22. Hernan

Chapter 22

Hernan

“Merry Christmas,” I whispered, rolling over to kiss my mate on the shoulder where the mating mark rested.

A crash from the other room startled me.

“Holly,” I groaned. She had a habit of playing with the Christmas tree ornaments, and from the sound of it, she’d found one—or so I thought. Next thing I knew, she was climbing onto my hip.

“Holly, you’re in here?” Another crash. “Fuck.”

I jumped out from beneath the covers, ready to handle whatever was happening. My dragon stirred, ready too. If I needed to shift in the house to protect my mate, so be it. Sure, there would be structural damage, but that was better than a single scratch on my mate.

Only, when I opened the door, I found myself standing there, completely naked, with Santa in the living room picking up an ornament. Santa. The freaking man in red—or at least one of them.

“Hello?” My voice came out more as a question.

“Ho-Ho-Ho! Oh, sorry about this.” Santa held up an ornament he was putting back on the tree. “It was a long night. I guess I got a little clumsy.”

“Santa… you’re here?” I asked, still processing.

Merry came up behind me. “Hey, Santa. This is my mate, Hernan.”

Santa nodded, looking at me with a soft smile. “I thought you’d be ready for this. Looks like I’m right.”

“Ready for what?” Merry and I asked in unison.

“Didn’t you open my card?” Santa’s gaze shifted to Merry.

Merry looked to the floor. “I didn’t open it, Santa,” he admitted. “I was afraid if I did, it would say I had to come home. And... I’m pregnant.”

Santa’s face lit up. “Oh, the best Christmas news there is! Well, hurry up, get dressed! Let’s go have some Christmas festivities!”

“I don’t want to leave my mate,” Merry said, but Santa just chuckled, his belly shaking in the classic ho-ho-ho I’d always imagined.

“I’m bringing you both. That’s what the card said,” Santa replied. “It’s Christmas. Let’s celebrate!”

Merry and I went to the other room, took a quick shower, and got dressed. It was a little strange having Santa just randomly appear in our house and now he was waiting for us like he was a random person, but then again, most of our love story was strange.

When we came out, we were dressed in the Christmas outfits Merry had picked out for us. Once I’d have thought of what I was wearing as an ugly Christmas sweater, but now I had to admit—they actually looked pretty good.

“So,” Santa said, “how do you want to get there? Sleigh or elf magic?”

They both looked at me. “Sleigh,” I said immediately. There was no way I was turning that down.

“Let me feed the cat first,” I added, heading to the kitchen where Holly was meowing for her food. There was no way I could leave without taking care of that. She had plenty of food at all times, but she loved her morning canned food.

Once everything was ready, we were in the sleigh before I even realized it. Santa used some kind of magic, and I decided not to think too hard about it. Bundled under a blanket, we whizzed through the air. My dragon loved the feel of the icy wind against our skin.

On the way, Santa talked about how happy he was that we were coming for Christmas, how glad he was that we were mates, and how thrilled he was about the baby. He also brought up how Merry ended up a statue and his favorite stop of the night—before ours, of course. He was a chatty, chatty man, and I was glad we chose sleigh over magic, even if it was a magical sleigh.

We pulled up right outside Santa’s home, and then the sleigh disappeared as the reindeer seemed to know exactly what to do. Inside, the house was a Christmas wonderland, with more decorations per square foot than even the fanciest Christmas stores—and somehow, they all blended together beautifully.

“It’s time for some cookies and cocoa,” Santa said, leading us to a small table already set up. “Don’t worry,” he added with a wink. “I checked the cookies before we left. No salty ones.”

Merry had mentioned in passing that not all the cookies here were great—some kind of mix-up with salt. At the time, I’d thought he was being silly, but apparently, it was a real issue.

Santa was in full-on investigative father-figure mode as we ate our cookies and drank our cocoa. He asked about my dragon, my studio, the Christmas festival, and everything we’d done for the holidays so far. It felt like meeting the parents—but with a lot more flair.

“It’s present time!” Santa announced. With a blink, there were suddenly presents sitting where our cookie plates had been.

“Santa, you don’t need to give us presents,” I said.

“Actually, it’s in the job description,” he replied with a wink.

Merry opened his gift first. It was a key.

“This is my key?” Merry asked, confused.

“It’s a reminder that The North Pole is always your home, too.”

When I opened mine, I understood what he meant. Inside was a ring with instructions.

“All you have to do is think about the North Pole and twist it,” Santa explained. “And you’ll be here.”

It was sweet, and I’d need to figure out how to keep it safe while I shifted, but it was perfect— a sign of acceptance from the man himself.

“I figure you two will want to stay where you are for at least part of the time, but you’ll want to come here too. Your children will be half-elves, after all. This is their heritage too.”

I’d been so worried about how to have that conversation—about what it would mean for us and where it would lead. But all this time, Santa had it planned out.

“Now,” Santa said with a grin, “why don’t you show your mate to your North Pole home? I’m sure he’d love to see it.”

We thanked him, hugged him goodbye, and walked hand in hand, Merry taking the lead. As soon as we stepped inside, I was pulled into his arms.

“Merry Christmas,” Merry whispered and then kissed me soundly.

“Merry Christmas, omega mine. Merry Christmas.”