While it might be the pups’ bedtime, it was nowhere close to mine, so after Justin showed me which room I could take for the night, I returned to the family room to enjoy some of the leftover cookies. But not the ones I had been warned—by a very precocious toddler—were Santa’s cookies.

The sounds of bedtime preparations floated through the air, and I found myself standing in front of a wall completely filled with picture frames. I recognized many of the faces from people I had met that night. Noah and his family were particularly prevalent, of course, but most of the team appeared regularly.

I closed my eyes to imagine what it would have been like growing up with such a large family. Or even friends that were as close as family. I’d been such a lonely child…

“It’s a bit overwhelming, isn’t it?” a deep, warm voice asked. His voice was the audio equivalent to a cup of hot chocolate just as you came in out of the cold.

My eyes flew open to see Sam, the tall alpha who’d caught my eye earlier before we’d been distracted by Papa P’s story. I was happy to finally have a chance to resume our conversation from earlier. “A little,” I agreed. “But I like it. You must be used to these kinds of gatherings, though.”

Sam shook his head, his short, military-cut hairstyle only serving to highlight his high, sculpted cheekbones and sending a waft of something absolutely delicious toward me. Maybe delicious wasn’t the right word. He smelled of fruit and spice, but it was awakening a hunger in me, one that wasn’t centered in my stomach. “I wasn’t officially invited tonight, I just got stuck in with the weather.” He looked a little embarrassed as he admitted, “Actually, I kind of forgot it was Christmas Eve. It’s okay, you can judge me. I deserve it.”

I closed my gaping mouth. “I do my best to not judge, but… you’ve spiked my curiosity. How could you forget about Christmas?”

The alpha shrugged. “I’m a bit of a workaholic. I tend to pop by Ray’s every Friday for an unofficial debrief, and, well. It’s Friday.”

I laughed. “Tell me you at least take weekends off.”

Sam’s sly smile was completely unrepentant. “I mean, is it really work if you love what you do?”

“Yes,” I said firmly. It was a lesson I’d also had to learn. “Every task needs a down period to recharge.”

“I never had a chance to say this before, but it really is nice to meet you, by the way.” The alpha stuck out his hand and I took it, jumping as an electrical spark seemed to arc between our fingers.

He jumped too, looking at me with a glint in his eyes that made my breath quicken. My voice was too breathy as I answered, “I’m Dean. Wait. We’ve been over this. Ignore me while I shove my foot farther down my throat.”

Sam snorted in amusement, but all I could think about was how he was still holding my hand. “I didn’t think about it earlier, but that’s funny. We’re Dean and Sam. Just like that show about guys who hunt shifters. And here I’ve always been amused that I’m Sam Remington, rather than Winchester, like the other Sam.”

“Huh?” He’d lost me.

“Sam and Dean? The brothers? Come on, man. Surely you’ve seen it. The humans go nuts over it.”

I shrugged. “I live pretty solidly in only the shifter world. And I’ve never been much of a TV guy. I’m more of a book nerd.”

“Cute and smart. I like it.”

Was I blushing? Dammit, I was probably blushing. Again. Why was this guy making me blush?

“Can I get you a drink, Dean? Brandy? Eggnog?”

I’d already had a couple eggnogs, but I was in love with the creamy, spicy bite of the drink. “I’ll have another eggnog.”

Sam filled us up a couple of mugs and we settled in on one of the couches. I sighed as I took my first sip. The multicolored Christmas lights twinkled all around the room, and the Christmas tree practically glowed. I had thought warm and merry Christmases were going to be a part of my past when my mom died. I was glad I was wrong.

“So we know how I ended up here tonight; what are you doing here, Dean?” Sam asked. “Too far from family?”

“It’s just me,” I said, not feeling like going into the whole story. “What about you? You alone too? It’s hard to imagine anyone with a family forgetting Christmas.”

“I have a brother,” Sam said. “But he’s even more of a workaholic than I am. And our parents weren’t big on celebrations. My step-dad wasn’t into holidays and Mom didn’t like to decorate, so it was pretty much just a couple presents in the morning, then a fancier-than-normal dinner. No big fuss.”

“That’s sad,” I said softly.

“Christmas a big deal for you?”

I nodded. “Mom and I didn’t have much, but it was always a big thing for us. The day after Thanksgiving, we’d go out into the woods and find a tree—Mom would pick a small one when I was little, since she was the one who had to drag it back—and then we’d spend the evening watching Christmas movies and stringing popcorn to decorate it. The house was filled with music from then until the day after Christmas.”

“Sounds fun,” Sam said, a little wistfully.

I didn’t want Sam to feel sad, so I changed the subject. “So, you work for Ray, but you’re not part of the team?”

“I’m the lead of Team Beta,” he said. “Team ALPHA tends to take on the big, going-against-the-mafia level cases. Human trafficking. Drugs. Our direction is a little sideways to that. We tend to deal with the more boring cases, although I prefer the ones that affect kids. Pups.”

If my interest hadn’t already been piqued by this man, I was completely ears up and forward now. Big, tough alpha who protected kids? Be still, my bleeding heart.

“If you’ve brought kids in, I’ve probably worked with some of them.”

“Oh?” Sam shifted closer to me on the couch. The sounds of brushing teeth and children arguing had faded, and I expected we wouldn’t be left alone for much longer. “What do you do?”

“I’m a counselor at Justin’s clinic. The clinic does a lot of work with omegas, but there’s a crew of us who are specifically trained to work with kids.”

Sam’s smile curled up into his cheeks. “That’s good. You seem like the kind of guy who would be good with kids.”

“Why’s that?” I asked. We’d only just met. How could he know? I’d barely said much earlier when the twins were arguing, and then cute little Allan had adopted Sam’s lap for the remainder of the evening.

“The way they crowded around you during the story. Just leaning all over you, don’t think I didn’t notice that. Kids and dogs, man. They can tell good people. And you have kind eyes.”

I laughed. “Well, if that’s how you determine who’s good with kids, you seem like you’d be pretty good with kids too. Allan was ready to bond over Dr. Seuss and everything.”

“Me?” Sam’s eyes opened wide in surprise. “I’m terrible with them! I mean, yeah, it’s my job to save them, and I love ’em. But dealing with them? Talking with them? I don’t have the first clue what to do. You saw how awkward I was with the pup in my lap. Gawd, what if I looked like a creepy uncle or something? I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to hold other people’s kids. That’s like a law or something, right?”

“No, and Allan seemed pretty content perched on your lap.”

Sam laughed. “I was scared to death I was going to drop him,” he admitted. “He just climbed up and made himself at home on my lap as if I were his throne.”

“It was cute.” You’re cute, was the part I kept to myself.

“I’ll be just fine if he chooses a different throne next time,” Sam said, relaxing into the couch. “It is kind of nice to be the chosen one, though. I didn’t do anything to deserve it, aside from knowing the name of Dr. Seuss, but somehow I was deemed worthy.”

That prompted a deep laugh from my belly. “See? You understand kids and their motives just fine.”

As the lights twinkled and Sam smiled, I gave a silent thanks to Justin for inviting me tonight, and whatever storm gods had snowed us in.