Naughty Elf: Evan (Santa’s Naughty Elf Mates)

1. Evan

Chapter 1

Evan

I glanced at my watch one more time, wondering if I could sneak out a few minutes early. Not that I had anywhere important to be, but my fingers were raw from sanding dollhouses all day. When I was done with the last of the finishing touches on a gingerbread-style house, I checked my watch one more time.

Eight minutes until quitting time. I considered that to be close enough. It was too late to start a new build anyway. Moving as slowly as I could without being comical, I cleaned up my station and shuffled to the break room to collect my stuff.

Dick was sitting on the bench with tears in his eyes as he looked up at me.

“Dick, what’s wrong?” I sat down next to my friend and put my hand on his knee to comfort him. “Did you get hurt?”

He shook his head and coughed out another sob. “I’m going.”

“Going where?” As workshop elves, we didn’t travel a whole lot. In fact, almost nobody ever left the North Pole unless they were… “No.”

He nodded and sniffed loudly. “Yeah. My numbers have been down for a while, and I was late again and…” Tears began flowing down his cheeks at a faster rate. “They fired me, and I’m being relegated to on-site elf.”

“Oh, Dick.” I wrapped my arms around him and felt my own eyes welling up. He’d been one of my best friends since we were little elves just learning our trades and languages from around the world. “I can’t believe it. What am I gonna do here without you?”

He shrugged. “You’ll be fine. Your numbers are great, and you’re never late. Don’t worry, you’ll never be sent away.”

“Yeah.” I sat back, staring at the bank of lockers in front of us. He was right that I would probably never be sent away to find a mate. Unfortunately, that wasn’t exactly great news. I hadn’t had any luck finding a mate in the village and would probably only find someone if I went out into the big world. “Maybe I can go with you?”

He shrugged and smiled. “Be serious, Evan. You’d never survive in the big world. You’re too good. Too sweet. Find a nice alpha here and start your family. Just because it hasn’t worked for me doesn’t mean it won’t happen for you.” He gave me his most encouraging smile despite the fear he struggled with for his own fate. “You’ll probably find him this year.”

Ha! More likely never. I knew every alpha in my village. I’d grown up with them, and no one was right for me. I didn’t want a sweet little alpha elf who worked in the factory all day and came home every night expecting a plate full of cookies and a gang of children running around. That just wasn’t the life I’d envisioned for myself.

I wanted a child—maybe two—but most elves wanted many. Procreating and furthering the species in the double digits was something that could make Santa proud.

Dick stood up and pulled his duffel bag over his shoulder. “Well, I guess this is it. Take care of yourself and good luck.”

I jumped up and squeezed him tightly, not wanting to say goodbye to my friend forever. Just because his numbers were low didn’t mean he should be banished from the North Pole forever. It was an archaic practice to ship off elves who weren’t as productive or obedient as others to be elf statues in people’s homes. Giving them one year to find their mate or become a statue for eternity just seemed wrong. Dick was a great guy, and I hoped with all my heart that he found his mate quickly and was able to find happiness in the big world. “I’m gonna miss you, my friend. I’ll never forget you.”

He sniffled and sighed against my shoulder. “Me too. I’ll try to write once I figure out where I’m gonna be.”

I went home and sat in my favorite chair, but I couldn’t focus on the book I was reading or the puzzle I planned to finish. All I could think about was Dick going out into the big world and finding his mate. Maybe I needed to start messing up at work in order to get banished as well.

Don’t be silly, Evan. Dick was right about one thing. I didn’t have it in me to slack off at work. I truly loved my job and building toys for children around the world. I just didn’t love being all alone. And if I stayed in the North Pole, I’d probably be alone for the rest of my life. My gaze landed on the globe that my great grandfather left me when he passed. There were little pins sticking out of it that showed all the places he had visited during his years as a sleigh elf. He had such an exciting life. I got up and spun the globe a few times, just to see where it stopped. And each time, it slowed down with the same blue pin right in front of me.

Finally, I took a closer look and realized the pin was in a place called Joyville.

“Joyville, huh?” That sounded like the perfect place for an elf to find a mate. I paced along my kitchen, thinking about doing something that would change my life forever…assuming it didn’t get me killed. “Joyville. Evan from Joyville.” It had a nice ring to it. “Evan and his mate from Joyville” That sounded even better.

Before I could change my mind, I called up one of my friends who worked in the scheduling office. He managed the schedules for sleigh elves and any other elf who had to travel back and forth from the big world. I trusted him, and if anyone could help me get into the big world and find my mate in Joyville, I trusted Ralph could do it.

Seventy-two hours later, my backpack had two changes of clothes, a container of cookies, and a scrapbook of photos and notes about several past generations of my family. I was the last of my bloodline, so the photos were all I had left, whether I was in the North Pole or the big world.

Ralph had to call in a few favors, but he managed to get me on a cargo plane heading to Canada that was near a train station that crossed down into the Rocky Mountains. From there, he said I should be able to hitch a ride into Joyville.

I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but it was time for me to learn. I was twenty-five years old and had never left my village. The big world was just waiting for me to explore it, and Joyville was the best place to start. I could already feel in my bones that was where I needed to be.

My ancestors had shown me that town for a reason, and I trusted that I would end up exactly where they knew my mate was waiting for me.