Ryan was sure he was going to tell Angelica the truth. As he rowed across The Wreath, he knew what he had to tell her: the truth. Today would be the day he finally did it.

He had to tell her that he was, for the season, a reindeer shifter.

He had to tell her why he was a reindeer shifter. Everything that had happened.

I told you, there’s no Christmas secret, said Dancer.

I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you before, said Ryan. Today, I’ll tell her everything. About why I’m here. About what I need to do. She’ll understand.

But, when Ryan walked up to Angelica, who was sitting inside the cafe, eating a white chocolate cranberry scone, and he saw her eyes when she looked up at him, he knew he couldn’t tell her the truth.

The twinkling stars in Angelica’s eyes were gone. She didn’t look upset to see him, but she didn’t seem particularly happy to see him either.

“Hey,” said Ryan, taking a seat across from Angelica.

“Yeah?” asked Angelica.

“I was wondering how you are,” said Ryan.

You absolute, total idiot, said Dancer. Just tell her. It’s been nearly two weeks since it happened. It’s the day before Christmas Eve. Don’t you think you’re cutting it close?

“I’m fine,” said Angelica.

She doesn’t want me, said Ryan. If I tell her I’m the reindeer shifter, then her fantasy about that guy is ruined.

You’re a stripper, said Dancer. Isn’t your whole job helping women’s fantasies come true?

She’s no ordinary woman, said Ryan.

“I wanted to apologize,” said Ryan. “I wanted to tell you that…I’m sorry I didn’t do more when that guy bothered you.”

“What do you mean ‘do more’?” asked Angelica. “You did nothing.”

“I, uh, couldn’t fight him off,” lied Ryan. “That other guy joined and helped. I was a coward and left. I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted,” said Angelica. “Took you long enough. To tell you the truth, I was starting to think you’d never apologize.

“Sorry about taking way too long to apologize too,” said Ryan. “What are you working on?”

“Maybe you can help me,” said Angelica. “I am still trying to figure out what to make for this holiday office party.”

“For Santana?” asked Ryan. “I’m surprised you’re still working on that. Smart gal like you, well, I’d expect you’d already have it done.”

“You calling me stupid?” asked Angelica, crossing her arms.

“If I was calling you stupid, why would I describe you as a ‘smart gal?’” Ryan sassed right back. “Have you run any of your ideas past Avery?”

“Yeah,” said Angelica. “ Everything I come up with has already been done before.”

“Then forget doing a theme. You can make the party unique in another way. Why don’t you just make what Santana likes to eat?” asked Ryan.

“I’ve never met him,” said Angelica.

“I saw him with coffee and a breakfast sandwich,” said Ryan.

“Everyone likes breakfast sandwiches,” said Angelica.

“In the afternoon?” asked Ryan.

“He was eating one in the afternoon?” asked Angelica. “You might be onto something here. You ever hear about ‘breakfast for dinner’? Well, what about…’Christmas Breakfast for Christmas Dinner’? We’d serve all the usual Christmas breakfast foods, but at Christmas dinner inside. We could even put a twist on them.”

“What kind of a twist?” asked Ryan.

“We could mix stuff up,” said Angelica. “For instance, I could do a breakfast sandwich made with turkey and cranberry sauce, because those are foods people eat for Christmas dinner. I’d put Swiss cheese on the sandwich instead of cheddar.”

“That’s a great idea,” said Ryan. “I think you’re onto something here.”

“It was your idea,” said Angelica.

“No. I just said something random, and you figured out how to turn it into gold,” said Ryan. “Credit where credit is due.”

“Come on,” said Angelica, getting up and taking Ryan by the hand without thinking, leading him to the back of the bakery. “Avery, Ryan just helped me figure out the theme.”

“And?” asked Avery.

“Has ‘Christmas Breakfast for Christmas Dinner’ been done?” asked Angelica.

“No, and I can’t believe it hasn’t been, because it’s perfect,” said Avery. “How did you come up with it?”

“I saw the guy eating a breakfast sandwich when it was nearly dinner time,” said Ryan.

“He does love his breakfast foods,” said Avery. “Alright. You gotta rest up, Angelica. I’m gonna let you go home early. Ryan, walk her home?”

“Sure,” said Ryan. “I just have to check with Krampus.”

Ryan found Krampus outside on the patio.

“Hey, is it okay if I walk Angelica home?” asked Ryan.

“Yes, but come straight back when you’re done,” said Krampus. “Try not to get in a fight with any other bears while you walk her home.”

“Ha,” said Ryan. “‘Other bears.’ Don’t think I count as a bear anymore.”

“Don’t be so sure of that,” said Krampus, pulling something out of his pocket and pressing it to Ryan’s palm. Ryan felt a quick shock and transfer of power, like the one he’d felt in Nuthusk.

“What was that?” asked Ryan.

“Say hello to your friend,” said Krampus.

Ryan listened and hear a familiar animal roar.

“My bear,” said Ryan. “But why?”

“If it’s traditional to open a gift on Christmas Eve, it must be very traditional to open one on Christmas Eve Eve, the night before the night before Christmas,” said Krampus. “It’s not permanent, and you don’t have your mate mark back. You still need to get off The Naughty List to get back your shift and your mark, and even then, you’ll only have until the end of Christmas Day to find your fated mate.”

“Why are you letting me do things out of order?” asked Ryan.

“I’m a demon. You’re a bad boy,” said Krampus. “Are you really questioning me when I’m helping you break all the rules?”

“Message received,” said Ryan. “Thanks.”

Ryan headed inside.

“Can you walk me home?” asked Angelica. “I got a ride with Avery today.”

“Yeah, come on,” said Ryan.

Ryan and Angelica walked through the snow together. Angelica slipped on the ice, and Ryan caught her before she fell.

“Getting déjà vu?” asked Ryan.

“Just a little,” said Angelica, blushing. “Do you mind if…”

“If what?” asked Ryan.

“If I hold your hand on the way to my place,” said Angelica. “Not like that. I just don’t want to slip, is all.”

“Fine by me,” said Ryan.

“So…do you think you’ll go to the company Christmas party?” asked Angelica.

“I suppose I have to,” said Ryan. “I guess it’s all one big company.”

“It starts at four in the afternoon,” said Angelica.

“I can probably go, but I can’t stay late,” said Ryan. “Krampus has me working tomorrow night.”

“On Christmas Eve?” asked Angelica.

“Aren’t you working on Christmas Eve too?” asked Ryan.

“That’s different,” said Angelica. “I’m not into Christmas. Are you?”

“You could say I believe in Christmas magic,” said Ryan.

“No way,” said Angelica. “A big shifter like you?”

“Absolutely,” said Ryan. “You don’t have any good memories about Christmas?

“Nope,” said Angelica. “There was never anything shiny under my tree growing up. I only got gifts on my birthday. That was all we could afford. Guess you could say my birthday was our version of Christmas.”

“Did you ever do anything fun around the holidays?” asked Ryan. “Caroling? Drinking cocoa? There had to be something.”

“Well, we would go to the park and play in the snow,” said Angelica.

“We can do that,” said Ryan. “Why break tradition?”

“You’re a fully-grown male shifter who wants to play around in the snow?” asked Angelica with a laugh. “I thought you were a grizzly, not a polar, like that creep at the bakery.”

“Trust me. My bear loves snow,” said Ryan. “Every year, we’d build these big snow caves on the lawn near the Clan Marron lodge.”

“We built snowmen,” said Angelica. “Guess this year, I could build a snow bear.”

“That’s the spirit, the Christmas spirit,” said Ryan. “Want to goof off before you have to tuck in?”

“Why not,” said Angelica.

Ryan decided whatever punishment Krampus would mete out would be worth what he was doing. Ryan followed Angelica to the rental property and started to disrobe.

“Whoa, what are you doing?” asked Angelica.

“If I don’t take off my clothes, they burst,” said Ryan. “They’ll get destroyed when I shift.

“Okay, uh, how about, you shift here, and I’ll open the door, and we both leave, but I don’t watch you shift,” said Angelica.

“Come back in two minutes,” said Ryan.

“Two?” asked Angelica.

“I’m pretty good at shifting,” said Ryan. “After all, I am a shifter.”

Ryan turned. Angelica came back into the living room. She was shocked to see a bear in her room. She shouldn’t’ve been shocked. After all, she was used to shifters, growing up in Nuthusk and all, but Ryan was big, even by bear shifter standards.

She wasn’t sure if the bears of Clan Nuthusk were all this big. She wasn’t sure if Ryan’s bear was big because of his age, or because he’d been doing hard work as a lumberjack at Camp Kringle. She wasn’t sure if she was just smaller than she imagined – and given she was a BBW with curves a-plenty, she was sure that mustn’t be the case. A chill ran down her spine. The animal in her room was Ryan. But, at the same time, it wasn’t Ryan. It was an apex predator with sharp white teeth that could gnash. It had claws that could shred a deer like a North Carolina pit master preparing pulled pork for sandwiches on the Fourth of July. Angelica could get the longest acrylics possibly offered at the local nail salon, and she still wouldn’t’ve been able to defend herself from that wild beast.

Ryan’s bear roared and reminded Ryan that Angelica might be scared of bears. After all, most humans were. Bears could tear them apart and eat them – or at the very least, turn over their trash cans and leave a mess all over their lawns. Ryan thanked his bear for the reminder and asked for advice. His bear reminded him to act like he did at Bear Buns – like a big living teddy bear. He needed to act as if he was safe because he was safe. He just had to prove that to Angelica.

Ryan sat down on his hind legs and put his paws forward. He looked at Angelica and grinned. He made sure his big, brown eyes were open and he looked her in the eyes.

Then, Ryan flexed his little ears. First, he flexed the one on the right. Then, he flexed the one on the left. He flexed them back and forth, like an electronic toy bear, and bobbed his head along to the rhythm.

“Alright, you goofball,” said Angelica with a laugh. “Come on.”

Angelica opened the door for Ryan and Ryan stalked out of the house. Angelica followed behind and shut the door.

A thick layer of snow had accumulated in the backyard. Angelica started to push together snow. She made four big stumps and tried to put a big round pile of snow on top of the stumps. The body of her snow bear fell away from the legs of the snow bear and crumbled.

Meanwhile, Ryan used his big paws to pad down the snow and compact it into shapes, one particular configuration: a half-shell. He’d done this many times before. It was easier with other shifters, but the den only had to fit Angelica. Even if she was a BBW by human standards, she was teeny compared to a bear. The shelter he was building her was fit for a bear cub, not a big mama bear and her brood.

Ryan took his time carefully building the den. He was glad that he’d had a chance to share his shift with Angelica. He knew this might be his only chance to share it with her at all. After all, Ryan was no closer to getting off The Naughty List than he had been before. There was no way he was leaving The Wreath with his shift. Back at Camp Kringle, he’d run through the woods all night, but while he was with Angelica, all he wanted to do was the make her happy. It didn’t make up for all the stolen pies. It didn’t mean he was saving her Christmas. He could only do the best he could do, and maybe, it would be enough to bring a smile to her face or those twinkling stars to her eyes. And maybe, it wouldn’t be enough. Perhaps, it’d be nowhere close enough.

“You having better luck?” asked Angelica. “Oh, right. You can’t talk.”

Ryan let out a little roar. Angelica turned. She couldn’t believe it. Ryan had piled up snow in a semicircle. He’d even made a small bench out of snow. Angelica walked over and sat on the bench made of snow.

“Wow,” said Angelica. “If only I could light a fire in here. Then, I could practically live out here.”

While Angelica tried to figure out how Ryan built the den, Ryan thought of ways to keep Angelica warm. Ryan’s bear roared. He wasn’t just hot – he was hot. His bear had the fat and fur necessary to survive the winter through hibernation. He could be a teddy bear for Angelica – but this time, one that kept her nice and warm. Ryan agreed with his bear. That was the best course of action. Ryan couldn’t believe he’d taken the advice of his bear for granted for all those years. His bear had urged him to find a mate, Ryan had resisted, and the bear had come close to taking over. Ryan understood why. The bear obviously knew best…but Ryan didn’t want to be a bear forever. He wanted to be with Angelica forever.

Ryan sat in the middle of the den. His heat radiated off his body and warmed up Angelica. Angelica reached down and touched Ryan’s thick brown fur. He looked scary, but he was a big teddy bear. His coat was warm. He felt like a furnace.

“This is really nice,” said Angelica. “Thank you.”

Ryan looked up at Angelica. Was it a trick of the light shining through the crystal-like snowflakes scattered over Angelica’s hair, or had he returned the stars to her eyes? They’d already been outside for nearly half an hour. Ryan walked back to the door. He put his snout on the door and Angelica opened it.

“Time to go already?” asked Angelica.

Ryan nodded.

Angelica gave Ryan privacy while he shifted and got changed into his clothes.

“Hey, thanks for walking me home,” said Angelica, coming back out. “Thanks for the den too. It’s really nice.”

“No problem,” said Ryan. “Merry Christmas, Angelica. I hope this is your best one yet.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow? At the party?” asked Angelica.

“Absolutely,” said Ryan.

Ryan went back to the bakery, walking quickly through the snow. Krampus and Avery were deep in discussion.

“Sorry I’m late,” said Ryan.

“You are?” asked Krampus. “Oh. You are. Well, we must be going.”

“What was that?” asked Ryan as they left the bakery.

“I was just helping her figure out how she’ll get Angelica to The North Pole,” said Krampus. “It’s been a while since Avery brought a guest. Angelica can’t go by herself. To get to The North Pole, you must be with one of Santa’s associates. That’s why you have to go with me. Getting Angelica there…well, that’s a little trickier.”

“How’ll you do it?” asked Ryan.

“No concern of yours,” said Krampus. “We need to get back to Camp Kringle, so start rowing. We’ve got one Hell of a night coming up, and fast.”