by R. E. Butler
Mrs. C smiled gently. “It’s why he always hugs first.”
“What did you see?” Declan asked.
“It was the one Christmas I’ve always thought was the best, most perfect one of my childhood. Neve and I stayed on the couch trying to stay up to see Santa. We fell asleep, though, and when we woke in the morning, we had identical teddy bears in our arms. My parents told me Santa had brought snow with him. We looked out into the yard and everything was beautifully covered with glistening snowflakes. It was amazing…perfect.”
SC chuckled. “I don’t think anyone’s ever suggested I bring snow with me.”
“Thank you both for the memories,” Ellie said, then looked at Declan. “If I wasn’t convinced it was magical up here just with you shifting, those two hugs would’ve definitely made me change my mind.”
His heart swelled. He still had things to tell her, the first and foremost that they had to decide their future before dawn tomorrow or they’d be stuck wherever they were for a year.
“Ellie wanted to check on Neve and Tom,” Declan said.
“They’re in the medical center,” Mrs. C said.
“Is something wrong?” Ellie asked.
“While they’re here, she wanted to get a checkup for her pregnancy,” SC said. “You can meet them over there.”
“What’s going to happen to them?”
“I’ll leave them to explain,” SC said.
Ellie opened her mouth like she would protest, but she shut it instead, plastering a smile on her face that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“The medical center is in NPC, but it’s on the other side of town and you’re not dressed for a walk right now. We’ll transport,” Declan said.
She nodded. They said goodbye and he drew her close, transporting them outside of the medical center.
“Holy shit, it’s cold!” she blustered when an icy wind slapped at them.
He pulled open the door and hustled her into the warm building. “We don’t transport directly into buildings unless people are expecting us, so I could only bring us right to the doors. Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” She shivered a little and then looked around. “This is a medical office?”
He nodded. “Our people naturally heal faster than humans, but we do get injured and need help. And, of course, females come here when they’re pregnant.”
She smiled. “That was really sweet news for Neve and Tom. She’s been wanting to have a baby for a while.”
“Do you?” he asked.
“Do I what?”
“Want to have a baby?”
She hummed, looking a little sly. “Why, Declan, you haven’t even asked me out on a date yet and already you’re talking about babies?”
“Ah, so you’re hoping I’m a traditional sort of male?”
“In some things, yes.”
“Then I’ll take you on a date as soon as we’re done here.”
She laughed. “It’s like seven in the morning.”
“It’s dark here this time of year. We’ll pretend it’s 7:00 p.m.”
“You’re ridiculous, but I like it.”
“Good. I like you, Ellie. I want you to be mine.”
She bit her bottom lip. “I already feel like I am.”
His beasts roared within him, but he pushed them aside before one of them forced him to shift just to be close to their tempting mate. “Let’s find Tom and Neve. Then we’ll see where the day takes us.”
After stopping at the reception desk, they followed the instructions to the room where Tom and Neve were. Declan knocked, and the door swung open.
“We were wondering when you’d show up. Come on in,” Tom said.
“Is everything okay with the baby? Are you okay?” Ellie asked Neve, giving her cousin a hug.
“Yes, I’m fine, and so is our baby. How are you?”
“Really good. Declan’s a shifter!”
Neve laughed. “I know. So is Tom.”
“Right, right. I saw that front and center.”
Tom cleared his throat. “Sorry. I never meant for you to see that.”
“It’s okay,” Ellie said. She smiled at Declan and reached for his hand, which he linked with hers. “I feel like everything happened for a reason.”
Which was exactly what Mrs. C had said.
“SC said that you would be able to explain what was going on,” Declan said.
Neve and Tom sat on the edge of the hospital bed and Declan and Ellie sat on nearby chairs. Declan took Ellie’s hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.
Neve and Tom shared a meaningful look, and then Neve cleared her throat. “Because he unintentionally allowed a human to see his shift, Tom’s been called home.”
“Called home? What does that mean?” Ellie asked.
“It means I’m not allowed to live in the human world anymore,” Tom said. “I broke one of the few rules our people have. I can’t explain why it happened or how I allowed it to, but it did and I have to accept the punishment.”
Ellie frowned. “Wait, you said Tom’s been called home. What about you?”
“Well,” Neve said, “I can stay in the human world, but Tom and I wouldn’t be together except on Christmas.”
“Why would you stay? I don’t understand,” Ellie said, frustration evident in her words.
“Because of you.”
“Excuse me?” Ellie demanded. “What do I have to do with any of this?”
“Tom stayed with me in the first place because I refused to leave you. We’re each other’s only family, and it’s important to me that we stay together. But since I’m pregnant, we’d already decided that next Christmas would be our last in the human world. We would’ve told you we were moving for a job and only visited you on Christmas.”
“You…stayed here for me?”
Neve’s eyes glistened with tears. “Ellie, of course I did. You’re my best friend. You’re more like a sister than a cousin, really, and we’ve always been together. Tom asked me to come to NPC with him, but I couldn’t go from us being so close to only seeing each other once a year. It just didn’t seem right.”
Tom nodded. “I’d be anywhere that my Neve is. It didn’t matter to me if it was in NPC or in that cabin, as long as we were together.”
Declan could relate.
“You’re not going to leave Tom here, right?” Ellie asked. “You wouldn’t stay in that cabin by yourself, would you?”
Neve smiled sadly. “No. Tom’s beasts would make him crazy if he tried to live up here without me, and I don’t want to be without him either. But now that you and Declan are together, we can be together as a family.”
“I haven’t made any decisions yet,” Ellie pointed out.
“What are you talking about? You and Declan are fated mates. That only happens to quads. You can’t live anywhere but here.”
Ellie rose to her feet swiftly. “I’ve only known him for an hour! What’s with the rush?”
“Because the window closes at dawn on Christmas Day,” Tom said. “If he’s not in NPC tomorrow morning, then he’ll be stuck in the human world until next year. He’ll lose everything here.”
Ellie looked at Declan. He could see the war in her eyes.
“Honey, it doesn’t matter where we live,” Declan told her.
“I need some fresh air,” Ellie said.
She pushed the door open and stalked away, her footsteps heavy as she left.
“She’s just scared,” Neve said. “And she loves her boss, Layne. I suggested she move to the town where our cabin is, but she didn’t want to leave Layne.”
Declan stood. “I’ll go talk to her. She’s not wrong. We really haven’t had a chance to talk about much because everything’s been so rushed.”
“We have to go back to the cabin and pack up,” Tom said. “My folks are coming along to help. We’ll pack Ellie’s things, too.”
“Where are you staying?” Declan asked.
“With my parents until after Christmas. There are
a couple of open cabins for mated couples.”
“Two are right next to each other,” Neve said hopefully. “But if Ellie won’t stay here, you can take our cabin back in the human world.”
“Thanks.” Declan left and hurried down the hall to find Ellie.
She was at the front door to the building, staring out into the darkness with her arms crossed.
“I thought you might try to head out into the cold,” he said, coming to stand behind her.
“I didn’t want to freeze to death.” She turned to face him and let out a deep sigh. “This is moving so fast, Declan. How can I make a decision that literally changes the trajectory of my life after so little time?”
“We’ve got time,” he said, wrapping his hands around her upper arms. “Let me show you NPC and then we’ll talk. You can ask me anything.”
“And if I say I don’t want to stay here?”
“Neve said we can have their cabin.”
“I have a place of my own.”
“I’m not going to live where you aren’t, Ellie, but I need some seclusion.”
“Right.”
He pulled her close, inhaling her sweet scent, and transported them to the commissary. “First we’ll eat,” he said. “It’s breakfast time, and I’m starving.”
“Me, too, actually.”
As they walked up to the breakfast buffet and filled their plates, Declan took comfort that she hadn’t outright said she didn’t want to be with him. If she’d balked at everything, he didn’t know what he’d do – but giving up was not an option.
At dawn, he’d be with her, one place or another.
Chapter 6
While they ate some of the fluffiest pancakes Ellie had ever eaten in her life, Declan told her about North Pole City. The city was closed for every day of the year except one in order to keep their people safe. The elves and shifters who called NPC home transported to the human world during those twenty-four hours to pick up supplies that the city needed to function. The city was magically protected, so even if a plane flew directly over, the humans on board would see nothing out of the ordinary.
Aside from being part of the sleigh team, he was also a security officer. It was easy to tell that he loved his jobs and living in NPC.
“Tell me about Layne,” Declan said as he stirred sugar and milk into a coffee mug.
“How do you know about her?”
“Neve said you loved her and that she’s your boss. Who is she, and what do you do for her?”
“She’s a florist and she owns the shop where I work. She hired me when I was a teenager and taught me everything she knew about flowers. I went to college for horticulture. Layne told me she’d leave the shop to me when she was ready to retire.”
“Ah, that’s why you didn’t want to move with Neve.”
She nodded. “She’s been a mentor and friend to me forever. She and her husband even helped me pay for college. They never had kids of their own. Danny has arthritis in his hands, and although he helps as he can, it hurts him, so it’s mostly just me and Layne. I know it might seem silly to base my life decisions on a job, but I’ve been planning my life out like this for so long that to change it up in a way I never expected is a little difficult to take. I care about you already, but I care about her, too.”
“She’s like family for you.”
“Exactly.”
“I understand, Ellie. Really I do. You’re just learning about all of this. It’s easier for me to make a choice in this situation because I knew this was a possibility.”
“Leaving NPC for your fated mate?”
He nodded. “The first quad to find his fated mate was Arian. He’s the Blitzen position. His harness broke during a Christmas Eve run and he landed in the backyard of Charli, his fated mate. He opted to stay with her. Our people have technology like you have – cell phones, computers, and internet – so you can still be in touch with Neve even if we’re not here.”
“Is Arian still in the human world?”
“No, they had a baby and Charli didn’t want her to live in the human world, so they moved back to NPC the next Christmas. He’s still the Blitzen position. We saved the spot for him.”
“And you’re Dancer.”
He nodded.
She hummed and giggled a little. “Do you dance?”
He snorted. “Sometimes. There’s a tavern here and they used to play live music.”
“Why don’t they play live music anymore?”
“The band had a falling out with the tavern owner and both sides quit. SC assigned an elf to handle the tavern’s business until someone else stepped up. There isn’t a band anymore, but it’s still a good place to go.”
“No one wants to run the bar?”
“Do you?”
“Uh, no. I don’t know how to make anything but mimosas.”
With a chuckle, he said, “We can go to the tavern if you’d like.”
“I don’t want to drink this early.”
“Maybe later.”
“It’s Christmas Eve.”
“Yep.”
“When do you have to do your reindeer thing?”
“We start to get ready around six. We’ll be back around four in the morning”
She mulled that over for a moment. NPC was such an amazing place, and so far she’d only seen Santa’s house, the medical center, and the commissary.
“Why don’t you date?” she asked suddenly.
His brows rose. “What?”
She gestured to the half-full room. “There are women here. You’re sexy. Why are you single?”
His upper lip curled. “Are you complaining that I’m single?”
She let out a laugh. “No! I’m just saying I don’t understand why you waited for…”
“You. I waited for you, Ellie, because I wanted to be with the one female in the world meant for me. You’re my fated mate. I know you don’t really understand because you’re human, but tell me you don’t feel connected to me on a level that you can’t really explain.”
She shook her head. “I can’t, because I do feel that.”
“That feeling. It’s why I didn’t want to just date anyone. Mrs. C has a special brand of magic, and she can match up males and females with it. We call it mate-matching. The matches are perfect, but for quads, it would be settling. Five of my friends have found their fated mates, and I didn’t want to ruin the chance to meet you by jumping into a mate-match. I’ve been waiting my whole life for you, Ellie. You were worth the wait, I promise.” He reached across the table and grasped her hand. “If you need time to get to know me, I understand, and it’s okay. I’ll come to the human world with you and stay. As long as we can go to the cabin in the woods so I can shift from time to time in privacy, I don’t care where we live. I only care that we’re together.”
“How can you give up your life for me?”
He touched the space over his heart and Ellie felt an answering tug in her own chest. “Because you’re mine. It’s no hardship to be with you. The only thing that would be unacceptable is to not be together. If you need time, I’ll happily give it to you. I’ll woo you in whatever way you want.”
“Woo?” she asked, arching a brow.
“What do humans call it?”
“Dating.”
“Okay, I’ll date you in whatever way you want.”
She laughed. “You’re sweet, Declan.”
“Only for you.”
After finishing breakfast, Declan transported them in front of another building. The cold slapped at her skin, instantly freezing her. Declan grasped the handle but it wouldn’t open.
“Damn it, it’s locked.”
“What is this place?” she asked, her eyes watering from the cold as she tried to read the sign over the door that was mostly covered with snow.
“A place I think you’ll love.” He wrapped her in his warm arms again, and in a heartbeat she found herself inside an enormous greenhouse. Grow lights hung above row after row of plants tha
t were split into sections: flowers, shrubs, vegetables, fruit, and trees.
She blinked several times as her eyes adjusted to the lighting. Then she walked away from him, starting down an aisle between rows of vegetables, including her favorite giant tomatoes which she loved to eat like apples.
“How long can we stay?” she whispered. She turned to face a trellis of sugar snap peas and plucked one, taking a bite. It was crisp and sweet, exactly like she remembered the ones in her grandmother’s garden.
He glanced at his watch. “Honey, we can stay as long as you like.”
She inhaled deeply, sorting through the scents in the air. She’d been in greenhouses before, but this was the largest one she’d ever seen. The neat rows looked like they went on forever. A generator hummed quietly in the corner with cords leading up to the grow lights. She suspected the lights were on a timer, and judging by the spigots overhead, they had a watering system as well.
“I thought meeting Santa and Mrs. Claus was the coolest thing ever, but is it weird that I’m more excited by the greenhouse?”
He chuckled as he joined her, close enough that she could feel the heat from his skin despite her warm clothes. Lifting her gaze to the rows of plants, she spied roses, and with an excited squeak she hurried down the row, turned right at the end, and raced straight for them.
In a word, they were incredible.
Roses of every color and variety filled the row, from the brightest white to the darkest black. Some were clearly hybrids, mixtures of colors and types to create a new sort of bloom, but there were also some she didn’t recognize. Her gaze fell to the hand-carved markers in front of each plant.
“This variety of rose went extinct in the forties,” she said as Declan joined her. “I wrote a paper in college on the importance of saving heirloom species. I had only seen it in pictures, never in real life.” She touched the delicate bloom and a sweet fragrance erupted, like perfume and candy rolled together.
She was beyond overwhelmed. Everything about Declan’s home seemed like it had been made for her. Not only was everyone wonderful and welcoming, but between the magic of the shifters and the incredible greenhouse, she felt drawn to call this place home.