Chapter 14
When he was out of his shift and fully healed a few hours later, Storm told Santa what he remembered of the bombing, including seeing Valeth throw it through the portal. No one knew how the evil elf had shown up in Ohio, of all places, with a bomb. Since Frost had put some sort of anti-healing chemical into the bomb, it was a good bet that he’d planned for them to be hurt or killed and also possibly to damage the Entrance. Fortunately, Frost had failed.
Willow had gotten clear and hadn’t been hurt at all, and Storm and Seren were alive and well. The Entrance had been repaired by elves and healed with Santa’s magic.
When he and Seren made it back to his apartment, they’d made love and she’d asked him to mark her so they could be mates in truth. He’d gladly complied, loving the way it sounded when she told him she loved him.
It was new love, the sort of love that came from finding the one right person in the world, but it would grow and deepen as time passed.
For now, he loved her with the passion of a thousand suns, and it would only get better from this point on.
“Water’s ready,” Seren called from the bathroom.
He hefted himself off the bed after sending a message to his brothers that he and Seren were mated and going to take a few days off to celebrate.
He found his sweetheart in the shower, hair wet and skin dewy with steam.
“You look good enough to eat,” he said with a growl.
“You already did that,” she said with a laugh.
He pulled her close as he stepped under the spray, kissing her as water poured over them. Then he kissed his way down the center of her body, nibbling and licking until he was on his knees.
He leaned forward and kissed her navel, spreading his fingers over her hips.
His finger brushed something cold, and he leaned over to look at what it was.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I don’t know.” He brushed his fingers over a cold spot on her hip. As he moved his head to look at it, he saw something glittery.
“Shit. Shit.”
“What?” she asked, her voice going high with worry.
He slapped the faucet off. “Get dressed, baby, we have to see Santa.”
Seren stood in front of Santa, who’d come to the gathering room of the apartments.
She pushed down the waistband of her leggings to expose the cold spot on her skin. It was the strangest thing. She didn’t remember feeling it before and she had no idea what it was, but if she tilted a certain direction in the light, it almost looked like a snowflake.
Santa used a flashlight and leaned over. He huffed. “That son of a bitch.”
“I was right?” Storm asked.
“Yes. It’s a tracker. Frost embedded a magical tracker in her skin.”
Storm growled. “That’s how he knew where we were so he could send the bomb through.”
Santa grimaced. “I think it was a test. We all thought her rescue went off relatively easily. None of our people were harmed and we got her to safety. While he suffered losses, he had so many followers that he considered them cannon fodder. But this means he planned to use her anyway.”
“Why would he want to kill me and Storm or Willow?”
“Maybe to see what would happen if he threw a bomb at us?” Storm offered.
“I don’t know,” Santa said. “It’s possible he was trying to take you out because you’re a Guardian or attempting to harm any security people at the Entrance. Frost’s mind is warped with the dark magic, so this may just be the start with him. It’s still early in December. He always ramps up his attacks before Christmas, trying to find ways to get to me and the Well. But this means that we need to up security with the portals. It’s not enough for a Guardian to show up at the Entrance and let someone through to the Well. We need more guards.”
“We can recruit the elves on the security team,” Storm said.
“Yes. I’ll get on that now. You two need to enjoy your mating, so don’t worry anymore about it. In the meantime, let me take care of this.” He glanced at Storm as he stooped down in front of Seren. “This might feel hot, but it’ll be over in a moment.”
He didn’t touch her but hovered his hand over the tracker. She still couldn’t believe that Frost had put a tracker in her.
Ew, had he undressed her?
She shivered.
Her hip got very hot, and she let out a little yelp.
Santa pulled his hand away. Where the cold spot had been, a tiny white star now rested.
“Oh, it’s like a little tattoo of my name.”
“Magic leaves traces,” Santa said. “I’m glad you don’t mind it.”
“Hey, as long as Jack Frost can’t find me, I don’t care what it looks like.”
Santa nodded.
“Thank you,” Storm said.
“Of course. You two take care of yourselves and enjoy your mating time.”
His brothers joined them in the gathering room a little while later, Winter rolling Seren’s suitcase behind him.
“Oh! Someone went to get it?” she asked.
“A few elves went while we were out walking,” Winter said.
Hunter handed over her backpack, which had a dark stain on the bottom. “I think one of your perfumes or something broke when you landed on it. We can order whatever you need, though. Storm can show you how.”
“Thanks so much, guys, I really appreciate it.”
They all decided to have dinner together and went to the cafeteria, where they sat at a big table with several of the other Guardians.
She met Sebastian the wolf and Maverick the snow leopard.
“I heard that Asher is taking off?” Hunter said.
“Yeah, his grandma is ill so he’s going home for a while,” Maverick said.
“Who’s going to replace him?” Storm asked. “I’m taking a few days off with Seren.”
“The alpha, Knox,” Maverick said. “He was a Guardian when he was younger, he stepped down when he became alpha. He’s the best choice because he doesn’t have to be trained.”
Storm hadn’t met Knox, but he’d heard stories from the leopards about their fierce alpha.
“When are you two going home to Pennsylvania?” Sebastian asked.
Storm looked at her and she shrugged. “I’m a little scared to go through the Entrance again, but I’d love to meet your family.”
“You were nervous before,” he said.
“Yeah, but that was before we almost died.”
He grinned. “I’ll call my folks and see when we can come for a visit. Maybe while we’re on our break.”
“Not tomorrow though,” she said.
“Why not?” he asked.
She raised her brows and said nothing, and he stared at her for a long moment.
Then he said, “Oh, hell yeah, not tomorrow.”
“Get a room, you two,” Hunter said gruffly.
“We have one,” Storm said. “But first, I have to feed my mate so she knows I’m the best male around.”
“I already think that,” she promised.
“Yeah?”
“Of course. You saved me. Three times. That makes you the very best mate in the world.”
“Aw man, I need to find my mate,” Winter said. “That’s so sweet it’s giving me a toothache.”
Seren laughed and the table joined in.
Storm lifted his glass. “A toast to the best mate that fate could give me.”
Seren lifted her glass. “To the best mate a human could ever have.”
The others lifted their glasses, and Winter said, “To the rest of us poor, single bastards finding our mates, sooner rather than later.”
“Hear, hear!”
Seren and Storm tipped their glasses together and then took a drink.
“I can’t wait to get you home,” Storm murmured in her ear.
“I can’t wait for that too.”