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15

Grant

I found my clothes neatly folded on the table by the door. I put on my sweater and sweats, along with my thick socks. They were dry and warm, thanks to Sugar.

As much as I wanted to, I didn’t follow him into the bedroom. It hurt me to see him run off. But he needed time. He wasn’t going to let me fix this. Or touch him. Not right now.

What a night.

I was so glad I’d found Velvet. I used all my reindeer shifter senses to find her. My sense of smell was the greatest. Even in a terrible blizzard, my deer could sense warmth, food and other mammals. He had led me straight to her.

Velvet was going to be fine. She lay curled up under her blanket by the fire sleeping off her ordeal.

After what seemed like forever, but was more like twenty minutes, Sugar came out to the front room. He looked shattered but stronger.

In a small voice, he asked, “How is she?”

I was on the floor, sitting by her as she slept.

“She’s good. She had some water and a bite of her treat. She’s sleeping now.”

He shuffled forward. “Really?”

“Yes, really.” I motioned him over, keeping my voice gentle. “Come see.”

Sugar came closer and knelt. He reached out and gently stroked her shoulder. “She feels warm now.”

“She is. She’s just tired.”

Sugar took a deep breath. “And how are you?”

“I’m fine.”

“But you had to walk back so far with nothing on. And carrying her.”

“I was okay. A little cold, but I warmed up fast after I saw your lanterns.”

He still hadn’t lifted his head to look at me.

“I think I’m super bad luck for you both.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is. I brought the curse of the spell with me into your safe, warm house.”

I shook my head. “That’s not my take on things.”

“But it’s mine,” Sugar said.

“Does my opinion count?” I asked.

Silence.

“Well, I’m going to give it to you. You brought warmth and love into this house. Your sense of humor. Your energy and eagerness. Your open heart. You made me feel things I hadn’t felt in a long time. Or thought I’d never feel. Velvet and I were okay here, certainly. But it feels complete now.”

“Complete?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t see how.”

“Here’s how I know. If you decided to leave us, everything would change. We’d miss you so greatly. The cabin wouldn’t feel the same. My bed wouldn’t feel the same.”

“You’d get back to the way things were,” he argued softly.

“No. I would be very hurt. You’ve made that deep an impression on me.”

“I have?”

“Sugar. I’ve told you I love you and I’ve opened my heart to you. That goes deep. But the scars would go deeper. So please stop thinking that you’re not good enough, or not wanted. Because I want you. But I’m afraid.”

Finally, he looked at me. “Afraid? No way, Grant. Not you.”

“Yes, me. I’m afraid that every time you make any mistake, you’ll want to run. Or if things are difficult, you’ll want to leave. Life isn’t like that, so I’m afraid. Every day.”

“Of me?”

“Yes. That you will leave.”

“I am like that a little, I guess. When things get hard, I run.”

“You’re young.” I smiled, feeling my eyes warm with tears. “It’s normal. But I want you here. I want to keep you for as long as you’ll have me. Do you understand?”

“I was thinking I was hurting you by staying.”

“Sweetheart, it would break my heart if you didn’t stay.”

“But all I do is ask you questions and how to do everything. You give and give and all I do is take.”

“That’s not how I see it, Sugar. Not at all. You’ve brought me so much. Your joy for everything. Your energy. Your love. You.” He was the omega elf I loved. “Tell me. Do you want to stay?”

“With all my heart. I love it here.” He paused. “I love you.”

I closed my eyes and let out a long breath. “Then it’s settled?”

I opened my eyes to see him nod. “Yes.”

I held out my arms and he crawled into them. Holding him close took away all my tension. In a short time, he had become my heart and soul. Shifters felt bonds intensely, sensing each other’s moods. We were still developing ours.

“Do you feel it at all?”

He turned his head to look up at me. “What?”

“The bond between us?”

“Like knowing your feelings and stuff?”

“Yes, like that.”

“Yes. I felt you tonight out there in the snow and freezing wind. I feel you now all around me, more than just physically.”

“It’s growing between us and will only get stronger.”

“Why do you think Velvet ran?” he asked.

“She’s in heat. I can smell it now. There must have been another dog out there. She won’t do it again, but we need to keep an eye on her.”

Later, I carried Velvet into the bedroom and placed her in bed between us.

By morning, she was up and wanting her usual breakfast. Though it was still snowing outside, the winds had died down. The power was back on.

After breakfast, Sugar cleaned the kitchen while I worked. He hummed the whole time, and the sound of his happiness made my entire body tingle down to my toes.

The weeks leading up to Christmas were crammed with fun activities. We went back to Pawtree and got Sugar a cell phone.

Sugar offered me his money. In fact, I didn’t need it. I hadn’t told him how financially sound I was. I lived my simple life out of choice. But I came from a wealthy shifter family and had plenty of funds.

I told Sugar to keep his money and spend it for whatever he needed or wanted.

He bought an iPad and some art supplies. He liked to draw, he told me, and wanted to practice. Packages for him started coming in the mail. He bought clothes. He bought hangars to hang the clothes in my—now our—closet. His official address was shared with me and it felt like a milestone. It meant he was staying, not running, though I still feared possible consequences from the spell.

Christmas came on fast. It was so much fun preparing for it with another person. Though I had always gotten a tree, that was about all I did to celebrate. My cousins and I exchanged gifts and cards through the mail, but that was it.

Now that I had Sugar, we wrapped gifts, and made plans for a turkey dinner feast.

But as Christmas Eve approached, Sugar’s energy started to change. Several times, I found him sitting on the couch staring into the fire.

“I could still turn into a figurine at midnight on Christmas Day,” he said.

“You’ve found a life here. With me. With Velvet. You’re pursuing your interests. I think all that counts.”

“I hope so. I’ve tried contacting Sno again and again, but nothing goes through, not texts, or emails or phone calls. He’s still cut off from me and that’s part of the spell.”

“You’re not alone,” I reassured him, hugging him to me. “We’re facing this together.”