“Can’t complain,” she said.He stopped in front of her and looked at the main meat options, asking for a helping of brown sugar ham and one of pot roast.
After getting his food, he could feel that she was waiting for him to ask her something, maybe to go on a date, but he wasn’t interested in leading her on.“Thanks, see ya.”
He hustled off, his wolf snorting in his head.
He was only twenty-four.It wasn’t like he was that old in the whole scheme of life, but he was ready to settle down and find his truemate.Since Declan and Winterlyn had met the year before and were starting a family, it had made his wolf long for that even more.
After getting a big pile of mashed potatoes and gravy and a side of roasted carrots, he grabbed a drink, some cornbread, and a piece of chocolate pie for dessert.
“Shit, you skip lunch or something?”Gabriel asked as he looked over his tray.
“In case you didn’t notice, it’s cold as hell outside and I burn calories fast.For your shift, you got to sit in the comfy office and watch the monitors.”
“Hey,” Gabriel said.“That’s hard on the eyes, man.”
Sebastian shook his head.“We need to switch, dude.You should be out freezing your ass off.”
Although being shifters meant they didn’t get as cold as humans did, it was powerfully frigid at the North Pole this time of year, and no amount of shifter genetics could fix that.
While they ate dinner, they talked about their respective days, Gabriel just coming off shift and Sebastian about to go on, and the danger that Jack Frost presented to the Well and the town, not to mention Santa himself.
Santa and Jack Frost were brothers—Saint and Angel Nicholas—and Santa, a.k.a.Saint, was the eldest.He took on the mantle of Santa and was the most powerful warlock in the world.Jack didn’t like that and turned evil, and now he spent his days plotting to kill his brother and turn the magic of the Well evil.If that happened, eventually all magic users would have to choose between losing their magic forever or turning evil.And if the world’s magic went evil?Everyone lost, even humans and shifters.
He’d come to Northernmost at eighteen to become a Guardian and he loved it.He missed his family and pack back in Southern Ohio, but he liked his job.Eventually Declan and his mate would leave Northernmost and move to the pack permanently so they could raise their family around the other wolves.Sebastian thought he’d probably do that as well, assuming his mate was magical or a shifter.
Humans weren’t allowed to live in Northernmost.
Last year a human and one of the polar bears found each other to be truemates and they moved to live with his people, and another polar bear had taken his place.The Guardians were all friends and kept each other safe, and the world’s magic too.
Conversation shifted to their families and the pack.Because of a recent issue with Jack Frost attacking near the Portal, the only way in and out of Northernmost, Santa had asked the shifters to stay in Northernmost through Christmas unless it was important.Normally, they’d head to Ohio to hang out for the full moon, but because of the veritable lockdown, they’d opted to shift and run around in the snow with their friends and not go home.
He missed his parents and other family members, but he’d get to go home for a few days on Christmas Day once Santa was back safely from his toy delivery run and had replenished his magic.
“My mom wants to fix me up with someone she works with,” Gabriel said.
Sebastian realized he’d drifted off thinking about magic and the battle of good and evil that ramped up every December.
“No kidding?Is she cute?”
“Hell if I know,” he said, his upper lip curling.“I don’t want to be fixed up.”
“Why not?What if she’s your truemate?”
“Oh yeah, what are the odds of my mom working with a female who just happens to be my truemate?A million to one?”
Sebastian grinned.“Probably the same odds as randomly meeting your truemate when you’re at the top of the world for most of the year.”
“Good point.”
“So you told her no?”
“I told her that I would stop by her work after Christmas to say hi and meet the girl, but if she’s not my truemate, I won’t take her out.It’s like you and that Bethany elf chick.”
“Right, not worth playing around.”
“Yep.My mom wants me mated so she can have grandkids to spoil.”
“Same.”
