A Very Alpha Christmas

by Anthology

Especially since Lee’s sister Evelyn and her mother-in-law felt it was a female’s duty to be camped out in the kitchen. While they did help some, they were mostly in the way. And when they were helping, Ruthie couldn’t.

  With every passing hour, Lee’s patience was growing thinner and thinner. His temper was on a hair-trigger, and his sister seemed to enjoy digging into him.

  “This is making me nuts,” he growled, glancing at Ruthie.

  “It will be fine, you’ll see,” she said.

  It sounded like the right thing to say, but at this point, she said it as much for herself as she did for him. As she glanced at the prepared food, she kept wondering what they’d missed—was there something they’d forgotten? Did anything burn or otherwise fail in the prep?

  Part of it was her nerves, and she started fiddling with her dress button again as she stood wedged between Lee and the corner, where no one would bump into her.

  But they were getting on in time—if it really was the food that was going to free her, surely she would know already. So far though, no sign of Malik anywhere.

  Would he even show?

  She would have done whatever needed to be done, but did he have to somehow void the wish in order to fulfill the contract? If he didn’t come, then it wouldn’t matter, would it?

  “Why can’t there be some kind of clue we’ve done it? Like a light coming on or something.” Lee muttered as he got the last of the meat prepped and started laying it on the serving platter.

  “I know, I wish—”

  “Lee, what did you do to that old recipe box?” Evelyn asked.

  Lee turned, and Ruthie peaked around him to see.

  Sure enough, Ruthie’s recipe box was starting to glow with a strange blue light. Then a wisp of blue smoke drizzled from one side, between the joints of the box.

  “Evelyn needs to get her human mother-in-law out of here,” Ruthie whispered to Lee.

  Lee glanced at Evelyn, and gestured for her to get the woman out of the kitchen. Evelyn complied as the smoke started getting thicker.

  “Too bad there’s not a door,” Ruthie muttered. She inhaled a breath, and instantly recognized the smell. “Malik.”

  Sure enough, the blue smoke swirled very dramatically around, and out stepped Malik, his blue skin and black hair in sharp contrast to the ugly red Christmas sweater he wore.

  “Did I miss the meal?” he asked, smiling at Ruthie and Lee. “Ahh, the Reynolds grandson with the finger. Or I should say, without the finger.”

  Lee glared.

  “We did everything we were supposed to.” Ruthie tried to step in front of Lee, to stop any potential fight. Lee put his arm out, holding her back, and growled low in his throat. “How does this end?”

  “End? What makes you think this is over, my dear?”

  “You are not here to release me?” Ruthie asked, her lips trembling.

  “Of course not,” Malik said. He waved his hand, materializing a rather old looking fruit cake. “Here, Merry Christmas.” An evil, malicious smile spread over Malik’s face.

  Ruthie felt sick.

  Had they failed? After everything?

  “You will release her,” Lee said, advancing on the djinn.

  Malik rolled his eyes. “Truly, you wolves need to learn some patience. How your species has survived all these years amazes me.”

  “Then why are you here, Malik?” Ruthie asked.

  “To watch.”

  “Lee, what’s going on—whoa.” Kevin came in the kitchen, stopping inside the door. “What the hell is that doing here?”

  Lee glanced at his brother. “He’s the one who put Ruthie in the box.”

  “So get her out,” Kevin said.

  “She has not yet fulfilled the requirements,” Malik said.

  “What more do I need to do?” Ruthie asked. “I’ve made a perfect meal, yet you say it’s not enough.” She glanced at the recipe box, still smoking the blue haze.

  “You have to put your heart into it,” he said, smiling that nasty grin.

  Ruthie put her hand on her chest. “I put my heart and soul into every recipe. I make everything with all I have. I have no more to give.”

  Malik raised his eyebrow, and took a step toward her. “Not every part of yourself.”

  She stared at him, unable to fathom what she could be missing. There was nothing she didn’t put in every single time she had tried to free herself—every meal, she hoped.

  She blinked.

  “Hope?” she whispered. “Did I not put hope in the meal?”

  Malik snorted, vanished, and then reappeared on the other side of Ruthie. “Did you? Did you hope and pray this meal would be the one? Did you wager everything on it?”

  Lee jerked her away from the djinn. “We wagered everything on it,” Lee said as he pulled her into his arms. “Both of us did.”

  Malik raised his eyebrow. “And why would you do that, Lee? Why would you waste your time on a woman who’s not even from your generation, silly wolf.”

  Lee growled again.

  And so did Kevin. “If you’re here to resolve this djinn, then fucking do it,” Kevin snarled. “I have the Templar Knights on speed dial, and I will call.”

  Malik snorted. “Your precious little knights cannot hurt me.”

  “Wanna bet?” Kevin said. “I’ve patched up many of your kind on Avalon because of a Templar. Don’t tempt me.”

  “Ohh, you big scary doctor. Are you threatening me with your scalpel?” Malik asked.

  Ruthie wasn’t sure what happened first, or how, but fabric ripped, Lee and Kevin both leapt at the same time, and growls reverberated in the kitchen. They landed in full wolf form on Malik, and they tumbled in a three person pile, at least for a moment, until Malik disappeared and reappeared again next to Ruthie, this time with a blade against her throat.

  Ruthie bit her tongue, trying not to scream, because she didn’t want to enflame the obvious fury in Lee—she didn’t know how she could tell Lee from Kevin, but she just instinctively knew which one was which.

  Evelyn burst into the kitchen. Malik gestured with one of his fingers, and Evelyn flew backwards into the living room.

  “You have no right to attack me, you stupid animals.” The blade he held to Ruthie’s throat shined, a reflection of the Christmas tree lights on it, giving it a dreamlike glint.

  Both wolves snarled. Adding to the surreal-ness, the recipe box started sparking, and more blue smoke poured from it.

  Malik pressed the blade harder against her throat.

  She felt the metal, both cold and hot at the same time. How in the world had this happened? One moment they were slicing turkey, and now she had a blade against her throat.

  “Why are you doing this?” Ruthie whispered. “There’s no reason for you to be doing this. It makes no logical sense for you to attack me. I cannot hurt you. They cannot hurt you—”

  And on the kitchen cabinet, where the recipe box had been sparking blue and smoking, now sat the very container Malik had been in when they found him.

  Malik let out a cry, and jerked his arm to slice her throat.

  Ruthie felt the coppery heat on her neck as she started to bled. She did the only thing she could—she shifted to the gray, ghost-like state so she wasn’t corporeal anymore.

  Malik’s blade slid across as she faded.

  Lee and Kevin howled.

  Suddenly Malik was pulled, almost like a child’s cartoon, into the little brass bottle which had contained him all those years before, when Ruthie had first met him.

  Then, everything went black.

  15

  Malik had pulled the blade across Ruthie’s neck.

  Lee howled.

  Blood ran down her throat. Then she faded to that gray state. A thick black line stayed on her neck when she faded away.

  No.

  No. No. No. No. NOOOOO…

  That single thought pounded through Lee’s head as he leapt to destroy the djinn. All he hit was blue, smoky air.

 
The djinn had been sucked into the ugly assed brass bottle on the counter—the one which took the place of the recipe box Ruthie had been trapped in.

  And then Ruthie hit the ground. Hard. Bloody. And completely corporeal.

  Lee shifted back, and dropped next to her. “Ruthie. Ruthie, hear me.” He pulled her into his lap and put his hand over the seeping wound. Her throat was bloody and the top of her dress was soaked.

  This was horrible.

  Terrible.

  It was his nightmares.

  In exacting detail—this was what he dreamed every single night since he was a teenager, the nightmare he’d had ever since he cut his finger.

  “Fuck,” he said. “No.” He shook his head. “No. I can’t lose her now. Not like this.”

  Kevin knelt next to him, no longer in wolf form. “Let me see.”

  Lee hissed.

  “I’m a damn doctor. Let me see, Lee.” He managed to pull Lee’s hand away, then covered the wound with his own to control the bleeding.

  Lee shifted, still cradling her, unable to take his eyes off her face. “Come on, Ruthie. You have to make it. I can’t do this without you.”

  “Dude, you’ve known her four days, chill,” Kevin said, his voice incredibly calm. “Evelyn get in here.”

  “Oh God, who is this?” Evelyn asked as she crossed the kitchen.

  “Ruthie,” Lee said, stroking her hair. Her face was pale. So very pale. He couldn’t lose her like this—not now.

  Now that he’d figured it out.

  Because it didn’t feel like this when Jennifer died. This was so much more, in so many ways.

  He’d always thought that Jennifer had been his mate—she had red hair and blue eyes, like the girl in his dreams.

  But there was one detail that he’d not payed attention to in the nightmares.

  The hair.

  Jennifer’s hair had always been parted down the center and straight. In the nightmares, the girl’s hair was parted on the side, and at least he’d thought anyway, that it was thick and full with curls.

  It was the way Ruthie had pinned her hair that he’d seen. When he looked at her pale face, he saw exactly what was in the dreams.

  Every detail.

  Which meant one thing—he’d been wrong all his life. Jennifer was never his mate.

  It was Ruthie.

  It had always been Ruthie. He just didn’t know who or what she was the day he first saw her, when he cut his finger.

  His chest ached, a pain he’d never experienced before—ten times what he felt when Jennifer died. This was so much worse.

  “What happened?” Evelyn whispered.

  “Shut up and get me the first aid kit,” Kevin said. “And my bag from my room.”

  Evelyn ran out, her heels clattering on the floor, and could be heard telling her other family members to stay out of the kitchen.

  Lee glanced at his brother, who was wiping the blood away as he held the wound. “Save her, Kevin. You have to save her.”

  “I’ll do what I can.”

  Evelyn was back in a second with Kevin’s bag. “Good,” Kevin pulled out a couple of items. “Now, make the tea.”

  Lee blinked. “Tea? Dude, are you serious? What the fuck? My mate is dying here.”

  Evelyn paused. “Your mate?”

  Lee nodded. “Save her.”

  Kevin switched out the gauze on her throat. “He didn’t cut her deep enough.”

  Lee’s shoulders slumped in relief. “Are you sure?”

  Kevin nodded. “She’ll likely have a good scar, though. But he didn’t hit anything vital. Another second, he might have.”

  Lee stroked her cheek. “Come on, Ruthie. Talk to me.” He could feel her breath on his fingers. “She’s still breathing.”

  “Good.” Kevin twisted as best he could to check on Evelyn. “Where’s that tea?”

  “It’s almost ready,” Evelyn said, stirring it and bringing the cup closer to Kevin.

  He glanced in the cup. “Keep steeping it, but let’s get some in her.” Kevin instructed Lee to tip her chin, and they poured the warm liquid over her lips. It took a couple tries, but they finally got some to stay in her mouth.

  Kevin smiled a moment later. “I felt her swallow. Good.” A flutter of air hit Lee, and he glanced up, seeing that Evelyn had draped a blanket over Kevin, effectively blocking everything from the rest of the house.

  “Privacy,” Evelyn said, shrugging.

  “Thanks,” Lee whispered.

  Three more agonizing minutes passed as Lee held Ruthie, waiting for something, anything. Kevin kept slipping the tea between her lips, and she actually started moving her mouth to take it in.

  “What the hell is in that?” Lee whispered.

  “Fairy Tea. I got it on Avalon. It has healing properties.” He kept cleaning the skin and getting rid of the blood, revealing the slice across the center of her throat, a finger long or so.

  Her skin was losing its ashy quality, and she was starting to look more human again. Meanwhile, Lee kept whispering things to her, encouraging her to open her eyes, to wake up and look at him, anything he could think of. Even telling her the stollen was about ready to be served, and she needed to wake up to put the powdered sugar on top.

  Anything.

  Kevin kept saying she was in shock as he dressed the wound on her throat with some kind of glue stick thing, saying it was at least a clean slice. Whatever the hell that meant.

  Lee didn’t care.

  “Open your eyes, Ruthie. I need to see those pretty blue eyes, baby,” Lee whispered. “I need you.” A tear fell out, landing on her cheek. It ran down her face and touched the corner of her mouth.

  “Oh my,” Ruthie muttered, her eyes fluttering open. “What happened?”

  Lee opened his mouth to explain, but stopped. It wasn’t important. He looked at the bottle on the counter. The recipe box was gone, and all that remained was the brass bottle that Malik had come from.

  It was over.

  Lee stroked Ruthie’s brow. “You’re free.”

  She smiled. “Merry Christmas.”

  “Merry Christmas to you too.” He caressed her cheek. “I love you, Ruthie.”

  “I love you too, Lee.”

  “Yeah, that’s nice. You got your Happily Ever After. Oh, boy.” Kevin waved his hands. “Now let me see my patient.”

  Ruthie and Lee laughed as Kevin examined her neck and touched up the liquid bandage he put on the wound.

  Epilogue

  Three days later

  “So I’m taking this back to Avalon,” Kevin said, picking up Malik’s bottle.

  Ruthie nodded. “Please do. I hope they have a place for him there.” She curled into Lee, savoring the feel of him against her.

  She had pretty much not left Lee’s side since she’d been freed—Christmas Eve she’d not wanted to sleep, afraid if she fell asleep she’d wind up in the box again.

  Waking in his arms soothed her in ways she’d never imagined.

  Being around people who knew she was there felt so strangely foreign, she clung to Lee for protection.

  Lee seemed to revel in it. He’d laughed more in the last three days than he had in a long time—even his brother had commented on his changed disposition.

  That was another strange thing—Kevin and Lee’s relationship had softened considerably.

  While they still dug at each other and would spat, it wasn’t nearly as volatile as it used to be between the two.

  Or so she’d been told.

  Kevin kept an eye on the slit on her throat, and seemed satisfied with the healing process. He kept feeding her Fairy Tea to help it heal, and already the mark was disappearing.

  “Who knows what they’ll do with him,” Kevivn said. “I imagine they’ll lock the bottle up for safe keeping and try to track down any other deals he may have made in the last seventy-five years. He’s a djinn, they will manipulate anyone for their own gain. I heard about one who really jacked with a banshee not too long ag
o. If this is the same guy, there might be more retribution coming his way.”

  “Don’t be too harsh on him,” Ruthie said, staring at the bottle, her mind wandering through the events which brought her to this point.

  “What?” Lee snapped.

  She smiled. “If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be here.”

  Lee took her hand. “There is that.”

  Kevin packed the bottle in his suitcase, then glanced at the two of them. His expression was serious as he looked them both up and down.

  “What?” Lee asked. “You’re gonna be late for your ride.”

  “You’re okay,” Kevin said.

  “Of course I’m okay,” Lee said.

  “No, dude, you’re okay.”

  Lee blinked, then put his arm around Ruthie. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

  Kevin nodded, stepping toward his brother and they hugged. “Good to see you. Send me the bill for the back door.”

  Lee snorted. “Uh-huh. Like a resident has any money.”

  “I offered.” Kevin turned to Ruthie. “Take care of him.”

  “I plan on it,” Ruthie smiled, holding out her hand. Kevin took it, but pulled her into a hug instead.

  “He’s an asshole. Just punch him a couple times and you’ll get your point across,” Kevin said.

  “I will remember that,” Ruthie said with a grin. Kevin released her and headed out the door.

  And then they were alone.

  Ruthie glanced at Lee. “Alone at last,” she said with a smile. “What are you going to do with me?”

  “Anything I damn well want,” he said, and gave her a searing kiss.

  She moaned when he broke away. “I see.”

  “No, I don’t think you do.” He grabbed her hips and hoisted her over his shoulder.

  Ruthie screamed, and slammed her fists against his butt—which was now her view. “Lee Donovan! Put me down at once! A gentleman—”

  He smacked her bottom. “You’re the one who keeps assuming I’m a gentleman. I keep telling you I’m not.”

  She smirked as he carried her to the bedroom.

  Because really, she didn’t want a gentleman at all.

  She wanted a growly werewolf.

  The perfect Christmas present.