CHRISTMAS KANE by Jessica E. Subject

The first time I meet Desmond, he pets me—while I’m in my reindeer shifter form. Everyone knows you don’t touch a shifter without permission, but I bite my tongue. After all, he’d just delivered a huge donation to the Christmas Food and Toy Drive at the nonprofit where I work. I figure I’ll never see him again anyway.
 
When Desmond shows up to volunteer at our community dinner, all charming and annoyingly handsome, he flirts…with me. I try to resist, but my reindeer won’t stop prancing. He likes this smexy wolf more than his favorite Christmas treats.
 
I’ve been warned about getting involved with him, especially since the whole city knows someone affected by his father’s crimes. But my instincts tell me there is more to Desmond than his family name. And no one deserves to be alone during the holidays.
 
Christmas Kane is the ninth book in USA Today bestselling author Jessica E. Subject’s sweet with building heat Shifter Towers series and part of the A Reindeer Mate for Christmas shared world series. Christmas Kane is an MM mpreg shifter romance featuring a working-class omega reindeer shifter busy spreading holiday cheer by running the annual Christmas Food and Toy drive, the alpha wolf shifter trying to prove that he’s more than his family legacy, chance meetings that are less by chance and more by Christmas magic, seasonal parties galore, and Fate doing what they do best, true love, fated mates, an adorable baby, and a guaranteed happy ever ending.
 
Christmas Kane is part of the multi-author, gay romance, mpreg shifter A Reindeer Mate For Christmas series of holiday romances. Each book can be read as a standalone but why stop at one when you can read them all. CHRISTMAS KANE at Amazon CHRISTMAS KANE Universal Link CHRISTMAS KANE ARCs at Booksprout
Enjoy the first chapter of Christmas Kane by Jessica E. Subject...

Kane
 
The list was so long. Two pages, front and back, of names and numbers to call and ask for money. If not for the cause and the monthly paycheck I earned, I would not phone anyone. I preferred to text those I needed to contact. Or to see them in person.

On to the next name. “Hello, Mr. Bennett? This is Kane from Good Neighbor House. I’m calling to see if we can count on your support again this year for our Christmas Food and Toy drive.” The same lines repeatedly, but the script made it easier to know what to say, and less likely for me to stumble over my words.

“Sorry,” he replied, and I predicted the rest of his response before he finished. “Things are tight this year. I’ll see what I can do closer to Christmas.”

“Okay, thank you. We are grateful for any support you can give. Enjoy the holidays!” I understood his reply. Money was usually tight for everyone around the holidays. This year even more so. That led to more demand for our services, hence the reason I continued to call our donors from previous years.

Not everyone turned me down. Businesses were more likely to donate. They used their contribution to our drive as a tax write-off and benefitted from the goodwill of having their name listed as a donor on our social media pages.

As I made my way down the first piece of paper, money only trickled in, and I worried the Good Neighbor House would have to deny requests for help over the holidays.

“Yes, oh yes. I’m glad you called,” Mrs. Turner replied, her words coming out breathy and shaky.

I was thankful not to hear a rejection for a change.

“I have collected some food and toys.” She paused, and I worried she’d hung up on me before she continued. “Tell me, are the firefighters collecting it again this year? Remember how they went to the big grocery store on Trafalger? I do like any chance to see those men in uniform.”

I chuckled, understanding her interest in the uniformed men who knew how to use a big hose. “Yes, I believe so. We’ll post the dates and times on our social media.”

“Great! I’ll take everything over there then. And maybe I’ll get to see that dragon firefighter who’s in town.” She giggled. “Have a wonderful Christmas, dear!”

Another promise for a later donation. It didn’t look good for my results, but most of our donations did come in on the days the community services helped us, including the fire department, the police department, EMS, public transit, and the local media stations. The residents of Saramto seemed to enjoy competing against other neighborhoods to stuff a bus with food and toys or fill a firefighter’s boots with change. It all added up to help those in need, but the more we could do ahead of time, the easier it was to fulfil requests.

I had just hung up from another, “I’ll see what I can do closer to Christmas,” when Cynthia peeked into my office.
“Do you have a moment to help me?”

I pushed my chair back from my desk and smiled, thankful for the interruption. “Sure, what is it?”

Entering the room, she twiddled her thumbs in front of my desk. “Um, there’s someone bringing in a large donation and Rechie wants it recorded. She was wondering if you could, you know…”

I sighed and ran my hand across my forehead. “Really? She knows I find it ridiculous, right?” It was one thing to be a shifter in an office filled with mostly humans, but another to be a reindeer shifter at Christmastime.

“Yes, she does.” She looked down, digging the toe of her shoe into the floor. “And we both feel bad for asking. She said she wouldn’t if it wasn’t such a large donation from a big company.”

I slumped back in my chair, not yet ready to agree. “Who is it?”

“Someone from Adan Records.”

I sat up. The record label was one of the most well-known businesses in our metropolis. It was run by a wolf shifter family, but they had artists who were multiple types of shifters, both predator and prey. They also had recording contracts with alphas and omegas, something that had changed over the years as omegas fought to gain equality. “Did she say who?” If I were in my reindeer form around one of their big-name artists, I needed my fur brushed, any lose velvet plucked from my antlers, and to be sprayed with some kind of deodorizing spray. I didn’t want to offend them in any way or discourage them from ever coming back.

“No, but they’re going to be here soon.” Cynthia swooped her hands at her sides, as if the gesture would make me stand up. “They just called thirty minutes ago to say they were coming, and Rechie has been on the phone, trying to get the TV cameras here, since then. She wants everyone to see it on the evening news so others will be encouraged to donate, too.”

When a pop star was seen donating, it did inspire their fans to do the same, making my job easier. It also made others aware of our program, bringing in more requests. That’s what we were in the community for and we tried our hardest not to refuse anyone.

“Okay, I’ll do it. But can you look me over before the artist gets here? Comb out my fur and pull off any loose velvet from my antlers? I don’t want to appear all mangy next to them.”

She let out a strained snicker, the way humans did when they didn’t understand what it was like to be a shifter. “Yeah, I can do that.”

I stood and followed her to the media room, one of our storage rooms that had been transformed specifically for the holiday. As a charity, it didn’t seem appropriate for us to have a brand-new building with excessive empty rooms when we tried to help those who struggled to keep a roof over their and their family’s heads. Some of our clients didn’t even have that privilege, living in a shelter or on the street.

Those people were the reason I was willing to suck up my pride and shift into my reindeer form for a spot on the evening news. No one would know it was me, except my always-understanding family. But every shifter watching would see me and assume I’d been asked to shift into my animal form for the TV spot. We all knew what it was like for a human to request to see us shift. And rabbit and reindeer shifters seemed more interesting to them at specific holidays.

I removed my clothing behind the barrier at the back of the room before letting the change happen. My face and torso elongated as the bones in my body cracked and disjointed. Antlers grew from my head with a speed no pure deer experienced. As the process continued, my fingers and toes joined together, hardening until they became hooves. Once I’d fully shifted to my reindeer form, I shook my head and flapped my tail. Then I walked out from behind the barrier, ready for some quick grooming. I needed Cynthia to make me look handsome before I went on television with one of the artists signed to Adan Records.
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