Christmas Eve

“Haven’t put up the sign yet, but we’re going to be closed tomorrow.” The barista grinned at me, handing over a steaming mug of apple cider and a cranberry crepe. “And the annual shifter run is tonight. Will I be seeing you two there?” 

I glanced at Seb. He was too occupied looking at the case of baked goods to notice anything else, so I nudged him in the side.

“Hey, what was that for?” He crowed, looking up.

“Evan had a question for you.” 

Sebastian stood. “Yeah?”

“The shifters run,” Evan said again, rubbing the back of his neck. “We do it every Christmas Eve to ring in the holiday.” 

“Ohhh.” Back when I lived in Vale Valley, I’d either been too young or too stubborn to participate. I literally flew the coop to get away from my shifter nature. A lot of good that did. But now I was back, and the longer I stayed here, the more I felt like maybe this could be home after all. 

“It would be my first one, but I’d be happy to make an appearance. Why not.”

Evan beamed back at us. “It’s nothing too formal, we’ll meet at the clearing at midnight, shift, and have a little fun. I heard Rosemary’s even coming out tonight.”

My eyes widened at that. “I thought she didn’t shift anymore. Her wolf...”

Evan shrugged. “It’s just what I heard. And who knows, Vale Valley is full of all sorts of surprises this year.”

My stomach did a flip flop at that. He didn’t know the half of it.

Though I was happy for my mate and had always been interested in the midnight run, I’d never been invited. I wasn’t a shifter, after all. So perhaps I’d stay home and watch a movie.

Or finally take a damn pregnancy test.

“You wanna come?” Sebastian asked. “Might be fun. We can see what all the fuss is about.”

“But I’m not a shifter,” I stammered. There went my plans.

“That’s okay,” Sebastian said. “I am. Mates are welcome, right Evan?”

“Of course,” Evan said, eyes gleaming. “Wouldn’t want to leave him out of the fun.”

I grinned at them both. A strange, curling sensation flowed through my core and outward. Something a little like anticipation? Surprise? Excitement?

Or maybe it was just so new, actually being picked for something. Being invited for something. Wanted.

I could get used to that.

“How will I keep up, though?” I looked up into Seb’s honey-brown eyes. “You’ll all leave me in the dust.”

Sebastian’s face lit up with an idea. There was that teasing, secretive grin. “Not if you ride on my back.”

“On your...” I mouthed the words. “In dragon form?” 

I’d never seen Sebastian shift. Though the town was full of shifters, many kept their animal natures well controlled. Come to think of it, I’d only ever seen a few shifts, period. And never a dragon. My mate, my wonderful, strong alpha...I tried to imagine him towering over me as a powerful dragon, filled with fire. I imagined him soaring above the clouds. And me on his back.

“Would you be okay with that?” Sebastian asked. “I don’t want to push you, but the view from up there is spectacular.”

I swallowed the knot of apprehension and nodded. “I’d love to. Good thing I’m not scared of heights.” I gave a nervous laugh. “Not yet, at least.”

Sebastian wrapped me in his arms. It didn’t matter that we were in public. I needed the hug right then. His warmth flowed through me and around me as Seb planted a kiss on top of my head. “I guess we’ll find out tonight.” 

“I guess we will,” I repeated. I glanced longingly at the cranberry crepe and rapidly-cooling apple cider. “Now can I eat? I’m starving!” 

Night fell quicker than seemed possible. The food hadn’t upset my stomach this time, which was always a plus, but there was a different sort of anxious gnawing in my gut as the time drew closer.

Was I really going to go through with this? 

I was just...Will. I couldn’t shift into an animal. I couldn’t fly. And if something happened to me, I was a lot less resilient than the others, too. All evening I had visions of free-falling through the air, landing with a smack in the middle of some field somewhere, losing the baby...

I gulped and a hand went to my stomach. There was that thought again. Was my body trying to tell me something?

I needed to tell him. I knew that. But if he wanted a child...or even if he didn’t, and it turned out I was wrong, the false alarm would cause even more stress. I wanted to wait until I knew, but time grew short. It was Christmas Eve, and I still didn’t know for sure what Seb’s plans for the New Year were...

Taking a deep breath, I walked into one of the back rooms where Seb was tapping away on his laptop. I knocked on the door frame as I entered and he looked up.

“Hey sweetie. Just about ready for tonight?” He glanced at the clock. “We should probably get ready to head out in half an hour or so. You’ll want to bundle up—gets cold up there.”

“I will. Got my coat and scarf all laid out.” I shuffled my feet, searching for what to say next. “There’s um, something I wanted to talk to you about.” 

Sebastian looked up from his computer. “What’s up, cinnabun?”

I took a deep breath. Gulped. Here went nothing.

“I think I might be—“ 

At literally the worst time in the history of times, the phone rang. I flinched at the sound and Seb’s eyes snapped to the caller ID. His face fell.

“I am so sorry, sweetheart. If it was anyone else, I’d ignore it but I’ve gotta take this.” His expression was almost pained. What could be so important? 

“I—“ I started, but he’d already picked up the receiver. 

“Sorry,” he mouthed again before answering the call. 

The hope deflated out of me and the words stuck on my tongue. Sighing, I turned and left. Guess now wasn’t the time, either.

By the time Sebastian got off the phone, we were nearly running late. He tried to mask it, but I could see the haunted expression behind his eyes. Something had happened. Something bad.

How could I bring up my own problems at a time like this?

“You ready?” Seb called. Even his voice sounded tired.

I yearned to go to him then. Wanted to wrap him in my love and make it all go away. He’d been through so much lately, and it seemed like the hits never stopped coming. When it rains, it pours. 

“You still wanna go?” I asked tentatively, watching him.

He looked at me like I was crazy. “Yeah, duh. Besides, I think we could both use some fresh air right about now. Come on.” He took my shoulder and led me out of the room to the entryway. 

Fine. If he didn’t want to talk about it, then I wouldn’t bring it up. Right now, all I wanted to do was make my mate happy and wash away whatever haunted those beautiful eyes. So I’d stand strong, for him. Our talk could wait.

By the time we arrived at the clearing, most everyone had already gathered. There were plenty of people I knew there, but plenty I didn’t, as well. We wove through the crowd, greeting and shaking hands and wishing everyone a joyous season. I put on my best smile and played the part, but nagging doubt still coiled inside me. I had to tell him. I had to. But when?

A sudden round of applause cut off my thoughts, and I looked around to find the source. Rosemary had arrived, wearing a long flowing white gown and a wreath of holly atop her head. 

I grinned and started clapping along. I knew how much this meant to her. Ever since her husband passed, she’d stayed home for the midnight run. Said it didn’t feel right without him. But so much had changed this year. New traditions were made. Old traditions were rekindled. And just when I least expected it, a man who’d become my mate flew into my life. 

Funny how that works, isn’t it?

“You look stunning,” Sebastian admitted. “Glad you could make it.”

She gave us a mischievous smile and shrugged. “Things are changing here in the Valley. The return of the Festival, new opportunities, new love—“ She glanced at us. “Figure its time I try something new as well.”

“Thank you for coming,” one of the larger shifter men said, stepping forward to shake her hand. “We’re about to get started, but perhaps you’d like to lead?” 

Rosemary’s eyes flashed and a grin spread across her face. “I’d like that very much.”

I stood there and watched. Everyone grew silent. The only sounds were the wind whistling through the trees and the far off hoo-hoo call of an owl. Lazy clouds floated past, and the now-exposed moon bathed us all in her light. 

What happened next was unlike anything I could have imagined. A chorus of howls and cries ripped through the night. People tossed their clothes aside. Hunkered down. Shifted.

Chaos reigned around me. Sebastian became my anchor in that storm. I clung to him like a lifeline, watching his eyes melt from brown to bright, glowing gold. The same thing that had happened to my neighbors and friends was happening to him too. Soon, he would stand before me as a dragon.

“You ready for this?” He asked me, squeezing my hand. His voice had taken on a different tenor, deeper than his usual. The dragon was there all right, begging to come out.

“As I’ll ever be,” I promised him, and Seb gave himself over to the shift.

It was unlike anything I’d seen before. I watched in mixed fascination and terror as his body morphed and changed in front of me. He roared out to the night, so loud it shook the ground where I stood. I didn’t move a muscle. Couldn’t. I was too enraptured but what I saw.

His feet turned into huge talons and claws. His eyes bulged and glowed even brighter with golden life. And then the most miraculous thing of all happened: from his back sprouted two impossibly large, powerful wings.

The entire shift took only a few seconds, but it was like I was watching in slow motion. I wanted to record every little bit of it. Every tweak. Every change. He was mine. He was strong. So powerful. So beautiful. 

A large green dragon stood before me, his scales shimmering proudly in the moonlight. Curled horns protruded from the spot where his forehead had been, and a white stripe raced down his back, all the way to his tail. 

I couldn’t close my gaping mouth. A real live dragon.

And he was mine.

I stepped forward, almost in a daze. My hand outstretched in front of me, I took a careful step. Then another. My shaking hand came to rest against his warm, smooth scales, and I sucked in a breath. The scales were smooth like glass under my fingertips, but warm and pulsing with life. I could feel each beat of his heart. Each rise and fall of his breath. 

I laid my head against his side and closed my eyes, listening to the thrum of his heart with mine. It sung to me in words that needed no explanation. It was our song, our duet. The very same melody that could never be reproduced by another, combined by the music of our souls. 

<Are you okay, little one?>

My eyes snapped open. I’d heard him, just then. But dragons couldn’t talk, at least not like us...

I’d heard him in my mind.

“Whoa,” I breathed, taking a step back. “I can hear you?” 

<You can hear me, my love. Try it for yourself.>

I squinted. <How’s this?>

<Perfect. Would you like to climb on?>

All the earlier fear I had felt melted out of me. I trusted him. Dragon or human, he was my mate. He would never hurt me.

<I’m not sure...where to...>

Sebastian bent at the knees, his back crouching lower to the ground. <Clamber on and get seated. Right over the wings is a good spot.>

I tested a foothold on Seb’s side, trying to see if it would hold my weight.

<Don’t be shy, cinnabun. You won’t hurt me.>

With that thought in mind I grabbed onto a few of the scales and hoisted myself up, my feet kicking at his side. It wasn’t pretty, but I managed to scramble up onto his back. Up here, the sensations of life and power were even stronger. I felt it too, a rising within my own spirit. We were one.

I scooted forward to the spot where Seb had suggested, nuzzling my face into the warmth of the scales at his neck. God, when did he start smelling so good? It spoke to me in the most primal way, his pheromones mixing with mine for a heady cocktail of awe and desire. I wrapped my hands around him and braced my knees on either side. 

<You ready?> Seb echoed inside my mind.

<I’m ready.> I echoed back. 

<Hold on tight!> 

Those huge, beautiful wings expanded to their full span and flapped, pushing the air under us as we sailed upward. He kicked off with his back legs and the ground fell away, wind rushing through my hair and roaring in my ears. 

I was flying. Holy shit. We were flying!

The ground grew smaller around us as Seb ascended, rushing past in a blur of moonlit ivory.

Each footprint in the snow diminished to a tiny speck. Cold air flooded against my face and whipped my scarf out behind me, but I didn't care. Sebastian's warmth was more than enough, and I wouldn't have traded this experience for the world.

I saw now what he meant about the view from up here. When you were so high above the town, you felt so small, and yet so big at the same time. All the fears and problems that plagued me on the ground couldn't touch me up here. Here, I was simply present. Enjoying the warmth of my mate, feeling the pulse of life between us, and watching as the moon smiled down upon us all.

<What do you think?> I heard Seb's voice over the roar of the wind. <Beautiful, isn't it?>

I didn't know that I could come up with words for how stunned I was. <It's incredible...I've never seen anything like it.>

<Now you know why shifters love to run. Or fly, as the case may be.>

We sailed onto a passing air current and glided, Seb's wide wingspan keeping us aloft. Mountains loomed in the distance and below us thick forests of pine trees stretched toward the sky. Shifters of all types ran and jumped and played around us. The night lit up with their cries of joy and celebration.

<Merry Christmas, darling.> Seb said as we circled Vale Valley's huge lake. Even in the depths of the coldest winter, it never froze. Our silhouettes reflected off the glassy surface, along with the pale shape of the full moon. <I'm glad you're here with me.>

<I love you.> I whispered to him in my mind, laying my head against the warmth of his scales once more.

<I love you too. Now and forever.>