by Lucy Smoke
Leven nudged me closer, yet my legs refused to move. “You want to see your sister, right?”
“Don’t,” I said. “I’ll do this my way.”
He raised his hands and backed away, his transformation already taking over. Clothes withered away as if magically vanishing, replaced by the white pelt stretching over his morphing body. The snapping bones had me flinching each time, and I looked away, meeting Tatum’s stare. He grunted and rocked his head back and forth.
“Goddamn, I can’t believe I’m even doing this,” I said. But by the time I found a car to hire, and convinced them to rent the vehicle to me with no money, as my wallet was still in the broken-down van in the woods, it would be hours. Tatum and his crew didn’t have any funds, having used it all on the motel and food. Seeing as they weren’t leaving my side, I’d gone along with this idea. Running away was impossible, as they’d keep up, so fuck, I’d accept this insanity a while longer.
I climbed on to the saddle, straddling Tatum, and reached out but found no reins. “Hey, what do I hold on to?”
But when he started to get up, me lurching back and forth from his movement, I reached forward, seizing his antlers, and held on. And we were off, me riding a reindeer while the other two strode behind us. I fell into the steady rhythm, figuring I could get used to this bumpy ride. What a sight I must have been, but at least we were moving forward. Soon, Tatum picked up the pace, and we covered ground fast, following the snowy road.
By the time we reached the section of the woods where my van had broken down, we slowed down and trotted past my vehicle that now looked half its size, flattened, and caked in snow.
Dread slithered up my spine as I remembered the attack that had thrown my world into chaos. Maybe I ought to get off and see if my wallet and phone were retrievable, except Tatum didn’t stop and instead burst into a gallop. I held on for the rest of the trip, trying to come to terms with what I’d experienced.
The whole Santa and Krampus drama.
Reindeer shifters, or Arietes as they called themselves.
And how darn sore my thighs were getting. Why did anyone choose to ride horses intentionally?
Hopping up and down with each move, I gritted my teeth and rode through the discomfort until we emerged from the woods. Ahead was the rear of the distillery and my house. The sight had me beaming, and I straightened my posture. No longer feeling the pain, I urged Tatum to move faster. This end of the yard had no fence and backed into the woods, which explained how the three guys had entered my yard that time I’d spotted them near my home.
Once we reached the distillery, we came to a stop, and I slid a leg over Tatum, jumping off him before he lowered himself. My thighs wobbled beneath me, and the stinging ache raced down my legs. Yep, I felt bowlegged, but I didn’t care. I was home, and I turned toward the house when in the distance, I spotted someone stepping down from the front porch, carrying what looked like a huge garbage bag over their shoulder.
“Jana,” I called out, hurrying forward, wondering if she’d had enough and was headed home. I’d have to make it up to her, but the closer I got, the more the figure didn’t resemble Jana. Whoever it was, they were taller and wore all black and dragged something else in the snow behind them.
Someone grasped my shoulder from behind and pulled me to a halt. Leven stepped in front of me.
“Get behind us,” he growled.
“What are you doing?” I peered past the three men in front of me, all of them in human form and now magically dressed in their jeans and jackets. But my sights set on the person near my home.
The person stepped out of the shadows and looked nothing like Jana. I gasped loudly, and ice threaded through my veins.
The thing I stared at was the monster from the woods. My knees weakened, breaths ragged and harsh.
Krampus!
The bag on its back shifted about. Whatever was inside kicked and cried out in soft female whimpers I was all too familiar with. My heart dropped through me, hitting the ground.
“Britta!” I screamed and shoved past Jax, running to get to my sister. Tears choked my throat, blurring my vision, but anger twisted around my chest, and fury drove me to move faster.
My sister.
He had her.
I darted, each step feeling slow and sluggish in the snow, yet the monster seemed miles away. Except it stood there and dropped the sack. Britta’s cry shattered me. It reminded me of the times she’d sob when my dad would beat me, and despite my pain, hearing her agony killed me.
The bastard lifted its chains and twirled them in a hand, facing me. “Give yourself willingly, and she lives,” it growled, sounding like a wild animal snarling the words.
The men behind me rushed past, and their momentum bathed me in a rushed wind. Snatching up the sack with Britta, the monster ran out of the clearing with the speed of lightning.
“Stop!” I yelled, chasing after them, but he was too fast, the sack bouncing across his back. I would never catch up.
They vanished into the woods, and while the men pursued him, I dropped to my knees, tears falling and my world splintered into a million pieces. There was a part of me that refused to believe what I’d witnessed, and that Britta would be in her bed, fast asleep. That she’d laugh at me when I burst into her room.
I lifted my head and I was alone in the yard. I kept thinking I’d imagined the whole incident, so I scrambled to my feet and darted into the house. Upstairs, I ran into Britta’s room. Please be there. Please.
Her bed lay empty and disheveled.
“Britta?” I yelled, darting from room to room, back downstairs, not finding her. With each movement, my stomach hardened. The growing grief surged with each rushed breath. This couldn’t be happening to me.
“What’s going on?” Jana stepped out of the bathroom, still in her nightgown, her silvery hair falling over her shoulders.
“Britta,” was the only word I managed between sobs and tears crowding my eyes.
Jana’s face blanched and she rushed upstairs, but she wouldn’t find anything. Her loud cry sank through me, and I collapsed onto a chair at the dining table, my world darkening. What the fuck had I just seen outside?
When I glanced out the kitchen window, Jax, Tatum, and Leven were marching out of the woods and toward the house, their heads low, their postures defeated.
No. Britta!
I curled into my seat, and I covered my face, crying into my hands.
Fuck. Everything they’d said was real. And Krampus had just kidnapped my sister because of me.
8
I hugged myself, tucked my chin low, and trudged through the snow to meet the three returning men in my yard. Agony burrowed through me as I kept picturing Krampus carrying Britta in his sack. Her cries were knives to my heart, and agony sat in the pit of my stomach. I remembered the time Dad had shoved Britta into the closet when she wouldn’t stop crying. He’d forbidden me from letting her out until she quieted down. She’d cried for hours. I’d hated my father while she’d cried, wanting him to die a cruel death. All the while, he’d laughed at our misery, while our mom had never said a word. Since that incident, Britta had been scared of the dark, and now… Tears pooled in my eyes.
Every time I thought we were getting ahead, something happened to snatch away the hope of our brighter future.
My fingers clenched at my sides as I fought to contain the fury inside me.
I should have returned home last night, regardless of the storm, but how the fuck was I supposed to have known Santa and everything that went with him was real? Fuck! We’d come this far, changing our lives for the better, only for me to lose my sister? The fight in me flared, but I struggled to stop the numbness overtaking me. I was well aware that if I lost Britta, I’d have nothing left.
Jax marched toward me, his eyes pleading, his lips downturned. He dragged me into his arms so fast, my head spun. No words, just warmth and his tight embrace. I cried hard against his chest, a flood of emotions ripping through me.
>
But I’d let her down. Like I had when I couldn’t get her out of the closet.
The icy wind roared around us, my coat flapping against the back of my legs, chilling my skin beneath the long, tousled hair around my neck.
“We’ll find her,” Leven said, and I lifted my head to find him standing so close, he might as well be hugging me as also. He reached over and caught a tear running over my chin.
Tatum approached. He slid a loose strand of hair, caught in my lashes away from my face. “He won’t harm your sister. Krampus will be back. It’s you he wants.”
“And Britta is his way of ensuring he gets that,” Leven added.
Anywhere else, I might have been swept off my feet by three gorgeous men paying me so much attention and giving me so much affection. But dread clung to me, and I couldn’t stop crying. I felt as I’d fallen into hell and had no idea how to get out. I never should have picked up that stupid hat in the snow. I should have taken Manuel up on his offer to come with me. I detested living with regrets, but I couldn’t stop feeling as if I were sinking.
Leven stepped aside and knelt by the path Krampus had used to escape. He stared down at the oddly shaped footprints in the snow. “I can try tracking him, but Tatum’s right, Krampus will be back. He’s fast and could run rings around us before we catch him. So we’re not leaving you alone. We’ll fortify your place and ambush him when he returns.”
My stomach rolled. As much as I feared facing the goat-creature, he had Britta, and every time I imagined what she was going through, I hiccupped a strangled breath.
Trepidation swept over the men’s faces. And I saw the truth in their expressions. They weren’t convinced this would work, but they offered me false smiles. I swallowed the boulder in my throat, feeling torn about what to do next.
“I can’t sit around and do nothing,” I said, as I pulled free from Jax’s arms and turned away, wiping my wet eyes. “My sister is out there, terrified by a goddamn real-life monster.” I paced back and forth in the snow, creating a worn path, hugging myself. The world closed in around me, and panic dragged through me, feeling like barbed wire. My breaths raced, and I barely struggled to contain my scream of anger.
The sound of footfalls came from behind me. A hand fell gently on my shoulder, but I shook it off and spun around.
“Don’t touch me,” I snapped, then met three mournful gazes. I regretted my outburst. Regretted how I’d reverted to a scared child in the face of this dilemma. Regretted that I’d shown them that part of myself. I needn’t have feared their touch. They weren’t my father.
“We’d never harm you,” Leven said, his arms by his side, making no move to come closer. “But we’ll lay down our lives to save yours.”
I exhaled loudly, my gut twisting in a knot. “How can you say that?” I sniffled. “What about your lives? I don’t want anyone giving up their life for me.”
“Would you not give up everything for your sister?” Tatum asked, one of his brows arching.
“Of course,” I replied at once, aware how hypocritical I sounded. “But this is different.”
“How?” Jax asked, his head tilting to the side, studying me, and I fought the urge to look away. “We’ve trained for years as warriors in case the moment ever arose that we would need to fight for Santa. I made the vow and accepted my fate long ago. So how is that different from you sacrificing everything for Britta?”
I couldn’t even process what they were saying. They’d only known me for a day. But I didn’t want to get into an argument. My anger rose from fear. That part of me I’d locked away so many years ago—now the darkness leaked out. Trapping me. Reminding me I was useless. I wanted to vanish, but I couldn’t leave my sister. Part of me clung to the hope that the men were right because it killed me to think of Britta hurt, or worse.
Jana emerged from the front of the house, clasping her overnight bag, and I rushed over to her, wiping the tears away.
“Nickie, are you sure you don’t want me to stay?” she asked.
I shook my head. “No, it’s all right. My friends are here, and I’ve called the polizei.” My lie sat like a stone in my gut because I wanted to speak to the reindeer guys before I called the cops and dragged the entire town into a search for a mythical monster. Okay, the monster wasn’t fabricated, I knew that now, but I also didn’t need to have Jana injured and her safety on my mind. It was better she was home and protected.
She took my hands in hers, her eyes watering. “I’m so sorry. She was in her bed last night and I didn’t hear a sound.”
So perhaps Krampus could enter homes as easily as Santa did through chimneys?
I hugged Jana, and she trembled against me. “Britta could have gone into the woods to look for me,” I said, but I couldn’t even convince myself as the tears kept falling, and my heart was breaking. “We’ll find her.”
Jana broke away, her eyes gleaming, and I hated that she felt responsible when the fault was mine.
“Nickie, please contact me when you find her. I beg you.” Her pleading ruined me, and I couldn’t find any words, so I simply nodded.
I watched her climb into her car, drive down the path, and out past the gates that automatically opened and shut behind her.
When I returned to the guys, they were huddled closer, whispering. Jax looked my way first, then the others followed.
“What happens now?” I asked. “Maybe we should to call the polizei. The more people who search for Britta, the better.”
Tatum shook his head, the bridge of his nose creasing. “They’ll get in the way and put your sister in worse danger. Krampus wants you, so we’ll set up a trap.”
I had no problems being the bait if it meant rescuing Britta. I’d do anything to help her. “Let’s do this.”
Leven stared out toward the distillery. “We need an indoor area where we can draw him to us.”
“There’s definitely room in the bar area. Let me grab the keys and we can get started.” I turned away when Tatum seized my hand, his warmth spreading up my arms, and I turned to face him.
“We’re in this together. Trust us.” The sincerity of his voice touched me in ways I’d never expected. I was falling apart, yet these three men offered me hope. I couldn’t bear to face this adversity on my own. For so long, I had shut everyone out, taken on every challenge on my own, but I was no fool to think I knew the first thing about defeating Krampus. And these men offered their aid, wanting nothing back it seemed.
Their friends were somewhere out there too, and I’d been caught in my own nightmare this whole time. We were tangled in this together now.
I softened my hand in his. “Sorry I didn’t believe you earlier.”
“We all know what it’s like to lose someone close. We’ve been at war with Krampus for years.” That was all Tatum said, his gaze falling from mine. His hand slipped away before he marched to the other men, ordering them to search the perimeter. It had never occurred to me that as warriors, they would have seen death, their comrades fallen in battle. It was bizarre to think that a fun place like Santa’s Workshop was a war zone and lives had been lost.
Growing up, I’d received several presents in foster homes, and I’d assumed they’d been left at the foot of my bed by the family, though they’d never said anything about them. Could it have been Santa?
I hurried toward the house, determined to do whatever it took to save my sister and help these men find their friends. I had no brain capacity to think about what came afterward. Not when our survival was the priority.
“We’re not splitting up,” Tatum growled as Leven drew a circle on the floor of the distillery. The bells on his clothes jingled softly, but I’d gotten so used to hearing them now, I barely noticed. He poured the schnapps that smelled of honey and citrus directly from the bottle, the contents splashing everywhere, but he’d managed to create a connecting circle.
I couldn’t help but be reminded of the time Grandma had made circles with whiskey to ward off demons. Then Dad had do
ne the same one night with rum, and it had stunk so much. And now that I watched Leven do the same, maybe there was more to what I’d seen as a child. Maybe Grandma had been protecting us before she passed away. Regardless, if Leven treated Krampus as a potential evil spirit, did that make him a demon?
“Just saying,” Leven continued. “We need birch branches to trap Krampus. Jax said he saw some deeper in the forest, so I’ll collect them on my own.” He stared my way, and I shrugged, having no idea why we need these branches.
“The birch switches are used by Krampus to swat kids,” he explained, “but they can also be used against him. Coupled with schnapps and a bit of Christmas enchantment, we can trap him.”
“No!” Tatum barked, and I flinched at his anger. “We’re stronger together. Alone, he’ll take us out.” Tatum folded his arms across his broad chest.
Jax sat on a barstool alongside me. “Bossman has a point,” Jax said, swiveling in his seat. “All four of us go into the woods while it’s still daylight, collect the branches you need, and return. Either way, as long as we all stay near Nickie, we’ll keep her safe.” He glanced over and winked my way, and I shyly looked away like a schoolgirl, which was insane. Around them, my insides were burning up. But my hormones were at war with the grief I felt about Britta’s capture. I also understood she wouldn’t be killed, not so long as Krampus needed me. That small reprieve kept me from crumbling into a pile of tears and sorrow. I’d fight alongside these reindeer men, and do whatever it took to save her. Part of me was still unable to believe they existed, and yet everything about being near them felt so right. Talk about complete contradictions.
