Page 4 of A Swan for Christmas

Vic enjoyed having the attractive, dark-haired young man working for him. He got along great with the rest of the staff and was reliable and efficient. He doubted it would ever happen, but he’d welcome the chance to take him on fulltime.

“You’ll do great, hang in there.” Vic glanced over his shoulder. “Better get my charge into his new room. He was half frozen when I found him.”

“Oh no. Yeah, I’ll see you later then.”

Vic dipped his chin once in response then headed back to the truck. He’d left the engine running to keep Kellan warm, but he imagined the poor thing was exhausted and hungry.

I wonder what his story is?

After climbing inside the cab, Vic steered the truck to the other side of the restaurant then around back to the main building of the inn. Kellan’s room was toward the end and would offer the promised view of the lake. He hoped to make him as comfortable as possible, so Kellan could work through whatever it was he needed to in order to build a new life.

Vic parked next to the elevator, but since Kellan only wore socks and he wasn’t sure how bad off his ankle was, he’d planned on carrying him upstairs anyway. He dropped out of the truck and by the time he’d made it around to the passenger side, Kellan already had the door open and was trying to climb down, his pale, thin legs hanging out from the bottom edges of the blanket.

“Whoa, hold on.” Vic scurried over to scoop him up in his arms. “I’ve got you.”

Kellan pulled the blanket around his face, but still snuggled against Vic’s chest anyway. “Thanks.”

Vic resisted the bizarre urge to nuzzle Kellan’s head and concentrated instead on not slipping on any icy spots. His sensitive nose picked up the same enticing scent it had the first time he’d held Kellan. While he’d remained aware of it in the truck, holding him close had him on edge, itchy under his skin but without a way to scratch it. Kellan smelled of sweetness, of fresh berries and cream or perhaps cotton candy and newly frosted cake. He stifled a groan. None of those things were exactly right, but it didn’t prevent the aroma from making him want to bury his nose in Kellan’s neck or lick him all over.

“Shit.”

Kellan tensed then lifted his head to meet Vic’s eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Vic’s eyes widened. Did I say that out loud? “Oh, uh… I forgot to grab a first aid kit at the front desk for your ankle.” Quick save and not even close to being a lie. “But I can get room service to bring one up.”

The elevator door opened, and Vic stepped inside. Kellan rested his head against his shoulder again and Vic wondered what had his wolf so worked up about the swan, why he found the young man so alluring. While different shifter species mated all the time, some of them even pairing up with humans, he’d never experienced such an immediate or strong pull from someone. Hell, he’d been with a couple of bears and even a squirrel once—which his wolf buddies still teased him about—but he hadn’t wanted to hold onto them and keep them safe forever.

Vic gulped as they reached the second floor and he remained rooted in place as the doors opened, his random musings like a gut punch.

Oh hell no. Impossible. He’d given up on finding his fated wolf omega once his pack had almost been wiped from Earth. The rare, deadly virus that had claimed the majority of the pack population, his family included, had forced him to accept that he’d be without his true match. So, how could a swan be his fated mate?

Ridiculous.

He sighed then stepped out of the lift before the doors could close on them again. They reached room 217 and Vic decided to worry about his crazy ideas later. Kellan’s wellbeing was all that mattered at the moment.

Once he’d juggled Kellan and the key, he nudged the door open with his toe then stepped inside. The only staff room left with a lake view had a single, queen-sized bed and a small balcony. The comforter—which thankfully didn’t contain goose down—was white, with a pattern of watercolor-style evergreens densely grouped at the bottom then thinning out until the top of the covering was solid white. The floor was made of pine, but green throw rugs similar to the ones in the lobby took up the open spaces. An entertainment center with a dresser, a table with two chairs near the glass door leading to the balcony and a kitchenette filled the rest of the room.

Vic carried Kellan to one of the padded chairs, then gently set him down. Their eyes met, and for a moment, Vic held his breath, not wanting to break the connection between them. Kellan stared up at him from chocolate-brown irises, long black lashes framing his wide eyes. His fair skin was almost the same shade as his platinum hair that was longer on top, with soft waves combed to one side.

Vic swallowed hard then carefully disentangled himself from Kellan. Neither of them seemed anxious to let go, but if he didn’t release him immediately, he worried he might do something inappropriate and out of character.

“Uh, let me call room service for the kit.” Vic searched through the inn’s welcome folder until he found the page he wanted. He handed it to Kellan. “Here, pick something out to eat and I’ll have them bring that up too.”

While Kellan perused the selections, Vic tried not to stare. He went around randomly checking that everything was in place, even though he already knew his staff would have left the room meticulous.

“I’d like a big salad with lots of vegetables, and whatever fish you have. Is that all right?”

Vic whirled around then accepted the menu back from Kellan. “Of course. We should still have some fresh walleye, but if not, the cook will have either catfish or bass.” Vic picked up the phone receiver. “We have fresh pies and cakes, too, if you’d like dessert.” He figured the guy could use a few extra calories.

Kellan’s cheeks flushed. “Nothing like that. But if you have any berries, I would eat those.”

“For dessert?” Yuck. “Okay, I’ll ask. We usually have some frozen ones in the walk-in.”

After placing Kellan’s order, he requested that someone bring up a first aid kit right away. Once he’d hung up from that he regarded Kellan, who was curled up on the chair with the blanket still wrapped tightly around his body, his legs tucked underneath him. He was gazing out of the window, seemingly at nothing. It was well after eight o’clock and being that they were on the edge of town, not much was visible in the darkened, wooded surroundings.

Vic scratched his chin through his beard. He wasn’t sure how much Kellan wanted to talk about what he’d been through or how he’d come to arrive in Vale Valley, and Vic didn’t want to pressure him. If Kellan had been led to the Valley, it meant he was supposed to be there. It wasn’t up to Vic or anyone else to pry into his business. But that didn’t mean that Vic wasn’t dying to know everything he could about his swan guest.

A knock on the door jarred him from his thoughts and he rushed to answer it. Dora, the restaurant hostess for the night, handed him the first aid kit. “It’s really quiet in the dining room so Mark asked if I’d bring this up now so you don’t have to wait. The food should be ready in another fifteen. Oh, and Skip said to tell you he had some walleye left. It was caught this morning.”