Page 1 of Amber’s Christmas Surprise

Chapter 1

"This isn't going to work," Julian—my best friend turned mate—says. "You sure you don't want me to use magic?"

"Hell no." Wes, my bear shifter mate, shakes his head vehemently.

I don't blame him. Julian's spells never end well, and the last couple of times he tried to cast, he blew the Jewels Cafe door to smithereens. We have Wonky Magic Insurance, but it's still a pain to clean up.

"It would make things a lot easier," Julian grumbles, though I'm not sure even he's convinced. Julian's magic has never made anything easier—though it has made life a whole lot more exciting.

For a split second, I think he might cast anyway. Since I'm standing just outside the cafe door, I consider quickly relocating, but Julian just hefts the large duffle bag he and Wes are carrying toward me a little higher.

The bag wiggles, which must be a trick of the light… well, lights, since Main Street is all decked out for Christmas. Every storefront is lit up with beautiful decorations. Outside, strings of green, red, and yellow lights weave around light posts and hang between them in perfect arcs. And the trees look almost iridescent with their bare branches covered in twinkling blue lights.

The opening notes of "Deck the Halls" play inside the cafe, the sound fading away as a customer slips past me and the door clicks shut. The bag Julian and Wes are carrying wiggles again.

"Hey, guys," I call, my voice deep, gravelly, and a tad menacing.

My guys don't even glance in my direction. And no wonder, since they have no reason to recognize my voice. Not while I'm in Yeti form.

I'm not a Yeti myself. I just have a bad habit of shifting into people I know at the worst possible times. Like right now, when I'm supposed to be inside helping my bunny shifter mate prepare for the afternoon rush. Instead, I'm out here, trying—and failing—to cool down.

Yetis run hot, and even though it's snowing and I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt, I've started to sweat. I should just dive head-first into a snowbank. Would it really hurt if I only did it for a second?

I consider it when the bag that Julian and Wes are carrying starts to shake again.

"What have you guys got there?" I call, more loudly this time. A bit too loudly. It startles Zephyr, the pixie flying past. So much so that the poor guy nearly lands in the snowbank I've been eyeing.

"Sorry!"

"No problem. And Merry Christmas." He waves a purple hand and continues on his way.

"Oh, it's just a—" Wes stops abruptly when our eyes meet. I can see the exact moment he realizes that I'm not Joe the Yeti, but Amber, his mate. His eyes grow wide and he stops in his tracks. "Ambear?"

"Hey, Wes. Hey, Juli." I smile sheepishly.

I'm still a bit embarrassed about shifting around my mates, but I'm getting used to it. And at least I'm no longer worried they won't find me attractive if I sprout hair and a potbelly. Not to mention the huge, ribbed junk pressing up against my thigh. No matter what I look like on the outside, I'm still me on the inside, and thanks to our mating bond, my guys see the real me.

"You're supposed to be inside." Julian's eyes grow as wide as Wes's.

"I can't seem to shift back, so I came out here to cool down," I explain. "Hey, can I see what's in the bag?"

I take a step forward, and Wes and Julian both back up.

"You're up to something," I say, even though that fact is pretty obvious.

"No, we're not." Wes shakes his head.

"Definitely not," Julian adds. "You should go back inside."

"Oh, come on, guys. I want to see." I cross the rest of the distance between us and bounce on my tiptoes even though in Yeti form, I tower over both my guys.

"It's a surprise, Bean." Julian moves between me and the bag, which wiggles again.

Being this close to him makes my heart race, and when I glance at the bag again, my mind's already in the gutter. "Is it a…" I lower my voice so passersby can't hear, "…a dildo?"

"A what?" Wes snorts.

"Why would it be a dildo?" Julian starts to laugh.