A Shifter Christmas by C.A. Tibbitts

Chapter One

    Shifting into a beautiful bay-colored horse,
she galloped over the dusting of snow to enjoy her last opportunity
of the season to run. The summer had been way too short for Pepper
Valley, Colorado, and the weatherman had forecasted heavy snow that
would begin that very night. August was too early for heavy snow!
She slowed down to a trot at her property line and circled at the
corner to go east.
    She went faster until she ran at full speed,
then skidded to a stop as she heard a very loud roar. She turned
her head right, then left, and from her peripheral vision, she
caught something rustling the tall grass. Since there wasn't a way
to hide herself as a horse, she folded her legs and gracefully
dropped to the ground before shifting to her human form.
    Remaining on all fours, trying not to pant
too hard since her fogged breath would give her location away, she
remained silent to listen.
    Jaxson shook out his lion's mane as he crept
closer to the last place he'd seen the horse. Dinner was served! A
sudden blow to his head caused him to sprawl onto his side, caught
completely off guard. He shifted back to his human form without
meaning to.
    "Who are you and what are you doing on my
property?"
    "Jaxson," he answered quickly as he looked up
to see a beautiful Asian goddess. She stood over him and frowned
down at him. He cursed her long dark hair as it covered what he
suspected were a lovely set of breasts.
    "You do realize you are trespassing?" she
cocked those tiny hips to the side.
    If she just cocked that hip a bit
further…
    "Eyes up here, buddy."
    His eyes snapped up, and he then stood,
enjoying his height advantage over her. He noticed how her
chocolate brown eyes lingered, if only for a second, on his chest.
"I thought this was part of the Preserve."
    "The fence should have clued you in. Where
are you from?"
    "England. May I know your name, love?"
    "No. Stay off my property." She turned away,
deciding she would just walk home in her human form. It wasn't that
far, and the temperature was not quite cold enough to give her a
chill, but it would be soon. She heard footsteps closing in and
knew Jaxson was following her.
    "Do you have some tea, love?"
    She turned toward him and promptly pushed her
hair behind her shoulders. "Look your fill, and then leave. I don't
like company."
    Jaxson's eyes caressed her form as though
he'd touched her, and she felt a shiver run up her spine.
    A few flurries whipped around in the air,
causing his shoulder-length blonde hair to blow forward framing his
face, while her own hair remained billowing behind her. She turned
away from him once more, and walked to the house. He continued to
follow her.
    The snow was peppering down now, and the
temperature was steadily dropping. Her nipples pebbled as a brisk
cold wind blew across her body.
    Walking up the porch stairs, she pulled the
key from under the mat and unlocked the door. "Kate," she
grumbled.
    "What's that, love?"
    She pushed the door open and turned to face
him. "I said my name is Kate. Get your naked ass inside. I'll get
you some clothes." She knew how to handle herself in a fight in
case he tried anything. Then again, he was so clumsy as an animal,
he surely wasn't that nimble on his human feet either.
    Kate walked to her bedroom and pulled on her
soft blue terrycloth robe, cinching it at the waist, before she
went across the hall to the spare bedroom. Opening the closet door,
she paused at the sight of Charlie's old clothes. Her human husband
had died almost twenty years ago, and she still had not been able
to get rid of his belongings. Instead, she took her role as a widow
seriously and remained a hermit, only driving into town when
absolutely necessary. She could have most things delivered. In the
summer, she grew vegetables and hunted animals, non-shifters of
course, for meat.
    She pulled out a red flannel shirt that she
could not remember her husband wearing, and a pair of gray
sweatpants. She had not looked at Jaxson's