1
Abigail
It 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 heardeverything.
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 actuallyreadthe 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 wasthere.
Something was worrying Jasper,herJasper, 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 isextremelyimportant 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’sperfect.And it is! Christmas in Pine Valley is incredible, and it’s because he puts so much work into making that happen.”
