“What time is it?” asked Sean, rubbing his eyes. “How long have I been out? How did I get here?”

“Nearly noon,” said Krampus. “Never seen someone handle The Ride like you did, Sean. You put your all into it. Maybe you put too much into it. You conked out as soon as you landed. I had to carry you into bed. That’s why you’re in yesterday’s clothes. But you did good. Not ‘get you off The Naughty List’ good, but good.”

“Noon? I won’t make it,” said Sean, running to the door, out to the patio, to look out across The Wreath. “I have to try. I need to take the boat, Krampus.”

“It’s Christmas Day,” said Krampus. “What’s the rush?”

“Joy goes home today,” said Sean. “I never got a chance to say goodbye to her, and I never saw her last night. She leaves at noon.”

“She staying in Avery’s rental unit?” Asked Krampus, not looking up from his book, a biography on Aleister Crowley. “You can’t get there by noon by rowboat. My speedboat’s out of fuel.”

“I have to try,” said Sean, walking down to the dock to lower the boat into the water.

Krampus put a hand on Sean’s shoulder.

“Sean,” said Krampus.

“I have to do this, Krampus,” said Sean.

“Sean,” repeated Krampus.

“This is the most important thing I’ve ever had to do in my life,” said Sean. “Just let me leave.”

“Sean,” said Krampus. “You’re still a reindeer shifter. You can just fly over.”

“I can fly? This entire time I could’ve just flown?” asked Sean. “I thought that the sleigh was magic.”

“It is but so is your shift,” said Krampus. “Now, do you want to stand here talking to me about a jolly dude’s sleigh, or are you going to go win your fated mate?”

“I’ll go to her,” said Sean.

Sean got down on all fours and closed his eyes.

Dasher? You there? asked Sean.

You know it, said Dasher. You’ve run before, but trust me. You’ve never flown. Not like this.

Sean felt his body change. His limbs got longer, covered in fur, each one ending with a hoof. Out of his head grew the familiar antlers. Sean’s clothing didn’t burst apart, but instead, was contained within the shift through some sort of Christmas magic.

Just take a running leap off the dock, and you’ll be in the air, said Dasher. Just keep running.

Sean psyched himself. It seemed crazy, but it was his one chance at seeing Joy and explaining everything to her.

Sean walked back onto the dock and then turned. Sean ran as fast as he could and leaped into the air, off of the dock, and kept moving his legs.

Sean expected to hit the icy cold water of The Wreath. Instead, he was in the air, running through the air as he had the night before, on The Ride.

Sean had never felt anything like it before. He had never flown on his own before. Surrounded by Santana and the other seven reindeer, things had been different. There’d been a safety net. Up in the air, Sean was alone with Dasher.

You think it’s not too late? asked Sean.

It’s never too late, said Dasher. Trust me, kid. I’ve seen some incredible stuff happen in all my lives.

What if she doesn’t forgive me? asked Sean.

If you didn’t even try, could you ever forgive yourself? asked Dasher.

Sean spotted Joy’s rental. Joy was the one person outside during Christmas Day. The other houses were filled with families opening presents under the tree. Joy was lugging boxes to her car.

Sean tried to let out a roar to get Joy’s attention. He’d forgotten that as a reindeer, he didn’t have a roar. He sounded like a farting goose. At least the noise worked and got Joy’s attention.

Joy looked up and nearly dropped her box. Above her, in the sky, was a reindeer. It wasn’t just a reindeer. It was the reindeer, the one who had defended her at the Bear Claw Bakery, the one whose identity she’d never known.

Sean landed in the middle of the road and walked up to Joy, still in his shift. He walked up to her slowly. He knew that his shift was much taller than her, very intimidating looking even though the reindeer was an herbivorous, non-predatory animal. Joy reached a hand out, and Sean let her touch his forehead. Sean closed his eyes and felt himself transform again.

“W-what?” asked Joy, pulling her hand away. “Sean? That’s you? How can this be? You’re a bear shifter, not a reindeer shifter. What’s going on?”

“Yes, it is I,” said Sean, standing up, fully clothed. “I had to see you before you left. I needed to apologize to you, for standing you up. I can explain everything, from why I can turn into a flying frikkin’ reindeer to why I stood you up.”

“Apology not accepted,” said Joy. “It’s best you just leave.”

“Just…give me a chance to explain,” begged Sean. “Please.”

“What possible excuse could you have for standing me up on Christmas Eve and ruining my Christmas?” asked Joy.

“I didn’t want to ruin your Christmas,” said Sean. “I was busy saving Christmas.”

“You expect me to believe that?” asked Joy.

“My name is Sean Jackson, of Clan Marron,” said Sean. “I’m a bear shifter. I didn’t show you my bear sooner, because it was taken from me.”

“Shifters don’t lose their shifts,” said Joy.

“They do…if they’re in danger of falling victim to mate madness,” said Sean.

“I know about mate madness,” said Joy. “It’s the line every shifter uses to try and bed a curvy gal like me.”

“The man you saw me with, Krampus? He’s not just my boss. He’s the Christmas demon. He came to Clan Marron to find a bad boy, somebody who’d been Naughty, who needed to learn to be Nice,” said Sean. “Tell me, Joy. You’ve dated bear shifters before. You know of my Clan and my shift. What bear shifter turns into a reindeer? What shifter has hands like these? What bear shifter can shift back and forth without destroying his clothes?”

Sean pointed his palms towards Joy.

Joy looked over Sean’s hands. The marks were the same as they’d always been. There was a pair of what looked like teardrops, each dotted by a circular mark at the base. They were the marks of shifters, alright, but not of any bear shifter she’d seen.

“Fine,” said Joy. “Let’s say you did have your shift taken. Why?”

“Krampus works for Santana Claus. You may know him by another name: Santa,” said Sean.

“And?” asked Joy.

“Santana Claus needed me on Christmas Eve. He needed me to help drive his sleigh. When Krampus took my shift, he gave me another…or, rather, gave me to another shift. Dasher. A reindeer. One of Santana’s eight most trusted sleigh drivers,” said Sean. “He also took my mate mark and gave me this one instead.”

“What do you mean?” asked Joy. “That’s not your mate mark?”

“No,” said Sean. “It’s not. That’s why when we had sex, nothing ‘happened.’ This is not my mate mark, Joy. This is a reminder of who I was, in the past, of what I was.”

“According to your chest, you’re still Naughty,” said Joy.

“Not for lack of trying,” said Sean. “I didn’t want to stand you up last night, Joy. It was a Christmas emergency. A series of freak blizzards swept the land and The Ride, Santana Claus’s ride around the world, had to start early, to ensure that everyone got their toys in time for Christmas. I had no idea it was going to happen, or I would’ve never promised to spend part of Christmas Eve with you. I was going to explain everything to you last night, before The Ride, but there was no time. I was needed at The North Pole. Last night, I drove Santa’s sleigh around the world, even asked Krampus for advice. Today, I’d fly all around the world twice over, just to have one more chance to explain myself to you.”

“And what exactly did Krampus have to say?” asked Joy.

“He said to tell you the truth, the full truth,” said Sean.

“And…what is the full truth?” asked Joy softly.

“The truth is, I love you,” said Sean. “I don’t need to see a mark glow in the dark to know that you’re my fated mate, Joy. I know you are. More importantly, you’re my true love. You’re the only woman I could ever see myself being with.”

“What are you trying to say?” asked Joy.

“I’m trying to ask you a question,” said Sean.

Sean reached into his pants pocket. He pulled out the wrapped box he’d been fingering and got down on one knee, in the snow, looking up at Joy.

“Joy McLedon, there’s only one thing I want for Christmas, and it’s an answer to this question,” said Sean.

Sean passed the present to Joy. Sean hadn’t opened the box since Pandora had given it to him, but he knew only one thing could be inside.

Joy unwrapped the paper around the present slowly. It was small, not very heavy, with a rounded top and flat base. When she saw what was inside, she nearly dropped it.

Sean gently took the box from Joy’s hand and popped it open, revealing its contents to Joy.

“Joy McLedon…will you do me the honor of marrying me and being my wife?” asked Sean. “I promise I’ll never miss another Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or Christmas season. I’ve done the work I needed to do for Santana Claus. There’s no obligation hanging over my head. By tonight, Dasher will leave my body. I’ll be a man without a shift. I will dedicate my life to honoring and loving you, as my wife, if you’ll have me in my human form and my human form alone.”

“And as your mate?” asked Joy.

“I don’t know if I have a mate,” said Sean. “I don’t know if I’ll ever earn back my shift or my mate mark. I don’t even know if, when I go back home without my shift, I’ll still be a part of Clan Marron. I thought the mark on my chest would change after I helped Santana Claus with The Ride. I thought a lot of things. The only thing I’m sure of, Joy, is that I want to be with you, shift or no shift, mark or no mark.”

“Sean, are you sure?” asked Joy. “You’re willing to stop trying to get your mark back, your bear back, just to marry me?”

“Absolutely,” said Sean.

“Sean…I believe you. I believe what you said about Krampus and this ‘Santana Claus.’ I believe what you said about losing your shift, about why you’re a reindeer, about The Ride. The one thing that’s hard to believe is that you’d give your mark and your shift up for me, that you’d give all that up for love, but, I can tell you mean it,” said Joy. “I can tell you’re telling me the truth. I can’t believe I’m saying this, Sean, but you made me believe in Christmas magic. Yes, Sean. I’ll marry you.”

Sean slipped the ring on Joy’s finger. Suddenly, a change took place. Sean’s chest started to glow.

“What’s happening?” asked Joy.

“I don’t know,” said Sean.

Sean tore his plaid shirt off and tossed it aside. He looked down at his chest. The letters in the word ‘Naughty’ were glowing. Sean swore he could smell the scent of freshly cooked turkey and cranberry sauce. He could hear the sound of a sleigh’s runners scraping the snow.

Took you long enough, but you finally did it, friend, said Dasher.

A man stepped out of thin air, in front of Sean and Joy. It was Krampus, wearing his signature black tailored suit.

“Somebody loves to make an entrance,” said Sean. “And a costume change.”

“Ahem,” said Krampus, clearing his throat. “Congratulations, Sean. You’ve managed to do something Nice for someone else, and you’re finally off of The Naughty List. You can have your shift and your mate mark back.”

A puff of red and green and gold glitter appeared and out stepped none other than Avery!

“Wait, what’s going on?” asked Joy. “Did he just…and did she just…?”

“Well, sugar, I’m a Christmas elf,” said Avery, tapping her ears. Her round ears warped into ears with pointed tips!

“You’re a what?” squealed Joy.

“I’m a Christmas elf, and Krampus, well, he’s a Christmas demon. Just like Sean and Krampus, I’m one of Santa’s helpers – but I’m not Naughty, and I do this all year round,” explained Avery. “Every year, Santana tells me who to hire, who he thinks is fated to end up with that year’s bad boy in training, and well, this year, you and Sean won the fated mate lottery!”

“If you knew we were fated mates the whole time, why didn’t you just tell us?” asked Joy.

“Because Santana doesn’t exactly approve of me and Krampus meddling any more than we have to,” said Avery. “Krampus may not play by the rules, but I do. If I hadn’t played by the rules, Sean wouldn’t’ve been able to do what he had to do to get off The Naughty List!”

“Sean…you made it off The Naughty List?” asked Joy. “Well, stripe me red and white and call me a candy cane! You did it!”

Sean looked down at his chest. Across his chest, the word ‘Naughty’ had been replaced by the word ‘Nice,’ written in bright Christmas red.

Krampus reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a familiar snow globe.

“Before we do this, can I ask something?” asked Sean.

“Sure,” said Krampus. “We’re not in any rush.”

“What exactly did I do to get off The Naughty List?” asked Sean. “I helped with Operation Milk And Cookies. I rode The Ride. I proposed to Joy. What was the thing that tipped the scales?”

“All those things helped, but what you did just now was much simpler and much more important,” said Krampus. “You made Joy believe in Christmas magic, and that’s what took you off The Naughty List. Simply helping Joy believe in the magic of the season was good enough.”

“See, Joy? If I told you about Christmas magic, then Sean couldn’t’ve helped you believe in Christmas magic!” explained Avery. “In the process, you two fell in love…and you learned that the true meaning of Christmas is spreading joy! You learned that first hand with Operation Milk and Cookies.”

“Wow,” said Sean. “That’s what my dad said, before sending me here. Guess I should’ve listened to the old man after all!”

Krampus held out the snow globe. Joy peeked in.

“Well, I’ll be,” whispered Joy. “Guess you were telling the truth after all.”

“Are you ready to say goodbye to Dasher? He’ll help someone else find their fated mate in a while. Who knows? Maybe you two will cross paths again. Fate works in mysterious ways,” said Krampus cryptically.

“This is it, buddy,” said Sean out-loud, for everyone to hear. “I know it must’ve taken patience to deal with a shifter like me, one who was always running away from something, but you taught me that it’s not about what we run from, but what we run towards, that matters. You taught me that the real meaning of Christmas is home, finding your place that’s ‘just right.’ Farewell, my friend. Until we meet again.”

Sean touched the snow globe. The exchange of energy took place again. Ribbons of gold and green energy flowed out of the globe and into Sean’s fingertips. Sean felt a familiar presence enter his body again and, in a few seconds, Sean could see that Dasher had reappeared inside the snow globe, dashing through the snow.

“What happens next?” asked Sean.

Krampus reached out a hand and touched Sean’s chest. Sean’s chest felt icy cold for a split second. He looked back down. His mark had reappeared as if it had never left.

“We all write the endings to our own stories,” said Krampus. “I think you two have a bit of ‘writing’ to get to. Sean, visit Avery at the bakery when you two want to go pick your stuff up. And, by the way, I made you this. Hope when you see it, you think of the good times, the tough times, the wild times.”

Krampus pulled a bag out of his pocket.

“ I do have one more question,” said Sean. “What’s with your pockets?”

“They’re magic pockets. I can store infinite things in them,” said Krampus. “Don’t go around telling everyone or they’ll all want a pair. Here.”

Krampus passed the green velvet bag to Sean. The bag was labeled, ‘For Sean.’ Sean opened the bag. Inside was something large, green, and knobbed, with Krampus’s name etched into the wood.

“Is this…a pickle?” asked Sean.

“Yes,” said Joy. “He gave one to Avery as well.”

“This is no mere ornament,” said Krampus. “One day, we may need your help again, Sean. If that day comes, and we’re in a pickle, this ornamental pickle will, well, it’ll let you know.”

“The North Pole always has two friends in us,” said Sean, squeezing Joy’s shoulder with his free hand.

“I’m needed up North, but, you’ll be seeing me again soon,” said Krampus. “This isn’t goodbye, Sean.”

“Bye, you two!” said Avery, waving. “And have a very Merry Christmas!”

Krampus and Avery stepped backward and disappeared in a cloud of smoke and Christmas glitter.

“What do you think Krampus meant by ‘writing’ our ending?” asked Joy.

“I have an idea,” said Sean, scooping Joy up into his arms and carrying her through the threshold into the rental unit.

Sean carried Joy through the small house, into the bedroom, and put her down on the warm blanket. He got down on his knees for the second time that day. He pulled down Joy’s pants and her panties.

“You want to make this official, don’t you?” asked Sean.

“You really think I’m your fated mate, after all this craziness?” asked Joy.

“That’s what makes me so frikkin’ sure,” said Sean.

Sean cupped Joy’s face as he kissed her. Joy slid her jacket off and tossed it aside before undoing Sean’s pants. Sean kicked his pants away. He reached forward and took Joy’s thick long-sleeved shirt off of her body and tossed it aside.

“No bra?” asked Sean, cupping one of Joy’s heavy breasts with one hand and using his free hand to tweak her nipples. “Looks like somebody’s been Naughty on Christmas.”

“I don’t like how it feels when I drive, okay?” said Joy, blushing.

Joy reached across the gap dividing her from Sean and touched Sean’s chest.

“What’s it mean?” asked Joy, looking from the mark to Sean and back to the mark again. “I’ve never seen one like it.”

“Neither have I,” said Sean.

Joy traced the lines of the mark. They formed a simple symbol. They formed the picture of a bear, walking by himself, with a lump on top of the bear. Was it a sack of presents? Was it a fallen tree? There was no telling, as the entire mark was enrobed in black. To decipher the mark would be like trying to interpret a play while the theatre’s curtain was still down.

“Then how can you be sure?” asked Joy. “How can you be sure it’s me? That’ I’m your fated mate?”

“There is no denying what is in my heart,” said Sean, taking Joy’s hand and placing it on his chest. “If it doesn’t change, after this, well, I’m going to call it what it must be: broken. You’re my mate, Joy, fated or otherwise. I need you in my life. A random tattoo by Fate, whom I’ve never met, doesn’t change that.”

Sean pushed himself onto the bed, one hand on Joy’s hip, lifting her and turning her, so she was on top of him, looking down at him, her hair in his face. He couldn’t believe he’d nearly missed out on his last chance to see that gorgeous face again. Indeed, Fate worked in mysterious ways.

“You want it?” asked Sean, bucking up so that the mass in his boxers rushed over what was usually hidden beneath Joy’s panties.

“Yes,” said Joy. “I need it, Sean. And I need to know.”

“Just relax, babe,” said Sean. “You just let me take care of this, alright?”

Sean gripped Joy’s hips with both hands and flipped Joy over so her back was against the bed.

Joy wrapped her hands around the pillow behind her head. After Sean put her down, he pushed up, exposing his firm abs and mysterious mark to Joy. Sean came back down slowly. He entered her with just the tip. Sean wasn’t coming in fast. He was coming in slow, excruciatingly slow. Joy’s body couldn’t stand being denied the dick. Her hips instinctively pumped up towards Sean, angling to take more and more of his cock into her pussy.

Sean pulled back out of Joy. One of Joy’s hands wandered down from her pillow to the center of her legs. Joy touched her clit, biting her lower lip and watching as Sean pushed back down into her slowly.

“What’s the matter, babe?” he asked. “You want it harder? Nastier?”

“Yes,” said Joy. “I don’t want to hold back, Sean. I just want to come all over that cock.”

“Then let me take care of you,” said Sean. “Let me show you how bad I can be.”

Sean pushed back down onto Joy, brushing his hand up her slit as he entered her. Joy pressed up towards Sean’s hand, but he pulled it away.

“Oh, you are bad,” said Joy. “That might be the Naughtiest thing you’ve ever done to me.”

“Then why’s it sound like you’re telling me to do it again,” Sean growled into Joy’s ear as he came back down on her, pressing his hand between her legs and fluttering his fingers over her slit.

“Fuck,” moaned Joy, wrapping her arms around Sean’s shoulders to whisper the curse into his ear, the curse of lust.

“Gladly,” said Sean, pulling back out of Joy and finally, slamming into her, before slowly pulling out of her.

Joy wrapped her arms tighter around Sean’s shoulders. Sean used one arm to hike Joy’s leg up around his waist, while the other performed Sean’s own form of demoncraft on the cauldron betwixt Joy’s legs, ready to mix up a potent love potion. Sean pulled out of Joy and, before Joy’s legs could stop trembling, slammed back into her, pressing down hard on her clit.

Joy came around Sean. The pressure of his thumb against her clit drove her over the edge. She gripped onto Sean’s back, digging her nails into his back, moaning his name directly in his ear.

The feeling of his mate climaxing around his thick, throbbing shaft was enough to push Sean to the brink. With one final thrust, he melted into Joy, letting loose his cum into her waiting and wanting honeypot.

All of a sudden, the room filled with a golden light. Sean’s eyes flashed bright amber.

“Is that it?” asked Joy. “Is that really your…your mate mark? Did it really change?”

“In the flesh,” said Sean, looking down at it proudly as he pulled out of Joy. “Now, do you understand?”

“Yes,” said Joy with a smile, a tear coming to her eye.

On Sean’s chest was a mark. It was the same shape as before, but now, it had been colored in. On the mark was a bear, in dark brown, same shade as Sean’s grizzly, every detail right from proportions to color. On top of the bear was no log or sack, but instead, a woman. It was a woman Joy knew well, a woman Joy saw every morning and every evening in her bathroom mirror before she went to bed. It was Joy.

“I was there, the whole time, on your mark, and we didn’t even know,” said Joy.

“Fate has a strange way of bringing us together, doesn’t she?” asked Sean.

“What’s next for us?” asked Joy, laying back in the bed.

“You want to stay around The Wreath?” asked Sean.

“No,” said Joy. “I’ve served my time here. So have you. I have good memories, but, I think this chapter of my life has closed. I’m ready to start the next one. I just wonder where that first sentence will be written.”

“I have a crazy idea,” said Sean.

“Shoot,” said Joy.

“I may have helped you believe in Christmas magic, but you taught me the real meaning of Christmas is home,” said Sean. “I think you should come with me, Joy, to my home. I’m from Nuthusk, a small rural town, much like Port Jameson. We’re not on the water, exactly, but there’s a big lake. If you like baking, there’s a Bear Claw Bakery in town you could work at. Heck, I could see about helping you get funding to start your own bakery. Of course, you could always stay at home.”

“Stay at home? And do what?” asked Joy.

“Stay with me and raise our children,” said Sean. “I make enough to support a family. I saved all my money. Had a financial advisor I listened to. Had to, given how much I was paying him. Only thing I spent money on when I was on the road was sports drinks. I’m ready to turn my house in Nuthusk into a home.”

“Why would you stay home with me?” asked Joy.

“I don’t want to miss any part of them growing up,” said Sean. “I’m getting older, by athlete standards. I can’t do this job forever. But I also can’t go back in time and un-miss the memories I’d be sure to miss if I was on the road when the kids were growing up. And I want a lot of kids.”

“Fine,” said Joy. “I’ll visit Nuthusk with you…but only because we never exchanged phone numbers, and I need to know where the heck you live if I’m your fated frikkin’ mate.”

“Great,” said Sean. “I needed a ride home anyway.”

“You got anything we need to pick up at Camp Kringle?” asked Joy.

“No frikkin’ way,” said Sean. “Krampus can keep my stinky old clothes. I would’ve burned them once I got home anyway.”

“Then get ready for one heck of a road trip,” said Joy with a smile.