22. Santa

Chapter 22

Santa

Christmas Day usually signaled my day off. I would come home from my toy run, climb into bed, and sleep the day away. It was fine—I already had my Christmas fix all year long. Spending the one day recouping worked for me.

But this year was different.

This year, I had my mate at home waiting for me.

The offer had always stood for him to come along, but he was tired—exhausted, really. It wasn’t until I was halfway through my run that I realized why, that I understood the feeling I’d gotten around him earlier that day. Which was why, when I was done with my run, I didn’t come straight home. Instead, I went to the workshop and got him a special gift—one that was for him, but also about the gift he was giving me. I couldn’t wait to see his face when he opened it.

Once home, I changed into the matching pajamas he’d so lovingly picked out for us. I say lovingly, but I think it was a joke at first. Who wears matching pajamas? Us apparently, and I loved it. They were perfect—covered with Christmas trees and little Maxes wearing Santa hats.

They were absolute perfection.

I climbed into bed beside him, and he snuggled in close, not even waking up. It was as if his sleeping form recognized that I was home—that his mate was there by his side. The last thing I saw before I fell asleep was the little glittery cookie-shaped mark on his neck—the one I’d left for him the night we mated. Of course, Santa didn’t leave a typical mating mark—his was special.

It would’ve been adorable, even if it hadn’t been so meaningful. But it was the most meaningful gift I’d ever given. That night I promised him my love, my companionship, and my forever. It was the night I finally became whole.

We were walking this life together—Christmas after Christmas and every day in between.

I woke up to an empty spot on the bed, the sound of the sink running in the bathroom telling me where my mate was. I sat up, yawned, and glanced at the clock. It was Christmas morning—barely—and time to get up.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” Dario said as he came in, a tense smile on his face.

“You didn’t. It’s time.” I bit back a yawn. “Did you check?”

“Check?” He tilted his head to the side. “Check what?”

“It’s morning. You’re supposed to check and see if Santa came.”

“He didn’t.” Dario winked. “But if he plays his cards right, he will.”

Before I could take him up on the offer, he walked into the other room. Moments later, he came running back in. “He came! He came! Santa came!”

Playing along, I grinned. Of course I had, and from the sounds of it, I would again later.

I’d left him the special present in the branches of the tree, one he probably hadn’t noticed yet, along with the other gifts.

Max yipped at his heels. He was ready for his first morning walk. While Dario took him out, I cleaned up and went into the kitchen to put on some cocoa. It was Christmas morning, after all.

Wyn and Sprinkles had both brought over covered dishes for us to bake for brunch. Wyn’s were his famous cinnamon rolls shaped like Christmas trees, and Sprinkles had brought some sort of French toast casserole. It didn’t look good now, but I knew his cooking—it was going to be great. Ryfon gave us the gift of not giving us his home cooking. Nobody wanted that.

I turned on the oven and popped them both in, just as my mate came back with Max.

“Who’s a good boy?” Max came running up to me, and I knelt down so he could sniff my face, the way he liked to. “Did you look? Did you see if Santa came?”

He came. Of course he did. There was no way I wasn’t going to spoil our little furry friend.

We sat in the living room where Dario soon discovered how completely spoiled Max was. I got him brand-new boots for walking around in the cold, a new coat, new earmuffs—which I was curious to see if he’d actually keep on his head—bunches of toys, and, of course, elf-made doggie treats.

Dario and I took turns showing him his gifts, opening them for him, and then moving on to the next. I was pretty sure he didn’t understand what was going on, with the exception of loving his new stuffed ginger cookie and getting a few treats, but he adored all of the attention. He trotted off to his bed, gingerbread cookie in mouth, and settled in for what I was sure would soon be a nap.

Then it was our turn to exchange gifts.

Dario had already given me the best Christmas gift ever, but he still insisted on Christmas morning gifts as well: a brand-new mug covered in tiny reindeer, coasters covered in reindeer, some wool socks with reindeer on them, and a reindeer-themed thermos for bringing my cocoa to and from the human realm. There was even a reindeer Christmas ornament with his name and year. It was fair to say there was a theme.

He opened the gifts I’d gotten him and loved them all, but I was holding back. There was one last gift, the one I’d hidden in the tree branches. I reached for it and handed it to him, barely able to contain my excitement.

“This one’s for you.”

“You already spoiled me.” He held the present to him.

“And I plan to do it often.” I pointed to the gift. “Are you going to look?”

He unwrapped a reindeer ornament, not unsimilar to the one he gave me, only instead of this year’s date and his name, it said, “Baby’s First Christmas” along with next Christmas’s date.

He looked at it. Then he looked at me. Then back at it. Then at me again.

"Is this your way of asking if I’m ready to start a family? Because I am."

I hadn’t considered him interpreting it that way. Oops.

"Well, that’s good to know, but that’s not why I gave it to you." I pressed my hand against his lower abdomen. "I sensed them yesterday, and I didn’t understand what I was sensing until I was flying through the air delivering gifts."

His eyes went wide with understanding. "We’re going to have a baby?"

I nodded.

"Are you sure?"

"I can pop to the pharmacy and get you a test if you want, but yeah, I’m sure."

He climbed into my lap, facing me, and cupped my cheeks with his hands. "We’re going to have a baby."

"We are."

"This is the best Christmas ever." He kissed me, his arms wrapped tight around me.

He was right: This was the best Christmas ever!