Chapter 12
At least until he figured out that being evil was more fun.
A knock at the door drew him from his musings.
Thale, who was currently his number two after Jack had lost his two previous ones to his brother, walked in. “You wanted to see me, boss?”
“Yeah,” Jack said, straightening. He reached for a pack of cigarettes on the table and discovered it was empty.
Crumpling the pack, he tossed it to Thale and said, “I’m going on a run tonight to siphon magic from a coven that thinks it can hide among humans in a busy city in South America.
I need you to make sure there are plenty of empty cells for the ones I bring back. ”
“You got it,” Thale said.
Jack mentally rolled his eyes. The male was a kiss-ass. But he was a hard worker, so that was a bonus.
“And get me some damn cigarettes.”
Jack was responsible for supplying magical replenishment to his followers, who were locked out of Northernmost and the Well of Magic by Santa, a meddling fire witch, and the goody-two-shoes Mother Nature.
He replenished their magic by taking his own dark magic and giving it to them, which meant he had to siphon magic from good magic users and corrupt it.
Sometimes he turned them into followers, sometimes he killed them.
It was more fun to make them virtually human and let them loose in the world to cry over their lack of magic.
“On it,” Thale said, hustling from the office.
Jack turned and moved to his desk. He took a seat, rifled through his drawers, and found a stray cigarette. “Fucking finally.” Flipping open the lighter next to the crystal ashtray, he lit the cigarette, took a drag, and blew out a slow stream of smoke.
A portal appeared in the center of his room, and he sighed.
Fucking Nightmare.
The male, eyes blazing and purple-tinted magic floating around him, strode through the portal and placed his hands on the desk, leaning forward. “I want him dead and his family dead and that fucking female dead.”
“Are you talking about my brother?”
Nightmare slashed his hand through the air. “I’m talking about the wolf that meddled in the fight. I want to take out his pack.” The male was breathing hard like he’d run a marathon. “And I want to know where the hell you went!”
“When?”
Sometimes it was fun to be purposely obtuse.
Nightmare’s eyes flashed purple.
“In the middle of the battle! You left.”
Jack took another drag on the cigarette and held the smoke in his throat until it burned, then blew it out.
Flicking the tip so the ash fell into the dish, he said, “First of all, I warned you that going after a female mated to a shifter was a bad idea. And second, once he broke through the magic we’d combined to hold her, there wasn’t anything I could do to combat her, the wolf, or the dream walkers.
I wasn’t going to stick around and let Sandman try to take me out. ”
“You could have given me a heads up.”
Nightmare sat heavily in the chair and ran a hand through his dark hair. “With your magic, I was so close to invading Ana’s mind. I could have used her to control all the dream walkers.”
Jack had thought Nightmare’s plan was decent enough, if he could have pulled it off. Imagine turning the dream walker against her own kind, leeching their good magic from them the way she could take it from Nightmare.
“You’re lucky she didn’t have a chance to take you out, because she sure as hell looked like she wanted to. But… I have some good news.”
“You’ll help me go after that bitch again?”
“No.”
“Then how is that good news?”
“Good grief, man, get over it. She bested you. She made you her bitch. Sandman has a dream walker on his team who can cause a lot of trouble for you, so let it go. I need your whole focus on the next step so we can take out everyone. And when I say everyone, I mean Sandman and her too.”
Nightmare sat back in the chair. “I’m listening.”
“During the fight, when you and I had Ana dead to rights and were close to breaking her and turning her evil, her wolf mate used some kind of magic to amplify her slumber magic. I’m sure it came from my brother.
A sigil of some kind. They’re mates and bonded, and when that wolf showed up for her with that sigil, it increased her abilities and broke the cloaking from both sides of the battle. ”
“And?”
“And that means the bond between a mated pair – love – can strengthen magic.”
Nightmare stared at Jack, and then understanding lit his eyes. “You can use a mated pair’s bond to strengthen your own magic.”
“I’m certain I can make a weapon out of love, specifically the blood of a bonded pair. Combining blood magic with your dread magic and my warlock magic should break the wards around Northernmost and allow me to take out my brother once and for all.”
“What do you need from me?”
As Frost laid out his plans to kill his brother and take over the magic of the world with the god of nightmares, something warmed in his cold heart. This would be the year that his brother fell. The world’s magic was within reach.
Finally.
Gabriel continued to amaze Ana by setting up creative dates within the confines of Northernmost, while also rocking her world every time they hit the sheets.
Or found a quiet place to go wild with each other.
She’d especially enjoyed seeing him shift and watching him run around in the snow with his cousins while she got to spend time with the girls.
She loved falling asleep with him and waking up in his arms.
The early love she’d felt for him because they were mates was deepening and growing sweeter every day.
She left Gabriel at the Well of Magic, parting ways with him to start her rounds among the places where the elves and shifters lived within Northernmost. He kissed her swiftly, and she heard his wolf’s rumble as they walked away from each other.
When she reached the first barracks, she drew her slumber magic around her and saw the dreams of those asleep. Small nightmares, the start of bad dreams, were eradicated immediately and replaced with sweet dreams.
She didn’t think Nightmare was attacking them right now, not the way he had before. Otherwise, there would be far more nightmares, and they’d be much worse. It looked to be a peaceful night for those who were resting in Northernmost.
She loved the town and the people. The elves were kind and helpful, and even the grumpiest elf in the kitchen had made her a carrot cake without raisins when he’d heard she didn’t like them. She spent time with her new cousins-in-law, Winterlyn and Emberlin, and spoke to her parents every day.
Tilting her head back, she looked up at the inky black sky and the Northern Lights dancing among the stars. She really did love Northernmost. It was beautiful here. Magical. She could see raising a family here, little wolves and dream walkers, with her sweet Gabriel by her side.
But maybe they wouldn’t stay here forever, just for a few years.
Maybe she’d join her family while Gabriel worked security for the dream walkers. Or maybe she’d join the wolf pack and bring sweet dreams to the wolves who called Southern Ohio home.
Whatever the future brought, she was thankful they were together and safe at the top of the world.
As she moved silently down another path between homes, casting sweet dreams and soothing those who needed help with their rest, she could feel her mate through their bond.
Steady. Strong. Close.
Even though he couldn’t see her as she worked, he could feel her, and there was something sweet about that knowledge. He was always watching, always protective.
She paused at the end of the barracks, where a young elf tossed restlessly in sleep. With a gentle brush of slumber magic, she eased him into a deeper sleep, filling his dreams with candy and toys and warm hugs from his family.
She continued down the snowy path and her mind strayed once more to her mate.
She pressed a hand to her chest where her bond with him pulsed warmly.
Their mid-shift break couldn’t come soon enough.
Turning her attention to the task at hand, she took a deep breath of the crisp winter air and walked toward the next barracks, letting her slumber magic do its job.
At the top of the world, beneath the dancing Northern Lights, the people of Northernmost slept peacefully as Ana walked the night with love in her heart and her Guardian standing watch nearby.
Sweet dreams, Northernmost.
Thank you for reading Awakened By Her Guardian!