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

2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Monty

Knock-knock.

Who in their right mind had balls big enough to knock on my door on Christmas, no less, in the middle of a snowstorm, and during hibernation. Likely one of my siblings looking for a fight. I whipped the door open, prepared to throw down with whoever was there but there was no one in sight. No foot or paw prints in the snow and a quick sniff of the air confirmed no one was near.

“Huh, what gives?” My eyes landed on a box nearly buried in the snow. I looked forward to this storm. It meant none of my nosey family would be out and about bothering me. Or so I thought. Sadly, some of us required less sleep during these long winter months than the others. I was not one of them. Get a mate , they said. You’re such a hermit . Bears aren’t meant to hibernate year-round.

Oh yeah, watch me.

I’d purposely built my log cabin on the outskirts of our land far away from their prying eyes and constant meddling. So what if I was in my thirties and not mated? Who needed someone to tell them what they should or shouldn’t do. Pick this up, clean up that mess.

Fuck. That. Shit.

I was an alpha and that meant I was in charge.

I slid the box free and knocked the snow off and took a sniff. You never knew what one of the clans was up to and it was better to be safe than sorry. I gave it a quick shake and something heavy rattled around, so I took it inside and sat it on the coffee table and went to make a cup of hot tea with honey.

Yes, I said it. A bear shifter and his honey. Go ahead, make all the jokes you want but honey is a staple in my house .

While I waited for the tea to steep, I opened the gift. “Huh, wonder where this ugly carving came from?” No note in the box, no artist signature on the statue. What the hell? I grabbed my tea, figured I could deal with this after a long nap when a “POP” rang through the air.

Out of the statue came a strange little man with pointy ears. He first straightened his clothes and then his hair, and twirled, like straight up did a perfect pirouette spin until he saw me and froze.

“What’re you looking at you big hairy ape?”

The urge to hang him upside down by his pointy toes was strong. I snarled, baring my canines in warning. “Who are you and how did you find me?”

“I’ve never seen you at the North Pole before. Are you new? What does Santa have you doing? Are you my new babysitter?”

“Look, I don’t know who you are…”

“Twinkle.”

“Or how you got here,” I continued, barely controlling the urge bite him. “But you need to leave. Now!” I growled and he jumped a foot in the air. A warped sense of satisfaction rippled through me.

“ Avec, pleasure .” He flipped his hair as though it were long enough to do so, sashayed over to the door and flung it open, then stared out into the snowstorm. “This isn’t the North Pole.”

“No, it’s my home and my land and you’re trespassing.”

He stomped his tiny foot and groused. “Fizzle sticks. Santa twenty-seven, what have you done?”

“Shut the door, you’re letting the snow in.”

“Humph,” he huffed and slammed it shut. “Grr, Santa twenty-seven.” He continued to curse under his breath as he paced the floor, many of his words related to sugary confections and what I’m guessing was a mall Santa that pissed him off.

No clue who this Santa fella was but that little growl of his was quite entertaining. “What kind of shifter are you?” I tugged on his ears.

“Ouch!”

“Sorry, never saw a shifter with pointy ears is all.”

“I’m an elf, not a shifter. What’s wrong with you?” Twinkle huffed again and rubbed his ears. “Banished. I can’t believe Santa did this to me.”

“Banished? Oh, no, no, hell to the mother fucking no.” There was no way in the western hemisphere this strange little man was staying here. “You need to find a hotel.” Was a waste of words to mention that. The nearest town would take a couple hours to get to in this blinding storm and there was no way in hell I was taking him anywhere .

He stared blankly up at me and blinked a few times. “You said a very bad word. I bet you’re on the naughty list. What’s your name?” Hands on his hips like he was suddenly the one in charge.

“Um, Monty?”

Huh, maybe he was.

“That sounded like a question, do you not know your own name?”

The amount of attitude this tiny package held was impressive, but it was time to take him down a few pegs. “Look, Omega, I don’t know who you are or how the hell you got here but it’s obvious, based upon the storm outside, you’re stuck for a while.” Couldn’t fight back the yawn that came, it was well past naptime for me. “I’m going to bed.”

Twinkle huffed. “Fine.”

“Fine.” Was mimicking childish? Of course it was, but being irritated and tired, it was all I had.

I woke to the smell of food. Took me a minute to remember I wasn’t alone .

“Smells good,” I grumbled, in dire need of coffee. As I started the pot and swung around I realized the place had been… “Did you b-dazzle my home?” What the holy hell. There were Christmas lights everywhere.

“Yes,” Twinkle danced through the room to of all things, yule tide carols.

“Where did all of this come from?”

Fuck. Me.

“Oh, Kody came by. Then he brought his wife Grizelda back with him. Then your mom, Sandy, she is so sweet, was here. She brought the stew you smell on the stove. I had a wonderful time meeting your family.” Twinkle didn’t stop dancing the entire time he spoke.

“How long have I been asleep?” And how much sugar had he consumed to have created this infernal holiday scene.

“Three days. I was so bored. Then Kody came by to check on you and I told him about the North Pole and how I made Santa twenty-seven mad and got banished here. Then he came back with everyone else, and they brought me the lights,” Twinkle clapped and hopped up and down, admiring their obnoxious handywork. “Isn’t it amazing?”

“It’s something all right.” Wait. “Did you say everyone else? ”

“Yes. I can’t believe you slept through all the noise. We sang carols and baked cookies and played games with the kids.”

Fuck, I’d never hear the end of this.

“Wait, how did they get here? Isn’t it snowing?” I ran to the window and as expected, stared out at the blinding white scenery.

“Snowmobiles!” He continued to dance and sing like I wasn’t there.

Great. “Are you dusting?”

“Yes, your place was a mess.”

Nothing phased this guy.

“You moved my furniture?”

“Your brothers helped me. This works better when everyone is here. Plenty of room instead of bunched up like you had it. Better flow.”

This miniature menace had made a bigger mess than he knew. Even with the cleaning.

“That’s because I don’t want everyone here. Ever.” What part of leave me alone did these people not understand?

“Don’t be such a grouch. Your family is so nice, and they love you.” Twinkle stuck his tongue out and completed a perfect dismount off the chair he’d stood on.

“How much sugar have you had? ”

“Not enough. It’s time to eat. Sit.” Twinkle danced over to the kitchen and proceeded to pull bowls from the cupboards to dish up the stew. “Why aren’t you sitting?”

“You’re not the boss of me.” Real mature, Monty . What was it about this yahoo that reduced me to a level of immaturity I hadn’t had since my primary years? Reluctantly, I sat, I mean, I was hungry after all. Three days with no food makes Monty a grouchy bear. Who was I kidding? I was terminally grouchy.

“There you go.” With a swish in his step and a face filled with pride, he sat our bowls down and took a seat across from me. “Ooh, I almost forgot the bread.”

I’m not sure this guy even knew how to walk like a normal person. His movements were a combination of skips, dances, and the occasional bunny hop. Hey, if they got through on snowmobiles maybe they could take Twinkle into town to find a room and possibly a bus ride out of Kodiak.

“Did anyone take you into town yet?” Perfect way to broach the subject without being my usual dick self.

Twinkle stopped bouncing and turned those big blue eyes on me. “No. Do they need to?”

Well fuck. Maybe I couldn’t do this. Or maybe, I just needed more sleep .

“They’re coming over later. I can ask if you have a list written out for me to go off of. Maybe they can take me to run your errands?” Far too joyful and willing to help was Twinkle. From what I’d gathered he had a penchant for mischief, and I had no clue if I could trust him.

“Who is coming over?”

“Your family, silly.” He rolled his eyes and slurped his soup from the spoon. “This is really, really, really…”

I had to stop him before another song burst forth. “I got it, you like the stew.”

“You’re grouchy. No wonder you live alone.” Twinkle groused as he crossed his arms over his chest. His bottom lip jutted out.

Now he was getting it. “Yes that’s exactly why.” knock, knock . “Ugh, I chose to live so far away from home to avoid this.”

“Yay!” Twinkle clapped and cheered as he skipped to the door. “They’re here!”

“Why aren’t you hibernating?” I groaned as every. Last. Member. Of my family came inside.

“We don’t require the sleep you do, dear brother.” Kody winked and patted my shoulder like there was a known secret between us. Trust me, there was not.

“More like hiding from the world,” Dad added. “We’re shifters. Yes, we take long naps during the winter months but none of us sleep through the entire season. Save for you, Monty, and I still believe you’re hiding and not hibernating.”

Fucking astute man got on my last nerve.

Momma shooed him away before it turned into a wild wrestling match as it did most times the males in the LeClaire Clan gathered.

“We met your Twinkle.” The pleased tone in Momma’s voice did nothing to assuage my foul mood.

“He’s not my anything, Momma. He pissed someone off and landed himself here. I’m sure it was a miscalculation, and he was meant to be delivered elsewhere.” Like Antarctica, but I chose to leave that snide comment out.

“Hush, you. He might be a little eccentric.” Momma patted my arm. “But he’ll do.”

“He’ll do what?”

She gave me that look.

“Oh hell no.” I couldn’t back away fast enough until I hit the back of the couch and flipped over it. “Fuck!”

Silence rang out and every set of eyes was on me, including Twinkle’s.

“Monty, watch your language,” Momma scolded. “Kody, help your brother up.”

“Monty,” Kody held his hand out and I brushed it off. “You know as well as I do there is no way on this snow-covered mountain that tiny thing found his way here on his own. He was sent here for a reason. The way he got here may be…unique.”

“He was a statue. In a box. On my porch. In the middle of a snowstorm that was delivered on Christmas day.”

“Exactly.”

And mother rejoined the conversation. From the sounds of it, one of many the family had already had while I slept.

Remind me again, why I woke?

Oh yeah, food.

Fucking bear senses.

“No, Momma. It’s a firm No. No. No. No. Did I say no already?” I may have stomped my foot which did nothing to help plead my case. She gave me that knowing glare all mother’s perfected during childbirth. “No.”

“What the hell was that?”

Twinkle squealed and ran straight to the pile of boxes that appeared, much like he had, out of thin air. “Santa sent my stuff!”

Atop the boxes sat a red envelope. Twinkle opened it and silently read it. When he was done his face matched the envelope, and his hands shook.

“Twinkle? What’s wrong?” When he didn’t respond, I slid the letter from his fingers.

Twinkle,

In case you haven’t guessed by now, your antics and bad behavior have forced me to banish you from the North Pole for which you may never return. As part of that punishment, you’ve been sent to your mate.

If you do not complete the mate bonding prior to this coming Christmas you will return to the statue state in which you were delivered for all eternity.

Santa twenty-seven

“Fuck!”

“Uncle Monty said a bad word,” Kalib, Kody and Grizelda’s oldest, tattled .

Before I could stop her, Momma squealed and riled the family up. Twinkle snuck off down the hall and I followed him.

“Twinkle?” I knocked on the door to the spare room. Guess he’d already claimed it as his. “Are you okay?” I jiggled the knob and since the door wasn’t locked, I slowly entered. Wasn’t sure if he was a shoe throwing elf or what I’d walk into, but clearly the story he told about Santa was true. The site I found nearly broke my heart.

If I had one it would’ve, that was.

Twinkle was curled up in the fetal position in the middle of the bed. Tears streamed down his face as he clutched onto my childhood bear. “Hey, how’d you get that?” I thought my Momma Had long since discarded.

Back on track, Monty.

“How could he do that? All those years I worked for him.”

Somehow he managed to put the words together between the sobs.

“Well, imagine my surprise to not only find out Santa was real, but to have an elf who was delivered to me as was supposed to be my…my mate?”

My brothers and sisters all found their mates in the bear community and on their own. Who did I end up with? A pointy eared, over sugared, snarky ass elf. An elf. A real live, fucking elf. Who knew they really existed? Twinkle was easier to deal with when I just thought he was insane, and now I had no clue what to do.

“Look.” He sat up and tossed the bear aside. “I don’t want to be here anymore than you want me to be but I’m doing my best to make the best of it. If I don’t—” His bottom lip quivered, and I felt the urge to take him in my arms and nearly acted up on it. Nearly .

I sat on the edge of the bed, not too close. The moment was already uncomfortable enough. “Let’s just take this one day at a time, all right?”

Twinkle sighed. “Okay.”