An Omega for Christmas

by L.C. Davis

A stolen child, an omega who never gave up, and an Alpha who will stop at nothing to bring them together again…

Detective Dean Garza has almost everything an Alpha could ask for: a challenging career, a big, wonderful, wacky family and a comfortable place to come home to at the end of a long day. What he doesn’t have is the omega he always imagined he’d be able to share it all with at this point in his life.

When a troubled kid gets dropped off at the station on Thanksgiving eve with nowhere to go, taking him in for the holidays is a given. When the young Alpha makes it clear that all he wants for Christmas is a reunion with the birth parents he’s never given up hope of finding, Dean sets out on a mission to get him the closure he needs to move on with his new adoptive family. He never counted on getting so attached, much less imprinting on Gavin’s birth father. Dean tells himself that love and good intentions alone can’t make a single Alpha and an omega with a dark past a suitable family, but his heart has other ideas the moment he meets Max.

~
Max has spent 12 years searching tirelessly for the infant son who was taken from him by an Alpha who refuses to stay in the shadows of the past. The omega does what it takes to get by, even if that means selling pieces of himself another took long ago. He’s worked with an string of private investigators, but now that he’s met one who’s finally closing in on the truth of what happened to Max’s son, the omega knows something has to change if he’s going to be the father he always wanted to be.

When Detective Garza shows up unannounced, Max is sure he’s just another henchman from his ex sent to keep him quiet. Instead, the handsome Alpha proves to be a threat of a whole different kind.

This is a steamy holiday M/M MPREG romance meant to be read as a standalone, set in the same non-shifter omegaverse as the Undercover Alphas series. Get ready to unwrap some sizzling scenes, heartwarming moments and a guaranteed Happily Ever After. Approximately 43,000 words.

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Christmas, Holiday, Omegaverse, LGBT, Fantasy

168 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 23, 2017

About the author

Hi! I'm L.C. Davis, author of The Mountain Shifters Series, Queer Magick and the upcoming Great Plains Shifters series. I write MPREG and M/M fantasy.

I love hearing from readers, so feel free to reach out here on Goodreads or via email at author@lcdavisbooks.com!

Reviews

[Tanu Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aww! This was such a cute Christmas short. I love the way L. C. Davis writes, and I especially admire the steady incline his writing and storytelling have been on. And the proof of it is that there was not a single paragraph that felt extra or boring, no dialogues that felt missing, nothing lacking. I loved the book from start to end, and had I not had a hectic schedule and short nights, I would’ve read it in one sitting only.

Max and Dean had a very low-key journey from the moment they meet to the moment they have their HEA. Yes, the journey was fraught with tension from Max’s ex, Chris, and the P.I. also, but in terms of tension between the two MCs, apart from the first meet-a-greet, their romance development was sweet. And I loved Gavin, the reason the two MCs finally found their “the one”.

A lovely story. :)

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute short read. I wish the characters had been stronger and that the...sweetness of them and the story wasn't so much. It was perfect for what I needed - which was a break from a heavy story that was getting even deeper (Burn by TJ); taking a breather really helped and Omega was not too long so I didn't have to worry about the characters personalities getting on my nerves. :)

This would have benefited from another read by an editor but overall I liked it. Gavin was adorbs! Although, this is an mpreg story with no real on page mpreg. Kinda bummed about that since I was sort of looking for that kind of mind-numbing story. :/ Eh, still - I like LC Davis as a writer and look forward to my next read by them. 3 stars

[Rachel Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahhhh, well this was delightful and festive and sweet! It's set in the same world as the Undercover Alphas series, which I didn't know about until I got into the story.

This has a lot of sweet moments - perfect for a Christmas story and puts you right in the mood for the season. My only little issue is probably the same as everyone else's - the two MCs don't really meet until the last quarter of the story. I get that it had to be this way to really get the rest of the story set up and get things going, but I do wish that there had been more time for Dean and Max to be together and get to know each other more.

Still, a lovely story and another winner for me from LC Davis! I can't wait to see what he'll think up next in 2018!

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started out great, but when I had to wait for the romance til 80% and it was as unromantic as could be, my rating dropped immensely.

Also, I was eagerly awaiting when these two MCs would meet, but that didn’t happen until 50% and that was just too long.

I did like the rest of the story, the plotline with the son, the asshole Alpha ex, the HEA. But unfortunately the romance was not what I was hoping it would be...

[⚣Michaelle⚣ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8 Stars

I've only ever read a couple of the Mountain Shifters books, but there's something engaging about how L.C. Davis writes the Omega/Alpha dynamic that really appeals to me.

[Beth doesn't write enough reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very sweet story set in the A/B/O universe. Loved the characters and there were some very emotional moments as well as a pretty tense scene with some serious violence.

Just a couple of niggles. Dean takes Max out to dinner at a nice restaurant then later that same day has Max back to his home for a romantic dinner. The other is as they are undresssing each other Max unbuttons Dean uniform shirt and his badge falls to the floor. Dean is off work, taken Max to dinner once already that day, then is wearing his uniform for a romantic dinner at his apartment?

Both of those instances previously mentioned threw me way out of they story and I had to back up and read that section over more than once. That drops a whole star from my rating.

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Christmas story

3.75 stars

Dean and Max are fated mates in this Omegaverse book. It is also part of the Undercover Alphas series. Reece Roman was mention in this book.

Max is a Omega who had his son stolen from him and has been looking for him for twelve years. Dean is an Alpha who feels this connection for Gavin, Max's son his fated mate.

This was a great read and now I can't wait to read Reece's book.

[Lisa J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I liked Gavin, Max and Dean, but it was a problem for me that the MCs didn't meet or interact until almost the 50 percent mark. That's just way too long. I was beyond ready for the romance part to start. And then after they meet, everything happened too fast, and I didn't buy into it. I felt more of a connection between John and Max.

[annob [on hiatus] · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. The blurb sounded promising, and I looked forward to a little angst along with the alpha/omega love story when orphaned child searches for his long lost parents. The story turned out a bit too sweet and sentimental for my personal liking.

[jaxnsmom · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Fani *loves angst* · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Very enjoyable and with more depth than the mpreg romances I've read so far. I liked it a lot.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a bit too dark & depressing for me when it comes to my holiday reads.

Given Max's history I thought everything moved way too fast with Dean...no boundaries & insta perfect family *shrugs* Not really for me...

[Hayley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this little story about an Alpha, and Omega, and a foster child. Dean is a different breed of Alpha, always looking out for the omegas that are often forced to do things they don't want to do just in order to survive the world they live in. When he suddenly finds himself being a temporary foster parent to 12 year old Gavin, he finds himself looking for Gavin's birth parents to make the child happy. Max is an omega who had his child stolen away from him and has spent that time working in a ruthouse in order to survive. all his spare money has been spent looking for his stolen child. It has just the right amount of angst and just the right amount of sweetness.

[~nikki the recovering book addict · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet!!

I would say this makes up for the third Roman Enterprise series. Sorry, not sure if that’s the actual name of the series. But it’s part of that universe so I’m counting it as somewhat part of the series. This was lovely! So heartwarming. And if it were Christmas right now, that would just be the icing on the cake. It was a little frustrating that it took ages for Max and Dean to actually meet but it made sense so I can’t really fault LC Davis.

A really adorable and sweet story!

[M'rella · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, upping to 4 for the kid who didn’t bother me at all (no, I don’t normally like kids or large families in my books).
There were some editing issues, but overall it was a quick and enjoyable read.

Very sweet story with a couple of dangerous moments to spice it up.
There is very little of: kidnapping/abduction; mpreg; winter; thanksgiving & Christmas. But they are all there in this book if you need it for a challenge.

[Jenn (not Lily) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story at the core, but lacking in the execution. And the incorrect words scattered throughout nearly made me throw my kindle. It's "bait" not "bate," "elicit" not "illicit," "precedence" not "precedent," and things don't float to the bottom of a sink...they sink. Ugh.

[Carolyn Elias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking story of Omega’s love for his child!

This story of Max’s love for his child is truly heartbreaking and truly inspiring. Dean is a police officer who offered to care for a 12 year old runaway, Gavin, during the Christmas holidays. The mystery is finding Gavin’s birth parent and this was well done. Loved the detective work and the story!

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed but wish it was a little longer. L.C. Davis spoils me with her great stories but this one fell a little short.

[MaryAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty much all of December will be a marathon of Christmas stories for me, and so far I've been loving it!
This is a sweet story about an omega whose son was taken from him, a little boy who never lost hope that someone somewhere loved him and was looking for him, and an alpha hoping for his happily ever after.
Has just a splash of angst, quickly resolved, and a feel-good Christmas-y happy ending. Would recommend

[Wax · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartwarming holiday novella. I wish it had been more informative, but there was a satisfying ending.

Re-read 12/2/19: I'm not sure if it is just hitting me at a better time, but this time around I enjoyed the story a bit better, so I'm rounding 3.5 stars up to 4. I truly felt for Max in his struggle to find his son and to better his life. I still do wish I had learned a bit more about his past and how he got to the point he was in today.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was freaking adorable and just what I wanted for a Christmas story

[Jae · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is set in the author's "Undercover Alphas" series, but meant to be read as a stand-alone. Story was told in third person, alternating points-of-view from Alpha Detective Dean Garza and Max Redding, a young Omega desperate to find the son who was taken from him twelve years ago.

Dean's life seems perfect--good career, wonderful family, and a nice home, but he always thought he'd have an Omega mate and a family of his own by now. When a social worker drops off a young boy at Thanksgiving and there is nowhere for Gavin to go, Dean agrees to take him home for the weekend. From talking to Gavin, he learns the boy ran from his foster home because he wants to find out about his birth parents. Dean agrees to look into the matter for him.

Meanwhile, Max has very little. His son was taken from him as a baby, his parents disowned him, and he's had to do whatever it takes to survive, including selling himself. Things begin to look up when the latest private investigator he's hired seems to be narrowing down the search for Max's son, and he lands a real job working for a good company. When the Alpha who ruined his life and stole his son away finds him again, Max is terrified. It doesn't help when another Alpha shows up soon after, and Max is convinced that he works for Chris.

Dean didn't expect to imprint on Gavin's father when he found him, but there's just something about Max that resonates with him. Once it's determined that both of them are working towards the same goal, they come up with a plan to remove Chris' toxic presence from Max's life, provide a good home for Gavin, and finally become a real family.

Conventional wisdom says that, in a romance book, the characters should meet in the first chapter. Dean and Max didn't meet until Chapter 18! That didn't impress me much, because fully 2/3 of the story was setting up their meeting, leaving precious little time for the romance to develop. This was billed as a non-shifter story with A/B/O dynamics, but the author didn't do much to explain how his/her particular A/B/O dynamics worked. Alphas mate with Omegas. Okay, but what about Betas? Do they just hook up with other Betas? The main characters were fairly well developed, but Chris was portrayed as a one-dimensional villain. Prostitution was illegal, but brothels weren't? The plot progressed in an orderly fashion, but it slogged along, and reading it became somewhat of a chore. Also, the author didn't seem to understand how "knots/knotting" works, although I reckon s/he can claim artistic license.

Vacillating between a two and a three. I'd give it 2 1/2 if I could. It's the holidays, so I'll bump it up to three. :D

[Tj · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of the book is so well written. I quite enjoyed it. The story was being shaped up well and the characters had a great feel. Now, I found myself with some issues with the story. I really did enjoy it but there were some major flaws. There is very little world crafting. We were throw bits after the facts and some are just left hanging out there for us to figure out. Some of this can be successfully used in a story but the way the author did the world development for this one just left too many holes.

I don't mind that the two MC's don't meet for half the book, it created a nice way to develop the characters and the story. The issue I felt was the insta-love the author had to create to keep the story together. It seemed like the author kind of gave up after that and the story just rushed to a quick and easy conclusion. I thought the author could have developed the story much better than this and was quite disappointed that such a read concluded like this.

Still as I said it was an enjoyable read. Considering all of that I decided to give the book a break with a 3 stars.

[Ash (so there’s this book) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Adult Omegaverse
Spice: 2/5
*spice ratings are relative to other books in the same genre

Tropes & themes: MM omegaverse - male omega and alpha, Mpreg, fated mates (imprinting), alpha police officer looking for the omega as part of an investigation, omega looking for his son, idiots in love vibes, found family

Quick blurb: Max has been looking for his son for twelve long years when Dean blows into his life claiming to be looking for him on behalf of his son. Dean was just trying to keep a promise to Gavin, a boy looking for his bio dad, but found his fated mate along the way.

Thoughts:
This was a way more in depth story than I was expecting, and I really enjoyed it! I do wish there had been a little more romantic development between the MMCs, but I still found the story to be very moving.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strong characters that draw you along

A great read that had me gripped, Max has been searching for his stolen son for 12 years not really living just existing. Following a path that meant survival rather than the life he once imagined but always carrying hope.
Dean is a police officer who suddenly ends up becoming temporary guardian to a very unhappy 12 year old. Circumstances bring this Alpha and Omega into each others lives and feelings develop quickly.
The past cannot always stay buried and as it rears its ugly head everything is going to be tested.
I laughed and cried along with the characters and also became very protective of all of them.
A fantastic read with the bonus of Christmas wishes being involved can't be anything but a hit.

[TT · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, I did like this...BUT. First of all the leads don't meet until 50% of the way into the book. Secondly, Dean doesn't seem to want to reunite the father and son. He says he's looking out for the interest of the child and he's really only hunting down the parents so the child can get closure and allow himself to be adopted. But to tell the father, whom you now have gotten to know and realize he's your mate that you're not sure he's in the best interest of the child by adopting him, and (accidently) making the father feel inferior? Nuh uh, not cool. And THEN he tells the dad, Max to pretend Dean recognized him as his mate so their fast engagement can be explained, not wanting to tell Max yet that Dean really DID recognize him...as his mate. Say whut? Ok, so overall though it was a decent story, very serial shifter in the story telling but overall a sweeet enough read. I like how Dean's family adopted Galvin before the whole thing started. And of course a happy ending in an mpreg book has to end with another mpreg because that's the only way to get a true shifter HEA!

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a feel-good Alpha/Omega romance where the good guys win. A police officer encounters a runaway kid and feels the need to protect him. Meanwhile a father is looking for the son stolen from him and is making changes to his life.
The points of view alternate in each chapter, but I felt that most chapters were too short.
Typos: a few sentences took up an entire page and used commas like glue. Comparisons used ‘like’ when ‘as if’ was the correct choice. Homophobes were mixed up; two unstead of to, illicit for elicit, and bate for bait. The name Max was used when Gavin was meant (“Max would have to be pulled out of school”). Dean was said to be jealous of an omega when he was actually jealous of a beta and jealous over an omega.

[Joelle Mendes · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars for sweet and swoony!!!

This book has everything I love...destined mates, a kid, knotting, a mating bite, pregnancy and Christmas, all amidst a really good story. I love sweet and sexy Christmas short stories but I really love when there's more to it than just the couple. I liked that this was more about Gavin and Max trying to find each other and Dean being the one to bring them together. My heart broke for Max. I got so angry over what that jerk Chris had done to him. I think that's why Dean's hesitancy to claim him made me love Dean even more. He was such a good guy. I did like when he finally let go and claimed his man!!! The Christmas scenes were the sweetest.

[Antoinette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

A typical L.C. Davis story. Well written with well developed main characters. There is a fully developed story with a clear beginning, middle and end. Not loaded down with sex scenes and a wonderful ending. The only reason this did not get a 5 star review is because the plot could have been better developed. Chris is made to seem so dangerous, yet is defeated quite easily. Also, after the struggle Gavin and Max went through to be reunited and we didn't get to see any development of their relationship. This is a story to read when you want a feel good story with very little meat.

[Antoinette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book up to about the 87% point; so, four stars for that percentage. Then wham bam, a big rush to the finish line. If only the author had made the ending as good as the beginning and the middle. And as another reviewer mentioned, I really liked John, although for no reason that I could discern he was described as weird. I'd like to read his story. I wish L. C. Davis would go back and rewrite the last 13%. Now I understand what people mean when they say that the ending was rushed. BTW, if you're looking for a fluffy Christmas story, this isn't it.