“To kick off our annual Christmas celebration, we have Santa’s Reindeers singing an age-old classic.” She steps off stage and cues the kids to begin.
Twelve little reindeer with silver bells hanging from their antlers sing Jingle Bells, hopping in place each time they sayjingle bells. The bells jingle with every hop, but not in sync with their singing. The kids don’t seem to notice, and they’re so adorable. Even Garrett’s smiling.
When the song ends, the teens perform a short skit with two songs mixed in. “They wrote it themselves,” I tell Garrett.
“We have some imaginative kids here.”
“They’re all so smart and curious. Eager to learn and please. Your pack definitely needs shifters who can teach, really teach and inspire them.”
“You can return to teaching anytime, Angel. You have more than enough skills to handle the teens learning to shift, and even those who are more advanced. And I can continue training you as time allows, if you want.”
“I’m… I’m not sure I’m a good fit for teaching.”
“Sure you are. But if you don’t want it, I heard Langdon’s eager for your help. He’s getting older. You’d be a big asset to him.”
I stay silent.
Garrett’s eyebrows purse. “If you want to return to the kids, then do it. I don’t think Damien will hold what happened against you.”
I lean forward and peer over at Damien who’s cradling Tess between his legs, his hand on her belly. Pregnant, I’m guessing, even though she’s not showing. The guy’s not going to let me return to a position where I’m responsible for the safety of his pack’s children despite how many skills Garrett teaches me.
If he knew what I was thinking, he’d give up on me. “I really need to finish my training with you before I decide.”
His arm slides around my waist. “Not a problem. We work on your skills, your confidence, and then you and Sadie Lynn discuss what works for both of you. Talk to Langdon too, if you want options. Or another job, if there’s something else you’d like to try.”
My mind wanders to the day I first met Garrett. I practically begged him to leave the woods where I lured shifters into the WSSO’s trap. Schneider and Crane ordered me to get rid of Garrett and his team. Their guns had been trained on me and Garrett the entire time. If I’d failed to do as ordered, Garrett, Frank, Callen, or Hayden—maybe all four—would have been killed.
I’d already ruined too many lives…
“I don’t like being responsible for others.”
Garrett pulls me in against him. “You’ve plenty of time to decide your future. How about after the show, we take a long walk along the lake and discuss all the possibilities?”
“That sounds nice.” Really nice, except all I can see in my mind’s eye are the shifters I lured for the WSSO. Had Garrett been alone that day, he would have been my next victim. But Schneider and Crane had orders to avoid groups of shifters. Unless they had a way of surrounding them, making them easy to kill.
Like my pack.
“I’m sorry, Garrett.”
He playfully tugs my hair. “For what?”
“For what’s about to happen.”
“What do you mean?—”
“Weren’t they great, everyone?” Sadie Lynn asks the crowd, which cheers and applauds.
“Don’t hate me, Garrett.”
He takes my face in his hands and I can see the question there. He’s wondering what I’ve done.
“And now we have a special surprise for everyone,” Sadie Lynn continues. “A duo which hasn’t performed for several years. Everyone send up a howl and clap your hands for the Howling Howliday Cousins… Damien and Garrett Black!”
“What the fuck,” Garrett says.
“Sorry,” I repeat, over the crowd cheering for Damien and Garrett to take the stage.
Damien stands up and takes a deep breath. “What I don’t do for my mate.” He turns to Garrett. “Tell me you drank the beer.”
