~

 

“What are you doing?” Angelique could feel it all around her. That essence. That diabolical, supernatural juju that could only belong to a wolf shifter.

“This is your Christmas journey,” George offered and tried to make it sound as nice as possible, even if it really was a fate worse than death, at least, he thought so.

Mated — he shivered at the thought. He’d almost bit off his own tongue when the fairy godmother had mentioned engagement.

“I can’t be here!” Angelique tossed back.

George was reconsidering the fact that he had released her from the gag. Although, he wasn’t silly enough to release her from her bindings.

Her arms were still firmly down by her sides — and her hands were fisted so that she couldn’t raise a single finger in magic toward him.

“Here is exactly where you need to be,” George offered back.

“Are you insane?” Angelique was walking, but not of her own volition. The fairy had spelled her legs to move and follow him over shifter ground.

Where they were going, only he knew!

“Yes.” He offered back. It was easier to agree with her than argue. That rule applied to most females that he’d come across, except Jessica, because that woman really did rub him up the wrong way.

“Is this because I reported you to the fairy godmother?” Angelique demanded.

“Yes,” George said.

‘You know it goes so much better if you tell them the truth,’ Jessica said from up high.

“Really?” George scowled over his shoulder at the fairy that was following along behind them.

“Really what?” Angelique demanded.

‘Sometimes.’

“Well, I’m not going to take the chance,” George grumbled back.

He caught sight of the way that Angelique was looking at him and did a double take. You would have thought he’d grown a second head or kicked a puppy.

“I knew it!” Angelique bit out.

“Knew what?” George asked, confused.

“I knew you were insane the moment I saw you.” Angelique huffed. “A male Christmas fairy — Ha!”

‘She’s only saying what the rest of us are thinking.’

“I’m not insane — I am the Christmas fairy — and this is your Christmas journey,” George offered the witch the only explanation that he had.

“Ha!”

“No — really,” George offered back.

Why couldn’t he be the Christmas fairy? What was so wrong with that? Apart from the obvious.

“Oh boy, are you nuttier than a squirrel’s harvest time,” Angelique bit back.

When she got out of her magical bindings — she was going to see just how far she could throw a human form fairy — and boy was she going to enjoy it.

‘She’s right about that too.’

“What is it with women who have magic?” George huffed.

“We’re smart enough to see you coming a mile off,” Angelique grumbled back.

“I’ll have you know that women find me adorable,” George offered back.

“I doubt that very much,” Angelique hissed.

‘About as adorable as the slime trail from a snail,’ Jessica said.

“Look, I’m the Christmas fairy — can we show me some respect?” George had had enough.

“No.”

‘Ditto.’

“Oh boy, am I going to enjoy handing you over to your mate…”

“My what!” Angelique tried her best to stop her legs from moving and her feet from taking another step.

A mate? Not this side of forever.

“You heard me!” George tossed back.

“Please tell me you really are insane!” Angelique all but begged.

“Sorry,” George’s singsong voice annoyed her even more than the smug little smile on his smug little face.

“That’s not…! You can’t…! I won’t…!”

Angelique couldn’t seem to keep her thoughts on track to finish a single sentence. She knew what she wanted to say — and it had a lot of swear words in it — but she couldn’t seem to get it out of her swirling mind and into something that resembled a heartfelt plea for leniency.

“Sorry — this Christmas present doesn’t come with a refund,” George offered back.

He did feel kind of sorry for her — or maybe for her mate — but still, it was his job.

“How about a one-way ticket to I’m going to kill you town?” Angelique bit back.

“Okay — I was starting to feel a little guilty — now, not so much,” George scowled at her.

“You cannot leave me here…”

“Of course not. I’m not going to leave you — I have to stay and make sure that you meet your mate,” George snapped on a bright and breezy smile, there was glee in his eyes.

Angelique wanted to kill the man.

She knew the kind of bad luck that you could get from killing a fairy.

She could imagine the kind of bad luck that you would get by killing the Christmas fairy.

But a mate?

That was a different kettle of fish entirely.

It felt like she had all the bad luck that she could handle anyway.

Ergo – What did it matter if she killed the Christmas fairy?