Page 17 of Bah Humbug Mate

He was concerned that she wanted to hear the ‘L’ word or some profession that she was his fated mate. He felt like a coward not being able to say both to her. He knew he was in love with Noel. There was no doubt in his mind about that. He also knew she was his fated mate. Why the hell was it so hard for him to tell her?

Before she could answer him, there was a knock on the door from the interior stairs. The fourplex over the tavern could be accessed from an exterior set of stairs or an interior one that led up from the pub below.

“Damn it,” he left her, making his way out the front door to his apartment, across the center hall and snatching open the door that came up from the bar. “What?”

“Good god, Dash, don’t snarl at poor Jeannie,” said Nicole as she came up the stairs holding the bottom of a long garment bag. “She’s doing us a favor. Noel saw this dress when we were in Seattle, but it had been made for another bride. Said bride cancelled her wedding, so Jeannie called me.”

Dash looked at the woman Nicole had called Jeannie and realized she was holding the top of the garment bag. From behind him, he heard Noel squeal as she pushed past him, turned around, and gave him a kiss and turned back to Jeannie. “Can we just chalk it up to Dash suffering from pre-wedding jitters? Nicole, do you think we could co-opt the Christmas Eve Ball?”

“I was going to suggest that. I already talked to Autumn. She has said she’d be happy to let us use the clinic.”

“I love that place,” breathed Noel. “I remember her wedding. It was so pretty.” She turned back to Dash. “See, babe, leave it to the women. We got this.”

He chuckled indulgently and leaned down to kiss her. “You do, indeed. I will leave you ladies to do whatever it is you need to do. I’ll be downstairs if you need me. I’m going to send something up for Noel for breakfast. She hasn’t eaten. Can I have something made for either of you?”

“I’d take one of those cranberry muffins,” said Nicole.

“Oh, me too,” said Jeannie.

“That makes three,” said Noel.

“You can have your muffin, but you’re also getting something with a bit more substance. Ladies,” he said, retreating back into his apartment and smiling as he heard the three of them moving toward Noel’s.

He thought about going downstairs, but he’d brought in extra staff so that he could spend the day looking for Noel or trying to persuade her that they had a future together. She, however, had come to that conclusion all on her own. Thinking about what she’d said about him being able to fly, and wondering if it might be true, Dash decided to head out of town, shift, and see what he could figure out.

Nicole had also alluded to the fact that his grandmother and her herd had been a pack of magical reindeer that not only knew how to fly but were Santa’s legendary flyers who could stop time and bend space in order to circumnavigate the globe distributing toys and joy to everyone who believed. Was believing integral to being able to fly and create magic?

He headed out to Windsong. Sure, there were lots of places he could shift and run, but only one place he felt safe enough to shift and try to fly. He approached the main gates, and as the guards recognized him, they waved him through. Dash headed to one of the furthest outbuildings, parked, removed his clothes, and shifted.

He often forgot what it felt like to shift, as he did it so infrequently. Finding his caribou—the thing glared at him. Okay, fine. Finding his reindeer, he called the animal forward. Normally when he did that, the big deer just made a lazy trot towards him, and the shift was nothing really special. From what he had seen of Noel’s shift, there should be a whole lot more.

‘I think I may have done you a disservice all these years. You protected me.’

The caribou stopped. ‘I was only trying to keep us alive.’

‘I realize that now. She says we can fly.’

‘Not until you cease thinking of us as caribou. We are reindeer, and come from a long, noble, and proud line, but you did not want to see that.’

‘It was too painful.’

‘I know. They were my family, too.’

Dash suddenly realized the disservice he had done to his shifted form. Once he’d been old enough to defend himself as a human, he’d all but dismissed the beast, letting him out only often enough and for long enough that he didn’t wither and die.

‘Forgive me,’ said Dash.

‘Forgiven. We are one. We are Dasher, the left wheel of Santa’s sleigh.’ The animal seemed to grow stronger before his eyes. Realizing Dash was beginning to see the truth, he said, ‘We can do anything you believe we can. She is our fated mate. She will take her place at your side in life, and as the right lead on the sleigh as your mate. Since your mother’s death, there has been no Vixen. As your mate, Noel will become the team’s Vixen. With Santa’s reindeer team once more complete, we will begin to restore the belief in the miracle of the season.’

Dash grinned at his counterpart and called him forward. Standing straighter than he ever remembered seeing him, the enormous reindeer bounded forward, leaping into the air to take control. For the first time in a very long time, his shifted self was strong, resilient, and magnificent. The swirling mist that had always surrounded him now became a maelstrom of color, lightning, thunder, and magic. Dash could feel the magic surging through his veins, calling to life something he thought had been left in the fire and perished with his family.

The chaos faded away and Dash breathed in the scents of his environment. Everything was sharper, clearer, more focused, and vibrant. Had he been denying himself and his legacy all this time?

‘I don’t know how to do this,’ he whispered to his reindeer.

‘That’s all right; I do.’

His reindeer-self began to race over the hills, kicking his hind feet out, shaking his head, rolling his shoulders, and generally working the kinks out. He felt glorious. They galloped over the hills, down the cape and onto the beach, thundering through water, rock, sand, and soil. Dash couldn’t remember ever having felt like this.

---