Page 33 of Mushy Stuff (Guardian Mates #1)

I end up sleeping in the back of the cart for most of the night with my head on Wold’s chest while he holds me.

When I wake up, the sun is starting to rise.

I notice someone else curled up next to me, and I look to see that it’s Pampa.

She must have gotten tired in the night and curled up in the back to sleep.

I pet her hair, but don’t wake her. Just seeing her there brings a smile to my face.

I look up at Wold and see the glow of his eyes, he is already awake. He smiles at me and strokes my hair.

I whisper, “How long do we have before we are back on your territory?”

“Not that long. We are almost to the town where the market is held. We are going to sell the horse and cart there, and we will have to walk the rest of the way like we did when we went to the market.”

“That’s good. I can’t wait to be back.” Then I hesitantly say, “Wold, when do I have to go back to my world?”

Wold cups my cheek with his palm and with a smile says, “Never.”

I gasp, then remember that Pampa is still sleeping, so I excitedly whisper, “Never?! I can stay? But what about safety?”

“When Guardians take a mate, they give their mate a mating bite. I only knew a little about it, but I knew enough that I knew I couldn’t give you my bite if I wanted you to be able to go home.

So I was careful not to bite you. When I found Nanni at Lord Varik’s estate, she explained that the mating bite would have kept you safe, and no one would have tried to kidnap you.

If I had only known…” Wold trails off at that and looks devastated.

I reach up and kiss him, “Hey, it’s not your fault. You didn’t know that about mating bites, you didn’t have anyone to teach you about that. You got me back, and I’m fine. You also found Nanni and Pampa! Don’t blame yourself for me getting kidnapped.”

He smiles at me and hugs me closer. “When we get back to my territory, I can give you my mating bite and we will be bound together…if that is still what you want. ”

I can’t help myself. I squeal. I clap my hand over my mouth when I remember that I am supposed to be quiet because Pampa is asleep. She stirs a little, and rolls to her other side, but fortunately she doesn’t wake up.

“Of course I still want to stay with you, silly!” I whisper.

“I want to spend all of my days with you.” Then I slide on top of him so I can give him a kiss.

He kisses me back fiercely, and I can feel his fear and uncertainty melting away with that kiss.

He slips his long tongue into my mouth, tangling it with mine, and I lose myself in that kiss.

After a minute, I hear a small giggle in the back of the cart with us. Pampa. We stop kissing, and I look up and Pampa is awake and smiling at us. I smile back at her and tell her good morning.

Pampa hops up next to Nanni and scoots to sit right at her side. Wold sits up and checks on Nanni. “Are you doing okay? Do you need to come back here and rest?”

Nanni looks tired, but she smiles and says, “No, the town is just ahead. I would rather get to your cave and rest there.”

It only takes us about ten or fifteen more minutes before we are at the small town. Without the market, there isn’t much left to see. There is an inn with a tavern downstairs, and attached to the inn is a general store-type shop .

Nanni and Pampa go into the tavern to speak with the owners about selling the horse and cart, while Wold and I stay with the cart. I take the opportunity to hug Wold around the waist and snuggle against him.

Nanni and Pampa come back out of the inn a short time later.

They are followed by a Guardian that looks very similar to the cook that rescued Faylen.

He mostly inspects the horse, but he also looks over the cart, then he says to Nanni, “We have a deal.” He heads back into the inn and brings a bag of coins to Nanni, then he leads the horse and cart around to the back of the inn.

I glance over at Wold, and he is looking thoughtfully at the shop. He turns to Nanni, “Did we get a fair price for the horse and cart?”

“Fair enough.”

“Then we should see if we need anything else,” he says, and he leads us into the shop.

They have a little bit of everything in the shop. There are some simple clothes like dresses and tunics and trousers. Wold takes me over to those first and we pick out a few things so that I have a couple of sets of clothes.

Wold then finds some bars of soap, and hands a couple of them to me. Without thinking about it, I hold them each up to my nose to see what the scent is. It probably shouldn’t surprise me that they are unscented since everyone here is sensitive to smells. Wold gives me a curious look when I do this.

“Sorry, it’s habit. In our world, soaps are scented so that you smell nice when you get done showering.”

“I’m glad we aren’t in your world; I only want to smell you.” I smile at him for saying that.

Pampa and Nanni were exploring other parts of the shop, and we walk back towards them. They are each carrying a few things. I look at what Nanni is holding, and it looks like practical tools and utensils for cooking, and Pampa seems to be helping by carrying a few more items like that.

Wold pauses to look at a wall of tools. He grabs an axe and tests its weight and sharpness. Then he picks up a small hand saw.

“What are those for?” I ask.

He looks a little embarrassed. “I don’t want you to have to live in a cave. I thought I could work on building a home for you.”

I gasp and then I drop the items that I was holding and fling myself against him. He almost drops the axe that he was holding, but he sets it down against the wall and wraps his arms around me too.

I have tears in my eyes when I say, “I would love for us to build a home together. ”

He strokes his claws through my hair and just holds me for a minute. I finally look back up at him. “Thank you for coming to save me.”

“They never could have kept you from me. I would have torn apart both of our worlds to get to you if I had to.” Then he kisses me. We kiss for a moment before I hear Pampa giggling again, and I break the kiss to look at her. I just smile and shake my head.

Then I get an idea. I look back at Wold, and say, “I think we embarrass Pampa with our kissing. Obviously, that means we will just have to do it more.” I reach up and pull his face back down to mine for more kissing, and I hear a little squeal from Pampa and a lot more giggling.

Nanni laughs and finally says, “Do we have everything we need? I’m eager to get back to Wold’s cave and rest.”

I remember that Nanni hasn’t slept, and it sobers me. “Yes, I think we are ready, right Wold?”

I look up at Wold and see him looking at a few stuffed toys in a basket. He walks over to the basket and picks one up. It’s a fabric doll made to look like a Guardian. It’s bark-colored and has yarn and fabric vines for hair. The legs, feet, and tail look cat-like, just like Wold and Pampa.

Pampa watches him with huge eyes. Then he hands the doll to her. “Here, you should have the things children have. ”

She hugs the doll to her chest and says, “Thank you, Wold.” I see tears in her eyes, and I wonder if anyone has ever given her a toy before. Poor Pampa, and poor Wold. The two of them have had their childhoods stolen from them, and the thought of that crushes me.

I’m still thinking about this after we pay the shopkeeper and leave. Wold must notice that something is wrong, and he pulls me to the side and asks if I’m alright.

“When you gave Pampa the doll, I realized that the two of you have basically had your childhoods stolen from you. You were never allowed to be real children. And that makes me so sad.”

Wold strokes my hair and then says, “Pampa’s childhood isn’t gone yet. She still has time. Hopefully we can help her have that.” This makes me smile and feel a bit better.

Pampa is still young. We still have time to turn things around for her.