The Werewolf Alpha's Solstice Miracle

In the season of miracles, can two lonely hearts find a second chance?

Joe Villalobos is a widower. He had his one chance at a happy marriage, but lost his mate in a tragic accident years ago. A strong Alpha wolf, he didn’t give up on life when he lost the most important part of it. He had cubs to raise and an entire Pack of wolves who needed him to keep it together and help them become the strong Pack he knew they could be. It was tough - especially in the beginning - but he managed to find a way forward for himself, his little family, and his large Pack.

Lost in a storm, flying a mission to save a life, Enid is a priestess without a real place to call home. She’s been traveling the country, stopping here or there to do what she could to help people, but she hadn’t yet found the place where she was meant to be. That all changes the moment she lays eyes on the Alpha wolf. He is her destiny. She just knows it. Now she’ll have to do something to convince the stubborn Alpha that sometimes miracles do happen and the Goddess they both serve blesses Her chosen with a rare second chance. If only they’re brave enough trust in Her, and just go for it.

Enid landed the plane, though only the Goddess she served knew how. The crosswinds tried to sweep her off the runway three separate times, but somehow, the little plane held together, and Enid managed to correct enough so that she was finally able to touch the landing gear down to the tarmac in a crab-like maneuver.

She saw one of the hangars on the relatively small airfield lit up in welcome and aimed her little plane for the blurry outline of the doors. Rain was coming down in sheets, with the occasional straight-line winds forcing it sideways. It tried to get up under her wings and flip her over at least once on her way, but she managed to make it to the hangar without further incident. Once she was in the lee of the buildings, she was a little more protected from the winds, which came from behind the large structures.

She pulled up to the doorway, unsure of where they wanted her to park. Her engine was sputtering, and it wouldn’t take her much farther. In fact, while waiting for someone to give her some direction, the engine choked out, dying. Likewise, all the electrical systems were kaput. No radio. No lights. No nothing.

She had landed just in time.

“Well, I hope they don’t mind my parking here,” she said to herself. “Looks like this is where you’ll stay until we can fix you,” she told the little Cessna, as if it were alive. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back to make sure that happens, but I have to go save a life first, if I can.”

She patted the unlit dashboard of the old plane fondly then released the harness that kept her in her seat. She had work to do and a kidney still to deliver, Goddess willing.

Enid left the cockpit and headed for the small inner compartment of the mid-sized civilian aircraft. She’d flown both larger and smaller planes during her time in the Air Force, but she didn’t miss it. Not much, anyway. She’d retired from the military while still young enough to enjoy life and found her second calling, as it were, among the magical folk who needed her help.

Born human, but with a special sensitivity to magic and a deep and abiding respect for the Goddess, Enid had followed in her mother’s footsteps, after leaving the military, to become a holy woman. A priestess of the Lady. Her mother still ministered to a small coyote Pack in New York state, but they’d all known Enid’s place was elsewhere. The small Pack didn’t need two wise women, and Enid had to find a place where she was needed. It was as simple, and as complicated, as that.

So, she’d kicked around North America for the past several years, looking for the right spot. She’d spent time in various locations along the way, helping where she could, but she hadn’t yet found the right place, and the right people, who needed her.

Enid slung the overnight bag across her body, letting the bag rest at her back, the strap bisecting her torso in a diagonal line like some kind of bandolier. She unstrapped the cooler that held her precious cargo from where it had been secured against the bulkhead and hefted it in one hand. The winds hadn’t died down yet, and she could feel them buffeting her little plane, even as she worked the controls to open the door and lower the stairs.

Luckily, the engine had died with the door facing the hangar. She wouldn’t have far to sprint through the rain to make it inside. She opened the door and waited at the top for the stairs to lower as lightning made itself known in the heavens.

The flash lit the world for a split second, but it was long enough for her to make out two figures waiting just inside the hangar door. She didn’t know anything about this airport, but aviation people were usually pretty accommodating. It was a small world of pilots and those who ran the network of regional airports. She’d never heard anything bad about this one, though she hadn’t been in the area for long.

Enid dashed down the ramp and didn’t stop moving until she was inside the open door of the hangar. The rain had pelted her hard, wetting her hair and clothing, but the overnight bag was somewhat waterproof and the cooler was hard plastic. The important stuff would be okay.

Wiping water and wet hair out of her eyes with one hand, she looked up…and up…to meet the most dazzling pair of blue eyes she’d ever seen in her life.

“Are you all right?” His voice was deep and a little rough with the hint of a growl. She knew the sound—and the aura—right off.

Wolves. She’d flown into a Pack of wolves. And this was their Alpha, she had little doubt. He had that kind of power about him. So much strength, it was almost overwhelming, but Enid was made of tough stuff, herself.

“Fine,” she replied, straightening. She wasn’t very tall but liked to think she made up for her lack of height in other ways. “I’m sorry to barge in on you like this…Alpha.”

The man’s eyebrows shot up in surprise then lowered in suspicion. She’d done it now.