Page 13 of Wrong Number, Right Santa

And when I did, inside was a little reindeer Christmas tree ornament.

"Did I even want to know?"

"No." Sprinkles giggled, putting his hand to his mouth and shaking his head.

Except, I kind of did.

The event was pretty much over, and normally what I’d do after the last present was handed out and the kids started to get sleepy or leave was the same as what I’d done for Dario—I’d make myself unnoticeable, wander far enough away just in case someone noticed me anyway, then with a wink and twitch my nose, I’d take myself home. Done.

But I... I couldn’t leave. Not yet. Not without talking to Dario.

I mean, I could. But I refused.

There was this connection between us. I didn’t understand it, and maybe I never would.

But as sure as marshmallow snowmen, I wanted to try.

Chapter 11

Dario

The end!

Cakes were eaten, books read, competitions won, hot chocolate drank, presents handed out, and the tree lit.

And I was done.

I slumped in a chair in the center as a handful of committee members attempted to toss out the trash and tidy up.

“Come back at eleven in the morning, everyone. Go home.” I sort of waved, having no energy to do anything else.

Everyone raced out, maybe in case I changed my mind and told them to stay. I rested my head on the table, thinking I needed to get home and crawl into bed.

Today was a great day. My beast was reminiscing about all the attention he’d received.But where’s Santa?

Having my mate be a Santa impersonator was new. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but what did he do the rest of the year? Wait tables?

My eyes were closed as I considered curling up on the floor as my reindeer and sleeping the night away. Someone cleared their throat, and I didn’t bother lifting my head.

“The tidy-up is happening tomorrow at eleven. Thanks for all your help.”

“The Santa house is clean and all our garbage has been removed. Sprinkles saw to that.”

My head jerked up and the office chair shot back, hitting the wall, before flinging itself forward. As a shifter, I could have stopped it easily, but my gaze was fixed on Santa standing in the doorway. He hadn’t disrobed or removed his beard. He took his role seriously. No kid would be disappointed witnessing Santa transform into an ordinary guy.

Except he wasn’t ordinary. He was my mate, and I was eager to see what lay beneath the costume.

“Thank him for me.”

Because he was covered in red and white, his green eyes were the only part of my mate that wasn’t pretend. Now we were alone, I picked up his scent, and as expected, it had a Christmasy vibe.

“I will, but I’m not here to talk about my elf. Besides, he’s gone back.”

I raised a brow, expecting him to expand on where “back” was.

“Okay. I hope he got some food and drink before he left.”

I was babbling about Sprinkles because I didn’t want to hear what Santa wanted to discuss. He was my mate, but what hope of a future did we have if he didn’t recognize the mating scent?

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