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I followed her and took my place as we closed our circle. When we finished, my coven sisters suffocated me under all their hugs and love.
I was so damned lucky.
The pack emerged from the woods and Jackson jogged over to me and embraced me, swinging me around like I weighed nothing. His deep voice whispered in my ear. “You’re okay?”
“As long as you are.” He set my feet on the ground and held my face in his hands. “Scared the shit out of me when I heard the gunshot.”
“Me too. I thought he shot you.”
He looked past me to the frozen pond. “And you froze everything.”
I nodded. “If your wolf hadn’t interrupted me, I could’ve…”
He shook his head. “We will always have your back, Winter. When I made a vow to protect you, I meant it. You’re my mate.” He suddenly reached for my hands, inspecting them. “He didn’t bite you, did he?”
“No.” A smile curved on my lips. “He was actually really sweet.”
He lifted his eyes to meet mine. “Good.”
A gust of wind hit us, and Jackson cursed under his breath. We both grew up in Salem, but somehow, my werewolf boyfriend still had thin blood. It was adorable.
He laced his fingers with mine and gave my hand a tug. “Let’s get out of here.”
We hurried to his car, waving at the rest of the pack as they came out of the woods. Once we were inside, exhaustion settled onto my shoulders like a fifty-pound weight. I tried to keep my eyes open, but the next thing I knew Jackson was lifting me out of the passenger seat and carrying me into my house.
I nuzzled into him as a tired smile curved my lips. This was what it felt like to be someone’s person. To be loved.
I could get used to this.
We woke upto freshly fallen snow that I had nothing to do with. The trees outside my window were draped in ice that sparkled in the morning light. Our first Christmas together. It seemed…just right.
Jackson stoked the woodburning stove adding more wood to fuel the fire while I made coffee. I came back with two mugs and noticed a new decoration on my tree. It was a slender white envelope with my name on it.
I handed Jackson a mug and plucked out the envelope. “This isn’t fair, I didn’t have time to get you anything.”
He shot me a grin that could only be described as wolfish. “I swear it’s a gift for both of us.”
His phone vibrated and I sighed. “Mine’s been going off too. Don’t they know it’s Christmas?”
He chuckled as he read the message. “There’s a good chance the guy from the pond was hired by Hinterland and Bloodstone. They fired me right before the full moon, but they probably already had this backup plan in play. I think they were after that broach.”
“It was a witchfinder.” I took a sip of coffee. “They could’ve spoken a woman’s name and known if she was a witch.”
“That would help narrow down the Ashleighs if they were looking for her.”
“Exactly.” I nodded. “That’s why we had to free the magic. It was too risky if it fell into the wrong hands.” I put my mug on the coffee table and met his eyes. “We’ll have to find her the old fashioned way.”
“I’m working on a plan for that now.”
“No, you’re not.” I took his phone and set it on the coffee table next to my mug. “It’s Christmas Day.”
“True.” He pulled me over onto his lap and kissed my forehead. “Open your present.”
“Bossy.” I chuckled as I opened the envelope and withdrew two tickets to Wicked on Broadway. A giggle escaped my lips before I could collect myself. I looked over at him and squeaked out, “We’re going to New York to see a show?”
He nodded. “I got us a pair of plane tickets too, but I couldn’t print them out so…” He took my hand and brought me to the sofa to sit beside him. “Since I just shifted last night, it’s a good time to be in the crowds. My wolf should be mellow about it.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Seeing a show on Broadway was always on my bucket list but traveling to New York alone had seemed daunting. I stared at the tickets and still couldn’t believe it.
