Page 26 of Cherished By Her Guardian

She heard Declan shout her name, and then she was on the ground, and the shadowy figure hovered over her, a golden, glinting blade poised at her heart.

Shit.

One minute, his mate was at his side and the next, she was plowing full tilt into the strange shadow he’d only just noticed. He howled and charged after her, snarling as he saw the shadow, who appeared to be cloaked in something that made them look like the night sky, lift a blade to strike his mate. Barreling into the figure, he knocked him off Winterlyn and rolled away from her.

“Get to safety, Winterlyn!” he shouted.

Fangs and claws ready, he slashed at the cloaked figure, knocking the blade from his hand. As the cloak shredded around him, and Declan fought with all his might, he knew he was fighting one of Frost’s followers.

He slammed his head against the male’s, stunning him for a moment, then grasping his throat and squeezing tightly.

He heard the sounds of fighting, and in of his peripheral vision, he saw the Guardians fighting followers, a battle raging outside the safety of the perimeter. Winterlyn was inside the perimeter with the other females, elves around them for protection.

Someone knocked him away from the follower, and he leaped to his feet with a snarl, tossing off the follower who’d tackled him. The male he’d tackled reached for the blade and aimedfor Santa, who was almost through the perimeter’s protective bubble.

Declan ignored the male trying to hold him back and jumped at the male with the blade, knocking him down once more. This time, he snatched the knife from his hand and pushed it down into his chest. Hot blood, black like the dark magic Frost used, flowed over Declan’s hand. The blade fractured and split apart, but the damage was done.

Declan rose to his feet with a triumphant howl, watching as Santa descended entirely through the perimeter, protected once more from those outside of it.

“Frost, you cowardly asshole!” Declan declared. “Your follower is dead, your plan in ruins. Eat a dick.”

The followers raced away as if they’d received a message to abandon the battle and return to Frost’s lair, and maybe they had. No one really knew what Frost was capable of when it came to his people.

“That’s Valeth,” Storm said as he looked down at him. “That’s Frost’s number two.”

“Good,” Declan said. “But I couldn’t have gotten him if it wasn’t for Winterlyn noticing the blade flashing in the darkness.”

Suddenly, his knees went out as he realized he could have lost her.

Storm grabbed him. “Whoa, you okay, man?”

“I…shit. My mate’s impulsive.”

Storm laughed and gave him a shoulder to lean on as they made their way back through the perimeter. Santa was at the Well, touching the glowing magic and replenishing himself.

Winterlyn raced to Declan. Storm let go of him just as she hugged him fiercely, the air scenting of the saltwater of her tears.

“I’m so sorry I almost got you killed!” she whispered with a rough voice. “I saw the blade and I didn’t think.”

He tilted her face to his. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t faster. You could have died.”

“You saved me,” she said.

“You both saved me,” Santa said, his voice deep and strong as his magic replenished fully. “You all did. The Guardians and the security team took out a dozen of Frost’s followers, including that asshole Valeth, who’s been a thorn in our backside for a long, long time.” He rose to his feet. “I believe he was aiming that blade for me. It was probably laced with magic to reach me, but Winterlyn’s intervention, followed by Declan’s fight with Valeth, saved me, saved the Well, and saved the magical people. Without the Guardians, the elves, and the mates—today might have been the worst day in magical history. But we can rejoice because Frost lost the fight today.”

Everyone cheered, and Declan grabbed his mate in a tight hug and lifted her off the ground. “Let’s promise not to go rushing off into danger.”

“You’re talking about me,” she said, burying her face in his neck with a laugh. “I raced off into danger. You raced afterme.”

“Let’s not do that again.”

“I promise,” she said. She lifted her head and kissed him, then pressed her forehead against his. “That was so scary. I don’t ever want to tempt fate again.”

He was damn glad for that.

Setting her on her feet, he let her go so she could hug her friends, and then they followed Santa into the security building for their annual debrief. While the threat to Santa and the Well was over for today, now that the sun was up and he was safely within the perimeter of Northernmost, it didn’t mean they could rest easy.

Security team members patrolled the town as the Guardians sat around a large conference room table. Santa allowed the mates to join them for this debrief, where they reviewed theevents of the night, from Santa’s trip to the battle that everyone had expected to happen, but no one had known what it might entail.

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