A Siberian Werewolf Christmas (3 page)

§

What was he doing? Slava
looked up at Zhenya. It was this idiot touching Maggie that had set
him off. No one should touch her, except him. At least, not until
the Christmas ball. It was
his
job to keep her safe. That must be why his wolf
rushed to the surface wanting to attack the male who dared to put
his hands on her. And the kiss on her hand? He’d needed to remove
any lingering touch left by the young lycan. Shaking his head,
Slava focused on Zhenya.

“We are about to take off. You need to
put on your seat belts.” Zhenya pointed to the straps on the
couch.

Zhora already sat in one of the swivel
chairs and belted up. His brother took the other chair. For a
moment Slava had forgotten where they were. He looked over at
Maggie before reaching for his own seat belt. Her face was a rosy
pink, almost as if she blushed. She clicked the belt into place and
then stared out the window.

He needed to remember this woman was
human and possibly dangerous to the pack. He wouldn’t allow
sentiment to make him underestimate the harm she could
bring.

Zhenya and Zhora refused to meet his
eyes, giving him the Alpha position of their group. Perhaps he
shouldn’t have warned them off. He liked the twins and had enjoyed
the more relaxed atmosphere of their trip west. Now there was
tension in the air. Sighing, he leaned his head back as the force
of the plane’s takeoff pushed him into the seat.

Chapter Three

Maggie’s head jerked up as she tried
to stay awake, then her chin slowly sunk to her chest again. The
white puffy coat she held in her lap slipped to the floor. Slava
smiled. She was adorable. Gone was her feisty spirit, replaced by
the innocence of a child.

He undid his seatbelt and picked the
coat up off the floor. Then he wadded it up and placed it on the
couch before he released the seatbelt and laid the woman down. Her
head rested gently on the hastily fashioned pillow. She murmured
something unintelligible and stretched out before placing her hand
under her cheek.

Slava lifted her head,
pillow and all, and placed her in his lap as he sat back down. He
lightly brushed her hair away from her face. Tingles of electricity
ran up his fingertips and into his body.
What was that?
He rubbed his thumb
over the tips of his fingers, testing the feeling.

He caught Zhora watching him and
pointed to the blanket in the overhead bin. Zhora quickly complied
and placed the fleece over Maggie’s body.

“What is the plan when we reach
Yakutsk?” Zhenya asked, keeping his voice low so as to not disturb
their guest.

“Dmitry has a car waiting for us at
the airport. We will drive to the pack’s garage. From there,
instead of hiking in, I will take Maggie on one of the snowmobiles.
You and your brother will take her luggage on the other two,” Slava
said.

Zhora frowned. “Can we carry all three
of her suitcases?”

“I believe we have a luggage net. You
and Zhenya will have to find a way or make more than one
trip.”

“I wanted to run in. My wolf needs to
stretch its legs after being in this plane,” Zhenya
complained.

“Hush. We do not discuss our wolf
spirits in front of the human. You will take the snowmobiles as I
said,” Slava whispered furiously. Agony knifed into his
head.

He closed his eyes a moment. Pushing
the pain back, he tried to breathe through it. He smelled vanilla
and warm woman. His body relaxed as he pulled Maggie’s scent deep
into his lungs. The torment ebbed. Then it disappeared
entirely.

He opened his eyes to look down at
her. Her long lashes lay on her cheek; her red lips were slightly
parted as she breathed. He ran his hand down her hair to her back,
enjoying the silky softness. She sighed and shifted. He twirled one
of her long curls around his finger. The color fascinated
him.

“Uhm, perhaps I should fix some food.”
Zhora rose and headed toward the galley near the back of the
plane.

“I’ll help.” Zhenya quickly followed
on his brother’s heels.

Slava frowned and tilted
his head.
What was their
problem?

Suddenly the plane jerked and bounced,
hitting turbulence. The fasten seat belt sign came on, and Zhora
and Zhenya hurried down the aisle and sat down in their
chairs.

“You should belt her in. She might
fall off the couch,” Zhora suggested.

Slava looked down at the woman with
her head lying on his lap. He didn’t want her to fall, but she
slept so heavily he didn’t want to wake her either. He slipped his
seat belt on, being careful not to catch her hair. Then he reached
down, and putting his hands around her ribs, pulled her up into his
lap. Her head naturally fell onto his shoulder, and he wrapped his
arms around her. She must be a heavy sleeper to accept his moving
her so easily.

“There, that should keep her from
falling.” Slava looked over at the brothers.

Both Zhora and Zhenya stared at him in
astonishment. Zhora’s mouth hung open and Zhenya
frowned.

“What? She needs her
sleep.”

“If you say so,” Zhora
said.

“Are you sure you know what you’re
doing?” Zhenya asked.

§

Maggie groaned as she slowly came
awake. Her ears felt clogged, and she needed to yawn to pop them. A
terrible taste lingered in her mouth, and moisture dampened her
chin from sleeping with her mouth open. The drone of the plane’s
engines changed pitch. Were they coming in for a
landing?

She blinked. Warm arms
surrounded her and she jerked up. She sat on Slava’s lap. His arms
tightened around her. “Easy,
malyshka
, little one. I don’t want
you to fall.”

“Oh, my God. I drooled on
your chest.”
Could I say anything more
stupid?
She brushed her fingers over the
wet spot on his shirt. Then she rubbed at her mouth, wiping the
remaining drool from her face.

Slava reached up and pushed her hair
back from her face. “It’s only a little spot. I’ll change after we
land.” He shrugged his shoulders.

His smile lit up his face, making him
seem younger. Her breath stuttered in her chest. She had the
overwhelming urge to kiss him. Then she tasted the pasty coating on
her tongue and put her hand over her mouth. Had he gotten a whiff
of her bad breath? She grimaced.

“Would you like a bottle of water,
Maggie?” Zhora held one out to her.

“Yes, please.” Maggie turned and
reached across the aisle for the container. She twisted off the cap
and downed half of the contents. “I think I can sit by myself now.”
She glanced at Slava and then away.

“Of course.” Slava lifted her from his
lap and placed her on the couch next to him. He handed her one side
of the seatbelt then took the water bottle from her hand so she
could fasten it to the other.

“Are we getting ready to land?” Had
she slept that long? Didn’t it take seven hours to reach Yakutsk?
What time was it?

“We should be on the ground in forty
minutes,” Zhenya offered helpfully.

Maggie tugged on her clothes,
untwisting her shirt. She kept her head down, afraid to look at the
handsome men who watched her so closely. She looked up through her
lashes. Both of the twins now seemed to be ignoring her. One read a
magazine, while the other rested his head back against his chair,
his eyes closed. She peeked over at Slava. He studied her as if she
was a puzzle or a piece of fine art.

“The drive to the Volkov community
parking garage will take about an hour. Then we will take
snowmobiles the rest of the way into the village.”

“Snowmobiles?” Maggie gulped. “I’ve
never ridden one before.”

“All you need to do is
hold on to me,
malyshka
. You can do that, correct?” Slava asked his head cocked as
he looked at her.

“Of course.” Holding on to him was the
easy part. She’d always wanted to give snowmobiles a try. Why not
now? It couldn’t be any more embarrassing than drooling all over
Slava’s chest. What was the worst that could happen?

She could fall off and break her
neck.

“No problem at all.”

Maggie looked out the window into the
wintery night. Stars gleamed in the sky. The ground below stretched
out before her, a long expanse of white, broken occasionally by
green that Maggie assumed was trees. She shuddered while thinking
of hiking through the snow. Violet had warned her there were no
cars in the village.

Maggie loved the snow, as long as she
didn't have to go out into the cold. Sitting in front of a
fireplace, even her fake one in her apartment, with a cup of hot
chocolate was one of her favorite pastimes. There was a reason she
lived in Virginia—once it snowed, everything shut down. Somehow she
doubted that would be the case here in Siberia.

Sighing, she turned back to find Slava
watching her again. She frowned, a little disconcerted by his
constant vigilance. He continued to look at her.

"What?"
Wow, that sounded belligerent
. Maggie smiled, trying to take back the sting.

"I asked if you wanted to freshen up
before we land." Slava raised his eyebrows.

"Oh. Yes, that would be lovely." No
wonder he was staring at her. He must think she was the village
idiot.

"The lavatory is in the back of the
plane." Slava gestured toward the tail section.

Maggie jumped up and hurried down the
aisle. It wasn't until she reached the bathroom and stood safely
behind the door that she realized she didn't have her bag. She
finger-brushed her teeth, rinsed out her mouth, and finger-combed
her hair. Hey, this was Siberia, not the Ritz.

When she came out of the bathroom, she
heard the twins talking in the galley.

"I think he likes her. His wolf is
apparent in his eyes when he looks at her."

Who were they talking about, and what
did they mean by his wolf in his eyes?

"Yeah, I saw that too. I bet the
mating bond will be showing soon."

Mating bond? Maggie shook her head.
She really shouldn't eavesdrop like this.

"I'm happy for Slava. He hasn't been
the same since the accident, and losing his father in the mine was
a terrible blow."

His father had died? Maggie's heart
hurt for Slava. She remembered the pain of losing her parents.
Tears sprang to her eyes, and she quickly blinked them
away.

"Not to mention his mother. I heard
that his sister Fanya is taking their mother's death extremely hard
since she is pregnant, and little Illarion, his nephew, misses his
babushka."

Unable to listen anymore, Maggie
cleared her throat and then stomped by the door on her way back to
her seat. Her heart went out to Slava. Both parents…She shook her
head. Maybe she could help him, get him to talk about
it.

Slava looked up and beamed at her
approach. Fireworks detonated in her head. What was it about this
man that made her so hot? Maybe she wouldn't be cold in Siberia
after all.

"Both of my parents died five years
ago," Maggie blurted out.

"You must miss them." Grief crossed
his face as he looked at her. Gone was the beautiful smile he
presented her with. In its place, his features now showed no
emotion at all. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after
all.

"Yes, especially now, during the
holidays."

"I am sure Dmitry and Violet will work
hard to make your stay a pleasurable one."

"I'm sure they will." Nope, trying to
get him to talk was definitely not a good idea.

Maggie stared out the window as the
glow from the city below grew brighter. They were making their
final approach for landing. The twins hurried to their seats and
belted up. As the wing dipped and the plane turned, Maggie's
stomach let out a loud growl. All three men looked at her, their
gazes penetrating.

"Forgive me," she murmured. "I guess
I'm hungry." She closed her eyes as the plane righted itself and
continued its descent.

"There is food in the galley. Zhora
will fetch you something as soon as we land. I should have thought
to ask you before." Slava looked over at Zhora before glancing back
at her.

Zhora nodded in agreement.

The wheels touched down, and the pilot
put on the brakes. She was finally in Siberia. Tired, hungry, and
feeling off center, but here at last.

Now they needed to get to the village
where Violet lived. At least they weren't carrying her in on a sled
pulled by dogs. After they arrived at the village garage, the
snowmobile ride might be fun.

"Zhora, fetch that meal for Maggie.
Zhenya, see to the luggage." Slava released his seat belt and
strode forward to the cockpit before disappearing inside. He moved
with a sense of strength that made Maggie tingle with excitement
and fear at the same time.