Chapter Nineteen

Caspian

We didn’t need a lot of gifts to make it our Christmas. But I loved picking out something special for my mates to show them just how much I loved them and was proud to be with them. That was a lot of pressure for a present. I snuck out a few times on my quest, and my mates, though they thought they were sneaky, did the same. Gradually, wrapping-paper tubes and bits of ribbon filled the waste baskets.

What could I buy at a store that would show my mates how I felt about them? I couldn’t begin to imagine any object that would, but I didn’t want our very first Christmas to pass without marking it in some special way. But Christmas Eve was upon us, and there were presents under the tree from me. They were nice. Shirts and socks for Sage more appropriate for the climate. A wallet and a pair of premium sneakers I’d seen our omega admiring. But what did they say? I have noticed what you need/want. Which was how it should be.

But I wanted something else, and by the time the sun was setting, I realized that there was nothing physical, no item that could hold all the feelings I wanted to pack into them. Then I remembered a few nights earlier when we were driving home and Douglas commented on every house with Christmas lights we passed. We were way out in the country back home, but I’d seen enough TV shows and movies where families piled in the car and went to look at decorations to know that was a thing.

And maybe a thing we could do together, a tradition.

Sage had been dying to try a little shifter-family-owned ice cream shop we’d passed as well.

I could gift my mates a tradition. So I did a little research.

We had dinner, pizza ordered from a place down the street, and as soon as the plates were loaded in the dishwasher and the single piece of leftover pie tucked away in the fridge, I clapped my hands. “Everyone in the car for our first annual Christmas lights festival. I hope you saved room for dessert.”

“Dessert?” Douglas laid a hand on his stomach and burped. “Okay, now there’s room. Where is this festival?”

“You’ll see.”

We all piled in the car. I drove us to the first neighborhood known for their fabulous holiday displays. We cruised slowly up and down the streets, part of a parade of lookie loos enjoying the winter wonderland theme they’d chosen for the year. I’d learned there were several such areas in the greater San Diego area, and after we’d slow-poked past all the icicles and giant snowflakes and snowmen and one house that even had a snowmaking machine in action, we were ready to move on to the next stop.

“Why don’t I drive?” Sage asked. “So you don’t miss all the fun.”

“I’m having the best time,” I told him, reaching back to take his hand. “And this evening is my gift to you both. I hope, if you are both having a good time, we can do this every year together on Christmas Eve.”

He kissed my fingers before letting go of my hand. “What a great idea. Look at our omega’s face. He is loving this, and I never thought I’d be a fan of Christmas lights, but it’s so much more than just stringing lights along your house. The families standing outside dressed according to their theme? Wow. Talk about being all in.”

“Wait until you see the next one.”

We weren’t hearing much from our omega, but what he was emitting were sounds of delight, and I felt like a certain holiday character whose heart got much bigger when he learned the true meaning of Christmas. The pack wasn’t really into the holiday in the same way as I was seeing down here in the lower forty-eight, but I could see myself becoming a real Christmas fan. The next neighborhood was Victorian Christmas, complete with all the neighbors in costume and a whole group of carolers.

After that, we stopped for ice cream sundaes and then time for the final display of the night, our house, where the rooftop was now crowned with a snowshoe rabbit, a reindeer, and a wolf, all outlined in lights.

I thought Douglas was going to faint with delight. Mission accomplished.

“Can we do this every year?” he asked.

“It’s our family tradition,” I said. “So, of course, we have to.”