A Siberian Werewolf Christmas by Caryn Moya Block Chapter 1

A Siberian Werewolf Christmas (Siberian Volkov Pack Romance) by Caryn Moya Block
$2.99

Margaret Brady knows she must be out of her mind to go to Siberia for Christmas. But her intuition won’t let her turn down the invitation of her best friend, Violet Volkov. When she meets the good looking Vyacheslav Putyatinov, she knows just what she wants for Christmas.

Vyacheslav “Slava” Putyatinov thinks any human woman coming to the Siberian Lycan village will be trouble. But one unmated could be a disaster. When he is put in charge of the American siren he finds trouble can lead to desire.

 

Chapter One

Was she out of her mind? Going to the forsaken, snow-covered wasteland of Siberia seemed a trifle insane.

Shaking her head, Margaret Brady put the last sweater into her suitcase and zipped it closed. She brushed her long red curls back off her face as she walked over to her window and stared out at the grey Virginia day. Her best friend Violet Volkov had asked her to come and share Christmas with her family. How could she say no?

It wasn’t just that she missed the friend she’d known since first grade, or the need to see her god-daughters, Violet’s twins. It was the feeling in Margaret’s gut. The knowing that if she didn’t make this trip she would regret it for the rest of her life. Going to Siberia was no longer a choice. It was imperative.

“In Winter though? God, I am such a fool,” she muttered, putting her suitcase next to the other two sitting by the door.

She looked around her apartment and suddenly the world wavered. She stumbled as flames appeared surrounding her. Heat engulfed her. Smoke filled the air. She couldn’t breathe. The roof came crashing down as she stood frozen in disbelief. She opened her mouth to scream.

Then it was gone. Once more her favorite chair sat next to the faux fireplace, and the lights on her three-foot Christmas tree twinkled merrily. A vision.

“Oh hell.” Maggie’s voice wavered. She wrapped her arms around her middle and tried to steady her breathing. Lack of sleep could sometimes trigger one of her visions.

“I’m okay,” she muttered, needing to say it out loud.

The visions didn’t come often, but when they did, it always took her a moment to recover. She’d had a vision the night her parent’s died in a car accident. She was away at college and they didn’t answer her call. Another time she saw a college friend in the hospital. That time she had been able to get her friend to go to the doctor and they found his appendix was inflamed. She needed to take action to change the future. That was the puzzle with her visions. It was only a possible future.

Her visions had started when she turned fifteen. The same year she physically became a woman. They could be as simple as showing her a dress she was going to buy or as terrible as showing her a plane crashing into the pentagon. Her visions taught her to live life to the fullest and trust her intuition. She kept the Serenity Prayer taped to her mirror, another lesson learned.

She didn’t have time to deal with this latest vision now. The taxi would be arriving any minute.

She walked over, picked up her phone, and punched in the number of her other best friend, Ellen James Johnson. Ellen had married last summer and moved with her new husband to Charlotte, North Carolina. Once, Violet, Ellen, and Maggie had been inseparable. But then Violet married Dmitry and now Ellen, too, had found her perfect man.

“Maggie, are you all packed? I can’t believe you decided to take Violet up on her invitation. You can’t stand the cold. How will you survive a Siberian winter?”

“I have no idea. But I have to go, Elle. I just know it.”

“Wow, another vision?”

“No, a definite feeling. I need a favor, Elle. I need my possessions packed and put into storage until I get back and then I need you to contact the fire department and request an inspection.”

“Why? You are coming back, aren’t you?”

“Oh, sure, but I think there will be a fire while I’m gone. If I leave my things, they might not be here when I get back. Will you take care of this for me?”

Or the future might change and there wouldn’t be a fire. Most of the time, if she had a way to take precautions, the visions never came true. They were more of an early warning system.

“Okay, you know Robert isn’t going to understand this. I’ll tell him you smelled something burning.” Robert, the man Ellen had married, knew nothing of Maggie’s abilities.

Maggie shivered as the visuals of the vision washed over her again. “I know it’s asking a lot. I’ll leave a check on the kitchen counter made out to you. Call a moving company and have them put my things in storage. You still have the emergency key I gave you? You didn’t lose it, did you?” Ellen always lost things.

“No, I didn’t lose it. Robert and I will come up this weekend. I’ll make all the arrangements for your things.”

Maggie sighed in relief. “Thanks, Elle. You’re the best.”

“Hey, that’s what friends are for. I love you. Give Violet and the girls all my love.”

“I will.”

Maggie glanced at the clock. There was time for one last cup of tea before she left. Long plane rides always made her nervous, not to mention going through security and entering a different country. The herbal mixture would sooth her nerves. Her stomach clenched. Chamomile tea, definitely.

Maggie walked into her kitchen and started brewing a kettle.

Dmitry, Violet’s husband, was sending their private jet to pick her up in Moscow. She didn’t know who was coming to get her, but she assumed whoever it was would find her. Who could miss the woman with red hair dressed up like Nanook of the North?

§

Vyacheslav “Slava ” Putyatinov stood in the kitchen of the Siberian Alpha Lodge and scowled at his Alpha, Dmitry Volkov. He pressed his hand to his forehead. The pain behind his hazel eyes would send him to bed with a migraine if he didn’t get a handle on his frustration or take his wolf out to run. This was a touchy subject since the Alpha female was human. But something needed to be said.

“First, you allow the small human female to come with the French lycans,” he pointed out. “Then you allow the human scientist to come work during the summer at the new laboratory. Now this? Every lycan in the village will have to be on alert. Nobody can shift in front of an unmated human. It’s winter. Most of us prefer to go around in our wolf form when there is snow on the ground. Your own father stays wolf more than not in the winter. How the hell do you expect to keep our species safe from discovery if you continue to invite these humans into our midst?”

“Are you questioning our Alpha, Slava ?” Kolya Tosyanov, the pack Beta, growled as he stepped closer into Slava’s space.

Slava’s hackles rose. His wolf rushed to the surface, ready and willing to take a bite out of the blond-haired Beta. He knew he should look away. Nevertheless, he held Kolya’s challenging stare. “I am asking a valid question. We are growing complacent. One of these humans could destroy us if they convinced the right party of our existence. Already, there is this group, Doctors for A Better Humanity.” Slava stared first at Kolya, and then at the seated Alpha.

“Kolya, I asked Slava to come to this meeting for just this purpose,” Dmitry said. No one was fooled by his mild voice; the Alpha always meant business. “Now both of you sit down.”

Slava reluctantly took a chair and dropped his eyes, giving Dmitry the higher position in the pack. Kolya turned away with a snarl. He walked around the table to sit next to Dmitry, his best friend and brother in law.

“This woman is my mate’s best friend from childhood. Violet specifically requested that Maggie be allowed to visit for Christmas.” Dmitry ran his hand through his dark hair. “I understand your concerns, Slava, and I agree they are valid, except both Isabelle and Susan, the other human women, will be claimed as mates in time. Maggie is also gifted. It would behoove us to have her come and see if the mating bond is triggered in one of our males.”

“She is human, an American. She won’t survive the winter,” Slava said, a twinge behind his eyes reminding him to relax. Why must he suffer from these ongoing headaches?

“Of course she will.” The power of the Alpha rang in Dmitry’s tone. “Since you are so concerned with the situation, I appoint you the job of making sure she does. You will go to Moscow to fetch her. You will stay by Maggie’s side to guard against our secret coming out as well as keep her safe. She will be introduced to the single males at the pack Christmas party. If a male bonds with her, you can pass the job to him. Until that happens, you are responsible for her.”

Slava looked down at his clenched fists. When the Alpha used that tone, there was no arguing with him. Slava might challenge the Beta, but he wouldn’t Dmitry. He respected Dmitry too much to do so, even when he disagreed about these human women. Of course, if one of the women discovered their secret, he could always use his telepathy to take control and remove their memories. A useful gift only a few lycans possessed. Maybe he should be the one to keep the American woman contained.

“As you wish, Alpha.”

“Good, you leave tonight,” Dmitry said, his gaze searching. For what, Slava wasn’t sure.

“Her plane arrives at the Moscow airport tomorrow afternoon. Fetch her and bring her to the Alpha Lodge. She will stay here in one of the guest rooms. Zhenya and Zhora Matveynikov will accompany you. You are in charge, as I said.”

The Matveynikov twins were three years younger than Slava’s twenty-eight years. Yet they were strong in their wolf and loyal to the pack, and despite their light-hearted airs, there were two serious souls underneath.

“If I am to prepare, I must leave now.” Slava rose from his chair. He would need a change of clothes and time to get to the airport in Yakutsk.

“Safe journey, Vyacheslav. Remember that Miss Brady is my mate’s best friend. Treat her accordingly,” Dmitry said.

Slava nodded in understanding. He gritted his teeth to stop a sarcastic remark that begged to fall from his lips. He never could understand how perfectly rational males fell apart when a female noticed them. Instead, he turned and hurried from the room.