Twelve Dates For Christmas

Chapter 11- Millie

Waking on Christmas Eve to a house full of delicious men should have been strange, but it had been too many days for me to even remember that I should care.

That is, until my mother called. I answered it, still in my bedroom, hoping she wouldn't pick up on any of the background noise. Fortunately for me, she was focused on showing off my littlest brother, Donny, wearing matching sweaters with my mom and dad. The too-cool-for-my-family expression he wore the entire time made me laugh.

"We miss you so much," Mom said with sadness thick in her voice.

My eyes welled with tears I hadn't known I'd needed to shed until the first one fell. "I miss you too, Mom. So much."

"I'm so sorry you didn't get my package yet, that storm must have slowed things down."

I nodded. "I'm sure it'll arrive on the twenty-seventh. It's not a big deal; it just means Christmas will last for days."

My smile was swiftly wiped away by my mother's curious "Oh?"

"Um, well, Ollie got me something, so I have that to open," I said quickly.

The three men inside my house chose that moment to drop something. Loudly.

"Millie, are you okay?" my mom asked.

I gritted my teeth. "Yeah, I'm fine." I tried to keep my voice even.

The jerks had to know I was on a call with my mom—they had supernatural hearing and all that.

A knock came at my door and Laz said, "Hey, witchlette, are you going to come eat pandoro with us? Roth gets moody if everyone doesn't have a slice."

I nearly face-palmed.

My mother's voice suddenly became higher. "Millie, why is there a boy in your house?"

The door opened and Laz poked his head inside. "Hi there, Millie Davis's mom. I'm Laz, one of Millie's boyfriends."

"Shut up," I hissed.

"Boyfriends?" my dad barked, his face suddenly filling the screen.

I sighed. "I'll explain it later, I promise—"

Alex walked into the room, holding a plate of cake, but stopped dead when he saw the scene. "Am I interrupting?"

"Boyfriends?" my mom repeated, though now she sounded more like she wanted to come through the phone and start cursing people.

"Laz, Alex, please leave. I'm trying to talk to my mom."

Laz's smile fell. "I just wanted your family to know that you're in good hands and wouldn't be spending Christmas alone. Besides, what better way to tell your parents you've found your mates than by surprising them?" He waved his hands as though performing a magic trick.

I groaned. He was right, I needed to tell them. I'd been so blissfully content with our little bubble I'd forgotten about everyone outside it. Even Ollie.

"Mom. Dad," I began, turning the camera to face the demon and the vampire. "This is Lazeer and Alex. I met them at the bar I work at. We're kind of...soul bonded."

"Two of them?" I heard my mom shriek.

My dad took the phone from her. "What brand of other are they?"