I startled awake with a dull pulse thumping in my ears while sweat trickled down my neck. Each breath raced as I stared up at the white ceiling again. I lay in bed, a heater at my feet, and outside, nightfall had taken over the landscape. The familiar déjà vu sensation washed over me. But my thoughts circled back to Leven and me outside the diner, leaving me shaken and confused. What had I witnessed? Him turning into a reindeer? I must have hit my head really hard. And the unease returned and coiled in my gut again when that delicious, savory aroma of the kranksy burritos found me.

The three guys sat at the table near the couch, not saying a word, but the sounds of their chewing and lips smacking filled the room. My stomach rolled with such hunger. I was ready to march over for my portion, and I’d fight Krampus right now to get my food. But an unfamiliar warmth engulfed me as if I were in the company of friends with these men. No, not friends. But like people I’d met recently and had clicked with at once. We’d talk for hours about nothing, yet have the best time of our lives. I didn’t know what it was about these three, and especially with how Leven had manhandled me, yet here I was, once again in bed, cared for by the strangers. Maybe they weren’t so terrible?

“You better not be eating my kransky burrito,” I said. I dropped my legs over the edge of the bed, the bells on my jeans jingling, and the world swayed.

“How’re you feeling?” Leven patted the chair next to him. I remained seated, waiting for my head to settle down.

“Like I’ve been run over by a bulldozer.” Winds whistled outside, and the walls creaked, the windows rattling. Considering the icy weather, I had no plans to leave the confines of this room right away. Especially with nowhere else to go for the night, even if I was stuck in here with three strangers who kept rescuing me from the cold. I got up and walked over to them, then took a seat next to Leven.

I glanced over at him, remembering the way his body had contorted and twisted, the snap of bones, his groans. The deer he’d somehow morphed into before my eyes. We exchanged a knowing look, one that indeed confirmed he’d allowed me to witness something personal and private. Sure, the whole incident hadn’t sunk in, but then again, the stuff he’d said in the diner hadn’t, either.

Jax slid a burrito wrapped in foil in front of me. “So you’re a fainter?”

I unwrapped my meal and sighed at the nonexistent sour cream. “Not really. Apparently, today is a day for firsts.”

Leven rummaged in the plastic bag on the table and produced a small tub of sour cream. He pulled the lid off for me, and I poured a dollop onto my burrito. “Thanks.”

The meal melted on my tongue; the spicy sausage, rice, and tomatoes in the wrap were heaven, and I ate half before I noticed everyone watching. “What?” I wiped my mouth with a tissue. “I’m starving.”

“If there weren’t a blizzard blanketing everything in sight, I’d get you another,” Tatum said, scrunching up his wrapper.

“Why are you all being so nice?” I asked. “What’s really going on? Leven said some weird stuff in the diner, about you all searching for lost friends. And then outside…” My breath hitched and only one word came out. “Reindeer.”

Tatum glared at Leven. “Fuck! You showed her, didn’t you? Even when I instructed you not to.” His voice boomed.

“It’s the only way to make her believe.” Leven sounded levelheaded, not at all bothered by Tatum’s uproar.

“She fainted.” Tatum’s voice climbed.

“I’m okay,” I said. “Freaked out, but—”

“See? She’s freaking out.” Tatum huffed.

“She looks like she’s taking it well,” Jax contributed, then he took another bite of his meal.

“No one asked you,” Tatum barked.

“Hey,” I said, interrupting. “I can speak for myself, and I’m okay. Really. But how about someone tells me what’s going on.”

The three men exchanged looks, and when Tatum gave a slight nod, they all twisted in my direction.

I lowered my food, feeling that whatever was coming required my full attention. I somehow wasn’t sure what they could possibly tell me that might surprise me as I’d seen worse, witnessed what people did to those they supposedly loved. But then again, what I’d seen with Leven still stunned me, and for the life of me, I couldn’t work out how they’d explain that situation.

Tatum started by showing me three fingers, then bent one. “You put on Santa’s hat.” Another finger curled. “You strengthened your connection to the hat with fire.”

“Well, technically—”

He cut me off by folding his third finger. “You let Krampus draw your blood, and now he’ll track you down when he gets within a certain distance. He won’t stop until he gets what he wants.”

I looked at each man in turn. Tatum, stiff, shoulders so wide, he could carry the world. He was clearly the leader. Jax, who slouched in his seat, worry peppering his face. Leven had shadows darkening under his eyes again. They were all so serious, yet a laugh curled up from my gut. But I played along.

“And what does Krampus want?” I asked, reclining in my chair. “He’d ripped Santa’s hat off my head and has it.”

“The hat is useless to him unless you’re dead.” Tatum’s voice carried trepidation, and I searched his stoic, yet handsome face, for a sign to indicate this was all one big joke. But he had no twitch at the corner of his mouth, no smile in his eyes. Only a darkness behind his gaze.

Leven placed a hand on mine in my lap, his skin electrifyingly warm, and I glanced down to see how large his palm was compared to mine. “We’ll protect you.”

“Stop saying that,” I said, pulling my hand away. “Just freaking spell it all out and don’t hold anything back, because you’re not making sense.”

“That hat is magical and belongs to the real Santa,” Tatum began, his cheeks blushing, which likely had nothing to do with embarrassment, as it was clearly frustration. And I kind of enjoyed seeing him revved up, for no other reason than the fact that he spoke circles and it annoyed me.

“Whoever wears the hat and makes a connection with it as you had could become the next Santa,” he continued.

I couldn’t hold it back any longer. I burst out laughing, the bubbling tickling my insides, and I slammed the table with my hand, unable to remember the last time my stomach had hurt so hard.

“Oh, shit, you guys are hilarious. You should see your faces. Very well played.” Once I settled down, none of them so much as smirked. Instead, they glared at me as if I’d mocked them. “What?” I asked.

“You’re not listening,” Leven snarled.

“Do I have to give you three the whole talk about Santa not existing? My twelve-year-old sister knows this, so…” I shrugged. What could I say except these three had lost their marbles if they honestly believed in Santa Claus?

“No one knows where the hat came from, but it selects a new person randomly to carry out the Christmas duties,” Jax explained. “But in order for the hat to be fully connected to a new owner, you must exchange a kiss with the previous Santa to close the deal.”

I nodded my head, figuring I ought to listen to these loonies if they were offering me a roof over my head in a storm, but after hearing all this, I doubted I’d get a wink of sleep. For all I knew, I’d wake up in a sleigh or something bizarre, like tied to a reindeer. My mirth dissolved when I remembered watching Leven change into one, yet I still struggled to come to terms with that whole incident. Maybe I was imagining these three men too because that would be the only reason for this strange conversation.

“Because you got to the hat first,” Tatum continued, “Krampus must kill you so your connection to the hat dissolves, then he can get claim it as his own. The hat can only be joined to one person at a time. Then as the last step once he does that, he kisses Santa and he’ll wreak havoc over Christmas. And probably do so all year round, punishing more than just naughty children. Beating anyone whom he sees fit and imprisoning them.”

“Have you see the skies darkening lately?” Leven added. “If Krampus takes over Christmas, our world will be plunged into darkness. Plants and animals will die.”

“Okay.” I tried to follow their explanation. “So Krampus wants Santa’s job and I’m now standing in his way because I connected the hat to me first?”

“Yes,” Leven said. “Krampus has been plotting to take the role for years, and the missing person we’re searching for is Santa and his reindeer. He and his other reindeer went down somewhere in this part of the woods, and now that we saw Krampus here, it’s obvious he’s responsible for taking the down the sleigh. Except we have no idea where he’s holding them.”

I shifted in my chair, attempting to piece it together. “So let’s say this is real—”

“It’s real,” Tatum said while the other two nodded.

“Anyway, so what you’re saying is that because I put on that stupid hat, I have two options. Get killed by Krampus so he can take over Christmas, or somehow find Santa first, kiss him, and then I take his place and deliver gifts to kids around the world once a year?”

They looked at each other. “Kind of,” Jax said. “We’re assigned to to protect whoever took the hat, even Krampus, until you select your team of warrior reindeers to lead your sleigh. But that’s all stuff to work out later.”

“So now you’re all reindeer?” My mouth dropped opened. “I’m pretty sure you just described a kids’ cartoon about saving Christmas. I might have watched it last year.”

Tatum was on his feet. “Don’t mock us, little girl. At first light, we head out. You don’t make any moves without us, and—”

I exhaled loudly and stiffened. But my words were stolen by the deafening knock on the front door. I froze, my thoughts flinging to the monster in the woods. Had that really been Krampus that had bitten me? I couldn’t ignore the throbbing wound on my arm. It was proof that there had been something that had attacked me. But as for the rest of the men’s story, it didn’t seem real.

All the men leaped to their feet, Tatum at the door, Jax checking the window, and Leven hauling me by the arm to the bathroom. “Stay here.” He shoved me inside and shut the door.

“Are you kidding me?” Of all the people to run across, I meet three incredibly gorgeous men of my dreams, only to discover they’re living in a make-believe world. Except their fear slithered up my spine, and now I couldn’t help but wonder what the heck would scare three large men.

A quick glance around the bathroom revealed no weapon, except for a toilet brush, so I grabbed it and gingerly opened the door.

The loud bang rang out from outside, and I flinched. What the hell was going on?