1: Moments Under Mistletoe

Cold weather had always made Keion a little testy. With nothing but admiration and love, he envied his parents, who were cuddling together in front of the fire at home. First, he wished he were them because they had the fire going and had no intentions of moving. Second, he wished he were them because they had each other to hold on to. He was no longer a pup who could just jump into the blankets with them and snuggle up with his parents. He knew that it would probably annoy the Alpha more than a little if he tried that now. Being a prince probably wouldn't save him from his father's bite, so he had long since learned to let the royal couple have their alone time. Keion didn’t have a mate so he would just have to dress appropriately for this weather while in human form.

So there he was, standing outside Nancy Morton's house, waiting for someone to answer the door and let him in, while the cold winter air swirled around his head. He was warm-blooded like the rest of them, but he didn't have to like the temperature outside. Closing his eyes briefly, he summoned his wolf, hoping that it would make him feel impervious to the chill. That seemed to do the trick because, when he opened them- just seconds before Nancy came to the door- heat almost radiated out of him. Feeling his muscles relax, Keion smiled easily when the host of the Christmas Eve party said his name.

“Keion, do you ever not look like you’re coming off a magazine cover?”

“Haha, I had to make some effort since I knew I was coming to your house, Nancy.”

Flushing with pleasure, she ushered him inside and squealed slightly as a bit of the cold air followed them. With an apologetic smile, he placed a hand on her shoulder for just a second, knowing that his warmth would transfer. When he then handed over the gift bag, her gratitude was for both gestures.

 “Have your parents called yet, to remind you not to destroy the house?”

“Like fifty times!” she laughed. “Honestly, they should know me better by now.”

“Agreed, you’re probably one of the most responsible teenagers I have ever met.”

That made his host smile. “That’s so nice to hear, coming from our future alpha.”

“My dad still has quite a few years yet; don’t let him hear you say that.”

His best friend Zach laughed out loud. “We all heard that, Nancy. Long reign Alpha Msia!”

“Long reign the Alpha!”

Soon the house was teeming with teenagers from Alcombey High School. As the assumed heir to the throne, successor to the position of Alpha, Keion Hamadi knew it was his duty and his peer’s privilege for him to mingle and socialize with as many of the people there that night. Knowing how easy it was for titles to pass first born sons kept him on his toes; Keion didn’t take it for granted that his father was Alpha and therefore he was definitely going to be the next one. While his genes were predisposed to Alpha traits and he had been blessed at birth, Keion knew it wasn’t done until it was declared and it would be several years before that might happen. So he cultivated relationships and honed his leadership skills by being a man of the people.

It wasn’t hard because his personality drew many to him without any effort. He was level-headed, outgoing and naturally charming, so people liked him and he liked them too. The presence of royal blood in his veins made him desirable but even without that he was probably one of the most attractive young men within a healthy radius. What his mirror didn’t tell him, the young ladies filled in generously.

Only seniors were given access to the private den upstairs because Nancy wanted to limit her personal space to people with whom she was closest. She knew a lot of the people who had showed up tonight were here for the fireworks and for the chance to possibly meet Prince Keion, and that was alright. Nancy was most glad that he had showed up because she had been meaning to spend a little time with her crush. When he had touched her shoulder earlier, the electricity that had gone up her back was thrilling. Of course she knew that he’d only made contact with her to bring instant comfort because he was a considerate leader but it didn’t make much difference. That fractional contact with his wolf’s aura had been phenomenal. She wanted more.

Nancy seized the moment when she saw him walk over to the balcony with Zach, his best friend and prolific wingman. Tossing her silky brown hair over her shoulder, she grabbed her jacket and skipped toward them, already giddy at the prospect of her plan working perfectly.

Seeing her approach them, Zach smiled. “There’s the hostess with the mostess. You’re throwing the best party of the season, sister.”

Smiling back, she lifted a shoulder. “Why thank you, Mr. Houghton. It’s not something we get to do often, so I’m just glad my parents let me.”

“You definitely got the festive spirit of Christmas,” Keion commented, shrugging his shoulders against the slight draught that came in from the open field behind the house.

“I was going to consider going with a complete theme, but then,” she said, stepping a little closer to her prince and good friend, “it would have lacked that something I was looking for.”

“What little something is that?”

Glancing up, Nancy laughed and pointed above their heads.

Zach looked up too and his eyes widened. “Oh boy.”

Keion looked up, already sensing he’d just been tricked into something that he wasn’t actually looking forward to. Seeing the mistletoe, he laughed good-naturedly, “Alright, girl, lay it on me.”

Leaning forward, she lightly placed her lips on his cheek.

Grinning impishly, he leaned his head back a fraction. “Is that all?”

Nancy’s eyes nearly popped out of her skull when Keion then put both his hands on her arms and placed his lips on hers for a very quick kiss. “Merry Christmas, Miss Morton,” he chuckled.

Before the words were completely out of his mouth, another girl from their class squealed. “The prince is giving Christmas kisses under the mistletoe! I’m definitely claiming mine.”

She came running over, pushed Nancy to the side and kissed Keion on the cheek. “Merry Christmas, Keion.”

He wished her a merry Christmas and mentally grit his teeth as several other girls from their year group, formed a line and either took kisses or gave them depending on how much they’d had to drink and how cognizant they were of the liberty they were taking with the oldest child of their Alphas Msia and Kaliah Hamadi.

For the first three minutes Keion simply grinned and bore the pressure of being stuck under the mistletoe but as his ears started to get cold and tension set in across his forehead, he started looking for reasons to escape. He couldn’t summon his wolf while kissing these girls unless he wanted an obsessed mob following him everywhere he went, and absurdly he felt like he couldn’t stop now until he had given everyone equal chance.

Just as the line was coming to an end, Nancy announced that there was going to be a spectacular show. Smiling at the last girl who he recognized from his literature class, he gave her a genuine warm kiss on the cheek and wished her Merry Christmas. The minute she walked away, Keion asked his beast for a surge of warmth. He was a little annoyed at Nancy’s indiscretion but he couldn’t hold it against her because it had all been good fun. He just wished they could have done it inside.

“I can’t believe you just kissed that many girls in front of me,” Zach smirked.

“Hey, you could have taken over at any time.”

“Ha! They didn’t come here for me, my royal friend.” Raising a hand, Zach pointed to a person who had been standing behind where Nancy had set him up. “You missed one.”

“What?” Keion frowned and took a closer look at the back of the mysterious girl who had not queued up to get a kiss from him. Brownish hair with loose curls tied in a low ponytail, partially covered by a turquoise beanie.

“Ceanna Daley.” Zach supplied in a low voice.

Keion knew that name. Her adoptive parents both sat on the guardian’s council and he had had a class with her this semester. She wasn’t in any advanced classes, he realized, and that was probably why their paths barely crossed.

He called her name now.

She turned around instantly, probably sensing the receding presence of his wolf but still looking reluctant.

“You were going to let me walk away from an incomplete task?”

She glanced at the plant above his head dubiously. “I didn’t realize kissing was serious kingdom business, but I thought it was voluntary.”

“By all means, but now I feel like a heel leaving you out.”

“I-”

He held a hand out, aware that warmth still radiated slightly from him. Avoiding touching her skin directly, he put a hand on her elbow and said in a friendly low voice, “Merry Christmas.”

“M-merry Christmas, Keion.”

Drawing her closer, he tried to buy a little more time by chuckling. “I promise I won’t bite.”

Her mouth hung open slightly, incapable of creating a suitable excuse not to participate in the Christmas tradition associated with mistletoe. Without further thought, he bent his head and placed his lips on hers.

Keion felt her warmth and it surprised him, since she’d apparently been standing outside this whole time. Her lips were soft against his and it took only a fraction of a second to register that she kind of kissed him back.

Before either of them could break it off, fireworks went off with a loud bang. Startled, the two of them disconnected.

“Wow,” Keion said, a smile forming on his lips, “just like in the movies.”

Somehow that loosened Ceanna’s tongue. She laughed slightly and said, “And now we will become inseparable.”

He laughed too.

Another loud bang sounded and he turned his head to look at the colorful display blazing across the sky. It really was as Nancy had promised. As he turned to comment on it to his last mistletoe participant, he realized that she had disappeared.