AGThanksgiving_JCSmith

An
Ashton Grove Thanksgiving

Ashton
Grove Werewolves

Jessica
Coulter Smith

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RESERVED.

No part of this book may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be
otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which
it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being
imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

This is a work of fiction. All
characters, places, businesses, and incidents are from the author’s
imagination. Any resemblance to actual places, people, or events is purely
coincidental.
 
Any trademarks mentioned
herein are not authorized by the trademark owners and do not in any way mean
the work is sponsored by or associated with the trademark owners.
 
Any trademarks used are specifically in a
descriptive capacity.
 
Font used in this
novel is Garamond.

Cover Artist
 
Jessica Coulter Smith
Stock photos from
CanStock
Photo

FIRST EDITION

©2014, Jessica Coulter Smith

Chapter
One

Chloe stared at Marin. “There
has to be something we can do.”

“What? We’ve tried everything.
He’s stuck in that house and refuses to leave. If he didn’t have that little
sugar glider shifter bringing him meals, he’d probably starve. I’ve dropped
groceries off, but they mostly go untouched. It’s like he’s just completely
shut down.” Marin shook her head. “I don’t think we’re going to get him to attend
a pack event.”

“Then maybe we need to make it
a family event,” Chloe said.

“What he really needs is
someone to take his mind off his problems,” Aislinn suggested. “I think I may
know just the person, too.”

“Who?” Marin asked. “Who in
their right mind would take on someone so damaged?”

“Gabriel isn’t damaged,”
Aislinn said. “He just needs a reminder that life is worth living. He’s locked
himself away with his wife’s and daughter’s belongings and shut everyone out.
If he had his family around him, I think he would pull out of it faster.”

“So you’re suggesting we
converge on him for Thanksgiving, just show up on his doorstep?” Chloe asked.

“Yes and no. I was thinking
more along the lines of giving him a damsel in distress to rescue. Gabriel is
one of those guys who needs to feel needed. If we show him that the pack needs
him, that it’s possible for his heart to still beat without Kiera, then maybe
we can bring him around.” Aislinn smiled. “And I know just who to use for the
job.”

Marin’s brow furrowed. “Most
of the women in the pack are pretty strong. There are only a few who could be
classified as a damsel in distress.”

“I was thinking about Autumn
O’Roarke.” Aislinn clapped her hands. “Isn’t she perfect?”

“But…she’s the exact opposite
of Kiera. I mean, other than the fact they’re both short. Besides, isn’t Autumn
a little too, um,
round
for Gabriel’s
taste?”

Aislinn waved her hand. “She
isn’t all that fat. So she has a few extra pounds. Do you really think so
little of Gabriel that you think he’d let a little thing like that stand in the
way of something he wanted?”

“Yeah,” Chloe said. “But he
doesn’t want her. I’m not even sure he knows she exists. She joined the pack
after he went into hiding.”

“Then we have to bring her to
his attention,” Aislinn said. “I’ve noticed that she doesn’t seem to be
settling in. After observing her behavior, I asked Eric to do a little digging
into her past. Did you know that she lost her mate a few months ago?”

Chloe’s eyes went wide. “Then
Gabriel and she…”

“Have a lot in common,” Marin
finished.

“I asked her about her mate,”
Aislinn said. “But she clammed up and changed the subject. Either it’s still too
painful for her to talk about or…”

“Or?” Chloe asked.

Aislinn sighed. “I’ve observed
her since she joined the pack. She’s reserved, hangs back when the pack gets
together, and she’s very quiet and soft spoken. If someone moves too quickly
around her, she flinches.”

Marin narrowed her eyes. “You
think she was abused.”

Aislinn nodded. “I’m afraid
so.”

“That rat bastard!” Marin’s
hands balled into fists at her side. “Your mate is supposed to love you and protect
you. How the hell did he get away with hurting her? Was his alpha blind?”

“I haven’t talked to her about
it,” Aislinn said. “But maybe she would talk to Gabriel. Everyone knows about
Kiera’s passing. Maybe it will bring them closer together, closer than she will
get to anyone else in the pack. Connor may be acting as sole alpha right now,
but we all know the two of them balance each other out. Connor would never
admit it, but he misses Gabriel and the joint leadership.”

“And you think Autumn may be the
way to bring him back into the fold?” Marin asked, not looking quite certain.

“I think it would be a very
good start. Gabriel has a great capacity for love and one day he’ll take
another mate. Until then, we just have to show him how much the pack needs him
and how much we love him. He’s hurting, but he has to let the pain go and move
on, at least a little.”

“So, how do we set this into
motion?” Chloe asked. “The longer this goes on, the more likely we are to lose
him. Because you can’t tell me I’m the only one who’s been worried he’d decide
he can’t live without Kiera.”

Marin shivered. “No, it’s
crossed my mind. Cole insists his brother would never do that, but… well, I
think a desperate man will do anything.”

“Leave things to me,” Aislinn
said. “Eric!” Aislinn looked up at the sky as she called the sorcerer.

He shimmered into existence a
moment later. “You bellowed?”

“I was hoping you’d deliver a
message for me.”

His eyes narrowed. “Do I look
like an errand boy to you?”

“Please? It’s really
important. I think I’ve found a way to get Gabriel out of the house.”

He looked intrigued. “And what
does it have to do with me?”

“Well, I’m going to call
Gabriel and tell him that I’m sending someone to him. In the meantime, I need
you to pop over to Autumn’s apartment and tell her that Aislinn said she needed
to see the alpha – meaning Gabriel – right away. Tell her it’s an order.”

Eric lifted an eyebrow, but
nodded and vanished.

“Think it will work?” Chloe
asked.

“If not, I’ll have Eric drop
Kinley down a volcano. That should get Gabriel’s attention. The sugar glider
has gotten closer to him over the past few months than any of us have. He
barely even speaks to Cole, Michael and the cousins.”

Marin shook her head. “You
wouldn’t do that and you know it. She might be perky, but you like her.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Aislinn sighed.
“Honestly, if this doesn’t work, I don’t know what will. It’s like he’s
expecting Kiera to rise from her grave and walk home at any moment.”

“All we can do is be there for
him.” Chloe shrugged. “Eventually he’ll snap out of it and realize he has a
pack to run.”

Aislinn wasn’t convinced. No,
if he wouldn’t take the bait, she’d have to ask Eric to search for a mate for
Gabriel. It was believed there was one true mate for every wolf, but during her
studies with Eric, Aislinn had learned differently. There were actually several
women marked as a wolf’s mate. It was up to him to choose which one became his
mate. Gabriel had found Kiera, and he had loved her deeply, but it didn’t mean
his life was over now that she was gone. Aislinn just had to find one of his
other matches, shove the woman under his nose, and hope his instincts took
over.

Chapter Two

Autumn stared at the man in
front of her. She’d heard the whispers in the pack and knew he’d gotten the
scars on his face and arms from the demon attack several months before. The
Ashton Grove pack had reached out to other packs seeking both men and women to
grow their numbers after losing so many. Having lost her mate to a drunk
driver, Autumn had taken the chance for a new start.

“Do you know why you’re here?”
Gabriel asked.

“Aislinn told me to come
here,” she answered softly.

“She seems to think you have a
problem. If that’s true, why didn’t you go to Connor with the issue?”

“I don’t have a problem. I pay
my rent on time and attend the pack functions. I promise I haven’t caused any
trouble.”

His gaze softened. “No one
said you were troublesome. They just think something is wrong. Have you had
problems with anyone in the pack? Maybe a male who’s being too persistent?”

She shook her head.

“Perhaps one of the females
has taken issue with you?”

She shook her head again.

Gabriel sighed. “Well,
something has to be going on. Aislinn wouldn’t have sent you here if she didn’t
have a reason.”

“I don’t want to cause any problems.
I’ll pack my things tonight.” Autumn fought back tears, but one slipped down
her cheek.

“Hey,” Gabriel said softly.
“Easy, Autumn. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

He placed his hands on her
shoulders, but she needed more comfort than that. She couldn’t remember the
last time a man had touched her so gently. With a broken sob, she melted
against him, wrapping her arms around his waist. At first, his arms held her
loosely, as if he didn’t know what to do with her. But after a moment, he
tightened his embrace and held her close. A hand stroked her hair.

Autumn knew she needed to pull
herself together. It wasn’t the alpha’s fault she was crying. Living with her
mate had broken her in some way. She’d thought his death would free her, but
she couldn’t have been more wrong.

With a sniffle, she eased her
arms from around him and took a step back, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
Gabriel reached out and caught a stray tear as it dropped from her eyelashes.

“Better now?” he asked.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
She didn’t even know how to finish that thought. She didn’t mean to be so weak?
To cry all over him? To disturb the solitude she knew he wanted? Maybe she was
apologizing for all of it.

“It’s okay. Sometimes you just
need to let it all out.”

She saw the sadness in his
eyes and wondered if maybe she wasn’t the only broken one. She’d heard he’d
lost his mate and child during the demon war. Gabriel must have loved them very
much to have locked himself away after their deaths. And here she was, ready to
celebrate because her mate was gone. Life just wasn’t fair sometimes.

“I’m thinking there’s more
going on in your life than anyone knows. Aislinn said you lost someone
recently?”

“My mate.”

She saw his jaw clench and she
wanted to reach out to soothe him. Her mate hadn’t been half the man this alpha
was, even if Gabriel was a little battered at the moment. She could tell he was
a good man, that wasn’t something that went away just because you lost someone
important to you. If anything, losing people made you see just how strong you
really are. The fact that he still got up in the mornings, that he was still
alive, was proof that he was made of strong stuff.

“I know you lost yours too,”
she said softly. “I’m very sorry.”

“I’m sorry for your loss, as
well.”

She shook her head. “Don’t
feel sorry for me. Losing Perry was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

His eyes widened in surprise.

Her hands fidgeted in front of
her. “He wasn’t a nice man, but I didn’t find that out until it was too late.
He didn’t want a mate; he wanted a slave. I was naïve and stupid, and fell
right into his trap. You know, I don’t think we were even destined mates. At
least, I hope we weren’t. I don’t think I could bear it if I was supposed to
have spent my whole life with an asshole like Perry.”

“I know a forced mating can
sometimes end badly, but I’ve never known a true mate that would dare harm his
female. So perhaps you’re right. Maybe this Perry wasn’t meant to be with you.”

She nodded.

“Have you thought that maybe
your mate could be here in Ashton Grove? We have a lot of strong wolves in the
pack, and even a few shifter males who aren’t wolves. I heard our resident
female wolf recently mated a were-tiger.” He leaned in closer and gently
sniffed. “You don’t smell like a shifter.”

“I’m not one.”

He leaned in close again.
“Your scent. It’s familiar.”

Her eyes widened. “My
grandfather told me no one would ever know what I was. You can’t tell anyone.
It wouldn’t be safe for me to stay here.”

“Not safe?” Gabriel frowned.

“There are people who…never
mind.”

“No, as your alpha you should
tell me.”

Her gaze held his as she
nibbled on her bottom lip. Did she dare trust him? No one knew her secret, not
even Perry had known. Her grandfather had warned her what would happen if her
family could find her. When Perry had entered her life, it had seemed like a
dream come true. A nice, strong shifter to protect her. Little did she realize
she would need protection
from him
.
Despite her heritage, she had no way to protect herself. She’d sneaked away to
self-defense classes when Perry wasn’t home, but it hadn’t done her much good.
He was too big, too strong, and too fast.

“Why is your scent familiar to
me?”

“I don’t know. But maybe…maybe
you’ve been around one of my kind before. I know there are many of us scattered
across the globe, but we try to hide.”

“Why do you need to hide?”

“I’m an aberration. My
grandfather said that since I was only a Halfling—” Her hand shot to her mouth,
as if she could recall the words.

“Halfling?” Gabriel paled.
“You’re half-fae?”

She nodded. “Please don’t tell
anyone. I really like it here and I don’t want to move if I don’t have to.
Grandfather said his people wouldn’t tolerate someone with my bloodlines being
half-human.”

Gabriel was starting to look a
little green. “What bloodlines?”

“My grandfather is king of the
fae.”

Gabriel stumbled back to the
steps and fell onto them. He looked badly shaken and she wondered what she’d
said that had spooked him. Had the alpha dealt with her grandfather in the
past? She’d heard he could be fearsome when provoked.

“Alpha?” She moved closer and
knelt at his feet. “Gabriel?”

“Your mother was the king’s
daughter?” he croaked.

Autumn shook her head. “No, my
father was his son. Do you know my father?”

He shook his head. “My wife…”

“Your mate knew him?”

He raised his tortured gaze to
hers. “My wife was your cousin.”

Autumn felt her knees go weak.
She’d had a cousin? No one had ever told her she had family like her, a
Halfling. Why had her grandfather kept them separated? Wouldn’t they have been
stronger together? Maybe if her father hadn’t died he’d have told her.

“You never knew?” he asked.
“That isn’t why you chose this pack?”

Autumn shook her head. “I
thought I was alone.”

“You are,” he said softly.
Then a look of determination entered his eyes. “No. You’re not. I failed Kiera,
but I won’t fail her family, too.”

Autumn stumbled back as he
rose to his feet. He reached out to steady her, his hands gripping her arms
gently. A tingle of awareness shot through her, but she stifled it. This was
her cousin’s mate. Autumn had no right to feel tingles or anything else when it
came to him. Besides, men were more trouble than they were worth. Except for
family. But then, in a way, Gabriel
was
family, wasn’t he? He’d married into her family at any rate. That was close
enough for her.

“You live in the apartments?”
he asked.

“Yes.”

“You’ll move in here.”

She shook her head.

“I wasn’t asking. I can’t
protect you if you’re staying at the apartments.”

“Protect me from what?” Autumn
asked. “No one knows I’m fae but you, and my mate is gone. There’s no one to
protect me from. Your pack has been very kind and welcoming.”

Gabriel stared at her, as if
trying to bend her to his will. She could tell he was strong of both body and
mind, regardless of the whispers in the pack. He hadn’t lost his edge from what
she could see. A shiver ran down her spine at the intimidating sight of him.
Perhaps his muscles weren’t as big as they once had been, if what she’d heard
was true, but that didn’t make him weak. He was still a born leader, and
stronger than any human male she knew.

“You’re an attractive, single
female in a male dominated pack, Autumn. Most won’t know that your unique scent
is because you’re
fae
; they’ll just know you smell
good. What if they can’t control themselves?”

She looked down at herself
before meeting his gaze again. “I don’t think they’ll be knocking down the
door. I take after my human mother. I’m short and plump.”

“Don’t put yourself down,” he
ordered. “I don’t want to hear another disparaging remark. You’re family and
I’ll always take care of my family. If Kiera were here, she’d welcome you into
our home with open arms. I’m not about to do any less.”

“This isn’t what your family
had in mind when they sent me here,” Autumn said. “What will they think when
they see me moving my things into your home? They’ll think I’m trying to take
your mate’s place. I like living in Ashton Grove, Gabriel. I won’t have the
pack think poorly of me.”

“I’ll tell them the truth.”

She gasped. “But you…”

“Not that you are
fae
, but that you are
Kiera’s
cousin. They’ll understand.”

“You haven’t been out of this
house since the battle, have you?”

“What does that have to do
with anything?”

Autumn sighed. “The pack has
noticed your absence. I think they understand, or at least are trying to understand,
but it doesn’t change the fact that you pulled yourself away from them. Now you
suddenly want to move
oneof
the newest pack members
into your home? They aren’t going to look favorably on that. It will be bad for
both of us. They’ll think I took advantage of you, which will make you look
weak.”

A sad smile crossed his face.
“You’re smart like her. Kiera would have loved you.”

“I wish I would have had the
chance to know her. I’m sure she was an amazing woman.”

Autumn watched as tears
gathered in his eyes. What would it be like to love someone that much? They
must have been so happy together. She stepped forward, wanting to lend him
comfort, but unsure as to whether or not she should. They didn’t know one
another, despite the freaky coincidence of her being related to his deceased
mate. But if her cousin had been anything like Autumn, she knew the other
Halfling would have approved.

Autumn placed a hand on his
arm and before she could utter a word, he gathered her into his arms and cried
into her hair. It hadn’t occurred to her until that moment, but did she
resemble his wife? If she did, she didn’t know what she would do. She didn’t
want him to have a daily reminder of what he’d lost. Autumn wrapped her arms
around his waist and just held him. There wasn’t a lot she could do for him,
except offer
comfort and support.

When Gabriel had himself under
control again, he eased away from her, his hands remaining on her waist. It
broke her heart to see such a powerful man brought to his knees with grief. In
that moment, she vowed to do whatever she could to make his life better. Her
cousin would have wished it; she was certain. And if the pack didn’t like it?
Well, she’d have to cross that bridge when she came to it.

“There are two bedrooms on the
second floor,” he said, his voice hoarse from crying. “You can pick whichever
you want. If you don’t like the way it looks, change whatever you like. Kiera
would have wanted you to make this your home.”

“Thank you,” she said softly.
“It will take me a few days to pack—”

He was shaking his head.
“You’ll pack enough things to stay here starting tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll
properly introduce you to the rest of the family and the girls can help you
pack. If you need anything heavy lifted, you let one of my brothers or me
know.”

“Gabriel, are you sure this is
what you want?”

There was a flash of pain in
his eyes, but he nodded. “I’m sure.”

“Then I’ll return soon.” She
turned and pulled the door open. When she stepped out onto the porch, Gabriel
followed her. He placed a hand on her arm.