Page 5 of Awakened By Her Guardian

“Good,” his dad, Stephen, said, just a heartbeat before launching into the goings-on in the pack. Gabriel walked into the front room of his two-bedroom apartment, which was underground in Northernmost and connected to two other apartments by a central living area. His cousins, Declan and Sebastian, lived with their truemates in the other apartments. They were all Yuletide Guardians, part of Santa’s security team along with elves. Together they kept the people of Northernmost, and the world’s magic, safe from Jack Frost and his evil followers.

Gabriel had been a Guardian for six years, since he’d turned eighteen and followed his oldest cousin, Declan. It meant living at the top of the world without his pack and only going home for short visits. On the full moon, they shifted as a small group and ran through the snow and cold unless they were able to get home to be with their families.

As he sat down to put on his boots, he remembered he’d left his favorite pair out in the communal living area after the last shift.

“So you really can’t come visit us?” his mom asked. “What about the full moon?”

“We’re on lockdown for the month.”

Normally the Guardians could take a short break early in December to spend time with their families for the holidays, but this year, Santa had shut down the Portal on November thirtieth except for extreme emergencies. Going home for the full moon wasn’t an emergency by any stretch of the imagination.

“Sorry, Mom,” he said. “But I’ll be there on Christmas Day as soon as Santa is back safe.”

Santa was at his most powerful on Christmas Eve. But when he returned on Christmas Day, his magic was severely depleted, leaving him nearly powerless. Frost tended to attack all month long, but he would focus on Christmas Day as Santa was coming home. Last year, he’d nearly taken Santa out with a special blade. Thankfully, Santa had survived, but Frost wouldn’t give up until he was either dead or defeated.

He left his apartment and found his boots by the couch. Sitting, he said, “I’m sorry, but things get more and more dangerous each year.”

“That bastard Frost needs to find a hobby,” his mom said.

“Yeah,” Gabriel said.

“Speaking of hobbies,” his dad said.

“Oh yes,” his mom said. “Have you considered asking Alpha Phoenix to arrange a mate for you?”

Gabriel almost dropped his phone. “What? How is finding a mate a hobby?”

“It’s not,” his dad said with a chuckle. “It was the only segue we could think of. But Alpha Phoenix offered it to you and any other unmated males and females in the pack.”

Gabriel didn’t know what to say.

“Look at him, babe, he’s speechless and looks green,” his mom said with a tsk.

“I’m fine,” Gabriel said, lacing his boot. “I just want to wait for my truemate. Declan and Sebastian did. I want what they have, and that means waiting for her to show up.”

“Maybe you could spend more time down here, then,” his mom said. “You haven’t found your mate yet up in the cold North.”

“You’re probably right,” he said. “I’ll talk to Santa.”

“You can always come work for me and your uncle at the landscape company. We’ll be shoveling driveways and clearing snow in January and February for the local businesses,” his dad said.

“I love being a Guardian,” he said. “But I’ll think about it. I gotta go, my shift starts soon.”

“Be careful out there,” his mom said, suddenly sounding worried.

“I will, I promise. Love you both.”

When the call was over, Gabriel stared at the dark screen for a moment. Had they really just suggested he give up waiting for his mate to have the alpha arrange a mating? Yes, he was damn lonely. And yes, he’d wished he had his one-right-female in his arms when he woke up this morning. But he wasn’t about to put his romantic future in the hands of his alpha. That seemed nuts.

Shaking off the strange conversation, he finished tying his other boot, rose to his feet, and strode from the communal area to head to the security office.

There were nine Guardians, three from each shifter group, and each group had their own apartments and communal area. While they were all friends, Gabriel found himself sticking closer to the other two unmated Guardians – Winter the polar bear and Chase the snow leopard.

He’d been on first shift with Winter last week, and was switching to third shift with Chase this week.

As he made his way to the security office, he thought about what his mom had said about finding his truemate. Maybe she was right, and he’d never meet her at the top of the world. But maybe he would, if she were a witch who came to replenish her magic.

Although if that were the case, why wouldn’t he have met her before now?