A reindeer shifter fleeing her past…

Brynna Darby can’t help that she’s a reindeer shifter. But she sure can do her darned best to ignore that part of her life, and has done so for years. Until she abruptly lands back in her tiny shifter hometown. Expectations there are suffocating her—but one sexy bear shifter might open up her guarded heart and show her how to find joy again.

A bear shifter searching for home…

Wyatt Webber returned to his hometown of Deep Hollow right before Christmas, his favorite time of year. Then he runs into the onetime love of his life, Brynna, and everything threatens to turn into a lump of coal. She’s the mate who broke his heart…but she also might be the only one who can put it back together again.

NOTE:
A previous version of this story, then titled The Reindeer Shifter’s Christmas Gift, originally appeared in a group box set. The story has been lengthened, re-written, and re-edited.

Brynna has been home in Deep Hollow for six months, she’s itching to leave the closer to Christmas it gets. She is running with her soon to be brother-in-law and Physical Therapist, Thor and is celebrating how good she feels, when Wyatt, one of the town’s deputies almost runs into them. When he stops he pretty much attacks Thor. His reasoning is that Brynna is his mate, even if she won’t accept it, and no other male should be touching her.

That Christmas is almost here, is a sore spot for Wyatt, even though he loves the holiday, Five years ago he had accepted a job in Montana and he was going to propose to Brynna and take her with him. Instead Brynna broke up with him and moved to Florida to take a job as an international tour guide.

Brynna stops him from doing too much damage to Thor and in spite of her longing to be with him, tells him she’s leaving.

This is a favorite scene.

So he’d left for Snowhaven all by his lonesome, made himself lose touch with her, and didn’t keep up on news about her from her family and friends still in Deep Hollow. He just sucked it up like the big bear shifter he was and forced himself to focus on his new life. He’d worked damn hard over the past several years to forget Brynna, and he’d practically succeeded, even though his bear had never been quite the same.

But then the other night happened. Oh, yeah. The other night.

Sexy, sexy little Brynna that night. Running into her all unexpectedly had brought back every single memory he had of all the time they’d ever spent together, which was basically their entire lives. Then the kiss. Hell, yeah. His whole body tingled right now just remembering it. It was just a kiss, but it had lit something between them again. And that was saying a lot, considering how many times he’d been privileged enough to kiss Brynna in the past. But hell. He couldn’t focus on that too much right now, or he’d get a freaking boner for sure. Just like damned teenager again.

Quickly, before the moment could get any more stupid awkward, Wyatt went in the other direction. Caveman style, all the way. He looked square at Brynna and said, “So what do you say, Bryn? Dinner? Tonight.” He shoved as much bold assurance into his voice as he could. He was still pushing her buttons a bit, yeah. But he also meant it. He’d pissed her off the other night, and again now. He honestly wanted a chance to make it good between them again. The holiday season was giving him confidence.

Brynna stayed quiet for a moment, then dragged her eyes to his. Her irritation was gone, and something else flared in her expression.

After she paused too long, Thor nudged her. “Come on, Bryn, tell him what’s up.” The guy flashed a quick glance at Wyatt before he looked away. An almost sympathetic glance.

Shit.

Taking a breath, the sexiest little reindeer shifter in the world opened her mouth and once again rocked Wyatt’s world. Badly. “I’m sorry, Wyatt, I can’t have dinner with you. I’m all healed up as of today. So I’m ready to go back to where I live now. In Florida,” she added, as if he might have forgotten. “I’m packing my stuff tonight and hitting the road soon. I’m leaving Deep Hollow, Wyatt,” she finished in what was almost a whisper.

Another fucking awkward silence landed like a dirty bomb. Wyatt could sense both Thor and Slade itching to just turn and bolt away.

He looked right at Brynna. “It’s almost Christmas, Bryn.” His voice was soft, but there was a sharp edge under it that he couldn’t quite control.

She swallowed hard, nodding. “Yes.” A very faint wobble stuttered through her voice. But her gaze stayed firm.

The world narrowed in on Wyatt. Brynna kept her gaze locked on his. Something flickered in her pretty eyes that he couldn’t quite read, but she didn’t say anything more. She didn’t need to.

Right. The other night with her, brief as it had been, had given him hope again. Stupid, idiotic hope. Because Wyatt’s burning, nearly unstoppable desire to protect this woman, and his bear’s fierce, nearly overwhelming urge to claim her, told him something he couldn’t deny.

Sexy, fiery, amazing Brynna was still his mate. Always had been, and always would be.

But even so, even though he knew it and she knew it and everyone in town probably knew it, that still didn’t seem to matter to her. She was still leaving both Deep Hollow and him. Again.

Fuck his life, and fuck Christmas.
Harper, J.K.. Christmas Night Bear (Silvertip Shifters Book 7). Kindle Locations (329-351). Sable Moon Books. Kindle Edition.

As Brynna is packing, she realizes a lot of things from the past. She wanted Wyatt to stop her, to follow her. To maybe ask her to stay with him, he did none of those things. Her parents and sister would be disappointed if she didn’t stay for Christmas Eve. It was a special and fun time for the reindeer shifters although Brynna never really enjoyed it. She didn’t ask to be a reindeer shifter, they were very rare. She did like flying though, it was a perk.

When Wyatt realizes she hasn’t left town, it makes it his business to win her over again.

This is a fun Christmas read with laughter, tears and some heat.

5 Contented Purrs for J.K.!

J.K. Harper

J.K. Harper writes about paranormal romance because despite a lifetime of wishing, all the cool supernatural book characters of her childhood just don’t seem to be real. Besides, it’s just really fun to make stuff up and play around in her imagination. She lives in the Southwest, which is a great place to let her imagination run wild. If you are interested in finding out more about J.K. Harper, including news on future books in the Black Mesa Wolves series, please surf around her online homes.