Page 8 of Our Dark Winter Wish

‘Fuck off,’ he grumbles.

We both chuckle.

As the fire spits and hisses, I watch her sleep in my arms. My entire reason for living. She saved me from Hel. From servitude to the blood goddess.

I get a thump to my head and see the wooden cock land beside me on the chair. I lift my gaze to see Archie sniggering.

‘Throw that thing at me again, and I’ll shove it upyourarse. See how you like it.’

‘I think I would like that very much.’ He winks and gets up, strutting across the room stark naked. As he passes me, he partially shifts so only his tail appears. And he swipes me right across the face with it.

A low growl rumbles from my chest.

‘You guys want some rum?’ he asks as he heads into the kitchen.

Thankfully, when he returns, he’s wearing some trousers.

‘So, this day of celebration,’ Shaw asks, taking a shot of rum. ‘Your Christmas. It was a big deal?’

‘It was for me. I loved it. The winter was boring and dark, so we would celebrate with heat and colour. We would gather around the fire the evening before Christmas day and sing until the moon was high. We would exchange gifts with our loved ones on Christmas morning and then prepare food. As it was cooking, we would find a Fir tree to cut down, bring into our homes and decorate. It would stay there until the start of the new year. We would eat, play games, and the adults would get unbelievably drunk and fuck. A lot. The Alphas were usually very stern and serious, but on these days, they were nothing but joyous and generous. A sense of goodwill hung thick in the air, and the smell of food was constant.’ He sinks back into the seat, a sad sort ofhappiness lingering in his eyes. ‘All you could hear was laughter and excitement. It felt good inside and out.’

His eyes begin to tear up as he recalls his lost family. I suspect he bought us here hoping to find some of his pack still alive. Maybe he believed a few escaped and managed to hide from the blood coven. But there is no one else here. No more shifters.

A fact I am very grateful for. We need time to heal. To regroup. To learn not to be at war. I have no idea how his pack would react to the three of us turning up with Archie.

‘We’ll make it just as you remember, Archie,’ I tell him. ‘It sounds like fun and we’ll do your traditions proud.’

He looks at her, still sleeping in my arms.

‘My family would have loved her. A real wild one. Feral.’ He wipes away a tear with his shoulder and distracts himself by downing several sips of rum. ‘They wouldn’t have liked my being Mated to her, though. My father especially.’

‘Because she’s not a wolf?’ I ask.

He nods.

‘My father was the alpha of our pack. As his eldest son, I would have been next inline to lead. I would have needed a strong female wolf to be my main bitch and give me lots and lots of pups.’

‘Yourmainbitch?’ Shaw asks.

‘As Alpha, I would have full access to any woman. As long as she was willing, of course. But I could only father kids with one. They were fierce women. All bite. No bark.’ He raises his brow as he looks at her. ‘Sounds like Pix, to be fair. Maybe he would have approved.’

I run my fingers through her hair as she takes slow breaths.

‘Do you think we can have kids?’ he asks, looking at her wistfully.

‘After the blood curse, who the hell knows,’ Shaw shrugs. ‘I’m not even sure creatures like us can.’ He nods at me. ‘And I’mpretty sure that with all the fucking we’ve been doing, she would be pregnant by now if it was a possibility.’ He actually smiles, seemingly keen on the idea. ‘Imagine some mini versions of us running around.’

I think of that image. That impossible life that we could have.

Shaw and I are as far from mortal as could be. And Archie is a wolf. We’re not compatible that way.

And we’re all so broken, we would make terrible parents.

But maybe. One day. Who knows.

Archie leans forwards.

‘There is another Christmas tradition of my pack,’ he says, scooping up a roasted chestnut and tossing it high before catching it. ‘One, I think, may be extremely fun to try.’

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