The Lycan's Queen - Christmas Special

ELODIE

It had been so long since Damien and I had traveled to an airport. The last time we were there, we were headed away from the royal life that Damien so desperately avoided and toward a new life with me as his mate.

The turbulence of last year felt so distant now that we had built a quiet life together.

“Everything okay, sweet pea?” Damien looked at me from the driver’s seat, his hands pressed into the wheel. From his grip, I could tell I wasn’t alone in my anticipation.

“I’m fine.” After giving him my best smile, I turned to the ball of yarn in my lap. I had picked up knitting since we left the palace. I needed a way to calm my nerves after my relationship with Jordan.

I hoped the pack liked scarves because that was everyone’s present this year.

“You know you don’t have to hide things from me.” Damien pulled into the airport parking lot and paid for the parking pass. We left early in the morning to avoid heavy traffic.

“I know. Holidays can be difficult for me. I guess I’m just excited to spend this Christmas with people who have shown me kindness.” He parked the car and turned to me.

Those hazel eyes cast a spell every time they looked into mine.

“You deserve every kindness, Elodie. I promise, no matter what happens, once we’re back in the palace, you will always have me to confide in.”

He took my hands, breaking me away from my twelfth scarf of the year, and kissed them each.

“Oh, you’re such a softy!” I said playfully and pushed him on the shoulder. The blush came into my cheeks anyway, showing just how much I loved it. He pulled my face toward him and blew a raspberry against my cheek, causing me to giggle like a schoolgirl.

“I’m only soft for you, my love.” His hand caressed my cheek before he unbuckled his seatbelt. “Come now, we don’t want to miss our flight.”

Through security and onboarding, my stomach gathered butterflies. The thought of seeing Aarya and Lexi made me so excited.

I couldn’t wait to hear everything I had missed since girls’ night and see just how big their children had grown.

“Who said we needed first class again? Was it Evan?” Damien asked as he squeezed past an elderly man and sat next to me in the economy section. I had booked us the cheaper seats because I knew how much his title bothered him. I wanted us to feel normal. “This suits me just fine.”

“Yes, I believe it was Evan, something about eating cocktail weenies.” I was missing my friends more and more by the minute.

“I think we can order those when we land.” Damien seemed thrilled to be sitting among humans.

Knowing that he was content, my body seemed to relax and I let slip an enormous yawn. “Why don’t you try to sleep? The flight is at least three hours.”

“Oh alright. But wake me up when they bring the snacks.” I loved those little pretzels. Damien chuckled and patted his shoulder for me to rest on. Before I knew it, I was sound asleep…

I was running desperately through a maze of a house. Doors were swinging violently open and slamming closed.

I tried the door to my right, but it was locked.

The door to my left screamed when I touched the knob.

The only thing I could do was keep running, keep running away from him~. Jordan was gaining on me, and I couldn’t find the way out. ~Oh please, oh god, don’t catch me.~

I turned right, and the flight of stairs slipped underneath my feet, body thudding down the steps. At the bottom, the front door teased me. This must be it. This has to be the exit.~

I grabbed the knob and turned. It laughed at me. Stuck, stuck, stuck! ‘You can’t run from me now, Elodie! Elodie! Get back here!’~

I looked up the stairs, tugging the door in desperation. He stood at the top, looking down at me. ‘There you are. Time for your Christmas present. You’ve been a very bad girl.’~

My eyes ripped open, and I sucked in air like I was underwater. I couldn’t stop the tears from coming if I wanted to.

“Elodie?” Damien’s voice brought me back to the present. Three bags of little pretzels sat in his lap. Those hazel eyes looked at me with great concern. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“A nightmare. He-he was coming for me.” I put my head in my hands. I couldn’t deal with the pity or the sorrow. I just wanted to hide. The butterflies in my stomach turned sour. I felt like I was going to puke.

“Hey, it’s okay.” He put his hand gingerly on my shoulder and pulled me into him as I cried. “I’m right here, my love. No one is coming for you. I promise you are safe. You are safe.”

The steady pace of my mate’s breathing gave me something to home in on while my body grounded itself. When I was ready, I opened my eyes once again to the tiny pretzels, my appetite slowly returning.

“You didn’t wake me up?” I asked.

“I knew what you wanted, sweet pea. You wouldn’t stop talking about them last time we flew.” I looked at him, my beautiful man, and finally let myself smile. He returned the grin.

“Well, they are fantastic.” I grabbed a bag and ripped it open, starving from my nightmare. Damien let out a chuckle and watched me shove them down.

This Christmas would be different, I told myself. ~I am not the helpless girl I once was.~

***

While approaching the palace, Damien let out a groan once we saw the royal gates.

“I swear, they redecorate everything all the time as if the gates need an additional layer of gold.”

“Oh, cheer up!” I said, spotting another car with Riley inside. “Riley and her mate are here!” Both cars came to a halt at the gates and I rushed out to meet my sister and brother-in-law.

“Elodie, how good it is to see you.” She embraced me, smelling like wormwood and honey, and immediately I felt just as at home as I did with Damien. Her mate stood behind her, a tall dark-haired man who seemed shyer than I was upon first meeting, and that’s saying something.

“Hello, sister.” Damien hugged Riley as well before shaking the hand of her mate.

“This is Xavier. I finally convinced him to come along this time, though I should say Aarya did most of the convincing over the phone.”

“Good to meet you, Xavier,” I also stuck out my hand, following my mate in stride. I wasn’t sure if he would smell as good as Riley, and I didn’t trust new men in my life. He shook my hand tenderly and let out a small smile.

“Great to meet you, too. It’s nice to meet a fellow human-turned-lycan. The transition almost did me in.” Of course! Why didn't I think about that commonality sooner? No wonder he was nervous.

Unfortunately, a crowd started to form at the gates. Different packs from around the palace were gathering and taking photos.

Damien let out a low growl. “Can nothing be done without an audience?” I took his hand instinctively to calm him down.

“Come on,” Riley said. “Let’s get inside before it gets worse.”

Riley and Xavier separated from us and headed to their room, and we headed to ours. I was grateful for her fast action when it came to unwanted publicity. For now, I was glad to have time to unwind.

“I’ll unpack while you take a shower?” I offered Damien. He always liked to wash off after traveling.

“You sure you don’t want to join me, my little lynx?” He approached me and tipped my chin up to meet his lips. We shared a slow kiss before I let out a soft sigh.

“I think I need a little more time to process after all that traveling.” I hoped he wouldn’t be mad. He always encourages me to speak my mind and listens to me when I say no.

Yet, every time I spoke up, I feared pushback of being forced to do something I wasn’t ready for. The nightmare sent me back a bit, and I needed more time to catch up to the present.

“Of course, sweet pea. I’ll let you process it. Let me know if you change your mind.” Damien was so considerate.

He was the best mate I could've asked for. He kissed me on the forehead before heading into the bathroom.

Once the shower was running, I started unpacking our clothes, and the phone in the room rang. I thought it was odd, but it could be important, so I picked it up.

“Hello?” The other line sounded so quiet, I was about to put it back on the receiver when a husky voice whispered.

“I know your secret.”

They hung up before I could respond.