The Christmas Dragon's Love Read online

  She winked at them, and Angel felt new heat rise up inside her. Was she that obvious?

  But then, the Snow Castle probably had a lot of newlyweds and couples spending their first Christmas together. And as much fun as the lake had been, she wouldn’t mind some moments of quiet.

  Just her and Jonathan. Jonathan, who still looked at her as if she was an actual angel. Jonathan, who was overwhelmingly handsome, smart and courageous. Who’d fought a dire wolf for her. And who’d still somehow felt the need to hide away from life in a cave...

  “That sounds great,” Jonathan said, wiping the sweat from his brow. “Shall we look at the maze? I could use some of that hot chocolate.”

  “Me too,” Angel said with a deep sigh.

  Now that they were standing still, she could feel the cold biting at her exposed cheeks and nose again.

  But hopefully, a maze would shield them from the wind. And maybe, if it was really as secluded as the woman had made it sound, she’d be able to get Jonathan to tell her more about his past...

  The hot chocolate stall was manned by a college-aged girl with hair dyed a bright blue.

  “Feeling experimental today?” she asked cheerfully. “Today’s special is hot chocolate with chili and saffron. Or, if you’d like something more traditional, my own favorite is the hot chocolate with mint syrup.”

  “I don’t think I even know what saffron tastes like,” Angel admitted.

  The girl giggled and leaned forward. “If you ask me, it tastes of nothing at all. All I can taste is the chili. But people love it. I think it’s because saffron sounds so romantic...”

  “I’d love to try it,” Angel said. “I could use some heat. We must have spent an hour on that lake. My nose is all numb.”

  “Then I’ll take the mint syrup. If you hate the saffron, we can always switch,” Jonathan offered.

  “Sounds good.” Angel leaned against Jonathan as they watched the girl prepare their hot chocolate. They came in actual mugs, not paper cups. Mugs that had a picture of the Snow Castle on it.

  “They sell them in the gift shop back in the castle,” the girl explained. “If you’d like to take one home. I know that’s what my family back home is going to get for Christmas.”

  “You don’t live here?” Angel asked.

  The girl shook her head so that her blue tresses flew from side to side. “I’m a city girl, but my best friend Tessa is from Christmas Valley. She got me this job—she’s been helping out here at Snow Castle for the past few years, ever since it reopened. It’s perfect, isn’t it? We’re spending the holidays together and making money! And I’m learning how to ski. Also, this place is awesome. Have you done one of the sleigh rides? Tessa’s helping with the ponies this year.”

  “I saw the ponies,” Angel said wistfully. “I’ve never been in a sleigh before.”

  “We only just arrived.” Jonathan wrapped his arm around her waist. “But we should look into that.”

  “If our host can spare us.” Angel laughed, amused that Henrik had even found the time to come rescue them. “Henrik looked so busy—but now that I’ve seen just how big this place is, that’s no wonder.”

  “Oh, you’re friends of Henrik and Dara? In that case, these are on the house. And I’ll tell you a secret... If you’d like some peace and quiet in there, take the first four turns to the left.”

  The girl winked at them, then hastily returned to her job when a gaggle of excited children followed by a small group of adults left the maze.

  Jonathan took hold of Angel’s hand again. She breathed in the steam that escaped her mug of hot chocolate. Hand in hand, they entered the maze that opened before them.

  Unlike a traditional hedge maze, this one was made of ice and snow. The walls rose so high above them that it was impossible to look over them.

  As soon as they turned their first corner to the left, it started snowing again.

  But this time, it wasn’t the heavy fall of the blizzard. These were fat, fluffy snowflakes that danced in the air, landing on her upturned face before they melted.

  Inside the maze, everything was quiet. After the excitement of the frozen lake, the silence was soothing.

  Even though she knew that they were just a few steps from the entrance and the stall with the hot chocolate, it felt as if she was all alone in the world with Jonathan.

  It was a good feeling. It was a realization that made something inside her relax. For once, all of her worries about her future were forgotten as she concentrated on the beauty surrounding her, the warmth of Jonathan’s hand in hers, and the tempting scent of the hot chocolate.

  She took a cautious sip.

  The hot chocolate was rich and creamy, with just the right mix of sweetness and bitterness. And after a moment, she could feel the heat of the chili—just enough to make her mouth and throat feel pleasantly warm.

  “How’s the saffron?” Jonathan asked.

  Thoughtfully, Angel licked her lips. “Don’t laugh, but I think I can taste it. It’s faint, but it’s like—a comforting warmth. I can’t really describe it. But it tastes like getting to spend a winter’s day with your grandma, all wrapped up in a blanket while snow is falling outside. Like comfort, love and adventure.”

  “That’s a powerful flavor,” Jonathan said very softly.

  Angel could hear a hint of wistfulness in his voice, and she leaned closer, their shoulders brushing.

  “How’s yours?”

  “It’s delicious. It tastes like childhood.” This time, there was an actual smile warming Jonathan’s face.

  “Well worth waking up from the ice for?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “No. I woke up for you. And there’s nothing else that could possibly compete with that.”

  Angel felt heat rise to her face again. Before them, another opening in the snow wall loomed. It led to the left, and so they took it.

  The maze was still completely quiet. Every now and then, they could hear a faint melody—Good King Wenceslas, she realized after a moment, probably carried towards them from the speakers at the frozen lake.

  But except for the soft notes of the carol, there was nothing else that disturbed the silence as they slowly walked through the snowy corridor, sipping their hot chocolate.

  The girl hadn’t promised too much. After all the excitement of the past few hours, it was good to be able to take a deep breath and remind herself to be grateful.

  Angel might have completely butchered the simple house-sitting job and nearly lost the dogs of a pair of Hollywood billionaires, and she might have nearly ended up in the belly of a dire wolf.

  But she hadn’t died. She was alive, and so were the dogs. She’d traveled to what felt like a magical winter wonderland—and she had Jonathan by her side.

  Jonathan, who was a dragon shifter, and who’d slept frozen in the ice for a decade. And who’d risked his life for her, and for the dogs that didn’t even belong to her.

  Who hadn’t let his dragon’s weakness after the long sleep stop him from facing a dire wolf twice. And who looked at her as if she wasn’t the disappointment everyone else thought she was.

  “I still can’t believe it’s all real,” she murmured as they took the final, fourth turn to the left. “Nothing exciting has ever happened to me before.”

  “At least you’re safe here. And the dogs are safe, too,” he said. “I wouldn’t usually trust another dragon so easily—but I do believe that Henrik wants to protect his own lands against the dire wolf. Which makes us allies.”

  “I still don’t understand what’s going on with all of that.” Baffled, Angel shook her head. “There’s nothing special about me...”

  “Oh, I’d argue with that.” Jonathan’s smile widened. “But perhaps the dire wolf would see it differently. In any case, perhaps it wasn’t about you.”

  “The dogs then? That makes even less sense,” Angel replied. “Unless...”

  They’d thought the storm had destroyed the Mitchell mansion. But maybe everything�
�the dire wolf, the blizzard—had been a diversion...

  Jonathan made a thoughtful sound. “You say those people you were dog-sitting for are influential people. Rich people.”

  Angel laughed. “Influential—yes, but I doubt that this dire wolf cares about which enemies Millennium Woman is going to fight in her next movie. Unless it turns out our wolf is one of those really crazy fans.”

  “That leaves money,” Jonathan said.

  “Hmm.” Angel hadn’t really seen anything worth stealing around the house.

  And the Mitchells had reassured her that she didn’t have to worry about accidentally destroying an ancient vase or priceless Van Gogh painting.

  This was their mountain retreat. A place where the Hollywood power couple could feel at home. It was a cozy, comfortable place—equipped with the latest tech, of course, but who’d go to all this trouble just to steal a simple flat-screen TV?

  No. If the dire wolf was after valuables to fence, surely he’d have burgled the couple’s expensive Manhattan penthouse.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I didn’t see anything worth stealing. They keep their valuables in their other homes. This place has got security, of course, but I can’t understand why anyone would want to rob it.”

  “Everything about this is strange,” Jonathan murmured. “Or maybe we’re wrong. Maybe it was an accident. Maybe that dire wolf is new in the area and was trying to stake his claim on the territory...”

  “Didn’t you say this was Henrik’s territory?” she asked.

  Who’d have thought that dragon politics were so complicated.

  “This mountain is. Henrik’s claim stretches a little further—but not as far as the Mitchell house, or the cave where you found me.”

  Angel sipped her hot chocolate again. Jonathan’s arm came around her shoulder.

  She still wasn’t sure what to make of this. Maybe the dire wolf had been a coincidence. Maybe, now that he’d seen that he was dangerously close to a dragon’s territory, he’d leave the area.

  Then it would stop being her problem—and she could concentrate on fixing other things.

  Like the damage to the Mitchell house. And the fact that dragon shifters were a thing that existed.

  And that I’m hopelessly in love with one of them...

  Warmth filled her at the thought, together with a wave of embarrassment. What had she done to deserve a man like Jonathan? Her life was a mess. After this house-sitting gig, she’d have to return to living with her parents while forcing herself through that programming crash course.

  Meanwhile Jonathan was warm, sophisticated, calm and strong, exuding a quiet confidence.

  I suppose he doesn’t have a home right now either, unless you count that cave... But then, he’s a dragon shifter. He probably has friends and family all over the world. And a secret mansion hidden away somewhere.

  She didn’t need a mansion. All she wanted was a life where she wouldn’t have to constantly live in fear of being unable to pay her bills, with a small place that was all hers, and a job where no one screamed at her and she didn’t end up crying in the bathroom on her breaks.

  But was that the sort of life a dragon shifter would want?

  Now that she’d seen what sort of life Henrik led, with a castle of his own and a winter resort that couldn’t be more perfect, she couldn’t help but think that Jonathan would want more than that.

  More than me. He’ll want more than me. I’m not a shifter. I’m not even particularly successful at being an average human.

  She’d never been one who got lost in impossible dreams. She wanted a safe job with benefits, not a castle.

  But now, for the first time in her life, she couldn’t help but wish that she’d turn out to be a long-lost princess or the secret heiress of a media mogul, just so that she’d be worthy of someone like him.

  Chapter Ten: Jonathan

  It was still snowing gently when they stepped through an arch that had appeared at the end of the snow corridor.

  Jonathan had expected another corridor leading them deeper into the maze—but instead, it seemed that the girl’s instruction had led them to a dead end.

  But what a dead end it was.

  Before them spread a small square, surrounded by walls of ice on every side. In the light of the gentle winter sun, the ice sparkled and gleamed.

  And at the center of the tiny square, someone had carved an angel out of ice.

  No, Jonathan then realized. This hadn’t been the work of human hands.

  This was the work of a dragon. Henrik himself must have created the statue out of ice.

  The angel was perfect down to the last, tiniest detail. Long strands of hair draped her body, looking as soft as silk. At her back, glorious wings spread, every single feather perfectly formed.

  And in her hand, she held a bowl of ice. It was filled with an assortment of seeds and nuts. As they walked closer, they saw that a tiny bird was sitting in the bowl, pecking at the seeds.

  Their approach made it take flight in alarm, although it didn’t fly far. It landed on the tip of the angel’s wing, chirping in reproach at them as it watched them suspiciously.

  “Sorry,” Angel said, laughing. “Go on, get those seeds before your friends arrive.”

  With another suspicious chirp, the bird hopped a little closer. Its head turned back and forth.

  Then it spread its wings, taking flight again to circle the statue once before returning to land on the rim of the bowl.

  Still keeping an eye on them, the tiny bird began to peck at the seeds once more, gorging itself on the feast someone must have prepared for it.

  The snow had stopped falling, Jonathan realized all of a sudden. A moment later, the sun suddenly gained in intensity, as if a cloud had moved past it. Sunlight made the angel gleam, the light reflecting off the ice walls all around them until it felt as if they were standing in a room made out of crystal and light.

  “It’s beautiful,” Angel said softly, raising one of her hands to shield her eyes from the light as she looked at the statue. “Everything here is so peaceful.”

  Jonathan took a deep breath. Angel was right. Everything here felt perfect.

  He could feel the touch of Henrik and his mate in everything, down to the smallest details of the Snow Castle. They’d created a real home here. A beautiful place that suddenly called up a yearning in him that he’d thought long past.

  A yearning for those simple days of his childhood, the magic of the holidays, the excitement of waiting for the presents Santa would bring.

  As a child, everything had been so easy. But then he’d grown up. He hadn’t felt this magic in a long time. He hadn’t thought that he’d deserve to feel like this ever again, after what he’d done.

  But then Angel had appeared. And she hadn’t only woken him from his slumber, she’d also brought back the magic. The joy was spreading through his heart even now.

  “Out here, everything feels so simple. Like all the things I used to worry about don’t really matter,” she said.

  Angel took a deep breath.

  He watched as she tilted back her head, smiling at the winter sun shining down on them. Then she turned back towards him, nodding towards a bench that stood near the ice wall, facing the sculpture of the angel.

  “Want to sit down with me?”

  It was easy to simply nod and follow her. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to wrap his arm around her shoulder and feel her snuggle up against him.

  She felt right in his arms. As if they were both exactly where they were meant to be.

  Which they were, of course, because they were mates.

  If only he’d be able to forget about the past. About the terrible disappointment he was. Even now, he couldn’t help but feel the stab of guilt in his heart.

  He shouldn’t be here. Not after what he’d done. He’d made a deal, after all...

  “Now I freely admit I don’t know anything about dragons,” she said softly, “but I know the
y don’t hibernate. And you were just about to tell me what happened back then when that wolf interrupted us.”

  Jonathan took a deep breath. He kept looking at the statue of the angel, gleaming in the sunlight.

  His dragon was at peace. Surrounded by snow and ice, his dragon was in his element. Little by little, he was regaining the power that had been drained during their long sleep.

  It was Christmas, his favorite time of the year. His mate was by his side. They were staying in a beautiful winter resort. It couldn’t be more perfect.

  And he knew that he didn’t deserve any of this happiness.

  “You said you ruined someone’s life,” she said. “That doesn’t sound like you. I haven’t known you long—but you risked your own life for a dog.”

  Jonathan swallowed. Even now, he couldn’t forget the expression on his sister’s face.

  “My sister, Maya,” he said. “She found her mate. Another dragon shifter—from one of the oldest and proudest lines. And one of the richest. One of the few families left that hold on to old traditions.”

  “Like what?” Angel asked.

  “Like an elaborate wedding gift. My father emptied our family’s hoard, sending boxes of gold and diamonds and rubies to Vincent’s father. He was her intended—a good guy, for all that he came from that strict family. I never doubted that he loved her with all his heart.”

  “And then? It wasn’t enough?”

  Jonathan shook his head. “It was enough—just barely. In return, the gift they sent our family was one of the largest diamonds in existence. A thousand years ago, it was worn by a king. One of Vincent’s forebears won a battle against that king and his knights, and ever since then, that diamond was a part of their family’s hoard. You can’t imagine how great an honor it was to have them entrust us with that jewel. And while my sister and Vincent were busy planning their dream wedding, my father set me the task of guarding our hoard. I stayed in our cave day and night, sleeping in the entrance. No one could have made it past me without waking me. In fact, I was feeling pretty lucky that I missed out on all the drama of where to seat which guest and which wines to choose.”