Chapter 2

Ivy Pine, elf and executive assistant extraordinaire, leaned back in her desk chair and stretched with a squeak. Her back hurt because she'd been sitting at the desk staring at the Naughty List for the last few hours, and it was tedious work.

And important too.

She'd hate to think how disappointed a child would be to accidentally be placed on the Naughty List and not receive a special toy from Santa.

Her mom had been a toymaker before she passed away a few years earlier and had wanted Ivy to go into the family business, but she had zero knack for textile work like sewing dolls and teddy bears. Instead, she'd chosen to work for Santa in his office alongside a few other elves.

Her brother and father were part of the security team that helped keep everyone safe. And there was another layer of security—the Guardians. They were shifters—specifically wolves, snow leopards, and polar bears—assigned by their alphas to protect Santa, the elves, and the most important place in the world: the Well of Magic.

Magical people had to come to Northernmost via a portal to recharge their magic. Elves, fairies, and witches, along with other good magic users, had to touch the Well once a year to recharge their magic, the way a person might plug a cell phone into a wall charger.

Just thinking about magic reminded her that she hadn't replenished hers yet this year. She lived at the North Pole for tinsel's sake, she should not wait so long to go to the Well. But she was the queen of procrastinating the recharge and always seemed to save it for December, which was by far the most dangerous time of year for magical people.

Jack Frost, Santa's younger brother, thought he should control the Well of Magic and wanted to take over the Well instead of his older brother. But the mantle of leadership—the position of Santa itself—went to the oldest son in the Nicholas family, and that was Saint.

The Jack Frost and Santa duties were always given to members of the Nicholas family. They were supposed to harmoniously work together—Jack the bringer of the winter season, and Santa the bringer of joy to children everywhere.

While Jack, whose real name was Angel, still did herald winter on the solstice, he also attacked the town of Northernmost to not only try to take control of the Well, but also to abduct elves. He would drain an elf of his or her magic to recharge himself since he was forbidden from entering the town. Once an elf was fully drained by Jack, he could infect them with his evil magic.

She shuddered to think what it felt like to be drained of magic by Jack and turned evil. She'd seen his evil followers over the years—they turned gray and had solid black eyes like a monster. They no longer recognized their family or friends and were entirely loyal to Jack.

"Ready for lunch?"

Ivy startled and nearly fell backward in her chair. "Holy fruitcake, you scared me!" She straightened and spun to face her brother, Alder. He was wearing his navy-blue uniform, but his tie was missing.

"Sorry," he said with a grin.

"You're not sorry, you reindeer butt. Where's your tie?" She pressed the save button on her computer to ensure she didn't lose the last few hours of work with the Naughty List and then stood.

"Uh, crap. I must have left it in the barracks."

He hated wearing the tie. She bet he left it on purpose.

"I'm ready for lunch. Is Dad joining us?"

"No, he's on the night shift, so he's sleeping. He asked if we'd grab something for him and leave it at the main security office so he can eat before he starts his shift."

"Sounds good." She walked from her desk and knocked on the door to Santa's office. His office had a huge fireplace made of sparkly white bricks next to an enormous pine tree that was kept up year-round and decorated for every holiday. She'd been in charge of changing the ornaments for the last year and enjoyed the ones for Easter the most. The little bunnies and chicks were adorable and so different from the Christmas décor. She knocked on the open door.

Santa was behind his massive desk, a quill pen bobbing as he wrote.

"Yes?"

"I'm going to lunch with Alder. Can I bring you back something from the cafeteria?"

"No thanks." He didn't lift his snow-white head, just kept writing. She knew he was stressed this time of year, worried about the elves who might be targeted by his brother and lost to the darkness, worried about the kids he would be leaving toys for. His worry meant he didn't take care of himself like he should.

"I read in the cafeteria newsletter that they're serving pot roast today. I could bring you back a double portion with extra roast carrots."

The quill froze and he slowly lifted his head, his blue eyes sparkling as they always did, behind his glasses.

"And potatoes?"

She smiled broadly. "Of course."

"Yes, then, that would be good. I don't remember if I ate breakfast."

"You didn't. You just had me mix hot chocolate and coffee."

His nose wrinkled. "That sounded better than it tasted. At any rate, when is the last time that you charged your magic? You look dull."

"What?"

"I mean, I can tell that your magic is running out."

"I haven't recharged since last year, but I will."

"See that you do, and soon. I don't want my assistant to pass out from magic depletion."

"I don't want that either, trust me. I'll be back from lunch in an hour, and I'll bring your lunch with me."

"And?"

She rocked on her ballet flats. "And I'll schedule an escort with the Guardians to go to the Well."

"Sooner rather than later."

"Of course."

As she turned to leave, he said, "And please bring me some cheesecake, but not the cookie dough one. I'll be eating plenty of cookies in a few weeks."

"Sure thing."

She waved at Tami and Vera, the other office workers, and met up with Alder.

"You do look dull."

"Alder!"

"What, it's true. Your eyes aren't as bright green as they usually are. But your hair sure is pink."

He held the door for her and she walked out into the hall, grasping a lock of hair and bringing it forward to look at. She'd decided to try something new and had gotten some pink hair dye. She'd planned to dye her blonde hair pink but had chickened out and only dyed the ends.

She really did like it. It was fun and cute.

But Alder liked to tease her about it.

"You're a reindeer butt."

"You said that already. You need better insults."

"You're a shoebox."

"What, square and empty?"

"Something like that."

They reached the cafeteria, lobbing insults at each other as they usually did, and got in line with trays and utensils. The cafeteria wasn't crowded yet, but it would be in another half hour when most of the toymakers would take their breaks and the room would fill with people and noise.

"Hi, Matthias," she said as she reached the long buffet of prepared food. Matthias was an elf who was a talented cook. She'd even considered dating him because he was cute and sweet, but she wanted to wait for her truemate. Her parents had been truemates and had loved each other dearly.

"Hi, Ivy," he said. "Do you need food for the boss?"

"Yep, a double portion of pot roast, extra carrots, potatoes, and cheesecake, but only if it's the non-cookie dough kind."

"I made strawberry swirl cheesecake for tomorrow. I'll cut a big slice for him."

"Thanks, I'll pick up his tray when Alder and I are done eating."

"Do you have an escort for the Christmas Day ball?" he asked as he ladled brown gravy over her pot roast and mashed potatoes.

The Christmas Day ball happened the evening of Christmas Day and kicked off the week-long vacation for every single magical person in Northernmost. Only the Guardians continued to patrol to keep everyone safe, but the rest of the elves were off until New Year's Day.

It was a fancy ball and a guaranteed fun time.

"I haven't thought about it, actually," she said.

Which was only a half-lie. She had thought about it, but she'd thought about what it would be like to finally find her truemate and have an actual date to the ball. How fun would that be? And magical. So very dang magical.

Rubbing her pointed ear, she decided it was better to say no than string him along. Because she liked him and he was cute, she just didn't like him enough for it to become anything else.

Cute was fine, but it didn't rev her engine.

"I think I'll probably go alone," she said. "But maybe we can find each other for a dance."

"Sounds good," he said. He gave her a half-smile, and she wondered what it would be like to fall in love.

Not with him, but with whoever her truemate was.

Probably like getting hit by lightning, but directly in the heart.

She moved on down the buffet line, greeting her friends as they passed, and settled on a plate of two chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

She and Alder found seats at a table with some of the security team.

After grabbing iced tea, she put butter on her roll and said, "You going to take someone to the ball?"

"Nah. I like to keep my options open."

She rolled her eyes. "Typical male."

"Hey, you just told that moony-eyed male that you'd save him a dance when what he clearly wants to do is actually take you as his date."

She stopped buttering the roll and stared at him. "What does you being a player have to do with me not wanting to make Matthias feel bad?"

It was his turn to roll his eyes. "Typical female. You put him in the friend zone and now he can't get out."

She laughed. " Any way, I'm waiting for my truemate."

"What, do you think he's going to fall out of the sky or something?"

She shrugged. "It's December."

His brows drew down as he frowned. "What does that mean?"

"It means it's a magical month, and anything is possible, even my truemate falling from the sky."

He poked his fork in her direction. "You're as nutty as a fruitcake."

"It runs in the family."