“What about our Alpha? Let’s travel this winter. Maybe we’ll get lucky and meet him. I think that’s the variable the computer can’t quantify: the randomness of life.”
I don’t think life is that random. It’s just a string of events that lead to various outcomes.
“What about loneliness?” My wolf asked.
I walked a little faster but didn’t answer him. It was the overwhelming odds that I’d never find my true-mate that led to my computer program. Most days I stayed too busy with the business to think about it much. Some nights I laid awake imagining the day I found the variable and located my Alpha. I’d swoop into his life and he’d scoop me off my feet.
I turned the corner onto Gilmore Avenue and passed a man pushing a baby stroller. His little tyke sucked his thumb and watched the world through big brown eyes barely visible under his drooping hood. The man smiled at me and I nodded. My arms were empty. I wrapped them around myself to keep out the wind, but mostly to hold something living. Gloria was happily childfree. She didn’t plan on having kids. Grandma Rosa used to say that she’d change her mind when she met her omega. Gloria didn’t agree. A childfree life was fine for her, but my arms felt empty.
I dreamed about waking up next to the Alpha I’d spend the rest of my life with. He’d run his hand over my growing baby bump and whisper about how happy he was. We’d discuss names and school zones. He’d bring me breakfast in bed because I was too big and tired to waddled into the kitchen. He’d work with Gloria on security for Mated for the Holidays. She’d have more free time to herself and maybe find her own true-mate.
“You still here, Gloria?” I called out when I arrived home.
“Aidan, get in here! You have to see this!” She called from my office.
My heart dropped into my stomach. What did she break now? I sprinted down the hall kicking my shoes off as I went. I dropped my coat outside the door before entering.
“Aidan, it’s matched you. The program’s matched you to the guy you plugged into the system this morning.”
My mouth hung open. I pushed Gloria’s chair away from the computer and squatted down to get a better look. When we first started the company, I plugged my own data into the system as a tester. I’d forgotten about it as the years passed, because it never pulled me from the lottery to match with anyone else.
“It said you have a fifty-six percent chance of compatibility,” Gloria said.
“I see that.”
My wolf tilted his head and my eyes shifted to his. He squinted at the bright screen to see the numbers for himself.
“It didn’t match him with anyone else in the system. Aidan, you should go.”
“When I said I’d go myself if it ever matched me, I was joking.” I shook my head.
“This is your chance to test run the process for yourself. Besides, he’s your type.”
“I don’t have a type,” I laughed and ignored the hot blush covering my face.
“Yes, you do. He’s sexy and a Montero. That means he has some magic to him. He can help when your magic starts waking up. You’re twenty-seven. Most omegas awaken around thirty. You’re getting close and he studied with Grandma Rosa.”
She laid a printed copy of his photo in front of me on the table and slid the chair up for me to sit down. I plopped down refusing to look at the photo again. I gave up dating two years ago after my boyfriend of six months met his true-mate. Getting attached to another Alpha was the last thing on my to-do list. Sure, I sold the ‘mate for a holiday’ thing as a dream come true but wasn’t willing to swallow my own brand of make-believe.
“Aidan,” Gloria swung my chair around. “You deserve a winter off. I can take care of everything here. The business isn’t going to suffer. Besides, he’s only an hour drive from here in that little village. I think it’s called…” She checked the email before saying, “It’s called Wolford Village. That’s literally forty-eight minutes away if there’s no traffic. I know you’re waiting for him, but life is moving on with or without you. Yeah, he’s out there somewhere, but he’d want you to be happy.”
Him was how we referred to my yet to be discovered true-mate. I took a deep breath and looked at the photograph again. My wolf brushed against my ribs offering me his warmth. I wrapped my arms around myself trying to hug him. We were one and the same but separate at the same time. He knew my thoughts and my longings, because they were his too.
“Let’s do it. What’s the worst that could happen?”
Something goes wrong with the program and Gloria can’t fix it by herself.
“We can run a forty-eight-minute drive in twenty if we have to. Besides, we can take the laptop and use it to make tweaks if we need to. You can work from anywhere. You said so yourself. Mated for the Holidays is our baby. Let’s see what it’s grown up to be. Gloria could even come over for Yule or maybe we can drive back up here with him. If he signed up, he probably doesn’t have any family of his own.”
“Aidan? You okay?” Gloria asked when I didn’t answer her.
“Sorry. We were discussing it.”
“How about this? Just go. If something goes wrong, you can come home that very minute and we’ll refund Mr. Montero’s money. I just think this could be a good thing for you. You’ve always had the Juda and Frost dream. A nice big den with lots of babies and adoring mate. If you’re going to aspire to be like the first Alpha and omega true-mates you’re going to have to find a mate. He’s not going to show up with you sitting behind the computer. You’re true-mate isn’t an AI program.”
“Fine, but I’m just testing out my brainchild.”
“Tell yourself whatever you must to justify the time off, but try to have fun, baby brother.”
Chapter Four
Luc
“I didn’t know you had so many holiday decorations,” Barric said holding up a huge bundle of tangled holiday lights.
“Montero Manor holds many secrets.”
“But why didn’t you decorate before? Your whole family is like determined to find their true-mates and Yule is the celebration of Frost and Juda meeting… So, shouldn’t you celebrate?” Barric turned the tangled ball one way and the other trying to discern a way in.
“It’s a celebration for families. I’m not some sniveling sentimentalist lighting candles and asking dead people who may or may not be listening for help. Even if they are, who am I to interrupt their afterlife?” I laughed.
The truth was decorating was usually too much of a bother. Sure, the works were nice to look at, but at the end of the season everything had to be taken down and put back in storage. It was too much work just for me and one apprentice.
“Get those untangled.”
“Why me? I didn’t tangle them up like this,” Barric’s eyes grew huge.
“Patience is the most important skill in magic. Just get everything set up and within easy reach. Our guest may wish to partake in the festivities of decorating.”
Honoring the tradition of leaving the apprentice to do the grunt work I left Barric to his task. Then free of the distracting youngling I took a long look around the house to see what he changed while I was in the Other World. The potion’s lab was a mess. Ingredient bottles set haphazardly closed or with the lids completely off. The whiteboard walls were full of notes and theories on why the shield spell wasn’t working.
“What the hell was that apprentice trying to keep away?” My wolf asked.
Not trusting Barric to remember my carefully designed storage methods I cleaned up the lab myself. It was technically his job, but I’d shoulder the tedious tasks if it meant staying organized.
“Magi Montero?” Barric called out.
His footsteps fell heavy on the stone staircase. I waved a hand and the overhead lights came on. Monteros had excellent night vision which helped when you kept your magical workspaces underground. Barric lacked the perfect night vision and I didn’t want him breaking his neck on the stairs. A dead apprentice raised a lot of questions.
“Yes, Barric?”
/> He turned the corner into the room with lines of holiday lights wrapped around his arms and torso. Lines hung from his arms and trailed behind him like skinny green tentacles.
“Did they attack you?” I failed to bite back my laughter.
“I have a method!” He blushed.
His magic sparked and the bulbs glowed bright in their festive colors.
“Now you’re a rainbow tangled ball,” I teased him. “At least we know the bulbs haven’t blown.”
“I had the attic window open for fresh air and this flew through it,” Barric said holding out a thick envelope. “It soared in and started batting me around the ears until I grabbed it.”
The thick red envelope wiggled in his grip.
“Gilmore mail,” I laughed. “Their spells are very insistent about getting their outgoing mail to correct recipients. Their mailboxes are very efficient too.”
“It’s not funny,” Barric sighed handing the envelope off to me.
“Actually, since you signed me up for their matchmaking system it’s your own doing.”
“No good deed goes unpunished,” he turned and took his rainbow light tentacles with him back upstairs.
“Isn’t that the truth?” My wolf chuckled.
The red envelope was decorated with a scene of two men settling down in front of a fireplace situated next to a tall Yule tree. The omega rested his head on the Alpha’s shoulder. Through the window behind them a snowman twirled in a light shower of fluffy white flakes.
“Let’s see who Rosa Gilmore is giving me for Yule.”
I opened the envelope carefully, because if her grandchildren were anything like Rosa there was no telling what I’d find inside. When nothing flew out of the opening, I slid the contents out onto the work potion station’s work surface. The largest item was a hardback book giving the dos and don’ts of the arrangement. I flipped through the page and found most to be common decency like don’t force yourself on someone. Seriously? Alphas still needed to be told that this day and age? Where was the fun if the other person wasn’t actively participating and enjoying themselves too?
The rest were about double-checking food and plant allergies, offering private sleeping accommodations when possible, and helpful numbers if your guest confided anything which meant they might need help. The book included a whole section on cultural differences and how to approach a timid omega. The last section were pages of fun festive activities to partake in if your guest or you grew bored.
“The Gilmores never do anything half assed.”
Next, I found the receipt and shook my head. With a price tag just over ten thousand dollars the book should’ve been printed on a gold tablet.
“That’s going to be one hell of a credit card bill.”
The money wasn’t a problem. As the sole survivor of my Montero bloodline I still had inheritances showing up from time released accounts ancestors and family members set up. Still, ten thousand dollars to be matched to someone seemed a little steep.
Next was a letter from the founders of the company. It rambled on about their mission of making the holidays more festive for single and widowed omegas. It was cute, but it wasn’t what I was searching for.
“Who did you two match me with?”
I shuffled around the rest of the papers until I found a photograph. It was a headshot of a laughing man looking at someone just off camera. His wavy blonde hair fell just to his shoulders and his green eyes were alive with whatever made him laugh. The photo reverberated joy.
“Well, hell. That’s a Gilmore if I’ve ever seen one,” my wolf said tilting his head from side to side for a better look.
“Aidan Gilmore to be exact.” I pulled out the form marked ‘your match’s profile.’
I shuffled through the papers again and shook out the book for extra measure seeking out a letter from Aidan. Why would Rosa Gilmore’s favorite grandson match himself to me? Did he know something I didn’t? Gilmores were famous for their gut feelings.
“The letter said it was a computer algorithm,” my wolf pointed out.
Time to call the caterers. If a Gilmore is coming to Montero Manor, it’s time for a feast.
Chapter Five
Aidan
I hadn’t taken a holiday season off since I was sixteen. Gloria and I traveled a few times during the summer most years, but we never stayed away from home for long. We were the Gilmores holding down the fort and keeping the territory free from invasion. Other witches and shifters lived in Springfield too, but we didn’t put up with troublemakers or abusers. Not many braved the area if they were up to no good.
I refrained from searching for Lucian Montero online. His name was familiar. Grandma Rosa often mentioned the Monteros. She was closer to his age than I was, but he was still quite a bit younger than her. He spent a summer working at Gilmore Grimoires, Grandma Rosa’s magical bookstore. The building was boarded up and the books moved into the attic of the main house when her door arrived. Eventually, I did find mention of him in my grandmother’s old journals and letters.
Three weeks had passed since the algorithm matched me to Lucian or Luc as Grandma Rosa referred to him in her journals and letters. She talked about his promise as a mage in length to his father Oran. Grandma kept magical copies of every letter she ever sent. With our parents and most of our aunts and uncles moved on, the house and Grandma’s belongings now belonged to Gloria and me. Siblings inherited property as a group in our family. Our cousins could come and go from the main house as they wished as long as they didn’t stir up too much trouble, but no one really stopped by these days. Sometimes it felt as if the world forgot about us after Grandma Rosa’s door showed up. Now the most famous Gilmore was Micah Gilmore of the Grim Howlers. I didn’t care much for the band. They crooned too much about waiting instead of taking the bull by the horns and finding your true-mate. It was a bad message to send teenagers. Sure, I didn’t travel as much as I could’ve, but I was working on solving the true-mate equation.
“The match is a step in the right direction,” my wolf said.
Maybe. I’m the only person I know for sure didn’t lie about the data.
I was one hundred percent sure I didn’t lie about the data, because I drank a whole shot glass of absolute truth before I took the personality assessment I designed. Statistics show folks don’t always know themselves as well as they think they do. We sometimes answer surveys with the answers of who we want to be instead of who we are. I wanted to give all our clients the chance to answer the way I did, but Gloria worried about the ethics of handing out vials of absolute truth.
“Why are you hiding in the attic again, Little Aidan?” Zera came out of the shadows.
Her red wings glistened in the moonlight dancing through the thick glass windowpanes. She perched down low on a box of old dresses.
“How long have you been here?”
“It’s autumn. The door’s wide open,” she said and jerked a taloned thumb in the direction of what to the untrained eye looked like a closet door.
Grandma Rosa descended from harpies. The harpy blood diluted over the years, but we still had our ties to their realm of the Other World which included our own personal door. Not that I was allowed to go through. No one under the age of one hundred could visit. Ancestors lived on the other side if they chose to. Some moved on and lived over and over again. Others stayed as ancestral guides to living relatives like me. From the autumn equinox through the end of the winter solstice the harpies could come and go as they pleased. Most people didn’t see them unless they were summoned by a witch or mage to do their bidding. Summoning a harpy wasn’t taken lightly. If they didn’t agree with the task you wanted of them, they might very well tear you apart instead of your enemy. Zera wasn’t much older than me, but as a harpy and an Alpha she towered over me even when we were kids. She always called me ‘Little Aidan’ because of it.
“I’m not hiding. Just looking through some old letters and thinking about breaking Gilmore law,” I chuckled.
“Which one? You fleshy witches have so many of them,” Zera dropped down from her crouch to sit on the box.
She crossed her legs and waited for me to speak.
“It’s the full moon. I could summon Grandma Rosa.”
“It’s too soon to do that. You know the rules. Everyone gets one hundred years of peace before people can start cutting palms and summoning them on the full moon. Let the woman rest. For the love of Juda, she ran the family for over a thousand years. You were the last of her grandbabies and her favorite, but that doesn’t mean you have the right to break her vacation.”
“I know,” I sighed. “I feel bad for even thinking about it. I just…”
“What’s on your mind?” She tilted her head to the side.
Her pointed ears twitched, and a red feather dropped from her hair.
“The algorithm matched me.”
“True-mate?” She asked.
“Probably not. I still haven’t solved that equation, but this is the first time the program has ever matched me with anyone. What do you know about Lucian Montero?”
“First, he goes by Luc. Lucian was his foul tempered grandfather. He’s a great mage. He just got back from the Other World.” Her eyes lit up as she spoke. I could almost see the calculations dancing through her eyes. Harpies had a head for abstract numbers and fate and destiny were just that to them.
“What is it?” I set aside the diary I was reading and gave the harpy my full attention.
“I’m not saying.”
“Zeeerraaa!” I pulled on her arm.
“You’ll have a wonderful Yule either way. Montero Manor is a beautiful home and Wolford has this quaint little Yule Festival sponsored by the Monteros every year. They even have a ferris wheel. You’re going to have so much fun.”
Her voice was normal, but the way Zera looked at me changed. She was starry eyed and the hard creases in her brow disappeared. I opened my mouth to ask her what she figured out, but she held up a hand to stop me.
“I almost forgot. I brought you a present.”
Mated for the Holidays: A Holiday Mpreg Romance in the Hemlock Mpreg Universe Page 2
