A Very Beastly Christmas (Gray Back Bears Book 7) by T. S. Joyce Read Free Book Online Page B

Christmas carols with a country twang. The shifters of Damon’s mountains were all here. The Ashe Crew raised their glasses and greeted them. The Boarlanders were near the stage, drinking like fish and tossing back shots, and the small Lowlander Crew of gorilla shifters were spread out here and there. Kong was behind the bar with his mate, Layla, and the owner of Sammy’s, Jake, pouring shots and drinks like there was no tomorrow.
    Sammy’s was all sticky wood floors, mismatched tables, and a stuffed deer butt over the bathrooms down the hallway. Aviana smiled at the memory of the first time she’d met Beaston here. She’d been so scared to talk to him. He hadn’t known she was his raven after all those years, but as an adult, she’d sought him out. He was so different from what she’d remembered of the sweet silver bear cub. Beaston as an adult was feral, but she’d still seen a spark of the boy she’d known. Thank goodness she’d approached him here. It had been a huge turning point in her life. The emptiness that had swallowed her whole was banished when she met Beaston.
    “You look mushy,” Willa said through a grin as she handed Aviana a shot glass of orange liquid.
    “She’s not drinking,” Beaston growled.
    “Pipe down, scary-beary. It’s just orange juice so she can toast with us. Clara has the same boring, non-alcoholic juice shot. Don’t worry. I’m not trying to piss off the dragon and the beast by getting their preggo mates schnockered.”
    Aviana took the shot of OJ and lifted it in a silent toast to Clara, who stood beside Damon as he greeted Kong with a big grin on his face. That old dragon used to never smile.
    Sammy’s was covered in shiny red, and oversize plastic ornaments hung from the exposed ceiling beams like disco balls. A Douglas fir tree stood in the corner, stretching from floor to ceiling and covered in tinsel and bows. A smile consumed Aviana’s face.
    Beaston leaned forward, wrapping his big hands around her waist, and murmured against her ear, “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
    “I never thought I would have this feeling again.” Her heart pounded just being close to him. He smelled of pine sap, shaving cream, and the spicy, masculine body wash he used in the shower. Unable to help herself, she kissed his cleanly shaven cheek just to feel the smoothness of his skin against her lips.
    “What feeling?” he asked, sliding his hand up her arm and around the back of her neck, pulling her closer.
    “I used to get this giddy feeling when I would bring you presents on Christmas night. But when my dad moved us away, I thought the holiday would never feel like that again.”
    “And you have it now? That feeling?”
    She nodded, and Beaston opened his mouth to say something, but Denison’s voice rang out loud and clear over the speakers on stage. He and his brother Brighton picked pretty notes from their old, beat-up guitars as he said, “A rumor went flying through the Ashe Crew late last night that had us all buzzing. I’d like to address it here so we can celebrate it right. If it’s true, of course.”
    “What is it?” Kong called over the crowd. But the behemoth gorilla shifter’s dark eyes twinkled when he dragged his gaze to Aviana and gave her a wink.
    “I heard that Beaston Novak, the wild man himself, is going to be a daddy soon. Tell me I’m wrong,” Denison dared him through a deep grin.
    Beaston looked around the room coyly, his green eyes blazing before he arched his attention to Aviana. He looked so proud she was melting right here and now. “You aren’t wrong,” he called out, holding her gaze.
    The cheering and ear-splitting whistles that erupted were downright deafening, but Denison managed a toast over the noise. “Lift those glasses high! To Beaston and Aviana and their new bundle of joy on the way. You’re one lucky sonofabitch, you crazy animal.”
    Beaston’s shoulders shook with congratulatory claps on the back, but he managed to down