Santa's Curse

Prologue

The Yule log crackled in the fireplace, making the room feel nice and warm. While the smells of apple, cinnamon, and other fresh baked holiday treats permeated the air. The only sound to be heard was the creak of the rocking chair as the children jumped onto her lap. "Listen closely, and I'll tell you the tale of how Santa Clause truly came to be. Once upon a time, there was a beautiful enchantress. Her ebony locks cascaded in thick, black waves down to the middle of her back. Her skin was the same color of the sweetest chocolate, with curving eyelashes surrounding shimmering, golden eyes encased in a rounded, angelic face that belied a look of innocence. She possessed a voluptuous body that most humans would call overweight, but her weight was in all the right places, and made most of the other supernatural beings fall in love with her at first sight. If not love, at least lust. Her name was Jadine Lanstross.

She was a fun and loving free spirit, and her powers were more than formidable, though she didn't use them very often. Jadine was forever afraid that if she overtaxed her powers, one day she might no longer have them. Most thought her silly for it, thought it was a waste to let so much magick go untapped. Jadine figured if she was going to be alive for at least a millennium she wasn't taking any chances of doing so without magic. Yes, even an enchantress can be paranoid and a hypochondriac; it's not just a human thing.

Her sister, Jacquelyn, thought she was a waste of magic and space. It wasn't always that way, because Jacquelyn used to adore her older sister. When Jacquelyn was a small child, she used to look up to Jadine. She followed behind her like a lovesick puppy dog, wanting so much to be just like her. But, just as human females had the tendency to turn into cold-hearted bitches during puberty, Jadine did not, but Jacquelyn did. Unlike most human females, Jacquelyn didn't grow out of it. Everything became convoluted in her mind and took on a new, much darker light. Even though their parents loved them both equally, Jacquelyn grew tired of the way they doted on Jadine, acting as though she was a piece of fragile glass they had to keep protected because of how sensitive she was. Just because Jacquelyn didn't cry at every drop of the dime like her big sister, it didn't mean she didn't want to be shown the same amount of attention. The knowledge that Jadine's powers surpassed her own, yet she hardly ever used them, felt like a slap in the face. Jacquelyn thought her sister was a fucking idiot for even thinking she would run out of magic, which made her wish she could just syphon it from her and use it for herself. They say there is a thin line between love and hate. Jacquelyn both loved her sister, and hated her fucking guts.

What really heated Jacquelyn's blood was the fact that she was model-thin, perfect latte complexion, with eyes the color of a metallic midnight blue sea, and thick, luscious dark brown locks of hair flowing down her back. Yet it was Jadine that all the males fawned over, competing for her devotion as they continuously attempted to court her. If it wasn't for fickle human men, Jacquelyn would probably still be a virgin, and she was already pushing one hundred years of age, which was more like twenty-five in human years.

But, none of them meant her sister any damn good, but Jadine was too rainbow-eyed to ever realize it. The ironic part? Jadine was in such fear of using up her magic that she failed to notice how the males she bedded all walked away a little more powerful. While most men adored Jadine, her poor fool sister tended to choose all the wrong ones—the rule breakers, heart takers, and just plain assholes. She was so busy seeing the best in everybody that she became blind to their worst parts. Since Jacquelyn loved her sister more than she hated her, she did away with the fucktards who hurt her one by one.

Oh, she didn't kill them, if that's what you're thinking. Jacquelyn was far more creative than that. Since the majority of them acted like children anyway, she cast a spell on them to look the age they acted like, and threw in pointy ears for good measure, so they couldn't even attempt to mix in amongst humans. Wouldn't do to have any of the vampires or shifters confused for regular humans. She also cast them far away from their alcove, that was hidden from human eyes, to the coldest, most desolate land in the north.

She had a special dislike for vampires in general, due to how they always teased her, saying how she didn't have enough meat on her bones to hold the amount of blood needed to feed even a baby vampire. So, she tacked on an added extra to their spell; they would only feed on one night out of the year, and only a small amount from each victim they fed from. She did give them the ability to flash or teleport, so they could do so undetected, but they had to leave a small gift for each human. And what better day to do that than on the eve of the humans' most famed holiday, Christmas?

But there was one vampire in particular that set her blood boiling. He had been a thorn in her side since grade school. Enchantress' were a different sect of witches—more powerful, more long-lived—and they were practically immortal, like the vampires. Which is how many of them ended up being together, most quite literally grew up together. This particular asshat was the ringleader of all of the teasing, and he continued to pester her well after their schooling was finished.

Then the tall, handsome, drool-worthy fucktard had the audacity to start seeing Jadine in secret. He never took her sister out on a proper date, always met with her alone. She would catch him coming in and out of Jadine's home with a dumbass grin on his face. Would catch them together in various places talking, then they would quickly stop as soon as they saw her.

Honestly, who did he think he was? With his long, thick, jet black hair that sat just past his muscular shoulders. His hard but beautiful features looked as though he had been chiseled from stone and brought to life. He had gunmetal grey eyes, surrounded by eyelashes so thick and long any male or female would envy them. And his body? It was no wonder he was such an arrogant, cold-hearted, jack—"

"Woman, are you telling that story again?"

"Of course, dear. It is their favorite Yuletide story."

"Well, could you at least lay off on calling this poor, misunderstood male so many cruel names?"

She laughed a little at his mock outrage, then replied with a smile as she winked at him, "Anything for you. Now, children, where were we?"

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