Page 26 of Naughty Elf: Alfie
“My love, you don’t need to say a thing. You tell me thank you in all your actions. Just keep loving me.”
“I’ll never stop.” He stands on his tiptoes and kisses me again.
“Go inside, love. I don’t want you to get over heated out here with me. You too, Yolanda. Shelia will have my hide if something happens to you in this heat.”
Yolanda tips her head and follows my mate.
An hour later, I flip open the cooler and laugh. There’s a metal plate with our fridge magnets that reads: YOU MAKE ME SOOOOO THIRSTY
Gods, I love this man.
Chapter 12
Pisces
It’sHalloween and Yolanda texted me that she went into labor this morning. I’m hoping it’s a short labor for her. Right now, I’m on day three of training two new people. Liz and Mark, both betas. My big belly keeps getting in the way every time I lean over a table to show them where the codes for the crystals are. I tested them before hiring them and they both have good crystal knowledge, like Yolanda and me. They just need a bit of experience behind the register and how the shop works. We’re lucky they could start when they did. This means Yolanda can take maternity leave, then I can, and the shop be in good hands the entire time. I trust all my people and I’m glad Pieces of Pisces is doing so damn well. It’s like a miracle.
I look over to Alfie at the counter. He’s watching me with the sweetest smile on his face. His honey eyes keep watch on me at all times and I’m not annoyed by it. He’s the reason the shop is doing so damn well. It’s his North Pole magic and his ability to draw people in with his promo. I don’t know how he does it, but there’s always something special about how he does everything. He also helps rein me in. The further along in my pregnancy, the more I want to buy only cute stuffed things for the shop that just don’t make sense. Yolanda enables me because she’s beennesting hard, too. Alfie is the voice of reason. We can get one cute stuffed crystal to see how it goes, he says. But I want one to cuddle even though I don’tneedone. They’re just cute.
Alfie crooks his finger at me the next time I look at him.
“I’ll be right back. Continue to familiarize yourself with the stock.”
Liz and Mark are both lost in the wonder of pretty crystals, so I don’t worry about them.
Alfie has something behind his back. “I know I convinced you not to get any for the store, but you seemed so sad, so I bought one for you.” He holds out a stuffed rose quartz point with a happy little face sewed onto it. “I also got one for Yolanda, so she’s not jealous.” He nods to a gift-wrapped box behind him.
I squeeze my new stuffie. “He goes in the nest.” I promptly leave Alfie to go to my office, where I have asmallnest started. What if I go into labor at the shop? I need to be prepared! Once he’s in the center of said nest, I run back out to thank my alpha. He laughs when I launch myself into his arms. My stomach makes it hard to get as close to him as I want, but it’s fine. Not much longer now before the babies arrive. Then we can hug again!
Chapter 13
Alfie
Pisces waddles around the apartment,gathering more things for his nest. Our nest? He has things all over our bedroom arranging them this way, then that, until he’s satisfied with the placements. It’s late November, and he’s so ready to have our babies, but he still has some time to go.
He hasn’t been able to shift in months, and it makes him cranky. But cute cranky. He wants his hay, but his human body doesn’t like it, so he gorges himself on bananas and carrots, his other favorite rabbit food.
Right now, he has a banana in one hand while he rubs his tummy with the other and mutters to himself. “I need… just… one more…”
“Sweetheart.” I wrap my arms around him. “Why don’t you finish your treat, then let me rub your feet for you? You need to relax.”
He drops his head on my chest. “That sounds wonderful.”
Usually, if we’re touching, he calms all the way down so that he can sleep peacefully for the night. He finishes his fruit, then settles into the couch with his feet in my lap. I love taking care of my omega like this. Helping him feel better.
I’m only about five minutes into the foot rub when he passes out. I continue, knowing it probably still helps to finish both feet. Harold hops into Pisces’s lap and purrs. The cat isn’t as grumpy as Pisces made him out to be, or the kitty just likes me.
The doctors don’t know if our babies will be shifters. They said we won’t know until they’re a little bit older, but we’ll know within the first few months. Rabbit kits shift on their own sometimes, so we shouldn’t have to wait too long. And hopefully I get to hold my tiny bunny babies.
I never ever imagined I’d leave the North Pole, but Santa was right when he said I was lonely. I hadn’t realized I was, though. I just thought I had fallen into the humdrum of the same routine day in and day out. But no, I was lonely and Pisces filled that hole in my heart.
Chapter 14
Santa #22
Every once ina while I peek in on my elves I had to send away. There are surprisingly twenty-two of them from over the years and all of them have indeed found their fated mates. I might be the proudest of Alfie. He took things in stride and trusted me to take him to his fated mate.
I sip the hot chocolate in my thermos and chuckle at the domestic bliss in front of me. The mirror shows me what Alfie and Pisces are up to. Right now, Alfie is chasing his mate around their apartment as Pisces goes into super nesting mode. He’ll be in labor shortly, then I’ll give them a visit. Alfie deserves to know he’s done a good job. I’m biased, and he’s one of my favorite, mostly in part because he’s always smiling. I appreciated his humor, but I couldn’t tell him that. I’m the one in authority and it broke my heart to send him away. But had I known how happy he’d be with his fated, I would have sent him sooner.
