Page 30 of Naughty Elf: Wink

“You’re not wrong,” Santa agreed. “Do you forgive me?”

“How can I not? You gave me my fated mate.”

As much as I was dying to bombard the man with questions, I knew there wasn’t time. It was Christmas, after all, and there were children waiting on him. He reluctantly passed Eve back to her papa, kissing her forehead softly. Before he left, though, he reached into his sack and pulled out a gift wrapped in silver. He set it under the tree. “Just a little something for you both,” he said with a wink.

Santa stopped on his way to the fireplace and plucked a cookie off the plate Wink had left out for him. He moaned as he bit into it, then shook his head. “The cookies at the North Pole just aren’t the same without you, Wink. Do you mind if I take a few for the road?” He gestured at the rest of the plate.

Wink smiled warmly. “They’re all yours, and if you want, I’ll email you my recipe.”

“Much appreciated.”

With a ringing pop, Santa was gone with his cookies, the air shimmering briefly. Wink and I exchanged a look. “We’re not waiting to open that present,” I said.

“Hell no.”

I snatched it up and tore off the wrapping paper, then burst out laughing as I turned it for Wink to see. It was a set of naughty NSFW cookie cutters.

“Now who's being naughty,” Wink said, laughing. “Come on, let’s feed this girl then get back to bed. I have a feeling we’ll all sleep a lot better now.”

We went back to sleep, and when Christmas officially dawned again at a much more respectable 8am, Wink was already in the kitchen, cooking up a storm. Turkey, stuffing, buttery rolls, and pumpkin pie. The house smelledamazing. And it got even better when my mate passed me a mug of my favorite cocoa, made just the way I liked it. We took turns wearing Eve in a sling, but that ended as soon as the guests began to arrive.

My adopted parents arrived just before noon, making grabby hands for their granddaughter. Fannie Mae arrived right behind them, with a bashful-looking Sedrick in tow. “Sorry to intrude, but she insisted,” he said with a shrug.

I’d simply given him a hug and invited him in for food, of which there was more than enough. I had a feeling he would officially be family soon enough. Later tonight, I’d been invited to join the rest of the shifters for a pack run in the woods.

Leander and Victor stopped by for dessert after they’d eaten with their families, and they had some exciting news of their own to share. “We’re pregnant!” Leander cried, squeezing Victor’s hand. That was just the icing on the cake to make this the most magical Christmas I could imagine.

So much had changed in just a year. I was hardly the man I used to be. For years, all I’d wanted for Christmas was to feel better. I’d never dreamed to ask for a secret raccoon, an elf mate, and a baby of my own.

“Merry Christmas, my little trash panda,” Wink whispered in my ear.

“Merry Christmas, my naughty elf.”