A Very Beastly Christmas (Gray Back Bears Book 7) Read Free

narrowed his eyes in the direction of the crying rabbit. “I’m doing something wrong.”
    “You’re not.”
    “I am.”
    “You also used to swear that Creed was going to kill you for being so broken, and he didn’t. Sometimes you’re wrong.”
    Beaston swallowed hard and covered his dick, too, since that seemed to be what Jason found normal. Nudity didn’t bother a man who was mostly animal like Beaston. “I woke up last night, and she was crying.”
    “Like…crying in bed?”
    Beaston nodded once as shame tinged his cheeks. “I didn’t know what to do, and when I rolled over to hug her shoulders, she didn’t seem to want my comfort.”
    Jason’s dark eyebrows raised, and he took a step back, leaned against a tree of his own. “Fuck.”
    “It’s bad, right?”
    Jason nodded.
    Beaston scrubbed his hands over his face and stared off into the quiet woods. “What do I do?”
    “Talk to her, man. You have to figure out how you can fix what’s wrong.”
    “She’ll leave me.”
    “You’re wrong,” Jason said, shaking his head. “Aviana loves you. Anyone with eyes can see it, but this is part of the gig. You can’t run away when a woman needs to talk. I know talking isn’t your strong suit, but women are softer and need that. They need you to listen.”
    “Has she said anything?”
    “To me?”
    Beaston nodded, desperation, not the cold, making him shuffle his weight from side to side.
    Jason dropped his gaze to his snow-covered bare feet.
    “Jason,” Beaston barked out.
    “Not to me, but to Georgia. Aviana mentioned she wanted to celebrate the Christmas holiday big for you, but that you won’t have anything to do with it. I get it, man. The holidays weren’t awesome for you growing up alone, but Aviana was raised with a family. Maybe the holiday is really important to her, and you aren’t compromising? I don’t know. I’m not that good at this kind of girl shit.”
    But what Jason was saying made perfect sense. Ana had mentioned the Christmas Eve party at Sammy’s that the crew was going to, and he’d balked. She’d mentioned putting stockings on the fireplace, but he’d told her he didn’t want their den decorated. She hadn’t made a fuss, but he hadn’t compromised at all, and his mate was more timid about stating her wants than the other Gray Back females.
    He felt like grit. Without meaning to, he’d pushed his shit onto Ana and stripped the season of its fun for her. That had to be it.
    Beaston pushed off the tree and nodded his head slowly. He could fix this, and Ana would be okay. She would be happy again. “What kind of stuff do you do for Christmas?”
    “Do you remember anything from…you know…before?”
    Beaston swallowed a growl at the mention of the before . Before his parents died? Hell no. He’s pushed as much of his first eight years out of his mind to spare himself from what-ifs. Survivors didn’t look back. They looked forward. “No,” he said in a growly voice. Jason wasn’t prying, though. He was being a good friend. The best. He was good. Good to his bones.
    “You need to decorate a tree, man.”
    “Decorate how?” Beaston asked, palms up in confusion.
    “I don’t know. Put shiny shit on the branches. I’m taking Georgia out tomorrow to cut one down. And put stockings up on the mantel. And you could take Aviana to Sammy’s for that Christmas Eve party. Get dressed up for her or something. Dude, cover your dick before it snaps off. It’s cold as fuck out here.”
    Beaston looked down and shook his head. Fine. He put his hands back over his dick. He wouldn’t point out that Jason was being a total pussy, or that he’d survived much colder winters than this in nothing but threadbare clothes. He wouldn’t repay Jason’s kindness with insults. That’s not what friends did. Instead, he ducked his head once and took a few more steps away from the tree so he could Change into his bear again. But right before he did, he hesitated. Manners. “Uh,