Clara and Gabriel make plans with the others as I continue to cook, leaving the pies behind to prepare dinner for tonight.
Gabriel pushesback from the table, groaning. “That was incredible, Felix.” I beam at his praise, feeling fuzzy inside. “I don’t think I’ve ever had lamb with pomegranate before.”
The lamb was hands-off to cook, as it required braising, so I had time to roast some acorn squash and crisp up Brussels sprouts to accompany it. My Alpha and Beta enjoying the meal I cooked, with smiles on their faces and happy noises in the air, was, without a doubt, the greatest gift I’ve ever received.
Clara and Gabriel refuse to allow me to clean up, the former pushing a mug of my homemade mulled cider into my hands and shoving me down on the couch to watch a movie while they handle the whirlwind mess I left our kitchen in.
I may be a good cook, but I’m not so great at the “clean as you go” thing.
At least everything is prepared for tomorrow, and we should have leftovers for days with the amount of food I’ve got planned for us.
Hazel dropped off the pajamas an hour ago, and we invited her to stay for dinner, but she said she’ll take us up on it tomorrow. The three wrapped packages sit on the coffee table in front of me, calling my name. I’m bouncing in my seat, losing patience at waiting to see what she picked out for us.
She also brought a plate of cookies that Gabriel and Clara had decorated a few days ago on a date they had and didn’t tell me about.
I feel like I should be more upset than I am that they kept their match from me, but it’s hard to when I know that by doing so, I got that incredible moment with Clara.
It truly was the perfect way to share our feelings. We’ll tell our grandkids the story one day.
The two of them join me on the couch, squishing me between them, and finally, some of the tension leaves me.
I’m not feeling well, but I chalk that up to nerves. My stomach is cramping, and I’m a little sweaty, which would make me believe my heat is about to start if I weren’t just coming off suppressants. It should be a few weeks before that happens.
My excitement gets the better of me, and I can no longer resist the pretty packages. I grab them and place the presents in their respective laps.
“Do you guys wanna open these now?”
Clara laughs, that beautiful sound that I want to wrap myself in, and pulls at the corner of her package. “If I say no, will that stop you?”
“Absolutely not.”
I rip open my package to reveal red silky pajamas with white piping.
Leave it to Hazel to get something high-end and luxe, but I’m not complaining. I love them.
I rush off to my room to get changed, and when I come back, my Beta and Alpha are both dressed in theirs, and together, we look like the perfect Christmas photo.
Gabriel grabs my arm and drags me down onto the couch, and I fall between the two of them, half on both of their laps.
“Let’s take a photo,” he says, wrapping an arm around me. “Our first Christmas as a pack.”
He sets his phone up on the TV console, and Clara squeezes in tightly beside me. I wrap my arm around her as I stretch out on Gabriel’s lap. The camera flashes and catches me mid-laugh, and I make him take four more pictures so we have a variety to frame.
As the day winds to an end, we munch on cookies and watch our childhood favorites, and I know that this will forever be my favorite Christmas ever.
TWENTY-NINE
CHRISTMAS DAY
I feellike I had just dozed off when a pained whine stirs me awake. It takes a few seconds for me to adjust to the dark of the nest, the only light a string of white Christmas bulbs that stretches across the window.
Another whine from beside me reminds me of why I woke, and I look down to see Felix curled in on himself, panting, face scrunched in pain. I brush his hair off his forehead and suppress a swear at the heat pumping off of him.
“Felix,” I coo, keeping my voice sweet and calm so I don’t stress him out. “Omega, I think you’re going into heat.”
“No, I’m not,” he murmurs, rubbing his face against my palm. “I just went off my suppressants. It will take a few weeks for my system to regulate.”
“Regardless of what it should take, you’re burning up and whining, and your scent is flooding the nest.”
