Ryan walked into the Bear Claw Bakery and headed straight to the counter. He got in line, and by the time he reached the counter, Angelica already had a bag for him.

“What’s this?” asked Ryan.

“The usual,” said Angelica, passing Ryan a paper cup. “You get the same thing every time.”

“I was going to mix it up today,” said Ryan sarcastically.

“Really?” asked Angelica.

“No,” said Ryan.

Avery was dealing with Krampus in the kitchen and shouted at Angelica, “Angelica, you’re on break!”

“Huh,” said Ryan.

“Huh indeed,” said Angelica, grabbing herself a scone and walking outside to the patio overlooking the lake. She took her usual seat. Angelica frowned when Ryan sat across from her.

“Can I help you?” asked Angelica.

“This is the only free seat in the house,” said Ryan.

“You can sit over there,” said Angelica, pointing at a free table.

“It’s iced over,” said Ryan. “Look.”

Ryan was right. The table was surrounded by a glassy puddle.

“Fine,” said Angelica. “But no talking.”

“Can’t promise that,” said Ryan.

Angelica ate her scone in silence and looked out at the lake, at the island in the center. How did Ryan have the strength to row all the way across the lake? He had the muscles of a stripper, but did he really have the endurance needed to go back and forth across the lake? It had to be magic. Maybe it didn’t. Maybe Ryan’s thick, sweaty muscles were all the power needed to propel that canoe across the lake. She’d seen Ryan row up to the dock many times, each time, covered in a sheen of sweat, his chest practically steaming in the winter air. Fuck. It was hot. Angelica didn’t want to admit it, but Avery was right. There was something sexy about a man in a rowboat that made her ‘man in a rowboat’ desire some rowing action.

“I know what you’re thinking about,” said Ryan.

Angelica froze up stiffer than the icicles hanging from the bakery’s roof.

“Oh?” asked Angelica.

“You’re wondering why it’s called The Wreath when it looks more like a donut,” said Ryan, holding up his donut.

Angelica was relieved that Ryan hadn’t realized what she was really thinking about.

You’re not going to…? asked Dancer.

No, said Ryan. Or I would’ve…

“Anything interesting happening at the bakery?” asked Ryan.

“No,” lied Angelica, to get Ryan to stop asking questions.

“Got it,” said Ryan, eating his donut. He turned, so his back was to Angelica, whose back was to the bakery. They were both facing the lake.

Well, Ryan was looking at the lake.

Now that Ryan wasn’t looking in her direction, Angelica was free to ogle him all she wanted. She had to admit that she’d been tempted to go to one of his shows. Word traveled fast in a small town like Nuthusk. When she’d learned that he’d moved to Seattle, she wasn’t surprised. Many young people in their town moved away, many to a big city and Seattle and Portland were the most popular options. When she learned Ryan was a stripper, a part of her wanted to recreate the moment they’d had before they moved. Ryan had a body. She’d always known that. But she also knew shifters had keen senses. She didn’t want to go to a show, get noticed by Ryan, and have that become the talk of the town.

“Hey there, sweet cheeks,” said a man, walking out the back door to the bakery and walking up to Angelica. “Is today the day?”

“No,” said Angelica. “I’ve said I’m not interested, Bernard.”

“Tomorrow, then,” said the man, reaching over to Angelica and touching her chin.

“Hey,” said Ryan, grabbing the man’s hand. “You do that again, and you lose that. You understand?”

“Your older brother?” asked Bernard, breaking free of Ryan’s grasp and walking to the side of the bakery. “So protective. So possessive. I can be possessive too, baby.” The shifter walked away.

“Who is that guy?” asked Ryan.

“He’s asked me out three times now,” said Angelica. “He’s been really aggressive. Unlike you, he’s not the least bit decent.”

“Did you just call me decent?” asked Ryan. “I’m a bad boy. I’m the baseline of what not to be.”

“Not as bad as him. You’re a jerk, Ryan. A bad boy. But we have a history of disliking each other, of you being too flirty, and while I don’t want to date you, well, it’s not like you kept asking me out today,” said Angelica. “Apparently, he’s tried to pat my butt.”

“That’s not okay,” said Ryan. “I’ll deal with him.”

“Don’t get in trouble,” said Angelica.

“What did I just tell you?” asked Ryan. “I’m a bad boy, Angelica. That’s sort of my thing.”

“Okay,” said Angelica. “I’ll come back out in a few minutes.”

Ryan nodded and watched Angelica walk back into the bakery. He saw she left her phone on the table.

“Angelica,” called Ryan. “Your phone!”

Angelica did not hear Ryan over the sound of the mixer in the bakery.

Ryan reached for the phone to put it away in his pocket to give it to Angelica later. As soon as he touched the phone, he was shocked.

“Fuck!” cursed Ryan, causing the mark on his chest to burn.

“Heh heh,” said the man from earlier, walking over to the table. He’d only gone around the bakery once. He’d never intended on leaving Angelica alone at all. Ryan was glad he stayed. What if Angelica had been out here, alone? He picked up Angelica’s phone.

“Left her phone,” said Bernard. “Must want my number.”

“Put that down,” said Ryan, reaching for the phone. As soon as he touched it, he felt an electric shock. He pulled back.

What was that? thought Ryan.

Did you really think Krampus was joking about that curse? asked Dancer. Of course, you can’t touch that phone! He’s cursed you so that you cannot use electronic communication devices until frikkin’ Christmas! Last time I checked, phones are kinda the dictionary definition of electronic communication devices.

Ryan couldn’t touch the cell phone, but he could still stop the man from touching Angelica’s stuff. Ryan pushed the man’s arm down.

“What are you, her mate?” asked Bernard. Ryan caught sight of his palms. The marks resembled the marks that used to be on his own hands. Bernard was a bear. Big. Blonde. Ryan did the math. That meant he had to be a polar.

Can a reindeer take on a polar? asked Ryan.

Well, maybe if you wish real hard for a Christmas miracle, said Dancer.

So how do I deal with him? Asked Ryan.

You shift, said Dancer. Just focus on the dance. Not the fight.

“Tell you what,” said the creep. “You beat me in a fight, and I’ll back off, for good.”

“You’re on,” said Ryan, shifting without bothering to change out of his clothes. Even though his clothing would get shredded, he knew a few seconds could make all the difference in a fight between shifters.

Angelica came back out when she realized she’d left her cell phone outside. Her cell phone was on the table, but so were two big beasts: a polar bear and a reindeer.

The polar was big, real big, bigger than any bear shifter she’d seen back in Nuthusk. It was stark white, even whiter than the snow. Angelica had seen deer shifters before, but compared to the reindeer, they were teeny. The reindeer was big, brown, with a white bib around its chest area. It was taller than the polar. It had a giant set of antlers. The rack spread out to nearly six feet in width. The antlers reminded Angelica of a dead rose bush made of bone rather than thorny wood.

Ryan, whom Angelica knew had to be a grizzly bear, was nowhere to be seen. Angelica pocketed her cell phone and couldn’t help but watch the fight. Who was the mysterious reindeer? Why was he defending her from that polar bear creep, Bernard? She had to stay and learn who the reindeer shifter was.

What do I do now? Ryan asked Dancer.

Dance, said Dancer.

Ryan walked up to the polar and, when the polar lunged at him, Ryan stepped away from the polar, so the polar’s swipes would miss him.

Do a side-step, ordered Dancer. Make him slip.

Where? asked Ryan, but then he spotted the frozen table. Ryan moved so his back was to the frosted table and the icy puddle around it.

The polar lunged for Ryan. Ryan did a step to the left. The polar jumped again. Ryan moved far to the right. The polar slid, face first on the puddle, and hit its head on the wrought iron frame of the picnic table.

The bear roared with pain.

Poke the bear, said Dancer.

With what? asked Ryan.

Are you kidding me? asked Dancer. How about the harpoon hooks growing out of my head?

Ryan positioned himself and started to poke the bear in the face with the horns. The bear let out little yelps and got back up.

Now, it was Ryan’s turn to lead.

Ryan kept poking the bear. The bear stumbled down the stairs from the patio to the dock. The bear got up on the clear surface of the pier and roared at Ryan. Ryan took a step back, but then, regained the lead, walking forward, toward the bear, forcing the big white bear to walk backward, lest it fall face-first into the briar-like cage around Ryan’s head.

Slowly, Ryan pushed the bear back, slowly enough for the bear not to notice that they’d gone past half the dock.

Ryan stepped forward and, using his rack, raked the polar into the lake and stopped him from getting back on the dock. Ryan was worried his antlers would snap, but the bear wasn’t able to keep a grip on them.

With one last growl, the polar turned tail, literally. The bear turned away from the dock. The polar swam across the lake, away from the Bear Claw Bakery.

“Who…who are you?” asked Angelica, reaching out to the reindeer, looking in its eyes for any sense of who the shifter was.

Ryan tried to say his name, but what came out was a snort that made Angelica laugh.

“Wait out here, and I’ll bring you food,” said Angelica. “You can shift in private. I won’t peek. I swear.”

Is this what it feels like to get positive attention from Angelica? asked Ryan. I’ve been missing out. I’ve never seen the stars shine in her eyes like they just did.

Better turn back into a human, then, said Dancer.

Shit, thought Ryan. I can’t let her know I’m a reindeer. I can’t give away the secret of Christmas.

The secret of what? asked Dancer.

No time to argue, said Ryan. I need to shift and find new clothes and fast.

Ryan ignored whatever Dancer was trying to say to him while he scoped the lay of the land for a place he could shift back into his human form. He also needed to figure out how he’d get clothing. Would Krampus let him row back to Camp Kringle naked, rather than make Ryan go in and grab the pastries while naked in front of a bakery of people? Ryan was used to being nude at Bear Buns, but he didn’t want to flash the entire town.

Ryan ran to an alley near the bakery and hid behind a dumpster. He shifted back into his human form. To Ryan’s surprise, he was fully clothed. He hadn’t even lost his keys or wallet.

What is this? asked Ryan, looking down at his clothes. He realized he hadn’t felt his clothing burst as he shifted back at the Bear Claw Bakery.

Christmas magic, said Dancer. Merry Christmas.

A man walked down the alley. Ryan was prepared to get on the defense. Had the polar bear come back for seconds? Luckily, the man was familiar, and not really a man at all.

“Are you ready to go back to camp now?” asked the demon.

“Yeah,” said Ryan, following after Krampus.

“That little stunt of yours was…amusing,” said Krampus.

“‘Amusing?’” asked Ryan. “I won.”

“It took you far too long to get to that point,” said Krampus. “I would’ve expected better from you. I guess ‘amusing’ isn’t the right word. ‘Disappointing’ is.”

“Whatever,” grumbled Ryan.

“Whatever, indeed,” said Krampus. “Back to camp. We just need to grab what we came for at the bakery.”

Ryan walked back into the back of the bakery with Krampus, who piled Ryan’s arms high with pastry boxes and carafes of coffee.

“And then what happened?” asked a voice.

“You won’t believe it,” said a familiar voice. “The reindeer drove off the polar! I wish I knew who it was, so I could thank them. It’s too bad the lumberjack ran off. He’s cute…”

Ryan’s heart pounded.

“But he’s got no balls,” said Angelica. “I need someone who’ll defend me.”

“Someone like Ryan? The reindeer shifter?” asked Angelica’s coworker.

“Ha,” said Angelica. “Ha. Ha. Ha. Ryan’s a bear, not a reindeer.”

“Ryan’s a common name,” said the coworker. “Maybe they’re both named Ryan.”

Ryan realized that Angelica was talking to someone about him. Before he could go to her, Krampus put a hand on his shoulder.

“We’re late,” said Krampus.

Ryan nodded. He followed Krampus out the patio to the rowboat and got the boat set up.

Ryan rowed back to Camp Kringle with the pastries and coffee. He didn’t make conversation with the demon sitting across from him, who was busy taking notes in a journal. On what, Ryan did not care.

Probably writing poetry for Avery, said Ryan.

Right? asked Dancer. They’re totally a thing. They have to be. Well, eventually, at least. Like you and Angelica.

Yeah, as if that’s ever going to happen, said Ryan. She wants to keep things strictly professional. I got the message. Loud and clear. All I can do is find a way to help her with something. Maybe that’ll be enough to get me off The Naughty List.

Why didn’t you tell her you really knew what she was thinking about? asked Dancer. Obviously, she’s into you. You could scent out her arousal. You want to mate her. It’s obvious.

Call it a change of heart, said Ryan. Call it a Christmas miracle.