by Zoe Chant
Cole giggled. “The surprise is I threw it up!”
Opal collapsed into a cushioned chair. “No, sweetie. It’s three massive donuts cemented into a Santa the size of a toddler. You throwing it up after you scoffed it wasn’t a surprise.” She closed her eyes. *The surprise was you throwing it up on me while dive-bombing me when I was trying to put up the Christmas lights.*
“Gross, buddy.” Jasper reached up to ruffle his nephew’s hair. “You’re right, your mom definitely deserves a coffee. Let’s go get her one.”
A few minutes later, Opal revived enough to grab the drink Jasper passed her. The Rudolph Special was the coffee cart’s showstopper: a towering mug of whipped cream, caramel and raspberry syrup and chocolate flakes, all topped off with a bright red glace cherry.
Jasper had to assume there was coffee in there, somewhere under the sugar and cream, although there was no sign of it.
Cole buried his face in the snowman-shaped s’more cookie he had chosen. Jasper sat back in a chair next to his sister, a cup of actual coffee steaming in his hand. Well, mostly coffee. Maybe there was a bit of chocolate in it. And nutmeg. And a cinnamon stick poking out. And a big dollop of whipped cream. But hey— it was Christmas. What was he supposed to drink?
He heard Opal sigh before he felt the nudge of her telepathic voice against his mind. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, and let her in.
*What’s up, sis?*
*You know what’s up, idiot. The rest of your life, for a start.* Opal’s mental voice was as grouchy as her real one, but even that couldn’t hide the warmth and compassion behind her words. *I’m worried about you, bro. I know it’s been hard for you, but... have you really given up hope?*
Jasper set down his coffee and stared into the glowing brazier. *I don’t know what else to do, sis. If she was out there— wouldn’t she have found me by now? Wouldn’t I have found her?* He winced at the pain that lanced through his mental voice. *Maybe I’m destined to be the fun, single uncle forever. I can live with that.*
*Live with it as what, though?* Opal’s voice was gentle, but an undercurrent of concern ran through it.
Jasper went completely still.
*Jasper, tell me you’ve thought about this. What are you going to choose?*
What am I going to choose? Inside him, his dragon trembled. He reached for it, for the connection that had always been the core of his being, the place where man and dragon met— and for a moment, there was nothing.
Jasper let out his breath in a rush. Icy sweat beaded on his forehead. That felt like— just for a moment, I thought—
He gritted his teeth. Opal was right to be worried. This Christmas would be his twenty-fifth birthday. And like all Heartwell dragons, if he didn’t find his mate before he turned twenty-five, he would have to make a terrible choice.
Only a mated Heartwell could hold on to both parts of their soul. If he didn’t find his mate by Christmas, he would have to decide: to live the rest of his life as a dragon, or a man. And lose the other half of himself forever.
*Jasper...* Exasperation tinted Opal’s mental voice. *You have decided, haven’t you?*
*Of course I have,* Jasper lied. He jiggled his leg, unsettled, and then jumped up and prodded the brazier.
It was warm by the fire, but the evening was drawing in, and he shivered so hard he could almost feel his scales rattling. Or his skin goose-bumping. Either. Both. Did it really matter which, in the end? If he was going to be alone for the rest of his life, what did it matter what shape he was?
He turned away from Opal, not wanting her to see his face, and stared out across the square. Holiday shoppers drifted from shop to shop in small clusters, at least half of them trailing after scampering children. The air smelled like chocolate and coffee and spices, and was crisp with the promise of an icy night. The town lights were too bright here to see the stars, but he knew that out in the mountains, at the Heartwell lodge, they would be blazing down on the snowy peaks like fiery diamonds.
The Christmas lights shimmered and swam, and he blinked fiercely. He knew his destiny. He’d had all year for his suspicions to solidify into the grim truth that his fate was to be alone. Now all he had to do was convince Opal and the rest of his family that—
He blinked again. His gaze had drifted down from the sky as his eyes cleared, until he was staring out at the shopfront facades around the edge of the square. All the shops had gotten into the Christmas spirit, and the façades were a wonderland of fairy lights, fake snow, miniature trees and more Santas and reindeer than you could shake a candy cane at.
The shop his gaze had fallen on was even more festive than its neighbors. At ground level, everything was normal. Snowflake decals on the windows, a friendly snowman beckoning shoppers through the front door. But their rooftop display went above and beyond.
Balanced on the top of the roof, a massive Santa had dropped his sack and all the gifts were spilling out of it, cascading down the roof tiles as dozens of sparkly elves tried to catch them. The reindeer were getting in on the action— one was scarfing down a pile of cookies that had tipped out of a festive tin, and two others were fighting over a mega-sized cracker. Rudolph’s front hooves were about to slip off the side. It was a scene of glorious, festive chaos... and Jasper wasn’t seeing any of it.
Someone had propped a step-ladder against the eaves. A rotund Santa— slightly more real-looking than the giant on the roof— was holding it steady while a woman teetered on the top rung, reaching out towards the display.
Jasper froze. Inside him, his dragon uncurled like a whip, instantly alert. Jasper thought his heart would leap out of his chest. All he could hear was his pulse in his ears. He felt more alert, more alive, than he had in months.
“It’s her,” he said, the words out before his brain had finished forming them. Her. His destiny. His mate.
She was facing away from the square, but as he watched, she turned her head to call something down to the man in the Santa outfit who was holding the ladder in place. Just that glimpse of her face hit Jasper like a blow to the heart.
The woman had a small, upturned nose and large, expressive eyes. Her cheeks were pink with exertion or the cold or both, and her lips were wide and red. Light brown hair escaped from under her elf-hat to frame her face and spill down over her shoulders.
She was dressed like one of Santa’s elves, in an apple-green tunic that hugged her curves and candy-stripe stockings. Jasper couldn’t help imagining how her legs would look as she climbed back down the ladder. Her shiny red shoes looked secure on the rungs, but maybe she would need a steadying hand as she made it back down to the ground— his hand, caressing the thick curves of her calves, sliding up the backs of her thighs— all to help balance her, of course… no ulterior motives…
“Jasper?”
He heard Opal climb out of the low armchair, but he didn’t turn around. He couldn’t. He was caught, pinned in place by wonder.
“Jasper, what are you— oh.” Tentative joy bubbled into Opal’s voice. “Is she— really? Now?” She clutched at his arm. “What are you going to do?”
“Fall in love with her.”
“That’s only half the equation, Jas. She has to fall for you, too. And it’s only five days until your birthday!”
“Five days during the most wonderful time of the year,” Jasper reminded her. Certainty blazed inside him like a bonfire, burning away all the fear and resignation that had built up over the last months. “This is it, Opal, I know it. It’s all going to work out. After all, I’m a Christmas dragon. And who doesn’t like Christmas?”
Click here to keep reading A Mate for the Christmas Dragon!
Or, click here to get the box set of the first three books in the A Mate for Christmas Series: A Mate for the Christmas Dragon, Christmas Hellhound (Caine’s story!) and Christmas Pegasus!
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