Chapter 32
Thick and Sprucey
Iwasn’t sure if the pins-and-needles sensation in my left arm was from magical bonding or just Pierce’s massive shoulder cutting off circulation, but either way, I needed to extract myself from the tangle of limbs before someone started drooling on me. Again.
Nine men. Nine gloriously naked men sprawled across the living room floor like we’d survived some kind of sexy apocalypse. Furs and pillows and random items of clothing created a nest that, frankly, smelled like Christmas morning and a men’s locker room had a baby.
I carefully extracted my arm from beneath Pierce, who mumbled something about spiced wine in his sleep. My body felt lighter and more vibrant, like I’d been running on a half-charged battery my entire life and someone had finally plugged me in.
Holy shit, was I... jolly?
I waited for my usual internal groan at the holiday terminology, but it never came.
Carefully stepping over Cole’s outstretched leg and dodging Kip’s starfish pose, I wondered how sleeping arrangements would work.
A nine-man rotation schedule? Bunk beds?
I’d slept like the dead despite being sandwiched between Vix and Dane for most of the night.
Being surrounded by all of them felt right in a way nothing else ever had.
We needed a bigger bed. Like, comically large. Like, “sorry, we had to remove all the walls between bedrooms” large.
I tiptoed to the bathroom, magic pulsing under my skin. But not in the erratic, terrifying way it had been before. This felt controlled.
Turning on the hot water, I stepped into the shower. Steam filled the bathroom as I closed my eyes, feeling the bonds stirring to consciousness one by one. It wasn’t mind reading exactly, more like emotional weather reports from different stations.
I closed my eyes, wiggling my fingers beneath the shower spray. They tingled with what felt like static electricity without the shock. Maybe I could try something small, like a tiny magical change to the water pressure.
I focused on the showerhead, imagining the water forming a more concentrated stream. A smile tugged at my lips as I visualized exactly what I wanted.
The showerhead sputtered, then shot a perfect arc of water across the bathroom, hitting the mirror with pinpoint accuracy.
“Ahh!” I yelped, concentrating harder. The water curved back into a normal stream, then formed into a series of floating spheres that hovered in the air.
I couldn’t help but giggle. With a flick of my wrist, I sent the spheres spinning. One got away from me and splattered against the ceiling, raining back down in a pattern that suspiciously resembled a penis.
I focused again, this time on ice. A frost pattern spread across the shower door, forming intricate snowflakes that reminded me of one of my men. I was a regular Martha Stewart of magical ice decor.
I concentrated on creating a simple ice cube in my palm. Instead, I produced a perfect ice sculpture of a reindeer with an anatomically exaggerated feature.
My brain was definitely still on last night’s festivities.
After finishing my shower and drying off, I stood naked in front of the mirror. I pictured something festive, because apparently that was my brand now. My magic surged, wrapping around my body in swirls of light. When it faded, I stared at my reflection in horror and delight.
Fleece leggings hugged my legs and had printed Christmas lights that somehow twinkled. An oversized sweater proclaimed, “I LIKE THEM REAL THICK AND SPRUCEY” above an image of a massive Christmas tree.
I stepped out of the bathroom, bracing for chaos, only to find the living room transformed. Gone were the strewn pillows and tangled blankets. From the kitchen came the smell of coffee, bacon, and pancakes. My stomach growled in response.
Cole stood at the stove, flipping pancakes while Dane leaned against the counter beside him, stealing bits of bacon whenever Cole turned his back. Kip arranged berries into smiley faces on a plate of waffles, his tongue poking out in concentration.
“I’m not making your weird egg white omelets, Vix.” Pierce glowered over a mixing bowl. “It’s bonding day breakfast. You’re eating carbs like the rest of us.”
Vix, perched on the counter, kicked his bare feet against the cabinets. “My body is a temple.”
“Your body was a temple of sin about six hours ago,” Dash called from where he was setting the table.
I pushed experimentally at the connections between us, surprised to find I could dial it up or down at will. Useful. Even in magical relationship bliss, a girl needed mental privacy.
“She’s testing the bonds.” Don didn’t even look up from the coffee he was pouring.
Blitz winked at me from his position by the window. “Trying to shut us out already?”
I smoothed my hands over my ridiculous sweater. “Just seeing how the volume control works.”
Nine pairs of eyes swiveled toward me, taking in my festive outfit with varying degrees of amusement.
Rudy, arranging napkins with unnecessary attention to detail, froze mid-fold. “Your sweater...”
I crossed my arms over my chest defensively. “My magic dressed me.”
Kip abandoned his berry art to circle me, poking at the lights on my leggings.
Cole carried a tray that held towers of pancakes and waffles. “Breakfast is ready.”
We crowded around the table, a true feat of spatial engineering with ten bodies, passing plates and stealing bites from each other’s food. Dane’s foot hooked around my ankle under the table while Vix sulked over the stack of pancakes Pierce had placed in front of him.
“How are you feeling this morning? Feel any different?” Cole placed a few slices of bacon on my plate.
“I feel great. The bond feels like...” I searched for the right words while cutting into a waffle.
“Like coming home,” Kip finished, stealing a piece of bacon off Dane’s plate.
Don nodded. “The bond will settle over the next few days. Right now, it’s still new, so everything feels heightened.”
I took another bite of my waffle, maple syrup dripping down my chin as Dane leaned over to wipe it away with his thumb.
“Your father wants us at the training field in thirty minutes.” Rudy had been quiet, and through our bond, I could sense he was on edge.
Vix jumped up, rubbing his hands together. “This is your first official sleigh training! This is huge!”
My stomach fluttered with nerves as the guys finished their breakfasts and started clearing the table. The reality was setting in: I was about to learn how to be Santa’s daughter.
I held tight to the reins of my dad’s sleigh as we glided to a gentle landing on the packed snow of the training field. If I weren’t actively trying to appear composed and professional, I might have let out the kind of squeal normally reserved for winning the lottery.
“Not bad for your first official sleigh lesson.” Dad patted my hand, and I loosened my death grip.
Not bad? I’d just piloted an actual sleigh through the actual sky with actual magical reindeer.
The child in me—the one who apparently had been trapped inside me for twelve years—wanted to fling herself into a pile of snow and make snow angels while screaming, “I flew a sleigh!” at the top of her lungs.
Instead, I nodded with what I hoped was dignified appreciation. “Thanks. It feels natural.”
“Of course it does.” Dad jumped down from the sleigh with surprising agility for a man who refused to give me a straight answer about how old he actually was. “The magic is in your blood.”
I climbed down after him. “It’s different from riding on the backs of my—” I caught myself before saying ‘men’ “—reindeer.”
“It’s a different type of magic entirely.” Dad brushed snow from his crimson coat. “Speaking of your herd, you’ll be working with them and Silven for the next few hours.”
My entire body went rigid at the name. “Silven?”
Dad nodded, adjusting his gloves. “My advisor. Been with me for centuries. He’s been working with your herd since dawn on coordination techniques.”
Something cold slithered down my spine. “Your advisor? Why haven’t I met him yet?”
“You don’t remember him? You used to train with him. He returned this morning from his vacation.”
I glanced toward the distant field where nine dots moved in formation across the snow. My herd had been blocking their emotions all morning to help me focus on my training without distraction. At first, I’d been annoyed, but the silence had helped me connect more deeply with the sleigh magic.
“He used to train me? How so?” There were memories I still couldn’t fully access, but the ones I had of training weren’t positive.
Before Dad could answer, an elf came sprinting across the field, arms waving frantically.
“Emergency in the workshop, sir! The enchantment on the self-wrapping paper station has gone haywire, and it’s wrapping everything, including the elves!”
Dad’s expression shifted from fatherly pride to Commander of Christmas Operations in an instant. “I’ll be right there.” He turned to me, already backing away. “Head that way.” He pointed toward the distant field where my reindeer were still moving in formation.
“But wait! I need to—”
“We’ll talk later, Snowflake!” Dad called over his shoulder as he hurried away with the frantic elf. “I promise!”
I tugged my hat down firmly over my ears and started trudging toward the training field, focusing on the distant shapes of my herd. I tried reaching out through our bond again, only to hit the same emotional wall they’d put up earlier.
One moment I was slogging through ankle-deep snow, and the next—
My stomach lurched as the world blurred around me. A rush of disorientation hit me like a brain freeze, and suddenly I was standing on the training field, my boots sinking into fresh powder.
Teleporting lessons couldn’t come soon enough.
Now that I was closer, I could see that my herd was hitched to a sleigh as massive as my dad’s. All of my reindeer, including Rudy, were hooked to it.
A flutter of hope caught in my chest. Was Rudy flying?
“Again!” A voice sliced through the air from the other side of the reindeer, his face partially obstructed by the massive antlers everywhere.
The sleigh and eight reindeer lurched upward, wobbling precariously.
My heart soared as the runners left the ground, lifting about ten feet into the air before tilting dangerously to one side.
Eight sets of reindeer legs scrambled as they tried to maintain balance, but the sleigh crashed back to the snow with a sickening thud.
“Pathetic.” A man strode to the front of the herd. His dark hair and eyes were almost a replica of Rudy’s.
Silven, my brain supplied instantly, though I couldn’t remember ever seeing him before… but that voice was very familiar.
He grabbed one of Rudy’s antlers and yanked downward, forcing his head to bow. “You don’t deserve these. It’s a waste of perfectly good magic on a flightless beast.”
The world around me tilted, colors bleeding at the edges of my vision as something unlocked in my mind.
I was fifteen, crouched behind a snowbank near the south stables; a place I wasn’t supposed to be during rutting season when young reindeer were unpredictable and learning their flight magic. But curiosity had always been my downfall.
A man stood looming over a magnificent young reindeer.
“Useless creature.” Silven grabbed one of his antlers. “A reindeer who can’t fly? An embarrassment to Christmas itself.”
“Hey!” I jumped up from my hiding spot.
Silven’s hand dropped immediately, his eyes homing in on me. “Miss North, you know you aren’t allowed here.”
He took a step toward me, and I turned and ran. I needed to tell Dad.
The workshop wasn’t far, and that’s where I’d probably find him. I heard Silven behind me at first, but then he disappeared. Sighing in relief, I made it to the workshop, but as I yanked open the door, Silven was there, blocking my path.
“Miss North.” His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Spying again? Your father indulges your little peculiarities far too much.”
“I need to see my dad.” I tried to move past him.
His hand shot out, gripping my arm.
Ice spread along my fingertips. “Let me go.”
“The way I train my son is none of your concern.” His voice was low and venomous.
“He’s your son, and you treat him like that? You should be banished from the North Pole!”
“And you, Miss North, are an expert at parenting? Your own father lies to your face! You think he’s proud of you? You’re not a Claus; you’re a mistake. All that power in you is better suited for ruin than wonder.”
Something inside me shattered. Magic exploded outward as I yanked free, stumbling backward through the workshop doors. Ice shot from my hands, freezing conveyor belts, destroying toy-making machines, climbing up walls—
Screams. So many screams.
Silven watched from the doorway, a satisfied gleam in his eye.
I gasped, snapping back to the present, trembling so hard my teeth chattered. Ice crawled from my boots across the snow, spreading in jagged patterns.
“It was you!” I pointed at Silven, my voice filled with rage. “You caused it!”
His head whipped toward me, eyes widening in recognition before narrowing to slits. “Miss North. What an unexpected surprise.”
The air around me hummed. The snow beneath my feet swirled upward, circling my body in a miniature blizzard. “You made me think I was broken.” Ice crystals formed in the air, suspended like deadly stars. “You manipulated me into losing control!”
Silven backed away, hands raised. “You’re becoming too emotional. We all know what happens when you—”
There was a tremendous cracking sound as ice shot from my fingers, barely missing his head. The reindeer were bucking wildly now, bells jingling chaotically as they fought to break free from their harnesses.
Rudy lowered his massive head and charged forward, snapping the leather straps holding him to the sleigh. He galloped to my side, a saddle appearing on his back as he dipped down.
“Get on.” His voice rumbled through my mind.
I scrambled onto his back as the storm of my emotions whirled around us. My other eight reindeer broke free, thundering across the snow in our direction.
Silven’s face contorted with rage.
My magic surged again, and the snow before us rose, forming a massive, hulking creature with ice for teeth. The snow monster roared, lunging toward Silven.
Silven shifted forms, transforming into a reindeer with no antlers, his coat the same color as Rudy’s. He darted into the trees as my snow monster crashed into a pine, exploding in a spectacular poof of powder.
Rudy galloped across the field away from what was triggering me. Away from his father.
“Take me back!” I wanted to destroy Silven so he could never hurt my mates again. How many times had he said those words to Rudy?
The storm of my magic swirled around us, unwilling to relent.
And then Rudy’s hooves left the ground.