“Yeah,” I smirked. “We do. Guess we’re taking another sleigh ride down.”
Chapter 39
“This is bonkers. You know that, right?” Scrooge leaned against the night table in the small cabin’s guest room. “This plan is completely insane.”
“Why it makes it so good.” I took a sip from a mead bottle Hare had brought up, passing it to Scrooge. As he grabbed the bottle, his hand slithered around my waist, tugging me between his legs.
Hare sat on the bed drinking from another one, while Rudy smoked his mistletoe. Dee perched on the end, her tears dry, her face ready to battle. She was eager to get her best friend back. Pen and Dum were cuddled on Pen’s bed, not really paying us much attention.
I had gathered our little family together in the back bedroom, telling them my idea. It was met with less enthusiasm than I hoped, but we all knew it was our only choice.
The handful of Whos and elves had taken over the rest of the house, plus they built a cozy camp outside. The reindeer decided to patrol the border of the property. I doubted the queen would come for us again, but it was better to be safe than sorry. It would be like her to point the Gremlins in this direction, though.
“It will take one moon rotation to get to the castle.” Rudy inclined into the headboard. “Cupid can lead them. She’s third in command after Vixen.”
“You’re the first. Why won’t you?” Scrooge asked, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the space between my sweats and tank.
“Because I’m coming with you.” Rudy took another hit, blowing out perfect rings.
“We need you on the front line,” Scrooge countered.
“No.” He stood, opening the window and flicking the end of the joint outside. “Vix is locked somewhere in the castle, and I’m not leaving until I find her. I will not let Blitzen take anything else that is mine.”
Mine, huh? I lifted an eyebrow at his choice of words.
“That’s not what I meant.” He brushed my expression off. “She’s a friend.”
“Sure. If you want to believe that.” Scrooge snorted.
“We’ve only been friends. She was just there for me with the Clarice stuff.” Rudy sat back on the sill, his brow set with his sureness, but his tone of voice wobbled. Even if they had only been friends, something was brewing underneath, which was more than friendship.
“I’m coming too.” Dee sat up straighter on the bed, her shoulders pushed back.
“Dee…” I started.
“No. If Rudy is going, I am going. Santa needs me.”
“And you know there is no way I’m not going with you guys,” Hare muttered from the lip of the bottle.
“We need you guys on the outside. Distracting them. There’s so few as it is.” Scrooge shook his head. “It’s going to be dangerous enough with just me, Alice, and Rudy on the inside. I will not put you in that kind of danger.”
“Like we’re not in danger outside those walls?” Hare exclaimed. “We can be killed by toy guns as much as real ones.”
“No.” Scrooge stood up, inching me back from him a bit. “You guys are all I have left. Do you understand that? I will not lose you too.” Scrooge’s hands went on his hips, he stared at the ground. “Dee, I need you to protect Dum and Pen…”
“Hey! Why is my sister watching me? I don’t need a babysitter.” Dum sputtered from where he and Pen played with box soaps they turned into trains.
“Because she is the warrior in the family, and you get distracted by sparkly things.”
“I do not—” He tapered off, getting sidetracked by Pen’s makeshift train crashing into his.
“Hey, not fair!”
Scrooge held out his hand at them. “Do I need more of a reason, Dee? We will get Santa, I promise. But your brother and Pen need you. You are a leader, and we need those. We need you.”
Dee exhaled, annoyance at not going still rigid on her form, but her head bobbed, knowing what Scrooge said was true. When I stepped into the cabin, even with all the commotion, I noticed what her leadership had done. It was sparkling clean and completely in order. When she was put in charge, she got shit done.
“Hare—”
“Fuck off, asshole,” Hare interjected, glowering at Scrooge. “You need me. Rudy will be going after Vixen, you two looking for Santa. I am the perfect distraction inside. Leading the guards away while you get them out.” He set down the mead on the table. “So… you can whine and bitch all you want. But I’m with you.”
“Damn.” I glanced up at Scrooge. “The wife has spoken.”
“This is going to be bad,” Scrooge grumbled, rubbing his eyes.
“We have no choice, Frodo.” I patted his chest.
“Frodo?”
“Yes. And I’m your Samwise Gamgee. The real hero of the story, let’s be honest. He’s the only reason Frodo even got to Mordor.”
Everyone in the room stared at me blankly.
“Normal people would get the reference,” I grumbled. Little did they know my entire plan of attack was taken from The Lord of the Rings. A war at the gates to point the queen’s eye there, while a few snuck through the back, going after the true source of power.
Santa.
“Are we ready to round our troops?” Scrooge sounded less than confident. Our “troops” consisted of untrained, fainthearted Whos, elves who wanted to hug you not kill you, Donner and Dasher who were so high they would fight if the other side were hiding their Cheetos, and Pen, Bea, and Dum who were most likely to drive our enemies more insane.
Dee, Noel, Comet, and Cupid were our only true fighters.
That was our army.
We were so screwed.
But it was do or die. We were going to perish, anyway, might as well go out fighting for what we believed in.
It was funny, at one time I didn’t think this was my fight, my world. I missed my family, the thought of never seeing them again killed me. It flipped on me, and somewhere along the way this place, these people, had become my home.
And I would fight for my family.
For Winterland.
The ghost of Christmas future was ready to kick some holiday ass.
Scrooge stood on the porch above everyone, the army grouped in the yard staring up at their leader in awe and fear. Our plan laid out at their feet. Besides Cindy Lou, the Whos were freaking out about fighting.
“We are peaceful people,” Cindy’s father cried. “We don’t battle or tattle.”
“I implore you. We don’t make war; we ignore,” Cindy’s mom followed.
“You came here knowing it was war and a whole lot more.” Scrooge flinched, turning to me. “Please stop me from rhyming. It’s making me want to cut off my tongue.”
Clearing my throat, I pressed up against the railing, my voice booming. “Santa needs you and so does Winterland. Earth even needs us. If we do nothing, the queen will kill him and close the doors… your death will not be peaceful. Hate and darkness will take over and smother this land. Destroy earth. At least this way, there is a chance. I know this is scary. But we need you to be brave. Santa has given everything he can. Now it’s our turn. Our turn to fight for him.”
“Some of us don’t even know how to shoot a gun,” Happy hollered out from the crowd. “Not very fuckin’ helpful.”
“I can teach you,” Dee declared from the bottom step of the porch, a blush forming on her cheeks when Happy’s cantankerous eyes snapped to her. “I can teach all those who have never held a weapon before.”
“We don’t have long.” Scrooge wrapped his hands around the balustrade. “At any moment, the queen can commence her plan. We can’t take much time training you guys, for which I am sorry. It will take you a day to get there as it is. You will leave in a couple of hours. Noel, Cupid, Dee, and Frosty,” he snarled, flicking his head at the snowman. Frosty was the most suitable to escort them to the castle. He knew all the secret ins and outs, where the best place to attack was. How to get there unseen. The problem was the large if he was on our side. We
no longer had a choice. We had to take the chance. “They will be leading. Until then, you need to train with Dee and anyone else who can help. We need all hands-on deck.”
Hare had slipped back down to the bunker, putting together snacks and meals for the journey, not able to stay away from his “precious.” Pen and Dum had offered to help him, which meant they were running around, singing, and driving Hare crazy. Dee, Donner, Cupid, and Noel helped get others comfortable with the weapons Comet, Rudy, and Dasher had brought up from the bunker below.
Loud pops and cracks tore through the night sky, stirring up the warning wind into a frenzy as several dozen people practiced target shooting along the cliff surrounding the cottage.
“Come here.” Scrooge clutched my wrist, dragging me into the quiet cabin, his legs not stopping as he slammed the door behind us, muffling the gunshots.
“What are you doing?” I glanced behind me. “Shouldn’t we be outside helping?”
“Everything is being taken care of right now.” He strode into the bathroom. Tugging me in, he closed and locked it. “No one will miss us for an hour or so. I need a shower. Thinking you probably do too.” He shoved me into the door, his body pressing into mine, his nose skating my neck.
“And you chose the bathroom with freezing water?”
“I promise to keep you warm.” His teeth nipped my sensitive skin. “The bunker is now the popular place to be. And I want no interruptions.”
My chest pattered with desire, my neck tipping back. In seconds this man could set me on fire.
“I don’t know what’s ahead of us. If we live or die.” He nipped my ear. A simple tug of his fingers and my sweats fell to the floor, leaving me in only a crop tank. “I’ve lived so long with regret and guilt. I don’t want that with you. We have wasted too much time as it is. From the moment I met you, even when I hated you or had forgotten, I still couldn’t fight the undeniable pull to you. I want to know if we’re gonna die, your last thought will be of me fucking you into oblivion.” With a deep growl, Scrooge grabbed my ass, picking me up. Wrapping my legs around his waist as he walked us to the shower, falling heavily against the stone, our lips consumed each other, need driving through my core like flames. My skin bubbled with heat, forgoing air as I deepened the kiss, matching his intensity with my own.
A cry broke from my lips as icy water sprayed down on us, but it felt delicious against the fire burning inside me. He pushed his hips into me, only his sweats impeding us; the friction of his movement against me made us gasp.
Clawing at his wet shirt, I tore it from his torso, my fingers running over his taut stomach muscles. I squeezed my legs tighter around him, feeling him hard and thick against me. His lips moved down my soaked tank, his mouth nibbling at my nipple through the sheer cotton.
“Scrooge.” My back arched as he bit harder, pulsing need between my thighs. My hands tugged his pants down his hips, the wet fabric slapping on the floor in a heap. A rumble emerged from his chest as my hands ran back up over his tight ass. He slipped his hand under my tank and ripped it over my head, tossing it aside. The smack of fabric hit the tile.
Wet and naked, our skin glided against each other, our breaths short and heavy. My hands ran slowly up his body, his running down mine. My head fell back with desire, as the shudders of his touch sent tingles rapidly through me.
“You could leave.” His hand wrapped around my throat as his lips licked mine until my breath shuddered. “This isn’t your fight. You don’t belong here.”
“Yes, I do. I belong with you.” My nails dug into his skin. He hissed, his teeth sinking into my shoulder. “It makes sense now, what Santa said. I am her, the spirit of Christmas future. I’m part of your story. It’s why we have always had such a palpable connection. I was always supposed to be part of your world, Ebenezer Scrooge. We are written for each other. Our stories will forever be twined together.”
He took a shuddering breath.
“If something happens to you…” He waggled his head. “I won’t come back from it.”
“Yes, you will.”
“No.” His grip on my throat tightened, pointing my face to look at him. “I warned you… I’m greedy and cruel… no realm will be safe from my wrath.”
“Nor will it be from mine if something happens to you,” I replied fiercely, every word true. Christmas future wasn’t the happy, joyous spirit out of the three. I knew how I felt about him. All the bad relationships I thought were love… I never believed when people said you’ll know it when it comes. I thought my mediocre feelings were the best it got.
Oh, I was so wrong.
Scrooge. Matt. Whatever name he went by, he was embedded in my soul, under my skin. He was part of my tale, and I was part of his.
“Now if I’m going to die, make sure I have a smile on my face.”
Scrooge growled, raw and animalistic. His body reacted to my request, pulsing and twitching against my core.
“Please,” I begged. “I need you now.”
He hitched me up higher, thrusting in deep, both of us groaning loudly, the rain trickling down over our hot skin as our bodies moved together. Demanding more. Not able to get close enough. Ruthless and pounding, our energy bounced off the walls, echoing and crying out for more. Our claim for more stumbled us to the bathtub, where he slipped out of me and twisted me around.
“Like in the workshop,” he said into my ear, his hands sliding down my arms, curling around my fingers, forcing them to grip onto the tub. “Hold on.”
Lowering himself to the ground, his tongue glided all the way down my spine, his hands opening me up to him, hitching my breath as his tongue sliced through me.
“Oh god… Matt!” Using his other name just seemed to entice him more. He discovered every inch of me until I was threatening his life, the need consuming my body almost painfully, my cries so loud there was no way the people outside didn’t hear me.
“Being on the naughty list is so much more fun.” His body pressed into the back of mine; his breath hot on my neck as he came back up.
“Matthew Hatter,” I growled.
“Uh-oh. I’m in trouble.” His hand slid around my waist as he flipped me around.
“You will be if you don’t fuck this insanity out of me.”
“Think it would be more of a challenge to fuck the sanity back into you.” His hand snaked up from my stomach, wrapping around my throat, pulling me back into him as he pushed slowly inside me, stealing my breath away. “But I like you slightly crazy. Wild. Free.”
I had a good retort on my tongue, but his mouth crashed down on mine as he drove in deeper. All thoughts left me, only the feel of him, of me, of us together remained. He claimed me so deep, so thoroughly, I was suspended between lunacy and sanity. Sensible in my utter madness.
He made sure if I died tomorrow, or decades from now, I would go with a smile on my face.
Chapter 40
“Ms. Alice.” Dee’s eyes floated in liquid, her nose wiggling with the need to cry.
“Don’t do that.” My throat clogged with emotion. “I will see you again. Believe that, okay?”
“But—”
“No.” I shook my head, lowering my knees into the snow. The cluster of our army was packed in the yard and loaded with multiple weapons ready to start their journey to the castle. They carried grenades, guns, knives, and a few younger ones wore the handful of bulletproof vests we found below. Even though all dressed in dark clothes and beanies, blending in with the darkness, they still barely looked the part. Our chance of success, seeing some of these people again, twisted my gut, but all we could do was go forward. “There is no but. We will win.”
“How do you know?” Dee asked.
“Because I can’t imagine a world without Santa. Without Christmas. Without you.”
“Get him back for me… for us.” Dee gripped my hand, her innocent eyes staring up at me.
“We will.” My palm slid over the deep scar on her face, knowing how strong so many of these peopl
e were. Most were either survivors of Blitzen’s torture or lost someone because of it. They were about to face their greatest tormentor.
“Ms. Alice! Ms. Alice!” Pen waddled over, his flippers wrapping around me in hug.
Neither Pen nor Cindy Lou should be going. To me they were innocent children, but in reality, they were actually far older than me and had as much right for what they had been through.
Cupid had ordered them to stay in the back, helping with supplies, but Cindy Lou had refused. From what I heard, she was one of the best with a weapon. Similar to hobbits, just because they were small, didn’t mean you should count them out.
Dum sprinted over, and I pulled all of them into a group hug, my chest heaving as it splintered in half.
“Stay safe. All of you.” I squeezed them, a tear slipping down my cheek. “I love you guys so much.”
“We love you too, Ms. Alice,” Pen sang, the others joining in.
“Hey, girl-puck.” A voice grumbled, jerking Dee’s head over her shoulder. Happy stood there, his expression between bored and irritated. He was several inches taller than the average elf, making him stand out.
“Yes, boy-puck.” She folded her arms.
Happy shifted on his feet, peering to the side. “Was wondering. Never mind…”
“Spit it out,” Dee challenged him, causing his features to pinch more, his glower set on her.
“Show me that move again,” he grumbled.
“Ask me nicely.”
“Forget it.” Happy started to walk off.
“You actually can’t ask me like a normal elf?”
“I’m not a normal elf,” he sneered. “I just wanted to try the roll-and-shoot move you did earlier.”
“Then ask me, Happy-Puck.” Dee stomped her foot, holding her head high.
His nostrils flared, his lips twitching in a snarl.
“Fine. Will you show me the move again?”
“Now, was that so hard?” A smile widened on Dee’s face. “I would be happy to show you, Happy.”
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