The Alpha's Doe Bonus: A Christmas Kiss

This festive short takes place Christmas before The Alpha's Doe Book 1. Enjoy!

My mate had to be the cutest creature on planet Earth. My hands rested on her perfect hips, keeping her steady as she balanced precariously on the edge of a chair, adjusting a long strand of garland above the doorway into her living room.

Christmas was four days away. Even though Doe had started decorating sometime around Thanksgiving, she kept finding more things to add. It looked like Santa—and all of his elves—had thrown up all over her house.

I watched my Doe fuss over her garland, a warm feeling in my chest. I lived for moments like these. Doe’s radiant energy seemed to glow brighter than the lights strung across her family’s Christmas tree, her big brown eyes sparkling.

She wore a hideous Christmas sweater that was so oversized it looked more like a dress, complete with jingling bells and dancing reindeer. Her dark green leggings and Grinch socks rounded out the look, crowned by a Santa hat slightly askew on her head.

Susan’s parents stayed at Doe’s house every Christmas. And since I did too—there was no way I would be spending the holidays with my father—I had gotten to know Grammy and Papa pretty well over the last several years.

“They should be done any minute now,” Grammy replied. “Listen for the timer.” I glanced back at her, noticing for the first time that she was watching Doe and me, a knowing smile on her face. Had she been watching us this whole time?

“Is that straight?” Doe asked, pulling my attention back to her. She stretched her arms above her head to adjust the garland.

Doe’s lips turned down in a slight frown. “I don’t think this side is even,” she muttered, inching further toward the edge of the chair.

Before I could warn her to be careful, the chair tipped forward, and Doe let out a heart-stopping shriek as she was sent flying face-first toward the ground.

My reflexes instantly kicked in, and I stepped in front of her flailing body, catching her before she could fall. “I’ve got ya,” I reassured her. I carefully wrapped my arms around her legs and steadied her back on the chair.

Doe’s laugh was breathless. “That was close! Thanks, Ace.”

I tutted at her. “No more chair acrobatics for you.” Before she could protest, I tugged her forward and wrapped a firm arm beneath her ass, then lifted her into the air.

“What are—? Hey!” Doe squealed. “Ace! Put me down!”

“You’ve lost your garland hanging privileges.”

“But I didn’t finish!”

I let Doe’s body slide down mine until her feet were on the ground, her front pressed firmly to my own. Her hands landed on my chest, and she tilted her head back to look up at me, her glare softening into a reluctant smile.

“You’re impossible,” she said.

“And you’re reckless,” I replied, straightening her Santa hat with tender hands. “I refuse to let you die today, even if it is in the name of Christmas spirit. I’m finishing for you.”

Doe let out an exaggerated sigh. “Fine.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “But only because I want to live to see Christmas.”

After hanging up the garland under Doe’s watchful eye, making sure every branch was in the exact location she wanted, Doe and I stood back to admire our work.

“It looks so festive!” Doe cheered. “What do you think, Grammy?”

“It looks wonderful, dear. The whole house does,” Grammy replied. “Although, I think that doorway might need one too now.” She pointed at the glass French doors that led to the kitchen, which seemed noticeably bare now.

Doe slowly turned to me, a big smile on her face. “I think I saw another garland upstairs in the attic.” She blinked her big brown eyes at me and jutted out her bottom lip. “Go get it for me? I’ll repay you with cookies.”

I sighed, pretending to be annoyed even though we both knew I would have done it even without the promise of baked goods. “Fine. I’ll be right back.”

It didn’t take me long to secure the garland from the attic and make my way back downstairs. I was going to rejoin everyone in the living room when I heard my name.

“...always liked Ace. So what’s going on between you and that handsome young man?” Grammy asked. “Why aren’t you together yet?”

Unable to help myself, I stopped right before rounding the corner into the living room, my ears perked for Doe’s response. This was certainly an interesting subject.

“What do you mean?” Doe replied, speaking around a mouthful of popcorn.

I peeked around the corner just in time to see Grammy roll her eyes. Doe was too busy half-watching the TV to notice me eavesdropping. “Oh, honey. I’m old, not blind. That boy is smitten with you.”

To my surprise, Grammy turned her head, and her eyes met mine from across the room. She raised a brow as if to say, “That true?”

Silently, I smirked and shook my head. No, it wasn’t true. Not even a little bit.

Grammy sent me a wide smile before turning back to Doe. She put a hand on her knee. “Is that the timer for the cookies I just heard?”

Doe looked toward the kitchen. “Oh, probably. I’ll go check on them.” She stood and skipped toward the kitchen.

Grammy’s gaze zeroed in on me the moment Doe was out of sight. “Come sit with me, young man. Let’s have a little chat.”

With the garland still in my hand, I meandered over to her and dropped down next to her on the couch, careful not to wake Papa, who was sleeping on the other side of her.

“You really do get more and more handsome every time I see you,” Grammy said to me. “And bigger too. What the hell are they feeding you boys around here? You’re going to hit the ceiling if you don’t stop growing soon.”

I laughed. “Good family genes, I suppose.”

Grammy narrowed her eyes. Something about this woman told me she didn’t believe any of the bullshit we told her to cover up the fact that we were werewolves. She also knew not to push us on it.

“So you’re in love with my granddaughter, huh?”

“Something like that, yeah,” I responded.

“So then why haven’t you made a move yet? It’s been seventeen years. Shouldn’t you two be together by now?”

“I wish it were that simple.”

“Ace and Dotty are technically together!” Griffin called from his spot on the floor. “Since they’re mates—”

“Elliot. You’re missing your favorite part of the movie.” I gave him a pointed look and jerked my chin at the TV. He knew better than to talk about werewolf culture in front of a human. Even if that human was his grandma.

Elliot’s face heated, and he tilted his head in submission before turning back to the TV.

“Mates?” Grammy asked.

“The boys are convinced Doe and I are soulmates,” I explained. “They want us to end up together.”

“Hmm,” Grammy hummed. “So I’m not the only one who has noticed the chemistry. Are you planning on letting Dorothy know how you feel?”

I let out a long exhale. It was complicated. If it were up to me, Doe would have known my feelings for her years ago.

“I’m working on it,” I finally responded, choosing to remain vague.

Grammy’s expression turned mischievous. “Would you like some help?”

I glanced at the glass French doors that led to the kitchen. I could hear Doe finishing up. She would be making her way back to us at any second.

“What did you have in mind?” I asked, genuinely curious. I wouldn’t mind moving things along with Doe and me.

Grammy’s grin was downright evil.

I didn’t get the chance to respond. Doe came bounding back into the living room, a huge plate of steaming cookies in her hands. “Snickerdoodles, fresh from the oven! Who wants one?”

Her younger brothers swarmed.

“Careful, they’re hot!” Doe warned as they all grabbed at the platter. “You might have to wait a while before you eat them.”

Once the boys had at least two cookies each, my mate sat next to me on the couch. She offered her grandmother a cookie and then presented the plate to me. Always thinking of others before herself.

I grabbed two cookies, one for myself and another for Doe. I made sure she had taken a bite of hers before lifting my own to my mouth.

“They’re delicious,” I said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for making them, sweet girl.”

Doe gave me a warm look, the apples of her cheeks turning pink. “Of course.”

“Boys, did you thank your sister for the cookies?” I asked her younger brothers.

A chorus of “Thank you, Dotty!” rang out.

Doe rolled her eyes and gently elbowed me in the side. “You’re turning into my dad more and more every day.”

Made sense with all the time I spent with their family. “Better your dad than mine.”

Doe’s eyes searched my face. “What’s he doing for Christmas? Are you going to see him?”

I shrugged and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her to my side. “Not sure.” I didn’t give her any more explanation than that. The last thing I wanted to do was to cause her a headache when she was in such a good mood.

The tense moment passed quickly as her brothers clamored for more cookies, Grammy’s voice being the thing to break through the chaos. “Ace, you and Dorothy still have decorating to do. The room looks uneven.”

I looked at the older woman. Was it just me or did she sound particularly enthusiastic all of a sudden?

“Oh, yeah, I totally forgot!” Doe exclaimed. “Were you able to find the garland in the attic?” she asked me.

I nodded and grabbed it from where I had dropped it on the floor. “Come on.”

I made quick work of the final garland, Doe directing me the entire time.

“There,” I said. “How does that look?”

Doe nodded. “Fluff it up in the center. It looks weird.”

I did as I was told, fixing the middle part that seemed to be flattened down for whatever reason.

“What is that?” Doe asked, coming to stand next to me. She pointed up at the spot I was touching. “Those little white balls right there.”

My stomach swooped. I knew exactly what it was. Mistletoe.

“It’s mistletoe!” Thomas yelled. “Dad got it for mom last year!”

He was right. I remembered watching Joe chase Susan around with it, demanding kisses from his mate every chance he got. He became so insistent that Susan eventually had to hide it at the bottom of one of the storage bins.

“You guys are standing right under it!” Elliot shouted gleefully, his excitement palpable. Every one of her brothers was facing us now, Buddy the Elf long forgotten. “That means you have to kiss!”

Doe’s eyes widened, darting between me and the mistletoe. “Did you…?”

“No,” I said quickly, though my gaze shifted to Grammy. Her grin told me everything I needed to know. She sent me a mischievous wink.

Doe’s brothers began chanting, “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

They were loud and obnoxious enough to startle Papa out of his slumber, causing him to jerk awake. “What the hell is going on?”

Doe turned to me, flustered but laughing. “What do we do?”

“Well, you have to kiss, of course,” Grammy said. “It’s tradition.”

Doe studied me, her gaze briefly dropping down to my lips as her cheeks brightened to the shade of tomatoes. “I suppose a quick peck on the lips couldn’t hurt. I mean, if you’re okay with it.”

The boys’ chants got louder. “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

“I’m going back to sleep,” Papa grumbled, shutting his eyes once more.

I shrugged and smiled down at my girl. “It is tradition.”

Doe giggled. I didn’t have a chance to prepare myself before she raised herself onto her toes and pressed her lips to mine.

Heaven.

Cheers erupted around me, but I paid them no mind. Kissing Doe was just as good as I remembered it. Mating sparks exploded against my mouth, racing down my form. My wolf growled, causing my chest to vibrate with his pleasure.

I was pretty sure Doe meant for this to be a quick peck, but she lingered longer than expected—not that I was complaining. I loved the way she melted against me, the way she sighed and leaned in for more. Her fingers dug into my shoulders, and her scent sweetened, her eyes fluttering shut.

It was over too soon. It was only a few blissful seconds before Doe gasped, and her eyes snapped open. She ripped her lips from mine and stumbled back. It took every ounce of my self-control not to haul her back to me. I sucked in deep breaths, calming myself. My wolf was pushing for control.

With a hand over her mouth, Doe’s gaze traveled around the room, taking in the shocked faces of her family members. For a moment, I thought she was going to start freaking out, but then she smiled and let a bell-like giggle slip from her mouth.

“There! Is everyone happy now?” she laughed. She playfully shoved me away from her and bounded back to the couch, flopping down beside her grandma.

Doe grabbed the bowl of popcorn from her grandma’s lap and placed it on her own before finally looking up at me.

She rolled her eyes. “I know my kissing skills are top tier, but don’t think standing there isn’t going to get you another smooch.” She scooted over on the couch, making room for me in the center. She patted the spot. “Come on. Come watch the end of the movie.”

Moving in a lovestruck daze, I crossed the room and sat down between her and her grandma. I couldn’t help but pull Doe to my side, needing her close now more than ever. Doe instantly snuggled in, warming me to my core.

A hand landed on my knee, tapping it gently. “You’re welcome,” Grammy whispered in my ear.