Santa Daddy, I’m Not the One

5

NILS

I n the heart of my workshop, the diligent sounds of elves working, the rhythmic clinking and clanking of toy-making, faded into a dull echo. My mind was elsewhere, consumed by thoughts of Landon and what his presence meant for Twinkle Glen. We’d never had this problem of bringing a nonbeliever among us, and I still hadn’t worked out a solution. Confining him in the guest room until the next Crossing occurred during the peak of the Ursids seemed to be the best course of action, but I couldn’t help feeling guilty about it.

He couldn’t be a true nonbeliever. Somewhere deep down inside him, a sliver of hope had to be hiding. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made it in, no matter that the elves had kidnapped him.

That’s it. I’ll release him from the guest room tonight and show him the wonders and magic of Twinkle Glen.

Was that the right thing to do, or was I being impulsive because I was curious about him? Over the centuries, we’d brought people of different genders here to the North Pole, and none had ever piqued my interest the way this one did.

Maybe it was simply the way he’d entered our world. Maybe it had nothing to do with the fire I’d seen in his eyes, the defiance in his pointy little chin, and the lithe, graceful body. His skin so—

“Santa!”

I jerked out of my reverie, annoyed at the disturbance from my private thoughts. Dix hurried toward me, looking happier than I’d expected. The last time he’d reported to me, he’d been grumpy and begging to be let off from watching our guest. According to him, Landon was rude and had no good qualities about him at all.

“What is it, Dix?” I asked.

“I have an update on Landon.”

“What trouble is he giving now?”

Dix shifted slightly. “Actually, none at all. He ate all the food you had sent to him and enjoyed it.”

I frowned. “He complimented the food?” Since he arrived, not one gracious word had left his lips, and I knew because the elves kept me up to date.

“Yes, he ate a bit of everything. We even played Mistletoe Mysteries.”

“I thought you said he turned his nose up at every board game I sent?”

“He did. I think he’s coming around. He even showed an interest in Twinkle Glen.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we were playing the game, and I told him how the layout of the North Pole inspired the actual game.”

A flicker of suspicion sparked in my mind. “What exactly did he ask you?”

“He asked the distance from the workshop to the town and how you’d get there. I even told him I would ask you if I could take him into town, but he didn’t want to. I’ll ask him again later.”

This sudden change in him left me uneasy. Something was going on. A slow, unsettling feeling lodged in my chest as Dix prattled on how much nicer and more patient Landon was.

Could he have…?

I sprang to my feet and sprinted out of my workshop.

“Santa!” Dix called after me.

An urgency propelled me forward as the suspicion turned into a near certainty. The path to Landon’s room, usually a leisurely walk filled with the joyful noise of the elves and the magic of the workshop, now seemed endless and ominously quiet.

As I approached the guest room, I felt the absence of energy, the void of presence. I pushed open the door, already knowing what I would find, or rather, not find. The room was empty. The top cover of the otherwise neatly made bed was gone. Landon was nowhere to be seen.

A mix of frustration and worry washed over me. Landon had played us all, biding his time until he could escape through the open window. I walked over and peered out, but I didn’t see any footprints in the snow. He must have left a while ago for them to be covered up. But to where? Twinkle Glen? The thought sent a wave of dread through me.

If he were to disrupt the delicate balance of our town, the consequences could be dire.

“Dix!” I called out sharply.

The elf appeared almost instantly, his eyes widening as he entered the empty room. “He’s gone?”

“Yes, and you gave him all the information he needed to escape.”

I winced at the last word. Escape sounded as if we had locked him up in a prison. Was that the way he’d felt? If I found him—when I found him—I would have to do things differently.

Dix hung his head. “I’m sorry, Santa. I can’t seem to do anything right.”

“It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have left you to oversee him. He’s my problem to take care of.”

“What are we going to do? If he gets lost in the forest or, worse, wanders off to the dark side…”

The latter left a horrible taste in my mouth. If Frostheart got to him before I did, it might be too late.

“We need to find him before he causes any trouble or gets into trouble.” I strode back into the corridor. “No one needs to know about this. Just you, me, and your brother.”

Dix nodded, his expression serious, and scurried off to alert Pix. I didn’t wait. Time was of the essence. I hurried to the stable where my sleigh was kept, the reindeer already sensing the urgency and pawing at the ground, ready to take flight.

In moments, we were airborne, the sleigh cutting swiftly through the crisp air. The North Pole below was a sprawling expanse of white and twinkling lights, but my gaze was fixed on the path to Twinkle Glen.

As we approached the town, my heart sank. Even from the sky, a commotion was visible, centered on the Eternal Tree in the town square. I urged the reindeer faster, tightening my grip on the reins.

We landed smoothly at the edge of the square, and I disembarked quickly, then strode toward the crowd. The townsfolk and elves were gathered in a tight circle, their voices raised in alarm and anger.

“You need to fix what you’ve done,” someone was crying. “Do you want us all to die?”

In the center of the mob was Landon, cowering, his eyes red and his face pale, fear radiating off him. Bowled over by how devastated he seemed, so unprotected and scared, I halted. Was this the real him? A scared boy who’d hidden himself behind a tough, heartless exterior? Or was I projecting for him to be what I wanted him to be?

Landon glanced up. Relief flooded his eyes, pushing away the fear for a fraction of a second. The crowd surged forward again, blocking him from view.

I pushed through the crowd and reached him just as someone grabbed his arm. “Enough!” I called out, my voice booming over the din. The crowd parted, their faces a mix of relief and expectation. “Release him.”

The elf, a respected elder, dropped his hand. Landon ran over to me and tucked himself into my side.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I don’t know why they attacked me.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll fix this.”

“He cursed it,” an elf said. “He cursed the tree.”

No. Not the tree. The Eternal Tree was the heart of Twinkle Glen, its lights reflecting the health, harmony, and warmth of our town. The glow seemed dimmer now, and if its lights were dimming…

I placed a hand over my pulsating heart. Earlier I’d attributed it to the concern over finding Landon, but now…

“What did you do?” I asked Landon.

“I wanted to see if the pines were real, so I touched it.”

“Was that all you did?”

He glanced at the other elves and dropped his gaze. He wasn’t telling me everything. I turned my attention to the mob.

“Everyone, listen. I will get to the bottom of this and find an answer for you, but it’s crucial that we not forget the spirit of love, understanding, and unity we’ve always shared. Right now, we need more than ever to show kindness and not hostility.”

A murmur spread through the crowd.

“But he’s a nonbeliever!” an elf voice shouted. “How did a nonbeliever get into Twinkle Glen?”

“He must be working with Frostheart!”

“Yes, he’s working with Frostheart!”

“I assure you. He’s not working with Frostheart,” I said. “You just stated yourselves that he made it into Twinkle Glen. Could he have done that if he didn’t have the spirit of Christmas inside him?”

Deep down, but I had to believe it was there.

“I don’t—”

I squeezed Landon to my side, and he gasped. He tilted his head and glared at me. Much better. I liked seeing him this way more than when he was scared. He was so pretty.

“I’ll find out what’s causing the tree’s light to go out and fix it. That’s my solemn vow,” I said. “For now, I ask you not to let bitterness put out the light of Twinkle Glen.”

“If the tree goes out, Twinkle Glen will be no more. What will happen to us and our families?”

“If I believed he was harmful to our town, would I let him continue to live among us? Have you forgotten my connection to the tree?”

If the light went out, so did I, forced into an eternal slumber until the tree was revived. I’d allowed it to happen once before and would never let it happen again. The devastation Frostheart had caused in my slumber had almost been irreparable.

The crowd fell silent, their anger subsiding into uncertainty.

“Tonight the Caroling Caravan will pass through the town,” I said in one last effort to convince them. “And we’ll both head the procession, demonstrating the heart of the season.”

I squeezed Landon’s shoulder to keep him quiet. “Don’t say a word,” I whispered.

With the chatter diverted to the Caroling Caravan and no longer on the tree, I guided Landon back to the sleigh. “Get in.”

He dug in his heels. “I’m not riding in that thing.”

“Haven’t you done enough?” I pushed him forward. “Do you want me to leave you here so the angry villagers can get at you again?”

He scampered up into the sleigh, sulking but silent. He even had a beautiful sulk. Landon sat still beside me, his body stiff and unyielding. I snapped the reins, and the reindeer took off.

Landon let out a cry as the reindeer’s hooves left solid ground and flew up. He grabbed me around the waist and buried his face in my side, digging his fingers into the fabric of my coat.

“Easy there.” I rested one hand on his back. “You have airplanes, don’t you?”

He shook his head. “But I’ve never traveled in one.”

“Never?”

“No. This is insane. Reindeer don’t fly.”

I chuckled. “That’s the magic of Twinkle Glen. This is what I wanted you to see.”

He loosened his grip. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t believe. I never will.”

I fell silent, anger rising inside me. “Even after everything you’re experiencing?”

“This is just a dream.”

“No, Landon. You have been living in a dream, and it’s time to wake up. There’s good in people. There’s good in the world.”

He scoffed and scooted over to the end of the seat. “You live in a perfect world, in a perfect town where even the snow is warm. You have no idea what the real world is like, so unless you’ve lived twenty-two years of my harsh reality, what right do you have to judge me?”

As we soared back to the workshop, the tension between us was palpable. We landed smoothly on the snow-covered ground outside the workshop. Landon didn’t waste a minute hopping down and running off.

“Landon, stop!” I cried. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m finding my way home.”

“Even after what you just caused, you won’t give up?”

“No!”

I ran after him, catching up with him easily. I snagged him around the waist and plucked him effortlessly off his feet. He was as light as a feather.

“Put me down!” He kicked his legs.

I threw him over my shoulder, his harmless little fists pummeling my back as I walked us back to the workshop. Framed against the windows were several faces of the elves, staring at us in shock.

Just what I need.

I brought Landon inside, but instead of the guest room, I took him to my personal quarters, a place I never allowed anyone else to enter. I slammed the door shut and lowered him to his feet.

He made a beeline for the door. I caught him around the waist and shook him hard enough to rattle his teeth.

“Will you stop trying to run off? Where will you go?”

“That’s none of your business. You don’t care about me. All you care about is your stupid tree.”

Never before in my life had I ever felt such blinding anger. In a flash, I sat on the bed and pulled him over my knees.

“What are you doing?” he screeched.

“Treating you like the brat you are.” I slapped his backside in a firm, disciplinary spank. The action was instinctive, a response to his insolence, but the moment I touched his plump ass, a jolt of electricity shot through me. “You won’t listen to reason, so maybe you’ll listen to this.”

I spanked his ass again, and the air between us crackled with sexual tension. His cries of surprise and indignation echoed in my ears as my hand connected with his butt once more. The heat from his squirming body and the softness under my palm were creating a dizzying effect, making it hard for me to focus.

“Yes, Daddy,” he moaned, but he wasn’t trying to get away. He was humping my leg and rubbing against my thick erection.

“You…like that?” I rasped.

“Hurts so good. Don’t stop, please. I’ll be a good boy, Daddy. Just don’t stop.”

“How about I make it better?”

Everything inside me screamed to stop, but I ignored it. My hands shook as I peeled down the soft material of his pants, baring his pink bottom. “Oh God.”

His ass was a perfectly round peach, plush and shiny under the dim lamplight.

This time my hand cracked against bare skin that bounced on impact. The sound echoed around the room, reverberating off the walls. A shiver rolled down my spine. There was something intoxicating about seeing him laid out like this, vulnerable and completely under my control.

“Ooh.” Landon squirmed, desperately grinding his pelvis into my thighs. “More. I want to come.”

Smack. Smack.

Unable to resist, I caught his cheeks and spread them, admiring the rosy hue of his tiny hole. I tapped the pad of my finger over his entrance, and my cock strained. Using one hand to keep his cheeks apart, I tapped his hole with my finger.

Landon cried out, his body jerking. He dug his fingers into the bedspread. “Please,” he whimpered, his voice low and desperate, “Please, Daddy.”

The sound of him calling me Daddy was… exhilarating. My heart pounded in a way it hadn’t in a long time. It was pure adrenaline, raw and heady. Picking up the pace, I alternated between soft caresses and quick smacks until he was panting heavily and humping me like he was possessed.

“Good boy,” I murmured, spanking him once more before I finally gave in to his pleadings and slid a finger inside him. He gasped, his body tensing, then relaxing. He was tight, impossibly so, yet it felt like we were made for each other.

I lifted him from my lap, dumped him on the bed, spread his cheeks apart, and shoved my face between them. He climbed to his knees with his torso flush against the mattress while he stroked his dick. I licked his hole, and he let out a moan, bucking his hips against my face. I explored every bit of him with my tongue, drawing a symphony of whimpers and gasps from him.

“Daddy…” A shiver rippled through him, and he convulsed as he came hard. He was a beautiful sight, his flushed skin glistening with sweat.

Had he really come here for Twinkle Glen, or had he come for me?