Page 11 of Saved By Her Guardian (Yuletide Shifters #4)

Maverick took off running before he could think, his heart hammering in his chest as his vision adjusted to the darkness and he finally saw Aralyn ahead of them. He reached her as she dropped like a stone to the cold ground, her breath gusting from her like an icy cloud.

“Mav,” she whispered as he skidded to a stop next to her.

Panic was sharp in his chest like a knife. The security team surrounded him as he lifted her into his arms. She was cold. Too cold.

“Aralyn, baby, hold on,” he said, trying to tamp down the panic and focus on getting her back to Northernmost so she could be saved.

A prickle of unease ran down his spine and then he felt something in the air—a pulse of evil from behind him.

He looked over his shoulder and saw shadows moving toward them, and he knew it was Frost’s followers.

They shouted out war cries, their feet pounding in the quiet.

“Let’s move!” Maverick shouted, tightening his grip on Aralyn.

The group moved, splitting off to keep the attackers at bay as Chase and Asher flanked Maverick. They raced toward the perimeter of Northernmost when several of Frost’s followers appeared in front of them, cutting off their path.

“Hand her over,” one of the males said. “Frost’s not done with her yet.”

“Never,” Maverick said, baring his teeth as his fangs extended. He set her on the ground and stood over her, letting out his claws.

One of the males wielding a blade lunged at Maverick, and he deflected the blow, his bones vibrating with the force of the blow.

He twisted and slammed his elbow into the male’s stomach and disarmed him, throwing the blade downward and sinking it into his foot.

He howled and fumbled for the blade, and Maverick twisted his head, snapping his neck and grabbing the blade, tossing it to Asher, who used it to stab the male he was battling.

Another male leaped toward Aralyn and Maverick slammed into him, rolling away from her. He slammed his fist into the male’s face and he went limp with the blow.

“Shit, we gotta go,” Chase said, pulling on Maverick’s arm.

He jumped to his feet and picked up Aralyn, racing toward the perimeter.

“We’ve got your back, let’s go!” Asher shouted.

His legs burned as he ate up the distance to the shimmering line of the protective barrier around Northernmost. Santa and several security guards waited just inside the magical line.

He was almost there.

Just a few more steps.

Just as he reached the perimeter he was thrown back, a blast of magic sending him to the ground. He managed to keep Aralyn from the cold ground as his vision flickered with the magical blow and he gasped for air.

“Maverick!” Santa shouted.

Santa, flanked by the security team, moved through the perimeter and joined them. Maverick struggled to his feet with Aralyn in his arms, still dizzy from the magical blow.

“She needs help!”

He carried her to Santa and the big male looked down at her. He rested his hand on her forehead and growled, his upper lip curling.

“She’s covered in dark magic. She can’t cross into Northernmost.”

He lifted up her sleeve and Maverick saw an icy bracelet around her wrist. “What is that?”

“Something that’s muting her magic. She feels human almost, it’s strange. Frost must have put them on her to keep her from opening a portal when she was with him.

Maverick’s stomach twisted. “Can you take them off? Get rid of the dark magic?”

“I’m sorry,” Santa said. “It’s too different from my magic, I can’t counteract it.”

A low, ominous laugh echoed in the distance and Maverick’s head snapped up. Beyond the battle, Frost stood, glowing purple in the darkness.

He was watching them, knowing that Santa couldn’t get rid of his dark magic.

“What can I do?” Maverick asked, his hands tightening on her. She was still unconscious, but he could feel that she was growing weaker by the moment. Their connection as mates was fading.

“Grim can help her.”

“What?”

“His magic is different, and she’s family. He can take the dark magic from her, and that should dissolve the cuffs.”

He raised his hand and a portal opened beside them.

“Grim is through here. Find him, save your mate.”

Maverick didn’t hesitate. Holding Aralyn tightly, he stepped through the portal, leaving Northernmost behind.

* * *

The portal had opened into a dimly lit club, where the scent of alcohol, sweat, and magic was heavy in the air.

The bass thumped beneath Maverick’s boots as he scanned the room, his leopard’s senses sharp in the sea of supernatural creatures.

He spied Grim at a back table, his legs stretched out and his fingers rubbing the edge of his glass filled with amber liquid.

Grim’s ice-blue eyes flicked up the moment Maverick started toward him, his nostrils flaring as he sat up, his gaze landing on the unconscious female in his arms.

“Aralyn’s in trouble.”

Grim’s gaze turned thunderous as he rose to his feet and shoved the table out of the way. Moving to Maverick, he touched Aralyn’s head and demanded, “What happened to her?”

“I don’t know everything, but Frost used her to try to get to Santa. She’s got cuffs on her wrists that Santa said are muting her magic, and she’s covered in dark magic.”

Grim lifted the edge of her sleeve and grimaced.

He lifted his hand and a portal appeared. Beyond the misty edges, Maverick could see the wall and gate protecting the cemetery and church. “Go,” Grim said.

Maverick didn’t hesitate, holding his mate tighter as he stepped through the portal and Grim followed.

The wind howled around them as they emerged from the portal mere inches from the old wrought iron gate. Church growled as he padded toward them, then sat on his haunches with a soft, concerned whine.

Maverick’s skin prickled as the portal closed behind them.

Grim cursed as he stared at the gate.

“What?” Maverick asked.

“She carved runes into the gate. But where the hell did she find them?” As Maverick stared at the gate, he was able to see faint, glowing runes that pulsed with an eerie light.

“She didn’t just open a portal somewhere, she left it wide open and marked herself in the process,” Grim said, his jaw tight.

“Meaning?”

“This is Frost’s doing. It’s all laced with dark magic. I don’t know what she thought she was doing, but these runes are an open invitation for Frost to reach her, call to her, maybe even force her to come to him.”

“Can you fix it? Santa said your magic could help.”

Grim nodded. “Only her blood can alter what she’s done.”

As he pulled a dagger from his belt and motioned Maverick closer, Grim took one of Aralyn’s hands and with quick, precise movements, pricked her fingertips.

As the runes she’d carved into the wrought iron began to pulse, her blood welled on her fingers and Grim guided her hand to the first rune.

Her blood dripped on the rune and iron bars, and a sharp hiss split the air.

As her blood covered the rune, it disappeared.

Aralyn stirred in Maverick’s arms but didn’t wake up.

Maverick felt something stir in him as the rune disappeared and Grim moved her hand to the next one. Their connection as mates that he’d felt was nearly gone, flared to life.

As the other runes disappeared and the scent of her blood was heavy in the air, Aralyn woke with a gasp and looked around wildly, first seeing Grim and then Maverick.

“Oh!” she said, clutching herself to Maverick with a sob. “I thought I was going to die out there!”

“We’re not done yet, my niece,” Grim said.

She eased from Maverick’s neck and looked at him. He held out his hand and said, “Give me your wrists.”

Maverick set her on the ground and she wobbled in his hold and then stood straight, holding her wrists bound in the strange, icy bracelets, out to her uncle.

He used the dagger to cut his palm and then he grasped one of her wrists and spoke a few words in a language Maverick didn’t recognize.

The cuffs melted away like ice in the sunshine, leaving nothing in their wake.

Grim’s eyes flashed to molten silver, and he released his hold on her.

“I didn’t know,” she said. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

She turned and hugged Maverick, her tears renewing now that she realized she was free, and he hugged her back with a growl of happiness.

“You’re safe now,” Maverick said. “Frost can’t get to you.”

“I don’t know about that,” Grim said, his voice tinged with anger. “But I can ensure she’ll be safe going forward. Now, young lady, we need to talk. I have a feeling whatever fuckery you were getting up to with Frost had something to do with your assignment.”

Aralyn hung her head and nodded.

They walked through the gates toward the abbey to get out of the cold, and Maverick gave Church a pat on the head. The beast’s eyes glowed gold for a moment and then he padded away to continue his rounds.

Maverick wasn’t going to relax until he knew she was safe. Even though he was angry that she’d put herself in danger, she was with him, alive and well, and he was going to focus on that. It was the only thing that really mattered.