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  Oooh. She shouldn’t be surprised that her mate knew all along that Vyr was here.

  “No more burns,” she murmured, tracing the faint scars down the side of her mate’s neck.

  Grim squeezed her leg and stood. “I’ll be right back. Don’t let Rhett eat my food.”

  She wanted to ask if he wanted her to come, too. Heck, her bear wanted to go just to protect Grim. But sometimes a man needed to handle tough situations on his own. And Grim wasn’t just a man. He was an Alpha. He’d made a Christmas wish, and here was the beginning. He had to learn how to deal with other Alphas of other Crews. Even the ones he’d gone to war with. She could read Grim real good, and that’s what he needed with Vyr.

  Chapter Eight

  Grim pushed his way out the door and into the frigid, snowy wind. He couldn’t see where Vyr had gone, but he had a feeling the Red Dragon hadn’t come all the way here just to sit in the corner of a bar and leave without saying anything. And he sure as hell didn’t come here to finish Grim off. If that dragon had wanted him dead, Grim would already be ashes.

  They had unfinished business.

  Grim shoved his hands into his pockets and gripped Rebble. The snarl in his throat steadied right along with the Reaper. He could barely see ten feet in front of him, but he could make out the man leaning against the back of the logging truck.

  “You didn’t answer any of my calls,” he greeted Vyr.

  The red-haired man twitched his head like a tic, and then he lifted his silver eyes with those elongated pupils to Grim. “I like talking face-to-face.”

  Vyr felt off. The air around him felt denser and smelled of smoke, but it was more than that. Vyr felt heart sick. Or head sick maybe. The closer Grim got to the monster, the more his animals drew up and prepared to Change. Both of them, The Good and The Bad. And that was bad news for Grim, so he stopped right on the edge of where he could see Vyr and hoped he could keep his skin long enough to have this talk. “I respect that,” he murmured. “I like settling things man-to-man, too.”

  Vyr crossed his arms and said, “I heard your wish in there.”

  “Congratulations. You have ears.”

  Vyr huffed a breath and gave a smile that chilled Grim’s blood. It was like watching a Tyrannosaurus Rex grin. He lifted two fingers and flicked them slightly. Suddenly, the snow that fell between them disappeared. Grim looked in shock at the clear sphere around them where no snow fell.

  “It’s like an anti-snow-globe,” Vyr murmured.

  Fuck, he was much more powerful than anyone realized. He wasn’t just a dragon, which was dangerous enough. He was more.

  Kill him, the Reaper whispered.

  “I wasn’t completely decided if I would fire your entire Crew for growing the balls enough to face me in Tarian Pride Territory. It’s very hard to pull me off a hunt, and you forced my hand. My dragon doesn’t like you.”

  “Well, none of me likes you, so we’re pretty fuckin’ even.”

  Vyr chuckled. “The man in me respects you though. Or maybe I just recognize you. One shitty Alpha to another, I like what you said in there—about wanting to be better. Your mate and your Crew deserve it.” He shook his head slightly again, the same tic. “So do mine.”

  “The Tarian Pride just needs time to rebuild, you know? They have a new lion trying to fix them.”

  “Ronin won’t fix anything. You and I both know it.”

  Grim gritted his teeth and kicked a snow drift with the toe of his boot. “I believe in him.”

  “You don’t know him. Not anymore. He isn’t the same boy you grew up with. That Pride went after people I consider mine. And like I said, it’s very hard to pull my dragon off a hunt.” Warning flashed in his bright silver dragon eyes. “Stay out of it, Grim.”

  The snow began falling between them again so hard Grim could barely see Vyr anymore.

  The dragon stood and turned to walk away, but hesitated. For a few seconds, he just froze there with his back to Grim. “Bash sent me a picture tonight. It was of you and Ash and your Crew. You were in the truck. Ash was smiling. Juno and Remi, too. You all were. I grew up with those girls. They’re special.” Vyr turned and pulled an envelope out of his back pocket. He strode forward and offered it to Grim. “You are doing better than you think. Merry Christmas, Grim.”

  Vyr gave him a crooked grin and disappeared into the snowstorm.

  Grim watched him go before opening the envelope. He pulled out the Crew’s paychecks. He wasn’t firing them after all. Didn’t matter that his dragon didn’t like Grim. The man in Vyr was still letting Grim run his mountains.

  Grim hadn’t said it out loud, but he felt the same way about Vyr. As an Alpha, as a shifter who had to manage a monster inside of him, Grim respected Vyr, too.

  Baffled, he turned his frown to where the Red Dragon had disappeared in the snow. “Merry Christmas to you too, Vyr.”

  Chapter Nine

  “I think we’re supposed to find a Christmas tree before Christmas morning,” Grim called out as he circled his four-wheeler around the front of 1010. He’d tied a huge plastic sled behind it.

  “Dibs on the back of the sled,” Juno said, sprinting for it.

  “Why would you want the back?” Remi asked, crunching through the snow toward the sled. “Grim will go too fast so there is a million percent chance of you falling off.”

  “Better than getting showered with snow for the next mile,” Juno said, holding on to the edges like Grim would take off at any moment.

  Grim said, “If it takes a mile to find a Christmas tree, I’m leaving these mountains and never coming back. I told you all eight times there is a perfectly good one right there.” He pointed to the closest pine tree to the trailer park.

  Ash scrunched up her face as she made her way to the ATV. “But then it wouldn’t be a Christmas adventure. It would just be you chopping down a tree with an ax, just like every other day. At least this way you can dump Juno off the back.”

  Grim huffed a laugh and stood up straight on the four-wheeler while she climbed up behind him.

  “Ash, what are you doing?” Juno asked. “There is room on the sled!”

  “I love you both, but I would rather snuggle Grim than you.”

  “Traitor,” Remi accused through a big ol’ grin.

  Rhett and Kamp came barreling through the trees on their ATV’s, zigzagging so carelessly, they almost crashed into each other twice. Both were laughing like lunatics.

  Christmas morning had been fun and simple. Breakfast together and no presents because they hadn’t gotten paid until the banks were already closed. But Ash liked it this way. Today was all about spending time together, and she had a feeling today was going to be her new favorite day.

  Rhett gunned his quad and then hit the brakes, spinning the back end and spraying Grim and Ash with snow as he came to a jerky stop. “What does Rebble think about that?”

  Grim was growling a feral sound. “He called you a hero and is laughing. Now guess what the Reaper says about it?”

  Rhett gave Grim an oh-shit look, hit the gas and sped away.

  “And that’s why he’s last in the Crew,” Kamp said proudly, like being Fifth was a big accomplishment.

  Ash laughed a lot in Rogue Pride. Everyone was funny and didn’t take life too seriously.

  Grim and Kamp took off after Rhett, and behind her, the girls were cracking up as they held onto the sled, shifting their body weight back and forth to try to stay on. They were all the way to the parking area down the mountain by the time they caught up to Rhett. As Grim slowed, a rumbling noise sounded just over the engine.

  It was a car headed this way. Grim tensed under Ash’s arms. “You hear that?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Ash whispered. “Is it Vyr?”

  Grim cut the engine of the ATV and dismounted. He stood sentry in front of them, and Kamp and Rhett joined him.

  Sixty-three seconds later, a car climbed the last snowy hill and broke through the trees. “It’s Sophia,” Kamp murmur
ed, stepping forward and waving. “And Raider!”

  A little boy was waving frantically out the back window as Kamp’s ex parked the car. She stepped out first with a grin. “Merry Christmas!” she called to them. Whoa, she was beautiful, with chocolate brown skin, tight, dark curls with blond tips and a gorgeous smile. Remi struggled to her feet off the sled and bounded over to her. She gave her a big hug as Kamp opened the cub’s door.

  This was the first time Ash had ever seen Raider. He was a shade between his father’s fair skin and his mother’s dark skin, with the same blond-streaked curls as Sophia. Sturdy little cub. He was four or maybe five, but built like a little tank already. And when he jumped up into Kamp’s arms from the back seat, he was growling loudly. Oh, he had a little brawler lion cub inside him.

  “I figured you could use a half day with Raider,” Sofia explained breathlessly. “We opened presents at the crack of dawn, and then he asked if he could see you and the Crew today and Change in the snowy mountains, so here we are.”

  “Where’s your mate? You could’ve both spent the day out here,” Kamp said.

  “Back at the new house cooking a huge feast for me and a bunch of our friends. It’s our new time hosting at the new place. He couldn’t leave the turkey alone for this long so I told him I would head straight back. Would you mind dropping him off tonight?” she asked Kamp.

  “Crap no, I don’t mind.” He ruffled Raider’s head. “And you don’t say crap.”

  Raider giggled. “Can I see Waffles?”

  “Yes, but how about you help us cut down a Christmas tree first?”

  “Yes! I’m really good at chopping.” Raider flattened out his hand and made hacking motions against Kamp’s shoulder, which caused Kamp to twitch around like he was being chopped up. More giggles from Raider, and Ash was smitten. They were putting good magic into these mountains. All this echoing laughter was making the forest happy.

  Sophia said her hellos and goodbyes and then headed back down the mountains just as another car came up the snowy road.

  The lady driving it brought instant tears to Ash’s eyes.

  The rest of her 10:10 wish had come true.

  “Grandma?” Grim said on a frozen breath. He looked so stunned, staring at the rental car parking in front of him.

  Rose got out with tears rimming her eyes and a quivering smile. “Hi, Grim.”

  Ash squeezed his hand as he led her over to the only steady family he’d ever had before this Crew. He hesitated for a moment before he pulled Grandma Rose in for a bear hug. The Reaper wasn’t even growling right now.

  Grim was happy. Ash could tell because she could feel it coming off him. That was a lot of joy if the body couldn’t even contain it and, oh, she breathed for Grim’s joy. He deserved the world after everything he’d been through.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked, still hugging the small, silver-haired woman.

  “I got a call from a man yesterday morning who told me he’d booked me a plane ticket to be here with my grandson for his first real Christmas.”

  “Who?” Grim asked. “Who called you?”

  “Oh, I think you know.”

  Ash sure did. She would bet her wardrobe that Vyr had done this after hearing her wish the other night in the bar. Grim didn’t trust him, and he was right to be careful. Vyr was making strange decisions. But Ash had known him from childhood, and that wily dragon also had good in him. Like his father before him.

  Vyr had done a kind thing and given Grim his grandma for the first Christmas outside of the Tarian Pride. His first Christmas as just himself, multi-monstered man, mate of Ash, Alpha of the Rogue Pride Crew. He wasn’t the enforcer for the Pride anymore. He wasn’t their killer. He wasn’t just the Reaper. Or the good lion. Or the man. He was everything. Anything he wanted to be, he would be. Ash would make sure of it.

  Oh, it would be a long road for him to get where he wanted to get, but she would be there every step of the way. And so would Rose. So would Rogue Pride.

  Grim wasn’t alone. Not anymore and never again.

  As if he could feel the pride and emotion roiling through her, he pulled her in close and hugged her and his grandma up tight before releasing them.

  “Rhett,” Grim said. “Get on the sled. Grandma is taking your ATV.”

  “I call dibs on the spot right behind Juno,” he said, waggling his eyebrows as he jogged toward the sled.

  It was chaos and pandemonium, everyone loading up and rearranging seats. Raider was climbing up in front of Kamp on his ATV, and Ash’s very best friends were piling on the sled in front of Rhett. Rose turned her quad on like a pro, and when Ash turned around, Grim was standing by theirs, his hand offered to help her on.

  And he was still wearing her favorite smile.

  Sometimes a good man could get caught in a bad cycle, but if he had the right people to prop him up when he was learning to stand again, he could become greater than anyone could ever imagine.

  That was Grim. Her good man. Her mate whom, as of yesterday, was officially registered as hers. Her Alpha. Her bridge to this beautiful life.

  This Christmas was very special because it was a marker for Grim’s improvement. A year from today, they would be doing this tradition, hunting the perfect tree, and Grim would have a moment like this, where he was looking at Ash with such deep emotion in his yellow eyes. And she would think back on the year and have such pride in how far he’d come. She knew it would be that way. His quality of life had turned around already because he’d accepted his throne here and let the people he cared about the most…in. No more being stuck on the outside for Grim.

  This Christmas was special because Rogue Pride was all together, a complete Crew, building bonds that would last their entire lives.

  Ash slid her hand into Grim’s and let him help her up. She sat behind him and wrapped her arms around his middle. He lifted her hand to his lips, kissed the base of her wrist, and then pressed her palm inside his open jacket against his steady heartbeat. “That’ll always be yours,” he murmured.

  And she understood.

  She, Ashlynn Kane, the girl who used to be confused by everything…understood.

  Grim had given her his heart to keep safe for always.

  As long as she lived, she would never forget this feeling of utter certainty, knowing this was just the beginning of their great big story.

  This Christmas was special because it was the first of many to come.

  The End.

  For more of these characters…

  Check out T. S. Joyce’s bestselling Daughters of Beast series, and Sons of Beasts series.

  (Amazon US buy links)

  Daughters of Beasts

  Novak Grizzly (Book 1)

  Beck Bear (Book 2)

  Ash Bear (Book 3)

  Grim Christmas (Book 4)

  New Vyr (Book 5)

  NEW VYR

  By T. S. JOYCE

  New Vyr

  Copyright © 2018 by T. S. Joyce

  Copyright © 2018, T. S. Joyce

  First electronic publication: January 2019

  T. S. Joyce

  www.tsjoyce.com

  All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the author’s permission.

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. The author does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.

 
; Published in the United States of America.

  Cover Image: Wander Aguiar

  Cover Model: Tyler Halligan

  Chapter One

  This wasn’t how Vyr Daye’s happily ever after was supposed to be.

  He pushed open the door of the mansion but could tell Riyah wasn’t here. The creaking of the door echoed, and the place was dark and cold.

  Inside of him, the Red Dragon moved in discomfort. It wasn’t because this place was dark like the shifter prison he’d almost died in. It wasn’t because of the cold that made the dragon slower and weaker. It wasn’t because he wasn’t greeted by his Sons of Beasts Crew. Again.

  It was because he still couldn’t push into Riyah’s mind. She’d kicked him out of her head months ago and hadn’t lifted the veil for him to feel what she was feeling. Not even once. Not even when she slept.

  That distance made his dragon want to burn everything.

  Being an Alpha was supposed to be so different.

  Being open about his dragon with the public was supposed to be different.

  Happily ever after was supposed to be different.

  Vyr had ruined everything.

  The worst part? He was always going to ruin everything. Monsters had destinies just like everyone else, and sometimes good people got caught up in the fate of demons. And sometimes it broke them.

  Vyr set his duffle bag on the scuffed wood floors and flipped on the light.

  Nox was sitting there. Vyr startled hard, but kept his face blank. He was getting better at showing no emotion. Just like his father, the Blue Dragon, Damon Daye.

  “I can’t sense you anymore,” Vyr murmured, frowning. Maybe it was another hallucination. Those happened more frequently now. “What have you done?”

  “Not me, Sky-Lizard. Riyah’s protecting us now.” He pointed to his head. “No trespassing in the old noggin’ anymore. Not after that war with Rogue Pride.”