Book excerpt: Bear shifter Hugh Grissom isn't thrilled about playing Santa at his sister's charity holiday party—until curvy Ruby Wallace and her half-shifter toddler step in line to see Santa. Ruby's delicious scent wakes his bear, and her cub's scent wakes his duty—the cub needs to learn about her heritage before her first shifting. Between struggling to pay the rent and taking care of her daughter, Ruby doesn't have time for men, much less some joker in a Santa suit. It doesn't matter that her heart sings when their eyes meet. Not after her last encounter with a man left her mauled and pregnant. As chief of the Montana shifters, Hugh can't let Ruby walk out of his life. For the sake of Ruby's daughter—and the sake of his heart—somehow he has to win past her distrust and claim his fated mate.