Fur, Fangs, & Mistletoe
Christmas Cove, Book One
by
Jessica Coulter Smith
Christmas Romance / Paranormal / Shifters / Small-town Romance
Publisher: Changeling Press
Publication Date: December 12, 2025
Page count: 138 pages
SYNOPSIS:
After a painful breakup, Riley is ready for a fresh start in Christmas Cove. All she wants is a peaceful life for herself and her two-year-old daughter, Sabrina. Love isn’t on her holiday wish list. When she’s stuck in a blizzard, help arrives in the form of Alex Conors -- a protective, brooding werewolf.
Snowed in with a grumpy shifter and a crackling fire, Riley begins to see the gentle heart behind Alex’s fierce exterior… and Alex finds himself falling for the brave single mom who awakens something he thought he lost long ago.
Hot cocoa and toddler giggles turn strangers into something more. But when Riley’s past resurfaces and threatens the safety she’s found, Alex will have to prove that loyalty, love -- and pack -- are forever.
A warm, emotional holiday romance filled with shifter charm, second chances, and the magic of Christmas. Ideal for fans of protective alphas, found family, and heartfelt happily-ever-afters.
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ENJOY AN EXCERPT:
The sedan’s engine rattled -- a sound Riley had learned to distinguish
from its other mechanical complaints over the past three states. This
particular rattle meant she’d make it another fifty miles, maybe more if
she kept her speed steady. Her knuckles had gone white on the steering wheel
somewhere around the state line, and she couldn’t remember now how to
relax them. The GPS showed their arrival in Christmas Cove, and Riley’s
shoulders tensed further, an automatic response to any declaration of reaching
a destination.
Dusk had settled over the town. Main Street stretched before her, lined with
Victorian storefronts that belonged in a Thomas Kincade painting. White lights
twisted around lampposts, and wreaths hung at precise intervals, each
decorated with the same combination of pinecones and red ribbon. Fresh snow
dusted the sidewalks in a way that seemed too perfect, too deliberate. Riley
checked her rearview mirror again -- the same compulsive glance she’d
made every thirty seconds for the past six hours. Empty road. No one
following. No one cared where she went.
She drove slowly past the Sugar Moon Café, noting its warm glow and the
silhouettes of people inside. Past a bookstore with a display of holiday
romances in the window. Past a hardware store already closed for the evening,
its owner probably home with family, sitting down to dinner, living a normal
life. The thought made something twist in Riley’s chest, but she pushed
it down. Normal was a luxury she couldn’t afford to want.
The residential streets branched off from downtown. Riley followed the GPS
directions, checking the crumpled paper in her cup holder against the street
signs and the directions from the GPS. One too many times, it had taken her
the wrong way. Oak Street. Maple Avenue. Someone had named these roads with an
almost nauseating wholesomeness, as if determined to prove the town’s
charm. She turned onto Pine Ridge Road, where the houses grew sparser and the
forest pressed closer to the road.
A small sound from the backseat made Riley’s gaze dart to the mirror.
Sabrina stirred in her car seat, her head rolling to the side as she woke from
the nap that had mercifully consumed the last hour of driving. Riley watched
her daughter’s eyes flutter open, adjusting to the darkness and the
strange lights outside.
“Mama?” Sabrina’s voice carried that quality of toddler
confusion. Not quite upset, but teetering on the edge of it.
“We’re here, sweetie.” Riley forced warmth into her voice,
though her jaw ached from clenching. “Look at all the pretty
lights.”
Sabrina pressed her mittened hands against the window, leaving tiny smudges on
the glass. “Lights!” She bounced in her seat as much as the straps
would allow. “Pretty, Mama! Pretty!”
“Very pretty.” Riley’s smile felt tight on her face. She
wanted to share her daughter’s uncomplicated joy, but she kept scanning
the streets, cataloging escape routes, noting which houses had lights on and
which sat dark. Old habits. Necessary habits.
The GPS announced their final turn, and Riley’s breath caught. The
cottage stood at the end of a short gravel drive, a small structure
someone’s grandfather had most likely built and barely maintained enough
to keep standing. A single porch light illuminated the front door, and beyond
it, the forest loomed.
Riley pulled into the driveway and killed the engine. The sudden silence felt
heavy, broken only by Sabrina’s humming as she kicked her feet against
her car seat. Riley sat motionless, her hands still gripping the wheel, and
studied their new home.
The cottage was smaller than the photos had suggested. Single-story, with a
chimney that leaned slightly to the left. The windows were dark, revealing
nothing of the interior. Snow had drifted against the front steps, undisturbed
except for what looked like animal tracks, probably a deer or raccoon. The
porch railing needed paint, and one shutter hung at an angle.
But for now the house was theirs. For six months, at least, with the first
month paid in advance with money Riley had saved from extra shifts and skipped
meals. Six months to figure out what came next. After that, she’d have
to either renew the lease or move on to another town.
“Out, Mama!” Sabrina had moved past patient and into demanding.
“Out now!”
“Just a minute, baby.”
Riley scanned the neighboring properties. The nearest house sat quite a
distance down the road, its windows dark. On the other side, nothing but
forest. The isolation should have comforted her. Fewer people meant fewer
questions, fewer chances of being found. But instead, it made her hyperaware
of how alone they were. No witnesses if something went wrong. No one to hear
them scream.
She shook her head, dislodging the thought. Nothing was going to go wrong.
This was a fresh start in a quiet town where nobody knew her name or her
history. Where Sabrina could grow up without her mother constantly looking
over her shoulder.
Riley checked the mirrors one more time, then opened her door. The cold hit
her immediately, sharper than she’d expected. Mountain air, clean and
biting. She pulled her jacket tighter and circled to Sabrina’s door, her
boots crunching in the gravel.
“Cold!” Sabrina announced as Riley unbuckled her.
“Very cold. That’s why we’re going to get inside quick,
okay?”
She lifted her daughter out, settling Sabrina on her hip with the ease of long
practice. Sabrina immediately buried her face in Riley’s neck, seeking
warmth. Riley grabbed the diaper bag and her purse from the front seat. The
car’s trunk held everything they owned -- three suitcases, two boxes,
and a garbage bag of toys. After struggling to pay the bills and stay one step
ahead of her ex, she didn’t have a lot left over for extras.
Riley approached the cottage slowly, her eyes adjusting to the darkness beyond
the porch light’s reach. The forest was quiet -- too quiet, maybe, but
she didn’t know enough about forests to judge what was normal.
She’d grown up in the suburbs and spent the last two years in a city
apartment. Trees and wildlife were outside her experience.
The lockbox hung on the doorknob as promised. Riley shifted Sabrina’s
weight and worked the combination with icy fingers. The key fell into her
palm, small and ordinary. She fitted it into the lock and felt the deadbolt
slide open with a solid click.
“New house, Mama?” Sabrina lifted her head, looking at the door
with wide eyes.
“New house,” Riley confirmed. “Our house.”
The words felt like a promise and a lie at once. This wasn’t really
theirs, just borrowed space, a temporary shelter. But Sabrina didn’t
need to know that. Sabrina needed to believe in stability, in permanence, even
if Riley couldn’t.
She turned the knob and pushed the door open, reaching inside to find the
light switch. Yellow light flooded a small living room, revealing worn
furniture and walls badly in need of fresh paint. Still, the space felt clean.
Warm air drifted out from inside, proof someone had turned on the heat before
their arrival.
Riley stepped over the threshold, carrying her daughter into their new life,
and tried not to think about all the ways this could go wrong.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jessica Coulter Smith is an acclaimed romance writer with a passion for
storytelling. Her works showcase the power of love and its ability to
transcend boundaries, capturing the hearts of audiences worldwide. With a
unique writing style and perspective, Jessica continues to inspire and
entertain readers from all walks of life.
CHANGELING PRESS
