Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 19872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 99(@200wpm)___ 79(@250wpm)___ 66(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 99(@200wpm)___ 79(@250wpm)___ 66(@300wpm)
He looks over his shoulder, utterly unimpressed.
Growl, I demand. Let out a roar. Do something scary!
He spots a candy cane on the ground and picks it up.
“Aww,” someone in the crowd says. “He’s eating a candy cane.”
“So adorable,” another says.
I’m livid. I’m like a volcano about to blow.
Get your ass over there, I hiss. And knock down that damn tree!
I push him forward with all I got and he lurches forward, dropping the candy cane, thank god. With me pushing and shoving and threatening him with everything I can think of, he waddles over to the Christmas tree and looks up at it.
Push. It. Over.
He takes a slow, exaggerated step forward and starts rubbing on it lazily.
Push. It.
But then…
Something gets his attention.
Or, someone is more like it.
And I know my plan is ruined.
In fact, my whole life might be ruined along with it.
It’s her.
I know it immediately.
It’s our mate.
She’s here.
CHAPTER FOUR
Veronica
“Tree lighting in five minutes!” the mayor says to the excited crowd.
“You’re live in two minutes,” my producer says through the com in my ear.
“We’re live in two,” I say to Leanne, already buzzing with excitement.
She lifts the big heavy camera onto her shoulder and points it at me, getting ready for our live shot of the Christmas tree being lit.
I catch my reflection in the camera lens and quickly fix my hair. I’m bundled up in a winter coat with a faux fur lining and the purple mittens my grandmother made me last Christmas. She’s going to be so excited to see them on camera. I know all my family and friends are watching, as well as thousands of other people.
I’m thrilled and honored that I get to send a little sliver of Christmas into their living rooms.
“Get ready,” my producer says. “Three. Two. One.”
I see the LIVE ON AIR sign light up in our van and I throw on my biggest smile as I address our viewers.
“We’re live tonight in Wildpeak Village for the first annual lighting of the town’s Christmas tree,” I say, presenting the massive pine tree behind me. “The whole town is out tonight, dancing, singing, and celebrating the magic of Christmas. I can tell you right now—spirits are brighter than Rudolph’s nose.”
Leanne gives me a thumbs-up behind the camera. Good start.
“Temperatures may be chilly,” I continue, “but the Christmas cheer is keeping everyone warm and glowing. We’ve got hot cocoa, we’ve got carols, and we’ve got more twinkling lights than Santa’s workshop after an overtime shift.”
A few people turn and smile at the camera. One guy waves.
“And in just a few minutes, this beautiful tree behind me—towering at over thirty feet—will light up the heart of this mountain town. Locals are calling it a ‘tree-mendous’ moment.” I grin. “And I mean that literally.”
Leanne chuckles quietly behind the camera.
“At any moment the countdown will begin,” I go on. “You can feel the excitement in the crowd. It’s literally—”
“GRIZZLY!” a woman screams, interrupting my broadcast.
There’s a collective gasp and then more screams. People start fleeing. Running this way. Running every way. I nearly get knocked down by a man holding a little girl.
“It seems like there’s an uninvited visitor to the tree lighting ceremony,” I say, nervously trying to keep my cool. More people come running past us. Should I be running too?
“When I said everyone was invited, I didn’t mean those who walk on four legs,” I say, chuckling, although I’m starting to panic inside.
Leanne’s head pops out from behind the camera. “Go,” she mouthes to me, waving me forward.
My eyes widen. Go? Towards the bear?
I don’t think so.
She urges me again with a steely look and then starts walking, forcing me backward.
“I guess we’re going to check it out,” I say with a nervous chuckle. “Because that’s what reporters do…”
Damn, why did I wear these high boots? I can’t run in these!
My heart is hammering in my chest as I head in the opposite direction of the people fleeing.
But thankfully, there are always some people whose self-preservation instincts are under developed. I head to the crowd of lurkers who think that grizzly bears are nice and friendly like the ones on cartoons and in toilet paper commercials. Do these people not realize that a grizzly bear can literally rip your head clean off?
“There he is,” I say as Leanne gets a shot of the grizzly bear sitting on the sidewalk like he’s waiting for the bus.
He is kind of cute. That fear that was surging through my veins a few seconds ago magically disappears and I actually feel drawn to the bear.
An urge to go over there and cuddle him fills my head, but I ignore it completely. I’m not insane.
He blinks slowly at the crowd and then spots a candy cane lying beside him.
Everyone around us gasps as he reaches down with a furry paw and grabs it.