Hex the Halls: A Paranormal Christmas Anthology

by Deanna Chase

  “No.”

  “Yes. But you’ll like it. Not stupid mortal school, but Academy. Where you can be a wolf as much as you want.”

  “Okay…” He seemed doubtful.

  “You’ll see.”

  “I will.” He nodded along.

  Oh, how she adored him. She cupped his round little cheek and smiled. She wouldn’t hate having her own little monsters.

  She wondered briefly what he children would look like if they were half goblin. Eleanor didn’t actually have to wonder. She could peer through the river of time and see.

  So she did.

  Like Parker said, what the hell, right?

  She saw not just one, not just two… but ten. TEN children.

  “Holy shit.”

  “Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit.” Noah chortled.

  She didn’t even bother to correct him. Because ten kids—holyshit. Eleanor began investigating the threads of magick and saw that at least they weren’t all at once. It was over the course of a thousand years.

  That was kind of forever.

  With him? With the pasty demon who made her life so miserable?

  Inconceivable.

  Or was it?

  He wasn’t exactly a demon. They’d both been children.

  And what she’d seen was proof that even if today was part of a long con, it would turn into the long con of the ages. They’d live… happily ever after.

  Gross.

  That wasn’t a thing that wicked witches did.

  Or maybe it was, if their Prince Charming just happened to be a goblin king.

  The whole idea of being royalty didn’t suck either.

  She peeked again, just to make sure she was seeing what she thought she saw.

  Yep. Noah Woolven, who would lead the Woolven Pack, become the Alpha, would marry her oldest daughter.

  Goblin-witch girls were really quite lovely. Her name would be Andromeda, after Eleanor’s mother. She’d be tall and strong, like the goblins, but dark like Eleanor herself. She’d be contrary and refuse to serve a werewolf pack, but instead lead the goblin armies.

  Eleanor was proud of this being who would one day be hers.

  The cloud began to disappear. “She’s pretty.” Noah pointed at the vision of Andromeda.

  “Isn’t she?” Eleanor smiled. “Wait, you can see her?”

  “I can see all the cloud people.”

  That was interesting. She’d have to tell Drew that his son had some witch in his woodpile.

  She wasn’t sure how she felt about this date, knowing the outcome before going into it. Eleanor decided she didn’t care much for it and muttered a spell to cleanse her memory of looking.

  She remembered looking, remembered not wanting to know what she’d seen…

  At least it wasn’t like the first two times she’d cast the spell on herself. She hadn’t remembered her own name for weeks. One of the hazards of the job, she supposed.

  Noah liked the flowers. She remembered that.

  So, the flowers it was.

  She put the dress on and felt decidedly feminine.

  And vulnerable.

  But pretty.

  She pursed her lips and then added a crinoline, so her dress was properly poofed. Eleanor decided to go with some soft waves in her hair 50’s style. That was her whole look. She figured he’d dig it.

  Why not use every advantage?

  Eleanor had to wonder at the blue snow—the reason he said he wanted her in the underworld for Christmas. Goblins and Christmas, bah. How did one acquire naturally occurring blue snow? She could call one of the frost fairies, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready to pay their fee. It was sure to be something horrible.

  “Okay, Noah. Westwood has to finish getting ready. You need to go see Uncle Blake.”

  The little werewolf tore out of her room like the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels. He loved playing with Uncle Blake.

  She didn’t think he needed to be present for the underwear choosing. Granny panties, thong, or commando?

  Commando, she decided.

  Eleanor got ready, only using magick on her hair. Everything else she did by hand. Just so she wouldn’t get out of practice.

  It was so completely surreal that she was going on a date with Enoch, the goblin king.

  Would he show up in his bone belt and his loincloth?

  She didn’t have to wonder for long because when her magick wards warned her of a guest, she knew it was him.

  Good thing she was ready.

  She made her appearance and she was rather startled by his.

  He definitely wasn’t wearing a loincloth.

  Or the bone belt.

  Hecate Almighty, he looked like deliciousness personified. Maybe he always had and she just never let herself see it. Or maybe he’d done this for her. Either way, he was hot as shit.

  He was wearing an Italian three-piece suit. His pretty hair swept back in a kind of hipster man-bun that actually worked for him. It made the blade of his jaw seem even sharper.

  His claws had been filed down to a reasonable length and his scarred hands looked all the more powerful and strong.

  The scar on his face was damn near mesmerizing.

  She was in deep, deep shit.

  She didn’t like the idea of a male having this much power over her—and he did. Her witchy parts were driving the bus and they demanded she ride him like dragon derby tonight.

  “You look beautiful, Eleanor.”

  His voice washed over her and settled low in her belly. Why hadn’t she noticed how hot he was before? Maybe she had and she’d just hidden from it because he was such an asshole. Only, he wasn’t an asshole now.

  He presented her with a box of goblin chocolates—a truly sought after delicacy. They were frosted with pure gold flake and tasted like the warm dawn after fleeing a nightmare. Literally, they evoked just that unsettled, but soothing feeling.

  She popped one into her mouth. Strange, and delicious.

  “You enjoy them, then? I’m glad. I debated bringing the elf truffles, but for some reason, I thought you’d enjoy these more.”

  “You’re right, thank you.” She decided to reward his effort. “I see that you took this wooing seriously.”

  “Does it meet with your approval?” His question was serious, no trace of a taunt.

  “Yes, it does.”

  He smiled at her and opened the car door.

  “You drive?”

  He arched a brow. “Eleanor, that would be like me asking if you only ride your broom.”

  She might have felt a little sheepish. “Well, I don’t know.”

  “We goblins aren’t as backward as you might think. Since I’ve taken the throne, I’ve made lots of improvements to our infrastructure, education, and quality of life.”

  “Fair enough.” She nodded. “I’ll be honest, I haven’t spent much time out of the mortal world. I spend most of my days with my Woolvens.”

  “I can see you’re very devoted.”

  “They’re good people.” She nodded slowly. “And I like to think I’ve had a hand in that.”

  “I’m sure you have. But now it’s time for something for you, don’t you think?”

  “Yes,” she agreed. “But you know I can’t—won’t give them up.”

  “Of course not.”

  “Hmm, I really thought that would be a sticking point. You’re just full of surprises.”

  “Things have changed everywhere. I mean, as much as I’d love to carry you off down to my labyrinth and keep you forever, things don’t really work that way anymore.”

  “Yet, you still tried.”

  He shrugged. “Well… I mean, if you enjoyed it, who am I to say no?”

  She giggled. Hecate above, she fucking giggled. Wicked witches did not giggle. Well, maybe in the company of handsome goblin kings, it was allowed.

  “Aha! I knew you didn’t hate it as much as you said you did.”

  “Nothing about you is what I thought and
I’m still kind of afraid to trust it.”

  “You could always look.” He shrugged.

  “You mean, use my magick?” She smiled as she slid into the car. “I did, but then I made myself forget.”

  “So, this is going to end really well or really bad.” He smiled again.

  “This is all still pretty surreal.”

  “A little bit, yeah.” He agreed. “I thought I’d done irreparable damage at Academy, and I didn’t know how to fix it.”

  “Time, I guess. Which is lucky that we have it.”

  He turned to her and took her hand from the driver’s seat. “I never wanted to hurt you.” He brushed his lips over her knuckles and she shivered with delight. “I couldn’t take the chance that my brothers would see who you were to me.”

  “I do understand. It doesn’t make the pain any less that I felt as a young witch, but I will allow it made me strong.”

  “I have something else to tell you, and I hope you believe me.”

  “What?” Her stomach began to twist in knots, wondering just what it was he had to share with her.

  “I wanted to kill him for you.”

  “My husband?”

  “Yes. But then you’d have never been safe anywhere but with me.”

  “And I wouldn’t have the reputation that I do. Or the power. I understand.”

  “The guilt tears me up, Eleanor. It has for centuries. I thought getting it off my chest would make it easier, but it hasn’t. I failed to protect you. I wasn’t strong enough.”

  The knot untwisted itself. “You don’t want a female you have to protect. You want one who can lead your armies by your side. You’re a fucking goblin.”

  He nodded. “But often we don’t get to choose who our true mates are.”

  “So you resigned yourself to having a weak mate because she was a witch?”

  “Not weak.” He shook his head. “But different. Your society and culture is much different than ours.”

  “What would you have done if I was happy with Cedric?”

  “Let you be happy. I’m no saint, I’ve had lovers.” He shook his head.

  “Of course you have. Otherwise, that would be really sad.” She teased him, trying to lighten the tone. She fiddled with the cuff around her wrist that he’d placed there.

  She should hate it.

  But she didn’t.

  After further inspection, she realized he’d made it for her. Not as something to do to her, even though he’d tamped down her magick, but she knew in his culture, it was something honorable.

  He just didn’t want to be turned into a living pile of feces. Really, could she blame him? Smart won over bravado any day.

  “I will try to find a way to remove it. I should’ve gone about that much differently.”

  “I don’t hate it.” She settled into her seat. “Maybe I’ll just wear it for now. We’ll see how things go.” But she had a feeling that she’d be wearing it forever. “It’s really lovely metal work.”

  “I’m sure you know that I wrought that with my own hands.”

  “I do.” She ran her fingers absently over the warm metal, enjoying the way the pattern felt beneath her fingers.

  His shoulders were square and his back straight, and there was pride on his face. “The restaurant I’m taking you to is goblin owned. So you can choose your set of spices. Goblin, or mortal.”

  “You’ve got quite a few tricks up your sleeve, don’t you?”

  “Perhaps.” He turned to look at her when they pulled in to the restaurant. “Would you like that?”

  Eleanor wasn’t sure what she was about to agree too. She had no idea where they actually were. There were no restaurants near Aphelion within sixty miles. He knew magick—old goblin magick.

  “I wanted to ask what kind of tricks, but that’s not the point of the exercise is it?”

  “No, it’s not.” He met her gaze squarely and frissions of pleasure erupted low in her belly from the intensity.

  The point of the exercise, she knew, was to trust herself into his keeping. A small show of faith. “Be warned, goblin king, for every trick you have for me, I may just have one for you.”

  “I’m counting on it.”

  4

  Eleanor could admit she might just be in a bit over her head.

  She didn’t even want to eat the delicious smelling food that had been brought to their table. She just wanted her hot goblin king to bend her over the table and take her right there.

  The incongruity of that thought being in her head was—no… maybe it has always been there. She just hadn’t been willing to see it.

  He said she was his mate. So she’d be genetically programmed to want him this way. That’s how it worked, even cross-species.

  She didn’t want him to know how much power he had over her, so she tried all the various plates of food that were placed in front of her, trying to ignore the burning rush between her thighs.

  He leaned over to her, his breath hot on her neck. “I don’t know how you can sit there and just ignore the burn between us. I can’t.” He slid his hand up her thigh, fingers stopping at the edge of her dress, waiting for permission.

  She turned her face toward his, casting a mint spell on them both. She didn’t want to taste anything but him in this moment.

  As soon as he tasted the mint, he smiled, baring his teeth to her, which she’d suddenly found mightily attractive.

  Desire coiled tightly inside of her, a cobra ready to strike.

  He pushed his other hand through her hair and drew her ever closer. His lips hovered over hers for a long moment, building the expectation of the kiss. She wet her lips and they were already bee-stung in anticipation.

  Enoch didn’t slam his mouth into hers, they didn’t crash together like two great titans. It was soft, and tentative. It was giving instead of taking.

  It was unlike any kiss she’d ever felt before.

  She always thought she wanted a man to pull her hair, to kiss her hard. But Enoch didn’t have to prove his strength or his prowess to her. So they were simply free to enjoy the sensations they wrought in each other.

  Eleanor sighed and melted into the kiss, into him.

  The pergola they’d been nestled into changed so that the table was gone and all that remained were the pillows and gauzy curtains.

  For a moment, even as much as she wanted him, she was feeling a little bit contrary. Eleanor had a stubborn heart. She pulled on her crone face and expected his ardor to cool at least a few degrees.

  It did not.

  She pulled back from him, just to make sure that he could see what he was kissing.

  “Do you want me to stop?” He cupped her cheek.

  “Do you?” She studied him. He still looked at her with the same intense desire as he had before. She almost had the urge to check to make sure she’d actually pulled on her crone face.

  “No. This face is still you, Eleanor. This mating thing is the long haul. It’s forever.” He kissed her again, tenderly. “I don’t care what your face looks like.”

  “What about my tits. They’re saggy,” she teased.

  He cupped her. “Don’t care.” Then he paused, seeming to weigh them in his hands. “They’re bigger. I don’t mind it at all.”

  She smacked at his shoulder. “You’re a dirty, dirty goblin.”

  “Yes, yes I am.” He buried his face in her neck and nipped at the tender skin there.

  She moaned, sliding back into her maiden form, loving the sensitivity of her younger body under his expert hands.

  He pulled her into his lap so that she straddled him and he cupped her bare ass.

  “You’re a wicked, wicked witch, aren’t you?”

  “But you love it.”

  “I do.” He said, squeezing her and pulling her down hard against the ridge of his erection.

  He trailed kisses down to her throat, nuzzling at her neck, asking if she’d take his bite.

  Eleanor knew she could say no, but she was his whet
her he bit her or not, she knew that. There was a vulnerability now for both of them. Her, with the pain that was sure to come with his teeth scarring her flesh and him, asking for what was his by right. If she were a goblin, he wouldn’t have to ask.

  If she turned him down, and his people knew it, they’d think he wasn’t a strong leader. They’d defy him and he’d have to fight for his throne all over again.

  She pushed her hands through his hair and pulled him closer to her throat.

  “Are you sure, Eleanor? This can’t be undone.”

  “No, but I think we both know I’m already yours.”

  “Thank the gods,” he groaned and kissed at her neck again, flicking the already sensitive skin with his tongue until she could no longer tell the difference between pleasure and pain.

  His teeth pierced her flesh, and even though it was agonizing, there was a release there too that was more than sexual. It was as if all of the pieces of her, of her life, that had been rubbing together just out of alignment finally clicked into place.

  She cried out as the sensations rioted through her, and he held her in his strong arms until she could breathe again.

  “Oh, witch. Just wait until I have you all to myself. The ways I’m going to make you scream.” He licked at the bite and she shivered, another shockwave of bliss echoing through her. “You’re mine forever. I’m going to spend days between your thighs.”

  She used to her magick to remove his slacks, she might have sent the to a hell dimension, she wasn’t sure. The main thing she was concerned about was showing him that this wasn’t going to be a one-sided arrangement. She could give as well as she took.

  “Yeah, you better hope you can stand forever.” She took him deep inside of her and when she sank all the way down, he held her there, his eyes closed.

  “Gods, but you’re sweet.”

  She’d never been told that before. Sweet wasn’t a word usually applied to Eleanor Westwood. But then again, the goblin kind was known to be a twisted sort. She liked that about him.

  Eleanor shifted, rolling her hips and he arched up to meet her.

  “Best be careful, or we’ll end up starting our family before you’re ready.”

  A flash of knowing came to her then. A flash of something she’d seen and was supposed to forget.