Page 13 of The Naughty List Agreement

And then it did.

Pete Krampus lounged against the wall next to the portal that led to Thornreach.

Pete was six foot six and sported a buzz cut on the sides with longer hair on top which he styled straight back, revealing the tattoos on the side of his neck. He wore a suit jacket, no shirt, and black ripped jeans with a pair of combat boots. There were more tattoos on his chest, each one a warning about punishment and the price of consequences in different languages.

“Nicholas.”

Cora put her hand on Nick’s elbow for a moment. She gave herself a nearly imperceptible shake, withdrawing her hand.

“Pete.”

Pete looked big, dark, and intimidating. It was part and parcel of who he was. He wasn’t looking at Nick.

“I’m Cora Quill,” she said into the silence, offering Pete her hand.

“Pete Krampus,” he said, grazing his thumb along her knuckles.

Cora shivered and looked at a spot on his chest where his jacket hung open. “Does your tattoo say Be Good for Goodness’ Sake?”

“Nick has a matching one,” Pete said with a smirk.

Cora pivoted quickly back to him. “Drunk night out? Oh, I need to hear the story. Want to join us?”

“Love to,” Pete said.

Cora opened the door into Frosty Jack’s, but Nick stepped in front of Pete. “We’ll join you in a minute.”

Cora looked between them and then shrugged and disappeared into the bar.

Nick turned to face Pete. His presence here was no accident.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

CHAPTER 4

“You put her name on the Naughty List this morning. Why are you so confused about why I’m here?” Pete asked. “What’s this really about?”

“I’m trying to redeem her,” Nick told him. “The Yearweave Lumen will get a huge boost if I can get her back on the Nice List.”

“I’m all for boosting Lumen, but why now? Her knot is black for a reason. I’ve had a Thornwatch elf at her side her for years. The way she shines a spotlight on an ‘it toy’ generates envy instead of joy. She fabricates scarcity as a strategy to raise prices. Black Lumen is spiking all around the Winter Wonderland, and your approach for the last five years has done nothing to change her,” Pete said, inhaling deeply, shadows growing around them as his cousin flexed his power. “You’re too late, cuz. It’s time for me to take over and try it my way.”

Crackling black frost scraped across the wall, leaving behind a jagged pattern of bare branches and Nick felt a physical sensation of dread weighing on his chest. He flicked his fingers, pushing intricately delicate and brightly glistening snowflake patterns into the creeping, dark frost fingers. The dreadful sense of foreboding began to lift, bringing back hope and joy to fend off Pete’s grim pressure.

“I sense good in her,” Nick bit out, refusing to acknowledge their frosty battle. “Her knot is tangled but not fully corrupted.”

“You added her name to the list. She’s mine now.” Nick didn’t want to admit that this was technically correct.

“You’ve always been jealous of me, but do you crave my job so badly that you actually want her to fail? We both know if the dark knots take over the Yearweave, then you get to do things your way. Punishing people, shaming them, frightening them into changing? Redemption is part of your realm, too, Pete.”

“Is that what you think I’m doing?” Pete asked with a casual shrug. “You’ve been gentle-parenting Naughty Listers for too long and look where it’s got us. The Yearweave is darker than ever and you’re running around trying to save one soul? You’ve never been able to see the bigger picture, Nick.”

“Every soul matters, Pete. There’s no such thing as a lost cause.” Nick wasn’t giving up on getting Cora back on the Nice List. That flash of vulnerability told him Cora’s choices stemmed from a deep wound in her past, and that Pete’s methods would only drive her further from the Nice List. Nick decided to roll the dice and take a gamble. “Let’s make a deal. Her soul isn’t entirely black yet. Give me until Christmas Eve to get her to mend her ways, and after that she’s yours. I won’t stand in your way.”

Pete seemed to consider Nick’s offer.

“And until then? If she tips fully over, I won’t wait for the twenty-fourth.”

“If she stays the same or improves then I get her until the twenty-fourth,” Nick said.