Nysys wants a happy Christmas, and the only obstacles to that are Bradley and his hunters. Nysys could let Dominic take care of them, of course, but he's not a council member for nothing. It's time Bradley gets what he deserves, and Nysys is just the man to do that. With his faithful sidekick Keenan, Nysys will save Christmas, buy embarrassing presents, and make everyone in the pride happy—or he'll die trying.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea?” Keenan asked.
He looked worried, which was never a good thing. The last thing Nysys wanted was for Jonah to kick his ass for upsetting his mate. “Of course I am. Have any of my ideas ever gone wrong?”
Keenan stared. “Uh, yes. There was that time with the pink paint in Dominic’s office—”
“That didn’t end badly.”
“Depends on what you intend by badly, I guess. I didn’t particularly enjoy having to clean up after meals for an entire week.”
Nysys waved Keenan’s words away. “That was nothing.”
“Yeah, because somehow you always had something to do when it was clean-up time. You still owe me for that, by the way.”
“Fine. I’ll buy you a second Christmas present.”
Keenan still looked worried, and Nysys didn’t like it. Everyone in the house looked worried. He understood it—it wasn’t every day that a group of human hunters led by a crazy wolf shifter was about to attack the pride at any moment. Nysys hoped Dominic would take care of Bradley’s cray-cray ass before Christmas, though, because he couldn’t take everyone looking like they were at a funeral on Christmas. He’d go kill Bradley himself if he needed to. No one ruined Nysys’s Christmas, not even wolves with not enough crayons in their box.
“We probably shouldn’t,” Keenan said. “Everyone’s focused on the hunters. They don’t need us distracting them with decorations and stuff.”
“They can’t only live for the hunters.”
“Isn’t it the opposite? Like, they can’t live if they don’t take care of the hunters?”
“Whatever. So, are you in? I want it to be a surprise.”
Keenan looked around the living room. “They probably won’t notice anything.”
Nysys sighed. He’d thought it would be easier to convince Keenan. He was usually in when Nysys had an idea. “Look, I get it. Everyone is scared about what’s going to happen. We all know we could lose people, and we have no idea when Bradley is going to attack. I’m scared, too. But we can’t let Bradley run our lives. That’s just letting him win, and I don’t know about you, but that’s the last thing I want.”
Keenan cocked his head. “You’ve been watching too many cheesy movies.”
Nysys threw his hands in the air. “That’s because you never play with me anymore! The pride needs to have more fun, and that’s not going to happen if everyone stays in the doom and gloom mood. What better way to cheer people up than decorating the house and buying gifts?”
“Okay, I’m in for the decorations, but not for the gifts.”
Nysys pouted. “Why not?”
“Because you buy the worst gifts known to man.”
“That’s not true!”
“It so is! Remember last year, when you bought butt plugs for everyone?”
“At least I didn’t crochet ugly hats.”
Keenan gasped. “You said you loved my hats.”
“Yeah, in your dreams.”
“I’m a lot better now.”
Nysys grinned. “Good. You can help me with my gifts, then.”
Keenan narrowed his eyes. “What did you have in mind? I don’t trust that face.”
“It’s my everyday face. I can’t change it, no matter how much I try.”
“You try to change your face?”
“Sometimes. How do you think I’d look with bigger lips?” Nysys made a duck face and posed. “Huh? How do I look?”
“Like an idiot. Are you taking a selfie?”
“Or maybe I could get a smaller nose.”
“Your nose is perfect, Nys. Don’t even think about changing anything. I’ll help Morin kick your ass if you do.”
“But then I’d have to redo my ass.”
Keenan frowned. “What?”
“If you kick it too hard.”
Keenan shook his head. “Okay, let’s stop talking about ass kicking and plastic surgery. You’ll never have it, so there’s no use talking about it. Tell me why you need my help for your Christmas gifts.”
Nysys threw his hands in the air. “Because I can’t crochet, okay?”
Keenan blinked, and Nysys hoped he wouldn’t ask any more questions. He should have known better. “Why do you want to crochet your gifts? I thought you’d buy everything at the sex shop like always.”
Nysys huffed. “I can’t help it that a few of the people in this house are party poopers and don’t like it when I buy them sex toys. I just want them to have a fulfilling sex life! Am I so bad for wanting that?”
“Not bad, but not everyone likes the same thing, Nys. You can’t bulk-buy sex toys, no matter how much fun it is.”
“That’s why I need your help. I looked for other things, but they’re not as nice or fun as sex toys.”
Keenan sighed. “Fine. I know I’m going to regret this, but what did you have in mind?”
