by Sable Sylvan
“You know, I could’ve just teleported you here,” said Krampus, breaking the silence as they reached Noel’s house.
“I know, but I wanted some fresh air, so, thanks for walking with me,” said Noel.
“You know…it’s not my place, but, you know, Connor…” Krampus started.
“I know everything, about the harem, all that,” said Noel.
“You do? Well, really – don’t let Connor ruin your Christmas,” said Krampus. “There’s a whole lot of Christmas left. But…if you wanted to get Connor back on The Naughty List, I suppose you could purposely let him ruin your Christmas…although that could also get you on The Naughty List, and I don’t exactly think you want to be pulling Santana’s sleigh next year.”
Noel pulled Krampus in for a hug. Krampus was surprised to find the mortal woman hugging him, and he gently hugged her back.
“I can see why Avery likes you so much,” said Noel, pulling away from the hug. “Have a merry Christmas, Krampus!”
“Have a Merry Christmas, Noel,” said Krampus, watching the woman who had managed to confuse him twice in under a minute walk into her house.
Krampus walked toward the Bear Claw Bakery and thought about Noel’s words – about Avery. Was it possible that Avery really actually liked Krampus, as a friend or something? They were coworkers of sorts, both under the command of Santana Claus, but, he’d never gotten the feeling that Avery actually liked him…at least not the way that he liked her.
Krampus remembered that he could just teleport home. He took his chain off, threw it in the air, and teleported into the warmth of his cabin on Camp Kringle. Inside the cabin, he found wet footprints leading to the guest room, a damp jacket hanging on his nice wooden chairs.
“Frikkin’ bears,” cursed Krampus. He took the jacket to hang it up. Something fell out of the jacket – a small box, labeled, ‘For Noel.’
Krampus hung the jacket up. He tossed the box in the air and used his magic to suspend it in midair. Like a surgeon, he carefully undid the ribbons and wrapping, revealing a small green and red velvet box. He opened the box gingerly. Inside, he saw what he was expecting to see from the start.
“Frikkin’ Pandora,” cursed Krampus. He rewrapped the package with magic so that it wasn’t obvious he’d used his demoncraft to peek at the gift.
Krampus put the box in his boundless pocket and pulled something else out of his infinite pocket dimension – his cellphone.
Krampus held it up to his head. The number he’d wanted to dial was already dialed.
“Hello?” answered a groggy woman.
“Avery, I need you to do something for me,” said Krampus. “You know that girl, Noel? Well…”
Chapter Eleven
Christmas Day, 2011
Connor was woken by a firm kick to his bed.
“Get up,” ordered Krampus.
“I don’t work for you anymore,” grumbled Connor.
“One – false, you’re my bitch until the end of Christmas, and it’s Christmas Day,” retorted Krampus. “Two – you sleep in my cabin, you do what I say.”
“Love to see you try to pull that shit on Avery,” grumbled Connor. When he cursed, his mark didn’t burn – after all, he’d managed to get off of The Naughty List already.
“Speaking of Avery, get ready,” said Krampus. “Don’t think I’m going to go easy on you because it’s Christmas. Daddy needs his coffee and hot buns.”
“Hot buns?” asked Connor, quirking a brow.
“You know what I mean,” growled Krampus. “Get that boat in the water in the next ten minutes.” Krampus tied some spare ribbons to his ribbon ball while waiting for Connor to get his shit together.
Noel woke up bright and early on Christmas Day.
Noel did not like waking up bright and early, not on any day – including Christmas Day. As a baker, waking up bright and early was just part of the package, and on Christmas day, it was part of the Christmas package.
“What?” asked Noel groggily. She got up and walked to the door.
“Hey,” said Finn, after Noel opened the door. “Your boss is here – she said she had to ask you to help with work today.”
“Today? But I’m not scheduled to help today – yesterday was my last day,” said Noel.
“I know, but she said she really needs the help,” said Finn.
“Okay, give me fifteen minutes,” said Noel, shutting the door.
Noel got showered and changed and walked to the living room, where Avery was chatting with Noel’s seven brothers.
“Noel! Hi! Thanks for agreeing to help out today – I’ll make sure you get double overtime pay for this,” said Avery. “A big order just came in, and I need help filling it.”
“No problem,” said Noel. “I guess we’ll head back to Miami later than expected, but that should be fine, right, guys?” Noel’s brothers nodded in agreement.
Noel and Avery headed to Bear Claw Bakery on foot. Noel walked with Avery to the back of the bakery and put on her apron.
“You had quite a night,” commented Noel. “Krampus said you had too much eggnog.”
“Thanks for helping me get back home,” said Avery.
“The person you should thank is Krampus,” replied Noel. “He’s the one who handled everything. He must really like you, to put up with that – no offense.”
“He does?” asked Avery.
“He has to, right?” asked Noel. “Anyway, how were things at The North Pole?”
“You missed quite the party,” said Avery. “Pandora got me this cool marble rolling pin.” Avery rolled out the sugar cookie dough with the gray and white rolling pin. She went into her cupboard for cookie cutters and spotted a set of cookie cutters Krampus had given her the year before as an extra gift – along with making her car even more frikkin’ magical. Was Noel right? Did Krampus really have feelings for her?
“Don’t see why you can’t do this yourself,” grumbled Connor as they walked up the steps to the patio, both still wearing the clothes they’d worn the night before.
“I’m a demon – can you blame me for going mad with what little power Santana allows me?” asked Krampus. “Help Noel set out the treats for Avery’s guests. I want to make sure Avery isn’t too hungover from last night.”
“Noel? But I –” protested Connor.
“You’re my bitch today, act like it,” demanded Krampus. “Be professional.”
Connor sighed. He walked into the back of the bakery.
“Hello?” called Connor. He heard the bakery go silent. He went to the bakery area, where Noel had stopped working.
“Noel,” said Connor bluntly.
“Connor,” replied Noel, equally bluntly.
“Krampus told me to help you,” said Connor. “What’s the move?”
“Avery wants some pastries and coffee set out for some guests of hers,” said Noel. “I can handle it.”
“So can I,” said Connor, grabbing a finished tray of pastries and carrying it out to the cafe. The cafe hadn’t properly been set up to handle whatever party Avery was hosting, so Connor took the liberty of moving some rectangular chairs to form a buffet.
“Typical male,” muttered Noel. “Doing things without being told. Full of beans, even this early in the morning.”
“You sound like one of my sisters,” said Connor, talking to Noel through the ‘window’ between the baking area and the cafe area.
“Your sisters?” asked Noel, setting out some mugs. “I didn’t take you as the type to have sisters.”
“What do you mean?” asked Connor.
“You’re not exactly the sensitive type,” said Noel.
“No, I’m confused because you met them,” said Connor.
“Wait, what?” asked Noel, walking to the back of the bakery. “What are you talking about?”
“Those seven women that came down to help with the deliveries, they’re basically my sisters,” said Connor. “I’m the oldest of three brothers, all a year apart. Jason and D
erek were just as wild as me, so my parents had to call in the big guns to babysit us. They talked to the Clan Elders and connected with a sorority at a local college. The sorority happened to have a bunch of shifter ladies who weren’t afraid to kick some shifter butts into shape, and spank us when necessary – with my parent’s permission, of course.”
“So they’re not your sisters,” said Noel, crossing her arms.
“They practically are,” said Connor. “They babysat my brothers and me from when I was seven until…well, I guess when I was eleven or twelve, four years later. With three boys around, my parents had to hire seven sitters – two for each of us, plus, an extra to manage the others.”
“There’s really nothing going on there? Like, no harem situation?” asked Noel.
“What? No, eww,” said Connor. “Sorry. I shouldn’t say ‘eww,’ given your situation.”
“What does that mean?” asked Noel.
“Well, you’re in that big harem of your own,” said Connor.
“Where? I don’t see’m. Are they waiting for me somewhere?” asked Noel.
“Come on, really?” asked Connor. “Those seven guys that showed up, promising to show you a ‘great time’ – they’re your mates.”
“Eww,” said Noel. “A thousand times, eww. Disgusting. Gross. Ugh. Those are my brothers.”
“They are?” asked Connor.
“My parents had a thing for adopting kids,” said Noel. “They adopted all seven of my older brothers – all shifters, and then, there’s me, the only non-shifter of the lot. We grew up together – played a lot of beach volleyball with our eight-person squad. Those aren’t my mates. Gross. Don’t let them hear that you said that.”
“I guess both of us made some assumptions,” said Connor.
“Yours was worse than mine – Connor, you knew you were the first guy to kiss me! How would I be in a harem with seven men and still be a kissless virgin?” asked Noel.
“You’re a virgin?” asked Connor.
“Don’t make a big deal out of it,” said Noel.
“So if we’d just talked to each other about all this, then…maybe we would’ve avoided a lot of needless heartbreak,” said Connor.
“What do you mean, ‘heartbreak?’” asked Noel. “You’re not the one whose heart was broken, Connor.”
“Always with the bickering,” said a voice. It was Annie, Connor’s eldest ‘sister,’ accompanied by none other than Noel’s oldest brother – Arlo.
“What’re you doing here?” asked Noel. “Arlo – weren’t you and the boys supposed to be on the road already?”
“Annie, I didn’t realize you stayed in town,” said Connor.
“Well, Avery invited us to the after party, so of course, we all had to make it,” said Arlo.
“Would be rude not to,” insisted Annie.
In streamed the rest of the siblings and they all seemed to be paired up – just as Annie and Arlo were paired, so were Bonnie and Bastian, Cassie and Cassius, Dellie and Damien, Ellie and Edgar, Fannie and Finn, and even Ginnie and Gilliam.
“Wait…when you guys were talking about the girls you met in town…” Noel started.
“You knew about this?” asked Connor, a hand on his hip, turning to Noel.
“My brothers said they found their fated mates, but I didn’t want to know who they were, because, oh, I don’t know – I was kinda nursing a broken heart, Connor!” said Noel.
“Well, we would’ve told you, Connor, but you were busy working, and we didn’t see you when we were at The North Pole,” said Ginnie. “We only got there in time to see you take off! When you landed, you were off like a shot.”
“I went to your place last night,” said Connor.
“Bullshit,” said Noel.
“I swear, I did – right after I was done with The Ride,” said Connor. “One of your brothers sent me away – said you didn’t want to see me.”
“That…may have been me,” admitted Damien sheepishly.
“Damien! What did you do?” asked Noel.
“I heard that Connor gave you trouble and didn’t want him to ruin your holiday,” said Damien. “I went home earlier with Dellie, to, uh, celebrate the holiday properly, privately, and this guy shows up banging on the door! What would you have done? You weren’t even home yet. Where were you, anyway?”
“Uh…out,” said Noel.
“What?” asked Edgar. “You? Miss Goody Two Shoes? Out? Where?”
“Miss Goody Two Shoes? I thought you were the Miami’s headmistress of curves, conqueror of men,” said Connor.
“This one?” asked Cassius. “Are you kiddin’ me? She had a higher GPA than all of us combined – and that’s not just because she went to frikkin’ business school and knocked it out of the park.”
“She what?” asked Connor, raising an eyebrow.
“I came up to The Wreath to work at Bear Claw Bakery because I want to start up my own bakery line, okay?” hissed Noel. “I didn’t want anything serious when I came up here, because I knew it was a temp job, and because I didn’t want to, well, you know – get attached or something. But, then I met you, and…”
“And what?” asked Connor.
“And I got so attached that, on Christmas Eve, I decided that I didn’t want to go to the Christmas party at The North Pole – because I still thought you had a harem,” said Noel.
“Wait, a harem?” asked Edgar. “Who’s in his harem?”
“Well…” Started Noel, looking over the line of women.
“Oh my goodness, eww,” said Fannie, throwing her hands up.
“Connor is like a little brother to us,” said Dellie. “You know we’re like a decade older than him, right? Like. What?”
“Look, a gal sees seven gorgeous shifters who are willing to hang out with this bad boy, and that means they’re either family or something else,” said Noel. “Besides…it’s not like Connor didn’t make assumptions too.”
“What kind of assumptions?” asked Finn, cracking his knuckles.
“He, uh…thought I had a harem too, a harem of men,” said Noel sheepishly.
“And who’s in this so-called harem? A bunch of those ice elementals or Christmas elves? Those dudes are jacked,” admitted Bastian.
“Uh…well, maybe it’s better left unsaid,” said Connor, not meeting Bastian’s gaze.
“Oh, bro, gross!” said Bastian. “Dude, that’s our sister – we changed her frikkin’ diapers, bro. Gross. Okay. There’s something seriously wrong with the two of you for not just, talking this out.”
“Bastian’s right,” said Bonnie, arm around Bastian. “How complicated does it have to be? ‘Hey, I like you, you like me, what’s the deal?’”
“You know, Connor has never been one to communicate well – or play well with others,” said Ellie. “Makes sense he’d be against a harem – never was particularly good at sharing.”
“You think that’s bad?” asked Edgar. “This one time, in first grade, Noel brought spaghetti to class, and –”
“Not the spaghetti story!” begged Noel. “Please! Anyway. As I was saying. I was feeling sad for myself and, uh…I decided I’d rather be with you, even if you had a harem – which obviously, you do not – than not be with you. I’m not exactly experienced in relationships, so…I thought it might be worth a shot. Krampus took me up to The North Pole, but you were gone.”
“Are you kidding me?” asked Connor. “Noel…the reason I was gone was that I had flown back to The Wreath, to tell you I was willing to give the reverse harem thing a shot, just to be with you.”
“Are you kidding me?” asked Gilliam. “You two kids. Hopeless.”
“So what now?” asked Noel. “Neither of us is in a harem, and after today, neither of us will be at The Wreath.”
“How would you feel…about doing market research for your bakery line in the state of Washington?” asked Connor. He reached into his pocket, pulled out the silly looking red ring box, and popped it open.
Noel’s hands
flew up to her face. Her eyes welled with tears. Was that really Connor, knee to the ground, looking up at her and offering her a ring?
“Connor…are you saying what I think you’re saying?” asked Noel.
“Noel – apparently, I haven’t been clear about the way I feel about you, so let me be clear,” said Connor. “Let me put all this out in the open. I want to be with you, forever, for the rest of my life. Since the moment I met you, you’ve captivated me. You’re equal parts sassy and sweet. You care about others and bring people together to do big things, great things, and I want to be part of those projects of yours in the future. I want to be with you forever, Noel…so will you take this ring, and soon, very soon, become my wife?”
“Of course I will, Connor,” said Noel, wiping a tear from her eye using her free hand as Connor slipped the comet-shaped ring onto her other hand. “Connor…when I came up here, I came up here to learn about business. What I learned was about what makes businesses like Bear Claw Bakery special – heart, and a bit of Christmas magic. You made me believe that maybe, just maybe, I can help spread a bit of that magic to others too, and for that…I will always, always love you.”
All of a sudden, Krampus and Avery burst through the back door of the bakery.
“Connor! You’ve managed to make someone believe in Christmas magic, and for that, you get off of the –” started Krampus. “Shit. We already did that, didn’t we? Then why did I feel as if something changed?”
“Your chest,” said Noel. “It’s glowing!”
Connor unzipped the top of his tactical suit. The mark on his chest had changed yet again. Now, instead of reading ‘Nice,’ it read ‘Very Nice!’, complete with exclamation point.
“Well, I’ll be,” said Avery. “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
