1. Abigail

1

Abigail

I t was a month before Christmas, and if something did not change soon, Abigail Heartwell was going to lose her goddamn mind.

Luckily, it was book club night.

She slammed her hands on the table. “I have a problem.”

The other members of the book club stared at her. Her stomach flip-flopped from nerves—but she couldn’t stay quiet about this any longer.

Anyway, these were all the closest friends she’d made since that wonderful Christmas six years ago when she had found her soulmate and her own happiness after a lifetime of loneliness.

There was Meaghan, the human alpha of the local hellhound pack. Her twins weren’t even two yet, and she still looked fresher than Abigail felt with only one kid, probably because Meaghan’s little ones had a pack of big fiery dogs to take them on adventures and get them out of their mom’s hair when she needed a break.

Sheena, a former sheep shifter from New Zealand who through a series of way too exciting events had become a hellsheep shifter, had been quieter than normal all evening, and was sticking to non-alcoholic drinks in a way that everyone else was being careful not to comment on. She jumped when Abigail hit the table and pretended she hadn’t been dozing off.

Olly, who was hosting tonight’s meeting, was in the kitchen getting treats out of the oven, but Abigail didn’t fool herself that meant she would miss what she said next. Olly’s inner owl heard everything.

If they couldn’t help her…

She gritted her teeth. “And I need your help.”

Delphine, the newest member of their book club, blinked. “With the book?”

Delphine was probably the only one of them who’d actually read the book.

“Not with the book,” Abigail admitted.

“Uh-oh.” Meaghan leaned forward. “How can we—”

“No time to beat around the bush. I have to tell you now, before Opal gets here.” Opal was the final member of their book club.

And Abigail’s sister-in-law.

She drew a deep breath. It still felt unnatural to ask anyone for help—but these were her friends. They’d been there with her through every new, wonderful turn her life had taken.

Also, she was desperate.

She closed her eyes briefly, focusing on the golden bond of light that connected her to her husband. Jasper was her fated mate—something she hadn’t even known existed until she met him and he turned into a dragon right in front of her. The mate bond was invisible to the eye but clear to the heart. It shone with all the love they had for one another. If she concentrated, she could sense her mate’s emotions through it.

She concentrated now, just to be extra sure.

And there it was. Beneath the warm, slightly tinsel-y glow was a twitch of something that made her own heart tighten. Stress, anxiety, worry—she couldn’t put a name to it, but it was there.

Something was worrying Jasper, her Jasper, and he wasn’t talking to her about it.

There could be only one reason for that.

She braced herself. “You all know that Christmas is extremely important to Jasper.”

Everyone nodded. Meaghan, who’d known her and Jasper the longest, started to look concerned.

“It’s important to me as well! You know, I don’t hate it anymore. But—” She hesitated, fretting her fingers together.

“What did you say about no time for beating around the bush?” Meaghan asked teasingly.

Abigail opened her mouth and found herself avoiding the point again. “You all know what he’s like. He spends every holiday season like he’s trying to put Santa Claus out of a job. He works so hard to make the holidays magical for everyone. He’ll be up all night, making sure everything’s perfect. And it is! Christmas in Pine Valley is incredible, and it’s because he puts so much work into making that happen.”

She paused again.

“But…?” Meaghan prompted her.

“But—” She broke off.

The other women exchanged a glance.

“It’s his birthday too, isn’t it?” Sheena said. “I remember Fleance saying. Jasper Heartwell, the Christmas dragon.”

Delphine put her chin on her hands and narrowed her eyes. “And you two got together at Christmas, so that makes it your anniversary.”

“Ah-ha! And you want to keep him up all night, every night, busy with something else?” Sheena suggested with a grin.

“What?!” Abigail squeaked. “No, I—”

“You want us to help you get some!” Olly exclaimed with delight from behind her.

Abigail jumped in her seat. “Eek!”

“Eek and yes?” Olly asked placidly. “Cookie?”

Abigail took one of the still-warm cinnamon cookies from the plate Olly offered her, feeling tongue-tied. “Eek and, well…”

“Why didn’t you say something earlier?” Meaghan asked.

“I can guess. Because Christmas is Jasper’s thing , and she doesn’t want to ruin it for him,” Delphine suggested.

“And you thought you could white-knuckle your way through the next month unsatisfied and unfulfilled?” Sheena added before Abigail could answer.

“Hey! I am satisfied. And—stop laughing! That’s not it, but thanks for proving that everyone’s going to think it is, and—we have to come up with a plan before Opal gets here!”

“You have to do what before I get here?”

Abigail’s heart fell into her stomach. She didn’t want to talk to Opal about it, because Opal had already spent too much of her life worried about Jasper and the family curse that had come so close to claiming him.

She made a quick shush gesture to the rest of the table, and every single one of her so-called friends grinned evilly.

She covered her face as Opal sat down next to her and the others caught her up.

“Embarrassed?” Opal asked, leaning in for a hug. “Because you’re in love with my dumbass kid brother and want to make sure he knows it?”

I mean, also that. Not a day goes by that I don’t want to pin him to the bed for at least half the day—not that we’ve been able to do that in a few years. She gnawed on her lower lip.

Maybe it was better if Opal thought her issue was Jasper being too busy with Christmas to pin her to her bed as much as she wanted, rather than that he was hiding some deep, dark secret.

And… maybe that was part of the problem, anyway? For real?

She and Jasper had a dream life. A beautiful home, amazing friends and family, and a daughter who brought joy and chaos into every room she set foot in. Jasper wasn’t only the love of her life, he was her fated mate. Her soulmate. It was a magical connection that even as a non-magical human she could feel, a bond of extraordinary power and love.

Which was a long-winded way of saying that six years into their relationship, she still wanted to get down every chance they got, and chances were thin on the ground this time of year with how busy they both were.

“Um,” she said out loud. “Yes. Kind of. That’s some of it! But also—you know how he gets around Christmas, and this year it’s like…”

“Like you barely get to see him at all?” Opal gave her a sympathetic smirk. “All right. Forget this week’s book. Project Abigail Gets the Anniversary She Deserves is all go.”

Everyone raised their mugs in a toast. Abigail joined them, ducking her head with a grimace of embarrassment and a flicker of guilt.

Because as much as she wanted some alone time with her husband, that wasn’t the only reason she wanted her friends to conspire to take a load off Jasper’s shoulders.

She was worried about him.