“Snow forts.” Pierce’s expression was neutral despite there being nothing neutral about what happened there.
“Milk and cookies,” Kip said with a straight face.
Rudy slowly turned his head in Kip’s direction, and Kip’s smile faltered. I bit my lip, a little turned on by Rudy’s reaction and at the thought that Kip might have watched or heard.
“Tomorrow’s tree-lighting ceremony will be perfect for continuing your progress.” My mom beamed at me. “It’s always been one of your favorite things.”
I blinked rapidly, a bit disoriented. “Wait, tomorrow? What day is it?”
“November twenty-ninth.” My dad’s eyes crinkled with amusement.
“What?” I squeaked, pressing a hand to my forehead. “Everything’s been such a blur. It’s a good thing I never started celebrating Thanksgiving, or I’d be mad right now.”
Rudy’s hand squeezed my leg again, and my dad’s gaze followed the movement before rising to meet Rudy’s eyes. Something unspoken passed between them, and the atmosphere in the room shifted subtly.
“I think,” my dad began, slowly setting down his fork, “it’s time we discussed your intentions toward my daughter.”
I groaned, dropping my head into my hands. “Dad, I’m a grown-ass woman.”
“A grown woman who is powerful and has been surrounded by nine reindeer shifters who appear unusually... devoted.”
“With all due respect, sir,” Pierce said, his tone matter of fact, “we have every intention of being her sleigh team, but we’re also her mates and intend to bond with her.”
The table went silent. Even the elves serving food froze in place.
“Bond with me?” I hissed, kicking Pierce under the table, but he gave me a placid look that said he regretted nothing.
My mom set down her wine glass, her eyes widening as she looked at me. “With how they act around you, I thought you’d already completed the bonding ceremony right when you arrived.”
“We immediately came here when we landed, and a bonding ceremony?” I looked from my mom to the shifty-eyed men around me. “Does it involve me rubbing their antlers and singingFeliz Navidador something?”
Don coughed violently while Blitz smothered what sounded suspiciously like a laugh.
“That’s not quite how it works.” A small smile played at the corner of her lips. “Though the antler part isn’t entirely off the mark.”
My dad looked like he’d bitten into a lemon. “Glimmera, please.”
My mom ignored him, leaning forward with gleaming eyes. “The bonding ritual is ancient magic. It requires absolute trust between two or more people. You would be connected by more than loyalty; your magic would intertwine with theirs.”
“So I’d be, what, magically married to all nine of them?” I couldn’t keep the squeak out of my voice. I had absolutely no interest in getting married.
I looked around at the nine faces watching me with expressions ranging from amusement to apprehension to something far more intense. They were serious about this.
Don moved his arm to the back of my chair, his fingers brushing my arm soothingly. “It’s a bit like the whole fated-mate thing. The connection already exists between us, and the ritual simply acknowledges what’s already there and magically ties us together.”
“Reindeer don’t bond with bites if that’s what you’re worried about.” Vix was trying to be reassuring but failed.
My dad cleared his throat. “Perhaps this is a discussion for another time.”
The look my mom shot him could have frozen fire. “Christopher.”
“There’s no rush.” My dad tugged at his collar. “She’s only just returned, and clearly they need to discuss this among themselves in private.”
“A mate bond will calm her magic,” my mom challenged. “When we bonded, my magic calmed substantially. Nine mate bonds would?—”
“For the love of milk and cookies, can we please not talk about this?” I was pretty sure my face was red.
I wanted to reject having nine men tied to me for the rest of my life, but as dinner continued and the conversation moved on, I couldn’t stop myself from wondering what it would be like.
