Page 6 of Saved By Her Guardian
“The party is Saturday night,” Maverick said.
Chase shook his head.“We don’t have to go.”
“No, I think you should,” Santa said.“We’ve got two days to implement new security protocols before you leave, and we’ll pull in more of the elves to fill in the gaps.I don’t want any Guardian to feel trapped here.We should be able to keep our people safe if any of our security team needs to leave.”He’d always let the shifters go home to see their people ahead of the holidays, and he didn’t feel right taking away their time from their families because his brother was a murderous asshole.
“We’ll leave Saturday and be back Sunday,” Asher said.
Santa nodded.“Thank you all.”
They nodded and left, and he was alone in his office once more.
Outside in the cubicles, his elf staff were working on the Naughty and Nice Lists and handling the day-to-day of overseeing a town full of magical people who protected the most important magical place in the world.
If his brother would just turn away from darkness, they could be a family again; they could start over.But Saint wasn’t sure that even his powerful magic could strip his brother of the evil that had bloomed within him.The simple twist of fate that Saint was born first had made him more powerful, but dark magic was different, sharper, and more toxic, and there was only so much that Saint could do.
It might come down to the point where he had to take out his own brother, but not before there was someone ready to take his place.The world couldn’t be without the bringer of winter.
He touched the ornament in his breast pocket.He felt the pulse of magic, and for the briefest of moments, he could still feel Maryann with him.
He knew that Angel was coming.
Jack Frost was planning to take over the Well and kill Santa, turning the world into a dark and unrecognizable evil hellscape.
The security team and the Guardians were integral in the stand against his brother, but the truth was that it all really rested on Saint.
And if he wasn’t ready, this might be the December that hope died—and darkness won.
Maverick Vaughn grabbed his duffel and checked the contents.He was only going to be away from Northernmost for one night, so he’d packed light.However, he was attending a party for his alphas’ new baby and needed a change of nicer clothes than his usual jeans and long-sleeved tee.Alpha Knox and his elf mate Ivy had welcomed their baby boy, Kaelen, in November and the snow leopard leap was throwing a big party to celebrate Saturday night.
After ensuring he had everything for the night, he picked up his duffel and walked out of his apartment, catching up with Asher and Chase, who were waiting for him in the gathering room outside of their apartments.Each shifter group had a set of apartments with a central room, so they had a place to hang out as well as their own private areas.
“Ready?”he asked, shouldering his duffel.
“Yep,” Asher said.
They walked out into the hall and followed it topside, stopping at the security office to pick up their fellow team members who were going along to ensure their safety as they headed through the Portal.
Shifters weren’t magical, so they couldn’t access the Portal, the only way in and out of Northernmost.Shifters, as well as humans, weren’t allowed in Northernmost save for the nine Yuletide Guardians who called it home.
“Hey, guys,” Sebastian, one of the wolf shifters, said when they walked into the office.“Ready to head to Kentucky?”
“Yes,” Maverick said.
Sebastian looked at the screen.“Marcus and Carver are on their way to escort you through the Portal, then I’ve got Heath and Alder opening a portal in the same location tomorrow at ten a.m.”
“Perfect,” Chase said.“It’ll be nice to get home, even if it is only for a day.”
Maverick agreed, especially after learning that witches and warlocks were missing and the signs pointed to Frost amassing an evil empire.The male was as unhinged as they came, and Maverick was thankful he didn’t have magic for the male to take.Not that shifters weren’t useful to him, because he’d been known to target shifters to try to get to Santa.
The door opened and Carver greeted them.“Let’s get you three home for the party.”
After saying goodbye to the security team, they headed out to the Portal, the huge structure made from the bones of an extinct magical creature.As they approached, Marcus, an elf like Carver, activated the Portal, which hummed to life and began to glow.
Because Jack Frost and his evil followers had targeted the Portal more than once last year as it drew closer to Christmas, the protocol now required extra security team members to check the area where the Portal was opened for signs of danger before allowing anyone else to go through.
Marcus walked through the Portal and was gone for a couple minutes, then returned and said, “All clear, and it’s so warm there!Holy crap.”
Maverick chuckled.“I used to think it was cold in the winter in Kentucky, but it’s all relative, you know?I think people farther south would think it’s cold here, but since we have to deal with such severe cold weather here in Northernmost, it seems downright balmy at home.”
