Chapter 12

Garrick

Noel and I were seated in my truck. He was too far away for comfort, so I gripped his hand and tugged him closer until he was riding in the middle seat directly beside me. Thankfully I had brought the truck with the one bench seat and not the two bucket seats, or else he wouldn’t have been able to be close to me. He smiled up at me, his eyes shining bright.

“So, what sort of things do you think will be there?” he asked. “I’ve never been to something like this. I wasn’t even allowed to go to the farmer’s market in town.”

Oh, how I wished I could throttle his parents. I hated what they’d done to my mate. Noel was pure and perfect. He didn’t deserve the cards he had been dealt. I’d spend the rest of my days making up for his shitty family. No one in any pack should be treated the way that he was.

“Joe said it was a Christmas festival. One run by shifters, so it should be comfortable and fun. Other than that, I don’t really know.”

“I can’t wait to see what’s there. I hope there are decorations and games and food.” His grin broadened. I leaned over quickly and kissed his cheek.

If there weren’t events like he wanted to see at this festival, I’d find a festival that did have all the things he wanted to experience. If one didn’t exist, I’d start one. “What about your pack? They didn’t have a solstice gathering, an ornament-making day, or a special dinner?”

He shook his head. “No. I suppose I’ve read about them in books, though, like where there’s different craft booths and food to try… and hot chocolate… I saw a movie once where they had all those things. It looked so magical, but I can’t imagine they are like that in real life.”

“They can be. It all depends on who you are with.” I squeezed his hand. “These festivals are usually a great place to pick up any last-minute gifts,” I said.

There Noel went, tugging at his lip again.

“What has you so worried, mate?” I loved saying that word. Loved that he was mine. I laced my fingers into his while I kept my other hand on the wheel.

“I’d love to be able to bring your parents a gift. After all, I’m coming into their family. I have nothing to offer. I should bring a gift, shouldn’t I? I don’t know the proper thing to do. Is there a protocol I should follow.”

My heart ached for the uncertainty he felt. If I could ensure he felt nothing but happiness for the rest of his life, I would. “You are the gift, Noel. The best gift they could ask for. I think my mother has been hoping for me to find my fated for a decade now, so she will be very relieved. But if you’d like, we can pick them up something. I planned to bring my parents back a little something special from this trip anyway.”

He grimaced. “That’ll be from you, not me.”

“That will be from both of us. That’s how this works. We’re a package deal, you and I.”

He fiddled with the hem of his jacket—one I had lent him. It had been tucked in the back of my truck, and I was more than happy to have found it because my mate was running out of clothes. Perhaps on our drive home, we could stop for more, or I could text my friend and ask him to round up some secondhand things. Of course, I wanted to see his face when I told him I was mated. If I called him, then I’d ruin the surprise.

“We’ll find something for them there,” I said. “We’ll find you someplace you can get hot chocolate and presents and baked goods. Maybe even some crafts we can take home.”

He laughed. “I think I’m good on the baked goods.”

Noel hadn’t wanted to pack up the ingredients, so he’d spent the afternoon baking. We now had fresh rolls, cookies, no-bakes, snickerdoodles, and sugar cookies. I’d sampled each of them. Repeatedly.

I wasn’t sure my body could take any more sugar.

“That would be a nice gift. You could put together a plate of cookies for my family. My mom would love that.” Noel was a fantastic cook and baker. Yet another reason I wanted to punish his family. They had never appreciated him or even told him how talented he was.

“That’s a good idea,” he said. “Maybe we can find a nice container to put them in! Thanks, Garrick,” he said, leaning up and kissing my cheek.

“No distractions, mate. I’m driving.”

He chuckled. “You’re the one who slid me so close to you.”

“Because I can’t bear to have you be away from me. When we get home, I’ll have you by my side all the time. We’ll never stop holding hands.”

He giggled. “Pretty sure that will get old fast. I love you, but there are times when we need to be apart.”

“Say that again.”

“Not a lot of time, but you know… sometimes we need to be apart.” His cheeks flushed a deep red.

“Not that. The other part. The part where you said you love me.”

His gaze lowered, and he looked up at me through his long lashes. “I do, Garrick. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

***

The festival was a popular one. We had to park quite a ways away. Not that I minded, that was just more time I could spend walking with my hand linked in my mate’s.

The entrance to the festival was a beautiful archway lit up with lights and decorated with garland.

“Oh, it’s gorgeous! I wish I could take a picture.”

I pulled out my cellphone. The reception had been spotty at the cabin, so I had kept it off most of the time. It was fully charged now.

I pulled my mate close to me and extended my arm. “Smile!”

I snapped a picture, capturing the surprise on his face. The glow of the lights around us made it all the more magical.

“That’s the first of about a million pictures I’ll take of the two of us, Noel.”

“Give a guy a warning next time.”

I snapped another quick one, this time of just him. “Candid pictures are the best, and I’m going to fill our house with them.”

Once we were inside the festival, we followed the path to each of the booths. There were bakeries, jewelry, holiday decor, and so many other booths selling goods. Noel stopped at each and every one, leaning more about the owners of the booth and what their business was. With each person he gave them his full attention and listened attentively. It was beautiful to watch. I thanked all the stars in the sky and Father Snowcoat himself for gifting me such a perfect mate. If he paid half as much attention to my pack members as he did these strangers, then my pack would be in good hands.

“Garrick! She started baking and decorating cookies when she was just a young cub and look at her amazing designs now!”

I stepped closer to the table. The cookies were beautifully decorated with amazing detail. The Santas even had rosy red cheeks and a twinkle in their eye. “They’re gorgeous,” I said. “I bet you could get this good with your decoration as well.”

Noel scoffed. “I’m not sure about that.”

“I teach a class,” the bear shifter woman said. “I offer online classes also. And I love to talk with fellow bakers, take a card!”

“Oh, I don’t have—”

“We’ll take it,” I said, and I grabbed the card from her.

Once we said our goodbyes, Noel looped his arm back into mine. “Garrick, I don’t have a computer or money to do online classes. Or any of the supplies to make cookies like that. Those techniques require specific tools.”

“Mate, my pack has a full computer lab and any funds you need to purchase supplies. If this is something you’d like to do, then we can find a way.”

“I—I don’t know what to say. I’ve never been able to do things like that for myself.”

“Get used to it, mate. I’m going to spoil you.”

He grinned. “As long as you let me spoil you, too.”

“Mate, you already have.”