Page 5 of All Foxed Up

“Holly!”

Bear shifters and their mates are good people, but damn are they intense. The moment my foot hit the bottom step, a cloud of perfume and resort wear descended upon me.

“You look gorgeous, Darling!” That was Meryl, Thorn and Koda’s mother. She held me at arm’s length for just a second to inspect my dress, then wrapped me in a hug. “And where did you get this amazing dress?”

“Ah, this nice importer—”

“Stop smothering the girl, Meryl!” Those clipped tones, that was Anne, Alaric’s mother. She held a wine glass filled to the brim with wine and orange juice with a kind of elegance I’d never managed to imitate. “Though that is amazing. Is that an A line cut?” I plucked at the hem of my dress, having no idea. “I’m getting a very 70s vibe here. Reminds me of better times.”

“Holly!” Whatever else the women had to say, it was cut off by the sound of two rambunctious children running towards me at full tilt. “Can we open the presents now, please. Please!”

“You’re waiting on me?” I looked up and saw the lounge room was packed with people sitting around the tree.

“Of course,” Nat said, getting to her feet and then slinging her arm around my shoulders. “You’re family.”

Yeah, but…I wanted to say. I was the family that hovered around in the background, trying to make my bestie’s day perfect while she spent it with her real family. There was food to be put in containers, drinks to be packed and snacks to be bagged and… But every eye was upon me right now, so I smiled and said, “Then let’s get this party started. Bags being Santa!”

I threw myself onto the ground, skidding along the no doubt crazy expensive rug to land in the mountain of presents and then picked up the nearest one before giving it a shake.

“Ohh, I reckon this one is for Sven!”

That look in his eyes, one part greed, one part incredible excitement and all love, that to me was the spirit of a secular Christmas. It was for kids to enjoy and for adults to provide. I passed him the package and the kid tore through paper like a little tornado.

Or a bear cub.

He sat back on his heels, eyes going wide as he saw it, a fire truck with whirling lights and the most annoying siren sound ever. I know, because I quizzed the kid working at the toy shop about it. It would annoy Nat, her guys, and me as long as I stayed here, but the look on Sven’s face made clear it was worth it.

“Whaddya reckon, Sven?” I asked.

He threw himself at me, nearly knocking me back into the pile of presents, arms wrapped tight.

“I love it, Aunty Holly!”

I always felt weird holding Nat’s kids. She’d offered me baby Kai to hold not long after she gave birth and I was like ‘Oh no, thank you.’ He was too small, too red, too fragile and floppy for me to hold. But when they got older and more neck control, it still felt strange. They were these little terrors, full of irrepressible energy and love, so much love, but when I gave Sven a squeeze back, it wasn’t hard to imagine a different scenario.

One where I found my own mates, who set me up in a fancy arse house and spent their days loving me and then, after a long, hot, lusty heat, me getting pregnant and then giving birth to our sons. But… I shook my head. I wasn’t jealous of Nat’s life. Bear shifters were cool, but I was pretty sure I was more of a wolf girl. There was the deep sexual imprinting that happened when Taylor Lautner was on the screen meant that if I was gonna fall for any shifter it’d be one like him, with a cute crooked smile and long dark hair and lickable abs and—

“Aunty Holly?” Kai looked at me in confusion. “You’re drooling like a baby.”

“Am I?” My hand went to my mouth and came away wet. Gross. I hastily wiped that on my dress, then refocussed on the important things. “OK, who wants a present?”

Both his and his brother’s hands shot up, but the next one was for one of the adults.

“Ooh, this one is for Mummy from me.”

I watched Nat’s eyes widen as she took in the long box, watched the cogs whirr as she tried to work out if it actually was a double ended bear dildo or not. It was actually a really nice chef’s knife, but that didn’t stop me grinning. Her hands went out hesitantly, but when she didn’t snatch the box from my hands, Kai did it for her.

“For you, Mummy!”

“Ah, I might open mine later,” Nat said. “Let’s give Kai a present next.”

“Open it.” Alaric gave her a small nudge with his elbow. “You’ve been slaving in the kitchen for days preparing for today. You deserve presents too.”

Nat fixed me with a dire look. She mouthed some words that I’m pretty sure were,If this is a dildo, you’re dead.

You know you want it, I mouthed back.

But while the rest of the family looked on in confusion, Natalie opened the box.

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