Falling For Her Guardian (Yuletide Shifters #1)

Chapter 2

Seren Winters was having a hell of a day when she left work. Or what had been her job. She’d been let go a half hour before the day ended, part of a company-wide round of layoffs.

It wasn’t like she thought working the front desk at a hotel was her life’s work, but she did enjoy meeting people, and she’d gotten pretty good at handling irate patrons in the year she’d worked for the boutique hotel.

“I’m sorry, Seren,” Matty, one of her fellow front deskers, said as he held the front door for her. The only thing she’d had with her besides her purse was a mini crockpot she used to heat her lunch because they hadn’t been able to keep personal items at the desk.

“Thanks,” she said.

“You can use me as a reference. I hope you find something soon.”

She gave him a one-armed hug. “Thank you so much, I appreciate it. If I don’t talk to you again, have a great Christmas.”

“You too,” he said.

She stood at the front entrance of the old hotel and looked up at the gray sky. Snow was falling, big fat flakes that covered her dark coat for a moment before melting. It was a sucky time of year to get fired, considering it was December first. But she’d just paid her rent, so at least she didn’t have to worry about that until next month.

The snow and cold temperature chilled her, so she hurried to her car and put her lunch on the floor of the back seat. She turned on the car and sat for a little bit to let it heat up before making the twenty-five-minute drive across town.

She texted her sister, Noelle.

I got fired.

Hells bells, Ser. Don’t they know it’s your birthday month?

Seren was born on Christmas Day. Easy to remember for family members, but it sucked in the gifting department with the overlap of the holiday.

I doubt they cared. They cut some long-timers too.

Are you okay?

I will be.

No, I mean $$.

She flipped the screen to the folder holding her banking apps and opened her account. She had a checking account, but she also had an emergency fund in the form of a savings account. She didn’t really want to use it, but if she had to then she had to.

I’m good for now. Hopefully I’ll find something quickly. I’m going to stop at Mom and Dad’s and update my resume. I need to use their printer.

I’ll come over after work and we can watch a movie and cajole Mom into making caramel popcorn.

Immediately her mouth watered at the thought of her mom’s caramel popcorn, crispy and sweet and studded with peanuts.

I’m in! I’ll see you there.

Her sister paused for a long moment, the screen showing the dots as she was typing out whatever she was planning to say. Then she texted, It’ll be okay. You’ll find a great job, the best one yet! And just think, it could be worse.

Seren’s brows lifted. How could it be worse?

You could still be with that jackass.

Just had to bring him up, huh?

The Jackass, otherwise known to his friends and family as Finn Draylock, future alpha of the Columbus Pack.

Sorry. It’s true, though. You might not have a job right now, but at least you’re not wondering what your boyfriend is up to and whether he’s cheating on you with she-wolf skanks.

She didn’t think all she-wolves were skanks, just the ones that knew she and Finn were together and had hooked up with him anyway during one of the four full moons they’d been together.

When she’d first met Finn, she’d been enamored with the whole shifter thing, finding them mystical and powerful. In the end, he’d just been another guy who took her trust and abused it until she swore off dating shifters for the rest of her life. Humans cheated too, but at least a human wouldn’t blame the cheating on her being human or his wolfy libido.

You’re right. It’s a silver lining to the shitty day.

Love you, babe. See you in a little bit.

Love you too.

Now that her car was sufficiently warm and she had plans for the night that didn’t involve sitting in her apartment alone and staring at the walls wondering where she went wrong with her life, she was feeling a little better.

She’d feel loads better once she got to her parents’ home, where the TV was always on while her dad flipped channels, and something was always cooking in the kitchen, where her mom showed the family how much she loved them by always feeding them.

Eat more, you’re wasting away to nothing! Take leftovers, take it all!

She sent a quick text to her mom to let her know she was coming over to hang out and that Noelle was coming too. Then she put her phone into the cup holder and put the car into drive.

The trip had been uneventful up until she reached the section that cut through a wooded area that hadn’t seen a snowplow yet. The snow was coming down even faster now, the big, fat flakes building up on her windshield wipers.

She leaned forward, her hands tight on the steering wheel, watching the road. Or at least what she was pretty sure was the road. Everything was white in front of her, save for the trees on either side.

The sun had set and her headlights made the snow look like crystals.

Her car shuddered suddenly.

Oh no. No, no, no!

Her car could not crap out on her now!

It kept going for a few feet and then shuddered again, lurching to the left. The tires skidded for a moment as she tried to ease the brake pedal down and not slam it as panic set in. But no matter how light the touch, the car started to slide on the snow-covered road and head to the right, toward the trees. There was a bump as she left the road, and then the car made a strange squealing sound before the engine died and an alarm started to beep.

“Shit.”

She picked up her phone.

“Oh hell.” No bars, damn it. She just had to break down on one stretch of road without a signal.

She was at the halfway point of the drive, but it was very cold, and the snow was only getting worse. If she couldn’t call for help, she was a sitting duck.

How long would her parents wait before she didn’t show up to try to get hold of her, think something was wrong, and then come looking for her? Probably hours. She hadn’t seen a car since she’d hit the wooded stretch of road.

Deciding it was best to walk in the direction of her parents’ house, she turned off the car. She knew there was a gas station right at the edge of the next town, but maybe she’d get cell service back before she reached it. Then she could call for help.

She looked at the phone screen, and it said SOS. She could call emergency services, but maybe she’d wait to see if she could just get cell service. If she got too cold, she’d turn back and call for help that way.

Zipping up her winter coat, she was thankful she was wearing fleece lined leggings and not a skirt, plus her favorite boots.

She found her gloves and hat in the console and put them on, then pressed the button for the hazard lights.

Bracing for the cold, she got out and shut the door, pressing the button on the key fob to lock the doors.

Shit it was cold.

Tucking her hands into her pockets, she hunched into her coat and walked down the road.

Something caught her eye in the woods.

A flickering, orange light.

What the hell could that be?

She looked ahead at the dark, lonely stretch of road and then back to the flickering orange light. Maybe someone was camping? Or it was a porch light for a cabin?

She debated whether to keep walking or check out the light and opted to check on the light instead.

Stepping off the road, she waded through ankle-deep snow as she picked her way through the trees, keeping her gaze on the flickering light.

Her sister would think she was a loon.

Seren wasn’t a risk-taker. She was the least risk-taking person who ever lived. The last time she’d taken a chance on something, she’d dated a wolf shifter who she thought was a good guy, but he’d just been pretending. Fucking the human for fun while he kept his she-wolf friends close.

Humiliation burned on her cheeks and she scoffed at her train of thought.

She wasn’t with Finn anymore. He and his fake charm could fuck all the way off. He might have broken her heart, but she wasn’t going to wallow in the past.

It would be helpful if she had some kind of dating prospect on the horizon. Maybe she’d take Noelle up on her offer to fix her up with someone from the library where she worked.

She could go for a nice, bookish man who wouldn’t cheat on her.

Snorting, she couldn’t believe her guy wish list only had one thing on it right now:

Don’t be a cheating asshole .

When she got close to the flickering light, she realized it wasn’t orange so much as a mix of yellows, greens, and ambers, and it wasn’t a campfire or a front porch light—it was a portal.

A woman was standing with her back to the huge magical portal and looking at a tablet.

“Dang it,” she muttered.

Seren had never seen a portal up close. Only magical people could make and use them, like witches or fairies. She didn’t see wings on the woman and figured she was probably a witch. There was a coven in Columbus, but she didn’t think they were in this part of the woods.

Deciding to ask her for help, Seren stepped from the tree she was lurking behind and her foot caught on a root.

Tripping, she pinwheeled her arms to get her balance, then slipped on a big patch of ice.

As she careened toward the portal, the witch gasped and shouted No!

Seren hit the portal, and the sound of crackling glass echoed and everything turned white.

She groaned as she lay sprawled on the ground.

She stared up at the sky, confused because it wasn’t the right sky.

She should see trees and stars.

But she was looking at the Northern Lights.

Was she… oh shit.

She was in Northernmost, where the Well of Magic, Santa, and his elves lived, and mainly? Where no humans were allowed.

Damn it.