Chapter Two #2
And he was afraid I’d turn out like my omega father.
I was sure that was who he had almost told me I was too much like.
My omega father loved Christmas too; while my alpha one had never celebrated it, growing up.
His childhood was all business. It was, I was told, what worked in their relationship in the beginning.
An alpha who was all business and an omega who loved to have fun…
But it ended up being too much fun. A collections agency showed up one day and we discovered my omega father had over a dozen credit cards and was over three-hundred-thousand dollars in debt.
All of it long overdue. We nearly lost a resort over it.
As it was, my alpha father had to dip deep into the resort coffers to come up with the money.
It took years to rebound. After the debt was paid, they divorced and now he loathed anything that remotely reminded him of his omega ex, including Christmas.
When last I heard, my omega father had a new family and was probably secretly racking up more debt.
We kept in touch for a while, but then he asked me for money and when I said no he ghosted me for three years.
Only to call me from out of the blue asking for money again.
I washed my hands of him too, but I couldn’t shake my love of Christmas.
I couldn’t blame my father for worrying. I did sometimes go a little overboard… But I was under control. And I was going to prove it.
~~~***~~~
I ordered a DriveMe at the airport for a ride to the resort. I could sense the driver was human, so I made a mental note to keep anything shifter related out of the conversation.
“So, what brings you up here?” he asked, glancing at me in the rearview mirror.
“Just visiting,”
“For the holidays? There’s a great Christmas market here!”
I sighed. “Just… for business,” I said honestly.
“Well, you should check out the market if you get a chance. I know how much you love Christmas!”
“Yeah, I…” I trailed off and frowned at the back of his head.
What the hell did that mean?! My father’s words echoed in my head: I’ll be watching.
Did he mean he had people spying on me?!
Had he told this guy what was happening and was trying to lure me into talking about Christmas?
I bit back a growl. Well, two could play at that game.
“You must have heard wrong, I hate Christmas,” I retorted. Choke on that, Dad.
“What?” he cried. “I can’t imagine. I love it. I play Santa, when I’m not busy being a driver. I don’t even need a fake beard!” He turned slightly and stroked his white beard for emphasis.
I grunted for a response, hoping he’d take the hint. And, for a few minutes, he was quiet. But as we pulled up to the resort, he started up again.
“This place is beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked.
“Yeah, I love it,” I said, glad I could answer that honestly.
“It reminds me of Frostbourg. You ever been?”
“No.” I resisted the urge to say I’d love to go.”
“I stop by every year!” he laughed. “Well, here we are.”
As he stopped the car, my phone chimed, signaling the ride had come to an end. I reluctantly tipped him; wondering how much my father had paid him to spy on me. Then, climbed out and started hauling my suitcase out of the trunk.
“Would you look at this snow? How Christmasy,” he said.
“I don’t like snow either,” I lied, wondering just what my father’s limits were.
“Suit yourself,” he laughed. “Merry Christmas!”
“Bah! Humbug!” The silly phrase was a little easier to stomach than saying I hated Christmas.
I started wheeling my suitcase toward the resort, trying not to look up and admire how it looked in the beautiful blanket of snow.
“Bah, humbug?” came a mocking voice from behind me. “You can’t be serious!”
I turned to see a guy about my age standing on the sidewalk.
I could swear there hadn’t been anyone else outside a moment ago.
He was human too. And grinning widely at me from beneath a comically long ski hat.
It hugged his head tightly, then tumbled down in a long red and white striped tube that dragged several feet on the ground behind him.
“Um…” I said, torn between complimenting the fun hat or being annoyed he was listening in. “It seemed like the most appropriate reply,” I finally said.
“To Merry Christmas?” said. “More appropriate than just saying Merry Christmas back? Or Happy Holidays, if it suits you better. Happy Hannukah. Blessed Yule. Happy Kwanzaa. Some people say Happy Christmas. Feliz Navidad. Joyeux Noel. Frohe Weihnachten. Or just a simple and a Happy New Year!”
I gaped at him. Was he for real?! Oh no. No, no. Had my father hired him too? Was I going to have people tailing me waiting for me to slip up this entire time? I took a deep breath.
“I’m just not feeling the Christmas spirit,” I told him. And gods, if this kept up, I wasn’t going to!
If anything, that made him smile more. “Jake Winter.” He held out a hand.
“Shaun Snowdon,” I said, giving his hand a quick shake. I couldn’t be rude to a guest, after all.
“Wow, you must hate your name.”
“If you’ll excuse me,” I growled.
He did not excuse me. He fell into step with me instead.
“You didn’t pick a great spot to spend the holidays if you don’t like Christmas,” he quipped.
“I’m working,” I said flatly.
“Pretty place for it. If you like snow,” he said. “How long are you here for?”
“Through the 31st.” Before he could say anything else, I escaped into the first Employees Only door that I saw. “Good day,” I said, closing the door in his face.
I couldn’t believe my father. Bad enough he wanted me to pretend to hate Christmas, but to send spies to make sure I was? I snarled under my breath before hunting down the manager on duty.
Once I was all checked in and settled into my room, I took one of the night lifts to the top of the ski slopes. I headed to a tiny ski patrol shed.
“Evening,” said a man sitting at the desk inside.
“Hi,” I said. “Going for a run.”
“ID?”
I leaned closer and let my eyes change.
“Have fun,” he said, waving me through.
I went out the back door and down a set of stairs to a tunnel.
As soon as I got into the tunnel I shoved my clothes into a cubby and shifted.
Snow leopards weren’t built for long runs, but I still sprinted down the tunnel eagerly, periodically bounding to one side and springing off the walls as I went.
As soon as I was out in the snow I dodged and weaved through trees, heading for a rock wall. I scampered up it happily, trying to ignore the crappy events of the day and enjoy an evening in the snow.
Once at the top of the cliff, I settled down and just basked in the still falling snow and the cool night breeze. I looked down at the resort and smiled. It was beautiful. I just had to get through the next couple of weeks and it would be mine.
Suddenly, as I looked down at the lights in the lodge, I felt more like the Grinch glaring down at Whoville. I sighed sadly.
“I can do this,” I told myself.
What could possibly go wrong?