.”

Revulsion made her gag and she stumbled back. “No, you’re lying!”

“That’s how pack rules go.” Dominic grabbed her and pulled her against his broad chest. “He can’t have you, he won’t.”

“You knew this?” Tempest asked Vanity.
“But why?”

Tears slipped down the young woman’s cheeks. “He kills our children. Jack’s daughters have been pregnant twice each and he takes them into the clinic to have the children ripped from their bodies. To a wolf female, our children are our world. He treats us like whores and we grieve for our lost children. This is my third and I hid it as long as I could, thinking by the time he found out and I was too far along he could not make me get rid of it. But he beat me and then planned to kill me. I ran to you because we have seen you stand up to him. He fears you both.”