The Alien Reindeer's Winter Cabin

By Cindy Heart

Did Santa bring me my Fated Mate?​

When I retired from pulling Santa's sleigh, my only desire is to settle down in a mountain cabin on a little planet called Earth and never talk to anyone again. That is until I'm hit by a car during a blizzard. When I meet the gorgeous, curvy angel who was driving the car, I immediately want to put her on top of my Christmas tree.​ ​But other aliens have made their way to Earth, too. The kind who destroys entire planets. The only way to protect Holly would be to leave her behind and force the monsters to follow me. That isn't going to happen, though. Nothing is going to come between my mate and me.​ ​

 

All I want is a freaking jolly Christmas!​

My holiday cheer is put to the test when I'm robbed at work on Christmas Eve and forget about my parents' anniversary party. Dashing through the snow, things take a turn for the worse when I hit something. Then the crazy naked man who'd been running through the woods yells at me. I'd kill him if I could stop myself from staring at his breathtaking body.​ ​ If this fool of a reindeer shifter thinks I'm going to let him save Christmas from the other aliens all by himself, I'll have to kiss some sense into him. We're like a good pair of winter mittens, complete opposites but a perfect pair when we're together.​

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cindy Heart
• Release date: May 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201759995

Cindy Heart

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Book preview

Chapter 1 - Rein’ok

Y ou’ll never be happy alone and without a purpose, but I suppose you won’t learn that until you follow through with this plan of yours. Good luck, Rein’ok. Ho ho ho.

The fat man in the red suit climbs back into his sleigh and disappears in the night sky.

Still in my reindeer form, I scamper through the snow.

It’s not enough.

I need to shed that old life as surely as I need to shed these antlers. It’s time for new growth, a new life.

A whole new me.

I shift into the shape Saint Nick always called my human form. It wasn’t until a year ago when I committed to starting this new life that I even knew what a human or Earth was. Each time I’d visited in the past, it was just more beings on yet another planet as we zoomed around the universe delivering presents on yet another special night to the locals.

No longer.

I’m free.

After shifting, I have no clothes. Who needs that restriction, anyway?

I run naked through the snow. It’s cold, but I refuse to shift into my reindeer form. It’s bearable, and if I have my way, I’ll never assume my animal shape again. It’s taken forty years to work up the nerve to break free from Kris Kringle and the grind and the constant cheerful singing of the elves.

I didn’t even bother to look in advance at what the new cabin Saint Nick promised me looks like. Anything is better than living in the stables in a winter wonderland. Whatever it takes to get away from that monstrous perversion of merriment is good enough for me.

I’m done with society. It’ll just be me, myself, and I from now on.

The trees are a blur as I dash past them. I spread my arms and laugh while trying to catch snowflakes on my tongue. I haven’t felt this alive since I first started the two-year training program to pull the sleigh when I was six years old.

The snow is falling so heavily I can barely see past the end of my nose. It’s the kind of weather that smug little bastard with the glowing red nose always went on and on about. The little primo Donner was always looking for a way to show just how special and amazing he was.

And he wondered why people never invited him to play cards with them.

But he’s not here, so the snow is perfect. In addition to feeling so amazing, it provides cover. If there are any other creatures on this planet, it will make it very easy to stay out of sight. My dream is to spend the rest of my days bunkered down in a cabin by a stream, catching and growing my own food, and seeing nobody else.

After forty years of visiting millions of houses on Christmas Eve every year, and the rest of my time around a bunch of over-cheery elves hopped up on highly caffeinated pumpkin spice coffee, all I want is to be left alone.

Ebenezer had it right.

Bah humbug.

I turn up the steep incline, desperate with the need to reach the top and see the world around me. The slippery terrain nearly makes me decide to shift, but I hold off and slow to a walk instead. I’m on my own clock from now on. There’s no need to rush, no deadlines or quotas to meet.

I’m all alone and wouldn’t change it for the world.

Ahead of me, the trees clear, and a small, rundown cabin appears, ruining my moment. The last thing I want is company, but there are no signs of life. No smoke rises from the chimney. No flickering nor steady lights shine inside the building. As I creep closer, I see the front door wide open.

He didn’t leave me with this dive, did he?

Sure, it’s better than working for the man for one more second, but even I have my limits.

If the place wasn’t so tiny, I would have run past and never gave it another thought. The front door probably never stays closed.

I can fix it.

I’m already adjusting my expectations. It’ll be perfect; small, remote, and without all the bells and whistles that lead to a lifetime of constant maintenance.

Silent as any of the Santas themselves, I climb the one step that leads to the tiny porch. Without any lights in the small cabin, I can’t see more than a foot inside the door. I bump the door when I creep through the opening.

After all, I still don’t know if this is really my place or not. I count to ten before moving again to verify nobody heard.

Standing firmly in the middle of the cabin, my eyes adjust to the darkness.

There is no furniture besides an old, ratty couch and a simple coffee table. No wall hangings. No dirty dishes in the sink. The place is entirely abandoned.

There are a pair of jeans, a plain white t-shirt, underwear, and socks on the couch. A pair of tennis shoes sit on the floor in front of them. There’s also a nightshirt to wear while sleeping. I quickly dress in the underwear and nightshirt before inspecting the rest of the cabin.

The main entry space has a small living room with a fireplace and a kitchen with a simple stove and fridge. No wall divides the two rooms.

The fridge is empty, but it does light up when opened.

A quick check of the two smaller rooms tells me the cabin has one bathroom and one bedroom with a small bed. My old boss even left me pillows, sheets, and blankets. He never could resist the chance to give someone a gift.

My good fortune nearly makes me want to frolic before remembering I don’t need to frolic anymore. I can just smile, scratch my stomach, and nod my head to show my contentment.

If I play my cards right, I might never need to see anyone else ever again, and I definitely won’t need to give the greedy bastards around the universe any more presents.

I start a fire in the fireplace. The room quickly warms. No more nightshirts for me. I strip down to my boxers, and in a final act of rebellion, remove those too.

I’m a raw, wild, solitary beast of nature from now on. I’ll even allow myself to shift again because there’s no need to deny that portion of my being.

This new life will do just