Page 13 of Cherished By Her Guardian

“I’m good, thanks,” Winterlyn said as she settled into one of two chairs across from the desk.

Declan took the other.

Santa stared at them for a moment, then folded his hands on the desk and said, “I just wanted to take a moment in private with you two and go over a few things. First, Winterlyn, I’m sorry that you’re not able to shift, but whatever you read online was wrong. The Well only works on magical people. I wish that it could heal whatever it is that’s not working with your shift, but it would do nothing at all to you.”

“I understand,” she said. “I knew it was a long shot, but I just felt like I needed to come up here.”

“Clearly because your mate is here,” Santa said.

Winterlyn glanced at Declan with a soft smile. “Definitely.”

“Does your family know where you are?” Santa asked.

“No, I didn’t tell anyone I was coming because I didn’t want them to try to talk me out of it. Every shifter knows that we’re not magic, and they would have encouraged me to just accept myself as I am, even though it kind of kills me all the time in the skulk.”

“What do you mean?” Declan asked.

“With my parents as the alphas and me being their only child, it always burns when I’m kept out of the loop of the skulk stuff. I used to go to the monthly gatherings when everyone shifts and hunts, but eventually my parents told me not to bother because it just made people uncomfortable that there was a shifter who couldn’t shift hanging around. And I think it made my parents uncomfortable too, as if people were questioning whether they were good alphas because I couldn’t shift.”

“That’s not got anything to do with them,” Declan said, his ire rising. “It’s the luck of the genetic draw and not your fault or anyone else’s. My pack doesn’t care if someone can shift or not, and I certainly don’t care. As my mate, you’d be welcomed as amember of the pack and could hang out with us whenever you wanted.”

“It sounds like your parents don’t know how to deal with your lack of shifting,” Santa mused. “But that’s on them, not on you. I do wish that I could be of help to you. If it were in my power to make you shift, I would.”

“So no asking for it for Christmas?” she asked with a chuckle.

Santa laughed. “Nope, sorry. Icouldget you the dollhouse you always asked for, though.”

Winterlyn’s mouth fell open. “What?”

Santa leaned back in the chair, and his eyes got a little lighter blue as he brought forth his magic. “Yep, a two-story dollhouse with furniture and a family of dolls. Two parents and two kids because you didn’t want the dolls to be only children.”

She let out a little squeak and then cleared her throat. “I…how did you remember that? I haven’t thought about that dollhouse in forever. My mom said I was getting too old, that I’d only play with it for a while, and it would take up space when I didn’t want it anymore. I kept asking for it, but I never got it.”

“I have to listen to parents in that situation,” Santa mused. “Otherwise the gift becomes a burden and causes strife.”

“I really don’t need anything,” Winterlyn said, looking at Declan with a smile. She took his hand and said, “I might not have gotten my fox, but I did get something even better.”

“When you two make a decision, let me know.”

Santa picked up a quill pen and lifted what Declan knew to be the Nice List. “That’s our cue,” Declan whispered.

Winterlyn nodded and said, “Thanks, Santa.”

“Anytime,” he said.

They left the office and walked to the employee breakroom, which had a few tables, refrigerator, and microwave for anyone who didn’t want to head to the main cafeteria. They grabbedtheir coats, carrying them with them as they walked through the underground passageway to the barracks.

She was quiet while they walked, and he let her have the silence.

He wondered if she believed that he didn’t care she couldn’t shift. Because he really didn’t. He was just so damn happy to have found his mate that he didn’t care if she’d been human or magical. He only cared that she was there with him.

“I have a question,” Winterlyn said when they reached his apartment. He hung her coat up in the closet and walked with her into the great room. He hit the switch to turn on the electric fireplace to take the chill out of the room and joined her on the couch.

“Ask away.”

“What did Santa mean when he said we had a decision to make? Did he mean about us being mates? Because I do know what we are, even though I’d really like it if you asked me to be your mate.”

“I promise I will,” he said. He took her hand and linked their fingers. “We have to decide if we’re going to stay here in Northernmost or go to the States with my pack or your skulk. I must stay here through Christmas Day, until Santa’s magic is replenished and the threat from Jack Frost is over for a while. Then we can do whatever we’d like.”

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