Comet Claws (The Twelve Mates Of Christmas Book 5)

by Sable Sylvan

  “You think that’s what this is? Me, trying to hurt you?” asked Noel. “What about the harem?”

  “What about it?” asked Connor, who was met with silence. “Exactly. There’s nothing to discuss. It is what it is.”

  “I guess it is what it is,” said Noel. “Merry frikkin’ Christmas, Connor. I hope you have a good one. I hope you get what you want for Christmas.”

  Connor walked away before Noel could say another word.

  Noel got in the car and drove back to the bakery. She entered the bakery, where her seven brothers were hanging out with the seven shifter women. If her brothers wanted to make the same mistake she’d make with Connor, she was going to let them. After all, she would be a hypocrite to try and stop them.

  “Hey, where’s Connor?” asked Annie.

  “Dunno,” said Noel. “He left.”

  “Aww, did the two of you have a fight?” asked Bonnie.

  Noel looked Bonnie and the other six women over. The seven women were lovely – but Noel had no interest in joining their ranks. She wanted to say something rude, something cutting, but she knew that whatever fight she had was between her and Connor. After all, the seven out-of-towners had been nothing but polite to her – even though they were the constituents of Connor’s harem.

  “Yeah, kinda, but it’s not a big deal,” said Noel.

  “Do you want to talk about – “ started Cassie.

  “No,” said Noel. “Sorry. That was rude. No thanks, Cassie. I think I just want to go check in with Avery and head home.”

  “Hey – no need to apologize,” said Dellie. “We all deal with stuff in different ways.”

  Noel wanted to shout. Even when she was rude to the ladies in the harem, they were nice to her!

  “Yeah, we, of all people, know that Connor can be a real handful,” said Ellie. “This one time –”

  Before Ellie could continue, Noel nodded out gracefully, making a beeline for Avery’s office. Avery was working at her desk, facing away from the door.

  “Hey, can you uh, meet me outside in a few minutes?” asked Noel. “And, uh, can you bring two cups of the Christmas tea?”

  “Hey now, you’re my employee – shouldn’t I be the one ordering you about?” asked Avery. Avery turned and saw that Noel’s eyes were starting to get red and puffy.

  “Oh, no, honey, if you need me to make the tea, I can do it!” said Avery. “I’m sorry if I was too sassy, I just –”

  “It’s not that, but ‘this’ whole situation is why I need someone else to make the tea out there,” said Noel, motioning to her face.

  “Give me two minutes,” said Avery.

  Noel headed outside and in one minute and nineteen seconds, was met by Avery, who was carrying a tray with two cups of Christmas tea and a big plate of Christmas pastries. There was also a box of tissues on the tray.

  “Now, what’s wrong?” asked Avery.

  “It’s…” Noel started, but, as she looked across the lake and saw the blinking rainbow lights strewn over Krampus’ cabin at Camp Kringle, she lost her words in her mouth.

  “Oh, honey,” said Avery, looking backward to see what Noel was looking at. “Let’s switch spots.

  “No – I don’t want anyone from the bakery seeing me cry,” said Noel, taking a tissue and dabbing her eyes. “I guess, my issue is, I let myself get distracted by Connor.”

  “And you think I’m mad about that?” asked Avery. “Honey, I always tell the temp workers to stay away from the lumberjacks – because it’s some reverse psychology trick. I know that if I make the bad boys seem off-limits, it’ll make them more intriguing…and I always hope a bit of my girls’ goodness rubs off on Krampus boys, making them a bit more Nice and a bit less Naughty.”

  “That’s not what this is about, but, from the looks of things, Connor has plenty of girls who want to ‘rub off’ on him,” said Noel.

  “You mean…” Avery started, looking to the bakery and back to Noel. “Honey, that’s his…?”

  “Harem, yes,” said Noel.

  “I thought they were into your brothers,” said Avery.

  “If my brothers want to mess around with another shifters’ harem, that’s on them,” said Noel. “I know one thing – I’m not interested in joining a harem. Nothing against harems, they’re just not for me.”

  “So you’re heartbroken, on Christmas Eve Eve,” said Avery. “Well. Noel. I applaud you for two things – number one, getting this whole Christmas delivery thing organized, and number two, keeping things professional while your heart was breaking. Do you need to take tomorrow off?”

  “I want to play through the pain,” said Noel. “Trust me – I won’t let my tears get in the eggnog lattes.”

  “And the Christmas party,” asked Avery. “Oh, I forgot to tell you – there’s a company Christmas party up at The North Pole, at Santana’s Workshop. Do you want to come with us? There’s, uh, just one catch.”

  “Oh, great, a catch. Who is ‘us’?” asked Noel.

  “Me and Krampus…and your brothers…and the harem,” admitted Avery. “I wouldn’t have invited them if I knew that I could either invite them or you.”

  “I think I’ll pass,” said Noel. “I don’t think I want to do anything that reminds me of Connor tomorrow.”

  “Christmas at The North Pole is really magical – and it’s a once in a lifetime experience,” said Avery. “Trust me. The Workshop is huge – you won’t have to see Connor or his mates at all if you don’t want to, but, I do recommend watching Santana’s take-off and landing.”

  “If I agree to call you if I change my mind, will you take that as an answer?” asked Noel.

  “Honey – you don’t have to go if you don’t want to, but here,” said Avery. She pulled a notepad out of her pocket and a tiny pen. She wrote a number and passed it to Noel.

  “Call this number if you change your mind,” said Avery.

  “Fine, but don’t hold your breath,” said Noel. “I think this Christmas, I just need to be alone.”

  Noel wiped her eyes. How could she have been so naive? By playing in the snow, Noel had been playing with fire.

  Chapter Nine

  Christmas Eve, 2011

  “I’ve heard of the crack of dawn, but you, my friend, smell like the ass-crack of dawn,” said Krampus, kicking Connor’s bed. “Rise and shine, shrimp brine – it’s time to get ready for The Ride.”

  “Gimme five,” said Connor, sitting up to rub his eyes.

  “Five more minutes of sleep?” asked Krampus.

  “Five minutes to get ready,” said Connor, furrowing a brow. “I want to get this over with.”

  “We don’t actually have to head over yet,” said Krampus. “I just wanted to mess with you. For once, things at The North Pole are pretty peaceful this year. We don’t have to get there until later.”

  “We should leave now,” said Connor, getting up from the bed.

  “Don’t you want to spend the day with Noel?” asked Krampus, confused by his ward’s behavior. Every other bear from Clan Marron had wanted to spend Christmas Eve with their fated mate.

  “She’s got plenty of people to spend the holiday with,” said Connor.

  “Isn’t she your –”

  “No, and if she were, it wouldn’t matter,” said Connor. “I failed – I didn’t find my fated mate. I need to get at least one thing right this Christmas. There’s only one thing left I can do – ride.”

  “Not to interrupt your dramatic monologue, but, Santana is the one riding – you’re the reindeer pulling the damn sleigh,” commented Krampus.

  “When you’re up there, you’re riding the winds,” said Connor.

  If Connor had spoken that line as the lead hero of an action film, this would’ve been the part where his aviator glasses slid down from his head to cover his eyes. This also would’ve been the part where a single manly tear made its way down Connor’s cheek as he looked away from Krampus because Connor was also that kind of a dramatic dude.

&nb
sp; However, this was not an action film, so instead, Connor broke down and started sobbing into his hands, sitting on the edge of his bed, while Krampus wasn’t quite sure what to do.

  Noel clocked in at Bear Claw Bakery and got to work filling her brothers’ orders for brunch. Luckily for her, they were efficient and tipped well. She just served up a bunch of black coffee and some breakfast sandwiches. They were an easy crowd to please.

  “Hey,” said Avery, coming out from her office. “You want to come to my Christmas party tonight?”

  “I don’t know,” said Noel. “My brothers might be looking for something to do, though – we haven’t gotten to get out much and do stuff around The Wreath.”

  “So come with them,” said Avery. “It’s going to be a good time.”

  “I don’t know,” said Noel. “I’m tired from all the deliveries and baking. I could use a night by myself, staying in.”

  “Being alone on Christmas, by choice?” asked Avery. “Dang – I knew you were a hardworking woman, but I didn’t know you were immune to Christmas magic.”

  “There’s no such thing as Christmas magic,” said Noel. “I learned that the hard way.”

  “You saw Connor shift and –” started Avery.

  “Don’t,” said Noel, putting down the bottle of flavored syrup she was wiping down. “I just. I can’t, Avery. Sorry.”

  “What did I say?” asked Avery.

  “His name,” said Noel, biting back tears. “Avery, he…”

  “Come with me,” said Avery, ushering Noel back to her office. Another bakery worker took Noel’s place at the register.

  “Sorry about that,” said Connor. “I just – I just have so many feelings, you know?”

  “Err, yeah,” said Krampus awkwardly. “Look. You said you feel good, flying, right? We’re ahead of schedule – why don’t we fly up to The North Pole together?”

  “Wait, you can –” started Connor.

  “Yep,” said Krampus. “Demons can break the laws of physics – one of our many schools of sins.”

  “Works for me,” said Connor.

  “And then, believe it or not…she kissed me!” said Cassius.

  “No way!” said Finn. “Do you think…?”

  “She has to be, right?” asked Cassius. “She’s gotta be my fated mate!”

  The day had been perfect. Noel had made paper snowflakes with her brother, a family tradition they had done ever since she was old enough to wield a pair of safety scissors. The snowflakes were strewn about the house like a goofy paper blizzard. Tiny bits of paper were all over the carpet of the living room and tile of the kitchen, like the snow powdered over the ground outside.

  Noel had tried to tune out her brothers while she watched the Christmas movie they’d rented from the local DVD rental place. Her brothers had been whispering about girls – girls they’d met at The Wreath, nonetheless – who they were interested in. It seemed as if everyone on The Wreath had found love that holiday a season, except for her.

  Noel had asked for them not to mention the names of the women that her brothers assured her had to be her future sisters-in-law. The last thing Noel wanted was to learn that one of her brothers had fallen for someone she knew. They’d respected that request, but their excitement had gotten the best of them.

  Noel had hushed them multiple times, but when the effort proved futile, she paused the movie – and told them they had fifteen minutes to get all that talk out of their systems, while she brewed up some cocoa for everyone.

  She was going on minute twenty, and her brothers were still talking about girls. The sound of Christmas carols played from her phone, but it couldn’t drown out her brothers, talking about finding ‘true love’ and ‘fated mates.’ She usually felt so close to them, but as the only non-shifter of the bunch, she knew she would never know about the realities of being a shifter, of fated mates. For the first time in all her life, Noel felt left out of her family’s Christmas celebrations.

  “Everything good in here, Noel?” asked Gilliam, walking into the kitchen.

  “It’s fine,” said Noel. “I just…I don’t know. You know?”

  “I know,” said Gilliam. “You wanna talk about it?”

  “Maybe later,” said Noel. “You guys get the girl talk out of your systems?”

  “You know us – we can never get that out of our systems,” said Gilliam. “They’re just excited, is all.”

  “That’s why I feel like a humbug, asking them to stop talking about it,” said Noel.

  “Good thing that being a humbug is my true calling in life,” said Gilliam with a grin. Before Noel could protest, Gilliam had yelled for his brothers to shut up so they could watch the rest of the movie…and they did.

  “You’re the best,” said Noel, carrying mugs of cocoa in the living room.

  “I know,” said Gilliam with a wink. “That’s why I’m your favorite brother, right?”

  “You know I can’t pick favorites,” said Noel.

  “But you’re my favorite sister!” protested Gilliam.

  “I’m your only sister,” Noel reminded Gilliam, putting down the first set of cups and heading back to the kitchen. She made sure to put a candy cane in Gilliam’s cup of cocoa because he’d been an extra special brother.

  Connor was in the locker room, changing into his tactical suit for The Ride. He had spent a day practicing with Santana and the ice elementals – seven members of Boreas Winter’s crew down South, who helped with The Ride by using the powers of the other seven reindeer. Connor, as Comet, was paired with Cupid. Luckily, the ice elementals were not a chatty bunch. Connor had taken a bit of getting used to being referred to as ‘Comet’ rather than Connor, but things at The North Pole had run smoothly.

  Connor finished changing and exited the locker room, where he was grabbed by someone shorter than him, someone curvy…but it wasn’t Noel.

  “Pandora?” asked Connor. “What’re you doing here?”

  “Uh, at my dad’s company?” asked Pandora. “I’m here to take you to the Christmas party.”

  “Ugh, no,” said Connor. “Do I have to?”

  “Unless you want to get back on The Naughty List, I’d suggest you come with me,” said Pandora. “That came off as more threatening than I hoped. Ha!”

  “Where’s your boyfriend?” asked Connor.

  “My what now?” asked Pandora.

  “Your boyfriend – that Jack boy,” said Connor.

  “First, not my boyfriend. Second, he’s at the party, along with Avery and Krampus,” said Pandora.

  “So Krampus sent you to get me?” asked Connor.

  “Yep,” said Pandora. “Come on.”

  Connor followed Pandora through the vast complex until they reached the ballroom. The rest of the complex seemed very businessy and white collar, with only touches of Christmas decor reminding one that it was the workshop of Santana Claus.

  The ballroom looked like it was the supply closet where all the extra Christmas decorations were stored.

  The entire ballroom was decked out with Christmas decor. The theme that year had been ‘The Ride,’ so the whole room was full of dark blue and dark green decor. That didn’t make the place seem dark and gloomy. Instead, it was bright and full of life, as silver and golden stars and twinkling lights filled the room with a glow that could only be described as the same glow of Christmas magic.

  “Whoa,” said Connor.

  “Come on,” said Pandora, leading Connor to a set of couches, where Krampus, Avery, and Jack were sitting.

  “Took you long enough,” said Krampus, checking his pocket watch.

  “You criticizing my retrieval skills?” asked Pandora, a hand to her hips.

  “Yes. You need to know how to wrangle your reindeer if you ever hope to command them to pull your sleigh,” said Krampus.

  “And how am I supposed to do that without some reindeer of my own?” asked Pandora. “Heck – how do I do that without a sleigh of my own?”

  “You know, I he
ard a rumor that every time you complain about that, your father makes you wait an extra year,” said Krampus.

  “You know how to get me to shut up, demon – I’ll give you that,” said Pandora. “And, I’ll give you this.”

  Pandora reached into the pile of presents and passed one to Connor.

  “What’s this?” asked Connor. “I didn’t get anyone gifts.”

  “Helping my dad out on The Ride is a gift to everyone,” said Pandora sweetly. “But also, cash is acceptable, very acceptable.”

  “Ha-ha,” said Connor sarcastically. He took the gift from Pandora and looked at it. It was a small box, nicely wrapped. He remembered watching Pandora conjure the box out of thin air when he’d first visited The North Pole. It seemed like an age had passed since that day. He’d still thought that Noel was his fated mate back then.

  Connor unwrapped the box. Inside, there was a cardboard box with tiny Santa hats printed all over it. Connor opened that box. Inside that box, there was another box – a ring box.

  Connor looked at the small red and white velvet box. The top was shaped like a Santa hat, complete with a floppy triangular tail-like end, topped with a white pom-pom.

  Connor popped the box open. Inside, there was a ring. There was a big white diamond, shaped like a star, and, next to it, three trails of tiny gemstones in various shades of green, blue, and purple.

  “You proposing to me, Pandora?” asked Connor.

  “Wh-what?” asked Pandora. Jack looked very annoyed. His face had turned as bright red as Santana’s suit.

  “Why did you give me a ring if you’re not proposing to me?” asked Connor, flashing the box to Pandora.

  “Oh, I know what that is,” said Avery.

  “What?” asked Connor.

  “That’s not a gift for you,” said Avery. “Check the tag.”

  “I did,” said Connor, reaching through the scraps to show off the tag. “See? ‘To Connor, From Pandora.’”