Page 11 of Reindeer Flames
Out on the course, I made my decision. I couldn't tell my dad I was the type of degenerate my cousins hated worst of all, a "Large Omega Lover," or LOL, as they called them. It had been hard enough for my dad and papa to break the stigma. They were the same height, and while my papa was every bit the svelte omega our family demanded, the others teased him mercilessly for being the LO, or largest omega, in our family.
As much as I wanted to be with Silver, I didn't want that for him. I would feel awful if my family made fun of him for everything that made him perfect for me.
It wouldn't stop with his size. They would also make fun of him for being too sweet to pick up on some of their snarky comments. If that wasn't enough to scare him away, a few of my uncles would berate him for working when he should be home making babies and running his alpha's household.
For the record, I would never ask Silver or any other working omega to give up the career they loved to raise a family. My papa still worked at Santa 40's wood shop, building custom handmade toys, and he loved it.
Sometimes, he would tell us stories about the brief glimpses into the children's lives he got from their letters to Santa. Their words reminded me of how important our work was. If only for one day of the year, we showed the children of the world that they mattered, that someone thought they were worthy of gifts. For some, ours were the only presents they received all year.
"Are you all right?" Donner asked me at dusk, when we finished our exercises for the day. He'd already wrapped his robe around his waist and tied it with his belt, while I was still pettingthe soft fabric sitting beside me on the locker room bench. "You seemed a little distracted."
While I shook out the robe and pulled it on, I contemplated my response. I almost blew him off with a bullshit answer. That would have been the Comet family way. Instead, I went with the truth. "Family drama."
Donner's eyes widened, and he grinned. "Yeah? Did you finally kick those assholes to the curb?"
I sighed as I tied the belt around my waist. That was the problem with having the worst reputation of all the reindeer shifter families. Donner was my best friend on the team, but we weren't close. I didn't even know his husband and twins' names. I'd been to his apartment building, but he hadn't introduced me to his family.
Like most of the other reindeer, he kept me at a distance. I hated that he thought I would hurt him, or anyone else. Maybe he thought I couldn't help myself, since I was a Comet. Or maybe it was because I was fairly new to the team. This was only my second year with Santa 30, taking over when my dad moved over to the Global Logistics Unit.
"I'm not like them," I said, more to myself than to him.
He was a lot shorter than I, but his tight grip on my forearms was enough to get my attention. "You're nothing like them, but they see your silence as agreement."
For too long, that had been my intent. "I told Bopp to fuck off today."
"That's a good start." Donner grinned. "If you ever want to talk about it, I'm here." He released his grip and patted my arm a couple times before heading toward the showers.
I sat back on the bench, my mind drifting to another locker room, one filled only with the muffled cries of a dragon omega trying to be quiet while I blew his mind.
Silver deserved a better alpha, one who wasn't a Comet, or at least didn't act like one. I couldn't guarantee success, but I had to try.
CHAPTER 5
SILVER
I hadmy back to the pass-through window when I heard the bell chime for our first customer of the day. I bent over to shove two trays of star-shaped sugar cookies into the oven. Someone gasped behind me, and I stood up so fast my head spun.
When I turned around, I couldn't believe my eyes. Hart Comet stood at the counter, licking his lips.
"Don't be a creeper, or I will call Santa 30 again," Gold warned.
He met my gaze and waved. "Hi, Silver!"
I gave him a halfhearted wave. At least he'd shortened it from "Hi-yo, Silver, away!" as his cousins would have said. They were all too young to rememberThe Lone Rangertelevision show, but I still cringed every time someone compared me to the famous horse.
Hart wasn't his cousins. When Gold got off the phone with Santa 30, she tried to convince me to give him the benefit of the doubt, and to talk to him today. Now that the day had arrived, I couldn't forget the hot rush of humiliation when Bopp said Hart had been on another date less than 48 hours after we'd agreed to see each other again, not to mention the hot sex we'd had Friday night.
Hart didn't owe me exclusivity. I knew that, but my beast felt the betrayal on a visceral level, deep in his chest. He wanted to take to the air. Worse, he wanted to burn. Starting the fire in the bakery's wood ovens this morning wasn't enough.
I placed my hand over the ache deep in my chest, willing it to ease with cleansing breaths. All I had to do was talk to him. My knack for talking about the most boring and mundane things would scare him away, eventually. No wonder he'd gone on another date on Sunday. I'd bored him half to death with talk of gingerbread cookies on Friday night!
Speaking of which, the first batch of reindeer-head gingerbread cookies was already out of the oven, but not quite cool enough to ice. Taking a deep breath, I plated two of the warm cookies. I could do this.
I pushed through the swinging door and did my best to smile at Hart. "Cookie?"
"Gingerbread!" He grinned. "Yes, please. They look delicious."
"They're not iced," Gold whispered as I walked past her.
