Santa Claws Read online

  I felt a growl building in my chest, despite my bear’s absence.

  “If you hurt him,” I warned, in no position to make threats, but I didn’t care. If they hurt Jace, I’d rip their throats out as soon as I could.

  “Mmm, not today. But we’ll be back for him later, I promise.”

  I roared with laughter. The woman scowled, but I didn’t stop. The idiots. They had no idea what they’d gotten between.

  “What,” she snapped, “is so funny, bear?”

  I grinned at her, a feral, wicked grin.

  “You’re fools.”

  She stood up, angry, and stomped over to me, crouching low.

  “Most people would say calling their captors fools is, in fact, a foolish thing to do.”

  She shoved my shoulder, as if to prove how helpless I was. The man looked at us from the fire, like he was monitoring the woman, to make sure she didn’t do anything rash. I laughed again.

  “Jace will come for me.”

  I knew it in my bones. As sure as the moon was rising, he’d find me, and destroy anyone in his path. Because now that the moon was up, something inside of me was stirring. Even though I wasn’t a wolf, even though I wasn’t so prone to the whims of the moon as they were, it still affected me. And I’d never felt like this before, like my heart was as full as the moon herself.

  Jace was my mate, and nothing would stop him from coming for me.

  “Right,” the woman snorted. “As if he could catch up to us. We drove here, you stupid beast.”

  It didn’t matter. The full moon would rise and Jace would fly into a frenzy. I was certain he’d still be able to smell me on him. That was all he needed, he’d told me—one whiff of my scent during the full moon, and he’d fall into the mating heat. And then, well, then he’d be stronger, faster, and more beast than man. I grinned at her.

  The woman huffed, stood, and kicked me in the face, right in my smiling mouth. I sputtered, blood leaking from the corners of my lips, but kept smiling through the blood. I spat a wad of it at her feet, and her eyes lit up with fury. She lifted her foot again, but the man leapt up and pulled her away from me.

  “It’s getting a rise out of you, Cerena,” he said, overpowering her even though she struggled.

  “You’re too soft on them,” she spat at him. “You never like to have any fun.”

  He stayed quiet, his face grim, until she shrieked in frustration and threw her hands up.

  “Fine,” she hissed, throwing a glare my way. “But any more crap from you, and I’ll knock your teeth out next time.”

  Darkness had fallen around us, the moon was big and bright in the sky. They moved towards their chairs when a sound rent the air. The blood-curdling sound of a wolf howling. The pair froze, eyes looking around. I laughed.

  Jace was here.

  Jace

  That damn sage knocked me out cold. By the time I’d woken up, I’d shifted back into my human skin in my sleep, and the sun was beginning its downward arc through the sky. Late afternoon. It had been hours since they’d taken Holly, and my heart surged with panic. I shifted immediately and tore into the forest. I followed the scent of sage and grease and Holly until I wound up next to a parking lot.

  So they’d driven somewhere with her.

  Any other day, and she’d have been lost to me. But my Holly’s scent was still all over me, not that it would have mattered otherwise. Her scent was imprinted in my mind, because I knew now what I’d known all along. My blood hummed with the truth of it. Holly was my mate. I glanced at the cloudless sky and could see the Full Moon despite the daylight that still shone.

  She’d come out early for me, for us.

  Because even though it wasn’t yet night, just seeing the Full Moon, having Holly’s scent in my nose, it was enough. The heat had been triggered. I felt it riling and boiling within, sending me and my wolf into a frenzy. Stamina and strength course through me, making me sharper, my senses keener.

  And even though the trail was faint, in this state, I found it with ease. I set off at a sprint. I’d find her, and if those bastards tried to stop me from taking her, I’d kill them.

  Hell, I might even enjoy it.

  The closer I got, the more the Full Moon began to shine, the stronger the heat became. I’d been running at speed for hours, but I wasn’t tired. I was invigorated. She was close. So close. I could scent her through the trees. And the closer I got, the more my cock raged. It grew heavy and rigid, even as a wolf I could tell it was bigger, ready to plunge into my sweet mate.

  Looking up at the dark sky, the Full Moon’s light bathed me. Holly. Mate. Hunt. Instincts, ancient and primal, took control. I growled. They dared take my mate from me. The forest was dense, but I was drawn to her, not even needing her scent in the air to know where she was. She was nearby, and I’d find her, take her, and claim her.

  I howled before I tore off into the night, following my senses as they guided me towards my beloved. I smelled the fire before I saw it, and then the dim light glowed in the darkness, illuminating their camp. The two hunters were standing, looking around, alert and ready for a fight. The man had a huge bowie knife in his hands, the woman a bundle of sage.

  That wouldn’t work this time. Not tonight. I growled, low and menacing, and they froze.

  “We’re leaving. Now.” The man said, striding towards the opposite side of the fire that I couldn’t see.

  Hidden by the trees, I walked a perimeter around their camp to see what he was doing. He strode towards Holly, knife out. Holly, my mate, was naked and tied up, her mouth bleeding. A male, near my naked, bound, and bleeding mate. My wolf flew into a rage, a fury unlike any I’d ever known taking over.

  I snarled and attacked. My paws landed on his chest, knocking him beneath me. My teeth snapped where his throat should have been, but they met air as he rolled out of the way at the last moment. Haunches raised, I crouched low over Holly’s prone form and bit the rope tying her ankles to her wrists. It snapped, freeing her arms from her legs, though her ankles and wrists were still bound.

  “Did you forget about this, little wolfie,” the woman said, holding out a burning stick of sage.

  The smell was overpowering, but not to the same extent as before. The heat in my blood made me stronger, more resilient, even to the damned sage.

  I lunged at the woman. The move was unexpected and she didn’t step out of the way in time. My jaws closed around her hand. Fangs sliced through her skin, blood spurting on my tongue, as I took that fucking smudge stick and spat it into the fire, taking her flesh with me.

  She screamed, cradling her ruined arm. Long, deep gashes began at her elbow and ended at her knuckles, blood flowing freely from the wounds.

  “You’ll fucking regret this, mut,” she promised, sinking to her knees.

  I had to agree—I’d already begun to regret not biting her entire hand off. Behind me, Holly screamed, and I spun around to see the man had his knife to her neck. Stupid, it was so stupid to have let the woman distract me.

  “Move and I’ll cut her throat from ear to ear,” he said, his voice as cold as his eyes.

  “Jace,” Holly said, “run!”

  But I couldn’t run. I could no sooner stop breathing than leave my mate. I growled, the sound terrifying even to my ears. The kind of growl that would send sane men running, but not this man. He only stared at me with those piercing eyes.

  “Don’t make me do it,” he warned.

  He pulled Holly backward, heading towards their truck, when he stepped right into a moon beam. I saw Holly’s body go rigid and a smile graced her perfect lips. She looked up at me, eyes blazing gold, before she shifted, right in that bastard’s arms.

  Had I been in my human skin, I would have laughed at the look of shock on his face.

  Holly

  The moon, oh the glorious moon.

  She woke my bear right up. The second that bastard pulled us into her glow, I felt my bear roaring into life. It had to be the effects of being paired with a
wolf. I’d never reacted so strongly to the moon before. The blaze of heat from my shift had my captor cursing. He spun away from me as I roared. I ripped the heavy rope around my paws like it was string. Turning, I lunged for the man, eager to feel his skull in my teeth.

  But he was quick. He leapt out of my way, but not before he managed to slide that bowie knife across the top of my paw. Jace howled with fury, pouncing on the man. The sting of the cut faded away as my body healed itself. My mouth had stopped bleeding too. I squinted over, watching the huge black wolf trying to take down the now small human.

  It should have been easy. It should have been over. Except the hunter, despite being on his back and facing Jace’s snapping jaws, was going head-to-head with him. That knife moved like it had a mind of its own, parrying and sparring with fangs as if this was a sword fight.

  I huffed a billowing breath and rushed to help Jace end this. I heard the twang of the bow in time to dodge the arrow that sped by my snout. I stared at the tree where it had hit, still quivering in the trunk. Despite her wounded arm, the woman loaded a second arrow, the smell of grease on the well-oiled weapon heavy in the air. In a split second, Jace and I made eye contact, silently agreeing to run.

  We shot off into the forest, bear and wolf, dashing through the pine and cedar. The snow would leave a trail, but if we stuck to the woods where they couldn’t drive, we could out run them. We ran and ran, Jace slowing his pace for me. My bear was built for bursts of speed, swimming, and feats of strength—not long distance running. I ran until I was panting and my muscles burned.

  It seemed I didn’t benefit from the same stamina and increased strength that Jace did during this heat.

  After several minutes, with no sign of the hunters, my pace lagged and I had to stop. Jace circled me as I caught my breath. He was still ancy, on high alert, barely even winded. I wanted to tell him we’d lost them, that we could take a minute to breathe. But then he sniffed the air and looked at me with urgency, smelling them before I did. Surely, they were still far behind, and his sense of smell was just that good.

  An arrow whizzed through the air, landing not a foot away from me. Jace snarled, ready to rush our attackers. My mind raced, faster than my body could. I couldn’t outrun them, but Jace….in less than a second I’d made my decision. I shifted back, my human body prickling in the cold. Those silver wolf eyes filled with alarm until I jumped onto his back, grabbing fistfuls of long black fur.

  “Run!”

  He didn’t need to be told twice. I hung on for dear life as Jace tore through the forest. I squinted my eyes against the wind. He moved faster than I thought was possible. I savored the steady rhythm of his breath, the thump of his paws as they made contact with the ground, his soft fur warming me. I closed my streaming eyes, inhaling his wild, musky scent.

  I wondered when we’d be free to consummate our mating. If it didn’t happen tonight…then what would we do? Would we still be mates? Would we have to wait until the next full moon for the heat to strike again? I didn’t want to find out what would happen if we missed our chance tonight. I leaned forward to whisper into his ear.

  “Find us a place that’s safe and warm, where you can hunt me down and claim me.”

  I shivered as I said it, surprised to find that I wanted to be hunted. A spike of arousal clanged through me, and from Jace’s his hungry growl, I knew he could smell it. Somehow, he managed to move even faster, running so swiftly I couldn’t keep my eyes open. My hair whipped across my face, streaming violently behind me. I clung to him with arms and legs, letting my mate carry me to safety.

  “I have to say, this isn’t exactly what I had in mind,” I said as I dismounted the wolf.

  I wasn’t really sure what I’d expected, but breaking into a mall on Christmas Eve wasn’t it. At the edge of the forest that lined the parking lot, I eyed the mall as the last patrons left for the night. I had so many questions. How would we get in? And then how would we stay hidden?

  I turned to ask Jace, but when I saw he had shifted back, I completely forgot how to speak. Jace’s muscles rippled, bulging from the exertion of the chase, and I couldn’t stop myself from looking down, down, down, until…my god.

  His cock was enormous.

  Red, throbbing, and thick, I felt my mouth, along with another part of me, water. My own body reacted at the sight of him, my breast heaving, swelling and aching to be touched. Jace’s eyes fixated on me, and I knew if we didn’t find someplace soon, this was going to happen right here in this parking lot.

  I needed him. Now.

  But we were both buck naked, him with the world’s biggest erection. How the hell were we going to sneak into the mall unseen?

  “Jace, how—,” he cut me off with a snarl before he prowled ahead.

  He crouched low, sticking to the edge of the woods, unseen and unheard. My heart stopped beating as he maneuvered his way through the parking lot, ducking behind snow drifts and the few cars left, until he’d walked up to the entrance. He tucked himself behind a pillar, hiding from the cameras, and then dashed into the building.

  I waited and waited, my anxiety reaching a peak as the minutes dragged on. What the hell was he doing in there? There weren’t many people left inside, but what about the security guards? I fretted, pacing and muttering to myself. After what felt like fifteen minutes had gone by, I was ready to barge in there and find him, when a guard walked out, making a bee line towards me.

  I recognized Jace immediately and gaped at the sight of him in a security uniform.

  “What did you do?” I asked as he shoved another uniform into my hands.

  “Put this on.”

  “What about the guards wearing these?” I protested.

  His eyes flashed, his control snapping, but he took a deep breath.

  “They’re fine. It was just two of them. I put them in sleeper holds and locked them in the employee lounge. There’s food, water, and a bathroom.”

  “Jace,” I gasped. “It’s Christmas Eve! What if they have families they need to get home to?”

  He smirked.

  “We better hurry then.”

  I giggled, despite myself. I shrugged on the uniform.

  “There are a few people left in the mall,” he told me, sitting back on his heels and bouncing up and down, like he couldn’t contain his energy. “I told them to be out of there in five minutes.”

  Like clockwork, a small group exited the building, heading towards their minivan.

  “Go in first,” he ordered. “When the last people have left, I’ll come in, lock the doors, and then…,” he growled, “I’ll find you.”

  I shuddered, my core throbbing, my body hot despite the cold December air. Jace stared at me, a man on the edge of breaking. The look had me rubbing my thighs together, desperate for relief.

  “Go,” he said, his voice strained. He looked like he was about to pounce on me, and damn if I didn’t want him to. “Now!”

  I jumped and rushed towards the mall. The security footage would only show a mall guard entering the building. The hat obscured my hair, the shapeless uniform hiding any of my features. Even if they replayed the footage, they wouldn’t see who had impersonated the guards. It was clever of Jace. Those Barkley boys, they really had a knack for knowing how to break the rules and get away with it.

  I walked into the department store, the Christmas decorations bright and cheery. I saw a woman eyeing a pair of shoes and felt a grumble rise in my chest.

  “You need to leave, ma’am,” I said, walking up to her.

  She opened her mouth to reply, from the look on her face with no small amount of attitude, but my eyes flashed gold, and she shrunk away. I heard her gulp as she nodded and raced out the door. My heart thudded, my instincts raged. I felt the undeniable urge to hide. Run and hide, and wait for him to catch me.

  So that’s what I did. But I wasn’t going to make it easy for him.

  Jace

  Waiting for the stragglers to leave was the longest few minutes of
my life. Every part of me thrummed and ached, needing to be unleashed on my mate. I bounced on my heels, a vain attempt to shake off the wild energy that had filled me. My wolf whined, clawing at me from the inside, begging me to find Holly and claim her.

  The courtship was over. Now, it was time to hunt.

  When the last person left the mall, I ran to the glass doors, locking them behind me. The entire mall glittered gold, red, and silver, bright with Christmas cheer. I took a deep breath, scenting the air. The mall was full of currents of smell; perfume, leather, cinnamon, pine, plastic, food, and Holly. I honed in on the thread of smell that was my mate, my cock lurching painfully as I ran towards the stairs.

  Where could she be hiding?

  Ribbons, wreaths, and garlands were everywhere. I bounded up the steps, taking them four at a time, until I was on the second level in the home goods section. The bright fluorescent lights rang in my ears and her scent peppered the air. She had spent some time here. I followed the trail, racing by appliances, dishes, and dimly lit registers. It grew stronger. I growled as I turned a corner to—nowhere.

  It was an empty corner, housing a fire extinguisher and nothing else. And, yet, Holly’s scent was so strong, I’d been certain she was standing right here. I sniffed the wall, groaning at her intoxicating, cinnamon and pine scent. She’d rubbed herself against it, like a bear on a tree trunk.

  Holly was messing with me.

  I snarled, and my wolf punched out of me viciously, unable to be contained. Half-shifted, my senses were sharper, and my lust raged. Being around her scent…it was too much. I ripped off my clothes and grabbed my aching, pounding member. It did little to relieve the burning, the pain, the need to be buried inside of my mate. My flesh seared hot in my hands, and I howled my agony into the empty mall.

  A shuddering breath, so faint and little I wouldn’t have heard it had my wolf not tore through me. I spun, the sound coming from far across the floor. A flash of white-blonde hair ducking behind a closing door had me tearing through the department. I barreled into a display of blue and silver metallic presents, stacked like a Christmas tree. They crashed around me, but I didn’t slow.