A Very Jaguar Christmas (22 page)

The wolves greeted Corey, who gave them each a big hug. They licked his face and nuzzled him, then looked at Everett. He didn't know if they were agreeing or not. He guessed if he tried to lift Corey out of the snow and the wolves attacked, he'd know they weren't.

“Come on, Corey. Let's ride a little longer in the warm sled so you can see your mom and brother and sister too. Okay?”

Corey nodded and Everett lifted him out of the snow, brushed him off, and situated him back on the sled, making sure he was warm and secure. He secured Corey's helmet again.

“Okay, lead the way,” Everett said to the wolves as he secured his own helmet.

The wolves were smelling the area where Everett and Demetria had stood. Everett added, “We're jaguar shifters, police officials for our kind out of Dallas. Everett Anderson and Demetria MacFarlane, at your service. We can explain it all to you when we reach your place. Leidolf, Dr. Denali, and several other packs have learned about us while we've been trying to locate you.”

Then one of the wolves raced off into the woods, another led the way for the snowmobiles, and the other two ran parallel to the sled. Everett suspected the wolf that ran off was informing Corey's mother that he was safe and coming home.

They had to go a long way around the large lake before they reached the other side. They traveled another couple of miles and finally arrived at a log cabin, the same one they had spied across the lake with smoke curling from the chimney. White Christmas lights framed the windows, real frost covered part of the panes, real icicles dripped from the eaves, and a Christmas tree all lit up stood in front of one of the windows, making the cabin look cheerful and welcoming.

The lead wolf stopped, but no one came outside. Everett cut the engine of his snowmobile and Demetria parked next to his. He got off his seat, removed his helmet, went to the sled, and removed Corey's helmet. Then he lifted Corey into his arms and carried him through the snow to the cleared wooden front porch.

The door opened, and a woman rushed out to hug Corey. She was a pretty blond, green eyed and petite, wearing jeans, boots, and a sweater, tears spilling down her cheeks.

“Mommy!”

“Ohmigod, Corey. We thought you'd drowned in the river.” Tears filled Faith's eyes and she held her son tightly, kissing his head as he wrapped his whole small body around her. “Everyone searched for you for days. Oh God, I can't believe you're home.”

Demetria joined Everett on the porch, and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, the heartwarming reunion making this the best Christmas ever.

“Faith? I'm Demetria MacFarlane, and this is my partner, Everett Anderson. We've been searching all over for you.”

“You're…” Faith sniffed the air, the chilled breeze carrying their scents to her.

“We're from Texas, bringing Christmas presents for everyone, but we're not used to this cold,” Demetria said, shivering and rubbing her arms.

“Come in, come in.” Faith ushered them inside and put Corey down to greet his brother and sister. “Where in the world did you find him?”

“He was dropped off at my mother's day care in Dallas,” Everett said.

The cabin was toasty warm, a fire burning at the hearth. A blond-haired boy and girl ran to hug their brother. The boy was a little shorter than Corey, his eyes green just like his mom's, and freckles dotted his nose and cheeks. The girl was taller than both boys by a half inch or so. Her hair was in two long braids, and her eyes were a purer blue.

“They're jaguar shifters,” Corey said proudly.

“Don't be silly, Corey. There's no such things as jaguar shifters,” Faith said, but she looked concerned, realizing their visitors weren't wolf shifters. That meant that Everett and Demetria knew what they were.

The lead wolf came inside and headed down the hall. Faith shut the front door.

Everett assumed the other wolves would join them after they shifted and dressed.

“Just like for our kind, you don't exist,” Demetria said. “Corey's right. We
are
jaguar shifters. So your secret about being wolf shifters is safe with us. Your son's presence in our life has been a real eye-opener for all of us. We're thrilled he was part of our lives for even a short while, and we want to offer our assistance to your kind in the future in any way possible.”

“They're real, Mommy. I played with kids who were jaguar cubs when I turned into a wolf,” Corey said. “Show Mommy.”

“Later,” Faith said, sounding like there was no way that she was going to believe it. “Have you eaten?”

“No,” Demetria said. “We didn't want to impose so we brought some food with us to give to you too.”

“Oh. Why, thank you. We go into town for supplies when we need to, but this is wonderful. We can't ever thank you enough.” Faith scooped Corey up again and hugged him tight. “How in the world did he end up there?”

“Wait.” Cameron joined them. Everett could see why all the kids were blonds; Cameron was also a blond, with blue eyes. “Let's get their supplies unloaded before the food attracts bears or wolves. The others are joining us too, so you can tell us all what happened when they're here.”

“I'll start cooking the meal,” Faith said.

“Can I help?” Demetria asked.

“I'd love that and we can talk,” Faith said.

“I'll help with the supplies.” Everett joined Cameron outside.

“I don't know how we can ever repay you.” Cameron started untying the bundles on the sled. “I can't believe he's alive. That he ended up all the way in Texas. Or that he shifted and ended up with…” He glanced at Everett as if he couldn't believe anyone could be a jaguar shifter.

“Jaguar shifters. Seeing Corey home with his family is thanks enough.” Everett was untying another bundle. “We had every intention of making his Christmas special, but we knew him being home with all of you was what everyone needed most. Though I will say he's had fun while he's been with us, so no worries about that.”

“We all had trouble keeping our human forms, if you didn't know. Not just Faith.”

“I totally understand. We were born as shifters, so we don't have that difficulty. Not only that, but our kind is not affected by the phases of the moon.”

They carried some of the bundles into the house, then put them in the living room to sort out.

“We searched for him forever. We thought he'd fallen through the ice and drowned, and we wouldn't find his body until spring thaw. You can't know how devastated we've been. Thank you for bringing him home to us.” Faith wiped away a couple of tears and sniffled.

Three more men entered the house, and Cameron introduced them. David Davis, a man with shaggy brown hair and dark-brown eyes, nodded at them but gave them a dark look. Owen Nottingham had nearly black hair and blue eyes and kept sniffing the air wherever the two jaguars had been. And Gavin Summerfield, a redhead with green eyes, freckles, and fair skin, studied them warily. They all gave a helping hand and carried the rest of the bundles inside the house.

Demetria and Everett took turns explaining what they were, how they'd come to have Corey with them, and how glad they were to find Corey's home and return him there before Christmas.

“We haven't heard about this Dr. Denali,” Faith said. “I guess if he wants to test our blood, even though we're newly turned, it's all right with us.”

“He wants to test ours too. Not that it will have anything to do with your longevity issues,” Demetria said. “We have the same life spans as humans. He's just curious about us.”

“Oh, wow, yeah, I'm sure he'd be fascinated to see the differences between our kinds,” Faith said. “We can't ever thank you enough.”

“You can't know how happy we are to have finally found you,” Demetria said. “But Corey was an angel. We had more fun with him.”

Faith smiled at her son.

“I have to say one little boy found the best hiding place of all while playing hide-and-seek,” Demetria said.

“About that,” Faith said, “your daddy was in just as much trouble for not watching you better.”

Cameron looked a little sheepish even though he was smiling.

After the family opened their Christmas presents and thanked the jaguars for everything, they sat down to a feast. It was like celebrating Thanksgiving between jaguars and wolves.

Once they finished eating and cleaning up, Corey asked, “Can we play in the snow? As wolves?”

“Tomorrow,” Faith said. “It's getting really late, and it's too dark out for you to play in the snow. Tomorrow after breakfast.”

Corey looked glum.

Everyone glanced at Demetria and Everett to see what they wanted to do. Demetria swore the wolf shifters appeared both curious and wary.

“Your mom's right,” Demetria said.

“You're staying the night with us,” Faith said.

“Well, we thought we'd head out after this, so we can let our families and our workplaces know we got Corey home okay,” Demetria said.

“No. It's too late. You're not familiar with the area so you're liable to get lost. You have to stay, and in the morning, you can have breakfast with our family and then—” Faith said.

“Play in the snow with us.” Corey took his mom's hands in his and danced up and down. “They never been in snow before. They never builded a snowman.”

“Then that's what we need to do, if Demetria and Everett would like to. Come on, kids. Let's get your baths. And, Demetria, Everett, the last room on the right is yours. If you need anything, just let us know.” Faith hurried her kids off to another room.

Everett smiled at Demetria and wrapped his arm around her.

Cameron said, “We want to reciprocate your kindness somehow.”

“You don't have to do anything. We're just glad we could get Corey home to you,” Demetria said.

“We'll do something. Have a good night's sleep. We'll see you in the morning.”

Then Cameron and the other men threw on their jackets, and they all walked outside, shutting the door behind them. To discuss the jaguars in their midst? Demetria wondered if they still didn't trust them being jaguars. Or maybe they wouldn't truly believe it until they saw them in their jaguar coats. She figured there was no sense in showing the video of Everett shifting when the wolf shifters could see it for real themselves. Tomorrow.

Everett wrapped himself around Demetria in the queen-size bed in the guest room and kissed her hair. “I know why you wanted to go to a hotel tonight.”

She smiled up at him. “Yeah, no way can we fool around here without all the wolves in the household hearing us.”

He chuckled, then sighed. “I guess I can get through one night without.”

“I couldn't.”

“You mean when you came over to my house to ‘save time'?”

She smiled. “You couldn't either.”

“I was overjoyed you had changed your mind. I was trying to figure out a good reason why I had to pack up Corey and join you instead.”

She laughed. “I'm glad I went to your place then. I'm so relieved to see the family together. Aren't you?”

“You bet.”

After that, they fell asleep, and the next morning, they woke early to have breakfast with the whole pack so they could make a snowman and get on their way. But to show goodwill, they agreed to play in the snow for a bit—as jaguars.

“We'll be right out,” Demetria said, and she and Everett retired to their guest room, stripped and shifted, and loped down the hall. Everyone but Corey stared at them in shock. He ran up and gave each of them a heartfelt hug.

Everett licked Corey's hair with affection, and he swore everyone was holding their breaths.

“Can we go out and play in the snow now?” Corey asked his mom.

“Sure. Let's go shift.” Faith and the kids went down the hall.

Cameron folded his arms and stared at the two jaguars. “Well, I'll be damned. Unreal. Even though I knew you had to be telling the truth last night, it's just not the same as seeing it for real. I'll let you outside, and we'll join you in a minute.”

Everett bowed his head a little, and then Cameron opened the door for Everett and Demetria.

As soon as he leaped through the snow, Demetria lunged right after him. She tackled him, pulling him down into the snowbank, just like she'd done in the water. He was her prey, and she was going to have fun. She hoped the wolves wouldn't join them too quickly. Not when she and Everett had never had a chance to play in the snow like this. And certainly not as jaguars. As isolated as it was out here, it was perfect. The breeze shook the snow-laden fir branches, sprinkling snow down on them, creating a mini snowstorm. They sank in the cold, wet stuff, but their coats kept them plenty warm. They might not have coats as thick as the wolves, but they felt fine.

Better than fine as Demetria pounced on Everett, and he was caught between walls of snow where his body had sunk. He somehow managed to flip her over and was on top, nuzzling her face in a familiar, loving, jaguar way. She wrapped her forelegs around his neck and nuzzled him right back, then licked his mouth and stroked his long, sandpapery tongue. She loved him, and she was smiling at him as they were both covered in snow and looked like a couple of snow jaguars instead of snow leopards.

Then she wriggled out from underneath him to sprint across the snow, and he chased after her. She hadn't thought about it, but the wolves were probably even more surprised to see a black jaguar since they were so rare. She whipped around and tackled her pursuer, and he roared a little in utter delight. Everett was so much fun.

She pinned him down and licked him again, thinking how much fun this was, but also how much she'd love to make wild and reckless love with him again. But it was important to spend this time with the wolves, to prove to them that the jaguar kind could truly live in peace with them. Then she wondered what had happened to everyone. Were they afraid to come out and play with them? Afraid their wolf pups would be hurt?

Jaguars were formidable predators. Between a wolf and a jaguar, the cat would win. She turned to see if anyone was coming, and there they all were, the whole white wolf pack, standing on the porch watching them play. The whole lot of them were beautiful. Which made her wonder where Corey's red wolf grandparents were.

Everett brushed up against her, and they waited for the wolves to join them.

Corey looked eager to do so, but he hadn't had his mom's permission to move, and Demetria suspected that after losing him, Faith and Cameron had laid down the law about him going anywhere without their permission.

Everett grunted at Corey, and he looked at his mother.

Faith barked at him, and apparently, that was a signal telling him he could play. He dashed off to join the cats, sinking deep into the snow. Normally, Demetria would have handled this like any day when she played with cubs, but he was a wolf pup, not a jaguar cub, so he played a little differently. Not only that, but they had a bunch of anxious wolves looking on.

Even so, she did what came naturally and rushed to pull him from the snow as Cameron did the same.

She got there first and lifted Corey out of the snowbank and onto the packed snow.

Corey growled and went after Demetria's leg in good fun. She tumbled him with her paw in a gentle manner. The wolves looked tense, Corey's brother and sister staying close to their mother.

Then Demetria ran off, and Corey chased after her.

Everett was sitting in the snow, watching her play with Corey. But he wasn't going to get out of all the fun, so she tackled him. A few minutes later, Corey caught up and tackled him too.

Corey's brother whimpered and barked. Angie did too. Then Faith barked, and Demetria thought Corey's mother was calling him in. But then Demetria saw the other two pups running to catch up to the jaguars and Corey. They were shyer and not as alpha as Corey was. Corey played with Everett, and Demetria greeted the other pups, rubbing her whiskers against theirs and gently letting them get to know her so they could see she and Everett were safe.

Then she ran a little distance, and they chased after her. She turned and chased them, and they yipped and barked at her, half running, half trying to stand their ground. She turned and let them chase her again.

The adult wolves never joined them, just sat or stood on the porch watching, as if ready to protect the pups if the jaguars got too rough.

Demetria collapsed next to Everett, trying to catch her breath. It was hard work playing with wolf pups. The wolf pups sat and watched them, their tongues likewise hanging out as they panted, waiting to see what the jaguars did next.

Demetria was ready to head back to the snowmobile rental place so they could get on the road home and stop somewhere along the way where she could make love to her big cat.

Cameron barked at his pups, and they turned to look at him. He barked again, and they dashed off to join him. The wolves headed inside, and Demetria looked at Everett, smiling at the sight of snow resting on his nose and icicles hanging off his whiskers. She licked his face.

He was smiling just as much and licked her back, and then Cameron, dressed in jeans, said to them, “Why don't you come on in and get dressed, and we'll—”

“Make a snowman?” Corey asked, half dressed in jeans and socks. “Daddy, can we? They never made a snowman before. They catch caimans in the jungle.”

Cameron looked at them as if they were deadly predators. He had to know that the jaguars didn't just catch the caiman. He cleared his throat. “If they want to. I think you wore them out.”

Both Demetria and Everett got up and raced each other to the cabin, wanting to show the wolf pack leader that three little wolf pups did
not
wear them out.

They returned to the guest room where they'd left their clothes.

Demetria shifted, and as soon as Everett was standing before her naked, she pulled him into her arms and kissed him. “After we make a snowman, we need to leave,” she whispered. “We need to take care of some very important business.”

Everett wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back, smiling down at her. “I never thought I'd see such a pretty sight—you in the snow, with it clinging to your nose and whiskers. We may have to take trips up to snow country every once in a while.”

“I'd like that. It's been fun.”

Once they were bundled up, they went outside. This time, the men were all helping the kids build a snowman. Faith brought out a tray of hot chocolate and cookies.

Demetria added some snow to the snowman, then joined Faith on the porch. Faith smiled at her. “Thanks for taking care of Corey. He's told me all the wonderful things you did for him. The trip to the zoo, seeing the Christmas lights, playing with the jaguar cubs at the day care, playing with Everett and Maya, and now you. The birthday party all of you had for him. He said Mary told him he had to share with his brother and sister, and we can't thank you enough that you searched for us so you could bring him home for Christmas. That couldn't have been easy when you didn't even know our kind existed.”

Faith's eyes filled with tears, and Demetria hugged her. “He was so good. You've raised a great little boy. All of your children are adorable. We were proud to have him with us for the short time that we did.”

Faith handed her a mug of hot chocolate. “We want you to return again. To see the kids. They were so excited about playing with you. We don't want this to be the end.”

“How about if we come up for the kids' birthdays next year? We can play in the snow again. Everett and I weren't too sure what to expect. It was the first time for both of us. But we loved it.”

Faith laughed. “We have plenty of it to play in. Sure, that would be wonderful. You can tell me to mind my own business, but we wondered… Well, are you mated?”

“Everett has asked me to marry him, and I said yes.” She smiled at Everett as he turned to look at her, and he smiled back.

Along with the other men, he continued to work hard on building up the base of the snowman.

“Did you know that when wolves…have intimate relations, we are mated for life?” Faith asked.

“No.” Demetria drank some of her hot cocoa. “Leidolf told us a lot about wolves, but he missed telling us that part. Though he did say you were mated for life after you were committed to each other. I didn't realize that meant after you consummated the relationship. He said you don't divorce.”

“True. So, are you mated jaguars?”

Demetria took another sip of her hot cocoa, feeling her face warm. “Umm, yeah, we are.” She glanced in Everett's direction, and he winked at her. Her face felt even hotter.

“For life.”

“Some jaguars aren't like that. But yes, we're committed to each other.”

Faith let out her breath with relief.

Demetria frowned at her. “Is there a problem? Something troubling you?”

“I didn't want to lie to Corey, but he said you were sleeping in the same bed, naked.”

Demetria's lower lip dropped as she recalled when Corey had walked into their bedroom wide awake and Everett had gotten up to fix him breakfast.

Faith smiled. “So no problem. You're mated jaguars, and that's all he needs to know. Though he did ask when you're going to have cubs so he can play with them.”

Demetria laughed.

“Sorry. I didn't mean to get so personal, but he just assumed that since you were shifters, that meant you were like us.”

Demetria smiled. “Well, we were asleep when Corey came into the bedroom. But we were covered up. I'm not used to having a little one come in to get me up to feed him breakfast.”

Faith chuckled. “Believe me, with three of them, one or another of them is always coming in for some reason. That's why we have their grandparents here. They love to help out a lot.”

“Leidolf mentioned them. He was concerned that they hadn't contacted him to let him know where they were. Where are they?”

“Oh, they're on a vacation. They said they'd come home for Christmas, but they needed some adult alone time. Believe me, I don't want to hear any of the details from my dad. They're going to wish they'd been here to meet you both. We'll be sure to let Leidolf know where we've finally settled down.”

Demetria wished her father felt that way about her mother. “Listen, we have to run after they build the snowman. We need to get home for Christmas. You don't have any reception out here, and we need to let our families and work know Corey is safely with his family too.”

“I understand.”

But she thought Faith understood more than that. She and Everett needed their adult time after having babysat Corey for so long. Not that they hadn't had their moments.

“There,” Cameron said, holding Angie up so she could stick the carrot into the snowman's face for a nose.

Uncle Gavin helped Nick place blueberries for the snowman's mouth, and Everett helped Corey place two black buttons for the eyes.

The kids stuck buttons on the body, Demetria tied a scarf around the snowman's neck, and Faith stuck a cap on its head.

For everyone at home, Cameron snapped pictures of the wolf family with the snowman, taking turns while Uncle David took pictures of the kids with Everett and Demetria in front.

“We should have gotten pictures of everyone in their shifter coats,” Demetria said, annoyed with herself. “Everyone back home would love to see all of you and us together.”

“Done,” Uncle Owen said. “As soon as I saw the kids and you playing, I had to get a few shots for posterity's sake. I ran in and shifted, dressed, and returned to take pictures. I'll forward them to your emails when we're in town. Or I can send you a disk.”

“Thank you,” Demetria said. “We've had fun, but we need to return home to our families for Christmas. We want to thank you for everything.”

“We should be thanking you”—Cameron lifted Corey into his arms—“for everything.”

“Can they stay the night again?” Corey asked.

“No, Corey, we have to get home. If we don't, Santa Claus won't know where we are,” Demetria said.

That seemed to make more sense to Corey than anything. They exchanged email addresses, phone numbers, and home addresses with the family, though Demetria suspected she and Everett would be finding a house with a yard and moving soon.