Chapter 3
Chapter Three
SALIZAR
“Ho, ho, ho! You be good now, Gail, and I’m sure Santa will make certain you have the merriest Christmas imaginable,” I said, smiling at the adorable girl in pigtails perched on my leg.
She had been terrified to let go of her papa when they’d first walked up to me, which was probably why they were the last in line for the day.
It had taken some persuading from both me and her papa.
I’d gotten down from the Santa throne, despite my aging knees, and sat on the cold ground with her, talking about the stuffed dog she clutched.
We’d chatted for a good five minutes. I’d made up stories about the reindeer up at the North Pole, and told her that Mr. Claus had a new puppy that he just loved, too.
Finally, sweet little Gail had smiled and held out her arms to me. My heart had squeezed with sentimentality as she’d hugged me. I’d lifted her up off the ground, knees letting out loud cracking sounds, and sat on the throne so she could whisper what she wanted for Christmas into my ear.
“Thank you,” Gail’s papa also whispered to me as they prepared to go, while Joel was letting her choose a candy cane from a bowl. “She’s been incredibly shy of alphas since her father…left.”
My heart bled for Gail’s papa, too. Those few words, the way he gulped while saying them, and the haggard look on the young omega’s face told more stories than any words could.
“Been a tough year?” I asked.
Gail’s papa blinked as if he was surprised I had guessed. “Yeah,” he breathed out, also telling more tales than an entire book could.
I smiled my best Santa smile at him and reached into the pocket of my trousers, pulling out a special card for Bangers & Mash. I always kept them with me for just such an encounter. “Here,” I said, handing it over. “Consider this my Christmas gift to you.”
The omega took the card, looking confused. As soon as he read the card, his eyes went wide. “I…I can’t afford Bangers & Mash,” he said, quickly glancing behind him to check on his daughter.
I shook my head. “No need to worry about it.” I tapped the card. “This is a founder’s special gold card. See that code at the bottom? Tell that code to the dispatcher when you call and they’ll know your services will always be complimentary.”
Gail’s papa instantly teared up. “Thank you,” he said, barely able to squeeze the words out. “My heat is coming next month. I…I haven’t been sure what to do. I don’t know about Gail….” He glanced over his shoulder at his daughter again.
“We have a nursery service on site at the Mash Institute,” I said. “When you feel the first signs of heat, give us a call and we can make all the arrangements for both you and your daughter.”
“We?” the omega tilted his head slightly.
I leaned closer, making sure no kiddos were around to overhear, and said, “When I’m not Santa, I’m Salizar Banger, cofounder of Bangers & Mash.”
The omega’s eyes went wide, like he’d been in the presence of a celebrity without knowing it. “Thank you, sir. You have no idea how much this will help.”
I laughed. “That’s why Nicholas and I started B&M. We do know how much it will help.”
Gail’s dad had a few more words of thanks and a Merry Christmas to say before collecting Gail and heading off to explore the rest of the market with an entirely different attitude.
I watched them go for a second, waving to Gail one last time as she clung to her papa, her head on his shoulder, then I turned to Joel.
“Well, I guess that’s us for the day,” I said with a nod. “Good job, and I’ll see you back here again tomorrow.”
“See ya, Santa,” Joel said, waving and then dashing off to where I could see one of the other omega elves waiting for him, no doubt to cause mischief.
I chuckled, remembering what it was like to be young and mischievous. Of course, I’d carried out my mischief with Nick when I was Joel’s age, but there was nothing wrong with that.
Nick. I sighed fondly and headed away from the Santa area and up to the warehouse that had been converted into a dining hall and changing rooms for the market’s employees.
I didn’t like the way we’d bickered slightly earlier.
I knew Nick had a short fuse these days because of all the changes that were happening to him.
I still had one hundred percent of the alpha instinct to take care of my mate that was inherent in my biology, but maybe I could rein it in a little when he was having a bad day.
The one thing I could definitely do was get him the cake and muffins he liked. After I changed into street clothes, I headed straight over to the booth for Sweet Dreams are Made of Yeast.
“Hey, Mr. Banger,” Crispin’s omega, Bailey, greeted me as the two of them rushed around the small booth, taking and filling orders. “We’ll be with you in just a second.”
“Take your time,” I said, holding up my hand. “I’m here on a mission for my omega.”
Bailey laughed, then handed over the bag of donuts he’d just prepared for his customer. “That’ll be ten-fifty.”
“Salizar!” Crispin Merriweather greeted me, coming out from behind the booth’s counter to shake my hand. “Fancy seeing you here and not Santa.”
I laughed. I’d become friends with the alpha baker since the market opened back in November, but we’d mostly ended up talking while I was in costume.
“Business is booming, I see,” I said, nodding to the small line in front of his booth.
“The Barrington Christmas Market is our best off-premises event of the year,” Crispin said, smiling proudly at the display of cakes, muffins, donuts, and other treats set up for one and all to buy.
“This entire thing was a brilliant idea,” I said. “It certainly saves me the trouble of driving all the way to your store to get sweets for my sweet.”
Crispin grinned, watching Bailey for a moment. “Sweets are everything,” he said.
“They certainly are.” My smile dropped a little as I went on with, “I’m going to need an entire box of cake and orange cranberry muffins and donuts to take to Nick after the conversation we had today.”
“Why?” Crispin asked in concern, folding his arms. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” I said, breathing out and rubbing a hand over my face. “I just…I’m not sure I’ve been the best alpha I could be this year.”
Crispin looked surprised. “You’re a role model to us all,” he said.
I winced and shrugged. “Life gets in the way, you know?”
“I definitely know.” Crispin glanced back to his omega again.
“Nick and I used to be hot stuff together. But life happens, kids and grandkids, age and all the changes it brings. We’ve had cross words more than I ever wanted us to have, and there have been days when I’ve wondered if this volunteer job has really been the best thing for us.
” I had no idea why I was telling all my problems to an alpha who was still young enough that he wouldn’t have to face these things for years, but it was good to have friends.
Crispin smirked and shook his head. “Sal,” he said, planting a hand on my shoulder, “you’re one of the best alphas I know.
You and Nick have done amazing things for the alpha and omega community, and for the world.
The fact that you’re worried so much about how your omega feels tells me you’ll be just fine.
And I’ll pack up a whole bunch of stuff for you to take to your mate. ”
“He specifically mentioned orange cranberry muffins,” I said as Crispin slipped back behind the counter, “and the chocolate cake with raspberry filling. Or was it the white chocolate with strawberries? I should remember these things.”
“I’ve got both of them if you—” Crispin started.
My phone buzzed in my pocket before he could finish. I reached for it, then almost put it back, since the number was unknown. Something inside me urged me to take the call anyhow, so I tapped to answer.
“Hello?” I said in my business voice.
“Mr. Salizar Banger?” the woman on the other end of the line asked.
I could hear sounds in the background, some sort of announcement over a PA system, and general beeping. It was disorienting at first…until it clicked in my mind. Hospital.
“This is Salizar Banger, yes,” I said, tension suddenly gripping me.
“Mr. Banger, this is Nurse Yates from Barrington Memorial Hospital,” the woman said. “There’s been an accident. Mr. Nicholas Mash was just brought in—”
My heart plummeted and a thousand worst-case scenarios filled my mind.
“Is he okay?” I asked, nearly swooning with fear and desperation and the overwhelming urge to protect my mate. I tried to reach through the bond, but I only had a vague sense that Nick was east of where I stood. “What kind of accident? Was he hurt? Is he dead?”
“Mr. Mash is not dead, sir,” the nurse said. “There was an automobile accident. A car ran a red light and collided with Mr. Mash’s car—”
“I’ll be right there,” I said, panic flooding me.
The nurse said something else, but I closed the call before I could register what it was.
“I have to go,” I called out randomly, starting away from the booth.
“Is everything alright?” Crispin called after me.
“Nick’s been in an accident, taken to the hospital.” That was all I could get out before the flight part of my fight-or-flight response took over.
“I’ll have someone—”
That was all I heard of Crispin’s reply before I was too far away to hear more.
The parking lot was close to that side of the market, blessedly, so I was able to get to my car without a problem. I probably shouldn’t have been driving in my state, but not a damn thing was going to keep me from my omega for a second longer than necessary.
Nick was my life, my soul. I couldn’t imagine a world without him.
We’d been together for two-thirds of our lives.
He was my sun and my moon. He was the one thing that kept me grounded and the man who made me enjoy life and laugh in the face of hardship.
Things hadn’t always been easy for us, but we’d taken what we had and made so much more of it.
I wouldn’t have been able to do any of it alone.
I wouldn’t be able to continue on alone if Nick died. We were a bonded pair, fated mates, as the young people called it these days. I would absolutely wither and die within a few months if my bonded mate was no more.
That thought helped me to check myself as I pulled into the emergency parking lot of Barrington Memorial.
I reached through our bond, and nearly wept with relief that it was still there and as strong as ever.
Nick wasn’t dead. I felt a swirl of different emotions from him, though, and a little bit of pain. I didn’t like any of that.
“Where’s my husband?” I demanded as I burst into the emergency room a few minutes later.
Immediately, I felt just a little bit stupid. Barging into an ER and demanding to see your mate was a little too Hollywood for me. But my alpha instincts were in overdrive. I needed to see Nick. I needed to know he was alright. I needed to hold him in my arms.
“Name, please?” the receptionist behind the desk asked with saintly patience.
“Salizar Banger,” I said, trying not to puff myself up too much.
“Sal?” Nick’s voice sounded from somewhere down a short hall and around a corner.
I caught my breath. As soon as the receptionist nodded, I tore off in search of my mate.
Nick was sitting on a narrow hospital bed in one of the curtained-off cubicles that lined that part of the emergency room.
It didn’t matter that he was in his fifties with greying hair, the way that his feet didn’t touch the floor as he sat on the bed made him look every bit like the sassy college student I’d first fallen in love with.
“Baby,” I breathed out heavily, racing to my omega and throwing my arms around him. I lifted him straight off the bed in my eagerness to hold him.
Nick made a contented humming sound and threw his arms and legs around me. “Sweetheart,” he sighed, sagging into me.
We stayed like that for a few seconds just so I could feel the heat of his body and breathe in his cherry-blossom omega scent. Nothing in all my days had ever smelled so good to me as my omega’s distinct scent.
Then the details started to register. Nick had a gauze bandage on the left side of his forehead. He might have internal injuries, too. I’d grabbed him and squeezed him before asking the necessary questions.
“Are you okay, baby?” I asked, gently setting him back on the bed, but keeping him in my arms. “What happened? They said you were in a car crash?”
Nick huffed and rolled his eyes. “Some jerk ran the red light. I had just rolled out into the intersection and wasn’t even going five miles an hour. He smashed into the front of the car on the passenger side, sending me spinning. I hit my head, but that’s it, honey, that’s it.”
I could feel the swell of fear and horror of what might have been that caused his voice to go wobbly at the end of his explanation. He still had his arms and legs wrapped around me, even though he was sitting, which was another sign that he was more shaken than he was letting on.
“Thank God you’re alright,” I said, squeezing him tightly again. I immediately pulled back, looked him in the eyes, and asked, “You’re sure there are no internal injuries, no bruises? I’m not hurting you by hugging you, am I?”
“You could never hurt me by hugging me,” Nick said, pulling me into the tight shelter of his embrace. “Every bone in my body could be broken and I’d still want you to hug me.”
I made a completely undignified sound of happiness and relief as I hugged the living daylights out of him.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” I said, then shifted back so I could kiss him long and hard.
And when that kiss was done, I kissed him again for good measure.
I could feel what it would have been like if our kiss goodbye when I’d left for the market that morning had been our last kiss.
I would never be able to kiss my mate enough at this rate.
“I don’t know how I could ever live without you. ”