“This looks amazing!” Sienna praises, sniffing the air. I giggle, watching her, and she turns to me with pinched brows. “What?”
“Nothing. Sometimes I just forget that you’re a wolf.”
“Oh,” she says with a bashful shrug.
“Alright, let’s eat!” Kole shouts, as he and Thane bust through the double doors.
Thane takes his seat at the end while Kole sits opposite me.
“Really? You’re wearing that?” Thane mutters, eyeing my pajamas disapprovingly.
“They’re better than the nightgowns you put me in.”
His scowl deepens, but I turn my attention back to Sienna, deciding not to let his grump ass ruin Christmas Eve dinner.
“Mangia!” Sienna says, waving her hands for us to start eating.
I take a bite of steak first and can’t help but moan when it melts in my mouth. Kole could be a damn Michelin star chef with how good his cooking is. We all fall silent, devouring the food like animals, which if I think about it, is kind of funny. Eventually, we come up for air and start talking, but Thane continues to be silent, looking like he’d rather be anywhere but here.
Once we finish dinner, Sienna insists we watchHow the Grinch Stole Christmas,claiming it’s her favorite. We move back to the living room and find that she has, in fact, hung stockings with each of our names stitched into them over the fireplace. There’s also a bunch of garland and décor set out, making it look like Christmas threw up in here.
“You’ve outdone yourself!” I say, pulling her down onto the couch next to me.
“It’s our first Christmas together,” she says with a bright smile. “I wanted it to be one to remember!”
“It’s already the best Christmas I’ve ever had,” I tell her, going in for a quick hug that most definitely was influenced by the holiday cheer.
Or perhaps the wine.
Kole and Thane each take a seat in a chair while Sienna and I lay on the couch, sharing a blanket. Halfway through the movie, I’m still amazed that they live so much like the humans used to. Everything about today has been weirdly normal, and yet not at all. Even in the human world, I didn’t live like this. I hardly ever decorated Christmas trees or had nice family dinners.
This all feels so foreign to me, and yet at the same time, it feels so right. Like this is exactly where I’m supposed to be, andit doesn’t matter how it is I got here. All that matters is that I’m here with these people, in this place that’s starting to feellike home.
Kole
Only she could make this ridiculous pajama set look sexy. I mean, reindeers… really? At first, when Sienna insisted that we celebrate Christmas, I thought it was a stupid idea, but tonight actually turned out to be pretty fun. I suppose that’s mostly due to the fact that I got to see Grey actually be happy for once. Not only has she smiled more tonight than the entire time she’s been here, but there’s also a lightness to her. Like she’s finally allowing herself to embrace this new life.
Seeing her like this has given me hope that maybe, one day soon, she’ll find the freedom and happiness she’s longed for.
Chapter 30
“Come on! Wake up! It’s Christmas morning!”
I slowly peel my eyelids open to find Sienna straddling me with an obnoxious smile stretched across her face as she starts bouncing on top of me like an impatient little kid. If I had grown up in a loving home, with a sister I was close with, this is exactly what I imagine waking up on Christmas morning would be like.
“Alright, psycho. I’m getting up.”
She rolls off me and yanks me out of bed, dragging me into the bathroom, so I can pull myself together. I take a look at the two of us in the mirror, wearing our matching pajamas and laugh at how childish we look.
“Let’s go! Let’s go!” She pulls me along and bounds down the stairs like a kid hopped up on sugar.
The house already smells of bacon and maple syrup, making my mouth instantly salivate with thoughts of breakfast. Sienna holds the door open for me, and I walk into the dining room to see that the food has already been brought out.
“Merry Christmas, you two.”
I turn around and see Kole walking in with a coffee mug in his hand, still wearing his reindeer pajama bottoms.
“Merry Christmas!” Sienna skips over to him, throwing her arms around his neck while he looks over her shoulder at me with a smile.
