Nick had made aneffort. The dining room next to the living room had been lit up by dozens of candles, casting an amber glow on the room, and the mahogany table was set for two. The silverware sparkled, and the tablecloth looked so white that Billy worried a simple brush of his fingers would stain it.
It looked fancy.
The food, while smelling delicious, was not porridge. Billy decided that he would under no circumstance betray even a hint of his disappointment. Nick had no way of knowing that Billy lived and breathed for porridge—preferably with a delicious lump of butter in the middle and plenty of sugar and cinnamon on top if he was feeling festive.
“I hope you like roast beef,” Nick said, leading him to the tableand pulling out his chair for him.
Billy had never had roast beef, so he wasn’t sure. When he said as much, Nick just stared at him.
“You’ve never had roast beef? Then what do you eat?” He sounded scandalized.
“Porridge, mostly. Sometimes bread with strawberry jam. This smells really good, though.”
Billy wasn’t lying. The roast smelled delicious, and the glazed vegetables arranged around the juicy piece of meat looked incredibly appetizing.
“You’re in for a treat, then,” Nick said. He sat down and grabbed a huge knife off the table, spearing the roast with a long two pronged fork and cutting into the meat. The roast was brown around the edges and pink in the middle, with a center that looked like it hadn’t been cooked at all.
Nick didn’t look like he found the uncooked middle of the roast to be of concern, so Billy guessed it was normal.
“So you work in the experimentation room?” Nick said, cutting a piece of meat off the roast and putting it on Billy’s plate. He then scooped a hearty helping of vegetables onto Billy’s plate before serving himself.
“I do. I’m trying to build a machine that can build toys on its own, without an elf having to use a shaping rod for each toy. I think I’m really close to making it work—I just need to figure out how to keep the magic from making it explode.”
Nick smiled. “So that’s what happened yesterday? You tried to turn it on?”
Billy nodded, the very recent defeat still stinging his ego. “It worked for a little while, but then the magic went crazy and itblew up. Next year will be better.”
“I’m sure it will,” Nick said. He took a bite of his steak, chewing and closing his eyes as he savored the meat, and Billy was reminded that he needed to start eating.
It was just hard to muster the same enthusiasm he would have had if Nick had served him porridge. He cut a piece of meat onto his fork and brought it to his lips, putting it into his mouth and chewing slowly. The flavor was intense, with hints of salt and herbs, the tender meat nearly melting on his tongue.
He liked it. Nick was watching him carefully, waiting for a reaction, and when Billy smiled he broke out into a grin.
“Good, right?” he said, winking. Billy blushed and nodded. It was good, if not quite as good as porridge.
“So what about you?” Billy asked. “Why did you want to be Santa?”
Most alphas, betas and omegas lived among the humans, never tapping into their magic potential. It was always interesting to hear why someone would go against the grain and join in with the magical world.
Nick grinned. “I actually didn’t apply for the job. I wanted to be Krampus, but the council sent me here. I have no idea why.”
Billy stopped chewing, shocked that the Krampus rumor was actually true.
“Krampus?” he asked, his voice cracking. Nick grinned, sinking back into his chair, looking at Billy with a mischievous expression.
“Krampus,” he repeated. “Getting to dress up in that hot leather uniform, disciplining naughty elves, ruining Christmas for countless ungrateful little brats … Can’t you see it?”
Billy shrugged, uncomfortable. Krampus was a villain. He wasn’t someone to be admired or aspired to.
“No?” Nick asked, stroking his chin. Billy remembered what that glove felt like on his face, and he shuddered.
“No,” he said, pulling himself together. “I get the… leather thing, and disciplining naughty elves—since they apparently they like that kind of thing—but I don’t get why you’d want to ruin Christmas for anyone, even naughty children.”
Nick just shrugged. “I don’t really care about that part. Naughty children get coal—that’s just the way it is—I wouldn’t mind being the one digging it up and giving it to them.”
“But would you like it?” Billy asked. This was something he needed to know before anything more could happen with Nick, despite how hot he was or how much fun it was to be manhandled by him.
“What do you mean?”
