The Broken Warrior's Daughter

“This is me.” | tell him when we arrive at my apartment. Maia really could have given me the head's up about being this guy’s Guardian. | don’t know exactly what that means, but Maia is adamant that we are now bound to him. This man who is practically old enough to be my father but is actually my mate.

It's not that he’s unattractive. He has a dark and broody look to him, dark skin, dark hair, and dark eyes. Even through his clothes, | can tell that he’s ripped. His broad shoulders and chest look like solid muscle. His legs are the size of tree trunks, and | can see the muscle cutting lines through his jeans like they are molded to him.

But it doesn’t matter. | know how toxic the mate bond is. | lived it, watching my father mistreat my mother, then slowly watching her die. | refuse to put myself in that position.

“Thanks for walking me home. Good talk.” | step up to open my door when he takes my hand. “We're not done yet. We still have a lot to talk about.”

“I'm done talking. | gave you more time than | would normally give a stranger. | have things to do. Goodnight.” | pull my hand out of his and go inside, shutting the door in his face.

| wait about an hour before going outside. | sniff the air. | can still smell him, but he’s not waiting for me. | take a deep breath, smelling his sandlewood scent which lingers in the air. Why did our Moon Goddess have to make our mates smell so good. As if it wasn’t bad enough that shifters are physically attractive. already, but then you have to add a mouthwatering scent as well? It’s almost cruel.

| walk to the edge of the forest, quickly pulling off my clothes and shifting. | feel like someone is watching me, but as | look around and sniff the air, | can’t detect anyone nearby. | turn and let Maia run. We follow our usual path, going in one direction until we come to the pack boundary, then turning and going in the other direction until we get to the next pack’s boundary and finally to the river.

Maia drinks some water and turns to head home when | see him. He’s huge, easily the size of an Alpha wolf. He’s solid black, blending into the forest and the shadows. If the moon wasn’t so bright tonight, | doubt | would have even seen him.

Maia puts her nose in the air, breathing deeply. ‘It’s him.‘ She says, practically

+15 BONDS

purring in my head.

‘Who?’ | ask her.

‘Our mate, Eli and his wolf.‘ She starts to walk toward him.

‘What are you doing?”

‘Going to see our mate. | want to meet him.*

‘What? No! We're going home.*

We stare at him for a moment, while | battle with her in my head. ‘Fine.’ She finally gives in. “Thank you.’

When we get to where my clothes are, | can still feel him. | can’t walk in my wolf form to my apartment. | don’t want to change while he’s watching, but | don’t really have a choice. | turn my back from where | feel eyes on me and shift before putting on my clothes quickly and jogging home, locking my door behind me.

I'm not sure if | appreciate having someone watching over me, or if it feels like | have a stalker.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

‘He’s watching over us.’ My love-sick wolf says. ‘He was making sure we were safe.’

‘Do you know what he meant about Alphas wanting to force us into a mate bond?‘ ‘Yes. The Guardians have a long history of being forced into mate bonds with Alphas who want to keep them in their packs. We provide strength and therefore power toa

pack we belong to. He is right. Once word gets out that a Guardian has died, every Alpha in the country will be looking for us. We'll have to be careful and stay away from other werewolves.’

‘Well, until today, it hasn’t been a problem, so we'll just keep doing what we’re doing.*

The next day is much the same. | get up and head to work. I’m only there a few minutes, when | hear the bell ring over the door, and | smell his scent. | may not have allowed Eli into my home, but | can’t exactly kick him out of the diner.

He orders food and literally sits in the seat until the end of my shift. “You know, most people eat and leave.”

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