human form, and
He should have left her alone, let her sort out her feelings, and then comforted her if she still needed a shoulder to lean on. He was quickly coming to the conclusion that he couldn’t do it. He had to take measures to help her in any way that he could, but waiting for her to resolve her own issues wasn’t his way.
First, Bjornolf punched in Reid’s number. He needed to know what Anna was hiding, and he couldn’t wait any longer.
“Time’s up, Reid. What have you learned about Anna? Anything?”
“Hell, Bjornolf. Ask her yourself if you want to find out quicker! Okay, this is what I’ve learned so far. She was born and raised in New Jersey. She moved around a lot. I haven’t found any clue that would indicate why she would have an aversion to Christmas. I’ve questioned a friend of a friend of a friend, and I think I’ve got a lead. But damn it! I’ll call you. I promise. Okay?”
“Yeah, all right.”
“Hell, you’re mating with her, aren’t you?”
“Done.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? Son of gun. Congratulations. I would never have thought it. I swear I’ll get the info to you as quick as I can.”
“Thanks, Reid. Gotta go.”
Bjornolf stripped as fast as possible and hurried outside. He slammed the door closed and shifted before the frigid air chilled him too much. He could have used the wolf door, but he needed the cold for a moment to cool his heated blood.
He took off running, following her scent down the stairs to the pebble beach. To his guarded relief, he found her sitting next to a boulder, staring out at the ocean. She looked as though she wanted to be alone.
He wanted to hold her close like a human would. He wanted to ask her what the matter was.
She turned her head to see who was coming, her ears perked, her greenish amber eyes studying him.
Anna’s not wanting to share what was troubling her was killing him. But as a mate, he nuzzled her face in friendship and love, then lay down on the rocky beach next to her.
He tried to clear his mind of all the worries rushing through it, and then finally decided he wasn’t getting anywhere. He licked her face, snuggled next to her, and when she laid her head on the beach and closed her eyes, he laid his head across her neck and did likewise.
Whatever the matter was, they’d deal with it together when she was ready.
A noise woke Bjornolf up. Realizing that he and Anna were still on the beach in their wolf forms, he looked back at the house, wondering if he’d just imagined hearing a suspicious noise.
A crash that sounded like glass shattering had him on his feet in an instant. Anna was beside him. He was across the beach and up the stairs in several quickly pounding heartbeats. He heard the front door slam as he reached the back patio. Bjornolf raced around the house to see who was there.
A red pickup truck barreled out of the driveway, but he got the license plate number before it took off. He came back around the house as fast as he could to check on Anna. She wasn’t on the patio. He dove through the wolf door, ran across the kitchen, and saw her standing in the living room as a wolf. She was panting, her tail drooping, as she stared at the Christmas ornaments smashed all over the floor, bits and pieces of colorful chips of glass everywhere.
She looked back at him. Her eyes were so sad that he wanted to kill the bastard who had done this.
She shifted, walked back into the kitchen, and dressed as he hurried to turn into his human form and join her. Naked, he took her into his arms and said, “Anna.”
She was always so on top of everything. If one thing didn’t work, she tried something else. He’d never seen her look so devastated. He didn’t want to leave her alone for a second, even though he didn’t want to cancel the open house over this.
He had a million tasks to accomplish to set things right, and if it wasn’t for her shattered expression, he would have taken over and set matters in motion to fix everything immediately.
But no matter what, he couldn’t leave her like this.
He hugged her tighter and kissed her cheek, wanting to cheer her up in any way that he could. He noted the popcorn garland was unharmed. The tree was fine. The copper angel and wolf treetop ornament was still standing tall on the tree, watching over their little cottage. “The angel and the wolf are just fine.”
Anna burst into tears.
When Hunter got the distress call from Bjornolf, he didn’t know what to think. Hunter and Tessa were putting the finishing touches on their place before the open house, and
“Where
“The beach down below the cottage,” Bjornolf said.
“Okay,” Hunter said, not used to a SEAL falling apart on him. “Say again.”
Bjornolf took a deep breath. “Someone trashed the tree decorations. Red Ford pickup.” He gave the license plate number as Hunter quickly jotted it down. “The ornaments are ruined. Anna’s shook up, and you know she doesn’t shake up easily. I’m really worried about her.”
“We’ll be right there. All right, Bjornolf? We’ll tend to it. You take care of Anna.”
“She’s cleaning. Not speaking to me.”
“Take care of her, Bjornolf. We’ll be right there. Ten minutes tops.”
Hunter ended the call and called his sister. Meara and Finn would meet them there. Then he called Caruthers with the truck description. The police officer would get right on it.
Hunter turned to see Tessa waiting anxiously to hear what he had to say about it. “Will you be alright alone?”
“I’m going with you. I may be having these babies any second, but I’m part of the pack, and we all help each other out during a crisis. If nothing else, I can pat Anna’s hand or something.”
“Who’s going to take care of me if you have your babies prematurely in the middle of that mess?” Hunter asked. He was serious. He didn’t know why Bjornolf was so rattled, but hell, if Tessa had her babies at a disaster scene? Hunter would have a stroke.
He kissed her and pulled her into his arms. “You can’t go like this.” He ran his hand over her flannel nightgown.
She gave him an exasperated look and sighed. “I planned to get dressed.”
Bjornolf was glad when the troops arrived. The women took Anna aside, and Tessa was talking to her softly. He was about to ask the cop Caruthers what he’d discovered about the license plate when Jessica spoke up.
“I know you all are looking for whoever was driving the red truck. Whoever that person was wrecked the decorations. It was Dottie Everton, aka Dorothy Wentworth, my adoptive mother,” Jessica said, both angry and upset. “I know her scent. It was her.”
Bjornolf had wondered when Jessica would finally realize she was part of the pack, even though it had to be hard for her to give up her mother like that. The woman must have followed the kids here when they left the tree farm after searching the safe.
While Anna and Bjornolf were at the beach, they’d left the back door unlocked. Neither of them thought anyone would come around the back to break into the house and destroy their Christmas.
Bjornolf had smelled the woman’s scent earlier at the Evertons’ house, but he didn’t know who the woman was. He was glad Jessica had revealed the truth. It would take time for Jessica to feel wholly part of the pack, but she’d made a nice start.
“The truck is registered to her husband, but with that additional information, we’ll know to arrest her for breaking and entering and destroying private property,” Caruthers said, taking pictures of the damage.
With that settled, Bjornolf and Rourke cleaned up the rest of the mess. Hunter was in the kitchen preparing wassail and apple cider. The police officers—Allan Smith and Caruthers’s wife, Greta—were busy trying to track
