It sucks to be invisible. In the diner my family owns, I’m just the sister who gets stuff done. My entire skulk seems to forget about me on a weekly basis. So color me tickled when the fates drop my fated mate—a hunky, nerdy-hot wolf shifting professor—directly in my path. But not all matings go as planned, mine included.


He’s smart, he’s hot, and he’s decided to use our bond for research instead of actually getting to know me. And did I mention he used to buy my best friend’s worn undergarments? Thanks for that, fates.


Undies aside, my wolf shifter professor is about to learn his toughest lesson ever—never go up against a fox shifter in a battle of wit or will. We’re sneaky, smart, and not afraid to take an opponent to the mattresses to win a battle.

I have two great loves of my life—my fox shifting family (no matter how much they drive me crazy) and being on stage. True, my acting credits are relegated to the local community playhouse, but that doesn’t matter. I spend my free time learning lines and rehearsing scenes…that very few people will ever see. Dating, mating, and all that comes with it? Unimportant.

At least until a man with a sharp gaze, a little gray in his hair, and a familiar face comes walking into the diner. He’s handsome, charming, and the fates say all mine.

Except he’s also famous—an actor whose eagle shifter instincts have brought him stardom in the action-movie arena.

The fates aren’t always kind, but giving me someone who lives his life in such a public way might just be too cruel for words. I’ve never really worried about finding a mate, but now that I have him? I don’t want to be without him. And I’ve had enough sharing for one lifetime.

Being from the O’Rudolph family never had saved me from ridicule or given me any extra access to those reindeer games, but I’d made it through my childhood relatively unscathed. Or so I liked to tell myself. Truth be told, one herd in particular had been awfully cruel and gone well beyond just laughing and calling me names. But that was years ago. Right? I should be over it…right? 

Over it or not, I was older. More mature. An adult. An adult with a job that took her to a shifter town named Kinship Cove, where the fates not only introduce me to a diner-owning, fox-shifting old lady who makes me the best cups of peppermint coffee ever, they also throw me a wild curve ball in the form of one Bennett Donderson. My fated mate and a man who can truly rock the white hair look. Unfortunately, he’s also a man from the herd of my nightmares. One who had been unable—or unwilling—to protect me from his very own niece. How can I trust someone whose family takes being on the naughty list to an emotionally scarring sort of extreme?

What’s a girl to do when her past slams headfirst into her present and threatens her future?

Being an elf in North Pole, Alaska, means one thing to me: baking to support my fellow elves who are responsible for making toys. When a fellow kitchen elf takes a tumble days before the big gift run, I’m assigned to the reindeer shifter side of town. Carb-loading is my specialty, after all. No way would I let the reindeer team fail after a solid year of work by elves and reindeer alike. I know my role—get in, bake, get out—but while delivering delightful pastries to the hungry sleigh-pullers, I run into a problem. One by the name of Prancer.

Yes, he’s a reindeer shifter. Yes, he’s an OG on the sleigh team. And yes, he’s just as obsessed with me as I am with him. But each species has its rules, and everyone in North Pole knows we have to work together to pull off the Christmas run. Which means keeping the secret of our fated connection from everyone—elves, reindeer, Santa…
Even Prancer himself.

Christmas is coming whether we’re ready or not…and it’s going to be a battle to keep my ho ho ho on the down low low low.