Sunday Snippet: An Enticing Yule

A lovely week with warmer temperatures and some rain. Excited to see some spring weather rolling in. It's supposed to be in the high fifties and sixties this week and I'm totally down with that, even if it gets chilly at night.

Not a bad week for writing either. I played catch-up on a few more manuscripts and fleshed out some plot bunnies. The sages are on a roll right now and I'm not sure what prompted their creativity. I won't complain though.

Good week of television also. I watched a couple of movies starting with Enola Holmes, which I ended up really enjoying. Glad to hear there will be another one at some point. I also watched a total favorite of mine, Grease 2. This is one of those cases where I loved the sequel more than the original. Seriously.

I restarted my watch of Picard, picking up with episode six. Wow, a lot to unpack in that episode. I'm excited to see what happens next.

I finally started Chicago Med. I've been waiting to see the first season and ended up getting access. Enjoyed the first episode.

Caught two episodes of Peak Practice. I ended the second season and started the third. Both were good episodes.

Watched another episode of No Offence. I like the overarching storyline for the new season and the wrap-up of the previous season's fallout. I'll be honest and admit I'm not keen on the new supervisor but I'll reserve judgment for now.

Finished up the second part of Silent Witness and it was as twisty as I thought it would be. Enjoyed the two-parter.

Started season fifteen of Classic Who. Pretty decent opening arc the lighthouse setting. Interestingly, it ties into one of those unsolved mysteries of the unexplained and I love it when the show does that kind of thing.

Caught another episode of UFOs: The Lost Evidence. This one focused on Area 52 and what might or might not be going on there.

Two more episodes of The Muppet Show are complete. I'd forgotten about Harry the mad bomber. He made an appearance and blew some stuff up.

That's about it for television and this week's wrap-up. Tonight's post is from An Enticing Yule, a Holiday Spirit sexy short.

Here's the mini-blurb:

A shifter and a watcher have to find their Yule cheer … with a little help from holiday spirit, Cinnamon Mistleberry. She's got her work cut out for her. Pandora Prewitt is a multi-shifter struggling to find her true form or risk banishment from her tribe. Dexter Diamond is a watcher, the group of preternatural humans who document the shifter chronicles, questioning his life's work. Cinnamon brings the duo together at Yule to show them the enticing value of love.

And a preview snippet…

Pandora entered her small cottage and slammed the door. "Dammit. I know what I have to do. Riding my ass won't make it happen any sooner." She paced back and forth, giving her anger full rein.

Fear crept in, hovering on the fringe.

She stopped. "No, I won't be swayed by scare-mongering." If the pack pushed her out, so be it.

No. On her own, she'd surely lose her mind. Already, the symptoms of feral psychosis nudged at her. She struggled to focus during her shifts and each time she tried a new form and failed to connect, she died a little more.

"Why can't I find the right fit?" The thought of being banished or locked away in a psychiatric ward almost choked her.

She wouldn't survive. She wanted to soar with freedom, live the way her pack members did—in harmony with their animal side. Frustrated, she flung her jacket off and tossed it on the table.

When a loud knock sounded, she stomped to the door. "By all that rules the universe, leave me alone." Yanking the heavy oak toward her, she stared at empty space. "What the hell?" She'd fully expected to find her pack alpha frothing at the mouth.

Instead, a burst of smoke delivered a sealed envelope that landed on her small porch. Glancing around, Pandora bent down to retrieve the parcel. No one hid in the bushes or along the tree line.

Closing the door, she flipped the letter over and back. "No address or name. Huh."

An ornate seal gave an official-looking flair.

A thread of worry wound its way through her. "I hope this isn't bad news."

She had until after the Yule holiday—through the first of the year, in fact—to find her true form.

A horrible thought occurred. "Unless the pack decided to cut their losses." She blinkdly walked into the living room.

They wouldn't push her out before the holiday, would they? Why wouldn't her alpha deliver the news himself if they did? The envelope trembled along with her hands. Should she open it or not?

"Gah. Only one way to find out what's inside." She slipped her finger under the seal and lifted the flap.

Pulling out an embossed card, she breathed a sigh of relief.

 

The search for your form needs a key for the lock

A place to lay low without pressure from a ticking clock.

Come to Goodacre for nurturing care.

The discovery of your nature might be found there.

 

Instructions to confirm the reservation and how to arrive in the nether realm via the mists followed the invitation, along with a seasonal Yule message.

Pandora didn't hesitate. "Yes, definitely yes." The parchment etched her reply on the page then winked out of sight.

Pandora dashed into her bedroom and packed for an extended stay. "If nothing else, I won't have to walk on eggshells around everyone who's waiting for me to sink or shift."

As if she enjoyed the constant scrutiny.

I'm super thrilled with how this story came together. I have so much fun with the holiday spirit shorts.

 

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye