Chapter Fifteen

Wolfe

"Just one. Come on, Dad. Just one."

Noel's begging had become relentless since the moment he woke up. His eyes lit up as soon as Aster went into his room to sing "Jingle Bells."

Aster wasn't helping either. I swore, he was as excited for Christmas as I was and more than Noel even.

"You know the rules, Noel. One present tonight. That's it. Anyway, I don't have anything else for you. Santa takes care of the rest."

Aster winked at me as he stirred a big pot of oatmeal.

"That's just pajamas and a wooden car."

I gasped and turned as Aster did. Despite my shock, I think Aster was completely struck and somehow hurt personally. His sugar cookie scent got a bit tangy. "Noel, did you peek at your gifts? I can't believe you, little pup."

Heat rushed to my cheeks as I heard him call to my son the same way I would.

Noel's shoulders relaxed. "No. Yes. I get pajamas every Christmas Eve, and I saw Dad get the wooden truck in a package."

I knew having things delivered might be a mistake. Noel was a curious one. The last month or so, I'd had the packages delivered to the drop-off center in town, but apparently, I hadn't done a good enough job hiding everything.

David started the tradition of getting Noel new pajamas every year, and I wanted to continue that tradition. But this year, I extended the tradition and, if David was looking on now, I hoped it made him happy.

As I was. Happy with my new elf mate.

"We'll have to do better hiding your packages, I suppose. But the ones from Santa, well, you don't know what those are. Do you?" Aster asked.

Noel got up on his stool and stood on his tiptoes, trying to see into the pot. There was a ham and stuffing in the oven and the mashed potatoes had already been made, but my stomach had been a mess over the last few days. Oddly, I seemed to have no problem with the sweeter things.

Oatmeal didn't upset my stomach at all. We'd chalked the indigestion up to too many holiday treats and not enough good protein and vegetables. The thing was, I couldn't keep any of that down.

"Most of it. I helped Dad write the letter."

Oh yeah, the letter to Santa. It had given me some ideas, but the rest I left in the hands of the man up north.

"Did you know that when Santa reads a letter from a child, he is able to memorize every word? He eats cookies and drinks about a gallon of chocolate milk and listens so intently that he remembers everything."

"Everything, Aster? Are you sure?"

The conversations had between these two were nothing short of entertaining. I threw some logs in and poured myself a cup of eggnog. It was sure to be a night of stories and Noel questioning the details of each one. Aster spun the tales. Noel picked them apart.

"If I saw Santa and asked him about any boy from years and years ago, he would know what that boy wanted," Aster said.

"Even Dad?" Noel asked, putting his fists on his hips.

"Even your dad. And he could tell you if your dad was on the naughty list as well."

Noel slapped his thighs and bent at the waist, cracking up laughing. His round cheeks went red. "Dad, were you naughty when you were a boy?"

Aster arched one eyebrow and leaned against the kitchen counter, his arms crossed over his chest. "Yes, Wolfe. Do tell. Were you a nice boy or a not-so-nice boy?"

"I was a well-behaved boy who wouldn't be snooping in my gifts before Christmas, that's what I was."

Aster and Noel both cracked up at that one. I'd been a rebellious tiny hellion when I was a boy, and anyone who knew me would've told them so in an instant.

"Go and play outside while it's still light. In about an hour, we'll all eat and then you can open your presents."

"Okay. Are you going to come out today?" Noel looked down at his belly. Talking to his wolf again. He kept talking to him while putting on his coat and scarf and, at my request, his hat.

"Do we know when his wolf will emerge?" Aster asked. "Will it be soon? What if it's happening right now, and we're not with him?"

I chuckled. "Easy now, alpha," I said, walking over and accepting his open embrace. "He's my son. Our bond is thick, thicker than blood. Once his wolf decides it's time for his first shift, his wolf will call to mine."

"That's good to know."

"I…there's something I wanted to talk to you about now that we're alone."

The great part about Noel being off was that we had all the time in the world with him until the new year. The other part? Aster and I didn't have much time alone.

"You can tell me anything," he said. I nuzzled my face into his chest. Perhaps it was because I loved him so much and our bond had grown, but he smelled even sweeter today than ever.

"I think that my stomach issue is something more than all the holiday treats. I know it's early but I bought a pregnancy test. Would you be with me while I took it?"

He grabbed my shoulders gently and once I stood straighter, he moved his hands to cup my cheeks. "I would love nothing more than to be with you. I noticed your wolf's scent had mingled with mine a bit more, but I thought it was the mating."

"My wolf is telling me it's more than that."

"Then let's find out. What is this…test?"

I led him into the bathroom and pulled out the package. The face he made when he read the instructions was beyond priceless. "You pee on this stick and then it tells you if you are pregnant?"

"Yes. It takes two minutes. How do you do it in the North Pole?"

He pulled out the stick and examined it. "The omega usually has an aversion to sweet things but, in your case, sweet things soothe you. It's interesting. Go on, then. I want to see if there's an elf in your belly. If not, I've got plans to put one in there before the new year."

I peed on the stick and put it on the counter.

"I could sing a song while we wait."

Adorable alpha. Always joyful and singing a song. I still had pointed words to share with Santa, but I didn't want to go up there. They might steal my alpha back, and there was no way I was giving him up.

I didn't answer, but he sang me a Christmas song anyway. The two minutes passed quickly.

"What does it say? Does it talk to you?" Aster asked, making me giggle.

"Two lines means pregnant. One line means…"

"It has two blue lines on it, omega. Two lines for sure. You're having my elfling?"

I looked at my stomach as my son often did his. He was talking to his wolf when he did, but I was looking at mine because our pup was inside me. "Yes. Yes, I am. Are you happy?"

Aster chuckled and hugged me tightly. "Of course I am."

"Hey, what's the commotion?" Noel yelled as he came inside, slamming the door behind him.

Commotion. This kid. "We're in the bathroom," I said.

"Should we tell him?" my alpha asked.

"Yes. I always try and tell him the truth."

Later that night, we sat around the fire. Noel opened his pajamas and, despite having seen his wooden truck, acted surprised. We shared sugar cookies dressed with all the red and green decorations and frosting we could get onto the rounds.

Aster and I shared a look, and I nodded, knowing what he was, without words, asking about.

"Noel, we wanted to talk to you about something."

"Shoot," my pup said, making us laugh.

"We realized today that your dad is having a baby."

"Tonight?" he said, raising his eyebrows and slowly backing away. Cheeky little pup.

"Not tonight," I said. "But in a few months. It's Aster's and my baby. We made a baby together."

"Good. I'll have a brother to play with," Noel said and began racing his truck. It looked like he could care less about me having a baby.

"He'll be excited once the baby comes," Aster soothed.

I nodded, melting into his arms. He covered us with a blanket and underneath it, stroked my belly in languid circles.

"Merry Christmas Eve, Aster."

"Merry Christmas to you, omega mine. And now, father of my child. I once thought Santa turning me into a statue was the worst punishment in the world but now, I'm grateful Fate has a hand in everything, including my salt and sugar."