Had his arms always been this big? This packed full of muscles?
Why was I just now noticing?
“Well, I’m glad I could help rescue you from him, even if I’m still not sure what exactly I did.” His voice was low, rough, and I shivered from the sound of it.
“Are you cold?” he whispered, his voice barely audible.
“No,” I shook my head. How could I tell him I suddenly found his voice so sexy it made me shiver? I desperately tried to shake myself out of whatever the fuck was going haywire in my body. “His name was Chad, so I should have known then and there how the date was going to go.”
“Ew,” Bal agreed. “Chads are always, always on the naughty list.”
“Facts.”
Balfour
Past…
Nemesis:One of my students shifted for the first time in class today. So that was fun.
Me:Isn’t that kind of late for them to shift?
Nemesis:Yeah…late bloomer. Usually, they shift by age three or four. His omega dad was human, so I think it was just assumed he wasn’t going to shift because he hadn’t yet. I was not prepared to suddenly have a small crocodile in my classroom! No one prepares you for that! I mean more than half my students are shifters, but they are well past their first shifts and can control it.
Me:Did you say a crocodile?
Nemesis:A crocodile. Yes. There were clothes ripping, snapping teeth, a tail he couldn’t control, desks getting knocked over, and so much screaming. And tears. His, the other students. Maybe mine. It was hard to tell over all the screaming. The poor kid shifted two or three times before he either figured out how to control it, or it just stopped on its own.
Me:Are you okay?
Nemesis:No, I’m not okay! I had a crocodile in my classroom! I do NOT get paid enough for this. Like teaching should come with some kind of alcohol stipend. But my student is so cute and sweet, and he was so upset. It wasn’t his fault. And I can’t act like any of it upset me, because I’ve already got a room of crying kids. I’m just whining. Sorry to interrupt your work.
Me:You can interrupt me anytime.
Chapter Five
Kendrick
Stepping out of the inn, I took a second to enjoy the view around me. While I wasn’t nearly as Christmas obsessed as my mom and brother, I did enjoy the holiday. And here in Santa’s Village, it was hard not to feel happy surrounded by all things Christmas.
It really was like something out of a postcard or a movie set. Giant sized red and white candy canes adorned every shop doorway. Red and green wreaths embellished the doors, and green foliage, decorated with twinkling fairy lights and colorful ornaments surrounded each windowsill.
The lush pine trees around the town were all decorated year round with ornaments of all shapes, sizes, and colors. The air was always scented with warm spices; cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and occasionally the sweet scent of chocolate.
Directly in front of me, down the hill, I could see the giant skating pond that sat smack dab in the middle of the village. Black and white penguins skated now, frolicking to their hearts content, and showing off some truly impressive skills. I was a good ice skater, but the penguins had me beat by a mile.
And I loved staying at the Inn when I was here for the holidays. It was like something out of a TV show, and it allowed me the freedom to get a few hours away from my family when I needed it.
I truly loved it here and knew my parents had also fallen in love with the place. They had been dropping not so subtle hints about retiring, and I had a strong feeling they were looking at retiring here. While I understood them wanting to–their grandkids were here–I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.
It was one thing when no one remembered my brother in the human realm, but if no one remembered my parents either, where did that leave me? Would I suddenly be viewed as an orphan in the human realm? A person with no one?
It was one of the rules that surrounded Santa’s Village; if a human was allowed to reside here, no one in the human realm would remember they had existed for the protection of the village and Santa’s work.
Even knowing I still had my family, I wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone about them. Wouldn’t be able to mention them to my friends.
The thought sat heavily in my gut, but I tried not to think too much on the possibility, just yet. Though my mom telling me they had some big news to talk to me about didn’t make that easy.
Would I want to move here permanently? To Santa’s Village? Was it even a possibility? There were a ton of rules when it came to humans being here, many of which I knew the Kringles had already made exceptions to for my family. Would those exceptions include me? I guess I’d wait and see what my parents had to tell me before I borrowed trouble.
