Christmas mornings were always fun when I was a kid. I didn't realize that 'magic' of Christmas happened all because mom made it happen until I was older. I almost was beginning to regret the next thing I was about to do as I stood at her bedside, watching her sleep. Her face was older, but she was still as pretty as my younger self thought. 

Going around to the other side of her bed, I climbed up. This was going to be a good reminder for her. Inhaling my breath, I began jumping as high as I could. "Get up! Get up! Get up, it's Christmas morning!" 

She jolted out of her sleep and was trying to get her balance in the midst of my jumping. “Amelia, will you knock it off for ten minutes? I swear you and Romulus have a sick obsession with cockblocking me and my sleep." 

Flopping down, I grinned at her. "Now you know how I felt all those years ago."

"It was Christmas morning and you had presents under the tree," she said while dropping her head back to her pillow. "You were taking too long to get up and I wanted to see your chubby face lit up with excitement. So sue me."

I giggled when she pulled the cover over her face. I did something similar when I was thirteen. Up until I was sixteen, she would burst into my room and pounce on my bed on Christmas morning. Reaching over the side of the bed, I grabbed the snowman wrapped gift box that I had placed there earlier. 

"Well will you come from under the covers? This gift isn't going to open itself." I sat the box between us, even though it sat partway on her. "Or I could just give it to Dad." 

She threw the covers back, glaring at me. "As if I'll let him have my Christmas gift. He can get his own." She scooped up the box, sitting it in her lap. "What'd you get me? It feels a little on the heavy side." 

It helped to be friends with Clara. With her bribing me into doing things and paying me to tutoring her, I usually had some money on me. It was how I could buy gifts on holidays and birthdays without feeling wrong if I had to use my mom's money. 

"Open it and see. Hopefully you like them." I shifted so I was sitting on my butt.

She smiled at me before tearing open the wrapping paper like a kid would. I was always that kid who would open her presents neatly and carefully much to Clara's annoyance. It was why she gave me my gifts in bags. Once I found out opening gifts slowly annoyed her, I couldn't pass up any opportunity to see that annoyed face she would make. 

Mom stared at the box for a moment. Then she held it up, a smile on her face and amusement in her eyes. "Shot glasses, huh?"

"Mad scientist themed shot glasses," I classified with a grin. 

The shot glasses were made like body parts— hands and feet. I used to go around calling mom the mad scientist after I caught her baking late one night. It didn't help that she actually looked like she had been whipping up something sinister. It wasn't until later I found out she was making me Halloween themed cupcakes for Clara and I's movie night. 

"It caused me a week worth of candy to get you to stop calling me that in public." She laughed and reached over to hug me. "Thank you so much, my Milly. I can't wait to see your dad's face when he notices them sitting around the kitchen. I'm using them as frosting tasting glasses." 

I laid down, facing her. "I can see that."

She slid her gift further down the bed. Laying down, she smiled at me. "Ok, we can get an hour more of sleep, and then we get ready. I think I want crepes for breakfast." 

"Can we have strawberry milk with it?" I knew the answer to that, but it was our routine for so long. It always amazed me how she could predict what I wanted on Christmas morning. I used to believe she was a mind reader at one point. That was until I discovered she was a well prepared person. 

She placed her hand against my cheek, still smiling. "We can have anything. It's Christmas, my dear." She closed her eyes. 

Two hours later and we were sitting on the floor around our tree, opening presents. Breakfast was amazing as always, and mom had Christmas music playing on low in the background. She was looking at a ugly sweater I had got her. The reaction on her face was priceless. I couldn't help asking her if she liked it. The knock on the door saved her from answering however. 

"I came with gifts. Guess that makes me Santa's good helper this year," Dad said walking into the living room.

Mom was right behind him, rolling her eyes. "More like Santa's thief. He was probably dropping those gifts off when you ran up behind him and knocked him out."

"Come on, Maya, you don't have to be so direct about it." He sat down beside me. 

I arched my eyebrow at him. "Really, Dad? Knocking Santa out puts you on the bad list."

"I was never on the good list anyway." He winked at me and placing a box in my lap. 

"My spot Romulus." Mom nudged him in the back with her knees.

I noticed she was opening up more to him. Hopefully, he will be able to live with us again. Well with mom. I was still holding out hope that Lucian would ask me to join his pack.

"Sharing is caring," he said quickly, adding. "Go on, Amelia, open it."

The box was covered in candy cane themed wrapping paper. I searched for a way to open it without tearing the paper, but the way it was wrapped made that a little impossible with the amount of tape covering the opening points.

"Your mother told me about your slow unwrapping habit. Figured I'll start breaking that habit. I can't believe my daughter is a neat unwrapper." He smirked at me. 

"It's because of Clara." I tore the paper. 

The paper was pulled back enough to reveal a box. I opened the lid and pulled out a white unicorn stuffed animal. "A toy."

The click of a camera going off had me looking at Dad. He was holding a new phone up at me. I narrowed my eyes at him. 

"I couldn't resist." He laughed as he stared at the picture for a moment. "I needed a wallpaper for this thing. Plus, I had to remind you that you are still my little girl."

"Thanks, but I'm getting you back for the gag gift." 

"Hopefully your real present will make you go softer on me next Christmas." He held out another box. This one was wrapped in silver with wolf's paw prints on it. 

I grinned and grabbed the gift, carefully opening this one, since it wasn't terribly wrapped as the first. When I opened the box this time, there was another box inside, only this was smaller and sitting on top of a leather book. I took both out. The book was a photo album with Trevino worded in elegant writing on the center. 

"Most of the Trevino family are inside there. Pictures, o'course, but their names are there. I want to add you inside and even my grandkids, will your permission. You don't have to though. I thought it would be nice to keep it going." He looked up at Mom, who nodded her head in approval.

"Sure. I'll be happy to, but should I really have this?" I touched the cover.

"You're my heir and next in our bloodline to become a leader, if I had a pack to give you." He quickly added, "It's tradition too."

I grabbed the smaller box that had me guessing a glass figurine was inside. When I opened it, I nearly threw it across the room. "Dad, is this real?" 

Inside the box sat an eye, staring up at me. A preserved eyeball. The thing was a bit creepy, but cool too. I did feel like it was literally watching me. 

"What possessed you to give her that thing?" Mom was next to me, staring down at the item. "Why do you even have it?"

"It's a family heirloom." He explained and looked at her. "It was a gift from the first emperor of werewolves. All the original six bloodline leaders were given one to show the emperor’s pledge to them." He picked it up from the box. "I used the thing as a paperweight. I figured you could do the same, unless you have your mother's creative mind that is."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mom nudged him in the back again. "And were all the gifts for Amelia?" 

He stiffened like a board. "About your gift, Maya." 

She narrowed her eyes only to give him a wicked smile. "No breakfast crepes for you, you jerk." 

While they bickered, I toned them out. Opening the family album, I smiled at the pictures and words there. My dad's family was big, and now I can learn a little about them. 

Later that evening, we headed out to dad's new car. He was driving us over to Edward Knight's place. Unfortunately, Clara couldn't come. She stopped by earlier to give us our gifts and hang out before she left to attend an abrupt family Christmas dinner. I asked her if she needed me to go, but she told me no. That she would be fine. I wasn't sure about that, but I trusted Clara. She gifted me a giant green gummy bear, and I gave her a wearable blanket with a black wolf on it. Dad gave her a necklace with a wolf claw on it, to which she commented that it smelled like him. He told her to keep it on until she married, which got a laugh from us both. Mom gave her a gift basket of sweets. Some with her name written on them. Clara had to give me one after I complained about the unfairness. 

"Hey, you think your mom likes the car?" Dad whispered to me.

We hung back a little on our way to the car. "I think so," I whispered back. Mom was touching the car, her back to us. 

"That's a relief. I picked it out with her in mind." 

"Let's go." 

Mom's voice had us righting ourselves. We hurried our steps to the car. Dad got behind the wheel of the suv hybrid, and I, naturally, got in the back. When mom brought up the topic of the new car, starting another light squabble, we were off to our destination.