Shifters of Silver Peak: A Very Shifty Christmas (10 page)

Downtown Silver Peak was bustling with shoppers. A fresh layer of snow blanketed the cars and hedges, and the air smelled clean and crisp.

Morgan had taken Valerie, Arthur, Nelda, Teddy, and his siblings out to shop – after Arthur had once again checked under his car.

Teddy was unrecognizable. She’d been scrubbed clean, her cheeks were pink, and she wore a puffy down coat, cashmere sweater and corduroy slacks, and matching Ugg boots. She clung to Nelda’s hand and talked nonstop.

It was a weekday, and Morgan had decided to take the day off work. They had wandered from shop to shop – poor Arthur was now staggering under a load of packages. They had stopped for breakfast, then for coffee and pastries. Morgan had held Valerie’s hand the whole time and hadn’t rushed anyone. Not once.

“You sure you’re not itching to get back to work?” Valerie asked Morgan. “You’re my mate. Don’t lie to me.”

“Maybe the teeniest bit,” Morgan said. “You?”

“Possibly a tad,” she conceded. “I don’t think I could have worked with you all these years if I didn’t have a little workaholic in me. We’ll have to keep each other in check.”

“Oh, I’ll make sure that we have plenty of downtime together,” Morgan said, his eyes glinting with mischief.

Honoria loudly cleared her throat.

“Hey, big brother. You’re not being crabby. It’s freaking me out. And Mom isn’t nagging me about studying. I’m not dying, am I?” she asked him suspiciously.

“What about me? Maybe we’re both dying,” Homer said. “Maybe we have twin tumors.” He clutched dramatically at his chest.

“Your mother is too busy teaching Teddy to be a snob to worry about your study habits. And as for me, can’t a shifter just enjoy Christmas vacation with his family?” Morgan grinned at Honoria and tousled her hair. She stepped away, patting her hair back into place with annoyance.

“Because if I was dying,” Honoria continued, “Silver Peak is nice and all, but I’d want that trip to Paris I’ve been subtly hinting about all year.”

“Japan,” Homer coughed into his hand.

“About as subtle as a baseball bat to the kneecap,” Morgan mused.

“There’s my mother,” Teddy said, pointing across the street at Dudley’s, a tavern owned by Joyce Dudley. Joyce was a human whose husband, Paul, was a shifter and the sheriff of Silver Peak.

“No, Teddy, she’s at the springs today,” Valerie said. “I talked to her on the phone this morning, I wanted to let her know where you were. She said she would be there all day because she wanted to make sure she gets better for you.”

“Nope, that was her. I saw her in the window,” Teddy said, but then Nelda led her into a candy shop and Honoria and Homer followed them in. Arthur staggered after them, desperately clutching at his pile of packages.

Valerie glanced over at the tavern. “I need to go check,” she said.

She stalked across the street with Morgan following her.

Teddy, of course, was right. Liane was half-sloshed, sitting at a table, making out with some shifter Valerie didn’t recognize.

Morgan walked over and pulled the guy off her by his collar. “Get out,” he snapped. The shifter started to protest, took one look at Morgan, and squealed in fear. He ducked his head in submission and ran for the door.

“Hey!” Liane cried out in protest, her voice slurred. When she realized that it was Valerie standing there glaring at her, a vague, confused expression crossed her face. “You. I know you, right? What’s your name again?”

“Drop the act, you lazy, self-centered bitch. You never had early-onset dementia,” Valerie said furiously. “You just used your family history as an excuse. All those times you wandered off and left your daughter alone, you did it with a clear head.”

Liane straightened up and glared at her sullenly. “Easy for you to stand there and judge me, princess,” she said, her tone turned nasty. “You don’t have some snot-faced little brat attached to your hip and driving off every decent man.”

Valerie’s lip wrinkled back in disgust. “The fact that she drove them off means they weren’t decent.”

“She’s not right in the head, you know,” Liane whined. “She asks weird questions all the time. She never stops asking questions. And she bites people. Who does that?”

“Me,” Morgan said, looking at her with hard, glittering anger in his eyes. “And I’m tempted to take a chunk out of you, but I don’t think I’d like the taste. My family will be sending lawyers over to your house so that you can sign custody of Teddy over to us.”

“You’ll have to find me first!” Liane’s tone was belligerent. She stood up, stumbling slightly, and pushed her chair back. “Screw this stupid town. Screw Montana. I’m sicka the cold weather. I’m sicka shifters. I’m outta here.” She staggered out the door and down the street.

Valerie and Morgan waited until she was out of sight, then slowly walked back across the street to the candy shop.

“We’ll get her on parental abandonment,” Morgan assured Valerie. “To say nothing of child endangerment, with Teddy wandering off and nearly freezing to death like that.”

“Do you think Nelda is willing to take her on permanently?” Valerie asked, worried.

The candy shop door opened, and the Rosemonts trooped out. Honoria and Homer had taken some of the packages from Arthur. His face was peeping out above the stack now.

Teddy stopped to look at Valerie with concern. She gave her a long, slow once-over, her little forehead wrinkling in dismay.

“What is it?” Valerie asked.

Teddy looked up at Nelda. “She’s wearing white. It’s after Labour Day,” she said, shaking her head and making a
tsk
ing sound. Then she looked back at Valerie with a mixture of understanding and pity. “It’s okay, though,” she said, patting Valerie on the hand. “You’re only human.”

Nelda seized Teddy’s hand and looked down at her as if Teddy were minted of platinum and studded with rubies.

“Arthur, isn’t she the most precious thing ever?” she breathed.

“Yes, ma’am – I mean Nelda – I expect she is.”

“Would she be willing to keep her?” Morgan whispered to Valerie. “I think she’d bite the face off anyone who tried to take her.”

* * * * *

The festive mood was dimmed that afternoon when Morgan called the entire family and all of the household servants into the living room.

“I just got a call from the police department,” he said. His voice was deadly calm. “I suppose I’ve been in denial up until now, because I really didn’t want to believe that anyone in my pack was capable of this kind of devious, cowardly behavior. A death challenge, yes. But this? The brake line to my car was punctured. Somebody tried to kill my mate.” There was murder in his eyes, and his ears went pointy and furry. Claws sprang from his fingertips.

“And my son,” Elmira said indignantly. “I suppose you don’t care what happens to him.”

Morgan looked at her. “I care about attacks on any member of my pack. My brother and sister were also in that car. However, it’s clear that Valerie was the intended target. Everybody knows that Valerie drives that car. Festus getting into the car was a last-minute thing, and the same with my brother and sister.”

His gaze slowly swept over them, and the bones of his face rippled and cracked. His face melted into wolf form, then went human again.

His mother looked at him indignantly. “
Alpha
. I sincerely hope you’re not looking at me,” she said, her tone severe.

He ignored her and addressed the group. His expression was grim.

“For Valerie’s safety, I will be by her side twenty-four hours a day until the culprit is caught,” he said. “I have pack members guarding the cars to ensure that they are not tampered with again. And I don’t think I need to tell any of you that attempting to harm the Alpha’s mate is an offense punishable by death. It is an attack on the Alpha, it is an attack on the integrity and honor of the pack, and it will not be tolerated. I will find out who’s behind this, and I will end them.”

He put his arm around Valerie’s shoulders, and they left the room together. Valerie’s face was glum as she trudged up the stairs with him.

“You’ll be safe, I swear,” Morgan assured her.

“I know you’ll protect me,” she said unhappily. “Nobody will try anything while you’re with me.”

That wasn’t what was bothering her.

Early that evening, Valerie and Morgan were talking to Arthur in the living room when they heard howls of pain coming from the kitchen.

They rushed in and found Festus lying on the floor by the stove, curled up and clutching at his stomach. A ceramic bowl lay next to him on the floor, shattered to pieces, and stew had spilled out on the flagstones.

DeeDee knelt next to him, her hands fluttering frantically in the air, her eyes huge. “What do I do? What do I do?” she cried out.

Camden came racing in and knelt next to his brother. “What happened to you?” he demanded. “Did someone attack you?” He looked up at them with a ferocious glare, as if trying to decide who to bite first. “Nobody hurts my family!” he barked angrily.

Festus vomited onto the floor. “The stew,” he moaned weakly. “My stomach. Poison. Don’t eat it…” Sweat was pouring from his forehead and matting his hair.

The rest of the pack began piling in. Elmira saw her son lying there and burst into tears.

“My son! Who did this to him?” she cried, looking around wildly.

“What happened?” Morgan demanded of DeeDee as Arthur dialed 911.

“He came into the kitchen and helped himself to some of the stew that I was cooking for dinner,” DeeDee said, shaking her head and looking bewildered.

“Who had access to the kitchen?”

“Anyone.” She was in tears. “I’m not by the stove every minute – anyone could have come in here. But…everybody would have been served that stew. All of you. And the kitchen staff too.”

“It’s you,” Elmira hissed, glowering at Nelda. “You’ve always wanted revenge. I will kill you for this.”

“No, you won’t!” Teddy shrieked. She hurled herself at Elmira and latched on to her wrist with her teeth. Elmira snarled, started to shift, and Nelda shifted first and knocked her to the floor. The pack members pulled them apart as Camden knelt by his brother, stroking his sweat-soaked hair and growling softly.

* * * * *

Tears burned Valerie’s eyes as she paced around in the hospital’s underground parking lot. It was dim and creepy down there, and despite her wool overcoat and warm clothing, she was chilled to the bone.

She’d told Morgan that she was going to use the ladies’ room, then snuck out and headed down here. Her car was parked nearby, and in a minute she’d be climbing in and driving away from him forever.

Festus was still in the ICU, with his mother and brother by his bedside. He would live. He hadn’t eaten much of the stew, fortunately.

But there was only one way to ensure that this would never happen again – that the attacks would stop. There was only one way to protect Morgan’s family from another Christmas heartbreak.

She heard angry footsteps clattering across the concrete toward her. She’d sent a text and asked Nelda to meet her down here – alone.

“What are you doing skulking about in the shadows?” Nelda said irritably. “It smells down here, and I was in the middle of teaching Teddy about how to mix and match patterns without clashing.”

Valerie took a deep breath.
Be strong
, she told herself. “I want to tell you that I’m leaving. Morgan. The pack. I’m leaving town.”

Nelda stared at Valerie. “Leaving?” she said, shaking her head slowly. “Why would you do that?”

Valerie was confused.

“I thought you’d be tap-dancing with joy,” she said, as tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. She wiped at her cheeks with her sleeve. “I’m going to inform Morgan that I am infertile and therefore disqualified,” she went on, her voice hoarse with sorrow. “I heard you talking on the phone about how that would make me ineligible to be his mate. He still has time to find someone else.”

Nelda opened her mouth to say something, closed it again, then shook her head. She cleared her throat. “Well, there’s always adoption. I don’t know what the pack charter says about that.”

“What?” Valerie sniffled hard. “No, I’m not actually infertile. I’m just going to tell Morgan that. Well, I’m going to send him a letter.” Pain lanced through her, and she swallowed a sob. She took a deep breath and told herself again to be strong. “I can’t tell him to his face.”

“You’re saying my son,
my son
, isn’t good enough for you? You’re coming up with some phony excuse to dump him?” Nelda said indignantly.

“No, that’s not what I’m saying at all,” Valerie protested. “I love your son. But I can’t have him lose two parents.”

“Well, you are clearly insane.” Nelda regarded her with narrowed eyes. “But still. My son loves you. You make him happy. We might be able to find treatment for you.”

Now Valerie was starting to get pissed. How long was Nelda going to try to play this off?

“Nelda, come on. I know it was you behind all the attempts on my life. Today confirmed it. Hud and CoraBelle were in the guest house all afternoon. The only ones with access to the kitchen and the motive to actually commit murder were you and Elmira. And it couldn’t have been Elmira, because Festus was poisoned, and she would have found a way to make sure her boys didn’t eat the stew.”

Nelda actually let out a very unladylike snort of contempt. “You cannot be serious.” Okay, so apparently Nelda
w
as going to try to play this off forever.

“It had to be you. And I don’t want Morgan to find out, and I don’t want him to have to banish his own mother, or…worse. Honoria and Homer need you. I’ll leave.” She hesitated. “I don’t know what we’ll do about Teddy. Since you’re a poisoner and an attempted murderer.”

“Teddy stays with me,” Nelda said indignantly. “She actually listens to my advice about fashion and etiquette. I’ve just finished teaching her what forks to use. She’s not going anywhere. And furthermore, get it through your thick human skull - I was not the one who poisoned the stew. I did not make any attempts on your life. And now I realize that you actually do love my son, and I know that he loves you. I don’t understand it, of course,” she added, looking down her long nose at Valerie, “but since he loves you, I would rip the throat out of anyone who tried to harm you.” She smiled and let her fangs descend to show she meant it.

“And why would I put poison in stew that we all were going to eat?” she added. “How, exactly, would that work?”

“You’re clever. You could have figured out a way. Made sure that the poisoned stew went only to the intended targets. Maybe you were planning on just poisoning me, Festus and Elmira and Camden…” She trailed off. “Okay, that would be pretty hard to pull off. So…Elmira then?” Valerie said, bewildered. “But it couldn’t be.”

Elmira stepped out from behind one of the cement columns, holding a small pistol, which she pointed at Nelda’s chest. Silver bullets, no doubt.

“I am insulted,” she said.

“Not nearly often enough.” Nelda’s lip curled back in a sneer.

Valerie looked around in alarm. They were all alone. Her, Nelda, and a crazy woman.

“I am insulted that you don’t think I’m strong enough to make the necessary sacrifices,” Elmira continued, ignoring Nelda. “You two are idiots, by the way. You don’t deserve to be the Alpha’s mate,” she said scornfully to Valerie. “Really. A human? And a sniveling, simpering sort of a human at that, one who runs around giving handouts to the dregs of society? My Camden will make a much better choice.”

“You put poison in the stew? You would have had to eat it too,” Valerie protested. “Were you willing to die along with everyone else?”

“I’ve been taking the antidote for months now, and giving it to Camden as well. You just never know when you’re going to need to poison someone.” Her eyes glittered with a crazy light. “And, bonus, I’ve been feeding it to my dear Nelda too. I snuck into her house back in California and put it in her favorite teabags. After all, when the dying started, I would need someone to blame.”

“The car.” Valerie looked at her in horror. “You let Festus get in the car after you tampered with the brakes. You stood there and watched us drive off, knowing he could die. You’re a monster.”

Elmira smiled. “Thank you,” she said smugly. “Rather brilliant way to throw suspicion off me and get rid of an embarrassing weakling of a son at the same time, wouldn’t you say?”

“Mother?” Camden called out from the shadows. They heard his footsteps clomping toward them.

“My son,” Elmira said, glancing at him with fondness. “My Alpha.”

While her attention was distracted, Nelda made a move, as if to rush her. Elmira shook her head chastisingly. “Ah, ah, ah,” she said, pointing the gun right at Nelda’s midsection.

Camden trotted up to her, standing by her side. “You poisoned Festus?” he asked.

She shrugged. “You know how weak he is. Has he ever won a single fight against you? He was sickly even when he was a pup. I should have taken care of it back then, but your father wouldn’t let me.”

She smiled fiercely up at her son.

“You will be Alpha. It’s your destiny. Your father was Alpha…for one glorious day, until her mongrel of a son stole it from him.” She looked bitterly at Nelda.

“You vile, low-rent bitch,” Nelda snarled.

Elmira perked up and smiled brightly at her. “Now, now, that’s no way to talk to the mother of your pack’s future Alpha. Of course, you won’t be here to witness that. First you’re going to murder Valerie by ripping her throat out, because you can’t stand the idea of her marrying Morgan. Everyone knows that. And when I catch you in the act of killing our Alpha’s mate, I will have no choice but to shoot you.”

“Your plan won’t work. Camden still can’t beat Morgan. He still won’t be Alpha,” Valerie said, her heart thudding in her throat.

“He won’t have to. I’ll find a way to kill Morgan. Maybe Morgan will commit suicide after Valerie dies. That’s what it’ll look like, anyway.” Her voice rose higher and higher. “And then Homer and Honoria, those two little mongrel
curs
with their
disrespectful
—”

“Mother,” Camden interrupted her, patting her shoulder. “Calm down. We’ve got work to do here.”

Elmira blinked hard. “Right. Right. Of course. You’ll do the honors. Go rip Valerie’s throat out. Don’t worry, we’ll clean you up nice and pretty before anyone gets here.”

Valerie felt faint with horror. Could this really be happening? Wasn’t there at least a way to warn Morgan? Homer and Honoria…what would happen to them?

“I will attack Camden when he comes for you. Run, and scream very loudly,” Nelda said in a whisper, stepping in front of Valerie.

“Hurry up, Camden – that bitch has been on this Earth for too long already,” Elmira said impatiently, nudging her son with her elbow.

“Sure thing, mother.” He looked over at them, then at Elmira. “There’s just one little thing, though.”

“What’s that?”

He slapped the gun out of her hand, furiously, and it clattered on the concrete floor. She cried out in surprise and alarm, and staggered back.

“Camden?” Her voice went high and quavery.

“I love my brother. How could you?
How could you
?”

He struck her on the head with his fist, and she fell to the ground with an outraged yelp.

“Did you get everything you needed?” Camden called out, in the direction of one of the concrete columns near Nelda and Valerie.

Morgan stepped out of the shadows, his face grim, and ran over to Valerie.

“Morgan?” Valerie sagged into his arms, her knees going weak. “How did you find me?”

“Well, you went to the bathroom and disappeared, even though there’s a murderer out there stalking you, so I went looking,” he said with exasperation. “I followed your scent, and I met Camden on the stairwell. He told me that he saw you sneaking off, then saw his mother following you, so he wanted to find out what was up.”

“Camden, why?” his mother wailed, blood running from her nose. “Why?”

“You tried to kill my brother, you crazy bitch. And you tried to make me Alpha by cheating. What kind of Alpha would that make me? A weakling who doesn’t deserve it!”

“Nooooo!” his mother wailed. “You
must
be Alpha! I don’t care what they do to me, you have to promise me that! Get stronger, strong enough to kill Morgan yourself! You have to!”

He looked down at her with disgust. “If that’s the thing you want most, than I will never, ever be Alpha. Not of any pack, ever. Not even if the position were handed to me,” Camden said.

Elmira moved quickly then – so fast that nobody had time to stop her. She lunged for the gun and grabbed it. Camden leaped in front of her, blocking her.

“You aren’t touching them. Shoot me if you want,” he said bitterly. “You might as well. You’ve disgraced our lineage and the memory of my father.”

Instead Elmira turned the gun, pressed it against her heart, and shot herself. She toppled to the ground with a thud.

“Mother,” Camden moaned, a low, heartbroken sound.

“Oh, Morgan.” Valerie burst into tears, and Morgan gathered her in his arms. She cried into his chest, shaking with relief…and pity. Elmira had been evil, true, but it was terrible that Camden had been forced to see what he just had. And poor Festus – poor, sad Festus – so desperate to please a monster who’d been born with a heart of ice.