Page 16 of Cherished By Her Guardian

Declan looked down at Winterlyn. She could still feel the press of his lips against hers and hear her fox in her head, chittering excitedly about finally finding their mate.

Her sexy, sexy mate.

His eyes flashed and he inhaled slowly with a low growl. “Female,” he whispered, cupping her head, his fingers sliding into her hair.

Hunter rapped his knuckles on the desk. “Get out of here, you degenerates. And congratulations again, if I didn’t say that before.”

She grinned at Hunter’s cantankerous tone.

“Let’s go,” she said. “The sooner we get down to the States, the sooner we can get back here.”

He wiggled his brows. “You have the best ideas.”

“The portal is so weird,” Winterlyn said as she walked through holding Delcan’s hand after the two elves—Finn and Carver—declared it was safe in Arctic Springs.

“Right? You’re in the North Pole but also you can see another part of the world through the Entrance,” Declan said.

“Give us about ten minutes to get to the portal and open it,” Finn said. “Have fun.”

“Thanks, guys,” Declan said.

The males stepped through the Entrance back into Northernmost, and the portal disappeared when it closed. She stared at the place where it had been, amazed at how there was no evidence that anything magical had been there.

“This place is amazing,” he said.

In the distance, the Adirondack Mountains were visible, lending a majestic view through the trees of her skulk’s territory.“When I was a kid, I used to go hiking with my dad in the mountains. They’re some of my favorite memories from my childhood.”

“That’s pretty cool,” he said. “There aren’t any mountains in Ohio, but plenty of creeks and rivers and lakes to mess around in, and all the woods a person could want.”

Over breakfast, they’d talked about their future. Because while they weren’t officially mated yet, it was simply a matter of time before it happened, and with the way her fox was harping on her to get down to business and make him theirs forever, they still had plans to make.

He was really happy in his job as a Guardian, although with Jack Frost targeting Santa to steal the Well of Magic, she was nervous for his safety. Clearly, though, her mate was a strong and protective male who knew how to take care of himself. And her too.

Although he’d told her there was time to decide where they’d live after Christmas Day, she knew for sure that she’d have to leave her parents’ skulk since only foxes were allowed. His pack would welcome her, thankfully, so they weren’t both losing their families and friends with the mating.

“Do you think your parents will like me?” he asked as his gaze dropped to the home belonging to the alphas that was visible through the trees.

“Considering they thought I might be alone forever? Absolutely.”

“Even if you have to leave the skulk?”

“Leaving for a mate is far different than being exiled for doing something wrong. My parents will remove me from the membership of the skulk, but I’ll still be their daughter and welcome to visit and bring you with me. We just can’t do skulk activities like go hunting or go to parties and ceremonies.” She was hardly losing anything because she’d always felt like anoutsider at the activities anyway. “Are you sure your parents won’t mind that I can’t shift?”

This question made her stomach hurt, but she felt like she needed him to be sure. She didn’t want to lose him, but if he backed away now before her heart got fully involved, at least she could hope to heal from it.

Ah, who was she kidding? She’d never get over him walking away from her.

She hoped to hell he never did.

He turned to face her, his eyes blending from green to amber.

“Sweetheart, I don’t care that you can’t shift. And my family won’t either. When I take you to meet my parents, they’re going to love you.” He pulled her close so suddenly that the breath gusted from her lungs as she squeaked in surprise and slammed against his hard chest. He growled softly, the amber eclipsing the green entirely. His scent deepened, turning more woodsy, reminding her of fall nights, crackling bonfires, and falling leaves.

Her body responded. Immediately.

A branch snapped nearby, and he swung her around behind him with a snarl, hiding her from whoever was near them.

She peeked around her big mate and saw her dad.

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