Page 8 of The Vampire and the Case of the Cozy Christmas

He opened it and looked confused for a moment until he lifted it out. He could clearly feel the tingle of magic because understanding lit his eyes. He looked at me. ‘Like yours?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Cool! I love it! Thanks, kids.’

Sidnee gave Gunnar a hug and Stan gave him a friendly shoulder punch. My floppy heart warmed. He’d called us kids; for a childless couple, Gunnar and Sig had certainly collected a ragtag bunch of ‘children’.

I gave Thomas and Stan really nice foldable knives. Thomas probably didn’t need another knife but I figured he’d still like it because he was a weapons’ guy. I gave the same one to Stan because when I’d first met him he’d declared he didn’t carry a weapon because hewasa weapon. Ugh. He could absolutely use a pocket knife because they were practical around here. Especially out fishing.

Finally it was time for Connor to open his gift from me. I’d sweated over it; I’d been thinking about it practically since we’d been together. I’d half-wanted to buy him a thousand flannel shirts but that would have been a gift forme, not him because I loved flannel on my man, especially when he rolled up his sleeves and showed off his sexy forearms. Connor had changed his whole wardrobe since he’d discovered that fact.

He picked up his small gift and shook it mischievously. ‘You can just open it,’ Liv said a little impatiently.

‘Where’s the fun in that?’ he replied. After thoroughly examining the outside, he cautiously opened the wrapping paper. Like Liv, it was immediately apparent that gifts were a rarity for him. He had enough money to buy himself whateverhe wanted, so maybe people didn’t buy him anything anymore. I immediately resolved to buy him lots of silly gifts.

I’d put the tiny gift in a larger box so it would be harder for him to guess the contents. We were lucky that we had a lot of artisans in town and I’d gone to the silversmith to have a charm made that matched the triskele one my Nana had given me, then had Anissa enchant it. Connor’s current daylight charm had been given to him by his father and I knew there was no love lost between them; it would be a waste in his eyes not to use it, but I doubted he liked having a reminder of his father around his neck. Another vampire could use that one just as easily. As well as the triskele charm, I’d had a chain made for it and had it charmed to be unbreakable.

Connor pulled it out of the velvet box and looked up at me with amazement. ‘Daylight charm?’ he asked, eyes wide.

‘Yeah.’

He took off his father’s necklace, dropped it on the floor and replaced it with mine. ‘How did you know?’ he asked, toeing the old one with his foot.

I shrugged. ‘I guess I just know you.’

‘It’s like yours.’ He eyed the matching symbol against my skin.

‘It is.’

He pulled me into his lap and kissed me.

‘Eww, get a room,’ Stan huffed.

Connor flipped him the bird, but even so we separated.

The remaining gifts were opened until I had only two left to give. Connor helped me heave the largest one over to Shadow. ‘Fluffy,’ I called, ‘you want to help Shadow open his present?’

The German Shepherd padded over and started to rip into the wrapping paper. Shadow dived into the mess and rolled in the paper, more excited by that than what was inside. Typical.

‘Not the paper,’ I said, exasperated to the cat. ‘This cat tree. Do you like it?’ It was huge – and more importantly it wasmagical, spelled to move and change shape. It was crafted from enchanted materials that constantly adapted to keep the cheeky lynx kitten entertained.

The tree rearranged every time Shadow pounced or climbed, creating new tunnels, platforms and perches. One moment it was a jungle of vines, the next it was a spiral staircase of glowing branches; there were even some secret paw-powered doors that would open when he batted certain spots to reveal prizes, treats and enchanted feathers for him to chase.

It had been Connor’s idea and I couldn’t wait to see what Shadow made of it. Naturally, he curled up in a ball among the roots and slept. ‘Well,’ I said as I looked at him. ‘That was an anticlimax.’

Connor grinned. ‘Cats.’

‘Yeah.’ Which led me nicely to my dog. ‘I have a gift for you,’ I said to Fluffy and went to the tree to retrieve the final present. I held it out to him. ‘You can open it as a dog or a human, whichever you prefer.’

I tried not to be disappointed when Fluffy tore into the present with his claws. ‘It’s a necklace,’ I said when he opened it. ‘It’ll stay with you no matter your form.’ It was a sturdy chain and hanging off it were metal figures of a wolf, a human and a German Shepherd. ‘The necklace has a tracking charm so I can always find you.’

It had been horrible when we’d been separated at the Academy and I’d worried that the MIB might take him on the submarine and I’d never find him again. This alleviated my concerns, but I realised it could potentially be a tad overbearing so I didn’t move to put it round his neck.

Fluffy reached down with his nose and pointedly shoved it at me, then danced around me and licked my face. ‘You sure you want it on?’ I asked, just to be clear. He barked. I secured it around his neck and a low-lying worry fell away.

No matter what, we would always find each other now.

Chapter 7

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