Page 22 of Naughty Elf: Aster

David started the tradition of getting Noel new pajamas every year, and I wanted to continue that tradition. But this year, I extended the tradition and, if David was looking on now, I hoped it made him happy.

As I was. Happy with my new elf mate.

“We’ll have to do better hiding your packages, I suppose. But the ones from Santa, well, you don’t know what those are. Do you?” Aster asked.

Noel got up on his stool and stood on his tiptoes, trying to see into the pot. There was a ham and stuffing in the oven and the mashed potatoes had already been made, but my stomach had been a mess over the last few days. Oddly, I seemed to have no problem with the sweeter things.

Oatmeal didn’t upset my stomach at all. We’d chalked the indigestion up to too many holiday treats and not enough good protein and vegetables. The thing was, I couldn’t keep any of that down.

“Most of it. I helped Dad write the letter.”

Oh yeah, the letter to Santa. It had given me some ideas, but the rest I left in the hands of the man up north.

“Did you know that when Santa reads a letter from a child, he is able to memorize every word? He eats cookies and drinks about a gallon of chocolate milk and listens so intently that he remembers everything.”

“Everything, Aster? Are you sure?”

The conversations had between these two were nothing short of entertaining. I threw some logs in and poured myself a cup of eggnog. It was sure to be a night of stories and Noel questioning the details of each one. Aster spun the tales. Noel picked them apart.

“If I saw Santa and asked him about any boy from years and years ago, he would know what that boy wanted,” Aster said.

“Even Dad?” Noel asked, putting his fists on his hips.

“Even your dad. And he could tell you if your dad was on the naughty list as well.”

Noel slapped his thighs and bent at the waist, cracking up laughing. His round cheeks went red. “Dad, were you naughty when you were a boy?”

Aster arched one eyebrow and leaned against the kitchen counter, his arms crossed over his chest. “Yes, Wolfe. Do tell. Were you a nice boy or a not-so-nice boy?”

“I was a well-behaved boy who wouldn’t be snooping in my gifts before Christmas, that’s what I was.”

Aster and Noel both cracked up at that one. I’d been a rebellious tiny hellion when I was a boy, and anyone who knew me would’ve told them so in an instant.

“Go and play outside while it’s still light. In about an hour, we’ll all eat and then you can open your presents.”

“Okay. Are you going to come out today?” Noel looked down at his belly. Talking to his wolf again. He kept talking to him while putting on his coat and scarf and, at my request, his hat.

“Do we know when his wolf will emerge?” Aster asked. “Will it be soon? What if it’s happening right now, and we’re not with him?”

I chuckled. “Easy now, alpha,” I said, walking over and accepting his open embrace. “He’s my son. Our bond is thick, thicker than blood. Once his wolf decides it’s time for his first shift, his wolf will call to mine.”

“That’s good to know.”

“I…there’s something I wanted to talk to you about now that we’re alone.”

The great part about Noel being off was that we had all the time in the world with him until the new year. The other part? Aster and I didn’t have much time alone.

“You can tell me anything,” he said. I nuzzled my face into his chest. Perhaps it was because I loved him so much and our bond had grown, but he smelled even sweeter today than ever.

“I think that my stomach issue is something more than all the holiday treats. I know it’s early but I bought a pregnancy test. Would you be with me while I took it?”

He grabbed my shoulders gently and once I stood straighter, he moved his hands to cup my cheeks. “I would love nothing more than to be with you. I noticed your wolf’s scent had mingled with mine a bit more, but I thought it was the mating.”

“My wolf is telling me it’s more than that.”

“Then let’s find out. What is this…test?”

I led him into the bathroom and pulled out the package. The face he made when he read the instructions was beyond priceless. “You pee on this stick and then it tells you if you are pregnant?”

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