Chapter 9
The Northern Lights danced across the sky in a dazzling display highlighted by the stars and the midnight blue sky over Northernmost. Santa’s sleigh stood gleaming beside the barn, the reindeer stamping their hooves in anticipation of the flight.
Elves loaded the last gifts into the sleigh, the large sack shimmering with the magic that allowed it to hold so much but appeared nearly empty.
“Have you ever seen inside the gift sack?” Pixie asked as she stood next to Hunter, watching the flurry of activity around the sleigh.
All the Guardians and every single security team member, except for the ones monitoring from inside the security office, as well as many elves, watched the activity.
Hunter never really got tired of it because he knew that Santa would be moving around the world and delivering toys to deserving children, and how cool was that to be a part of?
“Once, when I first got here,” he said.
One of the elves looked up. “You can come peek.”
“For real?” Pixie let out an excited gasp.
Hunter walked her over to the sleigh and helped her so she could climb up and look inside. “That’s so freaking cool!” Pixie said. “You can see the toys, but the bag looks empty from the outside.”
She turned and hopped down into Hunter’s arms.
“Magic,” he said. “It’s pretty damn cool.”
Pixie turned and said, “Thanks for letting me see!”
“Anytime,” the elf said.
Santa strode out of the barn, adjusting his wide belt. He walked down the line of reindeer, talking to them in a low voice before stopping at the sleigh and looking at the group gathered.
“Thank you for keeping Northernmost safe. Tonight, I get to do what I was born to do. Be safe. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He climbed into the sleigh and gathered the reins.
With his booming voice, he shouted the call that was known the world over, reciting the reindeer names and snapping the reins.
The sleigh rose into the air, powered by his magic.
“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!” The sleigh was gone an instant later, leaving a magical, glittery trail behind.
“That was incredible,” Pixie said, her wings fluttering.
They stood for a moment longer, staring at the sky, and then Pixie said, “I should get going. There are teeth to collect.”
He nodded. “I’ll be back,” he said to the Guardians and security team.
“We’ll wait for you,” Maverick said, “then we’ll all shift together and start our rounds outside of the perimeter.”
Hunter walked with Pixie into the main building and down to the chamber where her tethered portal stood.
She took out her ledger, and he watched as the names appeared on the page. “Twelve tonight,” she said. “But every single tooth is in a different town, so it will take me most of the night. I will definitely be back before Santa returns though.”
“I’ll be in my shift the whole time,” he said. “So I can’t meet you when you come back here.”
“I’ll come find you when I return.”
“Be careful,” he said. “I know you’re protected with the magic, and you’re a kickass female, but I still want you to be safe.”
“I will be. You be safe too.”
The last kiss before she walked into the portal was one that lingered as they seemed unable to walk away from each other. But the night was already underway, and they both had jobs to do. Parting, he smiled and watched her activate the portal and disappear.
He stared at the portal for a long moment and then turned and walked away. He couldn’t shake the unsettled feeling in his bones, but he wasn’t sure if it was because he always worried about Santa on Christmas or if it was because he was already missing his mate and wished she was with him.
The time couldn’t pass fast enough.
The sooner she came back to Northernmost and Santa returned safely, the sooner they could head to the clan to spend Christmas Day with his family. He already had the perfect gift for her. He was falling hard for his truemate, and he thanked his lucky stars that he had found her.
* * *
“I hear you,” Maverick said as he pulled off his shirt. “Aralyn still has to reap souls and while we’re on the same shift, I don’t like that I can’t be with her. She’s strong and capable, but she’s my mate, you know?”
“Exactly,” Hunter said. “Pixie already proved she can fight, plus she can fly. But I still wish I could keep an eye on her myself.”
Sebastian didn’t say anything because he was fortunate enough to have his mate live and work in Northernmost but in the safety of the infirmary.
“We’re lucky though,” Hunter said as he set his boots in a plastic container by the perimeter to keep them safe from the elements. “We all found our truemates. I wouldn’t trade Pixie for anything.”
“Hear, hear,” Sebastian said.
“One hundred percent,” Maverick said.
Before they shifted, they agreed on where they would start their trek around the perimeter while the elves were going to patrol inside, focusing on the Well of Magic.
Other security team members were inside the building monitoring the cameras and motion detectors, and there were elves on the rooftops, watching the darkness for any signs of Frost or his people.
“Good luck to us all and especially Santa,” Hunter said.
The males shifted. Hunter stretched, his big claws digging into the snow as he snuffled the air. They parted ways—the snow leopard, the wolf, and the polar bear—and headed out of the magical perimeter to patrol.
Hunter kept his head on a swivel, stopping to scent the frigid air every few feet and to listen intently for anything out of the ordinary. There was a strange stillness to everything, like the top of the world was holding its breath because something was coming.
What would Frost try?
No matter what he threw at them, he couldn’t succeed.
Even though Hunter wasn’t magical, if the Well of Magic was corrupted, every single magical creature would suffer.
They’d have to choose to turn evil or lose their magic entirely.
That meant that the whole world would fall apart—fairies like Pixie wouldn’t be able to do their jobs, elves wouldn’t be able to bring joy to children, and witches and warlocks couldn’t keep the world in balance.
That wasn’t good for anyone—magic users, shifters, or humans.
Frost couldn’t succeed.
* * *
The night had dragged because he missed his mate, but he’d kept busy looking for any sign of Frost and his asshole followers.
By the time his mate returned from finishing her collections, he was more than ready to see her.
Hunter heard Pixie before he saw her as she made her way across the snow toward the perimeter.
The snow crunched under her boots and her wings rustled ever so slightly as she moved.
She waved when she saw him. “Oh my gosh, you’re a polar bear!”
She walked through the perimeter and shivered. She touched him, sinking her fingers into his thick fur with a murmur of praise. He’d never been petted before in his shift. He freaking loved it.
“You’re gorgeous,” she said. “And you’re so big!” She hugged him around his neck, and he put a paw on her back under her wings to pull her in close. She giggled, resting her head on his shoulder. “So warm. You smell like snow.”
They stood in their embrace for a few moments, and then she leaned back and kissed him on the nose. “It’s an hour before Santa should come back. I’ll walk around with you if that’s okay.”
He nodded and they continued on his route. He listened to her talk about her shift as he watched everything around them—the sky, the cold darkness, and the snowy landscape.
“It was a pretty dang eventful night! A few kids went above and beyond hiding their tooth in their rooms, but I found them all. And then I almost got busted by a Siberian Husky. Sneaky thing.”
He let out a bearish chuckle.
“I handled it of course,” she said, her wings fluttering as she giggled.
“I can’t wait until we get back here after the holidays and visiting both our families so we can start building the fairy garden.
I love getting to see my folks and the other fairies on the island every time I drop off teeth, but it will be nice to have a place to store them up here. ”
They walked for a while longer, but eventually as they rounded the Portal, she stopped and looked up. “It’s really quiet.”
If he could talk in his shift, he would tell her that it’s always quiet outside of the perimeter, but then he realized that it was unusually quiet.
He nodded and grumbled, wishing he could talk. They kept walking, both watching the endless darkness around the perimeter.
If only he could put his finger on what he was feeling.
Uneasy. But it was more than that.
She looked at her watch. “It’s almost time for Santa to return. Should we meet up with the others in their shifts?”
He grumbled an affirmative, and they moved faster to make their way to the area of the perimeter across from the Well of Magic. She turned her head to the sky to watch for Santa and rested her hand on him.
Be safe, Santa.
* * *
Azure crouched in the shadows of the snow-laden rooftop, covered in a magically infused cloak that prevented him from being seen by anyone. Underneath his boots, the final house on Santa’s route sat in peaceful silence, the chimney unused, the windows lit by the lights of the Christmas tree.
He couldn’t believe that humans had helped him in his mission to take out Santa. Thanks to a Santa tracking website, he’d known exactly which home would be the last on Santa’s delivery route.
Foolish humans.
Frost’s magic allowed him to arrive unseen and utilize the cloak, which would enable him to pass through the protective perimeter around Northernmost without being detected.
However, the rest of the plan was up to Azure.
He was just the male for the job too. A warlock like Santa but happily evil like Frost.
He could feel the weight of the Frostfang knife in a leather pouch on his belt. The blade pulsed with dark magic, crafted by Frost from frozen iron exposed to an eternity of winter and infused with the heart of a dying star.
One stab was all it would take.
The sleigh appeared in a heartbeat, magic swirling around it like tiny snowflakes. Santa grabbed the sack and disappeared down the chimney.
Azure wasted no time.
The moment Santa’s boots vanished inside the chimney, Azure sprang to action.
He reached the side of the sleigh and vaulted over the edge, landing lightly in the back.
He froze for a moment and listened. He hadn’t heard Santa coming up the chimney yet, so he hadn’t realized something was afoot on the roof. Slowly, he exhaled.
He’d made it.
Carefully he tucked himself into the corner under the magic cloak and forced himself to stay perfectly still. Even though no one should be able to see him, Santa was a powerful warlock—the most powerful in the world—and there was no telling what he might sense.
A minute later, the faintest whooshing sound signaled Santa’s return to the rooftop. Azure held his breath.
He listened as Santa hauled himself into the sleigh, his movements seeming sluggish, most likely from the exhaustion of using his magic all night.
The journey was almost over, and Santa’s magic was nearly depleted.
He had enough to get himself back to Northernmost and into the perimeter, and then Santa would be at his most vulnerable.
The reindeer snorted and Santa cracked the reins. The sleigh lifted from the roof and Azure nearly fell over as the sleigh launched back toward the North Pole.
The trip wouldn’t take long.
Azure carefully unwrapped the leather roll with the Frostfang knife and pulled it out. Just one strike of the blade, and Santa wouldn’t live to replenish his magic or save the Well from Frost’s plans.
As the temperature grew colder, Azure knew they were close. He gripped the knife and readied himself.
The sleigh slowed, and Santa let out a grunt of exertion as he crossed the barrier.
Azure smirked and rose to his feet, the cloak sliding from his shoulders.
Now.