An Alpha for Christmas

Chapter 2: Santa Baby!

Chapter 2: Santa Baby!

Nick

My Dad was not the kind of Alpha you could reason with. I was supposed to be taking up the post as his successor this year and he had been purposely postponing. He was always dangling it in front of me like a carrot, using it as a means to get me to do things. Mom was tired of being Luna and would welcome retirement but the end of her reign was nowhere in sight because I hadn’t found my Luna yet. Thus, Mom would have to act as Luna in the interim.

“Nicholas!” Said Mom indignantly. “Little Nicky was supposed to take over since his twenty-fourth birthday last month!”

Only my Mom could still call me Little Nicky. I was six-foot-seven and even buffer than Dad, a fact he hated. Otherwise, we had the same golden eyes, beige skin and reddish brown hair.

“I was supposed to take over at eighteen,” I interjected.

“You wanted to go to college,” barked Dad as though college hadn’t been important to him and had been some ridiculous request.

“And then at twenty-one,” I added.

“In the middle of college?” Said Dad indignantly as though college was suddenly super important to him.

“Immediately after my graduation,” I recounted.

“You had only just graduated, I thought you’d appreciate a break,” said Dad.

“I’m ready now,” I said firmly.

Dad took a deep breath. I knew it was hard for him to let go. He liked telling people what to do. Leadership came naturally to him. He would probably boss people around at random even if he wasn’t the Alpha.

“You don’t have a Luna yet,” pointed out Dad.

Mom pursed her lips.

“Your poor mother will have to be acting Luna while I go into retirement without her. I can’t do that to her,” muttered Dad.

“Oh Angel of Mercy,” said Mom sarcastically.

“Everyone in this house is always trying to make me the bad guy,” said Dad. “Nicholas, let Nicky be Alpha! Nicholas, let Nicky keep the stray cat! Nicholas, ten percent off coupons for ham is not the same as a Christmas bonus!” Said Dad, mocking us.

“Some people don’t eat ham, Dad! It’s insensitive and cheap!” I said indignantly.

I wasn’t gonna let that stupid ham coupon thing slide. Dad’s employees at his Event Planning Company were always getting stiffed when it came to their Christmas bonus. It wasn’t right. You only had to glance at our mansion to see we were loaded. Our pack made a lot of money via trade because our pack lands were rich with natural resources that fetched top dollar. I wasn’t sure why Dad had even started that company. I supposed it was just another place for him to reign over.

“I started that company to create more employment opportunities for my pack members!” Said Dad as though he had read my mind.

“Employment is a gift and an entire year of being employed counts as a year-end bonus!” Said Dad.

I snorted with laughter and Mom nudged me.

“You’ll be taking over the company as well as the pack, mind you,” said Dad.

Well, those employees had monetary bonuses in their future then. I smiled proudly.

“Good,” I said. “I want my reign to start on Christmas Day. Make it your present to me once and for all,” I demanded.

Dad took a deep breath.

“All right, but you need to impress me in the interim,” he said, shaking my hand.

He was about to make me do some stupid s**t I didn’t want to do.

“Uncle Frosty, you know the ice cream chain owner, is having a party right about now,” said Dad. “He’s a good friend and a business associate of mine. He usually plays the role of Santa at the mall and at his own Annual Christmas party.”

Dad had a cheeky smile on his face as he paused, lit his cigar and took a puff of it.

I sighed.

“Go on,” I said impatiently.

“Uncle Frosty’s getting old. His knees are bad. Kids these days are fat. You know?” Said Dad.

No, I didn’t know.

“Say hello to the new Santa with the good knees!” Announced Dad, slapping a Santa hat against my chest.

I took the hat. Mom giggled.

“You know your Dad was Santa one Christmas when we were young,” said Mom slyly.

“And your prudish Mom refused to sit on my lap!” Complained Dad, trying to smack Mom’s behind but she slipped away.

“I’m still in the room,” I said, grossed out.

I had come into their room to have this talk not to witness their escapades.

“Well, leave then,” said Dad.

“You’ll be a wonderful Santa, Nicky, don’t worry about it,” said Mom.

“Yeah, and hopefully a cute girl will sit on your lap,” said Dad.

“And you’ll be a great Alpha just like your Dad,” said Mom.

I smiled slightly.

“Okay, good luck, get out,” said Dad.

I was gonna be the best damn Alpha this pack had ever seen, but first, I was gonna be the best damn Santa Uncle Frosty’s Annual Christmas Party had ever had.

Dolly

I was already regretting coming to this party. The huge house was packed to the brim with pack members and Christmas decor. Mom and Uncle Frosty kept introducing me to eligible bachelors. 

“Honey, you know, some people never meet their mate so it’s perfectly normal to date around these days,” whispered Mom as she dragged…I mean led me over to a guy named Nate.

I knew him from around the office.

“Nate, have you met my daughter, Dolly?” Asked Mom, shamelessly interrupting his conversation with another girl.

“Parton?” Joked Nate.

Mom laughed while I remained stone faced. Nate was smelled strongly of alcohol and not because he was holding a glass of it. Mom left me with Nate. The girl he had been chatting up was Gloria who also worked with us.

“Want some whisky?” Asked Nate, offering his glass to me.

He was of an average height with light brown hair. He had chiselled features and was by all means good-looking but his personality ruined the effect it might have had. He downed his glass when I wouldn’t take it.

“Gloria, get me another drink, would you?” He asked.

Nate was from a rich family and he dressed to show it. He was in a designer suit with a watch that was worth my yearly salary. His shirt was unbuttoned half the way down. He was always showing off his waxed chest. I didn’t get it but lots of girls at the office found it sexy.

“You know, Molly, you’re kinda cute,” he said as soon as Gloria had left.

“Um, thank you, but my name is Dolly,” I reminded him.

“Same difference,” he said dismissively. “Molly, Holly, Lolly,” he chuckled.

He was admittedly tipsy so maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on him. I tried to laugh along though I wanted to run for the hills. Gloria returned with a full eight-ounce glass of whiskey for him in one hand and glass of wine for herself in the other.

Gloria had disliked me since our days of attending Swintersville High together. She had also bullied me to make sure I was aware of her feelings. She was very slender with vibrant long red hair. She was pretty and ranked above me at work so I couldn’t fathom why she still disliked me so much. It was not like I had ever stood in her way. She was usually not the type to be bossed around so I was shocked she had so obediently fetched Nate a drink.

“Thanks, Gloria! You’re a doll! No drink for Molly,” said Nate, taking a swig of his whisky.

Gloria almost choked on her wine as she stifled a laugh.

“Dolly doesn’t drink,” she said, emphasising each word.

That wasn’t even true. I didn’t drink much. She didn’t know me like that.

“Yes, I do,” I said.

Nate waved someone over to us. It was one of the servers Uncle Frosty had hired. The poor guy was dressed as a reindeer.

“Eggnog,” he said in a deadpan voice offering us a platter of shot glasses filled with eggnog.

“Shot glasses?” I wondered.

“They have more rum than regular eggnog,” said the guy who sounded so unenthused he seemed close to falling asleep whilst standing there.

“Shots, shots, shots,” chanted Nate.

Gloria giggled.

The reindeer guy left the entire platter with Nate.

“Let’s go,” said Nate authoritatively.

He handed me and Gloria a shot each and took one for himself. I couldn’t believe I was succumbing to peer pressure. I didn’t even like either one of these people.

“Merry Christmas bitches!” Cheered Nate, clinking glasses with Gloria and me.

Mom was within earshot (for a she-wolf anyway). She looked over from the other side of the room. She was seemingly regretting selecting Nate for me to socialise with. I was so annoyed with her.

You don’t have to do a shot if you don’t want to, said Mom over mind-link.

I’m an adult, Mom, I said, annoyed, shutting her out.

Gloria and Nate had already downed theirs. They were looking at me expectantly. I took a sip of mine. Ugh. It was so f*****g strong! I tried not to make a face but they had already seen my reaction play out in my expression. I downed the rest trying not to taste it.

“Merry Christmas,” I said, raising my empty shot glass to them.

“Whoo!” Cheered Gloria and Nate.

“Again!” Insisted Nate.

Again? He passed them out.

“Happy Hanukkah!” He said.

We downed our shots.

“Round three,” said Gloria.

“Oh, no thank you,” I said.

“For Kwanzaa!” Said Nate excitedly.

“For Kwanzaa!” Squealed Gloria.

Well, it was for Kwanzaa.

“Okay,” I said, accepting a third shot.

I downed the round-three shot in appreciation of Kwanzaa. I also showed appreciation for the upcoming New Year and the upcoming Chinese New Year. All the holidays deserved a shot.

“Early Valentine’s Day?” Suggested a drunk Nate.

“Four is my limit,” I said.

“Well, you already had five so you might as well keep going,” slurred Gloria.

“Four is a bad number. It’s bad luck!” Said Nate.

Was four bad luck? I had a sixth shot to be safe. I stumbled away from them before I ended up in the Emergency Room. 

There was a long line of people in the hallway leading into another room.

“What’s going on here?!” I asked, trying to seem not tipsy as I leant against the wall.

“Don’t you know anything?!” Said a girl with blonde pigtails.

I made at face at her. Not my finest moment.

“Santa Claus,” said a boy with a caramel complexion who couldn’t be more than four.

“Oh, I need to see Santa!” I said.

“You’re like thirty years old,” said the blonde pigtails girl.

EXCUSE ME. There was no way I looked thirty!

“I am twenty-five,” I said indignantly.

“Whatever!” Said the girl making a W by joining her index fingers and thumbs of both hands.

I made my way to the front of the line. These kids could wait. The front was in another room that had a mound of presents. Wow! In front of the present mound was a huge red chair in which “Santa” sat. That was my Uncle Frosty! I marched right up to the rope being manned by “elves” who tried to stop me but I stepped across the rope. I felt emboldened by Taylor Swift’s rendition of Santa Baby playing from surround sound speakers. Time to get my man! He was one Christmas Wish away!

“Miss! This is for children!” Hissed a snippety tall elf with a clipboard.

“Leave her,” said a deep smooth voice that definitely did not belong to Uncle Frosty.

I looked up to see the hugest Santa ever now that he was standing up. He had to be six and half feet or taller and he was jacked. He had his faux-fur trimmed sleeves rolled up to show off his guns. There was a sleeve of tats on one side. What kinda Santa was this? He had muscular legs under his suit and I could only imagine what size those faux-fur trimmed boots were. I traversed the stairs very carefully. Thankfully there weren’t many of them. The room spun a little. 

“Hold still,” I said under my breath to the room.

“I’m not moving,” said Santa, folding his muscular arms and chuckling to himself.

He was a young fit man. His red Santa suit looked baggy in the belly section. I reached out and pressed my hand against his non-existent belly. He had rock-hard abs. I bit my lip and looked all the way up. I was sure there’d be a sharp chiseled jawline under that fake long white beard to match the rest of his angular face. He was gorgeous even in this stupid costume. The stupid Santa wig and hat was covering his hair and he had on shades for some reason so I couldn’t tell what colour his eyes were. I felt inexplicably drawn to him.

“Miss, could you unhand Santa,” said the same snippety elf.

I looked down and realised my hand was still pressed against his abs. 

“Sorry!” I said, moving my hand so fast, I lost my balance and almost fell down the short flight of stairs. 

Santa saved me the embarrassment by grabbing me before I could fall over. A strange thrill passed through me. 

“Easy there,” he said in that deep sexy voice.

“That would’ve been embarrassing,” I said, relieved. “You spared me that,” I chuckled.

“Not quite,” muttered Snippety the elf.

“Snippety, go double-check your check-list or something,” I ordered.

I expected Snippety to be pissed but he actually snapped into place, his eyes and head readjusting to read his clipboard without any protest. Huh?

Santa sat down and motioned for me to sit. I blushed but I had gotten this far so I might as well. I looked at the disgruntled children in the line. Whatever. I sat on Santa’s lap.

“You’re not driving, are you?” Asked Santa, sounding concerned.

“My family is here with their van,” I said, oversharing.

“What’s your name?” Said Santa.

“f**k,” I whispered, suddenly realising how amazing he smelled.

“Wow, okay. That’s unfortunate,” he said, laughing.

“You smell like hot chocolate and the expensive cologne section at a department store,” I decided.

“You smell like beautiful flowers unfortunately doused with rum,” he commented.

Snippety guffawed.

“Be quiet!” I said and the elf stopped laughing instantly.

Hmph. That was odd.

“Wanna try that name thing again before the kids revolt?” Asked Santa.

“Dolly,” I said.

“Really?” He said.

I nodded.

“Ok Dolly, what do you want for Christmas?” Asked buff Santa.

He was holding my waist so I wouldn’t fall over. I smirked.

“I want…” I said, thinking it over.

I looked at hot Santa, wishing I could see his eyes behind those sunglasses.

“…an Alpha,” I said, feeling inspired by his hotness.

“What?” Asked Santa, unsure that he’d heard me correctly.

Go big or go home, right? If I was gonna wish for a mate, I might as well spell out the most ridiculous fantasy. I was already on Santa’s lap. Why ask for socks? I liked socks though. I was getting to be that type of adult who welcomed socks and underwear as presents. It was practical. 

“I want an Alpha for Christmas,” I said boldly.

Santa looked amused. He had a dazzling white grin.

“Really? Wh-…” he began.

“Shh!” I said, putting my index finger to his perfect lips so he would be quiet.

Something told me I couldn’t order him around like Snippety.

“I want an Alpha for Christmas and I want him tall, muscular, hot, very enamoured with me and only me and…he has to like cats. Dogs too but I don’t have one yet. After I got a cat, Mom said that was enough. Back to my Alpha! I want him to have six-pack abs, huge biceps…oh and a humongous…”

“Dolly Anna Elizabeth Tree!” Squealed Mom indignantly.

I looked up to see my Mom at the front of the line with her arms akimbo. She did not look amused.

“…heart,” I said, finishing my sentence. “Figuratively speaking,” I added.

“Gotcha!” Said Santa, noting my requests.

Mom literally snatched me off of hot Santa’s lap.

“I am so, so sorry,” mumbled Mom.

“That’s quite all right,” said hot Santa.

“She’s not usually like this,” said Mom.

My eyes were still on hot Santa. I tried to take his sunglasses off but Mom yanked my hand away just as I had almost reached them. Damn! Mom marched me down the stairs. The angry children were now accompanied by their angrier parents.

“That’s her, Mom! That’s the thirty-year-old!” Said blonde pigtails, now at the front of the line with her blonde mother.

“I’m twenty-five,” I said to her mother.

“Bye Dolly,” said hot Santa, waving as I turned back to look at him.

His smile made me weak in the knees or maybe it was the six shots of super spiked eggnog really setting in. The room spun before my very eyes.

“Dolly?” Said Mom, halfway between angry embarrassment and genuine concern.

I didn’t hit the ground. Someone lifted me up. Really high up. I felt safe and I was so warm and cozy so I closed my eyes. I must have drifted off.