I was already having second thoughts about dropping by to see Ray when I'd had to fight the sudden onslaught of snow the last two blocks to his house. By the time I made the trek up his driveway to the porch, that white shit was really coming down. As I stomped my feet on the welcome mat to clean the bottoms of my wet boots, the sound of Christmas carols hit my ears.

My fist was already knocking on the door before it dawned on me that there was a party going on inside. I bit my lip, searching my brain to try and remember the date.

Fuck. Had I gone and forgotten a holiday again? I really needed to quit doing that. Before I could turn and disappear into the night, the door swung open, releasing the sounds and smells of Christmas out into the night.

Justin, Ray's husband, greeted me with a warm smile. "Merry Christmas, Sam. I was hoping you'd drop by for your regular Friday visit when Ray forgot to invite you to our holiday party. I’m so happy you’re here."

I held up my hands. "No, Justin. It's my bad, I wasn't paying attention to the date. You're too kind, and I appreciate you pretending, but I'll just go."

Before I could step away, Justin grabbed my arm and pulled me inside, surprising me with his strength. "You're not going anywhere, you big dummy. And especially not with the snow coming down the way it is. You'll get in here and make some damn merry with the rest of us, do you hear me?" As he spoke, he was already tugging at my jacket, hinting for me to remove it. Once I'd removed all of my winter trappings, Justin hung my scarf and coat on the rack and set my gloves in one of the empty cubbies he had set up in the entryway. "Take off those wet boots and tuck them in there, honey. Let's get you warm and dry."

Justin's no-nonsense manner had me obeying. I was thanking my lucky stars that I’d worn a clean, matched pair of socks today as I pulled off my boots. After I’d put them away as instructed, I turned to find Justin holding out a Santa hat. "Here you go; now you're all set for rocking around the Christmas tree." He gave a satisfied nod when I put the hat on and led me into the living room, swinging his hips and humming the song he'd named.

When I walked into the living room, I was stunned for a moment and paused mid-step to take in the sheer number of people in the room. Naturally, I recognized all the guys from Team ALPHA, but seeing them with their mates and children was definitely new. Ray set the baby he been holding into the arms of an older woman as he stood to come shake my hand.

"Sammy boy, you made it. Justin ripped me a new a—um, butthole when I admitted that I'd forgotten to pass on his invitation." I stifled a chuckle at the contrite expression on his face as he corrected himself before cussing. "I told him you’d stop by anyway. It's Friday night. Where else would you go, am I right?" As he shook my hand, Ray pulled me in for a man-hug that ended with a pat on the back before slipping an arm around my shoulders and guiding me over to an empty spot on one of the couches. "Here you go, you can keep Dean-o here company. The two of you are the only lucky bast—er, brats who don't have a mate to nag you or kids to drive you nuts."

"Careful, Raymond." Justin spoke in a sing-song voice, smiling almost wickedly at his mate from where he'd taken a seat with the pups who were in a circle around the tree. "Don't forget that I know where you sleep, dearest. And my sweet Pax has been teaching me the most interesting knife-throwing skills."

Ray chuckled as he rubbed his hands together. "Now that right there just sounds like I'm being threatened with a good time. Meet me in our room later; maybe you can give me a private demo. I'll bring the rope, and you'll bring a knife?"

Justin clamped his hands over the ears of the pup who’d climbed in his lap as he shot his husband a scandalized glare. "Keep it PG, dear."

The conversation swirled around me as Ray went over to tease his mate. Until I’d accidentally stumbled into this party, I hadn't realized just how lonely I was. I hadn't looked at the calendar because I avoided it this time of year. With my folks gone and my brother out living his own life, it was just me these days. I leaned back and swung my arm up to the back of the couch, narrowly missing knocking an outstretched cup of eggnog onto the tiny man seated beside me.

His lavender-colored eyes nearly took my breath away as I opened my mouth to apologize and found myself unable to speak. He blushed, the pretty pink stain spreading over his cheeks as I stared at him. "Hi, I'm Sam and you’re Dean. Wait, reverse that. Also, Ray already said that, didn't he?" He shook his head and winced before starting over. "Preston just passed these out as you were coming in; I took two when I assumed you'd be sitting with me since that was the only empty spot in the room." He shoved the glass in my hand and shook his head. "I'm babbling, excuse me. Anyway, have some eggnog. 'Tis the season, and all that jazz."

My wolf was sitting up inside me and paying attention, urging me to focus as he spoke. As I took the cup, the fresh scent of cocoa and a hint of peppermint wafted up my nose. I looked around curiously, wondering who was drinking hot chocolate, but all the surrounding adults had the same eggnog. I finally found my voice after I took a sip. "You're not babbling. It's nice to have someone to talk to when you find yourself the odd man out at what is apparently a family party."

Dean threw his head back with a light laugh, his even white teeth sparkling in the low-lit room. "Then you're in the right spot because I'm the other fifth wheel in this sea of mated couples. Stick with me, kid. We'll be odd men together." Dean paused and tipped his head to the side as he considered what he’d said for a moment before waving a hand and grinning. "I don't think that came out quite as smooth as it was in my head, but you get the point."

I was completely charmed by this guy. I had a feeling that in a less crowded situation, he probably had a bit of spunk and a spark of sass to go along with that adorably awkward rambling he did. "Dr. Seuss said that you have to be odd to be number one. So if we’re odd, then maybe that means good things for our futures, huh?"

Dean grinned. "An alpha who can casually quote Dr. Seuss. Interesting. Keep talking, because I'm definitely listening."

Before I could say anything else, I felt a small hand tugging on my sleeve. "I like Dr. Seuss too, mistah. What’s your favorite? Wanna read one together?" I looked down at the earnest face of a chubby-cheeked little boy. He hugged three well-worn books to his chest that he proceeded to start laying on my lap, one book at a time. Sure enough, all of them were by Dr. Seuss. "Do you like Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, or One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish?" While he waited expectantly for my answer, a little girl came up and pushed his shoulder. The two of them looked like a matched pair. I could only assume they were siblings, if not twins.

Shaking her head at the boy, she put a hand on her hip. "Allan, you can't keep asking everyone to read your silly books to you. It's Christmas. Put those away until tomorrow—or next year."

Allan stood his ground, planting his own hands on his hips as he leaned forward and stood nose to nose with the girl as he spoke directly into his sister's face. "No, Irene. Go away and quit being mean or I'm telling Papa. He said you have to be nice to me for Christmas, remember? And if you're not nice, Santa will put a hole in your stocking."

Irene rolled her eyes as she spoke in that patronizing voice that only a sibling could properly pull off. "Not a hole, silly. Coal. Santa puts coal in people's stockings if they're bad."

"Now I know my pups aren't over here arguing in front of these nice people on Christmas Eve. Please tell me my children know better than that." Cody wandered over and picked the little girl up, slinging her over his shoulder and landing a playful swat on her bottom before reaching down to ruffle his son's hair. He quirked an eyebrow at the books spread out on my lap and winced. "They aren't over here bugging you, are they, Sammy?"

Dean rested a hand on my arm and gave a light squeeze as he smiled gently at little Allan. "They're not a bother at all, Cody. Your children are quite charming. In fact, I believe that Mr. Sam was helping Allan pick out a story to read."

A familiar tiny, bright-eyed omega overheard our conversation and began bouncing on Zeke's lap, where he'd been curled up. His bright pink hair swept over one side of his face, giving him a soft look—although I knew damn well that Pax was anything but that. I grinned at the sight of a slightly inebriated Pax. Seeing that was worth crashing this party for, right there. Pax started chanting. "Sto-ry. Sto-ry. Sto-ry."

The oldest pup, a pretty little blonde girl who I guessed to be about six, clapped her hands. "Yes! Tell us your story, Grandpapa! It's our family Christmas story, you can't skip that."

"Do I want to know why it's your family Christmas story?" Dean leaned forward to ask Justin. "You've only ever told me the barest hints of your background, but even that little bit never sounded like a holiday tale to me."

Justin chuckled. "When you have all your dreams come true on Christmas Day, then it becomes the best holiday tale ever. And that's exactly what happened; I got my Ray on Christmas Day when he rescued me from my past, and we kissed and lived happily ever after."

"I believe you may have glossed over a few of the more pertinent details there, baby." Ray plucked a candy cane off the tree and made a show of sucking on it as he stared at his mate and lifted a brow.

Justin playfully wagged his finger at Ray before looking around the room as he spoke. "I'll tell my story, but remember, you only get the PG version when there are little ears present. If you want the director's cut, you'll have to catch me after I’ve had a few more eggnogs and the pups are all home in their beds."

Stacking the Dr. Seuss books, I started to hand them back to Allan as everyone settled in to listen to Justin speak. But the little guy just took them and set them on the floor before proceeding to climb onto my lap and plop himself down. I sat stiffly, not sure where to put my hands or what to do while he wiggled around and got himself comfortable. Dean picked up on my predicament. Snickering quietly to himself, he motioned for me to wrap my arms around the little guy’s tummy. As soon as I did that, his head fell back against my chest and he let out a satisfied sigh while Justin began to speak.