Chapter Seven

Douglas

In all the excitement of finding my mates, I had forgotten about Santa. And now here I was, standing naked in front of him. The man didn’t look fazed by my lack of clothing or even the other two shifters by my side, but he had seen me getting undressed in the first place, so I supposed that made sense. Still, it was a bit awkward.

I supposed finding my mates made the job irrelevant in the scheme of things because I had found my future. But it also made the job more important. At least to me. Sage and Caspian deserved a mate who had a house that wasn’t going to burn to the ground because they couldn’t afford to get the electrical fixed. A mate who could afford to stay afloat. An omega mate who wasn’t waiting for some big strong alphas to save the day. I was no prince in distress. I was Douglas, the reindeer who changed the trajectory of his life with determination, hard work, and a thick skin.

Getting this job mattered even more now than when I first arrived.

I looked over at my mates. There was so much I still needed to know about them: How did they know each other? Why were they shifting at a nightclub? What were their favorite colors? Did they live in SD, too? I pretty much needed to learn everything. But I already knew they deserved the very best version of Douglas that I could be. That included someone who could actually get a job, make ends meet when needed, and not rely on others.

“I’m so sorry, Santa.” If I needed to grovel, I would. I’d already declined the elf gig in the hopes that I could land this one. Being one of Santa’s helpers was my only current option—if I hadn’t messed it up already.

The man standing there all jolly hadn’t introduced himself by another name. Only Santa. But even if he had, dressed like this, I’d probably have reverted to his cosplay name anyway. Gods, he was perfect for the role.

“I really do want this job. I just… I scented them, and they’re my—” I sounded like I was making excuses, and I was. Please don’t let them interfere with the job.

“Ho ho ho!” he cut me off. “I brought you your gift early. I see you like it.” He smiled wide, looking at me, tapping the side of his nose then looking at each of my mates. They stood there, silently. My guess was that they saw that this was not a personal interaction but more of a business one.

“You brought me my gift?”

Santa nodded with a wink this time. Surely he didn’t mean he’d brought me my mates, did he? That was impossible. Obviously Fate had played a part in it; that’s how that worked. But Santa wasn’t Fate…or was he? I mouthed, “Mates,” unable to say the word out loud. This was all too much.

“Ho ho ho.” He held his belly and laughed. “Merry Christmas.”

That was an affirmative, right? What else could it be?

Whether or not that was what he meant, Caspian and Sage were the best Christmas present ever. Christmas had come early, indeed.

I thought back to our run, how Sage had trusted me so completely that he allowed me to run with him on my back. That kind of trust and respect would take most shifters years to give, but there he was, offering it up so freely. What a treasure that memory would always be—the three of us running together in such an intimate way. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. The argument could be made that it was because I never had anyone other than my father who would run with me. But it was more than that. So very much more.

My stomach dropped. If Santa was here for my mates, did that mean… “Are you saying there isn’t a job?”

He couldn’t mean that. He couldn’t mean this was all a setup just to bring me my mates. He wouldn’t be that cruel. Right? And there I was, acting as if he were the real Santa. Because this close to Christmas, the man had nothing more important to do than hang out at a shifter nightclub and play matchmaker.

All of this seemed so magical and impossible that maybe—just maybe—he didn’t.

“Of course, there’s a job. There’s going to be a party.” Because those two things always went together. “And who has a Christmas party without Santa?”

I didn’t have the heart to tell him a lot of people did. But not places like Animals. They had a legacy to live up to. If it were Christmas related, this place was going to have it. There were probably a dozen decorated trees inside already and garlands galore. And mistletoe… I could imagine it hanging from all the rafters…if there were even unexposed rafters inside. I hadn’t even been inside the place, and I was thinking about it as if I were a regular, all because I loved the gossip mill surrounding the chain.

“It’s yours if you want it.”

It took me a few seconds for my brain to catch up about what he meant. I had the job. Yes!

“I do,” I assured him. “And I promise you, I won’t run off during the event.”

“No, I suppose that’s already been done.” He tapped the side of his nose. “We were supposed to hold flying lessons today, but I suppose those are just gonna have to wait. You a quick learner?”

Was he seriously asking me if I was going to quickly learn how to fly? How did he expect that to happen? Were they going to have a crane and harnesses? Or maybe he meant figuratively. Whatever the case was, I had barely been on an airplane. Flying was not my thing.

I didn’t like the sound of the possibilities running through my brain, but I nodded anyway. “Very quick, sir. Very, very quick.”

He didn’t look like he quite believed me, but that was fair. I didn’t believe myself.

“I suppose we’ll see how it goes.” He walked away, ho-ho-ho-ing the entire time. He really got into the part, which was absolutely fabulous for the night of the party. For conversations like this? I wasn’t so sure. He walked away leaving me more questions than I came here with.

“You don’t suppose…” I said, looking to my mates.

Sage looked to Caspian and then to me. “Suppose that he’s the real…that you will fly fly?”

I nodded.

“No. There’s no way.”

“None…or maybe…” Caspian turned toward where Santa had walked.

“Hey, Santa!” I called after him, a thousand questions popping into my head after that very brief conversation with my mates. But by the time I looked in his direction, he was gone.

There were no doors nearby, no cars driving away. If I hadn’t known better, I’d have thought he’d done his little Christmas magic he used to go from house to house. Although…wouldn’t that require reindeer? He probably just jogged. That was more likely.

The wind shifted slightly, and the scent of my mates tickled my nose.

And suddenly I didn’t really care where he went or how. I had more important things to worry about and they were named Caspian and Sage…aka, my mates.