Miss Claus Under The Mistletoe (A Shifter Christmas Romance Book 2)

by J. L. Hendricks

  “Cheater.” I whispered to Jax when I stood next to him.

  “You said you would stand by my side today.” The dragon shrugged. He wasn’t going to let me get far away from him today.

  “Jax, change into your dragon form and come after Mandy. I want you to attack her, like you would any enemy. This first display isn’t about kidnapping her, I want you to try and disable her. Just remember, this is for training, not for real. So be careful.” Rock said as he back away.

  “What am I supposed to do?” So far no one had instructed us on how to defend against a dragon.

  “Use your training to fend him off.” Mikey Jr. called out.

  “Any tips?” I asked of Jax before he shifted.

  “Watch out for my tail.” He laughed and stepped further away from me before shimmering and shifting into a large black dragon.

  The girls all shrieked in excitement, not terror. The guys laughed and clapped as though this was a movie. Everyone here seemed to love the dragon on display. Various statements of awe and excitement were floating around.

  “Check out those talons!”

  “He’s got razor sharp fangs!”

  “The better to eat you with.” Jax said in his raspy, baritone dragon voice.

  The girls who were giggling and touching him earlier moved closer and put their hands out to touch his face.

  Jax snapped his jaws in their direction and the girls shrieked and jumped back.

  “Dragons may look cool, but they aren’t always as nice as Jax. Never approach a dragon in their natural form if you don’t know them well.” Rock said.

  “Mandy, see what his dragon does when you get close to him.” Rock ordered.

  I looked out at the expectant faces and sighed before nearing Jax. His dragon was already familiar with me, he shouldn’t be a danger, but one never knew with monsters. Well, maybe Jax wasn’t a monster.

  Stepping in closer to him I smiled and put my hand out. His snout sniffed my hand and he rubbed the side of his head up against my hand. Jax’s dragon skin was silky against my hand. When I smiled he snorted and a spiral of smoke escaped his nostrils.

  Our audience gasped collectively, but I knew he wasn’t going to blow fire at me. It was just smoke.

  “Let this serve as a lesson, while the human form may be nice, the dragon form still needs to get to know you. Jax’s dragon form spent time with Mandy when they were fighting to get away from Alexandru’s pack.” Rock turned back to us, “Alright, Jax I need you to attack her with your talons, horns, or teeth. Just no fire, yet.”

  “Rock! No fire at all!” I shook my head appalled he would consider having a dragon breath fire at me just for a demonstration. I’d had enough dragon fire to last me a while.

  Rock cringed, “Sorry, Mandy. That was a bad joke.”

  I ignored Rock and looked to Jax. “Alright, let’s get this done. I want to know how to kick your butt.”

  “Just get behind me and kick. But I would watch out for my tail if I were you.” Jax snorted his laugh and more smoke escaped his nose.

  “No thanks! I’ve already been bowled over once by your tail. I really don’t need a repeat.” I rolled my eyes at his attempt at a joke.

  The girls from earlier, Candy, Letty, and Dawn, giggled and checked out his tail.

  “Alright, let’s get this going. Should I just run under you and punch at your underbelly? Is it soft or sensitive?” I had no clue what would cause him pain.

  Jax didn’t answer verbally; instead his giant maw came at me showing off his fangs dripping with saliva.

  I dashed to my left and rolled forward as his head tracked my movements.

  Knowing I wouldn’t hurt him, when his mouth got near me again I pulled back my arm and punched his nostrils as hard as I could.

  Jax pulled his head back and shook it, then sneezed. More smoke came out along with a small plume of fire.

  I shook my hand from the pain of hitting a dragon in it’s snout.

  “Ahh!” Some of those closest to me exclaimed as they leaned back away from the display we were making.

  Rock clapped and Jax stopped looking for me. I had rolled under his belly and looking at his stomach to see if there were any spots which could be considered sensitive. He had a week point, he practically admitted to it last night. I just need to find it.

  The pattern of his scales changed a tiny amount in one spot next to his left leg. I couldn’t tell if it was a natural disruption to the pattern of his scales or if it was a scar of some sort. My wolf wanted me to hit the spot with everything I had.

  “Mandy! Where are you?” Rock called out.

  I came out from between Jax’s legs and everyone laughed.

  “What? It’s not like he can easily see the area where I stood, right?” I looked up to Jax and his mouth pulled back from his teeth while his eyes hooded and a deep cackle came out of his mouth.

  “Was that a laugh?” I chuckled when I looked up at him.

  What I hadn’t realized last time I saw him were his eyes. They had the reptilian shape to them, but the color was various shades of silver and periwinkle. A black iris was in the very middle of his eyes with the colors fanning out to the edge of his eyes. They were mesmerizing. He was beautiful. I hadn’t taken the time to appreciate his beauty when we were in the cave because we were too busy trying to escape with our lives.

  Now? Now I wanted to do nothing but look into his eyes and learn every part of his body. Not in a creepy stalker way, but in the way one examines a priceless piece of art.

  As I moved from his gaze I noticed the scales on his body shimmered with silver when the light hit him just right.

  “Care to go for a ride? A real ride? Not one with me running down the tunnel in a cave?” Jax was referring to when I jumped on his back as we were trying to escape our cell.

  Chuckling I said, “I doubt Rock is done with his demonstration. We should probably play nice for the first day.”

  I patted his side when he huffed and stared at Rock.

  “What do you want now?” The edge in Jax’s voice was unmistakable.

  “Now, tell us how we can defend against an attack from one of your kind.” Rock responded.

  “When Mandy latched her jaws onto Alexandru’s leg, she was close. Our legs don’t have many pain receptors so biting them won’t do much good, unless you can break the bone. I doubt an arctic wolf could do it alone. But on the underside of a dragon is a sensitive spot. Hit it with everything you have and it will down a dragon in extreme pain.” Jax winced, watching as I walked underneath him again.

  When I found the anomalous spot I identified earlier I pushed on it and called out, “this spot?”

  He jumped back and roared.

  “Sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you.” I yelled out and ran out away from him before he accidentally trampled me.

  “It didn’t hurt, it’s just a very sensitive spot. Like a human’s family jewels.”

  My face flushed and I knew it was redder than Rudolph’s nose. I had no idea a dragon’s privates were located there.

  Our audience broke out howling with laughter.

  I was mortified! All I wanted to do was climb into a hole and die.

  Jax’s head turned around and watched as everyone laughed at me, and him. He leaned down and said, “Get on. Let’s go for a ride.”

  He didn’t have to ask me twice. Okay, maybe he did. I jumped on and clung to his neck like I did the last time I was sitting on his neck.

  “Hold on tight!” He hollered as he took off and everyone stopped laughing. I took one look back and our audience were all looking on in awe and wonder.

  “That’ll give them something to remember!” I yelled out to Jax as he banked right and headed to the Jingle Bell Forest.

  Chapter 18

  Mandy

  Flying in the air this time was exhilarating. The sky was crisp and clean as we soared over the village and out of town. While it was cold, it was exciting. My hair blew behind my head as Jax banked ri
ght and then left following the air current and enjoying the ride.

  Neither of us spoke. It would be difficult to have an actual conversation in the air, and I wanted to watch as we passed over the frozen tundra of my home. Off to the right I could barely make out the form of Maker’s Rock.

  Next time I would have to challenge him to a race. He could fly through the air while I flew on the ground.

  As we neared the forest I wished it was further out. I didn’t want to stop.

  The moment Jax landed on the outskirts of the tree line I whooped and hollered, “Yes! That was awesome!”

  “You want to jump off and maybe we can talk?” Jax suggested.

  “Oh, right.” I slid off his neck and jumped down to the soft snow beneath.

  “Do you have clothes to change into? Or will you need to stay in your dragon form?” I hadn’t seen him with a pack so I wondered what he would do.

  “I’ll stay in dragon form. Eventually, we’ll have to head back.” He replied.

  “I can’t believe how freeing it is to fly. No wonder you prefer to stay in the mountains where it’s safer for you to be in your dragon form.”

  “Yeah, there’s nothing like the feeling of riding through the clouds on a cold winter day. I love days like today, just as the sun is rising the air is crisp and cold and no one is around to disturb the serene beauty as I fly higher and higher. I can’t take you too high but just know I usually fly above the clouds.”

  “Your dragon lungs can handle the lack of oxygen that high?” He was right, I wouldn’t be able to go very high before I had an issue with breathing.

  “Yes. We can handle extreme temps as well as very low oxygen levels. It’s safer for us to fly above the radar, so to speak. Most people wouldn’t be able to see us on the ground. All we have to watch out for are planes. There are certain areas they don’t fly over so we tend to stick to those parts of the sky. The last thing we need is a plane full of humans to see us and take pictures.” Jax pulled his wings into his body and settled down on the ground next to me.

  Even though I was wearing thermal underwear beneath my jogging suit, I still needed the down jacket to keep me warm. While we were flying, it wasn’t quite enough to keep my teeth from chattering. On the ground I was starting to warm back up.

  “Have you ever had gingerbread cookies?” It was time I started asking normal questions, like what he liked to eat.

  “I’ve never had them. What do they taste like?”

  “Ohh, you’ll have to help me and Lizzie make them later today. They have a cinnamon and molasses flavor that just melts on your tongue. There’s probably a lot of Christmas traditions you’ve never experienced since you don’t really celebrate the season. This is going to be fun, showing you everything we do here and helping Santa to get ready for his big ride on Christmas Eve.” I just knew Jax would enjoy it all.

  “Alright. I’m here to help. Just tell me what needs to be done.” Jax straightened himself up and puffed out this dragon chest.

  My hands dug into the snow surrounding us. “You don’t always have to work. We can also have fun doing different things.”

  “Like…” He wasn’t able to finish his sentence.

  I threw a large snowball at his nose and jumped up readying another volley. I doubted he could throw a snowball in his current form.

  Jax shook his head, “What was that for?”

  “Just for fun. Lighten up and let loose a little.” I threw two more snowballs at him before he stood up to his full height and used his taloned feet to shovel a huge pile of snow at me.

  The snow was heavy enough to knock me back on my butt. I broke out laughing and layed on my back and started to make snow angels.

  “What is that?” Jax asked curling his lips back.

  “It’s a snow angel. As kids we used to fall back on freshly fallen snow and move our arms and legs to create an angle. It’s still fun once in a while.” I couldn’t remember the last time I let loose and did this.

  Living in Seattle was very different from the North Pole.

  “Do you think we should head back? Will Rock be angry?” Jax turned his head toward our village and stared into the expanse of white before him.

  “He won’t be mad, but he will be disappointed if he can’t finish his lesson today. Come on, let’s go.” I jumped up on Jax’s back and prepared to head home.

  Even though it was only a short time, this morning had been fun.

  ◊◊◊

  After we made it back, Rock had us all do drills until I was panting and could hardly move. I really was in bad shape. The next few weeks were going to be very difficult.

  I answered the doorbell to see Jax on my doorstep about an hour after we were released from training.

  “Come on, Lizzie has already started making the dough. The best part is cutting them into little gingerbread boys and girls and then decorating them once they come out of the oven.” I said as I pulled him by the hand into the kitchen.

  Lizzie looked up and said, “Stop!”

  Jax and I both stopped and my brows rose as I waited for her to say why we had to stop.

  “Look up.” Lizzie giggled.

  When I did I sighed.

  “What’s that?” Jax asked puzzled about the green leaves wrapped in red ribbon hanging above us.

  “That wasn’t there earlier, sis. What are you doing?” I huffed.

  “Just helping Jax to experience all Christmas has to offer.” She winked and made a motioning movement with her hands, as if to say come on, get with it.

  “That,” I pointed above us, “Is Mistletoe.” I rolled my eyes at my sister.

  “I don’t get it. What’s Mistletoe, other than a parasitic plant that grows on trees and bushes?” Jax asked.

  “Now don’t go ruining the fun! Humans take these and hang them over doors every Christmas. It’s part of the season.” I said.

  “She forgot to tell you the most important part. When a guy and a girl are standing underneath at the same time, they have to kiss!” Lizzie winked at me and rubbed her flour coated hands together.

  “You are evil and sadistic. How did you ever become Mrs. Claus?” I narrowed my eyes at her.

  It wasn’t that I didn’t want Jax to kiss me, I just wanted our first kiss to be something he did all on his own, if we kissed at all.

  “Ouch, that hurt, sis. I’m actually sweet and helpful.” Lizzie turned her back to us.

  As I began to walk away, Jax pulled me back to him. His arms wrapped around my waist and he looked into my eyes. What I saw shocked and frightened me. His silver eyes looked to be fire. The tension between us was thick and I had a hard time breathing.

  He leaned down and when his lips touched mine an explosion went off all around us. Not like when the future Santa kisses his true mate and it’s all over the sky above them, but an explosion only I could see and feel.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned in wanting more. When he deepened the kiss my knees almost gave out. Jax’s hold on me tightened ensuring I wouldn’t fall. At least not fall on the ground. I was falling for this dragon shifter in a way I never thought possible.

  “Okay, that’s enough. Geeze, get a cave, or something.” Santa called as he walked into the kitchen and interrupted our first kiss.

  I pulled back and could feel my cheeks burn with either excitement or embarrassment, I wasn’t sure which.

  Jax didn’t let me go, he kept his arms around my waist and leaned his forehead against mine and sighed, “That was unbelievable. I think I like the mistletoe traditions.”

  “I never enjoyed before today.” I whispered.

  “Come on you two, get over here and help me with these cookies. I have to make twenty dozen by tomorrow.” Lizzie called out.

  I giggled and pulled Jax behind me as we made our way to the island counter where cooling gingerbread cookies were waiting for us.

  ◊◊◊

  The next morning I met Jax at the training center. “Hey, what’s this I
hear about Reindeer Games? Is it open to anyone? Or just your pack?”

  “Any arctic wolf is welcome to participate. The winner gets a trophy, bragging rights for the year, and the chance to assist Santa through the season. It used to be used as a way for the female Kringles to pick their future mates. We haven’t had females in my line for a long time, so we haven’t done that in ages.” I wondered if this year might be different.

  “Hmm, sounds like I might need to compete.” Jax teased.

  “I don’t think so. You aren’t an arctic wolf. Plus, I haven’t decided if I want to mate with a dragon or not yet.” I walked away sashaying as I went knowing his eyes were on me the entire time.

  “Hey, Rock. What’s up for today? More drills?” I hoped we wouldn’t have to do too many of them.

  “Yes, plus some one on one sparring. I noticed how out of shape you were yesterday. I thought you said you trained while in Seattle? What happened?” Rock stared at me and I almost winced with the intensity.

  “I was taking martial arts classes at a local gym. I thought it would be enough to keep my skills up. I always bested any sparring opponents. Guess humans just aren’t enough of a challenge, huh?” I should have asked the bears to train with me.

  “Humans will never be enough of a challenge to keep up your skills. I don’t want you going anywhere alone until you are back in form. One never knows where an assailant might hide. Your safety is important, Mandy.” Rock put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

  “I know. It’s not like I have a choice anyway. Every time I leave my house there’s enforcer right there just waiting to escort me. Or Jax comes to get me. I get it. Those rogue dragons are still an issue. Even if the dragon council says I’m safe from Alexandru, I don’t believe it.” I wanted him locked up. He deserved it.

  “Do you trust Jax?” Rock asked.

  It was a simple question, but my heart was a jumble. While I trusted my safety to Jax, I wasn’t sure if I could trust him with heart. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to trust him with my heart.

  The kiss was still at the forefront of my mind. He hadn’t tried to kiss me again the rest of the day, nor had we spoken about it. We were not left alone the rest of the night. I doubted we would have any alone time today either. After training we would be helping with cookie making, again.