Page 12 of Naughty Elf: Aster

“Snowball.” I rubbed my cheek on his fur. “I was scared of you and now look at us…besties.” It amused me that a wolf had a kitten as a pet.

“You were scared of Snowball?” He set down his cider.

“I was a statue on a mantel.” I shrugged. “Hardly the land of cat safety.”

“Oh yeah, I can see why you were nervous. For the record, I’m glad they didn’t break you.”

“Yeah. Me too.” I wasn’t sure what would’ve happened to me had he done so. Maybe death? Maybe I’d be magiced back together again? Whatever the case, I was glad to have not found out.

“Now that you’re walking around, can you just, like, go home?” Of course he wanted to know if I was leaving. He had a young son and as hot as I thought he was, even if he felt the same back, his son had to come first.

I shook my head. “I’m stuck here. Santa explained it to me, but I wasn’t in a good place to listen, so I don’t really understand all of the rules. I don’t have my abilities, and I can’t get backhome. But don’t worry about it, I can go, like, stay at a hotel or something.” The words flew out without me thinking them through. I had no idea how I’d manage to make a hotel happen.

I tried to feel around for my North Pole magic again and couldn’t sense even a tinsel strand of it. But regardless, I wasn’t going to impose myself on him, not when I knew his first job was to take care of his son, and by all definitions, I was a stranger. Not the type of person you’d let sleep in your home.

“So, out of curiosity, do you know of any hotels nearby that take bells?” he asked, the question every bit thegotchahe meant it to be.

I scrunched up my face. I hadn’t thought of that.

“No, but I’ll figure something out.”

“Or, hear me out, I’ll make up the couch for you.”

“I—no, it’s fine.”

“Go look out the window.”

I stood up, Snowball climbing to my shoulder, and walked over to the window. There wasn’t just a little bit of snow outside. There was a whole lot of snow.

“Even if I wanted to take you to a hotel, and even if they did take bells—which, spoiler alert, they don’t—you’re here for the night.”

“That’s why Noel was so excited about the snow. It was coming—coming like, today.” Which he probably mentioned, sometime during the muffled stage of my comprehension.

“Yeah, it barely started when we got home.”

Noel was gonna be excited in the morning, that was for sure.

“Let me get you some clothes.” Wolfe stood up.

He left and came back with an armful of bedding and some pajamas on top. I snuck into the bathroom and slid them on, and when I came back, he had made up the couch.

“You didn’t have to do that. I could have done it.”

“You’re my guest. Have a good night’s sleep.”

I wasn’t ready to say good night, but at least I wasn’t at a hotel, or worse, walking around outside, hoping Santa would grant me my magic back so I could go home. This was better. So much better.

Chapter Nine

Wolfe

I stayed in the room with Aster because I didn’t want Noel to walk in and find his elf statue had become a man. Doing my job as a father and protecting my son from the shock. Also, I didn’t know this guy yet, and my attraction didn’t guarantee that he was someone to insert directly into my life. David would want me to protect Noel against any danger, and I did my best every day. This, however, was a whole new situation. Not one I would have come up with in my most out-there dreams.

After David died. The weight of responsibility came down heavy on me, and I saw threat around every corner. He’d been such a rock, such a solid person, always practical and ready to calm me down, especially after the baby came. Noel was so tiny and adorable, and I was afraid the whole world was one gigantic possibility of harm to our pup.

David was quick but gentle in pointing out that Noel had two parents who adored him, and that it wasn’t like we were going to be leaving him unattended on a NYC subway or something. One or both of us would be with him at all times until he was old enough to start to need some independence. Wolf young came into their own a bit younger than humans, or so I understood about the non-paranormal people. But he still had some years to go.

It was still wild to think that someone who was…well, was not someone just a little while ago. Or of course he was, but I just didn’t know it. And from the moment he appeared in full stature, my wolf came on alert. But then so did I. But not in a negative way. Still, I could have slept outside Noel’s door in wolf form if I wanted to guard him, but not only did that not feel necessary,but my wolf found no harm in him at all. He wanted to be closer, too.