Page 50 of Kraved By Krampus

Protection. Safety. Release.

The children’s frightened faces blur through my tears as the magic builds. My handwriting shifts, becoming something older, more powerful. Each word I write sends ripples through the air, making Victoria’s spheres of light flicker.

“What are you doing?” Victoria’s melodic voice wavers. “Stop this at once!”

I keep writing, the words flowing faster. The pen leaves trails of silvery ink that sink into the frost and pulse with power.This is what I was meant to do. This is who I am.

“You’re just a romance writer,” Victoria snarls, but I hear fear beneath her anger. I sense that she’s just trying to get in my head. “You can’t—”

My words spiral outward, forming a complex pattern of frost and silver. The magic builds until my skin tingles with it. When I speak, my voice carries the weight of winter itself.

“I am a grimoire witch.” The revelation hits me with absolute certainty. “And these children are under my protection.”

I slam my palm against the center of my written spell. Blue-white light explodes outward, shattering Victoria’s golden spheres like glass. The children drop safely to the ground, caught by cushions of sparkling frost.

Victoria stumbles backward, her confident facade cracking. Her golden light flickers, revealing something ancient and cold beneath. “This isn’t over, Noelle. You have no idea what forces you’re dealing with.”

She vanishes in a flash of white light, leaving behind only the scent of burned sugar and a few scattered frost patterns.

My knees buckle as the magic recedes. Mrs. Redmond catches my arm, steadying me. The pen in my hand pulses once more before returning to its normal silver shine.

“Your mother would be so proud,” she whispers.

Chapter twenty-four

Krampus

Asurge of wild magic pulls me from my brooding, crackling through the winter air like lightning. The power signature is unmistakable—Clara. My mate.

No. Not my mate. She made that clear enough.

But the magic... it’s raw, untamed. Grimoire magic. The most powerful and dangerous kind. Without training, she could tear reality apart, or worse.

Damn my wounded pride. I should have been there.My feet are moving before I can stop myself, reality bending as I shift through shadows toward Winterhaven.

I materialize in an alley near Frost’s Antiques, my hooves clattering against cobblestones. The air thrums with her power,making my horns resonate. Sweet winter gods, she’s finally awakened.

As I round the corner and see the town square ahead, the scene before me stops my breath.

Clara stands in the center, her golden hair whipping in a wind that seems to emanate from her very being. The children from my academy surround her, their small arms wrapped around her waist and legs. Magic sparkles in the air around them like diamond dust, and her eyes...Damn. Her eyes glow with raw power.

My little mate has come into her magic at last.

Pride and desire war with the lingering ache of her rejection. The children’s presence reminds me painfully of how she denied knowing me, yet here she stands, protecting them as fiercely as I would. As I should have been doing, had I not let my wounded pride drive me away.

One of the youngest, Emma, spots me first. Her face lights up with recognition, but before she can call out, I press a finger to my lips. She nods, solemn and knowing in that way magical children often are, but keeps her small arms wrapped around Clara’s leg.

Clara’s magic reaches out, unconsciously seeking mine in the shadows. The connection between us flares to life, making my horns gleam despite my attempts to remain hidden. The children’s magic responds too, creating a harmonious chord that rings through the square like distant bells.

I should step forward. I should claim my place at her side. But the memory of her words“I don’t know him”holds me back. Even as every fiber of my being strains toward her, even as her newly awakened magic calls to mine, I remain in the shadows.

What right do I have to her now, when I abandoned her in her moment of need?

The thought freezes me in place as I watch her comfort my charges,ourcharges, with a gentleness that makes my chest ache. She’s everything I dreamed of in a mate—fierce and protective, yet tender with those who need it most.

Clara’s head snaps toward my hiding spot, her magic reaching out like tendrils of warmth against my shadows. Those glowing eyes find mine unerringly in the shadows. Our eyes lock, and the world seems to pause. The connection between us pulses.

“Krampus.” My name falls from her lips like a prayer. “I can feel you.”

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