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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Davidson, MaryJanice.

Dead and loving it / MaryJanice Davidson—Berkley Sensation trade pbk. ed.
p. cm.

Contents: Santa Claws—Monster love—There’s no such thing as a werewolf—A fiend in need.
ISBN 978-1-1012-0787-1

1. Werewolves—Fiction. 2. Vampires—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3604.A949D43 2006
813'.6—dc22

2005058923

Acknowledgments

Thanks to my husband, who amuses the kids when I’m on deadline and thinks it’s swell when I ignore the family for days to finish a story. (Hmm. That could be more a reflection on me than him, but never mind.)

Thanks also to my editor, Cindy, who asked me, when I was trying to figure out what to write for this collection, “How is George doing?”

Asked and answered, bay-bee!

Dead and Loving It

Santa Claws

Chapter 1

Alec Kilcurt, laird of Kilcurt Holding and the most powerful werewolf in Europe, stomped through the snow and slush and wished he were anywhere, anywhere but here.

He stopped and stood obediently with the rest of the herd, waiting for the light to change. Snow was spitting down on him with malice he could almost feel. It did nothing for his mood. He disliked leaving his home for any reason, but being called to America to pay homage to The Wonderful Child was a bit much.

And now he was shamed; his duty had never seemed a chore before. He admired and respected the pack leaders, Michael and Jeannie Wyndham. Michael was a good man and a fine leader; his wife was a crack shot cutie; and their baby, Lara, was adorable. Because the cooing, drooling infant was likely to be his next pack leader, Alec’s presence—the presence of every country’s werewolf head—had been required for both political and practical reasons. The pack was some three hundred thousand werewolves strong; unity was both a desire and a necessity.

Unfortunately, visiting the Wyndhams in their happy home just exacerbated his own loneliness. He’d been searching for a mate for years, but had…how did the humans put it? Never found the right girl. He thought it was funny that human women complained their men didn’t commit. An unattached werewolf male was likely to want to move in after the first date. What was a man, after all, without a mate, without cubs?

Nothing, that’s what. Meeting baby Lara, aka The Wonderful Child, was a great relief; pack leaders without heirs made everyone nervous. Seeing Michael’s happiness, on the other hand, was a torture.

Now his duty was done, and thank God. His plane left Boston tonight, and nothing was keeping him from it.