Page 11 of Awakened By Her Guardian

“It’s a good word.”

It was his turn to chuckle. “Yeah, it is.” He sighed and drew a little closer to her, wrapping his arms around her. “Every year, Frost gets more devious and more dangerous. Last year, he nearly killed one of the Guardians to save himself from a binding spell cast by Emberlin, who lives here in Northernmost. I don’t think anyone is safe, really. He has zero morals.”

“It’s safer here, and I feel very safe with you.”

“I’m glad. I would do anything to keep you safe.”

“Can I see you shift sometime?”

“Absolutely. My wolf would love to spend time with you.”

They snuggled for a bit, their gentle touches and chatting turning hot and heavy before the embrace led them to the shower, where she came apart with the sweetest moan he’d ever heard.

He was falling hard for her and they hadn’t even spent a whole day together.

They left the apartment and headed toward the cafeteria, which was staffed by elves.

“So what’s it like to use your magic?” he asked, holding her hand as they walked through the halls leading to the cafeteria on the surface level of the main building.

“I use something called slumber magic. Do you know about tooth fairies and their shadow magic?”

“Yes,” he said. “One of the polar bears has a tooth fairy named Pixie for a mate. She uses a special portal Frost can’t track to collect teeth so she can leave Northernmost and still be safe.”

“That’s cool,” she said. “So similar to shadow magic, my slumber magic is like a cloak I can pull around myself. It makes me invisible to anyone but other dream walkers. When I’m using slumber magic, I can see the dreams people are having and change them. Make them happier, make them sweeter. I replenish my slumber magic with the joy and peace that come from the people having good dreams.”

They reached the cafeteria, and since it was late morning, the room was mostly empty. Grabbing trays, they selected food from the buffet, picked up coffees, and sat at one of the tables.

He lifted a maple syrup container and liberally poured it over his tall stack of pancakes. “Tell me about Nightmare and the magic that he uses.”

Her expression darkened and her upper lip curled in a grimace. He’d heard of Nightmare, of course. He was Sandman’s dark counterpart. Where Sandman gave good dreams, Nightmare corrupted dreams and made them scary and violent. His followers were like Frost’s and gave up their goodness for the power that was promised to them.

She told him about the dark dream walkers’ dread magic, which corrupted good dreams and replenished Nightmare’s and his followers’ magic. She explained how her magic, different and more powerful than traditional slumber magic, eradicated nightmares and sucked the essence of that magic from Nightmare.

“That’s why he targeted you?” Gabriel asked.

“I suppose, but he never really said why he wanted me by his side. I suspect he wants to use my magic to help Frost with his ultimate goal, but how that would work is anyone’s guess.”

They ate in silence for a while, then Gabriel said, “He’s a nasty guy. Dangerous.”

“Who is?” Sebastian asked as he and his mate Emberlin stopped at the table.

“Nightmare,” Gabriel said. “Guys, this is my mate Ana. She’s a dream walker. Sweetheart, this is Sebastian and Emberlin. She’s a fire witch and he’s part of the Guardians and in my pack.”

“I’m also his cousin, which makes us all family. Nice to meet you,” Sebastian said.

Emberlin smiled brightly. “Welcome to Northernmost and the family.”

“Are you taking off for a few days?” Sebastian asked.

“I haven’t thought that far ahead,” Gabriel said.

“Why would you take off work?” Ana asked.

“Because when a Guardian finds his mate, he usually takes a few days to celebrate. A mini honeymoon of sorts,” Gabriel said.

“Oh,” she said with a hum. “I just want to know if I can go home and pack some clothes. I think I’m here for a while, until things settle down with Nightmare.”

“I have clothes you can borrow,” Emberlin said. “Or there’s a shop in the building with clothes and supplies that should tide you over.”