Page 41 of Reindeer Flames
It took him a few moments to register the mark. When he did, his eyes lit up with an evil gleam and he chortled. "Holy shit! You let that omega mark you! You really are an LOL!"
"A Laugh Out Loud?" Cupid asked. "I don't see anyone laughing but you, Bopp."
"No, a?—"
"Bopp Comet, you're up!" Santa 29 announced over the loudspeaker at the neighboring hangar.
"Your Santa's calling." Rudolph waved in a passive-aggressive way my granddad would have approved.
"Is he gone yet?" Dancer asked over his shoulder. "Gingersnaps, I cannot stand that guy." He turned and walked over to me, resting his hand on my shoulder. "Sorry. I know he's your family and all, but I think I speak for our entire team when I say he gets on our nerves."
"Agreed." Santa 30 had been working on a practice sleigh with his mechanic elf, so we didn't hear him sneak up on us. "Thankfully, he's Santa 29's problem, not ours. Back to work!"
Thankfully, no one mentioned Bopp again. When the subject of children came up, three of us were expecting our first babies this spring, though mine were the only eggs.
"Can a reindeer even hatch from an egg?" Dasher asked.
"I hope so," I said. "We're having one of each."
"Congratulations." Donner grinned. "That's it, you guys. You all need to start spending more time at the Honeycomb parties. That's where you'll meet your fated mates."
The five unmated reindeer groaned collectively. "That place gives me the creeps," Dasher said.
"It's not so bad," I said. "I didn't want to live there, but you forget you're below ground after a while."
The guys looked at me like I had sprouted my antlers and fuzzy ears, but Donner thanked me for trying as we set up for our next race.
CHAPTER 21
SILVER
Hart's springtraining was only one week in April, and then he would be home to watch the eggs for the duration of their incubation. One week. Five workdays. Forty to fifty hours.
Why was I struggling so hard to stick to my routine? The first day, I spent so long fussing with the egg sling beneath the oversized parka I'd bought just for this.
Hart zipped the parka up over the eggs. He had to stand on his tiptoes to kiss me over the added bulk, but his silly grin made me laugh.
"You've got this," he said. "I bet they're good luck. People will be drawn to Silver and Gold's for the first time, and they won't know why."
"Don't say that!" Dragon eggs sometimes attracted unwanted attention, it was true, but, "Gold will never let them leave if the business is good."
"Well, Gold can lay her own eggs if she wants to draw the crowd."
It was a lot more convenient for Gold to have eggs at the bakery, since she lived in the second-floor apartment. "Her apartment." I blinked. "That's why I hate the nest so much. It should be upstairs!"
Hart shook his head. "They'll be bored upstairs. Let them hear the commotion in the bakery. It'll be fine."
I should have listened to him, but the moment I arrived, a mere twenty minutes before we opened at six, I recruited Gold to help me move the nesting materials upstairs to her apartment. Ten minutes later, I moved everything back downstairs.
"What are you doing?" Gold asked.
"Something's not right."
"You said so when you arrived," she reminded me.
"Well, upstairs was even worse. I need to see them, to know they're all right."
"Did you warm the stones?" She quirked an eyebrow at me and pointed to the oven she'd left empty.
