Peering out of the bathroom, I stood, frozen, watching Tatum open the front door. A gust of air rushed inside, whistling. The lace curtains fluttered, and the cold reached me, clawing at my flesh. Jax and Leven were on either side of him, all three, a wall of muscle. I gripped the toilet brush, my breath wedged in my lungs, hating that I didn’t have a knife. Back in California, I’d always carried a switchblade just in case, but I’d left it behind, determined to never find myself in a dangerous situation again. Well, that wasn’t going to plan.

Besides, if the guys were reacting this intensely, whatever was outside had to be bad. Like the ferocious creature in the woods. Add to that the insanity of Leven transforming, and the ludicrous story about Santa. And was it a coincidence that I’d almost run them over weeks ago when Britta and I had first arrived in town?

When all three of the men burst into laughter, I refocused on what they were staring at and crept out of the bathroom. With a better view of the outdoors, I found an enormous branch the size of a dead log across the path. Dozens of branches spiked outward in every direction, blocking half the doorway. It must have fallen from the storm, and now it was rolling back and forth in the blizzard, knocking against the wall.

Tatum and Leven stepped over the log, pushing the snow-covered branches aside, and heaved the mess away from the building. Wind and snow buffeted into them, tugging on their clothes and hair.

“False alarm,” Jax said, facing away from me.

“You always so jumpy?” I asked.

He turned toward me and eyed my toilet brush, which I quickly returned to the bathroom.

“For someone who doesn’t believe us, you were quick to arm yourself,” he added.

I rolled my eyes. “Well, I had no idea what to expect. And I have to look out for myself.”

“You got us now.” His smile was genuine, without a hint of mockery. I’d never had anyone insist they would protect me. Not even my parents, so his insistence just wasn’t gelling with me. Most people did things for their own benefit, and I just had to work out what they wanted.

“So is this what you’ve been doing all your life?” I asked. “Protecting anyone who you think will become the next Santa?”

He chuckled and combed a hand through his long, dark hair, reminding me of a Native American, though he had paler skin. Perfectly-cut cheekbones, a sharp nose, and large ocean-blue eyes made him beautiful in a masculine kind of way.

“I could only hope,” he replied. “Do you know how rare it is for a normal Arietes to be bound to a selected? I’ve dreamed of riding in the sleigh all my life, but my job is to fix the unit and keep it operating.”

“Arietes?”

“Reindeer shifters.” He strolled across the room toward me as if he were gliding through the air. “I’m a sleigh mechanic and protector. All Arietes are trained from a young age to be warriors. But each Santa only has a selected number of warriors who will be his personal guards and pull his sleigh. They’re the elite. Their kind do nothing but train their entire lives.”

“So then why are you here searching for Santa?” Curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to fully understand their story, even if it was made up.

“His elite team went down with him a few weeks ago for a dry run before the big day, and no one has heard from them since. The reserve elite team went to search for them, but they haven’t come back either. So Tatum pulled together a small scouting mission to uncover what was going on while everyone back home is keeping our families and the workshop safe, which is in lockdown in case it’s attacked by Krampus. Tatum is the leader of the reserve elite team, and Leven is an ex-elite who dropped out of Santa’s sleigh team after he discovered his parents and sisters had been butchered by Krampus. He’s been working on finding Krampus by himself ever since.”

“So you three are all who are left who can help Santa?”

He chuckled. “Something like that. Tatum is a close friend and I insisted on joining him, and Leven has the experience we need.”

“This whole thing is more complicated than I was thinking, but okay.”

“You still don’t get it.” Jax’s lips pinched tightly. “We’ve got friends out there in danger. And with you connected to the hat, we’re expected to protect you until you take your position as Santa and choose your own elite group of guards. If we don’t save you, you’ll die. The previous Santa will be free to live a new life after you kiss him for the final transfer of power.” Jax towered over me, and he stared at me with such depth that I wanted to explore what made him tick. He honestly believed in what he said, no doubt about that, but that didn’t make it the truth. I’d met people who’d insisted aliens lived in the middle of Earth, and nothing would change their mind.

Silence passed between us. Would Jax reach over and cup my face, run a thumb over my lips, or kiss me? His gaze dipped to my mouth.

Instead, he cleared his throat. “Sweetheart, you’ll be the first female Santa in history.”

I cocked a brow, yet I liked the whole idea of a female bringing Christmas cheer for a change. Once I got home and back into my routine, I’d move on from this insanity, but I doubted I’d forget these gorgeous men and their wild tales.

“We’ll survive another night.” Leven’s voice dragged my attention away from Jax. “That branch shall never harm another person again.” He grinned widely, chuckling to himself. Tatum marched in behind him and kicked the door shut, snow covering his hair. He dusted it free with a hand, sending speckles of white all around him.

Both gravitated to the heater, removing their gloves, and rubbed their hands in front the radiating warmth.

“If the storm has passed,” I started, “I’ll call someone to come pick me up in the morning. Thanks for letting me stay here.” I sat on the end of the queen bed, figuring there wasn’t a lot of space for everyone to sleep in this room. Even if I took the sofa, that meant two could share the bed and someone got the floor. Guess it was better than sleeping outside.

“We need to find Santa first and keep you safe.” Tatum spoke with his back to me, his voice strong, as if his mind was made up, and I opened my mouth but remembered Jax’s words. Whatever was actually going on here, if someone close to him was in danger, then he wouldn’t budge. And neither would I because my priority was Britta.

“You can do what you want,” I replied. “I’m going to my sister. She’ll be panicking because I’m not home.”

That time Tatum twisted around to meet my gaze. I expected him to fight me, but he nodded, his gaze softening, his chocolate eyes seeming to look right through me.

“We’ll take you home first then.” He didn’t say anything further, but I already understood the words he refused to say. That I would join them on their Santa search afterward, except I had no intentions of leaving Britta to join three strange men on a wild adventure. As gorgeous as they were, this wasn’t debatable, and also not something I’d admit now. First, get home and not feel as if I were at their mercy.

A knock came at the door, and we all turned toward it at the same time.

I froze on the spot, my stomach climbing to the back of any throat.

Tatum and Leven darted to the newcomer, while Jax moved to my side, snatching my arm and dragging me toward the bathroom. “Let’s move.”

But I fought against his grip while watching Tatum opened the door.

An older man drowning in a thick, blue coat stood there. Jax dropped my hand, and I sighed, exhausted of getting caught in their paranoia. Every sound had them jumping.

The man spoke in German, nodded his head a lot, and then handed Tatum a bottle and something else before marching out of sight. With the door shut, Leven clapped loudly, smiling. “Yes! The night has finally begun.”

“What’s going on?” I asked, hugging myself. Were we making too much noise? Except then why had the man given Tatum a gift? Or was it something he’d ordered earlier?

Tatum set the bottle of what looked like whiskey on the table. “The motel owner just thanked us with booze for moving the huge branch off his property. He said it would keep us warm. And he gave us the keys to the sauna, which he said is ready to go.”

All three of them were up on their feet, pulling on their coats, chuckling about luck and good deeds. Tatum grabbed four small glasses from the cabinet and poured the honey-colored beverage into them, then handed them out.

He raised his glass. “To finding Santa and the team. To keeping Nickie alive. And to eliminating Krampus once and for all.”

They all hooted and drank the whiskey in one gulp. I stared at my half-full glass and remembered the warmth the drinks had brought me back in my distillery. So I placed the glass to my lips and tilted back my head, swallowing the contents. The whiskey ran down my throat, heating me at once, leaving in its wake a smoky taste.

I shook myself as the strength hit me. “Hell, that’s strong.” I coughed and the guys laughed at me.

Jax walked to my side and held out his palm. “Are you joining us, Nickie? A sauna is the best way to warm up on freezing nights.”

Honestly, I’d never been in a sauna but had read somewhere that Europeans loved them, and if I intended to get familiar with the local customs, this might be a good chance to understand the whole fascination with sitting in a steaming hot room. Besides, who could pass up the chance to try one with three hot guys?

“Sure.” I got to my feet and accepted his hand. In a swoosh, he dragged me across the room, helped me put my coat on as if I were a child, and then we were outside. The blistery chill froze me, but we kept moving. Jax remained at my back, the other two rushing ahead on the narrow sidewalk along the motel until they reached a locked door. In no time, we were inside a room resembling a locker room with multiple doors around us, but my sights landed on the huge signs nailed to the wall, and I scanned the English version.