I jumped when my phone rang in my pocket. “Hello?”
“Mandy, is everything alright?” Lizzie was on the other end of the call. She sounded frantic.
“Lizzie! It’s been a very strange day. Something weird is going on. First, I was attacked in an alley, and the shifter who attacked me was picked up and flown away by something that shouldn’t exist anymore. Then I almost ran into another shifter when I left the alley, and he walked me home. But when we got here someone was waiting and watching across the street. Jax, the guy who walked me home, ran after him. Now I’m standing outside of my apartment, hoping Jax will return safe and sound.” I couldn’t stop rambling.
“Mandy, listen to me. You’re in danger! Get inside right now!” She practically yelled at me.
“What? Why? But…Jax isn’t back yet. He might need help.” Biting my lip I looked around trying to find Jax.
“Mandy, this is Mrs. Claus talking, not your sister, now get inside. You can look out your window for him if you want. You need to go inside before it’s too late. Rock is coming down tomorrow to get you and bring you home.”
“Yes, ma’am.” What else could I do when the wife of my Alpha gave me a direct order? I went upstairs and locked myself in my apartment.
“Okay, I’m inside. What’s going on?” I walked over to the window and opened the curtains, hoping to catch a glimpse of Jax.
“Check your apartment to make sure no one is inside with you. Stay on the phone with me. Do you still have the baseball bat I gave you?” Lizzie had given me a bat to keep by my bed when I left for college. She said it was just added protection against an intruder. I wondered if she may have known something even back then.
“Yes, I’ll go get it before I do anything else.”
While keeping my eyes and ears open for any movement or sounds I quickly made my way to my bedroom. It was only a one-bedroom apartment, there weren’t many places a person could hide. Most good spots would have been in the bedroom.
The bat was right next to my bed, where it had stayed since I moved in right before my junior year of college. I picked it up and used the end to open the closet doors while holding my phone in my other hand.
“Mandy, are you okay? Is it all clear?” Lizzie whispered into the phone.
“Shh.” I quietly responded.
While I couldn’t hear or sense anyone else in my apartment, I wasn’t going to take any chances. Some shifters were good at hiding their tracks. All I needed was to let my guard down and have someone pounce on me while I slept and abduct me!
When the closet door was opened, I used my bat to check all of the space in the closet. If someone was in there, I would have seriously injured them. My bat went back and forth through the middle knocking down clothes and hangers. I didn’t care about the mess, I only wanted to make sure no one was hiding in there.
I whispered into the phone, “So far, no one.”
“Good, keep looking. Rock just left. Palo changed his mind and sent him in the jet while you were rambling. Mikey Jr. is going to fly him down. They’ll help you pack up and head home. As long as your place is locked, tight stay where you are and don’t answer the door for anyone besides Rock and Mikey Jr.” My sister’s voice sounded strained.
Next I looked under the bed and found nothing but a dirty sock and dust mites.
“Lizzie, what’s going on?” I asked as I made my way to the bathroom next.
Thankfully, the shower door was clear and it was obvious no one was hiding in there.
The living room and kitchen were next on my list to investigate.
“I had a vision. Someone was after you and grabbed you off the street right in front of your apartment. Please, don’t go back outside alone. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.” She took a deep breath, and I heard her husband, the current Santa, tell her to sit down.
“Lizzie, take it easy. I’m not going anywhere until Rock gets here. Don’t worry. I’ll stay awake and pack until they get here. I won’t even order out for dinner. I’ll just find something in my cupboards to eat.” I wasn’t about to add to my sister’s worry. She had enough on her plate this year.
“I’m sorry you won’t get to finish out the month there. I know we agreed you could stay there for a couple more weeks. It’s just too dangerous, with my vision and what happened to you tonight, you can’t stay.” Lizzie’s voice cracked, like she was holding back tears.
“Hey, it’s alright. I’m fine. I was able to fight off the guy earlier and would have kicked his butt to kingdom come if he hadn’t been rescued by the flying demon.” I had to have seen it wrong, there is no way that’s what my eyes were telling me. I wasn’t even sure I could voice the name of what it was.
“Flying demon? What are you talking about?”
“I know it’s not possible, but the thing that plucked the guy out of the alley looked like it was either a guy flying a glider with movable wings and a barbed tail, or…well I really don’t want to say it. You’ll just laugh at me.” I couldn’t bring myself to say it to myself, let alone out loud.
“Mandy, just tell me. I promise I won’t laugh.” When my sister promised, she meant it.
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this out loud, but it looked like a dragon. There, I said it! Now tell me how crazy I am.” In all of my shifter studies, there had never been proof dragons existed. Sure, we all hoped they were real as kids, but I wasn’t a kid anymore.
“Um…” She started before I interrupted.
“I know. You don’t have to say it. They don’t exist. I honestly don’t know what it was.”
“Actually, I was going to tell you it’s possible. Don’t say anything to Rock, or anyone else, but dragons do exist. There are a couple of small dragon clans in Asia. Palo said he had never seen any anywhere else in the world. Santa delivers presents to the young dragons. It’s supposed to be a secret. They have no desire to join the world again.” Lizzie had gone on a few runs with our dad when she was a teenager, before we knew who she would marry. If she said they were real, then they were.
“Lizzie, are you serious?” I was incredulous. Dragons are real?
“Yes, we can talk some more about them when you get here. Have you checked everywhere in your apartment? Are all of your doors and windows locked?”
“Yes, mom,” I teased.
I knew it was a serious situation, but Lizzie was getting too stressed out. Now that I was in my apartment all alone, I knew I would be safe until Rock arrived. It would only be a few hours.
“Please, just remember to keep everything locked tight and don’t open the door for anyone, not even that Jax boy. You don’t know him. For all we know, he’s part of whatever is going on.”
I didn’t believe Jax was out to hurt me. He seemed genuine. However, I would keep the door shut if he made his way back here.
“Don’t worry about me. I’m safe and will stay so while I wait for Rock and Mikey Jr.” At least, I hoped I would stay safe.
“Alright, keep your phone on you at all times and call me if you even suspect you might be in danger. I love you and I’ll see you soon.” Lizzie’s voice cracked and it almost sounded like she was crying.
“Lizzie, I’ll be fine. I’ve been training regularly since I moved here. No one is going to hurt me. I’ll be home before you even know it. Get some sleep.” I hoped she wouldn’t stay up all night worrying about me.
I hung up and went to my room to start packing my things. There wasn’t going to be a lot of time before the guys showed up and wanted to start hauling everything away.
Every so often, I looked out the window wondering what happened to Jax. I hoped he wasn’t injured. He should have come back already. Was he purposely staying away from me? I couldn’t blame him. I did seem to be a danger magnet. If he had heard any of what was going on in the alley before I met him, he knows I was in some big trouble.
He would be smart to stay away from me, and not just because I was leaving tonight, although he didn
’t know that. My life was one of danger. It always would be. There was always someone trying to hurt the Claus family. Even though I’m only the current Santa’s sister-in-law, everyone knows family means the world to us. Hurting me would hurt Santa Claus.
After about an hour, I heard a commotion outside, and ran to my bedroom window.
Fully expecting to see Jax, or the guy who was after me, I was disappointed when I only saw some teenage boys skateboarding off the steps of my apartment complex.
My shoulders sagged, and I couldn’t help but wish for Jax to come by. If for nothing else but to say goodbye and let me know he was safe.
When I turned back to my packing, I felt the hairs on my neck standing up again. “Jax?” I whispered.
Chapter 3
When I looked out the window again, I couldn’t see well enough thanks to the amber glow of the lights shining in my apartment. I ran to my bedroom door and closed it, turning off my bedroom lights, I made my way to the window. If it wasn’t Jax, I didn’t need my stalker knowing I was looking outside.
I still couldn’t see anything other than the low lying clouds covering the city, or the sparkle of the streetlight across from my apartment.
The feeling of someone’s eyes on me disappeared, and I figured it was just my imagination wanting Jax to be there. I sent up a request to the Creator to keep Jax safe. He was cute and a shifter of some sort. While part of me hoped I would see him again, another part realized it didn’t matter. Unless he was an arctic shifter, nothing could happen between us.
Besides, Rock was on his way. Lizzie told me last week that he and my cousin, Chrissie, weren’t together anymore. Her dad arranged a marriage for her with the son of an alpha in Canada. My uncle felt the ties between his pack and ours was strong enough. He wanted to strengthen ties with the Canadian pack by having his daughter be the mate to their future Alpha. Political marriages sucked.
However, in this case, I think I approved of mating for politics.
◊◊◊
I smiled while packing up the last few boxes in my bedroom. I had never been so glad for my new neighbor. He moved in last month, and I asked him for his boxes once he unpacked, knowing I would need them. Sometimes I could be a genius.
The night had been quiet and time zoomed past before I realized I had almost my entire apartment packed. Not that it should take long to pack, I only had the basic necessities here in Seattle.
I stood up to stretch my sore back and legs.
The loud knocking on my door startled me and I jumped. It had better be Rock.
“Who is it?” I asked when I was almost to the door, bat in hand.
“It’s us, Rock and Mikey. Your knights in shining armor,” Rock joked.
With a bit of excitement in my step, I opened the door to let the guys in. Rock’s perfect form took my breath away. All thoughts of Jax left me.
Without even realizing what I was doing, I grabbed Rock and pulled him in tight. I wasn’t normally the hugging type, but I had missed Rock and felt safer knowing he was here.
“Hey, where’s my hug? I did fly the plane to get us here, you know.” Mikey Jr. smirked.
“Thanks, Mikey.” I punched his arm before giving him a half-hearted hug.
“Hey! Knock that silly stuff off. I don’t hug.” The tiny smile coming from the side of Mikey’s mouth told me he was glad to see me too.
“So, what happened tonight, Mandy? Tell me everything.” Rock looked intently into my eyes as he moved into my place.
Normally, Rock ignored me or just rolled his eyes when I tried to talk with him.
Maybe he’s actually worried about my safety?
“Well, you might want to take a seat for this.” I recounted the craziness that was my night, and watched as both men in my tiny living room went from surprised to angry.
Rock jumped up and paced the small space between my sofa and the kitchen.
“Son of a nutcracker! I want to find this Jax and make sure he isn’t a threat, but your sister said to get you back right away. Once you’re home and safe, I can begin the investigation.” The hand Rock laid on my shoulder was surprisingly comforting.
“Hold up, I don’t think Jax is a bad guy. He could have easily hurt me or taken me while he walked me home. Instead, he took off chasing someone when we both sensed we were being watched. I just wish I knew he was okay. I hate to think something might have happened to him when it was me they were after.” I bit my lip and stood, heading to my window for what must have been the hundredth time since I returned home.
Still no sign of Jax or anyone suspicious outside my apartment.
“What do you think’s going on? Why attack me now, right before I return home? I’ve been here for four years already with absolutely nothing weird happening.” I plunked down on the sofa next to Mikey.
“That’s what we are going to find out. I’m guessing getting you was a last ditch attempt to get our attention. While I doubt they would kill you, it is very possible they would hurt you in an effort to get to Santa.” Rock’s face contorted in rage.
“It makes no sense. Killing me won’t change anything. Nor will hurting me. I have no control over Santa and his pack. I may be his sister-in-law, but he isn’t going to do anything to harm Christmas, even if my life is on the line. The children of the world are so much more important than I am. I wouldn’t want him to compromise himself to protect me.” It miffed me to no end to think anyone would try to hurt the world’s children.
“You do your family honor, Mandy. We all know how you feel, it’s how all of us feel. But shifters are no different than the humans sometimes. Some are just dumb and want a fight, no matter what. Others will never be happy with our current leader. They think they know best, and whoever they want as leader is the only option. Look at the humans’ last election. It doesn’t matter who ended up as president, both sides were unhappy. One side even tried to steal the position from the voters. It’s just nature, human or otherwise.” Rock’s face was like stone.
He really believed what he said. Maybe he was right. I wouldn’t know what these freaks wanted with me until I had a face to face with one who was in a talking mood.
When Palo married my sister, I thought the fighting would be over. Or at least we wouldn’t see any more attempts on our family’s lives. Lizzie marrying the Alpha of the former Greenland Pack should have appeased the European packs.
When my father did his tour to get rid of all the arctic wolf shifters who assisted in the murder of my uncle, he saw peace until it came time for Lizzy to choose her mate and the future Santa.
Palo and Lizzie together stopped them. Everyone seemed happy to have a European Santa.
Why are mysterious shifters coming after me now? And why would they care about Christmas? No one other than an arctic wolf shifter could be Santa.
I’ve been here for four years and never once had an issue. The timing was suspect to be sure. I was preparing to return home at the end of the month and it would be almost impossible to get to me once I was at the North Pole.
Was that why they were coming after me now? Or did they just recently discover my location? Or was this just a last minute plan to try to force Santa to do something he refused?
“Mandy, Santa wants us to hurry up. I’m sorry, but you’re only going to be able to take what you need. All of the furniture needs to stay. Your sister said she would hire someone to come and clean the place before sending your keys in to the manager.”
Rock’s news wasn’t too surprising. It’s not like we had all the time in the world to make multiple trips.
“I take it that means I can only bring what fits in the car?” I really hoped we could take all of my boxes. I wasn’t in love with my kitchen items, but the rest of the boxes I wanted to keep.
“I brought a utility van, you can take as much as can fit inside. Maybe if I can get back here before the end of the month, I can bring back more stuff, just no furniture.” Rock pursed his lips and looked to the stacks of boxes I ha
d in the living room. It wasn’t all going to fit in one trip.
“If we stay together, we could make two trips safely. Come on, Rock. I promise I’ll do whatever you say. Just don’t make me leave anything behind.” I looked up into his face with puppy dog eyes and pouty lips.
“Let’s make one trip and see how safe it is to come back. We don’t have a lot of time, but we can probably make a quick second trip if everything is clear.” Mikey suggested as he looked to Rock to confirm.
“Fine, but let’s hurry up. I promised your brother I’d have you home safely before dinner.” Rock picked up two boxes and motioned for me to open the door for him.
“You stay here and keep packing while we take these downstairs. If there are any boxes you want more than the others, just point them out.” Mikey was actually being more helpful than Rock. At least one of my saviors understood what I needed.
Mikey was the joker of the group. He was never rude to me, the big lug just teased me as though I was his little sister. I didn’t mind, it was better than being ignored by Rock for most of my youth.
“Thanks, Mikey. The boxes in my bedroom should probably go before anything else out here.” I motioned to the bedroom and he followed me back.
It didn’t take long to fill up the van. We got most of the bedroom boxes.
“See, that didn’t take long. I bet there’s no traffic getting to the airport, either. Which one did you land at?” I asked as we all got inside the van and headed to the freeway.
“Renton,” Mikey responded as he drove us away from my apartment.
Before we made it to the freeway, I heard a screeching sound. My ears hurt it was so high pitched. The area dogs didn’t care for it either. Barking joined the soundtrack before we felt something land on top of us.
“Watch out!” I screamed as I pointed to the figure in the road before us.
Mikey slammed on his brakes and swerved to miss the man standing in the road. The deep squeal of the brakes and the baritone sounds of the tires scraping along the blacktop added depth to the myriad sounds of the attack unfolding all around us.
Miss Claus Under The Mistletoe Page 2
