~

 

“See, that’s what I like about children — no rush to judgment on their part,” Brook said as he watched Stacey wiggling her hips in a dance that mirrored what the town Santa was doing up on the parade float.

“You like children?” Sissy chuckled.

“I don’t not like them. To Stacey I’m just a cool guy — which I am — that can do cool things…” He caught the glare from Donna and grimaced.

“Yes, and if one of those cool things is taking my daughter up to the top of the treetops again — I will find a way to hurt you,” Donna warned him.

“Just kick him in the balls — it’s what I do, and it drops him every time, admittedly, he does get up faster than your average bear,” Sissy offered Malachi a wide, teasing grin.

“Okay, Mama bear — my apologies,” Brook offered, and when Malachi growled a warning at the vampire Brook tossed up a hand. “And daddy bear.” He sighed.

“Look at Santa!” Stacey announced with an outstretched finger toward the sleigh as it went by them.

“Just don’t eat Santa when he comes down your chimney on Christmas eve,” Brook leaned in and whispered to Malachi.

“If someone is stupid enough to come down a shifter’s chimney then they deserve to get eaten,” Malachi growled back.

“Is Malachi going to eat Santa?” Stacey asked all wide-eyed innocent, and a little whiny to boot.

“No,” Donna elbowed her mate in the ribs, and Malachi grunted at the feel of her pointy elbow hitting home.

“I wouldn’t eat Santa,” Malachi assured the child.

Stacey’s grinned widely before she turned her attention back toward the parade. Malachi tossed the vampire a death glare.

“That was not my fault,” Brook rushed to denial. “But, the bonus is, I’m still the cool guy!” He grinned.

“If you toss Stacey up in the air and catch her once more, you’ll be the dead guy,” Donna warned.

“He already is dead,” Malachi growled at the vampire.

“I haven’t dropped her once — yet,” Brook raised his eyes to the snow-filled clouds above and played it for all it was worth.

“Yet?” Donna demanded.

“Well — you have to factor in the fact that I might sneeze on occasion…” Brook lied.

“Vampire’s sneeze?” Donna frowned.

“We do when we’re pretending to be human,” Brook flashed her a big, teasing smile.

“Look at you — don’t you look cute in that hat?” One of Santa’s little helpers, a teenager, dressed as an elf, bent at the waist and offered Stacey a candy cane.

“It’s not real fur,” Stacey offered back to the makeshift elf. “Because that would be bad and my family wouldn’t like it.”

“And where’s your family?” The elf asked.

Stacey turned and pointed to the whole group with a big wide grin on her face. Malachi liked the sound of that.

“Would you look at that — I’m family,” Brook leaned in and chuckled with amusement as Malachi’s beaming smile dropped slightly.

“Says you,” Malachi growled.

“Says the boss of your house,” Brook chuckled back.

“That’s the trouble with children — they adopt strays,” Malachi growled back.

“Speaking of the family pet — how is your bear these days?” Brook grinned when Malachi growled.

“Still adverse to the walking dead,” Malachi tossed back.

“You two are like an old married couple,” Sissy chuckled on a shake of her head.

“My mummy just married my daddy!” Stacey announced with pride, and the elf reached into her bucket of candies and took out two canes, offering them to Malachi and Donna.

“Congratulations,” she said. Then she pressed a button on her headset and spoke into it. “Santa – newlyweds.”

Santa turned to look back at the group. He offered an over exaggerated wave as he spoke into his mic.

“Ho-ho-ho, congratulations! Newlyweds everybody,” he announced to the crowd as he pointed toward Donna and Malachi.

The crowd cheered, and people close to them offered their congratulations as Malachi puffed his chest out in pride at his family.

“It brings a tear to your eye, doesn’t it?” Brook leaned in towards the shifter and teased him once more.

“Say what you want — vampire — I’m not ashamed to admit that my family is everything to me,” Malachi said in a heartfelt response.

Malachi had finally found the one thing that he treasured above everything else. Family.

Christmas had brought him a miracle of his very own, and he was determined to pay back that generosity each and every day by being the best man, the best mate, the best father that he could possibly be.

And he promised that if Santa came down his chimney, then he wouldn’t eat him.

The End.