“About Anna and Christmas…” Bjornolf needed to know because it could be important to the mission. Not only that, but he wanted to help her get through it in the worst way. If he knew what her basis was for not liking the holiday, he’d be better able to cope with her feelings.

Hunter shook his head.

“You know, though.”

“I know. I learned about her during the thorough investigation I do on anyone I want to recruit to work with us.”

Bjornolf seized several pair of socks. “Does Tessa know?”

“No,” Hunter said a little more vehemently than Bjornolf thought necessary. The message was clear: leave Tessa out of this.

“The rest of the team?”

Hunter folded his arms and said nothing.

“What if it impacts the mission? I should know the details.”

“It happened long ago. It’s never affected anything she’s done with the team.”

“With others, then? Has she ever worked an operation like this? During Christmas?”

“Drop it, Bjornolf. If she wants to tell you about it, she will. Otherwise, it’s a closed topic.”

It wasn’t closed for him.

Hunter paid for Bjornolf’s purchases, then they went to locate the ladies. He saw Tessa looking red-faced, as if she were on the verge of shifting so she could take care of a customer she was fighting with over a sweater.

“Does Tessa have issues with Christmas, too?” Bjornolf asked, smiling.

Anna wished she’d brought her own clothes with her. Anything to avoid the worst shopping experience ever.

The only thing that made it better was that poor Tessa, who had to be horribly uncomfortable with twins due soon, was such an angel in helping Anna to choose the right clothes. Anna couldn’t remember a time when she had ever shopped with another woman. She had certainly never been with one who was excited about helping her look her best.

Bjornolf had been carrying his own purchases, but he stepped in to carry several of Anna’s bags. Hunter ended up having to carry a few of Anna’s also. It was Tessa’s fault, really.

Anna wouldn’t have bought more than a couple of things, and she didn’t mind washing them out for the next day. But Hunter didn’t seem to mind the expense. In fact, he almost seemed in high spirits over the whole business.

Which made her suspicious.

When they arrived in the pack’s territory, they picked up a rental Land Rover. Anna insisted on getting a second vehicle, though she fully intended to pay for it herself, but Hunter shook his head and used his credit card on the second car, too.

“Nathan’s working at the farm until closing tonight,” Hunter said.

“Okay, we’ll leave our stuff at our new home. After we get settled in, we’ll drop by the farm and pick out a Christmas tree,” Bjornolf said.

“We don’t have to get a tree.” Anna grabbed the keys for her rental car and headed to the vehicle. No wonder Hunter had been so secretive about what she was to do on this mission.

“If you two need anything at all, just call me or Tessa,” Hunter said, smiling just a little.

“Will do.” Bjornolf followed after her. “We can use the Christmas tree for our cover. We’re not going to be the only couple without a tree for the open-house tour of homes scheduled in a couple of days.”

“Open house? When did this happen?”

“While you and Tessa were shopping, and I was picking out a few things, Hunter filled me in on some of the details.”

“Fine,” Anna said, but her tone of voice said other-wise. “You pick out a tree, and I’ll search the farm for the odor of dead bodies and any other clues.” She glanced back at Bjornolf as she reached her car. “What do you know about it, anyway?”

“The men hadn’t been dead for long. Only a wolf could have smelled how long it had been.”

“What about the owners of the tree farm? Are they wolf?”

“Human—husband, wife, teenaged daughter.”

Anna rested her hand on the car door handle. “Teen… girl? Human? And Nathan is working there because?”

“He needed a job to occupy his thoughts after his parents died, to keep him from running away. He loves the forest, so the tree farm is the next best thing for now. He cuts the trees for customers, loads them up, and delivers them when they need him to. We’ll pick one out. He’ll bring it home tonight. It’s part of our cover.”

After getting directions to the beach home, Anna drove the fifteen miles up the road, then pulled into the driveway. Bjornolf parked beside her. Like the other cottages Hunter and Tessa owned, this one was nestled among pine trees, a long way from the next cottage, and sat overlooking a rocky beach below. The setting was perfect for a wolf. Plenty of woods to run in, the Pacific Ocean to swim in, and a private beach.

A wraparound porch furnished with a porch swing and four rocking chairs made the place appear homey. The house was a pretty pale blue with the shutters and trim all painted white, making it appear like a recreational retreat for a family reunion.

Right now, the cottage was dark, just like she liked it. No Christmas lights. No warm fire glowing in the fireplace. Perfect for someone undercover and not wanting to pretend to be newly married or to celebrate the holidays in any fashion. A single someone not raising a teen boy.

The wind whipped through the evergreen-needled tree branches with a whooshing noise, and the waves crashed along the rocky beach below the cliffs as sea birds squawked out at sea, the fragrance of salt, fish, and pine filling the air.

Even though the assignment wasn’t what she wanted, she couldn’t help but take another deep breath of the chilly air that was all woods, water, and wilderness—a wolf’s ideal home.

She grabbed some of her bags while Bjornolf hauled his and the rest of hers up the stone path to the front door. She spied mistletoe hanging atop the door frame—probably Nathan’s idea of a cute joke.

Bjornolf opened the door and walked in, turning to see what she was looking at. He glanced up at the mistletoe. “Since Nathan works at the Christmas tree farm, he probably got a sprig of it and placed it there in case a girl came over to the house to see him.”

“No way am I dealing with teen hormones gone amok,” Anna said, pushing the door shut with her hip.

Bjornolf was studying her, but she couldn’t read what he was thinking. He shrugged. “It’s tradition.” He didn’t say anything further but motioned for her to take her bags down the hallway. “Two bedrooms. Bunk beds in one. A king-sized bed in the master bedroom.”

“How do you know that?”

“Last mission when I was here, Meara put me up in this cottage. While you were trying on some clothes, Hunter told me your guns are in the right-hand dresser drawer. Mine are in the left. Nathan will stay here, and you and I will share the big bed.”

“You thought wrong.” She attempted to smile sweetly at him, but it was more of a wolf-got-the-prize kind of look.

His expression was a lot more wolfish—like he had every intention of changing her mind.

She glanced at the large terra-cotta and stone fireplace filling one wall, its warm golden-oak mantel begging for some kind of decoration. An ivory sofa, pale-blue-and-green plaid chairs, and an oak coffee table the same color as the mantel took center stage in front of a large-screen TV. Now why would anyone want to watch television when they had so much outdoor beauty to enjoy?

Floor-to-ceiling windows showcased the pine trees framing the ocean. She stared at it for a moment, lost in its beauty. Then she realized that Bjornolf was probably observing her, and she had a job to do. She wasn’t here for fun or relaxation.

She hurried down the hallway and entered the master bedroom. The huge, king-sized bed was covered with a pale blue quilted coverlet. A white armoire and dresser, a hand-hooked blue-and-white floral rug, and paintings of blue and white flowers on the walls finished the decor. She looked at the bed again and figured she’d get lost in it, then left her bags next to the closet. She turned. He was looming in the doorway, watching her.

“You and the other male wolf can share a room and bathroom,” she said matter-of-factly, as if she was in charge, ensuring he understood she was serious about this. She felt that Hunter and Bjornolf had decided all of this for her. So it was time for the she-wolf to show she had some say in the whole setup.

Looking down at her with a superior expression, he handed her the remainder of her bags and folded his arms. “How will anyone believe we are mated wolves if we sleep apart?”

Bags in hand, she motioned to the hallway. “Your side.” She waved at the bedroom. “My side. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to change before we go to the farm.” She paused, thinking she didn’t need to explain a prior situation to him, but just in case he’d gotten the wrong impression concerning the mission when she served as Paul’s wife, she wanted to set Bjornolf straight about the living arrangements. “For your information, when I pretended to be Paul’s wife, we slept on separate beds.”

Bjornolf grinned at her. “Good to know. That way when I see him again, I don’t have to kill him.”

***

Bjornolf thought that the more he saw of Anna, the less he’d be hooked on her. That he’d get tired of her, rub her the wrong way, and she would do the same to him. But it wasn’t happening. The more he saw of her, the more he wanted to see of her.

He was determined to help Nathan deal with his parents’ deaths over the holiday and look into the murders. Even though he knew that he and Anna would have plenty of trouble to deal with, he was damned glad she was here and hadn’t insisted on working alone or refused to do the mission.

He headed outside to the back patio, then climbed down the wooden steps to the beach below and called Nathan on his cell. “We’re here and it’s a go.”

“Hot damn!” Nathan said.

That’s how Bjornolf felt about Anna being here. “We’ll be by the tree farm shortly. She’s just changing clothes, but expect a reluctant aunt.”