Chapter 5
Noelle was pissed and confused. Mire, who was easily the sexiest guy she’d ever met – plus, he kissed like he was going off to war – was acting cagey. She didn’t like secrets, and she felt like he was holding onto something very tightly. Something that somehow impacted her life.
Her thoughts about how frigid it was outside halted in the face of his suggestion that her dad had been lying her whole life. As if he would know! Her dad was a great guy, and she wouldn’t stand for anyone calling him a liar, no matter how much Mire made her heart pound.
She shook her head as she tried to wrap her mind around him saying he could turn into an animal. It was the most absurd thing she’d ever heard in her life.
“People can’t turn into animals,” she said, folding her arms across her chest and scowling.
“We can and we do.”
“No.”
“Stop saying no!” His voice rose as he spoke, louder and deeper, and it sent a shiver down her spine.
“Then tell me the damn truth, Mire! No, you know what? Enough. I thought you were special and we had a connection, but all you’re doing is telling me lies. I’m going back to my dad’s room. Leave me the hell alone.”
She turned to leave, and he shouted at her to stop. She looked at him over her shoulder, and he reached for her. Noelle jerked away, glancing at the door to the building. It opened, and three men stormed out.
“There you are!” one of the men said. “Noelle, it’s time to go back to your father’s room. Mire, the boss wants to see you immediately.”
“Get me out of here,” Noelle said, wrapping her arms around herself in hug. She didn’t want to stay with Mire, but she didn’t want to leave him either, which caused her to feel torn in pieces. “He’s crazy.”
One of the men said, “We’ll take you inside.”
“Don’t touch her,” Mire said. His voice was low and threatening, and it echoed oddly as if it comprised more than one person speaking at the same time. Was she hearing things? She wondered if the freezing temperatures had affected her hearing.
“Calm down,” the man between her and Mire said. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Get away from my mate.”
The third man reached for the doorknob and held out his hand to her. She heard the sound of ripping clothes, and she turned to see Mire’s physical form changing, his clothes shredding as his body morphed from a man into an enormous polar bear. He slammed his huge paws into the snow, shaking the ground with the motion. He bellowed out a roar so loud that her ears rang, and something deep within her responded in kind. She didn’t roar, but awareness snapped through her, and her ears ached sharply.
She pressed her hands to her ears and gasped at the odd sensation, as if the tops of her ears were burning. She squeezed her eyes shut and willed away the pain, but not before she saw the polar bear sitting on his haunches between her and the three guys. He growled, but it wasn’t a harsh sound like the war cry from earlier; it was sad and questioning.
She’d watched Mire change into a bear, just like he said he could. And a part of her understood what he’d done and wasn’t surprised by it. He lifted his paw and carefully stretched it out, pressing it to her back and tugging. She let herself be drawn against him, and as soon as her body touched his, her ears hurt more. She cried out and buried her face in his furry neck, wrapping her arms around him.
“It hurts,” she whispered thickly.
The first man said, “What hurts, Noelle?”
She didn’t lift her head. “My ears.”
The three men moved away and spoke quietly. Mire growled gently, and she could feel the vibration against her. It soothed her some; her frayed nerves and the pain in her ears eased slightly as she snuggled against him. She knew that the logical thing to do was run away terrified from a man who could change into a bear. That maybe she should think about checking herself into a mental hospital. But she didn’t want to leave his side.
The first man cleared his throat. “Noelle, my name is Rhys. It’s too cold for you to be out here, and our boss wants to meet you. If you and Mire will follow us, we’ll go to his house.”
She straightened, but the loss of contact with Mire seemed to make her ear pain worse. “Shit,” she said, tears stinging her eyes.
“Not touching him makes your ears worse? I’m Declan, by the way,” he said.
“I guess so. It’s crazy, though.”
“No,” the man said. “It’s actually not crazy at all. I’m Roi. How about you ride him?”
“What?” she asked.
“It’s not too far of a walk from here, but if not holding onto Mire makes your ear pain worse, then climb on his back.”
She looked at Mire, and he snuffled and stretched out on the ground. It was possibly the strangest thing she’d ever done, but since Mire had shown up at her door that morning, everything had been strange. She climbed onto his back and hugged her arms around his neck, gripping his sides with her knees. He lumbered to his feet and walked, his body swaying as he followed the guys to whoever their boss was.
Trying to think about anything but her throbbing ears, she said, “So this shifting thing?”
“Yeah?” Declan asked.
“It’s not just Mire, because you guys aren’t surprised by it.”
“No. We can all change into animals.”
“The four that Mire mentioned?”
“Yep.”
She let that roll around for a moment. “My dad?”
“He’s a shifter, too, but he can only change into three animals, not the reindeer,” Rhys said.
“Does that mean I’m part shifter? I’ve never felt like changing into an animal or anything.”
Roi smiled at her. “Females aren’t shifters; they’re elves.”
She sat up so abruptly that she slid right off Mire’s furry back. She squeaked in surprise as she landed in a snow drift. Snow slipped under her coat, and she shivered. Mire groaned, rumbling a question at her.
“I’m fine, I’m fine. It’s just…an elf? Like ears and everything?”
She held out her hand, and Roi helped her to her feet. She shook the snow from her clothes and shivered again.
Rhys cleared his throat. “We’re nearly at the boss’s house. Let’s table this conversation until we get there.”
She climbed back on Mire, leaned forward, and said into his ear, “I don’t want you to think I’m still mad at you. I’m sorry I called you a liar. I was scared and confused.”
He growled gruffly, and she felt like she could understand what he said, that he forgave her.
“Thanks,” she said, dropping her head against his neck and closing her eyes. She could probably fall asleep from the easy way his body moved, almost like swinging in a hammock.
In the North Pole.
“We’re here,” Declan said.
Noelle slipped down from Mire’s back and straightened, stretching and then shivering. The front door opened, and a pretty woman with long, blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes smiled at her. She looked to be in her early thirties. Noelle stared at her, feeling like she’d met her before, even though she was pretty sure she hadn’t. As she stared, the woman’s body shimmered, and she became older, with curly, white hair and a sweet smile.
All at once she was certain she did know who she was, but it didn’t seem possible. The woman looked exactly as Noelle had pictured Mrs. Claus looking, when she was little and her mom had read her holiday stories at Christmas. Noelle’s ears ached sharply, and she let out a whimper and clapped her hands over her ears.
“I’ve got you, sweetheart,” Mire said, lifting her into his arms.
She blinked tear-filled eyes at him. He’d returned to his human form. He lifted her up and carried her onto the front porch and into the house of the woman who looked like Mrs. Claus.
“I’ve lost my mind entirely. Tell me the truth. I died on the trip to see my dad, right? Or I hit my head and I’m having severe delusions.”
The woman chuckled. “Oh, I like her already.”
“Her ears hurt. Where’s SC?” Mire asked.
“Right here.”
Noelle turned her gaze toward the deep voice. SC stood next to a wide stone fireplace with one arm propped on the wooden mantel that was decorated with pine boughs and strands of cranberries and popcorn. He had white hair and a long beard, and he was tall and broad shouldered.
He also had freaking rosy cheeks and a damn twinkle in his eye.
“Hello, Noelle,” he said.
She whispered to Mire, “Is that who I think it is?”
“If you think he’s Santa, then yes.”
“He’s not real, though. I mean there was a St. Nicholas, but he didn’t live in the North Pole and have reindeer and a sleigh. Am I rambling? I feel like I’m rambling.”
“I’m very real. I’ll prove it.”
Mire set her down on her feet and she said, “How will you do that? Touch your nose and fly up the chimney?”
He chuckled. “Feisty. Fated mates always seem to be. No, I won’t fly up the chimney, but I will shake your hand.”
He extended his hand to her, and she stared at him and then looked at Mire.
“Go ahead, Noelle. It’s okay,” he said.
She pulled off her gloves and flexed her cold fingers, and then she crossed the gleaming hardwood floor and took his hand. As their hands connected, a scene popped into her mind of a Christmas when she was seven and she’d tried to stay up all night to see Santa. It was like watching a movie of herself. She’d settled on the couch with her flashlight and her favorite teddy bear, staring into the fireplace, determined not to fall asleep. Her eyes started to droop, and sure enough she’d fallen asleep, teddy curled in her arms and flashlight falling to the floor. In the vision, she watched Santa appear in a whirl of snowflakes. He put his hand on top of her head and smiled down at her. He put a candy cane on the floor next to the flashlight and put a doll under the tree. He was gone in a whoosh of snowflakes, and she remained asleep, with a smile on her face.
As the vision ended, she blinked at the tears that filled her eyes. “Oh gosh, you really are Santa, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
She touched her wet cheeks. “I remember that Christmas. I woke up when Dad was leaving in the morning to go back to work, and I was so sad. Then he showed me the doll and said it was a special gift from you. I still have her in my apartment. No one believed that I’d been left a gift from Santa, but I was positive my dad was telling the truth. My mom said that Dad had left the toy for me, and not Santa, but I didn’t believe her.”
“Adults don’t see Santa’s gifts,” Mire said. “Only children can see them.”
She let go of Santa’s hand – the real freaking Santa – and turned to face Mire. She felt overwhelmed. Everything that she’d believed was a lie.
“Why does this place feel like home to me?” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.
“Because you belong here,” Mire said. “With your dad, and with me.”
She threw herself into Mire’s arms, not surprised when he caught her and held her close.
“It’ll be okay, sweetheart, I promise.”
As fresh tears fell, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and hoped that he was right.