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

6. Holden

Chapter 6

Holden

Canada my ass. This kid might have spent some time there, but he was definitely not all human. Hearth pixie, if I had to guess. I’d never come across one myself, but there were lots of beings I’d never personally come across. Mostly by choice. But he was clearly a domestic of some kind, so to be abandoned in the middle of a mountain without so much as a proper jacket meant he was either running away from something or toward something.

Toward us . My wolf had some crazy ideas over the years, but why he kept trying to insist this little pixie was fated to be with us didn’t make much sense to me.

I’d been alone for my whole life…emphasis on the lone part. It suited me. At least, it had. There was something to be said about walking into my cabin after a run to the smell of a delicious meal in the kitchen and a clean house. It seemed to spark some part of my soul that actually liked having a man in my home.

A man who clearly wanted to take care of me…at least for the night.

I inhaled half my bowl before stopping to take a breath. “This is really good, Evan.” I dipped a piece of bread into the bowl and coated it with the savory soup. “Best stew I’ve ever had.”

He looked at me like he’d never heard a compliment before, just staring with wide eyes that got glassy and then wet. “I’m glad you like it.”

I kept my eyes on him as I continued to eat, and when my bowl was empty, he stood up and reached for it. “Can I get you some more?”

“Sure.” I sat back and watched, wondering what his story really was. Nothing he’d told me so far made any sense, and it was time to get some actual answers. When he sat back down, still taking tiny sips of his food, I decided to just lay it out on the table. “So, you know my big secret. How about you tell me yours?”

Evan sucked in a quick breath and leaned back in his chair, even paler than when I’d picked him up in the snow. “My secret?”

“Yes, Evan. Is that even your real name?” I cocked my head, locking him down with my stare.

“Fine.” He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ll tell you, but you have to promise to keep it a secret. I’m not really allowed to be here, and if anyone from my village finds out, I’ll be in trouble.”

My brows furrowed as my wolf growled inside me loud enough that it almost came out of my throat. “What kind of trouble? What will happen to you?”

Evan looked away and shrugged. “I’m not sure but possibly being cast as a clay elf for the rest of eternity…until someone breaks me.”

What the fuck? I pushed back from the table and leaned forward with my elbows on my thighs so I was close to his face. “Tell me exactly what that means and if I need to start preparing his cabin for an attack.”

His eyes were wide, and then he smiled. “Down, wolf. It’s not like that.” He looked up at the ceiling and pursed his lips. “I mean, I don’t think Santa would attack. It’s just that… Well…”

I was starting to get impatient, but the mention of Santa made me slow down long enough to try to put some pieces together.

“Basically, I’m an elf from the North Pole. I built toys in one of Santa’s workshops, a woodshop, but decided to sneak away and come to Joyville to find my—” He abruptly stopped talking and bit his lip. “I guess I wanted an adventure. Shop elves don’t usually get to leave the village unless they’re in trouble. And when that happens, they get sent away to be a little statue until they find their mate.”

“Their mate?” My wolf had picked up on that word at the same time I did.

“Yeah. It just happened to my friend. And if he doesn’t find his mate soon, he’ll be a statue forever. So, anyway, it was a bad idea and I’ll probably end up as a statue anyway…”

“That’s not gonna happen, Evan.” I wasn’t clear on what he was talking about, but I knew for damn sure he wasn’t gonna be turned into a fucking statue. “I can promise you that.”

He tried to smile as a tear dripped down his cheek. “I’m not thinking about that right now. I probably have some time before they notice I’m gone, so until anything changes, I’m just going to live like a free man. In a foreign country, with no friends or money or plan.” He laughed and wiped the tear from his cheek. “But I’m glad you like the stew.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to all that information, so I finished my meal in silence and then excused myself to take a shower. Making small talk wasn’t part of my life, and comforting others definitely wasn’t in my wheelhouse. But after dealing with an unexpected boner in the shower, I decided to listen to my wolf’s instincts and at least attempt to connect with Evan on a personal level.

His small features and sweet scent was starting to affect me in a way I couldn’t remember being affected in the past. Back when I lived in the ‘burbs, I’d had plenty of one-night stands and anonymous hookups from bars or apps. But I rarely even knew their names, much less spent time with anyone in my home.

Growing up, it was just me and my mom and we moved a lot so my dad wouldn't find us. When she got sick and passed away, I kept moving from town to town, tiny apartments and random labor jobs, until I had enough money saved up to buy my cabin in the mountains. Away from people.

Away from elves, or so I’d thought.

Nature had a way of putting us in the right place at the right time, so if he was in my cabin on a stormy night, there was probably some greater force at play, and I wasn’t about to work against that.