Epilogue

S ylvie burst in through the door of the diner with a precarious tower of boxes in her arms, snowflakes falling off her hair and tumbling onto the ground. A heavenly smell followed her in, and Margot took a moment to inhale deeply.

"All done, finally!" Sylvie exclaimed, as she dumped the boxes on the nearest table. "All the customers have picked up their orders for tomorrow, and everything the rest of us need is right here."

"You're an absolute gem, Sylvie," said Natasha as she checked over the boxes, looking for the one with her name on it. It was enormous, but Margot knew that its contents were also for the guests at her B&B. Not that she would have blamed her if she'd wanted the whole lot for herself!

Well, for herself, and her mate, Kieran. There were many shifters and their mates in Girdwood Springs, it seemed, and Margot was still getting to know them all.

For now, though, she was concentrating on the excitement of trying her first-ever hot dog. She didn't know what they were and had no idea what to expect, but Levi had been singing their praises all day. He had also assured her that they were not, in fact, actual dogs, which had been a relief.

In any case, there was an actual dog here – a scrawny, outrageously silly-looking dog that went by the name of Fillmore, who was currently yapping and darting about, trying to catch the invisible cat that he could apparently see, but the others couldn't. It seemed that it was simply the mate bond that rendered Monty visible to Levi, rather than the fact that he was a shifter, and so Monty remained invisible to the others in the room unless he chose to reveal himself.

He had , however, apparently chosen to make himself visible to Fillmore, for the sole purpose of driving the little dog insane – though insane with fun, Margot was relieved to say.

Fillmore was bounding around, trying desperately to catch Monty's tail, which Monty was flicking about just out of his reach from atop a bar stool.

Margot didn't think that the others were quite used to her familiar yet – Levi had definitely gotten some strange looks when he'd started talking to Monty and offered him a piece of chicken! Monty, being Monty, had refused to make himself visible in order to save poor Levi the embarrassment of having to explain, but Levi had dealt with it rather well in the end.

She was proud of him. He still wasn't exactly particular social , but he had definitely loosened up a lot since she first met him. Being able to fully experience life as a chimera shifter had made him so much happier.

And, she liked to think, meeting her had contributed toward his happiness as well. Certainly it had contributed toward hers.

"Three hot dogs, coming up!" said Henry, the hellhound shifter behind the counter, as he slid two plates toward them. Alarmed, Margot caught hers, worried that it would just continue sliding down the counter and end up on the floor. She definitely didn't want Henry's hard work to go to waste!

She looked down at her meal, trying to work out how she felt about it. It definitely smelled good, all kinds of hot meat and bread and oil smells, and she did recognize some of the elements, such as the onions and the pickles. And she was always up for something new, even if it was Christmas Eve and this definitely wasn't Christmas food.

Confused, she looked around for some cutlery to eat it with, wondering if she should ask Henry for some. But then she heard Levi's gentle laugh beside her.

"Like this," he said, picking up one of his hot dogs in his hands and taking a large bite from the end. He started chewing and his eyes slid closed in bliss, the happy sound he made sounding almost obscene.

"Oh," Margot said in understanding, picking up her own hot dog and taking a careful bite. Ketchup and mustard squirted out the other end as she bit down, but she didn't even care, because Levi had been right – these were amazing, the meat hot and juicy in her mouth, the salty flavors bursting on her tongue.

"Mmph," she said, taking another bite before she had quite finished the first one. It was just so good!

She only managed to stop because she wanted to try one of the ‘fries' that was on the side of the plate – she'd heard that they were excellent as well. And it was definitely true – the first one she popped into her mouth was quickly followed by another, then three more, then a fistful. The hot, salty crunchiness was just addictive, and she had to force herself to take a break for a minute so that she could let her food settle.

"Good, aren't they?" Levi said with a smile.

Margot nodded enthusiastically, jamming some fries inside the hot dog bun so that she could enjoy all the flavors at once.

"If you order some more," she said, "I can put them in my bag for later. That way, we don't have to leave the house over the next few days if we don't want to."

She'd meant it in a mostly innocent fashion, but Levi's eyes gleamed. "That's the best idea I've heard all day," he said, and he called over Henry to put in an order of truly gargantuan proportions.

Further down the counter, Henry's mate, Luna, had a look on her face like she was surprised but trying very hard not to show it.

Luckily, Levi seemed to know exactly what was going on and how to deal with it. "Magical storage," he clarified. "They'll come out just as good as they went in."

Luna seemed to take the explanation in stride, looking confused for a moment before nodding in understanding. "Sounds useful – I'd love to have something that did that."

"I could make you one, if you like," Margot offered. She would have done so anyway, but it was also Christmas, after all – and if she'd learned anything, it was that Christmas was a time when generosity was particularly welcomed.

Luna blinked, before her face broke out in a smile. "Well, if you're really offering, then I'm not going to say no! I would absolutely love that, thank you. I'd love to be able to carry some especially delicious or hard-to-find food around for a few days to try it again – or just make sure I've always got a snack on hand! But is there anything I can get for you in return?"

"It would be my pleasure," Margot beamed. "And you don't have to get me anything – just being here and enjoying Christmas Eve with all of you is present enough. Besides, your dog is keeping my familiar entertained, as much as he would never admit it, so that counts as a present in my book."

They watched as Fillmore continued to leap around, seemingly chasing nothing. Margot knew that Monty could go up high or leave the building if he wanted, so the fact that he was indulging Fillmore was a positive sign that he was enjoying his company.

"So, how's the bookstore going?" Luna asked. "I can't wait to come in and have a look once it's done."

"It's going really great," said Margot, beaming. "Well… sometimes I get distracted while doing stocktake and I pick up a book to see what it's about, and I end up reading the whole thing. But other than that, it's really good."

"We're going to try to keep most of the character of the place, while just cleaning up and modernizing a couple of things," Levi added. "Getting lost in a bookstore is one thing, but getting taken out by a collapsing bookshelf or choking on the dust is another."

"We really have no idea how to run a bookstore," Margot admitted. "But Levi is showing me how to use this ‘internet' of yours, and also my parents have a lot of knowledge of libraries, so at least they can provide some information in terms of how to arrange things so that people can find them."

Levi nodded. "Half the people in this room run businesses, so we've been getting advice from them as well. And I've been in touch with Great Aunt Aida, so I might be able to check in with her if I need to… provided she can find the time to get back to us."

Levi's Great Aunt Aida, it turned out, had also learned how to shift recently, with her ornery chimera apparently becoming more mellow now that it had met its mate. A couple of postcards had shown up in the past week, and Levi had marveled at how happy she seemed. Of course, he'd explained, he'd been just a kid when she left, so he hadn't really understood then why she'd done it.

But finding your mate and learning how to shift, no matter what age you are when it happens… let's just say I think I can understand how she feels, Levi had explained.

It felt like everything was just coming together perfectly. Margot could hardly believe how unhappy she'd been a few short weeks ago, and how wonderful everything was now. She finished off the last of her hotdog, licking the ketchup and mustard off her fingers.

Sylvie slid onto the stool next to Levi, passing over a box that was presumably full of cake. "And this is for the two of you! Merry Christmas!"

"Sylvie, you shouldn't have," Levi groaned good-naturedly. "We still haven't finished the last lot you gave us!"

"You must almost be done with them by now, though," Sylvie grinned. "Besides, I have it on good authority that they'll keep for a long time."

"That is true," Levi admitted. "Thank you, Sylvie. And Merry Christmas." The Christmas well-wishes sounded genuine, rather than having been drawn out of him on pain of some terrible torture, and it warmed Margot's heart to see Levi enjoying Christmas.

Suddenly, she remembered something she'd been curious about.

"Oh!" she cried, sitting up straighter on her bar stool. "Sylvie! Which Christmas cake won the poll?"

Sylvie rolled her eyes dramatically. "Would you believe it was a three-way tie?"

"Honestly? I would," said Luna. "They were all amazing. I had to close my eyes and pick one randomly in the end."

"Well, you still did a better job than Margot here," Sylvie said, her eyes narrowed in mock anger. "She circled all three options."

"Is that not how things work here?" asked Margot, doing her best to radiate innocence.

"You know it's not," laughed Sylvie. "But that's okay. The only reason I put it up for a vote was because I couldn't decide, so I guess it makes sense that no one else could decide, either."

"Well, I voted for the chocolate, so you'd better have rewarded me for my decisiveness," Levi said, gesturing at the box.

Sylvie's eyes sparkled with mischief. "I guess you'll just have to find out."

"I guess so."

The evening passed in laughter and fun, Henry stuffing Margot's tote full of delicious-smelling food while the older lady who ran the diner, Eula, was out of the room – apparently she was the only person here who was unaware of shifters or magic, though Margot got the impression that she had probably caught on that there was something going on with everyone, and knew more than she let on. Everyone here has their secrets, she'd said to Margot with a knowing smile. Even me.

Margot was having such a delightful time, and part of her wished that this night could stretch on forever… but the other part of her really wanted to head back to the home she shared with Levi, so they could be back in time to celebrate when the clock ticked over to midnight. It would be her first Christmas, and she wanted to spend it with Levi.

She looked up to catch Levi's eye, and he nodded, understanding her at once.

"I think it's time we headed off," he announced, standing up and pulling on his coat. Margot followed suit, lifting her tote, now full of enough food to probably last them a year, let alone a few days.

"Thank you, everyone – I truly mean it," she said, smiling and waving to everyone. "These past few days have been wonderful, and I cannot wait to see you all again. I hope you all have a very merry Christmas!"

The others responded in kind, calling out well-wishes, and Margot turned to where Monty was curled up, quite visible now, with Fillmore, the two of them snuggling together on a rug in the corner of the room. Monty had gotten quite the amount of attention once he'd stopped being invisible, and it had absolutely gone to his head.

"Come on now," she said, and Monty opened one yellow eye, before closing it again. She sighed. "Or don't. You know the way home. But you'll miss out on your Christmas treat. I guess I'll have to eat that fish all by myself."

I was just about to get up anyway, Monty told her tetchily as he dragged himself to his feet, arching his back and stretching like he didn't have a care in the world.

Of course you were, she replied soothingly.

"Good night," she called out as the three of them left, a little flurry of snow entering the diner as they exited.

It was perfectly wonderful to wander the fairy-lit late-night street, snowflakes drifting dreamily down from the clouds, Monty chugging his way through snowbanks like they were no impediment whatsoever. She leaned against Levi's side, simply enjoying his warmth while everything else was so cold. She knew that she could cast a warming spell if she needed to, but it was so much nicer like this.

She couldn't wait for tomorrow! They were going to cook a turkey with all the trimmings – she even knew what they were, now – and she was so looking forward to making roast potatoes, and glazed parsnips, and all other kinds of wonderful things. She couldn't guarantee that they'd be good , but they'd be made with Levi, and that was all that mattered.

They reached the bookstore both too quickly and not quickly enough – she would've been happy to stay out in the snow forever, but also Levi had promised to make her eggnog, and she did really want to try that!

Stomping the snow off her boots before unlacing them and taking them off, she headed inside, enjoying the relative warmth even as she missed the snow.

Well, I shall be seeing you in the morning for my promised fish, Monty said, as he bounded away into the shelves, to where Levi and Margot had set up a cozy little cat bed for him, and where he seemed to prefer to spend the cold winter evenings. Do not disappoint me!

As Margot shook her head fondly, Levi bent down – and when he rose, he'd picked up a letter that had clearly been delivered earlier in the day and had been lying just inside the entryway. As he turned it over and read who it was from, Margot saw his eyebrows rise slightly in surprise.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's from my family," he said after a moment, hesitating before opening up the envelope.

Inside, there was a card with a jaunty Santa on the front and text that read WISHING YOU HAPPY HO-HO-HOLIDAYS! She didn't quite understand it, but presumably it made some kind of sense to those in the know.

Levi opened the card with a mild expression of trepidation, but as he read, his face relaxed.

"What did they say?" she asked, when he'd closed the card again. "If it's something you wish to speak of, of course."

"No, it's okay," said Levi with a small smile. "My family were just saying that they're happy for the two of us, and are wishing us well for the holidays."

His expression turned thoughtful. "I feel like I have a different perspective on Christmas, now – like I could enjoy spending it with my family." He quickly continued, "But I want to spend this one just with you in our home, of course. But maybe in the future, we could spend a Christmas with my family? If you like?" He sounded almost tentative, but there was nothing Margot thought she would enjoy more than a big family Christmas… except for a small, intimate Christmas with Levi right now, of course.

"I would love nothing more," she said reassuringly.

"Maybe we could go there for New Year's Eve," he mused. "Chimeras aren't quite so obsessive about that, so at least it wouldn't be a huge party – just a nice opportunity to meet everyone and have a good time."

"That sounds wonderful," she said, already excited at the possibility. "But you will have to obtain some party poppers! And a pair of novelty glasses with the year on them!"

Levi laughed. "I can definitely do that. But enough talk about my family – let's just enjoy each other's company tonight."

"Yes, let's," she agreed.

They headed toward the staircase, wending their way through the now somewhat less crowded bookshelves, and paused to admire the snow flowers that sprung forth from the ceiling beam. There were five of them now, in full bloom on this cold, cold night, their petals almost sparkling with a crystalline brilliance that reminded Margot of frost.

"They would be beautiful anyway," she murmured, "but they will always hold a special place in my heart because of how they brought us together."

Levi nodded. "I don't want to even think about what kind of miserable night I'd been having if you hadn't walked into my life. I love you, Margot. My mate."

"My mate," she replied dreamily, leaning into his warmth once more.

They admired the flowers for a few moments longer, before continuing up the stairs.

"You just sit yourself down," Levi said, "and I'll make you some eggnog. My family's recipe is fairly simple, but that just means that it's harder to screw it up. I like to think it still comes out tasting pretty good."

"I'm sure it'll be perfect," said Margot truthfully, as she got a small fire going in the fireplace – using kindling and matches, not magic! – and then settled down on the battered old couch. It wasn't fancy, but it was comfortable, and it was perfectly positioned for watching the snowflakes whirling outside the window.

She reached into her tote and pulled out the original box of cakes that Sylvie had given her, now mostly empty, and opened it up. One of the remaining cakes was the traditional Christmas cake that Sylvie had given her. She'd been saving it up until the time was right – and she felt that that time was now.

Pulling out two plates and some knives, she laid the cakes out, slicing herself a piece of the Christmas cake. It was loaded with fruit, and it smelt absolutely divine.

At that moment Levi returned, carrying two steaming cups of eggnog, the sweet, gently spiced scent carrying across the room.

"This smells lovely," she said, as she gratefully accepted the warm cup. She took a careful sip, and it was perfect – not overly heavy or cloying, with just the right amount of sweetness and spice… and, of course, a dash of alcohol, which warmed her up from the inside out.

"Mmm," she said, closing her eyes for a moment in happiness. "This really is wonderful, thank you. I'm so glad I got to drink nog with you at Christmas."

"My pleasure," said Levi, sounding almost a little embarrassed at the praise.

She reached for the slice of Christmas cake – it seemed like something that would go well with the eggnog.

At the first bite, she knew that she had been correct. The cake, like the others, was a rich, spiced perfection – the texture and moistness balanced so that it practically melted in her mouth, the flavors of the fruits and spices combining to create a heavenly feast for her tastebuds, offset by the subtlest hint of candied orange and lemon peel.

She followed it up with a mouthful of eggnog, before nodding decisively.

"The other Christmas cakes were wonderful, but this one is my favorite."

Levi laughed. "I should've known you'd be a traditionalist."

Margot held out the plate to him. "Would you like some?"

He shook his head. "Thanks, but I think I'll leave it to you. While I'm sure Sylvie's baking is amazing, I'm sure you're still going to enjoy it much more than I would. You keep that one for yourself – there's plenty of other cakes here I can enjoy."

The two of them sat like that for some time, just enjoying each other's quiet company and the cake and the nog, the wind whistling gently outside and the enormous clock that stood in the corner ticking stoically away.

Margot found the ticking almost hypnotic, watching the hand as it moved around and around – she wasn't used to clocks like this, but it was a wonderful way to record the passing of seconds, minutes, and hours.

Honestly, she would have fallen asleep right there and then, lulled by the clock and the warm drink, if not for the fact that she knew it was so very nearly Christmas. She couldn't just sleep through her first one!

Eventually, the clock ticked over until it was very nearly twelve, and she couldn't contain the excitement anymore.

"Can we go and exchange the presents now?"

Levi smiled. "It's traditional in these parts to wait until morning, but since this is your first Christmas, I think we can do it now."

Margot pouted. "Technically, it will be morning."

"That's true," Levi laughed. "Lead the way."

She stood up and moved toward the bedroom, where they had each placed their carefully wrapped presents. As she passed through the doorway, she stopped, noticing something new.

A sprig of mistletoe hung over the door.

She blinked at it. No, that definitely hadn't been there earlier!

She turned to Levi, confused. "Is your house sprouting again? This seems to be becoming an ongoing issue."

"What? No!" Levi shook his head. "Are you telling me that in all your research about Christmas, you never read about mistletoe?"

"I did, but…" She racked her brains, trying to remember. She hadn't seen much – just a quick mention – but now that she thought about it…

"Oh." She could feel her cheeks turning warm, and it wasn't just from the nog. "Did you put that there?"

"Well, I certainly hope no one else entered my home and tried to steal a kiss from you," Levi said with an arched eyebrow. "Is this a Christmas tradition that you think you would enjoy?"

"Only with you," she breathed, wrapping one arm around his waist and using the other hand to pull his head down for a searing kiss. It took her breath away every time, each kiss even better than the last, his warmth seeming to fill her entire being.

I have a whole lifetime of kisses to look forward to, she thought dazedly, even as she kissed him again.

Eventually she had to pull back for air, and she opened her eyes, looking up at him, his cheeks flushed slightly pink, his stormy blue eyes hooded with lust.

"… Maybe I can wait a few minutes to open my present," she murmured, pulling him into the room.

"Just a few?" he replied, mock-insulted. "I'd hope it'd take a bit longer than that."

"I suppose it depends on how long it takes me to unwrap you," she said thoughtfully.

"Well, I guess we'd better get to it," Levi said, as the clock outside struck twelve. "So that you can get to unwrapping everything you want. That is what Christmas morning is about, after all."

"You'll just have to teach me," she said with a smile. The playful edge melted away, replaced by pure sincerity.

"Merry Christmas, Levi," she said. "I love you. Thank you for everything you've done for me."

"Merry Christmas to you, Margot," he murmured back. "And thank you ." He looked into her eyes, his gaze intense. "I love you, too."

"Merry Christmas," she said again, inanely, before pulling him in for another kiss, stumbling back into the room.

Yes, she thought dreamily, as Levi lifted her up into his arms, Christmas surely is the grandest of all the holidays.

Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed this book, you may also enjoy the other books in the series! They can be found here:

Unicorns and Honey Cakes (Sylvie and Gale's story)

Dragons and Cupcakes (Kira and Caleb's story)

Griffins and Apple Pies (Natasha and Kieran's story)

Hellhounds and Angel Cakes (Henry and Luna's story)