Christmas With the Alphas: A Claimed Novella by Viola Rivard Page A

Asch had been joined by River. The beta male’s shoulders were slumped and he was stroking his beard in a rare gesture of discomfort. Mila could see why. Asch was pissed.
    “You said it was safe.”
    River held his hands up in front of his chest. “It was safe, but that was two weeks ago. They had to have come with the first frost.”
    After over two years of eavesdropping on the wolves, Mila was an expert at piecing fragments of information together into something coherent. From their conversation, she gathered that the cats must have settled into valley as early as two days ago.
    The pack had left the lakeside den three nights ago. They had planned on leaving well before the end of autumn, but Mila had stalled them as long as possible in the hopes that she’d go into labor early, as she had with Dawn. No such luck.
    Lakeside den had become home to her. While Cairn Valley would always hold a special place in her heart, the second den was where she’d spent the last two years—where she had given birth and where she had raised Dawn from a mewling infant. There were little grooves in the wall where Mila had counted down the days of her pregnancy and parallel to those, the marks charting Dawn’s weed-like growth.
    Just like when they left Cairn Valley, Caim was against the move. It had been Asch who had insisted on leaving. He felt that Lakeside was too small to house the entire pack, and now, two new pups. Despite Caim and Mila’s objections, it was next to impossible to oppose him these days.
    At the beginning of spring, Mila had become fertile and this time, she’d only been with Asch. From the day her scent had begun to change, so had Asch’s demeanor. Her usually diplomatic mate became more dominant and possessive than usual. A few weeks later, when they found out that she was having twins, he became downright despotic. The slightest provocation could send him flying off the handle and when he made a decision, it was final. He was basically Caim on steroids.
    Despite Mila’s best efforts, they had set out for Cairn Valley. They had all taken the warm autumn for granted, because the night after they left, winter blew in with a vengeance. They’d taken shelter in a cave while the snow raged, and no doubt, the cats had done the same at The Cairn.
    Hands on his hips, Asch said, “We’ll have to scout it out. Even with a few cats, they could easily hold the den if we try barging in without a plan.”
    “Maybe try talking to them?” Mila suggested. “I’m sure that they didn’t mean to intrude. They were probably desperate.”
    Asch said, “If they’re desperate enough to barge into a wolf den, there’s no telling what they’ll do if they catch wind of us.” He looked to Caim. “I’ll lead the pack down into the valley. You take Mila and Dawn to the smaller den. Don’t let them out of your sight.”
    Caim gave him a withering look, but said nothing in protest. Seeing her large, strong alpha passively accept orders made Mila’s heart sink. He had always been such a combative male, but in the past few months he had turned into a brooding shadow of his former self.
    Wordlessly, he shifted back into his wolf form. After a quick embrace with Asch, she climbed onto Caim and accepted Dawn from Brae. Mila kept one hand on her mate’s fur and the other wrapped around her daughter as they set out into the forest.

CHAPTER TWO
     
    The smaller den that Asch had referred to was a place Mila had only been once, but would never forget. It was where she, along with Asch and Caim, had experienced their first mating thrall together—five nights of carnal bliss, followed by weeks of doubt and insecurity.
    She had only known Asch and Caim for a handful of days, but had surrendered her body over to them in the most intimate way possible. From those five nights, she’d gotten Dawn—the love of her life.
    The little girl sat sideways on her father’s back, her head resting on Mila’s belly. Listening to the twins was