Pulling his hand up to my mouth, I kiss his palm. In response, he squeezes my cheeks, making both of us giggle.
“Let’s go inside,” Duncan says softly. “We should exchange our gifts before my parents arrive.”
Duncan laces our fingers together before leading us back into the house. I give our backyard one last look, taking in how pretty the snow is making everything. Then I release the spell on our clothes, not wanting us to overheat once we’re inside the warmth of our home.
Duncan and I sit on the floor next to our tree. Tomorrow, we’ll be heading over to Aiden and Brock’s house for a pack party but today is just for the two of us and our little family unit.
“Here,” Duncan says shyly. “I’m not sure what you’ll think since my gift includes a little work from you, but I hope you’ll like it.”
“I’m sure I’ll love it,” I say truthfully, pulling the newspaper away from the gift. It’s a little black box. I pop it open, my cheeks hurting from how wide my smile is. “Duncan,” I breathe out, pulling the jewelry from the box and holding it in my palm.
In my hand are two bracelets. One of them is black leather with a handmade metal wolf, twisted together with silver wires. It’s beautiful. The other is made with gray leather and the metal piece adorning it is made with black wires, this one twisted to look like a ball of fire.
“I love them,” I tell him seriously, looking up at my mate. “What did you want me to do with them?”
“I saw online that there are bracelets for long distance partners. You can program it with your phone to send each other messages or even add your heartbeat to it so the other person can listen to it whenever they miss the other. I thought with your magic, we could do something to link ourselves together. Unless that’s silly--” he starts to say but I cut him off straight away.
“That’s not silly at all! I’ll think of something really special, okay? Just give me a little time with them.”
“Do you like them?”
“No,” I say, pulling Duncan into a tight hug right there on the floor. “Ilovethem. Your craftsmanship is so fucking beautiful, Duncan. I can’t wait to wear mine proudly. I won’t have them enchanted yet but I’m wearing mine today and tomorrow so I can show it off.”
Duncan’s arms come around me, holding me tight. He kisses the side of my head, letting out a long, relieved breath. What a goofy alpha. Like I would hate something he hand made for me?
“Thank you for the lovely gift, alpha.”
He pulls back, finally smiling back. “You’re welcome.”
“Now it’s my turn,” I say, reaching under the tree and grabbing Duncan’s gift. I hand the little box to Duncan.
Duncan pulls the paper away. He keeps glancing up at me, his eyes so warm. I love him so much it makes my chest ache.
“I know how much you love your necklace,” I murmur as he pops the little box open. “So I thought I would give you another charm to add to it.”
“Oh,” Duncan whispers, looking at the little stone in awe. This is a little piece of lapis lazuli wrapped in metal so it can be hung from a necklace. “This is really pretty, Viktor.”
“It’s enchanted just like the other stone.”
Duncan is already pulling his necklace off his neck and popping it open so he can slide the lapis lazuli into place beside the obsidian the necklace already had hanging from it.
“What does this one do?” Duncan asks with excitement.
“It’s a calming enchantment,” I explain softly. “Any time you feel overwhelmed or need a little break from your anxiety, just push your hand against your chest. It sends calming waves through you so you can catch your breath and think clearly.” Then I quickly added, “I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s more than okay,” Duncan says right away. He takes my hands in his own, squeezing them tight. “I’ve never felt so seen before meeting you. This is perfect, Viktor. Thank you.”
I squeeze him right back. “You’re welcome.”
“What’s this?”
I pull out the other gift with Duncan’s name on it. “It’s something silly. You deserve silly stuff in your life, Duncan.”
“Right. That’s why I have you.”
I make a fart noise with my mouth and toss the gift into his lap. “Go on. Open it up.”
Duncan opens the newspaper wrapping and starts laughing as he sees the shirt. He unfolds it completely, holding it up.
