Page 33 of Naughty Elf: Shimmersnap

The envelope was decorated with swirly gold scrolls spelling out my name: Shimmersnap. I opened it to find a letter.

Congratulations on your mating. You are officially off the naughty list.

“Walter, I’m off the naughty list!”

“Fantastic,” he said with a smirk. “I’m sure you’ll find your way back there.”

I slapped his arm playfully. “Don’t joke about that! The naughty list is serious business, Walter!”

As I set the envelope down, a small picture fluttered out. Walter picked it up, glancing at it with wide eyes.

“Is this...?” He turned it over, showing me. It looked like an ultrasound picture. “Is that what I think it is?” he asked.

“It’s our baby,” I said, my voice soft with wonder.

“Santa did an ultrasound?” Walter wrinkled his nose at that thought.

“Santa can do anything,” I said. I read through the letter quickly. “Congratulations on your upcoming child. I’ve taken the liberty of making sure the little elf is doing well. Enclosed is a picture, and we’ll be sending an elf doctor to monitor you regularly.”

“Oh, how exciting!” I beamed.

“Great,” Walter said with a grin, kissing my cheek.

“This is going to be the best Christmas ever!”

“Maybe,” Walter said with a shrug. “I’ll bet every Christmas with you will be the best ever. And every day will be better than the one before.”

I slapped at his chest playfully. “I’m already committed to you, Walter. There’s no need for the flirting.”

He kissed my cheek again. “I mean it, Shimmersnap. You brought light into my life again. Into my home. And I promise never to take that for granted again.”

I kissed him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I love you, my grumpy alpha. All of you.”

“I love you, Shimmersnap. Never dull your sparkle, mate.”

Epilogue

Shimmersnap

“I feel like I should know this, but what do you think is the earliest time frame that Santa would grant a Christmas wish?” I asked, staring up at the ceiling while lying on the couch.

Walter put down his Kindle and looked over at me, amused. “Is this a philosophical question, or is there some Christmas wish you need granted right now?”

I shot him a look. “How could you even ask that?” I was practically 5,000 years pregnant, the size of a house, and,well...completely miserable. Okay, maybe that wasn’t fair. I wasn’tmiserable. How could I be? I loved being pregnant, loved the feeling of our baby dancing around in my belly. But functioning throughout the day? That was a whole different story. Not to mention the impatience I felt at knowing the most perfect child in existence would be here any day! It made the minutes crawl by slower than molasses at the North Pole!

“I just want the baby to be here already,” I sighed.

Walter chuckled and tugged me down beside him. “The baby will be here in the next few days, I promise. And we’ve already got the house decorated exactly how you wanted, so our little girl is going to arrive to a full-blown Christmas Wonderland.”

He gestured around the house, which we’d decorated on September first—much to his dismay. He’d tried to resist for all of ten minutes, but then my pregnancy hormones kicked in, and tears welled up in my eyes. The thought of not having the house decorated in time for our baby’s arrival had sent me spiraling.

“What if I don’t have the energy after the baby comes?” I’d cried. “Then the house won’t be decorated!”

Never mind the fact that I could blink and make holiday decorations appear. Logic had no place in the mind of a pregnant elf.

So Walter had hauled all the decorations out of storage, and we’d bought even more. Thanks to all the estate sales I’dfrequented throughout the year, our house was now a Christmas Wonderland that could rival the North Pole.

“The house really does look great,” I said, glancing around. Twinkling lights, glittering garlands, and a tree in every room—it was magical. What were the odds that I could convince him to keep it like this year round?

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