“You’re the only person I know who can navigate these halls blindfolded, while simultaneously running the place. What’s going on?” he asked gently.
Mina huffed out a deep breath, her shoulders drooping. “It’s fine. It’s just that the theatre troupe have had an accident and probably won’t make it before the families are scheduled to leave. There are two hundred extremely excited children sittingin the music room, jacked up on sweets, with nothing to do for the next hour, and I need to figure out how to entertain them.”
Mina laughed shakily. Greyson nodded sympathetically, his mind already racing to find a solution. This was a proper disaster.
“Don’t worry, Mina. We’ll take care of it.” Xander stepped forward and patted Mina’s shoulder. “This event is my pet project. I should pull my weight. Come on, gents. Let’s go entertain the children.”
Greyson exchanged an incredulous look with Hunter. Xander had always loved interacting with his people and was great with children, but he wasn’t usually one to volunteer for challenging tasks. It seemed their pack leader was truly determined to start fresh and be the leader they needed.
“Oh, Prince Alexander, I couldn’t ask you to do that–,” Mina began, but the prince held up an imperious hand to stop her.
“You’re not asking me, I am exercising my royal prerogative to do as I please, and you’re obeying a direct order.” Xander gave the beta his most winning smile, one Greyson had seen break many a heart. “Go take a breather. You’ve more than earned it.”
Mina bobbed a quick bow, relief written all over her face. “Thank you, your highness. I’ll be back in a tick.”
“Take your time,” Greyson ordered. Mina nodded and hurried away. Once she was out of earshot, Greyson turned back to the prince. “And just how the bloody hell are we going to entertain a load of hyper kiddos?”
Before Xander could reply, their conversation was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of children singing. Their voices drifted through the halls, sweet and clear. Greyson felt himself smiling, even before they reached the music room to find a beautiful surprise.
Destiny Duvalle was on the low stage, guitar strapped over her shoulder as she played and sang “Jingle Bells”. Greysonand his packmates watched raptly as she worked the crowd, encouraging the children to sing along. She guided them to take turns with the various verses, and to mimic simple movements. The children were clearly delighted, seemingly not at all disappointed by the change of program.
“I think I’m in love,” Xander whispered in an awed voice.
Greyson understood the sentiment. Their omega had stepped up when needed, and once again completely captivated her audience. The children’s unabashed joy was contagious, and the castle was practically bursting with good cheer. This was what Greyson loved about Christmas—these special moments when the world showed its softer, more hopeful side.
Pack Stepanov joined the rest of the royal family, who were seated on the front row, singing along with Destiny and the children. Queen Raina gave them a wide smile, her blue eyes sparkling just like Xander’s. Greyson saw her give her son a nudge and a knowing look toward the popstar.
“We had such a lovely breakfast. I knew I liked her, but now I’m completely smitten. And so are Avondale’s children, obviously,” the queen said, loud enough for them all to hear. “She volunteered without the slightest prompting or hesitation to save the day. She’s classy but not afraid to get her hands dirty. Much like me.”
Greyson smothered a smile. Queen Raina was about as subtle as a sledgehammer, but he loved her. He felt a rush of pride at her assessment of their omega, grateful to have her blessing. The queen was like a second mother to him, and her good opinion meant a lot. Greyson knew she would always give them honest, shrewd advice, and her obvious approval of their choice was validating. Not that he was surprised. How could anyone not love Destiny Duvalle?
After a few more songs, Xander moved toward the stage, gesturing for his packmates to follow. “Come on. We can’t let her have all the fun.”
Greyson followed, unsure what the prince had in mind, but eager to be nearer to Destiny, no matter the context. She smirked at them as they climbed on stage, that familiar sassy glint in her eyes sending his heart racing and cock twitching. She effortlessly quieted the children, then lifted an expectant eyebrow at them.
“Who wants to hear a Christmas story?” Xander boomed, to thunderous applause and a room full of eagerly raised hands. “Good! I’ll tell you one my babushka used to tell me. Prince Consorts Hunter and Greyson are going to help by showing you the movements so you can help me tell it.”
Greyson was distracted from his own dismay by the murderous expression on Hunter’s face. Xander grinned mischievously at them. Greyson knew Xander would pay for this later, the brat, and he would enjoy watching it.
With no other choice, Greyson and a very grumpy Hunter improvised silly moves as Xander told a story about Christmas spiders. They wriggled their fingers and made exaggerated faces as the spiders in the story watched a kind family decorate their house. Since the people were careful not to disturb their webs or harm the spiders, the spiders helped by spinning a web over the Christmas tree. Father Frost eventually turned the webs into silver and gold, apparently making spiders a part of Christmas tradition. Greyson had once heard a different version of the story, where the spider webbed the tree to help a poor old woman who couldn’t afford Christmas decorations, and the morning light turned the webs silver. Either way, Greyson found the idea of Christmas spiders as ridiculous as his packmates found most of his British colloquialisms.
Despite looking undoubtedly foolish, Greyson felt adequately compensated for his efforts by the smiles and warm looks they earned from Destiny. She added ambience to the story with the occasional chord or melody, and Xander matched her energy with his exuberant storytelling. They made a good team.
Of course they did. They were mates.
Greyson would make sure that this was only the first of many joyful holidays they’d spend together. He would spend his days making Destiny smile, the light of it guiding him to her, his North Star. His home.
Chapter sixteen
Destiny
Destiny felt like she was in a dream.
Her initial impression that Avondale was like something out of a cheesy Christmas romance movie was extremely accurate, but it turned out she didn’t hate it. If she was being honest, she liked it. Loved it, even.
Between talking to the happy families building gingerbread houses, enjoying the cheerful castle décor, and singing with Avondale’s children, Destiny had had more fun already this Christmas than she had in years. She wasn’t just being polite when she’d told Prince Alexander that his people were lovely. They were welcoming and warm, and Destiny could easily imagine living among them.
With Pack Stepanov, of course.
