Read Online Unwrapping Tess (A Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance)(Vegas Mates Book 5): Christmas Encounters by Krystal Shannan - Free Book Online
Authors: Krystal Shannan
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CHAPTER ONE
The car pulled to a stop in front of the huge inn. Scott O’Hearn had added a fresh coat of paint to the entire place since they’d left Woodhaven for New York. The merlot color stood out dramatically against the snowy landscape. There’s no way that grizzly bear had come up with this stunning color scheme on his own. Their good friend Margaret definitely had a hand in this. He and his mate, Margaret, ran the inn strictly for paranormal guests. But this Christmas, it was just for family and pack.
Tess twirled a loose strand of her long, blonde hair around a finger and glanced over at her twin sister. It didn’t seem like two years had passed. After their mother died, she and Hallie remained with their aunt in New York. Their sister, Nicole, and her new mate, Aaron, had also found a place and settled into life in New York.
They’d all been so busy the time had just flown by. And with Jason taking up residence at the pack headquarters in New York as well, there had been a steady influx of new pack members as loyalties shifted and a new hierarchy was put in place.
Being a Demakis in the New York pack came with some privileges, but mostly it came with a lot of rules and supervision. Jason considered Tess and her sister extremely high-profile targets for rival packs, and he made sure they never went anywhere without guards. Especially after a few close calls last year. Her Aunt Melinda wasn’t much better, and had been coaching Tess and Hallie to take over more responsibilities in the pack.
She and Hallie had turned twenty-five two weeks ago, meaning they could be mated and bonded permanently to a male.
Tess wanted to believe they would have some say in who their mates would be. Jason hadn’t said otherwise, but he’d pointed out several men he thought they should consider.
“He’ll let you choose. Don’t worry about a mate right now,” her wolf whispered, stretching and pushing against her conscious. “”Let’s worry about getting out of this car so we can run!”
That was the biggest drawback to living in New York. There was nowhere to shift. Nowhere to run safely. The pack would draw names each month to see which weekend they would get to fly to the country and spend the weekend running. Only shifting once a month had been torture for her and her sister. They’d grown up with the luxury of shifting several times a week. While they had lived here at Woodhaven, they ran in the forest every morning—sometimes even twice a day.
“So.” Hallie turned to look at her. “Is your wolf about to die to get out and run like mine is?”
Tess snorted and grinned. “Hell, yes!”
“We should get it out of their systems before we go in, don’t you think?”
Tess laughed. “Absolutely.” She pulled out the clip holding back her hair then took off her earrings and laid them both on the dashboard of the rental car. Her sister mirrored her movements, and soon enough they were naked and giggling, their clothes folded in neat piles on the dash.
Hallie opened her door first and a blast of icy wind made Tess shiver. She opened her door and stepped out into six inches of fluffy, white snow.
“Oh my gods! It’s cold!” She squealed and shut the door behind her. Taking a deep breath, she sank into the change, overjoyed to feel the stimulated ripples of energy bathe her body. She padded around to the front of the car and touched noses with her sister.
Hallie barked and took off across the front of the Woodhaven property. Tess growled and leapt into a gallop behind her.
Feel better now? She asked her wolf as she breathed in the unpolluted, pine fresh air. It really was nice to be back.
“Heavenly.”
Another wolf crossed their paths, and then another and another. Tess stopped at her sister’s shoulder as the pack circled. She tensed for a moment until she caught Samantha’s and Nicole’s scents. They were loping toward them from the tree line. She turned back to the unfamiliar
The car pulled to a stop in front of the huge inn. Scott O’Hearn had added a fresh coat of paint to the entire place since they’d left Woodhaven for New York. The merlot color stood out dramatically against the snowy landscape. There’s no way that grizzly bear had come up with this stunning color scheme on his own. Their good friend Margaret definitely had a hand in this. He and his mate, Margaret, ran the inn strictly for paranormal guests. But this Christmas, it was just for family and pack.
Tess twirled a loose strand of her long, blonde hair around a finger and glanced over at her twin sister. It didn’t seem like two years had passed. After their mother died, she and Hallie remained with their aunt in New York. Their sister, Nicole, and her new mate, Aaron, had also found a place and settled into life in New York.
They’d all been so busy the time had just flown by. And with Jason taking up residence at the pack headquarters in New York as well, there had been a steady influx of new pack members as loyalties shifted and a new hierarchy was put in place.
Being a Demakis in the New York pack came with some privileges, but mostly it came with a lot of rules and supervision. Jason considered Tess and her sister extremely high-profile targets for rival packs, and he made sure they never went anywhere without guards. Especially after a few close calls last year. Her Aunt Melinda wasn’t much better, and had been coaching Tess and Hallie to take over more responsibilities in the pack.
She and Hallie had turned twenty-five two weeks ago, meaning they could be mated and bonded permanently to a male.
Tess wanted to believe they would have some say in who their mates would be. Jason hadn’t said otherwise, but he’d pointed out several men he thought they should consider.
“He’ll let you choose. Don’t worry about a mate right now,” her wolf whispered, stretching and pushing against her conscious. “”Let’s worry about getting out of this car so we can run!”
That was the biggest drawback to living in New York. There was nowhere to shift. Nowhere to run safely. The pack would draw names each month to see which weekend they would get to fly to the country and spend the weekend running. Only shifting once a month had been torture for her and her sister. They’d grown up with the luxury of shifting several times a week. While they had lived here at Woodhaven, they ran in the forest every morning—sometimes even twice a day.
“So.” Hallie turned to look at her. “Is your wolf about to die to get out and run like mine is?”
Tess snorted and grinned. “Hell, yes!”
“We should get it out of their systems before we go in, don’t you think?”
Tess laughed. “Absolutely.” She pulled out the clip holding back her hair then took off her earrings and laid them both on the dashboard of the rental car. Her sister mirrored her movements, and soon enough they were naked and giggling, their clothes folded in neat piles on the dash.
Hallie opened her door first and a blast of icy wind made Tess shiver. She opened her door and stepped out into six inches of fluffy, white snow.
“Oh my gods! It’s cold!” She squealed and shut the door behind her. Taking a deep breath, she sank into the change, overjoyed to feel the stimulated ripples of energy bathe her body. She padded around to the front of the car and touched noses with her sister.
Hallie barked and took off across the front of the Woodhaven property. Tess growled and leapt into a gallop behind her.
Feel better now? She asked her wolf as she breathed in the unpolluted, pine fresh air. It really was nice to be back.
“Heavenly.”
Another wolf crossed their paths, and then another and another. Tess stopped at her sister’s shoulder as the pack circled. She tensed for a moment until she caught Samantha’s and Nicole’s scents. They were loping toward them from the tree line. She turned back to the unfamiliar
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