A Siberian Werewolf Christmas by Caryn Moya Block Page B

Katya stacked colored cups into a tower while Karina
cuddled her stuffed wolf. Maggie had been surprised to hear that
Slava and his nephew gave the toy to her. She couldn’t help but
grin as she gazed at the two little girls. Her heart lightened, and
a fierce longing rose up. A longing for what, she wasn’t sure.
Children? A family?
    Illarion had come over to help in the
kitchen again this morning. He was a rambunctious eight year old
who did more harm than help. Nevertheless, he was sweet and made
all the women smile. Both Yelena and Violet seemed to dote on the
blond-haired cutie. Maggie was hard pressed not to steer the
conversation to his uncle. But when the boy did mention Slava, it
was with adoration.
    Illarion seemed to be very aware of
the twins and what they were doing. Maggie didn’t think that was
normal behavior for a boy his age. Still, he was so careful with
the girls and so loving.
    “Sorry, I left you hanging.” Violet
walked into the room, her coat on her arm. “Yelena will stay with
the twins while we go help with the Yule log.”
    “Sounds good.” Maggie followed Violet
out the door and down a snow-covered path. Good thing she wore snow
boots. At least the sun was out, though its rays seemed weak,
barely making it through the trees lining the trail.
    “The men set up a workroom for us.
That way the elderly women of the village will have a comfortable
place to work. You’ll like it too—there’s a huge
fireplace.”
    “With a huge fire, I
hope.” The cold air touched Maggie’s face. Why hadn’t she brought a
scarf? “Will any of the men be there?” Will I see Slava?
    “I’m sure one or two will be hanging
around. They are so protective of the women in this village. For
some strange reason, they don’t think we know how to stoke a fire
or come in out of the cold.”
    “You sound a little bitter.” Maggie
looked closely at her friend. Was Violet unhappy here?
    “Not really, just a little frustrated.
When Dmitry plays the big alpha male, I like the feelings of safety
and being cherished. However, when the other men do it, I want to
smack them. I guess it’s not fair to have a double standard. I know
most of the men would give their life for me, if necessary. How
many women have a whole village of men that want to protect
them?”
    “Wow, I doubt anyone else does. All of
the men feel they need to protect you?”
    “It’s a cultural thing. In some ways,
I am lucky to be so loved. In others, it makes me want to scream.
You watch—it won’t be long before they’re looking after you
too.”
    “Slava told me he would escort me
around the village.” Here was her chance to find out a little more
about him.
    “He’s a nice man, but stubborn. Talk
about an alpha male. If I hadn’t seen him with Illarion, I might
not like him as much as I do.”
    “How does his girlfriend handle his
stubbornness?”
    “Oh, he doesn’t have a girlfriend. In
fact, he’s kind of alone right now. His sister, Fanya, is worried
about him.”
    No girlfriend and no wife. A weight
lifted from Maggie’s chest.
    “I tried to talk to him on the plane,
except he clammed up.”
    “He does that. He thinks he needs to
be the stoic hero. He’d feel better if he let someone into his
life.”
    Stoic hero? Yeah, Maggie could see
that.
    Violet walked up to a metal building
and opened the door. “Here we are.”
    Maggie followed her inside to find a
group of women of all ages around a long table. Sitting on the
table was a log at least five feet long. Everyone stopped and
looked up as they entered. Violet waved, and the spell broke. Some
of the women beckoned, others called out greetings.
    “Okay, Mags, I’m going to introduce
you around the table, and then we need to get to work.”
    Maggie looked around to watch the
women adding different items to decorate the log. Some glued on
pinecones and greenery, others added ribbons and holly, and still
others added berries and cinnamon sticks.
    A giant fireplace stood at