Every eye widened. “Yes, Aideen. But there’s no pressure. We would only do that if you want us as well. We want you in our lives for the rest of our lives. Nothing like a human marriage. There is no divorce or cheating. We would be committed to you for life.” My chest surged with warmth as Blitz told me what I already knew. But hearing it from his mouth meant so much more.
“And if I didn't want to?” My heart ached just thinking about ever denying being their mate. I thought about how I was attracted to them instantly. Couldn’t get them off my mind. How their smells drew me in.
Comet squirmed in his seat. Not like him at all. “Then we will let you go. We would never force you into anything.”
“And you are Santa’s reindeer. You pull the sled. You help deliver presents all over the world, which explains your profile with every country visited.” I knew I was repeating what I’d figured out earlier, but still, it was so surreal.
“We’re sorry we had to keep this secret for a while.”
“It’s okay,” I answered Comet. “I have more questions but I can’t think of them right now. Oh, just one more. You’re gone all Christmas Eve, right?”
“We are. Mrs. Claus and everyone else has a big dinner, and they hang out until we get home.”
That actually sounded fun. Not the being without them but spending the night knowing my mates were bringing joy to the world’s children.
“Sounds like a good time.”
“It does?” Dash perked up and took my hands in his. “We thought you would be upset to be alone on Christmas. We actually dreaded telling you.”
“I’m not mad about it. I would miss you three but it’s very cool what you do.”
We didn’t speak for a moment. Blitz got up and grabbed my suitcase. “I’m going to bring your bag to your room. Want to come see it?”
This was it. My time to admit how I felt about them. I didn’t have the shifter biology or instinct, but I knew they were mine. “What if I don’t want my own room? What if I want to be your mate?”
The room fell silent.
“Are you sure?” Comet asked, standing up. “You don’t have to make any decisions today.”
“I’m sure. I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life. But…do you think I could see your reindeer first?”
Chapter Twenty
Aideen
I don’t know how I expected to react, but then I’d never actually seen anyone shift. My friends who were mated to shifters had never invited me over to watch, and I had a feeling it was because they had to get undressed first, and most of my girlfriends weren’t likely to want to share their men’s nakedness with other women.
Shifters, apparently, from my research, had no real issues with nudity at all, but humans…honestly? I got it.
But when it was time for me to see my guys shift, it was anything but a private moment. “Can you do it here, in the house?”
They looked at one another then back at me. “Umm,” Comet said. “We could, but we’d probably break a lot of our collectibles with our antlers, and we wouldn’t be able to move around much.”
“I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a reindeer in person, but we are larger than the kind you might have encountered. Why don’t we go to the barn. There’s room there, and it’s a little warmer than outside in the village.”
The dome that covered the village made a difference in the air temperature, but it was still pretty cold outside, and I shivered a little as we walked from the house to the barn. It was several times as big as the one that housed the guys’ toy shop, and made me wonder how many reindeer did train for Santa’s sleigh.
“Right this way.” Blitz took my arm and led me inside the building, and then I knew why it was so big. There were no actual stalls or anything like that inside. Rather, the walls were lined with equipment like you’d find in a gym. Weights and treadmillsand all sorts of things, and the center was wide open with a ceiling several stories high. “This is where we train.”
“And fly. That’s why the ceiling is so high?”
“Yes, but not in January.” Comet unzipped his jacket. “No Christmas magic for that right now. But you can still see our reindeer.”
I couldn’t wait.
They had me sit on a padded exercise bench while they undressed and prepared to shift. I couldn’t keep my eyes off them. Was it okay to stare? They didn’t seem to mind. And if we were going to be doing so much more in a little while… But still, I didn’t want to be rude. “Would you like me to turn away?” I had to ask.
“No.” Dash actually turned in a circle, letting me see all of him. “Not unless you want to. We’re not shy and we will probably be staring at you the moment we get you alone.”
