Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

NICK

T he wind howled around us like a banshee, lashing against the sleigh as we pressed deeper into the forest. Snow swirled in a relentless flurry, a severe storm even by North Pole standards. This wasn’t natural. The magic that protected our world from brutal weather should have softened the edges of the storm, yet it raged with an intensity that felt… malicious, sentient.

I tightened my grip on the reins, squinting against the icy shards cutting at my face. “This whole thing feels off,” I muttered, mostly to myself.

“What do you mean?” Alva asked, her voice barely audible over the roar of the wind.

“This storm,” I said, glancing at her. Her auburn hair was tucked under the hood of her coat, her cheeks flushed from the cold, but her eyes were sharp and focused. “It’s too strong. Too sudden. It feels… deliberate. It can’t be a coincidence. First the reindeer get sick, now this?”

Her lips pressed into a thin line. “You really think the Frost Queen might be behind this? ”

I nodded, steering the sleigh around a cluster of snow-covered trees. “I wouldn’t put it past her. She’s meddled before, and if she’s behind this, it means she’s found a way to weaken the magic protecting the North Pole.”

Alva’s gaze darkened. “If that’s true, then this is bigger than just Comet and Blitzen.”

“Exactly,” I said, the weight of it making me sick to my stomach. I couldn’t help but feel partially responsible. My realm had needed me, and I’d abdicated my duties as prince, as next in line, in favor of parties and sex. Shame sank into my bones. If only I’d listened to my father, I might have been able to thwart the Frost Queen’s efforts to destroy our realm.

Christmas wasn’t just about presents and pretty lights, it was about the joy it brought people. Christianity had adopted the holiday, but the holiday’s roots and origins ran deep—they were older than people understood. Making people happy on Christmas was what fueled our realm. By disrupting the celebration, the queen was seeking to weaken us, to make us an easier target to attack.

The storm grew fiercer as we continued, the path ahead nearly invisible under the blanket of snow. I couldn’t help but glance at Alva, who sat stiffly beside me, her gloved hands clutching the edge of the sleigh. She’d been quiet for a while now, her thoughts clearly elsewhere.

“You okay?” I asked.

She nodded, though her brow furrowed. “It’s just that… How could I’ve missed this?”

“You can’t blame yourself for this.”

“Nick, it’s my job to ensure Christmas is protected.”

“What makes you think you’re the only one responsible?”

She hesitated, then sighed. “My family has been part of Christmas operations for generations. Hundreds of years. My great-grandfather helped design the first big toy manufacturing workshop, and my grandmother oversaw the production line for decades. Becoming head elf… it was everything I ev er wanted. I wanted to make them proud. To prove that I could carry on their legacy.”

I glanced at her, her words stirring something in me. “You don’t think you have?”

“I’d like to think so,” she said, a faint smile tugging at her lips. “But sometimes, I wonder if I’m too rigid. If maybe I’m too much of a perfectionist and somehow that’s what made me blind to the signs the Frost Queen was trying to sabotage Christmas. I’ve spent my whole life making sure Christmas runs smoothly. I should’ve known. Should’ve seen this coming.”

“The only problem I see, is that you’ve become someone who’s devoted her entire life to serving this realm, leaving little room for yourself.”

She shrugged, her gaze distant. “It’s not about me. I love the work. I love serving not just the people here in the North Pole, but the whole world.”

I could appreciate her commitment to her family’s legacy, to her own desire to serve the greater good, but something about her words didn’t sit right with me. She carried the weight of the North Pole on her shoulders. That was too much for one person to bear.

“That’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself,” I said, steering the sleigh around a sharp bend. “A lot of us missed this threat, including me. So don’t beat yourself up about it. You’ve done an incredible job running my father’s operation. Even I can see that.”

She blinked, her eyes snapping to mine. “Was that a compliment, Your Highness?”

I chuckled. “Don’t let it go to your head, Brightwinter.”

She rolled her eyes, but I caught the faint curve of her lips, a rare moment of softness that made a string tug at my core. I didn’t know what it was about her, but every time she let her icy walls thaw, even just a little, I felt like I was seeing something precious.

The storm intensified, the wind whipping snow into a blinding blur. I pulled the reins, bringing the sleigh to a halt. “We can’t keep going,” I said, glancing at Alva. “It’s too dangerous.”

Her jaw tightened. “But the reindeer?—”

“I know,” I said. “But if we get lost out here, we won’t be of any help to them.”

She hesitated, then sighed, nodding reluctantly. “I guess if we don’t have another choice…”

I climbed out of the sleigh, pulling out the collapsible tent and blankets I’d packed. The sleigh was designed to convert into a makeshift shelter, and within minutes, I’d secured the tent over it, creating a cocoon of warmth against the storm.

Inside, I spread out the fur blankets, the space just large enough for two people to sit or lay side by side. Alva stepped in and I handed her the small fairy-light lantern I’d brought with us.

“This is… cozy,” she said, her tone playful.

“It’ll shield us from the frigid wind,” I said, securing the reins and brushing snow off my coat. “The dogs are happy to sleep in the snow, thankfully. Plus, they’ll alert us of any potential danger.”

She eyed the small space, her body trembling. Despite her thick coat and the fur blankets, she was clearly freezing. I handed her another blanket. “Give it a few minutes. Now that your body is out of the wind, you’ll warm up a little.’

Wrapping the blanket around herself, she looked around at the small enclosure, as if trying to avert her gaze from meeting mine. Perhaps being this close and in such tight quarters was making her uncomfortable. “We have a few hours before the storm passes, is there anything you’d like to talk about?”

She blinked softly, her lips still trembling from the cold. “I am kind of curious about this healer. I’ve never heard of her. How do you know her? ”

“That’s a long story.”

“Lucky for us we have hours to kill.” A glint shone in her eyes, and I couldn’t help the way in which my heartrate up ticked.

“I was around thirteen when I met Helka. Like most teens that age, I was rebellious and stupid. I got pissed at my parents for something and ran away, thinking myself invincible and that I could survive the cold on my own. My parents had warned me about the wildlands countless times. That’s where the fairy-folk live and they don’t take kind to strangers they’d say. But when does a thirteen-year-old listen?”

Alva laughed. “Almost never.”

“Exactly. I’d snuck out with a small dog sled. The trip started off great, and I was almost proud of myself. I would be able to show my parents I didn’t need them. Then nightfall hit and I hadn’t been prepared for the temperature drop.”

“Oh no. Your parents didn’t send someone after you?”

I shook my head no. “Tough love, I guess. Can’t blame them really. I’d been extremely disrespectful to them both. Especially my mother, and that’s something my father has zero tolerance for.”

“Can’t say I fault him for that.”

“Me neither. Looking back now, I regret many of the decisions I made. But when you’re that age, everything seems so different. It’s like it’s just you against the world, and the world is the villain.”

“It’s part of growing up, Nick. Hopefully, you learned from some of those mistakes.”

I scoffed. “I wish I could say I did, but it seems I’m still making the same mistakes, or so everyone keeps telling me. Anyway, back to Helka. She found me pretty much almost dead from hyperthermia. She brought me back to her cabin and nursed me back to health. I was gone from home for maybe five days.”

“Five days? Your family was probably frantic looking for you.”

“Yeah, I was grounded for many Christmases after that incident.”

“So, who is she, Nick? Why is there a healer out here in the woods who no one has ever heard of?

“Helka… she’s not just a healer. She’s a witch who was exiled from the realm centuries ago during the time my great-great-great Grandfather ruled.”

“A witch? Nick, her kind was supposed to have died out a long time ago. The realm forbids their kind of magic. Is that really why you didn’t want me telling your father about the reindeer and where we were going?”

“Partly, but the real reason was that I didn’t want to alarm anyone until we knew exactly what was going on. And Helka might be a witch, but her kind are not all dark wielders. She was once a royal mage, one blessed by Odin himself.”

“Then why was she exiled?”

“If you ask my father and mother, they’d tell you that during the last war with the Frost Queen, she betrayed our kingdom, siding with the queen.”

“That’s not the true story?”

“Helka has nothing but love for our realm. She would do anything to protect it. In those five days I lived with her, she taught me a great deal about the enchanted animals of the forest, of the woods, and the magic that keeps our world alive. She would’ve never betrayed our people.”

“Then what really happened?”

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “The Clauses… we are a family of tradition. A family tasked by the Gods with ensuring the safety of the North Pole. Entrusted with protecting the magic. Every Santa must have his queen, though. It’s the balance of our power. But not every union is one fated in love but a brokered match.”

She narrowed her gaze, tucking herself tighter in her blanket as if listening to an old folktale. “Your ancestor was in love with Helka, wasn’t he?”

“Their union would’ve never been accepted. Her job was to be the realm’s royal mage. To aid in times of war. To assist when the royal family needed healing. To provide knowledge and guidance when it came to the Gods and the magic that ruled our world.”

Alva’s eyes softened over me as if she could see the turmoil churning in my chest. “I’m sorry. This courtship your father is forcing you to entertain… Even after so many decades, this tradition is still so deeply entrenched in your family. It’s not about finding your true love; it’s about just finding a good partner. What about your parents? Are they not in love?”

“I think they were lucky. They weren’t just a perfect match on paper, they were each other’s soulmates. I just don’t know if that kind of love exists for me.”

“Why not?”

My chest felt suddenly too tight, and I couldn’t answer.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. Um, so what happened to Helka, why was she really banished?”

“Mrs. Claus found out about the love affair and the rest is history.”

“That’s terrible.”

I chuckled and leaned on my side. “That’s life. But although she was banished, Helka has lived a happy life. She still keeps watch over the realm from afar. “

“You visit her often out here?”

“I used to visit more when I was younger. It was the promise I made her when I left to go back home. Although she’s happy, she still gets lonely. Not many people live out here except the fairy-folk, and you know how they are, weary of any that are not their own kind.”

Alva shivered, her lips still trembling. I’d begun to feel the deep chill in my bones as well. Despite the fur blankets and the tent, the pervasive cold wouldn’t ebb. It was more confirmation that this storm was unnatural.

Noticing that I tried to wrap myself tighter into my blanket, Alva said, “It’s still too cold, Nick. These blankets aren’t enough. If we don’t find another way to stay warm, we won’t make it through this storm.” Her gaze dipped, almost as if she was too scared to look me straight in the eyes. “Body heat is the best way to do that.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Are you suggesting we?—”

“Don’t make it weird, Nick,” she snapped, her cheeks flushing. “Just… strip down to your undergarments. It’ll work better.”

I couldn’t stop the grin that tugged at my lips as I shrugged off my coat. “Whatever you say, Brightwinter.”

Within minutes, we were under the blankets, our bodies pressed together to keep warm. The heat of her skin against mine sent my thoughts spiraling into dangerous territory. I wrapped an arm around her waist, my fingers touching the silkiness of her skin. Her backside was pressing right up against my cock, and I had to think really hard of anything else but her almost-naked body, or I was going to make this moment even more awkward for us.

But with her body snuggled up so close against mine, and her hair scooped to the side, it was impossible to avoid my breath brushing against her neck, or for my own body to not react to hers. I felt her shift slightly, her leg brushing against mine. My heart pounded. She not only felt incredible, but her pine and cinnamon scent tickled my senses.

I drew a gentle circle over her abdomen with my fingers and her breath hitched, but she remained still, though I could feel her heart beating like a bird trapped in a cage. “Alva,” I murmured, my voice rough and heavy. Her named tasted like honey on my tongue. I’d wanted to drop the formality with her since I’d walked into her office the day before, but I knew she’d wanted the distance .

I didn’t know what came over me now, but I couldn’t honor that distance any longer. Not when she was this close to me. I wasn’t sure if it was because she’d dropped her perfectly erected walls for a few minutes, letting me see the vulnerable side she didn’t show anyone, or because I was finally allowing myself to see past her carefully crafted facade. Either way, in merely two days of finally taking the time to get to know her, even a little, I’d been entrapped by her like a rabbit caught in a snare.

“Nick… I don’t think this is wise.”

My breath warmed her neck, the storm outside fading into the background as my fingers lingered against her soft skin. Every muscle in her body was taut, her hesitation palpable. But she hadn’t pulled away.

“I know it’s not wise,” I whispered. “But I can’t help what I’m feeling right now. Ever since my father concocted this ridiculous courtship, the only female I’ve not been able to stop thinking about has been you.”

Her chest rose and fell with shaky breaths, and I pressed my lips together, willing myself to stop, to pull back. But the storm outside wasn’t the only thing raging, inside my heart, a cyclone was swirling.

“You’re supposed to be finding a bride,” she said softly, her voice laced with something I couldn’t quite place—regret, or maybe longing. “You said it yourself; your family is entrenched in tradition. I would only be a distraction and that’s exactly the opposite of what your father instructed me to do.”

“I don’t know if I can choose a bride, Alva.” I shifted closer, burying my nose into the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent. “None of them have captured my attention like you have.” It was the truth, and it stabbed me in the chest to realize that if I’d shown that I cared about my legacy even just a little, that if I deigned to visit my father’s workshop once in a while, I might have had a real chance to get to know her first, to discredit the rumors about her.

Her breath caught, and I could feel her pulse quicken under my touch. “You’re only saying those things because we’re practically naked under this blanket. We can’t just give into our basal desires, Nick.”

I feathered my lips over her neck, my breath prickling her skin all over. “Can’t we?” I whispered, my voice deep. I kissed the entire length of her neck, practically devouring her until she moaned so richly, it was a sound of pure need and desire. “But tonight isn’t about me,” I said, my hand moving slowly up her side, pausing just below her ribcage. “It’s not about what I want. It’s about you.”

“Nick…” she whispered, her voice trembling.

I pressed my lips to her shoulder. “You’ve carried so much, Alva. All the stress of running my father’s operation, of making sure nothing ever fails. You’ve sacrificed everything for my family, for our realm, and you never let yourself just… be.”

Her head tilted slightly, giving me better access, though she didn’t say a word.

“Let me do this for you,” I murmured. “Let me help you let go of all of that, even if it’s just for tonight.”

Her hands gripped the edge of the blanket, her body still trembling. “I don’t know if I can.”

I shifted my hand even higher, my fingers dipping below the undergarment around her breasts, and her breath hitched again. “You don’t have to do anything, Alva. Just let me take care of you.”

Slowly, carefully, I slid my hand all the way under, brushing against the softness of her bare breasts. Odin save me, her nipples were perked, and I delighted in rubbing them gently with my fingers, the sensation sending a sweet current straight to my cock. The bastard throbbed with heat, demanding attention. Her body stiffened for a moment before she melted against me, her back arching slightly into my touch .

“Gods, Nick…” I knew she felt the hardness pressing against her backside.

I ghosted my lips over her pointy ear. “That’s it, little elf, let go…” I continued my movements, slow and deliberate, coaxing her to release the tension she’d been holding on to for so long. Every sigh, every shivering breath that escaped her lips sent heat surging through me, but I kept my focus entirely on her, on how incredible her breasts felt under my touch, her nipples growing hard as diamonds.

The tyrant elf was under my spell and victory flamed in my veins. But I couldn’t lie to myself, not really. If anyone had truly won here, it was her, because no other female had ever been able to enthrall me like she had—demanding my full attention, making me want to worship her body like my life depended on it.

Her body writhed, and I knew what she was asking of me. Feathering my hand down her abdomen until I went lower and lower, I stopped before sliding my hand under her private garments. “Do you want me to touch you?”

She bit her bottom lip as she shifted to give me better access. Fuck. I hadn’t planned this… to be stuck in the middle of a snowstorm with the gorgeous elf who had hated my guts, who had thought me wasted potential, who had seen me as nothing but a pampered prince, who I had secretly desired all these years. Yet, despite secretly lusting after her, I never imagined I could want her like this, to be aching to touch her between her legs, to know how wet she could get, to hear her moans.

Slowly, I slid off her undergarment, my mind spinning, knowing she was now fully naked under the fur blanket, her legs spread. Gods, my cock was so hard I could hardly hold back the reins of my male need, but I had to, because there was no way I was going to ruin this moment with my typical reckless behavior. I wanted to savor this—her—because Odin knew if tomorrow, she’d despise me all over again.

She released a long, desperate moan when I found her wetness, as if she’d been holding it for too long, like she’d finally given herself the liberty to feel something other than the constant stress of needing to carry the universe on her shoulders. Her back arched as I dipped my middle finger deeper into her, hooking it just right to hit that sacred spot. She moaned again, and I knew she was close.

Both our breaths grew ragged, matching the tempo of my finger as I drove it in and out of her. Gods, I didn’t want this to end. I wanted to watch that icy rigidness that coated her feelings melt away with my touch. So, I slowed and gently circled her clit with my thumb, and smiled brightly when I saw her eyes roll to the back of her head. “That’s it… you’re so close…” I breathed the words over her ear, wanting her to sense the roughness of my own breath, to feel the aching need building in my body. I wanted her to know how badly I wanted her.

“Nick…”

The tent was suddenly too damn hot. I shoved the fur blankets off and took in a sharp gasp at the way the fairy-light from the lantern made her skin glow. She was perfect. Her peachy nipples were still peaked, and watching her writhe under my touch had me ready to climb on top of her and bury myself inside her warmth, but I stopped myself again. I had no idea why I wanted to be different for her, like I needed her approval—wanted it, craved it.

In that moment, I wanted to be the prince she deserved.

She bit those rosy lips, and this time I didn’t care about my fucking rules and crashed my mouth into hers. I’d always avoided kissing—it seemed too intimate, too precious a moment to share with just anyone. But with Alva, nothing made sense. There were no rules to follow here, except the cues from our bodies, and dared I say… my heart? I knocked the thought from my head, losing myself completely to the fe el of her tongue dipping inside my mouth, her breaths becoming mine.

“Blessed moonlight, Alva,” I moaned, pulling away and licking the finger I’d had insider. “If I’d known how delicious your pussy would taste, I would’ve devoured you ages ago. But I need more… lots more. Tell me, little elf, do you want to come on my tongue?”

Her eyes drifted open, her gaze brimming with lust. She almost couldn’t speak, but managed a sweet, hissing, “Yes.”

I positioned my head between her and gently spread her folds open, feasting my eyes on how flushed pink and slick with arousal she was. I took my time licking her entire seam, leaving no spot unexplored. I wanted to devour every inch of her, letting her taste linger over my tongue. Her hips lifted, but I placed a strong hand on her hip, keeping her in place.

I drifted my gaze toward her and reveled at the view of her arched back, her hands kneading her breasts, her chin pointed upward as she moaned in ecstasy. She was so fucking beautiful and watching her come undone for me… it was heaven. I brushed my tongue over her engorged clit, demanding her release with each stroke. Hearing her ragged breaths had me ready to spill myself all over the blankets without even going inside her. But Thor’s balls, that would ruin my rakish reputation, and this elf didn’t need another reason to mock me.

When her climax finally came, it was like watching the first snowfall of the season—quiet, beautiful, and utterly captivating. She trembled, her breaths slowing as her legs closed around me. I chuckled, wondering if she’d planned this just so she could strangle me in the end.

Realizing her legs had me in a headlock, she hurried to release me. “Blasted Gods. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. If that was to be my last breath, I would’ve died happy.”

She sat up quickly, using the fur blanket to cover herself.

I frowned. “I was enjoying the view.”

Her cheeks reddened. “I can’t believe I let you do that… Nick, you’re supposed to be getting betrothed in two weeks. Your parents would kill me if they found out that I… Oh, my Gods, and my family…”

I rushed to her side and took her chin in my fingers. “Hey, no one needs to know what just happened between us. Plus, I couldn’t care less about that betrothal. Those females mean nothing to me. You, though…”

“Stop. Don’t say it. Whatever just happened between us can’t happen again, Nick. To become the next Santa, you need a wife. That’s an unbreakable tradition.”

I raked a hand over my hair. This notion of having to find a wife in two weeks was possibly the worst idea my father could’ve ever had. And all this talk about becoming Santa and needing to get married had iced the fire in my veins.

I sat back on my ass and wasn’t too shocked to see my raging hard-on was no longer raging. “We should get some sleep.”

The light in her eyes dimmed, and I didn’t know how we had gone from experiencing one of the most magical moments of my life, to feeling like we were back to that awkward tension between us. But just as I was about to find a separate blanket for myself, the dogs began to howl, growls vibrating through the sleigh. My entire body became rigid, alarm racing through my blood.

“Nick, what’s going on?”

“They’ve sensed a threat.”