Page 32 of Saved By Her Guardian
He gave a soft bark and followed her to the gate.
She closed the gate behind her and opened a portal.As she stepped through, her heart a little lighter after visiting with Church, she heard three sharp howls and she waved at him as the portal closed.
With a sigh, she exited the portal back in Northernmost, and the familiar cold of the top of the world hit her like a snowy brick.She’d had a busy night moving from one ferrying job to the next, but taking a little while to visit Church had been time well spent.
Now, she was looking forward to a little downtime and hanging out with Winterlyn.
Maverick was waiting for her as he always was, his face lighting up when his gaze landed on her.
“Hey, baby,” he said when she stepped into his arms and kissed him.“How was your shift?”
“Good.I was busy so the time went by fast, and I stopped to see Church before I came here.”
“Oh yeah?How’s he doing?”
“He’s fine, I just wanted to say hi.”
“I’m glad you’re able to do that.Do you think he’s lonely?”
“No.But he did seem happy to see me.”
“I’m sure he was.So, do you want to eat first?’
“No, I’m good.I can’t wait to see you in your shift!”
“I have to be in my shift for a few hours, remember.”
“I remember.”She smiled at him.They walked through the security building and out to the barn where the reindeer were being tended to by elves.The other Guardians had gathered and Aralyn waved at Winterlyn, who was standing with Declan.
“I don’t suppose there’s anything for you guys to hunt up here?”she asked as they all moved into one of the storage barns so they could strip and shift before heading out into the cold.There were three polar bears, three wolves, and three snow leopards.
“Nah,” he said.“We just chase each other and run around.If we don’t shift regularly we can get testy.”
“I’m glad I finally get to see it.”
He pulled her away from the others and they talked while he stripped.It was hard not to get turned on by the whole thing.Maverick was one sexy male, but she really did want to see him turn into his snow leopard.
“Ready?”he asked.
“Show me,” she whispered.
He shifted in front of her and she didn’t think she blinked once as he transformed from a big, sexy male to a sleek snow leopard.He stretched, his tail whipping back and forth, and then he stalked to her with a purr and butted her knees with his head.
She squatted down to stroke his soft fur, marveling at how amazing it was that she was actually touching a snow leopard and it was also her mate!
“You’re gorgeous,” she said.“But I think you’re pretty studly in your human form too.”
Maverick yowled like he was agreeing with her and she laughed.
When the others had shifted, they headed outside.She got to see the polar bears and wolves up close and laughed with Winterlyn as the guys chased each other, snow fluffing up as they skidded around and played like little kids after a big snowfall.
She and Winterlyn sat on a fallen log and talked while the guys ran around, nine shifters who worked for Santa to keep the world’s magic safe.
For the first time in a very long time, she felt at peace.
She had some regrets about her rebellion against her uncle, but if she hadn’t said no to her original assignment, she might never have met Maverick, and that was a hell she didn’t want to contemplate.She had her mate by her side, and that was all that really mattered.
When it was time for them to return to their human form, they went back into the barn and she watched him turn back into a man.He hugged her and said, “What did you think?”
