Page 17 of Caught By Her Guardian
He grinned, feeling damn proud of himself.“Butternut squash soup with pecans.Your mom said it was your favorite.”He took a sip himself, humming at how sweet and spicy it was.
“You called my mom?”
“Of course.I wanted to know what your favorite meal was, so I called her after you left for work.”
She stared at him in a mixture of awe and disbelief.Then she reached across the table and laced her fingers through his.“You’re perfect, you know that?”
“I’m in excellent company, sweetheart.”
The meal continued with her favorites, from the cranberry glazed chicken to the fresh-picked snowberry tart.They talked about their childhoods, trading funny stories about their lives.When the meal was over and they sipped peppermint hot cocoa and sat next to each other, staring up at the Northern Lights, Hunter was going to suggest they could walk around the garden for a bit when a sudden, unsettling chill swept over him.
Something was wrong.
“Did you feel that?”Pixie asked with a frown.
They both stood and looked around and then he saw that the Portal was glowing.But there were no Guardians or security team on standby.
No one should be coming through the Portal so close to Christmas without an escort standing by.He lifted his phone from his pocket and dialed the security office.
“Ventura.”
“It’s Hunter.I’m in the sky garden.The Portal is activated, but no one is there for security.”
“What?We don’t have anyone scheduled until after Christmas.Santa wants it closed down unless it’s an emergency.No one is supposed to open the Portal without permission.”
“I’m heading down,” he said.
“I’ll send the team outside to meet you there.”
He ended the call and turned to Pixie.“Stay here.”
“Hunter.”
“Pixie, please.The garden is enchanted and safe.I need to go check things out.I’ll be right back.”
She hesitated but then nodded.“Be careful.”
“I’ll be right back.”He sprinted for the staircase and rushed into the dining hall and outside, heading for the Portal.Something was wrong, he could feel it in his bones.
Pixie stood at the edge of the roof, her hands on the wide stone wall that surrounded the garden.She watched the Portal as it was engaged and glowing, the old bones bright white in the darkness.
She saw Hunter race from the building, flanked by other security team members.
It didn’t take long before she saw a single female standing in the center of the Portal.Her head was tilted to the side, and her long hair blew in the wind.Pixie squinted, wondering why the female looked so strange.
As Hunter and the security team rushed toward the Portal, that’s when Pixie saw shadows appear behind the female.
Frost’s evil followers!
Half a dozen males dressed all in black rushed through the Portal and into Northernmost, shoving the female aside.She flopped to the ground like a rag doll, unmoving.
Pixie’s wings unfurled from her back.She hopped up onto the wall and crouched, watching as the Guardians and the security team battled with the evil followers.As she watched the battle, she saw Azure.
He didn’t move through the Portal like the others, he stood just outside.She couldn’t see anything behind him and suspected that they’d used dark magic to obscure where they’d come from.
Her gaze darted to the female on the ground.
Something was definitely wrong with her.
