by R. E. Butler
“That’s sweet. Of course I want to go.”
“And then we have the next three hundred and sixty-four days to get to know each other.”
“I need to talk to you about something.” She brought her knees up under the blanket and wrapped her arms around them, resting her cheek on one.
“I’m all ears.”
“Mrs. C offered me a job.”
His brows rose. “She did?”
“Supervising the greenhouses.”
“That sounds right up your alley.”
“Yeah, it really is. She showed me all of them and said they needed someone to oversee them all. I told her I wanted to run it by you first.”
He frowned. “Are you not interested in the job?”
“No, I am, but we just met. I don’t want to run off and take a job right away.”
His mind spun as he wondered why she had wanted to talk to him about a job that was pretty much tailor-made for her. Had she thought he’d say no, or was there something else going on?
“I want you to take the job if you want it,” he said. He watched her face and noticed the corners of her mouth turned down slightly. Then he understood what she’d said about why she’d wanted to hold off on accepting the job. They’d just met. “But if you’d maybe ask her if you could start in a few days? Or a week? We’ve got some ‘getting to know each other’ to handle first.”
Her lips split into a sweet smile, her eyes dancing happily.
Bingo.
“I think that’s a great idea,” she said.
He took her hand and kissed her fingertips one by one. “Ellie, do you want to get married?”
“Right now?” she asked, her voice an octave higher.
He chuckled and kissed her knuckles. “Not this second, and not without a dazzling ring for your finger, but someday? We could have a ceremony in your human world on Christmas Eve so Layne and Danny could be there.”
She launched herself at him, taking him to the mattress on his back with a happy laugh. “I’d love that! Layne and Danny asked if they could be at our wedding, and I was thinking the same thing about a morning ceremony with lots of flowers.”
“Sounds perfect to me, honey,” he said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. He stared at her, drinking in her features. “Have I told you lately that you’re beautiful?”
“You might have mentioned it once or twice.”
“I’ll tell you every day, Ellie. You’re the most beautiful female on the planet, and I’m utterly awestruck that I get to hold you and touch you. I’m a powerfully lucky male.”
“Careful,” she whispered, her eyes darkening. “Compliments like that will get you pleasure.”
“Bring it on, sexy female,” he teased.
She lowered her head slowly and brushed her lips against his. And even though it was drawing close to when they needed to leave for lunch, he decided that taking care of his mate was a very good reason for being late.
* * *
Declan transported himself and Ellie to his parents’ front porch. The cold snapped at them, the wind and blowing snow making visibility difficult.
Ellie buried her face in his shoulder, gripping his arm tightly. “Do you get used to the cold?”
The front door swung open and his father smiled. “I’d like to say yes, but I’ve lived here my whole life and I still think it’s downright cold. Come on in, you two.”
Declan and Ellie hurried in, the door shutting swiftly behind them. The warmth of the foyer was punctuated with the smell of baking bread and wood burning in the fireplace.
Ellie sighed deeply, easing her hold on his arm. “Holy crap, it’s cold.”
Declan shrugged out of his coat and handed it to his father, who hung it up on the coatrack, then helped Ellie from hers. “At least we can transport.”
His mother came out of the kitchen. “Next time just transport into the family room.”
“Sure thing,” Declan said. When Ellie’s coat was hung up and their boots were drying on the rack at the door, he took her hand and smiled. “Mom, Dad, this is my fated mate, Gabriella Fitzpatrick. Ellie, these are my parents, Iris and Marcel.”
His mother hugged Ellie. “Welcome to the family. It’s so nice to meet you.”
“Ditto,” his father said.
Ellie grinned. “Thanks.”
“So, you’ve been together for a day,” his mother said, ushering them into the kitchen. “How are you feeling about the secrets up here in the North?”
Declan pulled out a chair for Ellie at the table, which was laden with their traditional Christmas Day meal of maple-glazed ham, candied sweet potatoes, green beans, and his mom’s amazing fresh-baked bread.
Ellie took the red linen napkin at her setting and placed it on her lap, then smiled at Declan. “I still can’t believe I’ve met Santa and Mrs. Claus. It seems so unreal, but at the same time it feels like home, too. I keep thinking I’ll get used to the wonder of everything, but I’m also kind of hoping it lingers. I like the amazing-ness of this place.”
“That’s so sweet,” Iris said. “This is a wonderful place.”
“Only because we have our lovely mates with us,” Marcel said with a chuckle.
“You old sweet-talker.” Iris’s cheeks colored.
Declan smiled at Ellie. “It’s an even more wonderful place now that you’re with me.”
While they ate, his parents peppered Ellie with questions about her family and work, and were excited to hear she was going to be taking over the greenhouses.
“What’s your favorite flower?” Ellie asked Iris.
“Oh, well aside from the greenhouses, we don’t get anything in the way of naturally growing plants around here,” she said, “but I’ve always been partial to anything blue.”
“I brought her blue daisies one Christmas when I was down in the human world on a supply run,” Marcel said.
“I think they weren’t naturally blue,” Iris said, “but they sure were pretty.”
“There are some very pretty naturally blue flowers. I’ll have to see what we have in the greenhouses. Maybe I can cultivate some for you.”
“Well now that would be a treat,” Iris said. “What’s your favorite?”
“Poinsettias, especially the white ones. They’re so pretty. And amaryllis, too.”
“To like so many Christmas plants, you must’ve known you were destined to live here,” Marcel said.
“I never thought of it that way,” she said with a chuckle.
“We heard that two of the quads left before dawn for the human world,” Marcel said, stirring milk and sugar into his after-dinner coffee.
Declan’s mind spun to the conversation he’d heard between Mrs. C and SC. “Jack and Vaughn, right? What do you mean they left?”
“I was at the market picking up coffee and milk this morning,” Iris said, “and Jack’s aunt told me that Mrs. C sent him and Vaughn on a mission to the human world.”
“Mrs. C came to pick me up at the flower shop and said she wanted to go to a bar across the street first,” Ellie said. “There are two sisters who run it, and Mrs. C said that she felt as if she was meant to go to the bar because Jack and Vaughn would meet their fated mates there.”
“Really?” Declan asked.
“Yeah. It was really neat. And she stopped a bar fight, too.”
“What?” Declan’s voice rose, his beasts suddenly furious. Had Ellie been in danger?
Ellie seemed to sense what worried him, because she smiled softly and put a hand on his shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “The fight hadn’t even started. It was just two guys blustering. She did something with her magic and the guys changed their tunes right away.”
“She is special,” Iris said. “She mate-matched Marcel and me.”
“What was that like?” Ellie asked.
Iris smiled at Marcel, and Declan was reminded how much his parents loved each other. He knew he was fortunate to have his fated mate, but his parents’ magical, perfect m
atch was right for them.
“I was nineteen,” Iris said. “I decided it was time for me to get mate-matched. Here in NPC, it’s not like we can go to the human world, date a whole lot and find our Mr. Right. Going to Mrs. C for a mate-match is what our people do when they’re ready to settle down. I showed up at her house and there was a line to get in to see her. And who was in line ahead of me?” She pointed her thumb at Marcel.
“Really?” Ellie asked. “You both were waiting in line to talk to Mrs. C about mate-matching at the same time?”
Marcel nodded. “I was ready to start a family. I offered to let Iris go ahead of me because it was so cold out, and when the line finally moved and it was her time to go in, Mrs. C stood at the front door and stared at both of us. Then she gave us this secret smile and told me to go home, that she’d talk to me later.”
Declan chuckled at Ellie’s surprised gasp.
“I walked into the house and looked over my shoulder, saw Marcel’s face,” Iris said. “He was so utterly dejected, and I felt terrible. I told Mrs. C that if she could only see one of us, then the spot was rightly his, but she tutted at me and shut the door, saying everything happened for a reason.”
“So there I was,” Marcel said, “feeling like a lump of rejected coal. I went back to my room in the barracks and sulked, thinking the reason Mrs. C was going to talk to me was because she couldn’t find a match for me.”
“Has that ever happened?” Ellie asked. “Has Mrs. C had someone wanting to be mated but not been able to find a match?”
Iris shook her head. “No. Sometimes the matches can take a while, but usually she uses her magic on the one who comes to ask for a match, and then she goes to the other with instructions. Like my parents, for example. My father went to see Mrs. C, and then she went to see my mother, and told her to go to one of the barns with some hot cocoa. My father was the only one working at the time.”
“That’s so sweet,” Ellie said.
Iris nodded. “Very much so. But back to our story. I was standing in Mrs. C’s living room feeling like a jerk. She had me sit in one of the rocking chairs by the fireplace, then asked me what I was looking for in a mate, and what my plans were for the future. I was working in toys then, and I wasn’t happy. I liked building things, especially working with wood. She said that in the morning I should go to the woodworking shop and transfer, that she’d make arrangements for me to change jobs. I got a little mad at that point. I told her I wasn’t there to get a job but to find a match, and she just smiled at me with her twinkling eyes and said all things would come about in their time. Then she sent me on my way with a candy cane.”
“Mrs. C came to you then?” Ellie asked his father.
“Yep. She told me I had to report to work bright and early, and that I should bring a candy cane for a new employee. I asked her if she’d found a match for me, and she told me everything would make sense in the morning.”
“When I walked into the barn the next morning, there was Marcel with a dang candy cane, looking totally bewildered,” Iris said, laughing. “He handed me the candy cane and told me he thought Mrs. C had an interesting sense of humor.”
“You two work together? That’s so cool,” Ellie said.
“Yep. We make custom cabinets. Marcel builds them, and I carve the doors to add interesting scenes or decorations. When you find a place of your own, chances are it’ll have cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms that we made.”
“And if it doesn’t,” Marcel said, “we’ll make some for you.”
“We have to stop at the builders’ guild and see what homes are open. Ellie’s cousin said there were two available ones next to each other, so we’ll have to see where they are.”
“It’s wonderful that you’ve got your family here. It’s so hard for the mates who have family in the human world still,” Iris said.
Declan nodded. “Rhys’s mate, Merri’s parents are in the human world, and even though she can video chat with them whenever she wants, she only gets to see them on Christmas. It’s difficult for her, especially now that they have a child of their own.”
“I’m glad my family’s here,” Ellie said. “Not just Neve, but you and your family, too.”
“We’re so happy you two found each other,” Marcel said.
“You know,” Declan said, “Mrs. C said ‘everything happens for a reason’ to me, too.”
“She did? When?” Ellie asked.
“When Tom called the security office for help and SC needed people to volunteer to help out. She told me ‘everything happens for a reason,’ and I thought it was a really weird thing to say, but then I saw you and I knew it was true. Everything that happened that morning was designed to bring us together because we’re fated mates, from Tom unintentionally shifting in front of you to me being on the team to go to the cabin.”
“Magic’s pretty awesome,” Ellie said, her eyes glittering with happiness.
“It sure is,” Iris said. “And it’s really amazing that she told your father and you the same thing before you found your mates.”
“We could get it embroidered on a pillow,” Ellie said with a chuckle.
“I’ll forever be grateful for Mrs. C and her magic,” Marcel said, kissing Iris’s hand. “My life is all the better for it.”
Declan kissed Ellie on the cheek. “Mine, too.”
Chapter 11
After a delicious dinner with Declan’s parents at SC and Mrs. C’s home, Ellie accepted the greenhouse supervisor position. She’d asked for a little vacation before she took the job, and Mrs. C told her she could start the day after New Year’s, when their town got back to the business of making toys for the children in the human world.
She and Declan headed back to their room in the barracks after a mug of Mrs. C’s special hot cocoa topped with toasted marshmallows, and Ellie fell asleep marveling at how her life had changed so much in such a short amount of time.
For breakfast, Declan transported them to the cafeteria, where they joined the quads and their mates. She got a chance to meet everyone, from Charli, the first fated mate, to Noelle, who was half-elf and half-human. Ellie felt incredibly welcomed by the mates and adored meeting their children. She couldn’t wait to start a family with her mate.
“So,” Charli said, “we heard you’re going to be handling the greenhouses.”
“Yep,” Ellie said. “I start after New Year’s.”
Merri, who was mated to Rhys, said, “Can we ask a favor?”
“Of course.”
“Would you be able to grow grapes? Like sweet red grapes?”
Ellie hummed, thinking back to what she’d seen in the greenhouse that held fruit. She couldn’t recall seeing grapevines. “There aren’t any?”
Charli poked her fork into a green grape that didn’t look quite right. “I love grapes. When I was pregnant, I craved them so much. They said there wasn’t room in the greenhouse for grapevines, so they bring up as many fresh grapes as they can, but they don’t last long. Then we’re stuck with canned grapes, and just… blech. They’re not good.”
“My son loves them,” Merri said, “but not the canned ones.”
“I’ll have to explore the greenhouse and do some research, but maybe I can find a way to grow them.”
“We’d be forever in your debt,” Charli said.
“Aw, that’s sweet,” Ellie said. “But I happen to like fresh grapes, too, so that’s some extra motivation for me.”
“What are you guys doing today?” Sullivan asked.
“We’re going to look at the empty cabins,” Declan answered.
“There are some very nice ones that just came available,” Rhys said as he bounced his son on his knee. “The builders are working like crazy lately to get the houses built and finished.”
“Why?” Ellie asked.
“Because of us,” Arian said. “Well not us, since we’re all already mated here, but the two remaining quads – Vaughn and Jack – will need homes when they bring their mates
here eventually.”
“If they do,” Kerri said ruefully. “Just because all of us were willing to come to NPC to live doesn’t mean the sisters will be willing.”
“And that’s only if they’re actually Vaughn and Jack’s fated mates,” Declan said.
“What do you mean?” Ellie asked.
“Mrs. C said she knew Jack and Vaughn needed to be at the tavern, but she also said she wasn’t sure it was both sisters who were fated mates or just one,” Rhys said. “She’s certain their fated mates are in that area, but if it’s only one of them and they both own the tavern, it’s a good bet that they won’t want to come here to live without their sibling.”
“What happens if they don’t come home?” Ellie asked.
Declan gave her a sad smile. “There are four other quads in NPC who aren’t part of the sleigh team. In the event that a team member leaves NPC, SC will choose a replacement.”
“How long do they have to decide?” she asked.
“A few months, maybe longer,” Mire said. His mate was the half-elf, half-human Noelle, who had pointed ears and an infectious smile. “SC has a sixth sense about this sort of thing. He held Arian’s position for a year because he knew they’d return as a family. Who knows what will happen with Vaughn and Jack.”
“I think Neve would caution them against living in the human world for too long,” Ellie said.
Arian nodded. “When you add babies to the mix, it makes things more difficult and causes issues with discovery in the human world. If Neve’s baby is a girl, she would most likely have pointed ears because she’d be half-elf.”
Ellie hummed. “I feel like there’s so much I don’t know.”
Declan kissed her cheek. “You’ll get it, honey. I’m here to help.”
“We’re here, too,” Charli said. “If you have any questions, you can ask any of us.”
Dreama nodded. “I think we should have a weekly girls’ get-together with all the fated mates.”
“Yes!” Kerri said. “Let’s make the guys take care of the babies for a few hours.”
“Hey, hold on a second,” Sullivan said with a broad grin. “Just how many are a few?”
