Miss Claus and the Secret Santa

by J. L. Hendricks

  “Randolpho, you may not realize it, but I went through all of the same training that any heir would go through growing up. In fact, I teach quite a few of the pups and young wolves now. Do you think that just because I am a woman I shouldn’t fight?” I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for him to respond.

  “No, actually I have a couple female wolves on our team as well.” He looked around, and I noticed two women walking out of the cabin with coffee mugs in their hands. “Rosa and Megan, please come and meet Lizzie.” He waved the two women over.

  “Lizzie, this is my niece Megan and her best friend Rosa. They are both part of my enforcers. Like you, they have received all of the training that any male wolf would. Here in Northern Europe, you need to be able to defend yourself. Most women are trained just like the men. Some like to fight and others don’t. Once they start to have pups, usually they stay home. However, Megan does have a little one back home, and her mate stays with him when she is needed elsewhere. Like today.”

  Wow, I liked Randolpho even more now. “Hi, Megan and Rosa. It is really nice to meet you both. Have you seen much fighting?” I asked.

  Rosa responded, “Yes, as an enforcer we are tasked with patrolling our borders. Lately more and more singles have been trying to attack us and steal from our lands. All of the enforcers rotate with protection detail and most of the time that does include fighting. However, this will be the biggest fight most of us have seen before. What about you?”

  “I must admit this will be my first real fight. Who in their right mind would attack Santa? Or his family? I have received a ton of training, so I hope that I can be helpful today.” Now I was a bit intimidated. All of these wolves had seen more action than any of my pack. It would actually be good for us to fight today. This would be something we can use to learn from and if need be, change up our training regimen for the future.

  For the first time since this trip started, I was nervous. I felt like I had to prove myself capable on more than one front now. They would compare me to the females and if I couldn’t at least fight as well as them, they would probably lose some respect for me.

  “Lizzie, I am surprised to see the future Mrs. Claus fighting. Isn’t your role supposed to be peace and love? Why would you want to fight and get your hands so dirty?” Megan asked.

  “My family, my pack, and my species have been threatened. I can’t stand by and let the perpetrators get away with this. Besides, they are most likely the ones who killed Palo’s entire pack. There is no way I am going to NOT help seek justice.” I took a hold of Palo’s hand. It was time everyone knew who the future Santa was going to be.

  No one said anything, but a few eyebrows were raised and a lot of faces turned to watch Rock. He smiled and walked over to me. “I am very happy to introduce you all to our future Santa! This is Palo, the only surviving member of the Greenland pack. In fact, he was their Alpha. Christmas Magic saved his life, so he could be here today. With us, and with Lizzie.”

  Palo reached out and patted Rock on the back. “Thank you Rock, I looked forward to working with you all today and serving Christmas for many years to come.”

  Randolpho looked between us all and shrugged. “Well, as long as everyone is happy and the Magic has chosen Palo, I think I might actually like this situation better. It would be nice to have a European Santa for a change. Does this mean that there will be more interaction with us in the future?”

  Palo responded, “I think that Santa had already planned on working more closely with everyone on this continent before he even met me. And yes, due to my heritage, I hope we will all get to know each other better and work more closely together. However, first it’s time we rid ourselves of the evil that is trying to destroy Christmas and reform those who didn’t know there could be another way.”

  Dad spoke up, “Alright, we can talk about the future later. Right now we need to get going so that we can catch Mikael and his pack before they leave or bring in reinforcements. Where do we go from here?”

  “We are only about fifteen miles from their base. I suggest we take the SUV’s right up into the middle of their camp. You can decide what you want to do once we are there. My pack will follow your lead Santa.” Randolpho lowered his head in submission to my dad. I knew it was a true act of loyalty as I felt no malice, and my dad didn’t require it of him.

  “Works for me. And thank you, Randolpho. I look forward to working more closely with you and your pack.” My dad reached out and shook hands with Randolpho before we all loaded up and headed to the Russian’s lair.

  Even though it was only fifteen miles, it took about twenty minutes because of the snow and ice. We couldn’t go too fast, or we could have crashed the vehicles. They were waiting for us.

  Chapter 13

  Mikael had at least fifty wolves, most were already shifted. Maybe a dozen where in human form. We swiftly piled out of the SUV’s and stood near my dad. He was still in human form as were the rest of us. “Mikael, why have you tried to cause strife between the packs of Europe and America?” My dad asked.

  “Because, it is time that Christmas comes back to Lapland where it belongs. Centuries ago, Santa lived in Lapland, and all of the packs worked together. Now you live in your ivory tower up in the arctic, but you only pay attention to the Americas.”

  “When was the last time you came here and visited any of us? Did you know that we have had issues with land? With lower birth rates? No one believes in Christmas anymore. And we all know that is your fault, Christian. You never should have been Santa. In fact, it should have reverted back to my pack over a century ago!”

  “Why should it have reverted to your pack? My family has been full of Christmas Magic since the beginning.” My dad put his arms out wide. “There hasn’t been a change in leadership, ever.” He took a couple steps closer to Mikael, and a few of the Russian wolves growled at him.

  My dad gave a very subtle hint to our enforcers, he turned his palm down on his left hand. That was the signal for the enforcers to shift. Which they did, instantly. Most wolves took a few seconds to a minute to shift. Those seconds could be quite dangerous, if attacked at the right moment. My pack, every single one, could shift in less than five seconds. It was believed to be part of the Christmas Magic we all held within our bodies. In general, we were bigger and stronger than other Arctic Wolves. We also won over 95% of any race we ever had, officially.

  Nolan, Mikey, and Masha marched to my dad and flanked him. The rest of my pack spread out amongst our group who were still in human form. Rock and Nick came and stood by Palo and I, who were still in human form.

  “That is exactly why it should have come to us! You have controlled the Magic long enough. It’s time for a change. My ancestors challenged a Santa and would have won if that Santa’s Beta hadn’t stepped in and stopped the fight. He cheated my great, great, great, great grandfather out of the title. The rules have always been clear, when there is a challenge, no one can step in to help.” Mikael growled and half of his wolves moved closer to us.

  “Are you talking about the challenge of 1894? Because my records show that the Beta of that time only stepped in when your ancestor’s Beta attempted to attack from behind. That was cheating.” My father brought up his right hand with his index finger pointed towards Mikael and bobbed it up and down while saying, “Tisk, tisk. Cheaters never prosper. In fact, that put your entire pack on the naughty list for the next thirty-seven years. Not a single pup got a gift from Santa or his heir. In fact, not too many from your pack has ever been on the nice list since that year.”

  “Exactly! You have taken what was rightfully ours and made us out to be bad kids! YOU are the naughty ones!” Mikael pointed to my dad and then wagged his finger to us all. “And you lie! Our Beta didn’t interfere until yours did. We would have never done that! Where would the honor be if we cheated?”

  “That is exactly what you have been doing for as long as I can remember. You cheated my brother out of his rightful place as Santa, and now y
ou are trying to do the same to me and my heir.” My dad pointed to me and Palo.

  “You don’t have an heir! Christian, don’t you think that the reason you don’t have an heir is because the Magic is ready for a new leader? A new family to take over the mantle of Santa?”

  “You might be right Mikael, but we don’t choose who the new Santa is. Christmas chooses. And it has already chosen.”

  “Pft, Rock? Really? He has no more Christmas Magic than his father does. I don’t care if Lizzie and he are in love, he can’t be Santa.” Mikael chuckled, and his pack that was still in human form followed suit.

  “I know. Rock isn’t going to be the next Santa.” My father was interrupted.

  “I am the next Santa.” Palo walked forward to stand next to my dad.

  I couldn’t see Palo’s face, but I bet it was fierce. The look on Mikael’s face was priceless. He opened his mouth wide, and his eyes practically bugged out. “You… but… you are dead! You died in that bunkhouse with your Omegas. I watched it burn!”

  That was all it took. Palo knew right then and there who was responsible. He shifted faster than Nolan did. He lunged at Mikael as a human but landed on him as a wolf. Palo howled loud and hard. Everyone who had already shifted joined in the howl, it was so strong. Even the Russian wolves joined the howl.

  Palo swiped at Mikael’s jugular and blood gushed out from his neck. Rock pushed Palo off of Mikael and quickly bit a chunk out of Mikael’s neck. I watched the life drain from his face. I had not seen a wolf die in battle before. It was very different from watching an old die in peace. The fear and shock that was displayed on Mikael’s face would stay with me for a long time to come.

  I stood there transfixed on the blood that was pooling on what was once pristine white snow. Everyone, except for me, had already shifted to their wolf form. My pack was easy to pick out as they all stood taller and stockier than the rest. I was knocked out of my dream state by what I assumed was a Russian wolf. It pushed me, and I landed on my back. It’s muzzle was almost to my neck when my training kicked in, and I used both of my forearms to push it back away from me.

  I got both of my knees up between us and pushed it even further away and used my right fist to punch it in the eye. After a couple of punches, it backed up enough that I was able to use my legs and kick it off of me. That wolf flew a few feet away, which gave me time to shift.

  We were outnumbered, but Christmas was on our side. Both my dad and Palo worked to conjure up a snow shield to keep most of the wolves away from us. I turned my power of peace and love onto a dozen enemy wolves that turned over and begged me to rub their bellies. That made it one on one between our group and the Russian’s.

  One wolf ran around the barrier of snow, and I felt him flying toward my back. I stepped to the side and punched his ribs as he went past me. He made a whimpering sound but turned around rather quickly and made to attack me again.

  “Stop! You don’t want to hurt me. All you want to do is make your Alpha happy. Am I right?” The wolf slowed down but didn’t stop.

  He came at me again and this time I turned sideways and stepped forward, away from the line of attack. Then I brought my elbow down hard on its back. That caused the wolf to drop to its belly.

  It was whimpering and moving slowly. I knew I had cracked its back. Couldn’t help but hear the crunch of my elbow on the wolf’s bones. It wasn’t my elbow that cracked, in fact, other than being a tad bit sore, I was in perfect condition.

  It was still laying there whimpering. “Shift back to human form. If I can help heal you, I will.” I told the wolf.

  He tried to shift, but half way between human and wolf form the shift halted. He reverted back to a wolf and continued to whimper.

  I knelt down on the snow next to him and put my hands over his body. If I was Mrs. Claus, this wouldn’t be difficult. However, since I was only the FUTURE Mrs. Claus, I wasn’t sure this would work at all.

  I channeled the Magic through my body and into the wolf. It felt like a thousand pin pricks as I concentrated on the wolf’s back. I could tell it was a male, and he began to move around and even howled. It sounded like he was in severe pain and possibly was trying to move away from me. Which was stupid since I was healing him.

  After a few minutes he stopped moving and quieted down. Then he passed out. Must have been the pain. He was still breathing. I felt the movement of his chest as it went up and down in a steady rhythm. Once I was sure I had done all I could for him, I stood up and looked at the carnage before me.

  All of our wolves were fighting the Russians, and we were winning. The Russian wolves looked to be prepared to fight to the end. Randolpho, or at least the wolf I guessed to be him, based off of its size, was engaged in battle with my dad. The Russian was losing. I could tell he was out of breath and in an extreme amount of pain. My dad had some blood on his back. It could have been his, or his opponent’s blood, I wasn’t sure.

  I turned to find Palo had pinned down his enemy combatant and was growling at him. Rock had already killed his wolf. It was the vacant expression in the eyes that gave away the death. That made two lives that Rock took today. I wondered how he was doing with that.

  Another wolf had made its way around the snow wall, which almost completely surrounded the wolves behind it. There must have been a few outside of the wall who ran around the edges and made their way to us.

  Palo was still standing on top of the fallen wolf and growling at it. I couldn’t figure out what he was up to, but the new wolf saw him as an easy target. That new wolf leapt in the air and reached out with its paws to Palo’s back.

  I screamed, “PALO!” Then shifted on the fly and zoomed to the Russian wolf and grabbed it by its neck with my mouth. I growled as I took a chunk out of the guy. Rock pushed me aside, like he had done to Palo earlier, and made the killing blow to the wolf who tried to attack Palo from behind.

  Palo was laying on his stomach, alive. His back was pretty bloody and messed up. The attacking wolf had gotten his claws into Palo’s back, deeply. I shifted back to human form and didn’t worry about clothes. We all kept a backpack on us that stored two sets of clothes. However, since we were shifters, nudity wasn’t a big deal to us. No one went around nude all of the time, but we didn’t stare at the opposite sex when they were shifting either.

  “Palo, can you hear me?” My voice wavered.

  “Yeah, can you do anything for my back? Do you have any medicines?” Palo quietly asked.

  “I can do more than medicine. Hold on, this might hurt.” My mom’s healing never hurt anyone, guess I still had a lot to learn. I stretched my hands over his back and concentrated all of the magic I could on his back.

  Rock stood guard over us as I worked to heal our future Alpha, and hopefully, my future husband. There was blood oozing out of the gashes on his back, but they were closing. Very, very slowly. I focused some more, and the healing started to speed up. I kept thinking of peace, joy, and love. That was all I thought about.

  Palo’s back was getting better. However, I could tell it was very painful. He was gritting his teeth so hard I wondered if he would crack them all. At times, I could hear him grunting. All I could do was focus harder. I didn’t want him to hurt, and I didn’t want him to continue to be injured either.

  “Almost done, Snickerdoodle.” That garnered a smile from him. We still hadn’t settled on a pet name for me. Now I wanted one for him.

  Once his back was all closed up, I looked up to see every wolf still alive, even those who had been behind the wall watching me.

  “How did you do that? You shouldn’t have that kind of power.” One of the Russian wolfs asked.

  “I am the next Mrs. Claus. They have had healing power for a very long time. It just so happens that my mother is the strongest healer in recorded history.” I shrugged. Then I pointed to the wolf I healed earlier. “He had a broken back, thanks to me. So I healed him too.”

  “Isn’t he dead?” Randolpho asked.

  “Nope, he
’s just passed out from the pain. My mom’s healing is painless, mine isn’t. I think he fainted from it. I didn’t intend for him to hurt so badly. His injury was worse than anything I had healed before.”

  My dad shifted and dressed and walked over to me. “My daughter has been chosen by Christmas since she was a little girl. If you had ever come to visit us, you would have see the amount of Magic she has had. There has never been any question from any visiting wolf that whomever she marries will become the next Santa, since she has so obviously been chosen to be the next Mrs. Claus.”

  The rest of the wolves started shifting back to their human forms and dressing. I took that time to dress myself. I looked around and there was no fighting. “What happened? Why did the fighting stop?”

  “Ho, Ho, Ho, Hunny, you stopped them. You flooded the area with peace, love and joy. No one can fight when they are filled with such positive emotions. They don’t want to.”

  “But I didn’t try to do that. I just focused on Palo and healing him.” I scratched behind my ear.

  “Did you focus those emotions on Palo while you were healing him?” asked my dad.

  “Of course. They are required when…OHHHH! I focused so hard with those emotions that they blanketed the entire area! Wow! I had no idea I could multi-task, let alone affect that many people at once. Pretty cool, huh?” I looked out at the faces around me and noticed that most were in total bliss.

  My dad and Palo were probably the only ones who weren’t affected by my Magic. Well, Nolan looked to be coming out of it. To be fair, he has been the object of a few early attempts by me, as well as lots and lots of practice from my dad when they first took over the pack.

  “Dad, what’s gonna happen when they come out of it?” It was weird. Almost like an Invasion of the Body Snatchers movie or something.