by Trisha Linde
His scrubbing slowed. “Sure, that makes sense. You’d want to confirm the pregnancy. Why didn’t you want to tell me that?”
I took a long breath and tried to focus on calming myself. I didn’t want him hearing the stress in my voice. “How many shifters like you are there, do you think?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve never heard of any.”
“And what about reincarnated omegas? Have you ever met any like me?”
He snorted. “Not likely.”
I turned around and took his hands in mine. “As much as we’ve avoided it, we have to admit there’s a chance of history repeating itself.” Wolf’s hands stiffened, clutching onto mine tightly. “There’s at least a small chance. Agreed?”
“I don’t want to think about it, how we’ve made it this far, literally generations of waiting, just to fail now.”
“There’s one thing working in our favor. Modern medicine. Maybe if there had been a doctor there the first time, my ancestor wouldn’t have died, the curse never would’ve happened. I want to be prepared for any possibility, that’s all.”
Wolf looked down at our feet, and his expression was so forlorn, I knew that he was remembering that night. He was playing the what-if game several hundred years too late.
“Not today,” he whispered. “Let’s not worry about it right now. Let’s put it aside for one more day, okay?” I looked up into his eyes and saw the beginnings of a childlike wonder lighting their depths. “Let’s do all the things I haven’t had a chance to do before. I want to build a snowman, go skating. I want to see fireworks!”
I laughed at his innocent excitement. He was practically quivering, his eyes getting large and shining at the thought of all the holiday activities he’d been dreaming of for so long.
“But first…” He reached behind me and turned off the water. “Presents!”
Wolf started off by unwrapping me. He was by far the best present I could ever hope to receive.
After tiring ourselves out, we sat around my poor spindly tree and passed each other presents wrapped in comic paper. It had been a family tradition of my family’s, originally started to save money. Even still, years after my parents’ passing, I couldn’t bring myself to buy the glittery wrapping paper, even though I could afford it now. It made it feel as though they were here with me.
Watching Wolf tear the paper off with childlike abandon, eyes as wide as his smile, I couldn’t contain my own brimming happiness. I wished my parents were here to meet him. I was sure they would have approved of him.
Wolf wore every piece of clothing I’d bought him, all at once. He was probably overheating in the two sweaters, three pairs of socks, hat, and mitts. “Next!” he shouted, grabbing my hand and running for the door.
“What do you mean next?” I asked, groaning. “I was thinking about a nap.”
“You snooze, you lose! Haven’t you heard? Christmas only comes once a century.” He paused in his charge out the door, throwing a cautious weak smile over his shoulder.
“Hey,” I said, tugging on his arm to pull him into an embrace. I held him close, trying my best to share his burden. “There will be another Christmas. Hell, there will be countless holidays to celebrate! Next year, and the year after. I promise.”
He nodded from his spot buried against my neck. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
I meant what I said, but just in case... “We’d better get going, we have a lot to do today! You said something about skating?”
16
Wolf
I knew that I’d been standing here for a while, my jaw hanging down to my chest, but I couldn’t bring myself to move. It was… magical. No other word could describe it.
And Noel, goddess bless him, didn’t rush me at all. He stood patiently by my side, though I was sure he’d seen it all dozens of times before. The tree that stood in the town square rose impossibly high into the sky, not even swaying in the breeze. It was decked to the nines, every inch covered in twinkling lights and sparkling garlands. I couldn’t tear my eyes away.
My breath puffed out in front of my face until I closed my mouth with a snap. I finally looked away from the tree to take in the rest of the square. The pathways through the square had all been cleared, but the snow was still piled high. There was also a skating rink set up, which was our destination.
“Ready?” Noel broke the silence, and I turned to see his adorable smirk.
“I’m sorry for making you wait. This must be so boring for you.”
“Are you kidding? This is like seeing it all through a whole new set of eyes. I don’t mind waiting. Take your time.”
I was starting to feel a bit self-conscious about the way he was watching me. Was my reaction all that different from anyone else’s? I assessed the crowds of families and couples in the square. They were all strolling along, smiling and laughing, but nobody was gaping in quite the slack-jawed way that I was. I tried to rein in the enthusiasm, but Noel nudged me with his elbow. “Don’t worry, nobody’s watching. Well, except me. But I think I might be a bit fixated on you.” He threw me a wink, and a warmth bloomed in my chest, holding back the winter chill.
I’d never been skating before, not once in any of my lifetimes. Noel sat me down on a bench along the edge of the frozen surface and crouched down in front of me to strap on the skates. I tried to follow his movements, but his fingers moved with such assured flourishes, my face scrunched up with the effort. The skates felt like they were hugging my feet, and I had a suspicion that their reassuring embrace could not be trusted.
Far too soon, Noel had his own skates on, and he was pulling me to my feet. “Are you ready?”
I gulped. “Sure…” I said, my quivering voice belying my attempted casual attitude.
“I won’t let you fall,” Noel assured me.
“Uh huh.” I knew he meant well, but there was no way he could hold me up if my bulky body was determined to tumble.
I took a few steps on wobbling feet towards the rink. I stilled my teetering and straightened up, trying to appear confident.
“See that kid?” Noel said, pointing to a little boy, his legs steepled wide and knees bent, back slanted forward, arms held out. “That right there is what you should be aiming for.”
“But—” I started, my eyes going to the couples spiraling around the rink with practiced ease.
Noel followed my gaze. “Yeah, no.” He shook his head and stepped out onto the ice. He pushed once and then turned back, holding his hands out for me to take. “You are literally going to want to take this with baby steps.”
“Pfft,” I made a very immature sound to express my incredulity. “I’ve so got this.”
I placed one foot out onto the ice, gave a push off the bank with the other… and was ass over teakettle in two seconds flat.
“Owww,” I groaned.
“Ditto,” an echoing groan answered.
It was then that I realized I wasn’t flat on the ice like I should have been. There was something lumpy and slightly soft beneath my back. I propped myself up and looked down to find Noel splayed face down on the ice. “How did you get over here so fast? Weren’t you just over there?”
“I said I wouldn’t let you fall,” he moaned. “I couldn’t break my promise in the first five seconds.”
“You threw yourself onto the ice to catch me?” I asked. My heart wanted to melt that he would go to such lengths to protect me from a few bruises, but then my temper flared. I tried to stand, but after flailing wildly, arms and legs akimbo, I finally settled for kneeling on the ice and pulling Noel into my arms. “Don’t you ever do that again,” I said sternly.
“What? Why not? I don’t mind a few bumps and bruises.” His face scrunched up in confusion.
“But what about the baby?” I said, gripping his face between my palms.
Guilt clouded his expression. “I didn’t even think about it, I just acted out of instinct.”
“Help me over to that gazebo,” I told him, and together we w
orked to get me onto my feet long enough to stumble over.
I plunked myself down onto a bench, and pulled Noel down beside me. “It’s my job to take care of you and our child. Do you understand? I can’t—won’t—take any risks with either of you. Do you hear me?” My voice was raised, and I cleared my throat, trying to calm my rising blood pressure.
Noel’s lip jutted out, and it almost looked like he was about to cry. I wrapped him up into my arms. “I’m not angry with you, omega mine. I’m just… I don’t want to live another day without you.”
He hooked his arms around my middle and clung to me with desperation. “I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered fervently.
“Promise?” I asked, pulling his final Christmas present from my pocket.
Noel pulled back to look into my eyes, but then he turned his gaze to the velvet box I held out to him. He hesitated, looking back and forth between me and the box. For a moment I thought he wouldn’t take it, but then he reached out and gingerly cupped the box between his palms.
“Wolf?”
“Open it.” I held my breath as he opened the box, and his own breath hitched in his throat, causing my heart to stutter. “This isn’t exactly as romantic as I wanted,” I rushed out. “I had all these big gestures planned. I wanted to make a huge deal out of this, but then—”
“Then what?” Noel said, his eyes jumping up and boring into mine.
I took the box from his hand and plucked the ring from its place nestled in the velvet. “And then I realized that I have waited long enough. I don’t want to spend another second of my life without being tied to you. This may not be big or flashy, but...” I stumbled on my skates, carefully lowering myself onto my knees in front of Noel and took his hands in mine. “Will you marry me?”
Noel’s eyes were looking a little misty, and I gently ran a thumb along his cheek, catching the tears before they could fall.
He gasped a little, searching for words. “I think waiting hundreds of years is a pretty impressive gesture.”
“Is that a yes?” I asked, my stomach plummeting.
“Yes! Of course that’s a yes,” he said, throwing himself at me. I barely caught him and somehow managed to avoid us both going over.
“Wait!” I said, laughing. “Can I at least put the ring on before you maul me?”
Noel straightened himself up, trying his best to look serious but completely unable to contain his bliss. He pulled off his left mitt and held his trembling fingers toward me. “I can’t believe this is really happening. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought to ask for this. For you.”
I slipped the ring onto his finger, and he held his hand up, allowing the light to glint off the metal. “Where on earth did you get this ring? You don’t even have a job, how could you afford it?”
I shrugged casually, but I could tell by his expression that I wasn’t about to get away with a vague answer. It was only fair, I supposed, that he knew everything about me. “It’s an old family ring,” I said, but he gave me a stern frown, letting me know that wasn’t enough. I sighed. “I bought it for you… three hundred years ago. It was meant to be Adam’s Christmas present, but Edmund never had the chance to give it to him. So… Merry Christmas, I guess.”
Noel leaned in and peppered my face with kisses before finally planting his lips firmly against mine. His tongue swept through my mouth, and the kiss got deeper right quick. I reached around Noel and grabbed his ass, pulling him into my lap until he was straddling me. As my cock gave a twitch, I realized this could quickly get far too mature for the family-friendly audience we were attracting here.
“We should take this somewhere else,” I mumbled against his lips.
“Well, it just so happens that I had somewhere else I was planning on taking you.”
I leaned back to take in Noel’s smirk. It spoke of mischief, but not necessarily the sexy kind. “What do you have planned, Mr. Dunkeld. You look like the cat that ate the canary.”
“You’ll just have to wait and see. I guarantee it’s a Christmas experience like no other. But first things first, we should get you out of those skates. My plans do not include a trip to the hospital to set a broken ankle.”
Noel ground down against my crotch on his way up, and I clamped my lips down, stifling a moan. The devilish gleam in his eye let me know he knew exactly what he was doing to me. He reached down to take my hand and pull me up, before settling me down onto the bench.
And this time, when he knelt down in front of me to take off my skates, my thoughts drifted to all the other things he could do while he was down there. I reached out and wound my fingers through his hair, tugging just enough to let him know what I was thinking.
Noel looked up at me from under his lashes, his gaze intense. “Stick a pin in that thought. I promise we’ll revisit later tonight.” He bit his lip and it nearly drove me wild.
“I have so many plans for you,” I purred, and Noel ran his hands up to my thighs before standing and taking a step back. He closed his eyes and unzipped his coat, flapping the sides of it to let in some cold air.
“You’d better cool down too, because you don’t want to find yourself all hot and bothered at our next stop. It could get you in trouble.” Noel gave me a twisted smile.
“Are we going to church?” I asked, confused. It would be a new holiday experience for me, I was certain they had all kinds of events and sermons planned. And I would most definitely get in trouble for having a hard-on.
But that wasn’t quite the kind of trouble Noel meant.
“The worst part of winter is all the bulky clothing. It covers everything up,” Nana said, running her eyes up and down the length of our bodies. “It’s a good thing I have a healthy imagination.” She waggled her eyebrows at us.
I looked over at Noel, and whatever expression I was sporting had him stifling his giggle.
A young man came around the corner, and quickly threw an arm around her shoulders. “Nana, Mom needs your help in the kitchen.”
“Oh poo. You spoil all my fun.” She huffed and shuffled her slipper-clad feet into the kitchen, muttering about how the family didn’t have a chance of running this house without her.
“Did your mom actually need her help?” Noel asked, giving the man a hug.
He laughed. “Not at all, and I’ll probably have to wash all the dishes in penance for sending her in there.”
I felt a small twinge of jealousy at their close contact and obvious rapport, but now that I knew Noel’s pregnancy was the cause of last night’s overreaction, I paid close attention to my protective urges and kept them in check. Besides, I could sense that this man was an omega, and my baser instincts could tell that he wasn’t a threat to my mate.
My future husband.
A thrill went through me, and a huge smile lit up my face just as the man turned to me with his hand outstretched. “You must be Wolf,” he said. “My name is Finn Stewart. I’ve heard a lot about you from my sister, Ella. In fact, she’s barely stopped talking about you two since I got home. Is it all true?”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said, clasping his hand in mine. “I’ve heard a lot about you too, though I promise nothing quite so far-fetched as my story.”
“You sound sceptical,” Noel said. His tone of voice sounded like he was challenging Finn to doubt me.
Finn held his hands up in surrender. “Who am I to say what’s possible in Vale Valley?”
A second man came down the hall, with a baby in his arms. Even though he was obviously an alpha, all testosterone, I could also sense that he was mated to Finn, loyal to the core, and protective of his mate and child. I allowed myself to relax my reflexes.
But I still moved closer to Noel and placed a hand on his lower back. I told myself that it was a natural human pose to take in a normal human setting. Nothing threatening about my stance, right?
Luckily no one seemed to notice that I was gently resting on the balls of my feet, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice.
But then I felt something against my shin.
“Wow,” the alpha said. “Daniel really seems to like you. And he doesn’t like anyone. Other than Finn, that is.”
I reached down and picked up Daniel. He rubbed his face against my chin and then settled into my arms. Three astonished faces stared at me.
“Fine praise, and I trust his judgement.” The alpha held his hand out to me. “Pierce Hanover,” he said by way of introduction. “And this little gem is Marie.”
I shook his hand, and told myself not to squeeze too hard. I wasn’t here, on his territory, to exert dominance. I focused, instead, on the tiny bundle in his arms. She was the most precious thing I’d ever seen, and when Noel’s hand fit into mine, I knew we shared the same dream for our future. We wanted exactly what Finn and Pierce had: love, safety, and a happily ever after.
We chatted for a bit and then Finn’s nana came shuffling back out of the kitchen, a frown further creasing her wrinkled face. “I can’t believe I’ve been banished from my own kitchen,” she grumbled. “Come on, I’ve been sent to escort you all to the table.” She rolled her eyes, expressing just exactly what she thought of her duties.
I was introduced to Finn’s other sisters, Monica and Kristen. There was no doubt these people were related to each other. They all sported the same dark hair and eyes, and they all exuded the same dominant vibe. My hackles nearly rose with each introduction. How did they survive living in a house with so many alphas?
As we settled in at the table, Ella sidled up next to me. “Pst,” she whispered.
“Hey! Merry Christmas!” I said.
“Shh! Do you have to be so loud? Someone will hear you,” she hissed.
I looked around the room at her family, wondering who she was trying to hide from. Probably her nana. “Here’s the stuff.”
Ella tapped my leg with something, and when I looked under the table, I saw that it was a brown envelope. I opened it and slid out the papers. There was a birth certificate—which was good because getting married without it might prove difficult. “Wulfric Lovel? That’s the best you could come up with? I have to live with that name.”
