An Alpha for Christmas

Chapter 5: Dummy Kissing Santa Claus

Chapter 5: Dummy Kissing Santa Claus 

Dolly

I was his fated future Luna.That is, if he would have me. I had heard he was kind, charming even, but untamed and unnamable. I could see Gloria trying desperately to direct his attention off of me and onto her cleavage. My wolf growled inwardly.

Saint or sinner, he’s rightfully ours, said my wolf.

Mate! announced my wolf.

Took you long enough! I fired back at her.

She should have picked this up and informed me yesterday.

Hey! You’re no wilderness cadet yourself! She barked.

Hmph.

“My idea for this year was a Winter Wonderland…”

“Wow I’ve never heard that before!” Interrupted Gloria in a stage whisper, eliciting a few laughs.

She looked at Nick to see if he was laughing but he was still looking right at me. Ha.

“A Winter Wonderland Themed Carnival,” I said pointedly, continuing after she had so rudely interrupted me. “The ticket price includes a donation in the name of the ticket holder so all the attendees will feel like they’re doing their part. The stalls have all been sponsored by businesses interested. It’s good promotion for them and it’s an opportunity to push their own merch which is even more promotion. For example, the ice cream giant, Uncle Frosty, will be selling their ice cream in the food court section as well as donating the cost of an ice ring toss booth. You toss an ice ring and if it lands on a particular icicle on a wall of icicles, you win a prize. All the prizes will have tiny logos of the company who donated this booth on it in addition to our logo. A local mechanic’s shop in conjunction with a local car dealership has generously sponsored the bumper cars. I have a long list here of booths and stalls and the companies funding them. We’re selling tokens and each game requires a number of tokens. That way the Carnival would help to pay for itself in addition to the donations from companies. Thus, all the profit can go to the Children’s Benefit. We won’t need to dip into what we make to pay for the actual Carnival,” I said, pausing to scan the reactions of everyone. “So, Cesca and I, we’ve managed to get a total of fifteen stalls or booths ready for the Christmas Carnival tomorrow. Our segment runs from nine in the morning to two in the afternoon after which Gloria’s Christmas Date Auction provides the final hour of entertainment. The entire thing is being marketed as the Christmas Lollapalooza and we’ve managed to sell out all our tickets,” I announced happily. “We’re at capacity.” 

My coworker Cesca clapped. Gloria stared at me with one eyebrow raised. Everyone else was blank-faced even Nick. 

Are you f*****g kidding me? Growled my wolf indignantly. That was a deserving of a round of applause! 

I sighed softly.

“It’s…” began Alpha Nicholas.

“Brilliant!” Said Nick, finishing his Dad’s sentence. “It’s brilliant!”

My cheeks flushed.

“It’s innovative,” said Alpha Nicholas. “But it’s complex. There are a lot of moving parts.”

“Everything is virtually done. Even all the booths,” I said quickly.

“Each company is staffing their own booths as well so we don’t have to hire anyone to man the Carnival except for security which actually ended up being provided by a local home safety security company, Lupine Lock,” added Cesca.

Cesca, who pronounced her name Chess-ka, was a middle-aged good-natured she-wolf who had believed in my Christmas Carnival idea from the start. She had been invaluable to me. She had a way with persuasion when it came to sponsors. I couldn’t have pulled any of this off without her.

“Last year, with the danceathon, all we needed was people willing to dance, a live television slot, a couple of phones and music!” Said Gloria smugly. “If I remember correctly, your ambitious idea fell through last year, didn’t it, Dolly?”

I refused to answer that.

“You have great ideas though. Complex, nearly impossible to execute successfully, but innovative,” said Gloria, reassembling what the Alpha had just said but making it more insulting.

“The Christmas Carnival appears to be on target,” said Alpha Nicholas. “Next!”

I practically flew back to my seat.

At least, you got to see this idea come to fruition, said my wolf.

Well, almost. Tomorrow would be the true test. My parents always said ‘you measure a tree by its fruit’ so I hoped the Carnival would bear fruit a.k.a. run smoothly the way it had been envisioned.

“I haven’t been here in so long,” said Nick quietly to his father while another person presented his update on a New Year’s event. “I think I’ve forgotten where the bathroom is!” Said Nick.

“Nick, seriously,” grumbled Alpha Nicholas.

“Maybe someone could show me,” said Nick, locking eyes with me.

My stomach clenched.

“I’d be delighted,” whispered Gloria excitedly, having also overheard their exchange.

My face fell. Nick looked at me, seemingly shrugging apologetically. I gave him a small smile. He got up and Gloria steered him to the door like he couldn’t even find that on his own. Ugh. She already had him in her clutches. Literally.

Nick

My mate had been absent for the first twenty-four years of my life and now she was everywhere I went. Not that I was complaining. I smirked to myself as Gloria showed me where the men’s room was. I knew where it was. I had just been giving my seemingly shy mate an excuse to talk to me. I’d have to try again. She was sober now and a lot less forward.

“What’s so funny?” Asked Gloria, looking up at me from under her lashes and standing extremely close to me.

Her breasts were barely an inch from my chest. I took a step back.

“Just thinking,” I said.

I wasn’t about to tell my ex I’d found my mate. That just didn’t seem like a good idea.

Gloria pouted, taking a step closer.

“Don’t keep secrets from me, Nicky,” she whined, trailing her fingers up the lapel of my blazer.

She was standing between me and the door to the men’s room.

“I have to pee,” I said bluntly, side-stepping her.

I could hear her huff indignantly as I let the door slam on my way in. I went into the last stall. I didn’t have to pee. I stood there awkwardly, glancing at my watch every few seconds. How long should I pretend to pee for? If I knew Gloria as well as I thought I did, she would wait outside to corner me again. I wasn’t sure why she was coming on so strong. She had broken up with me. We had begun dating shortly after my twentieth birthday. She had been a party animal and back at that age, I found that impressive. When I turned twenty-one and didn’t get to assume the Alpha position, she dumped me for an eighteen-year-old Alpha from another pack who ended up dumping her for his mate, a girl he had met at a party Gloria had brought him to for the sole purpose of rubbing him in my face. Swift Karma. I genuinely hoped she would meet her mate soon though. And for his sake, I hoped he was an Alpha currently. Otherwise, she’d never let him forget it. I figured I’d outlast her by taking ridiculously long.

Dolly

Nick was taking a ridiculously long time to get back from the bathroom. I kept staring wistfully at his empty chair. In between, I stared worriedly at Gloria’s empty chair. Why was she not back yet?! Was she helping him unzip his pants or something? There was no good reason for her to wait for him. He was a grown man and they were just coworkers, weren’t they? I started to panic. My imagination did what it does best: it ran wild. Eventually I could take it no more and I excused myself to the ladies’ room.

Nick

I’d waited long enough. I came out of the stall and washed my hands even though I hadn’t done anything. I came face to face with Gloria as soon as I exited the men’s room. 

“Ah, you waited for me,” I said.

She nodded.

“Thank you,” I said, managing a smile.

“I’ve missed you, Nick,” she said.

“You have not,” I said.

“Of course, I have! You’re all I think about!” She exclaimed. “I cherish every memory I have of you.”

“When’s my birthday?!” I asked dryly.

“Nicky, don’t be silly,” she said, slapping my chest playfully. “Of course, I remember your birthday!” 

I waited patiently for her to answer.

I raised my eyebrows at her.

“It’s…” she began, pausing, looking up at me.

She didn’t remember.

“Oh, who cares?! That was ages ago!” She said dismissively.

“No, my birthday was, in fact, less than a year ago,” I insisted.

She chuckled, slapping my chest again.

“What’s that?” She asked suddenly, looking at my face.

“What’s what?” I asked.

She motioned for me to bend down a little. I leant towards her, thinking she’d remove a piece of lint from my eyebrow or something but she grabbed my face and kissed me.

Dolly

I marched down the corridor, a woman on a mission. As soon as I turned the corner, I wished I had stayed in my seat. My stomach lurched. I felt nauseated. Gloria was kissing my mate. I let out a little whimper, curtesy my broken-hearted wolf. They broke apart and Nick pushed Gloria off of him.

“Oh hey, Dolly! I’m so embarrassed you caught us!” Giggled Gloria, wiping her smudged lipstick off the side of her mouth.

Ugh.

“Dolly!” Yelped Nick, looking at me with a panicked expression. “It’s not what it looks like!”

His guilt-ridden expression told me it was exactly what it looked like. I was usually as meek and mild as a lamb but not this time. He had just met me. Couldn’t he at least have the decency to reject me properly before he started flaunting other girls? I had thought he wanted me just because he had looked at me when he had asked about the restroom. That was my mistake: reading into things.

“So you planned to hook up with whoever showed you to the restroom?” I said, throwing my hands up. “It didn’t even matter who!” I snapped.

Nick narrowed his eyes at me.

“No,” he said sternly. “Come, let’s go have a talk in private.”

“What’s all this about?” Asked Gloria incredulously, laughing to herself. “Why’s she acting like that?!” Demanded Gloria.

UGH.

“I’m his m-…”

“DOLLY, come on!” Yelled Nick, stomping towards me and grabbing my wrist, trying to steer me in another direction.

As soon as his skin touched mine, tingles spread through me and a heat ignited in my midriff. Disoriented, I let him half-carry me into the next room. He locked the door and grabbed my waist, lifting me onto a desk like I weighed nothing. He placed his palms flat on the desk on either side of me. His face was inches from mine and his seductive musky scent made me woozy. For a moment, I forgot how angry I was with him.

“Why are you…what is this? What do you want? And why’d you kiss Gloria?” I grumbled, remembering to be angry and folding my arms.

“I didn’t kiss Gloria! She kissed me!” He said angrily.

A likely story.

“Sure,” I said, keeping my arms folded.

“I’m telling you the truth,” he said.

“Yeah, and I believe you. Good talk,” I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes at him.

“Don’t be like that!” He said, his expression softening a little. “I just found you. Don’t let her come between us,” he murmured, gripping my bare knees with his hands and trying to part them so he could stand between them.

A thrill went right through me. I did my best to ignore it.

“Seriously, you’re something else,” I scoffed, clamping my thighs and knees together. “You just hooked up with another girl and you drag me in here to make it up to me by also hooking up with me. Wow. Amazing.”

Nick smirked, chuckling softly. He wasn’t relinquishing his hold on me. His hands stayed firmly in place and his thumbs began massaging my knees in a way that made me squirm. He leant in and pressed his forehead against mine. Our noses brushed. I wanted to give in to him so badly but I didn’t believe him. Of course, I would be stuck with the philandering mate. Literally, no one else I knew had an unfaithful mate.

“I swear to you! I did not kiss her. She kissed me the moment you turned the corner. I didn’t get a chance to pull away,” he explained, giving me these huge puppy-dog eyes.

I was silent. 

“You do believe, don’t you? Don’t you?” He prompted.

“I really don’t. I don’t believe you,” I admitted.

I extricated myself from him and he let me this time. He didn’t follow me either. I kept my head down as I walked back into the conference room and took my seat. Gloria was already back in her seat. She gave me a smug look. I was boiling with rage inside.

“So it’s almost time for me to adjourn this meeting,” announced Alpha Nicholas just as Nick came back into the room, openly sulking.

I refused to make eye contact with him.

“And Gloria, you did say you wanted to go last! The floor is yours,” said Alpha Nicholas, waving towards the front of the room.

Gloria strutted up to the front.

“As time is of the essence, I have an idea that’s easy to execute without compromising on the fun,” she said.

She managed to make every sentence sound seductive with the way she talked and moved. Her eyes were glued to Nick.

“We are throwing a….drumroll please,” she instructed.

Several co-workers drummed on the table for dramatic effect.

“A Christmas Auction!” She squealed, theatrically opening her arms wide. “Yes, an auction!” She said, nodding eagerly. 

She began circling the table.

“Oh and we’re not auctioning off items,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, scrunching up her nose as if that was gross. “We’re auctioning off dates!”

“Like December 25th?” Asked Nate with his terrible acting.

He made an exaggerated confused face like he was in a late night/early morning infomercial selling a product that could change your life for just three payments of $19.99. If you called now, they would s***h off one of the payments. 

“Not those kind of dates!” Grumbled Gloria dramatically.

“The edible kind?” Asked another co-worker, clearly in on their nonsense.

“No!” Snapped Gloria impatiently. “Stop interrupting me!” She said theatrically, smoothing out her outfit. 

“Ok, Gloria,” said Nate with a cheesy grin. “Tell us more.”

“Dates with people!” She announced.

The room was quiet. Several people exchanged glances. We already knew the premise of her idea. This was supposed to be an update on it.

“Hot people!” Emphasised Gloria.

Like who? Her. I rolled my eyes.

“Like me if I do say so myself and our very own future hunky Alpha Nicky!” She said, applauding.

Everyone around the table joined in on the applause for Nick’s hotness except me. I glared at him. He simply frowned at me.

That was why she was acting like a stale infomercial actress. She did have something to announce beyond her regular update. She was announcing Nick’s involvement.

“My son as the star of the auction,” said Alpha Nicholas, leaning back in his chair, stroking his chin.

The Alpha was clearly amused. I couldn’t tell if this was news to him or if he knew about this. He might’ve even asked Nick to do this for all I knew. I couldn’t read Alpha Nicholas very well.

“Our very own naughty elf Nate and several local sexy do-gooders have agreed to be daters for the cause!” Said Gloria quickly. “I know the owner of a model agency nearby. The agency has volunteered some of their top-earning models. They’d definitely bring in the dough. We just posted a sexy photoshoot of the daters, making the album public on social media and running it as an ad to get people excited to come and bid on the daters. Nick’s pic has over one million likes and counting,” said Gloria smugly.

Another round of applause for Nick’s hotness. He nodded, managing an uncomfortable grin.

“Between the brilliance of Gloria and Dolly, this Christmas fundraiser will really be something,” said Alpha Nicholas, giving a very rare compliment.

There were a few literal gasps in response. That’s how rare his compliments were.

“Did you just say Dolly?” I asked in disbelief.

“Did you?” Asked Gloria incredulously, her eyes boring into the Alpha.

“As in me?” I clarified.

“As in her?!” Yelped Gloria.

“Yes!” Thundered Alpha Nicholas, looking extremely pleased with himself.

He began to clap and the whole room quickly followed suit, erupting into an applause for Gloria and me. I was stunned. He liked my idea too.

Our future father-in-law believes in us, said my wolf excitedly.

Ugh. He was not our future father-in-law.

You’re writing off Nick too quickly! Growled my wolf.

Whose side was she on?

The side that gets laid, said my wolf.

“Gloria’s Christmas Auction and Dolly’s Christmas Carnival will be combined tomorrow into one spectacular Christmas Lollapalooza with food on sale, games at a price, gift-worthy merchandise from our contributors and the auction to bid on someone to show off this Christmas to your judgemental relatives,” said Alpha Nicholas. “There’ll be something for everyone! And people will be more likely to spend if we give them multiple things to be excited about. There’ll be entertainment galore! And sales and publicity for the Christmas Lollapalooza means donations for the children. We’re also accepting direct donations from impressed patrons and we’ve had calls siting both Gloria and Nate and Dolly and Cesca as the inspiration behind their donations. ”

Gloria’s smile was plastered on in a way that suggested she was not that happy about sharing the glory with me.

“One more thing!” Said Alpha Nicholas. “To give our gals some extra support…my very own…my one and only…Nick will be in charge of overseeing both projects or rather one joint project tomorrow. Nick, you’ll make yourself available to Gloria and to Dolly to make sure everything runs smoothly and on schedule.”

Nick looked like he’d rather throw himself in front of a speeding train than moderate this joint effort between Gloria and me.

“I’m counting on you, my boy!” Barked Alpha Nicholas, getting up to clap his son on the back after which he adjourned the meeting.

What had I just gotten myself into? I would be working with my mate, wandering-eye Nick, and my arch nemesis, the seductress Gloria.