The Hellhound's Un-Christmas Miracle - Zoe Chant Page 0,85

know what.”

“Opal, I’ve spent the last five years traveling the world, trying to find her. If she even exists.” Jasper pulled his woolen hat off and ran his fingers through his dark hair. “I’ve tried matchmaking services, blind dates, double dates, online dating, everything I could think of, in hundreds of cities, and I’m— I’m tired, sis. I just want to spend Christmas with my family.”

Opal’s eyes softened. “You know we’re always here for you.” She squeezed his arm. “Whatever happens.”

“Thanks, sis. Now, let’s go get that coffee. I think I’m going to need one, too.” He grinned at her. His face felt stiff, but— he’d made his choice. And it was the right one. Wasn’t it?

I want to spend Christmas with my family. Even if it’s my last Christmas as myself.

Opal called Cole back over and Jasper braced himself as the little boy tackled him. He swung his nephew up on his shoulders again. Cole made his hands into claws and roared.

“Hey,” Opal whispered. “Remember what we said about being a human while we’re in town?”

Cole flopped forward, his arms dangling limply over Jasper’s face. “Ye-es,” he admitted reluctantly. When Opal looked away, he made little claws and scrabbled at Jasper’s forehead. *Raar!* he roared telepathically.

*I heard that, Cole Jasper Heartwell!* his mother called back. “Come on. Let’s go get that coffee. And your cookie, if you behave.”

Jasper chuckled. God, it’s good to be home. He came back to the mountains as often as he could, but with his quest to find a mate taking up most of his time for the last few years, that hadn’t been much. Now that he was here, with the sky stretching endlessly overhead, and the peaks and valleys of the mountains promising hundreds of hours of fun adventures with his nephew…

Maybe it won’t be so hard.

Inside him, Jasper’s dragon curled into a tighter ball. Lately it had been doing that a lot. That, and shivering. Like it couldn’t decide whether it wanted to hold on, or flee.

He lowered his head and followed his sister down the street.

The town square was just as he remembered it from the last Christmas he’d spent in town. A giant tree stood in the centre, festooned with gold decorations and glowing with a thousand lights. More ropes of lights were strung out from the top of the tree, connecting to the shopfronts that ran around the edge of the square, and right on top of it was a massive star that twinkled in the lights that seemed to hang in the air below it. It was magical.

Which was silly for a dragon to think, but Jasper had always had a special place in his heart for all the trappings of Christmas. It was his birthday, after all. And a time when people came together in happiness and joy, and all good things. The perfect time of year. Especially these last few years. With his quest to find his mate being such a failure, Christmases at home with his family had been the one certainty in life he could rely on.

Some of the tension in Jasper’s chest unwound. He caught up with Opal in a few long strides and linked arms with her. “Where this coffee? My shout.”

“There— see the piles of exhausted parents under the tree?” Opal pointed.

Low benches and chairs were arranged around glowing braziers beneath the spreading branches of the massive Christmas tree. A coffee cart designed to look like Santa’s sleigh was parked in the middle of them, holding baristas in red and white costumes who were busily dispensing life-giving drinks to the lifeless-looking inhabitants of the chairs.

Opal sighed happily. “God, I love this place. Get me a Rudolph Special, will you? And Cole can have anything except the Jolly Fat Man donut surprise.”

Cole giggled. “The surprise is I threw it up!”

Opal collapsed into a cushioned chair. “No, sweetie. It’s three massive donuts cemented into a Santa the size of a toddler. You throwing it up after you scoffed it wasn’t a surprise.” She closed her eyes. *The surprise was you throwing it up on me while dive-bombing me when I was trying to put up the Christmas lights.*

“Gross, buddy.” Jasper reached up to ruffle his nephew’s hair. “You’re right, your mom definitely deserves a coffee. Let’s go get her one.”

A few minutes later, Opal revived enough to grab the drink Jasper passed her. The Rudolph Special was the coffee cart’s showstopper: a towering mug of whipped cream, caramel and raspberry syrup and chocolate