Chapter 8

The morning after winter solstice, Jack Frost was back to full power, fully replenished. His first stop after bringing winter full blast to the world, was finding the witch who’d fucked up everything. She’d had one job, and she’d failed at it miserably. If she’d just waited until Christmas Day, she might have had a chance at taking out his brother, but she’d jumped the gun and attacked him when his power wasn’t even a little depleted.

Fucking useless waste of time and energy.

She’d pleaded for her life and the life of her grandfather. He’d taken no joy in telling her that he wasn’t going to help anyway.

Well, he took some joy in it. He was a villain, after all.

Not the hero in Annette’s story.

After taking her magic and ending her life, he’d discovered several of Santa’s elves watching Annette’s home, and he’d decided it was time to return to his lair and change his plans.

What a disappointing turn of events.

His brother was still breathing. The audacity!

Valeth was waiting in his office. “I’m glad you’re here,” Jack said as he took a seat at his desk. “I’ve got a job for you.”

Valeth’s chest puffed. “Whatever you need, boss.”

Mentally he rolled his eyes and envisioned stabbing him in the chest for being such a kiss ass. “I need a new blade. This time, pyrite. I have an idea and you’re just the male for the job.”

“I’m on it.”

Valeth turned and hurried from the room.

Rolling up his sleeves, Jack got to work on a spell that would get him exactly what he needed: his brother dead and the Well in his possession.

His brother’s days were numbered.

Over the next few days, Winterlyn explored the buildings in Northernmost with Ivy the elf and Seren the human, while Declan worked his security shifts. When the trio wasn’t finding their way around the various buildings and getting to know each other, Winterlyn hung out with the elves who built the toys for the kids.

She found it fascinating that they could make toys for so many children and that Santa’s magical red velvet bag could hold so many toys, some as large as bicycles, without looking like it had anything in it at all.

On Christmas Eve, Declan invited her to the barn where the reindeer were kept and where, at midnight, the sleigh would leave Northernmost with Santa at the helm and fly all over the world, faster than the eye could track.

The sleigh was even more magnificent than she’d imagined, all gleaming apple red and bright copper, with red velvet seats and reins of braided gold rope. The reindeer all had harnesses with bells on them.

“So do you have a favorite reindeer?” she asked as she stroked the soft, short fur of Dasher’s nose. The big reindeer snorted and snuffled her hand, asking for a second carrot after she’d already given him one.

“I don’t spend that much time with them anymore,” he said, leaning on the gate of Dasher’s enclosure. “But when I first came up here, I spent time with them off-season. They’re all pretty cool, but Vixen can be a brat, which I swear is where he got his name. I think Blitzen is the nicest one, and Dasher here is the bossiest one, which is why he’s the lead.”

“Was Rudolph real?”

“Not as far as I know. I think it’s just a fairy tale humans created.”

“It would be weird if a reindeer had a glowing red nose anyway,” she said.

“Definitely.”

She felt a magical pulse in the air a moment before Santa strode into the barn. He was wearing his Christmas suit: crushed red velvet coat and pants, wide black belt, and heavy black boots.

“How are you liking Northernmost, Winterlyn?” he asked as he walked up to them.

“It’s amazing,” she said. “I’ve had a great time with Ivy and Seren when Declan’s working and everyone here is so kind and friendly.”

“Have you decided where you want to live after Christmas?”

Winterlyn glanced at Declan, who gave her an encouraging smile.

“We’re going to stay here. At least for a few years, until we have kids and want to be with the pack.” She pursed her lips and stared at Santa. He was bigger than life. More powerful than she’d ever known was possible for one person to be.

“Ask what you will of me,” he said, his eyes glowing bright blue for a moment.

How did he know she wanted to ask him something?

“He’s not psychic, but his magic reveals things to him,” Declan whispered.

Santa simply nodded.

“I’d like to work with the toy makers. I can sew, and I’m pretty creative. I’ve been teaching myself how to watercolor paint by watching online videos.”

“When will you return from the States?”

“A few days after Christmas,” Declan said. “We’re going to her parents’ on Christmas Day and then driving down to mine for a few days so she can get to know the pack.”

“Marisela!” Santa hollered.

His voice boomed through the barn. A door creaked open and a female said, “You’ll wake the dead, Santa.”

A short female walked in, a thick shawl around her shoulders, gray hair piled on her head in a messy bun. As she hurried to join them, Santa said, “This is Marisela. She’s the head of the Toy Makers’ Guild, and she’ll find you a job here for as long as you’d like.”

“How did you...how did she…” Winterlyn was dumbfounded.

Marisela smiled warmly and shook Winterlyn’s hand. “Dear girl, he’s magic. He’s the most magical person in the world, and he has a gift for knowing what people need when it comes to their Christmas Wish. That’s how the toy makers know what to make and how he knew you would want to work with us. He asked me to meet you all here. Do you want to start after the holidays? Say January second? You can work the same shift as your mate.”

“That would be amazing,” Winterlyn said.

“You can work with the painters. You’ll fit right in. Merry, my daughter, has been a painter for a few years. I’ll introduce you to her when you come back from your trip to the States.”

“Thank you so much,” Winterlyn said.

She looked in awe at Santa and then at Declan. With a happy squeal, she hugged her mate and kissed his cheek.

“I’d say she’s happy,” Declan said with a laugh.

“Very,” Winterlyn promised.

Marisela excused herself to finish packing the toy bag.

“I’m ready when you are,” Santa said.

“Ready for what?” Winterlyn asked.

“Let’s go outside, and I’ll show you,” Declan said.

He took her hand, and they left the barn, heading down a freshly shoveled path and up a small hill. As they crested the hill, she could see the Northern Lights so clearly and close that she felt like she could touch them.

“What are we doing here?” she asked, hardly able to drag her gaze from the sky.

“Watch,” Declan said.

He was pointing at Santa, so she turned her attention to him. He lifted his hand and blew across his palm. Glittery snowflakes poured from his hand like water from a faucet, running down and across the field. They pooled in the center of the field until the oval grew in size to a large pond. With a shimmer and a shake, the glittery pond turned to ice, clearing completely with a loud crackle.

She heard footsteps and looked behind her to see Ivy and her mate Knox, plus Seren and her mate Storm, walking toward them, each carrying a set of ice skates.

“What’s going on?” Winterlyn asked.

Ivy handed Winterlyn and Declan a pair of ice skates. “Declan wanted to do something special for all the mates before Christmas Day since we’ll all be leaving to visit family.”

Winterlyn took the skates and smiled at her mate. “You asked Santa for this?”

“Yep. I remembered you telling me about going skating with your mom and aunt when you were a kid and how much you missed it. Santa agreed to expend some magic to create this for us, and I wanted to invite our friends to join in.”

“This is amazing! Thank you!” She kissed him and then looked at Santa. “Thank you so much.”

“It’s my pleasure. Welcome to Northernmost. Enjoy the night. And Merry Christmas.”

Everyone said, “Merry Christmas” to Santa.

Winterlyn sat on a log and took off her boots, replacing them with skates that fit perfectly. She and Declan hit the ice, both a little unsteady at first but quickly getting the hang of being on the thin blades. The other couples joined them after someone set a holiday playlist to play through a Bluetooth speaker. As the soft strains of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” filled the air, Declan turned in a slow circle with her and drew her into his arms, giving her a kiss.

“We had the best solstice together,” he said. He released her and dropped slowly to one knee, the toe of his blade scraping the ice. He pulled a black box from his pocket and opened it, turning it toward her to reveal a sparkling diamond ring. “Now I want us to have the best Christmas too. You’re already my mate and the best thing that ever happened to me. I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me, Winterlyn?”

She stared down at the ring, the Northern Lights lending a golden glow to everything. “Yes!”

He took the ring from the box and put it on her finger, then rose to his feet and hugged her tightly. He lifted her off her feet as he kissed her, tears slipping from her eyes and cascading over her cheeks.

Their friends clapped and cheered, and Ivy said, “I’ve got it on video! I’ll send it to you.”

“This was so perfect,” she said. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me too.”

Her heart swelled, and she smiled at him as he put her gently on the ice.

At the same time, they both said, “I love you.”

Their eyes went wide and then they both laughed. “Great minds think alike,” she said.

“We sure do.”

It was definitely the best Christmas ever. It had only been a week, and tonight was the icing on the cake.

They skated around the magically created ice pond with their friends until it was time for Santa to leave. They took off their skates and hiked up a small hill where they had a clear view of the barn. The roof slid open a minute before midnight.

A flash of light erupted from the interior of the barn, then the sleigh and reindeer lifted slowly through the roof.

“Merry Christmas to all! And to all, a good night!” Santa bellowed.

Their group clapped and cheered as the sleigh was there one moment and gone the next, leaving a trail of glittering stars in its wake. The magic crackled like fireworks, and the Northern Lights seemed to bend toward the trail that the sleigh had left.

“Holy crap, that was amazing,” Winterlyn said.

“I never get tired of it,” Ivy said.

They left for the barracks, and the males planned to be at the Well of Magic before dawn as part of their last duties as Guardians for the year to ensure that Jack Frost didn’t try anything before Santa had a chance to replenish his magic.

As they said their goodbyes to their friends, Winterlyn toed off her boots at the door to their apartment and said, “How long do we have before you have to be back to your post?”

He looked at his watch. “Five hours, give or take.”

“That should be plenty long enough.”

“For what, my sexy mate?”

“For a very Merry Christmas. Twice.”