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  CHRISTMAS WITH THE ALPHA

  AN ALMA VENUS NOVELLA

  Copyright © 2017 by Cara Wylde

  Cover by Emma Griffin

  Edited by Dawn Thompson

  All rights are reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in book reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

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  CHAPTER ONE

  It was way past noon, and Avelyn still wasn’t ready. She was getting there. One step at a time. Patience was a virtue, and the past ten years had turned Avelyn… yes, feisty, hot-headed Avelyn Blackmane!... into the most virtuous shifter bride there was. Well, not the past ten years per se, but more like the three wolf pups who were currently clinging to her long skirt.

  “Where could it be?” she mumbled under her breath as she almost stumbled down the stairs. She sighed. “Nick, please let go. Please.”

  By pulling at her skirt, her 10-year-old son was setting a really bad example. His younger brothers, Lucas and Jacob, always looked up to him, studied him carefully, then imitated him like well-trained monkeys. The three of them could drive Avelyn insane!

  “Where are you and dad going? Tell us, and I’ll let go.”

  When Luke and Jake giggled and pulled at her skirt harder, Avelyn almost fell on her butt. She yelped and grabbed on to the railing.

  “Deep breaths, Avelyn. Deep breaths.”

  “We’ve discussed this. Your dad and I are going away for three days. Just three days. It’s not the end of the world, Nikolas.”

  “But where?” Luke, her 9-year-old whined.

  “It’s Christmas, mommy! You have to stay here, with us, or take us with you,” reasoned Jake, her 8-year-old.

  Avelyn cleared her throat and turned to face them. Slowly, she managed to pry her skirt free from her sons’ tiny, evil fingers.

  “You do remember this was your idea, right?”

  Nick chewed on his lower lip and avoided her gaze. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Luke and Jake when they pointed at him and said at the same time:

  “It was his idea, not ours!”

  Avelyn cocked and eyebrow.

  “Well, it doesn’t matter. It was an awesome surprise, and your dad and I decided to take it. Nikolas, honey, did you change your mind?”

  It was wrong to manipulate her oldest son like that, but Avelyn needed a break so badly that she was ready to drop the whole virtuous mother act just this once. When Nick, Luke, and Jake had burst into her and Max’s room one week ago, shouting at the top of their lungs that they had a Christmas surprise for their parents, neither she, nor Max imagined it would be a fancily written permission slip to spend Christmas together, just the two of them, away from the Schloss.

  Avelyn dug into her purse and took out the colored piece of paper her sons had handed her one week before. She knew it had taken them hours to draw the wobbly Christmas tree, and color the Christmas lights and globes, then maybe even more to come up with the text they scribbled in the center of the page:

  After careful consideration, we decided, via this hereby, that mom and dad should spend Christmas alone, together, just the two of them, somewhere romantic.

  Signed: Nikolas, Lucas, Jacob

  Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad!

  Aside from the fact that they had no idea how to use “hereby” in a sentence, the handmade permission slip was a nice surprise and Christmas present. The best she and Max had gotten from anyone in the past ten years!

  The boys didn’t seem very willing to look at the piece of paper in her hand. Avelyn sighed, folded it, and placed it back in her purse.

  “Okay. It’s not nice to take back a present, especially a Christmas present, but I get it. Give me a second, and I’ll let your dad know we’re staying.”

  She made to leave. Sure enough, her three little scoundrels pulled at her skirt so suddenly that she could swear she’d eventually end up in nothing but her panties.

  “Nooooo!” Nick was pouting so hard that he could barely speak. “We’re not taking our Christmas present back. You can go.”

  Avelyn’s blue eyes skipped between the three of them.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes,” confirmed Luke and Jake.

  “Alright, then.”

  She waited another minute. Yes, she was late, and Max was waiting for her downstairs, but she couldn’t risk looking so excited at the prospect of taking a sweet, well-deserved break from her kids that they’d change their mind again.

  “If you’re one hundred percent sure, then… maybe… you could tell me where my winter coat is?”

  She batted her lashes and smiled cutely. She’d been looking for her coat for the past half an hour, and now she was pretty sure they had stolen it and stashed it away somewhere.

  Lucas stole a quick glance at his brother, Nikolas. He ran back up the stairs only when Nick nodded his approval.

  “My tiny Alpha,” Avelyn thought.

  “She’ll need her boots, too,” whispered Jacob.

  Nick nodded again, and Jacob ran to the kitchen.

  Avelyn crossed her arms over her generous chest and shook her head.

  “Anything else? Can I count on you that my clothes were in the suitcase when I gave it to Kevin?”

  “Yes,” Nick mumbled. “We didn’t go through your suitcase.”

  “Thank you.”

  She took her coat and boots from Luke and Jake, then proceeded to finally run down the stairs, to the grand living room.

  Max was waiting for her, brows furrowed, and foot lightly tapping with impatience.

  “What took you so long? Our stuff is already there.”

  “Sorry, baby.” She ran to him, lifted herself up on her tiptoes, and placed a chaste kiss on his full lips. “You can’t rush beauty, can you?” She winked seductively.

  Max chuckled, but he wasn’t that clueless. He knew his sons well enough to figure out they had given Avelyn a hard time. Again. They would never give him a hard time, seeing as he was the Alpha of Clan Blackmane, and all, but that surely meant Avelyn was getting double treatment.

  “You three be good now, okay?” He knelt and pulled his sons in a bear hug. “Don’t stress Aunt Jocelyn too much, or she’ll kick Santa back up the chimney tonight.”

  “We don’t care as long as we get our presents,” Nick grinned.

  “Oh, I’ll make sure I kick him out before he even sets foot in the living room, let alone come close to the Christmas tree,” Jocelyn said from the sofa, where she was cuddled up with a Christmassy book and a cup of hot chocolate.

  Max pursed his lips and shrugged.

  “You know her. When she says something, she means it.”

  Nick bit the inside of his cheek. His dad was right. He and his brothers could mess with their mother, but never with their Aunt Josie.

  “At least tell us where you’re going?” Jake tried again.

  “Nope,” said Avelyn. “It’s better this way. We all know you might just change your mind in a few hours and run away from the Schloss to find us. We can’t risk that, can we?”

  Nick pretended to cough in an attempt to stifle a smile. Luke and Jake would never think of doing something so radical, but he would. His mothe
r knew who she was dealing with.

  “Come on, don’t be all sad and pouty.” Avelyn had put on her coat and boots. Now that she was sure her sons couldn’t steal them again, she was ready to give them a big hug. “Come here, my pups. Give me a kiss.”

  They covered her face in noisy, sloppy kisses, making sure to ruin some of her makeup.

  Avelyn sighed, stood up, looked at them for a long moment, then wrapped herself around her husband’s arm. Despite needing this short vacation away from the family, the truth was she felt rather sad herself. This would be the first Christmas she and Max didn’t spend with their children and the entire Clan Blackmane. Then again, Nick, Luke, and Jake were old enough to understand their parents needed some time off. After all, it had been their idea. Jocelyn and her Beta, Ryan, would make sure the kids had fun. Avelyn and Max could trust them.

  “Ready?” Max looked down at his beautiful wife and gently brushed a couple of stray red locks away from her forehead.

  “Yes.” She beamed. “Let’s go.”

  The boys followed them to the main door, then down the alley, to the car. More hugs and kisses were in order before Max and Avelyn could finally make their escape.

  Kevin, Max’s Beta, had already taken their luggage to the cabin, along with supplies. He’d gone there that morning to make sure his Alpha would have everything he needed. Now, all Max and Avelyn had to do was get there and get cozy.

  “I can’t believe this is happening,” Avelyn said once they were out the gates of the Schloss.

  “Me neither,” Max laughed. “It’s surreal, isn’t it? Finally, we get to spend a few days in peace and silence. Just the two of us.”

  “Mmm… No more hiding, no more stress and worries they might hear us…”

  Max let out a sigh of relief, then sped up. He was a good driver, and his wolf-shifter senses were accident-proof.

  Avelyn started laughing. She rolled down the window to better enjoy the rush of adrenaline and freedom. The cabin was less than an hour away, but they couldn’t get there fast enough.

  “Did you pack my early Christmas present?”

  “Oh, yes…” She reached out to run her hand up and down his jeans-clad thigh.

  Max took a sharp intake of breath. He was already hard. Just thinking of his hot, curvy wife dressed in the lingerie set he bought for her the day before clouded his mind with desire.

  “I love you,” he whispered huskily. “I want you…”

  She chuckled and lightly rubbed his cock through his pants.

  “Eyes on the road, baby. Eyes on the road.

  CHAPTER TWO

  As the Alpha of one of the most powerful and influential wolf clans in the world, Max Blackmane owned many vacation houses. On the beach, on two islands in Hawaii, and all over the mighty mountains of Europe and Asia. For their first Christmas away since they’d been mated and married ten years ago, he chose to take his wife to the small, cozy cabin he owned in the Black Forest Mountains, near Triberg Falls, and very close to their home, Schloss Blackmane. They were still isolated enough to enjoy a few peaceful days together, but they were also one-hour away from their wolf pups, just in case anything happened. It was the perfect location.

  When they arrived, Avelyn jumped out of the car. She wanted to run inside the cabin, get rid of her clothes, and wait for Max in her new, sexy outfit. She already had it on, underneath her fluffy pullover, long skirt, and winter coat. In truth, the underbust corset was starting to bother her. The landscape stopped her in her tracks. It was almost unbelievable, but the lush snow-covered mountains and trees made her forget about her corset pains.

  “So beautiful,” she whispered, taking in the pristine view.

  The wood cabin was nestled in the mountains, surrounded by green firs and rocky slopes, its roof completely covered in a thick layer of snow. Long icicles were hanging from its eaves, and Avelyn made a mental note to avoid them. She was a hybrid, and if she got hurt, she’d heal almost instantly, but the thought of one of those huge icicles falling and scratching or stabbing her made her shudder. They were pretty, but a tad too dangerous for her taste. Her blue eyes moved from the wintery ornaments of doom to the smoke coming out of the chimney. She smiled. Kevin had made the fire before leaving back for the Schloss. So thoughtful of him.

  “You cold?”

  Max hugged her from behind.

  She shook her head.

  “Nope. Don’t believe the coat and the boots. I could have left them at home, really, but it’s Christmas. It doesn’t feel right walking around in summery clothes just because I’m a hybrid and I can’t feel the cold.”

  He laughed. “Fair enough.” He looked down at himself. “Hope I’m not ruining the mood.”

  Avelyn turned to face him. For a second, she got lost in his deep, green eyes. It was amazing how they’d been together for ten years, had three children, and Max looked like he hadn’t aged a day. The perks of being a wolf-shifter. Well, the same applied to her thanks to her hybrid blood, but that wasn’t important. What was important right then and there was that her Max looked so sexy and gorgeous that she felt the impulse to jump his bones in the snow. His wide shoulders, strong chest, thick biceps… Avelyn couldn’t get enough of his body. And now that they were away from the world, at a cabin where their wolf pups couldn’t hear them, they could finally relax and enjoy each other like in the days when their only concern was what new position to try.

  “Oh, you’re fine,” she whispered.

  He was wearing a checkered shirt, blue jeans, and mountain boots. He hadn’t bothered with a winter coat. In fact, Avelyn wasn’t sure he even owned one.

  She pulled at his shirt and captured his lips in a hot, passionate kiss. She could lose herself in him, in his embrace, in the warmth radiating off his body. She opened her mouth, and moaned when his tongue sought hers. His big hands were in her wavy red hair, pulling, caressing, then all over her back, arms, and hips. She loved it when Max lost control and allowed himself to touch her possessively, claim her, and fuck her until neither of them could move anymore. Lately, they hadn’t had nearly enough opportunities to have proper sex.

  Max broke the kiss, looked her in the eyes, and lifted her off the ground. Once her legs were secured around his waist, he took her to the cabin, kicked the door open, then threw her onto the king-sized bed.

  “Wait,” she said breathlessly. “This was supposed to be romantic.” She kicked her boots off, got rid of her winter coat, then started pulling at her clothes. She couldn’t get them off fast enough.

  “Fuck romantic.”

  Max unbuttoned his shirt, but didn’t bother to take it off completely. He unzipped his jeans, and groaned at the delicious feeling of finally freeing his hard cock. He’d been struggling with a monster of an erection since they’d left the Schloss one hour before.

  Gladly, as a hybrid, Avelyn was just as fast as he was. She was now lying on top of the covers, in the expensive lingerie set Max himself had chosen. The black, lacey bra pulled her big breasts up, making them look even rounder and fuller, the tiny panties barely covered her curvy, generous hips, and the black corset made her waist look thin, and gave her whole body the perfect hourglass shape so many women were crazy about. Avelyn already had an hourglass figure, so the corset only enhanced her beautiful curves.

  “You look…” He licked his lips and climbed on top of her. He was at a loss for words. “Baby, you look…”

  Avelyn grinned. She grabbed his cock and started stroking it slowly, confidently. He was so turned on that beads of pre-cum gathered at the slit as she rubbed him. Her own pussy was soaked, her tight passage throbbing with the desire to be filled.

  “Sexy?” she offered. “Hot?” She stuck her tongue out and licked his lips. “Edible?”

  He growled low in his chest. His whole body was trembling, his inner beast urging him to turn her around and take her from behind.

  “Fuckable. You look like a beautiful, fertile, fuckable, divine
goddess.”

  “Mmm… Baby, then maybe you should worship me, first. Fuck me after.”

  He didn’t need to be told twice. He took another moment to admire her luscious curves, then moved down her body and positioned himself between her legs. Slowly, teasingly, he rolled the lacey panties down to her ankles, then took them off completely and dropped them on the floor. He closed his eyes and inhaled her sweet, intoxicating scent. She smelled like his soul mate, like the mother of his children, and the woman he wanted to spend his entire life with. She smelled like home.

  Avelyn arched her back and moaned when she felt Max’s tongue trace a wet, warm line from her dripping entrance to her hard clit. She needed this so badly. Grabbing on to the sheets and pillow for dear life, she reminded herself she was allowed to scream, cry, and moan here. She could speak dirty, laugh, and ask her husband to give it to her harder and faster, because there was no one to hear her. Not for miles and miles of show-covered land. There was no way she was holding herself back now. Who knew when she’d get another chance to enjoy herself so fully and shamelessly?

  Max buried his tongue deep inside her, and growled at the rich taste of her pussy. When he went up to trace circles around her clit, he made sure his fingers filled her, keeping her warm, wet, and ready for his cock. It didn’t take much to throw her off the edge. He kept licking and sucking her throbbing nub as she screamed his name and wrapped her trembling legs around him, keeping him trapped exactly where she needed him.

  Avelyn stared at the white ceiling for a long minute before letting Max go. Allowing herself to ride her orgasm like that felt like such a release. But she needed more, now. Much more.

  “Come here.”

  She pulled at his unbuttoned shirt.

  “Fuck me. I need your cock inside me. Now.”

  Max grinned, grabbed her waist, and rolled her over. She did more than surrender. She propped herself up on her elbows and pushed her hips against his crotch. He still had his pants on, but it somehow made the whole thing hotter and dirtier.