Miss Claus Under The Mistletoe

by J. L. Hendricks

  “No way! Maria said he was so strong and fearless. Well, except for when he asked her dad for Maria’s hand. She must really be in love with him. I’m happy for her. Maybe when all of this madness is over, I can go visit her. What do you think, Rock?” I knew there was no way I would be making any pack visits until whatever lurked in the shadows was dealt with.

  “Sure. As soon as it’s safe I’ll take you to visit Maria myself. I’m actually curious to see how their pack is set up. It’s small. But then again, all packs are small in my eyes.” Rock shrugged and picked up our empty bottles and put them in the backpack.

  I looked at my watch, “OH! Son of a nutcracker! We’re late for dinner already.”

  We all shifted as quickly as we could and put our clothes inside the backpack. Mikey tugged at the drawstring closure and put it on his back.

  Some Alpha long ago had designed a backpack with our wolf form in mind. I think it was my great-grandfather, or his dad. We also had stores of clothing in all sizes all over the place in case of emergencies. Even in the cave, we had a stash of clothes.

  On the way back, all I could think about was what Palo, my brother-in-law, wanted to tell me. I knew I shouldn’t expect him to tell me everything, but since I was involved, and it was my safety on the line, I hoped he wouldn’t hold back.

  Chapter 5

  “Nice of you to join us.” Palo arched an eyebrow and looked me over.

  I had missed dinner. It didn’t matter; my stomach was too knotted up to eat. The entire way back, while Mikey and Rock joked around, I worried about what was happening.

  “Sorry, Palo. We were catching up and lost track of time. I was with Rock and Mikey Jr., so you know I was safe.” I looked over to Lizzie as she shook her head.

  Maybe mentioning them and catching up wasn’t the right thing to say?

  “Santa, we were just telling her about all of her friends who have mated, like Maria. We kept it light and didn’t discuss any pack business outside the circle.” Rock was all business and took on his Lead Beta persona, standing upright and keeping a straight face. Gone was the young man who goofed off and told jokes or wrestled with his friend.

  “Mandy, I know you were safe. We just have business to discuss. There is a lot you don’t understand. Come, follow me to my office. You might want to grab a coffee or tea, as this is probably going to take a while.” Santa had a grim look on his face.

  Mikey Jr. quietly left, and Rock stood beside me, waiting for me to move.

  “Are you going to follow me everywhere I go, even in my own house, Rock?” Shaking my head, I headed to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. The gravity of my situation called for a peppermint mocha.

  “Until Lizzie or Palo tell me otherwise, yes. Mandy, I want to be there for you when you hear what’s going on.” He ran his hand through his hair and winced without looking at me.

  It had to be really bad if Rock wouldn’t even look at me, and was following me around the safest place on Earth I could be.

  “That bad? Maybe I should do a shot of decaf?”

  Biting the inside of my lip, I didn’t wait for his answer and hit the decaf button on our espresso machine.

  It was a lot like the one in my favorite coffee shop down the street from my apartment in Seattle. I could make anything from a shot of espresso to a Café Americano to a Peppermint Mocha and everything in between.

  “Here.” Knowing what Rock preferred, I handed him a decaf Café Americano before making myself my favorite drink.

  “Thanks.”

  We walked in silence to what used to be my father’s office and quietly took the two seats facing Palo, the current Santa.

  “Why am I being targeted? I am not in line to be Mrs. Claus. Especially now that you already have a son who will one day meet his Mrs. Claus and take over the family business.” I knew they planned on having as many pups as the Creator allowed them to have.

  Lizzie wanted a couple of girls, but she also wanted to make sure she had plenty of male heirs in case something happened to my little nephew, Christian. He was barely a year old when Lizzie found out she was pregnant again. A second male would help to calm their nerves, but I hoped it was a girl this time.

  “There is a very old agreement between the original Claus family and…well, another family.” Palo stopped and looked to my sister sitting in the overstuffed chair next to the fireplace.

  Lizzie nodded, “Mandy knows dragons exist. She saw them yesterday in Seattle when she was attacked.”

  “Wait, this has something to do with dragons? They weren’t just hired thugs? The dragons want me dead?” They didn’t exactly try to kill me, but they were trying to kidnap me. I figured with our family history, they wanted me dead for someone else’s nefarious purposes.

  “Do you know anything about the true history of dragons?”

  “Um, not really. I always assumed they just died out in the middle ages. There isn’t any references to them after that time period. What happened?” I wasn’t sure a history lesson was in order, but since dragons did exist and were a part of whatever was going on, I needed to know.

  “If it weren’t for your ancestors, they would have. Dragons live on magic; without it, they can no longer shift. Much like all shifters. But for a dragon, the shift takes so much out of them, they rely more on the magic than any other shifter does. Each generation, their ability wanes. Some have been stuck in dragon form, but most get stuck as humans.”

  If what Palo said was true, then those dragons in Seattle might be dying out with all of their shifting, especially Jax. If he was who I thought, he must have shifted three or four times just in my presence that day. I guessed he was the dragon in the alley who took my attacker away.

  If I ever saw him again, I’d have to ask.

  “How does this have anything to do with my ancestors? Did we somehow take their magic from them?” So far, it still didn’t explain why they wanted me.

  “Every thousand years or so, they need a new influx of blood and magic. Only a true Kringle can give them what they need and have it last so long. They have received blood from other shifters in the past, and it only helped to stave off their loss of magic for a generation, two at the most.”

  Son of a nutcracker! They sacrificed a Kringle every thousand years? It can’t be so! They aren’t going to murder me just so they can… what? Drink my blood, or appease some unknown demon who will infuse them with more magic?

  “NO! They aren’t going to kill me!” I jumped up and paced the room.

  Lizzie got up and came over to hug me. “Mandy, it’s not like that. At least, we don’t think so. There is another way to infuse their line with the Kringle line.” She lowered her eyes and sat back down.

  I stood between Lizzie and Palo, mouth open, not understanding.

  “Mating,” was all Palo said.

  The air left my lungs, and I slumped down on the chair against the back wall of the office. “You’re kidding, right? We can’t…it doesn’t work that way, does it?”

  My entire life I had been told we couldn’t mate with other species. It didn’t have to be an Arctic Wolf, but it had to be a wolf shifter. Otherwise no offspring would be produced.

  “Well, normally it doesn’t work. In this case, it does. They have been waiting patiently for close to one hundred years for a female descendant from the original Santa Claus, who swore his family line would help them to continue theirs. If they don’t mate with a female from your line now, they will lose the ability to shift within two generations.” My brother-in-law rubbed his face and sighed at the horrendous news he just delivered.

  I was expected to mate with a dragon!

  “Nuh uh, no way! I have never heard of this. Have you, Lizzie?” I wasn’t about to give up my life without any proof. Heck, I wasn’t going to do it no matter what!

  “We hadn’t. I called dad, and he said he hadn’t heard of it either. He did know the dragon clan who reached out to us, though. So Palo told them basically what you just said. A week l
ater, you were attacked.” Lizzie refused to hold my gaze and her hands were fidgeting in her lap.

  “What? What aren’t you telling me?”

  Lizzie and Palo exchanged glances and she nodded once.

  “Your dad told me about a safe that’s not to be opened except in case of an emergency. He has never opened it. He thinks his father, your grandfather, did once. When your uncle was killed.” The sigh coming from Palo told me he wasn’t done yet.

  “I opened the safe. I found on the very bottom an old envelope, which almost fell apart in my hands. When I opened it up, a story very similar to what Erol, the leader of the dragon clan, told me.”

  “Why would my ancestors agree to this? They might as well have agreed to sacrifice us on an altar of fire. What could possibly cause a Santa to agree to sell off his descendants?” My mind went numb, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It made no sense whatsoever.

  “Not everyone was happy when the first Santa was chosen by the Christmas Magic. Your ancestors were attacked, repeatedly. Worse than what your family has endured since your parents met. There was a war. The dragons chose the side of your family, and were all that stopped the slaughter of your people. Our people.” What Palo was saying wasn’t too bad, but it still didn’t explain why we had to sacrifice a female every thousand years.

  “In the process, most of the dragon females died. The leader of the clan fell in love with Santa’s oldest daughter, and she with him. Because Santa felt he owed the dragons a life debt, he agreed to allow the Alpha to mate with his daughter. The dragons were already losing their magic. When that dragon mated with your female ancestor, her offspring were the strongest dragons the clan had seen for several generations. Santa agreed to allow his descendants to marry into their clan when they needed an influx of magic. Later, it was determined that it only needed to happen once every thousand years.”

  “I can’t believe this! Why hasn’t this information been passed down to us?” I hung my head in my hands.

  How am I going to get out of this?

  I am not mating with any of those rotten, disgusting dragons who tried to hurt me in Seattle.

  “We don’t know. A thousand years is a very long time. Plus, there have been no females born to this family for several generations. Maybe your grandfather thought the dragons would die out before a female was born again? I don’t really know. I am sorry this is happening to you. I’m trying to find a way out of it; that’s why your father is coming home tomorrow.”

  Palo was right to call in my dad.

  I needed him and my mom. Surely, one of them could find a way out of this for me.

  Chapter 6

  Rock had tried to talk to me after the meeting, but I just couldn’t focus. Instead, he walked me to my room and said he would come for me at six the next morning. I couldn’t sleep though, and now Rock would be here in about thirty minutes.

  I pulled myself out of bed and readied for our jog. I had decided I wanted to run in human form first. I wanted to keep my thoughts to myself, and was worried they might end up transmitting to him on their own while we ran in wolf form.

  As I readied, I continued to think about what Palo had said. My ire was piqued again, and I fumed while I dragged a brush through my hair, and another over my teeth. My poor gums received the blunt of my anger, as I brushed them like there was no tomorrow. Perhaps there wouldn’t be.

  This is unacceptable! It’s the twenty-first century for pity’s sake! Women are not sold into marriage, or as a mate, anymore. We mate who we want! NOT whoever happens to abduct us!

  I walked outside, and Rock was already there stretching while he waited for me.

  “Rock.”

  “Good morning, Mandy. Are you ready?” Rock’s perky attitude was going to grate on my nerves if he didn’t knock it off.

  “Yes.” My tone was short and curt; hopefully he’d get the message.

  We began our jog through the village and increased our speed once we cleared the town limits.

  The more I thought about the situation, the angrier I got. Less than thirty minutes into our jog, I was steaming mad and totally ignoring Rock.

  “Come on, Mandy. Let’s enjoy the run. Your dad will come up with something, I know he will.” He stopped, and I kept running, not even registering what he said or did.

  A hard packed snowball hit my back. That stopped me.

  I turned around to see Rock laughing and holding several more snowballs.

  I wasn’t in the mood to play; I was in the mood to stew; and kill someone for agreeing to sell me off to dragons! Someone who wasn’t even around for me to strangle.

  “Lighten up! This used to be one of your favorite games. Come on,” Rock urged while throwing another hard-packed white ball at me.

  I grabbed it and threw it back at him as hard as I could. With a loud thunk it splattered across his chest.

  He didn’t even flinch. He blinked, and then a sexy grin spread across his face. “That’s the spirit! Come on!”

  I bent over and made a few snowballs. Pouring every bit of my anger into them, I threw them one at a time and hit my mark; the large, hard chest of my running partner. He took every hit with aplomb and didn’t complain once. Even though I had a wicked right arm, I doubt he felt any pain.

  He threw a few at me with some steam behind them my throws got too close to his face, more as a reminder to watch what I was doing. Most of his snowballs hit my arms, shoulders, and stomach. None of them hurt. Not one hit my face.

  When my arm began to ache I called out, “Okay, message received, loud and clear. It doesn’t do any good to stay angry.” More quietly I said, “Thanks.”

  Somehow, he knew exactly what I needed to get out of my funk.

  “Mandy, we will find a solution. Don’t worry.” Rock came up and held me in his arms. His comforting hands rubbed my back, and I could have sworn he kissed the top of my head.

  I wrapped my arms around his waist and sighed into his chest, wishing he was doing this because he was attracted to me, and not because he was worried about me. However, I would take his worry if hugs like this were the outcome.

  “What can be done? I don’t want the dragons to die out, but I also don’t want to mate with one.” I shivered against Rock while he continued to hold me.

  His deep snicker rumbled along the parts of my body touching his. “I have an idea. Let me talk to your dad when he gets here; maybe he’ll go along with it.”

  “What? What’s your plan?” I pulled back to smile at him.

  When I looked into the hard lines of Rock’s handsome face, I knew he didn’t believe my dad would like his plan.

  “Your dad…well, let’s just say he probably won’t like all of the time we’ve spent together these past two days.” Rock sighed and looked into the distance with a vacant expression.

  “Rock, my dad loves you. He wanted you to marry Lizzie, for mistletoe’s sake! You are the pack’s lead Beta. He will listen to you. Besides, it’s really not up to him now. It’s up to Palo.” I patted Rock’s chest and took a step back.

  Being so close to the man I’d been in love with since I could tell the difference between male and female wolves made my head spin. I needed to take a few deep breathes before I could focus on the matter at hand.

  “Hey, how did you know snowball fights were my favorite? You avoided me like the plague when we were kids.” I shook my head and began to walk toward the path.

  “When you were thirteen, your father came to me and commanded I stay away from you. He was fine with me hanging out with Lizzie, in fact he encouraged it. He just didn’t want me near you. I know why, now, but back then I would watch you from afar, wondering why I had to stay away. I didn’t figure it out until my dad dropped the bomb on me that I was to marry Lizzie.”

  “Oh, really?” I always wondered why he ignored me. At least this explained it.

  “He must have been trying to keep me from falling for any girl except Lizzie back then.”

  “Right af
ter your supposed engagement to Lizzie had been announced; he told me he had always planned on you marrying Lizzie. Or at least, once they gave up hope of having any boys.” I was so upset when I found out Lizzie was supposed to marry Rock.

  “I’m just grateful Lizzie followed her heart and found Palo.” I really was. He made a perfect Santa. Kids all over the world loved him.

  “Are you going to tell me your plan? If it involves me, I think I have a right to know.” I tilted my head and raised a brow, waiting for his response.

  “Oh, look at the time! We’d better hurry up if we want to get in a full run and get back in time to shower and get ready to great your parents.”

  Looking at my watch, I panicked and began to run toward the Jingle Bell Forest. My dad and his brother named it that when they were small pups. When the wind whipped through, it made a sort of whistle sound, but ‘bell’ sounded like a better name.

  Since then, though, a few wolves had strung up real bells in the trees.

  As Rock and I ran through the forest, we heard the bells ringing. It made me think about the times when my dad would take us for runs there among the stark white Birch trees, which stood more like totem poles.

  They never had a lot of leaves.

  It was eerie when I was kid. My dad would take us there because he didn’t want us to be afraid of anything.

  I wasn’t, when my dad was around.

  I missed the days when things were so much simpler.

  ◊◊◊

  Standing inside the hangar waiting for my parents to arrive I paced and bit my finger nails, something I only did when I was extremely stressed out. I needed Palo to fix this situation, but he was waiting for my dad to arrive.

  Whatever my alpha said is what I would do. Which made me wonder if he was going to marry me off to a dragon. He would need the support of my dad to do such a thing.

  When the twin engine turbo jet slowed to a stop right in front of the carpet we had laid out, my insides tumbled. It couldn’t be a good thing that Palo and Rock were both waiting for my dad.