A True Alpha Christmas by Alisa Woods Page B

was part of their inner selves. The scents were even more crisp and fresh at night, without the heat of the day to bake them together. When Mia and Lev broke free of the darkness of the forest, the moon’s glory sent a flush of giddiness through her. Maybe it was the magic in her blood—or it could simply be that the moon was beautiful.
    The meadow they had reached was broad, with a single, large tree looming in the center. It was a lone giant, towering at least fifty feet tall, but so perfectly symmetrical that it must have been hand-groomed. The tree was still dark, which meant they hadn’t missed anything… she hoped. Several dozen people milled around the base of it, clumped mostly in pairs. Mia and Lev were still a hundred yards from the group, and half of them had their faces in moon shadow. It was hard to pick anyone out. But one of the darkened shapes seemed to spot them and quickly broke away.
    For a moment, Mia was afraid it might be Lucas—but the form was too slight and the gait too feminine. As she got closer, the moon silvered her face: Rebecca. She smiled as she jogged the rest of the way, leaving a trail of moon-lit breath frozen in the air behind her. Mia glanced at Lev, but he was keeping it cool, so she just turned back to greet the apparently gleeful intern. Rebecca grabbed Mia’s two gloved hands in hers and gave them a squeeze.
    “I’m so glad you came!” Rebecca exclaimed.
    Mia leaned back a little, but then Lev moved to Rebecca’s side, and a small smirk was fighting its way onto his face. She dropped Rebecca’s hands and gaped at Lev: he completely set her up. 
    “All’s fair, New Girl.” His dark eyes sparkled in the moonlight.
    Mia shoved a gloved palm into Lev’s shoulder. “You. Totally. Lied to me.” She punctuated each word with another smack against his shoulder.
    He held back a grin, putting up his hands in mock defense. “Hey, not in front of my date!” He reached for Rebecca’s hand, and when she took it, his grin broke out completely. The moon lit both his smile and Rebecca’s. The fact that they were together forced a smile to Mia’s face as well. But having Lev’s romantic problems apparently solved for the moment only rushed back the dread about her own reunion with Lucas. Mia’s smile faded as she glanced over Lev’s shoulder and saw a tall form standing separate from the others: his face was shadowed, but she didn’t have to see it to know it was Lucas.
    “Oh, come on, New Girl,” Lev said, “it’s not going to be that bad. I promise.” He was still holding Rebecca’s hand, but he beckoned Mia with the other.
    She trudged through the snow alongside them. “So what really happened?” She jabbed a finger at Lev. “And I want to hear it from Rebecca, because I’m not trusting another word out of your mouth, Lev Sparks.”
    He grinned like he couldn’t have been more proud of that fact. Mia just shook her head.
    Rebecca peered up at Lev, who was a good two or three inches taller than her. “Did you tell her the Colin story? Or the version where you rescued me from Steven’s bad jokes but that I insisted on a chaperone for our date?”
    He shrugged. “She would have totally seen through the chaperone story. On the other hand, Colin’s a believable villain in almost any tale.”
    “Oh my god,” Mia said, her mouth falling open again. “I can’t believe you two.”
    “Hey, you almost ruined all my plans, New Girl,” he protested. “I had the perfect date set up, and then I had to come wrangle you out of your sulk.”
    “Wrangle me? I was just fine where I was, Lev.” Mia dropped her voice because they were approaching the group.
    He snorted. “Yeah, right.” Then he smirked. “Jupiter didn’t think it could be done. Obviously she hasn’t seen me in action often enough to know my true capabilities.”
    Mia shook her head. “So that’s what the texting was all about.”
    Lev shrugged. “Well, it wouldn’t have worked, if you’d