22. Morgan

Chapter 22

Morgan

It was December 21, which turned out was a pretty big deal in the Grim Wilds pack. The winter solstice was a time of magic and spiritual energy, but all I could think was… "It's almost Christmas!"

"Yes, Morgan. You may have mentioned it once or twice." Tara rolled her eyes at my abundance of enthusiasm, but she was smiling.

"Well, I think it's nice." Sasha beamed up at me from the lounger Tara had set up for him near the bonfire. Months later, he was still limping, but the fact that he was able to walk at all seemed like a miracle to me. Tara had barely left his side this whole time. They might not have been fated mates, but I could see a bond forming between them all the same .

Even though I was the only one in the pack who celebrated the holiday, it was one part of being human that I wasn't willing to give up. Sure, some could argue that it had become a commercialized holiday, but that wasn't why I loved it. It was the sheer joy and anticipation that vibrated through the air leading up to a full day of time with family and friends, good food, and yes, presents. I didn't exactly have a lot of money, but Sasha had been teaching me to knit in secret, and I'd made everyone matching slippers. I couldn't wait to see their faces when they opened them!

I'd strung garlands around the chicken coop, draped tinsel on the eaves, and hung a wreath on our front door—not to mention, the tree I'd decided was our pack's designated Christmas tree was practically bowing under the weight of all the home-made decorations I'd adorned it with. I'd put the kids to work making popcorn garlands and gluing googly eyes to pinecones.

The others were all playing along, smiling and nodding, like I was some kind of novelty, but I would bring them over to my side yet.

I felt Jude coming before I saw him. He was excited about something, and I turned to find him walking from the woods wearing a bright red Santa suit, complete with fake bushy beard .

"Ho, ho, ho!" he called, holding his plush belly, having stuffed it full of something. "Did I get that right? Are you sure it's not ha, ha, ha?" He drew me into his arms, while I laughed in delight. "Why don't you come and sit on my lap, little boy, and tell me what you want for Christmas," he said, a touch too lewd to be family-friendly, and I slapped his shoulder halfheartedly.

"I think you've lost the point of Santa Claus."

"Are you sure?" He quirked a brow, his hands sliding down to squeeze my ass. "He gives presents, right? Well, I have something I want to give you." He backed up, pulling me by the hand toward our cabin. He reached down and adjusted his cock, which was tenting the baggy red velour. "Tell me, have you been a good boy?"

I groaned, shaking my head. "Bad timing, hun. I just put Jesse down for a nap. We can't fool around in there."

"Oh." His eyes flitted around the camp. Everyone was busy preparing for the evening festivities. Behind the beard, his smile turned wicked. "We could be naughty together and fool around out here…"

I blinked at him, once, twice, sure he had to be joking. "But it's cold out!"

He shrugged, drawing me behind the firewood shed. "I'll keep you warm. "

"Uh-uh, no way am I taking off my clothes out here. I refuse to get frostbite on my ass." Even as I argued, I could feel my convictions crumbling.

"Mm, I wouldn't dream of it. I promise we can do what I have planned while standing. You can even leave all your snow gear on, and just to be fair, I'll keep the suit on." He winked, and I tried to imagine his little paunchy belly jiggling like a bowl full of jelly.

"I have to admit, it is kinda hot," I said, skating my hands down the soft fabric until I got to a part of him that was decidedly not soft. I worked him through the pants, jacking him off as I started to grow more desperate.

Jude shoved me back against the shed wall and tipped my head back, diving in to tongue the hollow between my collarbones, the fake beard tickling my neck. "Mine," he growled against my skin.

"Say it again," I gasped, pulling off his Santa hat and tossing it aside so I could tangle my fingers in his hair. I knew I shouldn't want to feel like a possession, like an object to be put on his shelf, but gods help me, I did. I wanted to be positively owned .

I felt him smile against my skin as he slid his lips along the grooves of my mating scar. "You are mine, Morgan. Forever. "

With those words, he lowered to his knees at my feet and shoved my jacket up high enough so he could get at my belt. A few deft moves had my pants open, and I felt his hot breath through my boxers before he took me out with a firm grip. There was no time to feel the cold before his mouth enveloped me.

I cried out, my hips involuntarily jerking forward, and I swore I felt my cock hit the back of his throat. His grip on my thighs tightened, and he moaned around me. "Oh, shit," I cursed, pumping in and out of his mouth. The alternating warm and cold nearly made me lose my mind.

Even hidden out of sight as we were, I knew what we were doing was no secret. That was the thing about living with shifters, they could hear and smell everything , but unless I was planning on being celibate, I had no choice but to get used to it. But then I heard the vehicles. "Oh no, the guests are arriving!" I moaned, panicking.

He pulled back and looked up at me. "Then you'd better hurry and come for Santa." I didn't know what it was about the whole belly and fake beard, but it was working for me. I nodded frantically, and he slid back into place around me, devouring me with renewed passion.

My mate. He was everything to me. I would never get enough of this man. He was my heart, my strength, my reason to wake up in the morning. He might've joked about the gift he was giving me right now, but he'd already given me the world. An undying love, a truer family than I'd every known, and a future I couldn't wait to spend with him.

And as his tongue laved along the underside of my cock, I had a little gift for him too. I slapped a hand over my mouth to keep from crying out loud as I came in his mouth. I felt his throat working as he swallowed me down, and when he rose back up, he looked thoroughly proud of himself.

"Oh, Rumpy, I will absolutely be paying you back for that later."

Jude laughed roughly, grinding his erection against me. "Merry Christmas, baby," he said, kissing me so I could catch my own flavor on his tongue.

I was breathless and sated, and I smiled drunkenly. "It's not Christmas yet. There's still four more days."

His responding smile was predatory. "Then I guess we'll have lots of time for more presents."

"We have years and years," I whispered, kissing him again tenderly, letting my sappiness get the better of me for a minute.

We straightened ourselves out and went to join the party that was just starting to get into the swing of things. Dylan's dad had arrived to spend the festival with us, and he brought along a few kegs of wolf's bane beer, but he wasn't the real surprise guest. Shan had invited Silas, although nobody had actually thought he'd come. But there he was, looking surly, along with his Beta, Pacey.

Pouring himself a drink from the keg, Silas sauntered into the middle of the gathering in front of the bonfire with all the cockiness of an apex predator in heat. He had his eyes set on Stuart. "And who might you be?" he asked, all suave. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure."

Damon stepped in between them without batting an eye. "Uh-uh, don't even think about it. Find someone else to ogle." He made a shooing motion with his hand.

"Are you volunteering?" Silas asked, cocking an eyebrow and letting his gaze roam down Damon's body. "Or maybe the two of you would be interested in—"

"No." Damon turned away without bothering to listen to the rest of Silas's offer, grabbing Stuart's hand on the way by and pulling him over to the other side of the fire. Dawn and Tara laughed, and even Pacey had to muffle a snicker behind his fist, pretending to cough. Silas scowled at him, before sulking into his beer.

Jude disappeared from my side for a few minutes, but he was soon back carrying our fussy daughter. "Look who didn't want to miss the party. "

Jess kept cranking her head around to take everything in. "Aww, that wasn't a long nap."

"It's okay. I'll fit her into the sling, and I'm sure she'll go back to sleep for a bit." Jude passed me the baby while he wrapped the long swath of fabric around his torso, then together we got her all tucked in. She settled immediately, happy to be close to her papa, and sure enough, within minutes, her eyelids had begun to droop.

Our daughter's namesake had also left the safety of his cabin to enjoy the festivities, though he looked more than a little uncomfortable with all the activity going on. He made his way over to where Joe was talking with his son. "Excuse me, Mr. Caruso? I heard you played an important role in my rescue from the lab, and I just wanted to say thank you. Because of you, my son and his family are safe and so am I."

"Of course, no need to thank me," Joe said, turning to face Jesse, a look of surprised interest flitting over his face.

Was it just me, or was there a spark between them? I nudged Jude in the ribs to get his attention, then cocked my head toward the two men, waggling my eyebrows at him. He frowned, looking between his dad and Joe.

"What will you do now that you're free?" Joe was asking, and I swore he moved closer .

Jesse shrugged stiffly, trying to be casual but honest at the same time. "I just want to feel safe, you know? Logically, I know they're gone, but I just want to be somewhere they can't touch me."

"You have more than earned it." Joe's smile softened to something more… tender. It was a strange expression to see on someone so hard. He seemed to be debating how to say something, but eventually, he just went for it. "Maybe I could help you with that. I have a large estate in Fairhome. It has high walls, plenty of security. It's much larger than I need for myself, now that my son has moved out, and there's an entire guest suite you could use, if you want. It's private, safe. Catered," he added, laughing.

"That's very generous of you, Mr. Caruso," Jesse said, and his skin was still too pale to hide the blush that reddened his cheeks.

"Please, call me Joe."

"Okay… Joe," he said coyly. Their eye contact was getting intense. Oh my gods, they were flirting! "Maybe I could come for a visit next week, to check it out."

Joe plucked Jesse's hand up, leaning over to press a soft kiss on the back of it as if it were the most casual handshake. "It would be my pleasure to play host," he purred, looking up at Jesse through his thick dark lashes. "Perhaps you could stay for the weekend… try out the bed. "

I discreetly waved a hand in front of my face and leaned over to whisper to Dylan, whose mouth was gaping wide as he watched the performance. "Whoo! Is it just me of is it getting hot in here?"

"Ew, no." He made a face.

"Double ew," Jude echoed from my other side.

Regardless of what they both said, I knew they wanted their dads to be happy. I didn't have the sight like Pax and Vesta, but if I had to guess, Tristan and Jude would soon be brothers-in-law.

"Can I get you a drink?" Joe asked, offering his arm.

"I have to warn you, I'm a bit of a lightweight," Jesse said shyly, hooking his hand around Joe's elbow and leaning close.

Joe led him toward the keg. "Don't worry. Feel free to drink as little or as much as you would like. Have fun! I'll take care of you."

Dylan made a gagging sound as Jesse and Joe paired off to get to know each other better.

Silas strolled over, filling the gap their departure had left in our little group. He slapped a hand down on Shan's shoulder. "So, when are we going on our next adventure? I haven't had that much fun in years!"

Shan shrugged off Silas's hand but smiled at him while he did it, ever the diplomat. "I'm glad you had a good time, though we don't make a habit of murdering anyone, so you'll have to get your kicks elsewhere in the future."

"What are you talking about?" he cried, his voice overly loud, like he'd already had a few drinks. "Haven't you guys looked over those files? There are obviously more labs out there, more victims. Aren't we going to take them down?"

Shan's eyes flicked over to Jude's. It was, in fact, something they'd been discussing. There was a good chance Jude's siblings were still alive somewhere. The files had been vague about where the lab might be located, but I'd offered to help do some research, and paired with any information that Jude's dad might've overheard from Dr. Gray, Dr. Taylor, and the various guards and assistants, I had faith we would be able to put together at least a rough idea.

Silas might've been intoxicated, but he was still cunning like a fox, and he easily picked up the silent exchange. "Hm, that's what I thought. Well, you can count me in on whatever you have planned. That was hella fun. And, you know, saving shifters, that's good too."

While it felt a bit like we were getting into bed with a snake, I thought of all the weapons he'd taken custody of after the raid on the lab. There was no doubt his pack was like a group of hired mercenaries. I didn't know what his price would be yet, but there was something inside me that liked knowing he was on our side.

"Okay… we'll talk about it," Shan finally agreed. "But not tonight. The solstice is about celebration, so no more talk of war. You and Pacey, eat and drink your fill, join in the pack run, and then we have a guest cabin you can use if you want to stay the night."

Silas agreed, and as the sun sank down behind the horizon into the longest night of the year, we gathered around the bonfire. Vesta led the evening with a prayer to the gods, and Pax stood beside her, offering his own babbled words that no one here could interpret, but they were meant for the deities anyway, so I imagined they got the message.

I looked around the clearing, seeing the ethereal eyeshine reflected from the shifters' eyes, and my heart beat an erratic rhythm in my chest as I took in my surroundings. I wasn't like them. I wasn't strong or fast or even particularly smart. I didn't have a beast living inside me. I was just me. Human, boring, frail.

Jude must've sensed my spiraling thoughts, because he reached for me, threading our fingers together, and gave my hand a squeeze. "You are everything ," he whispered.

And as I stood there staring up at my mate, our daughter cradled close to his chest, I realized something. I might've been "only" human, but I was a part of this world. I'd found the place I belonged, where I was accepted and loved, and that in itself was pretty magical.

And that night, I ran with the wolves…