Mates May Meet (Completed)

Galvan and Thea - Guardians

Galvan and Thea - Guardians

At thirteen Thea Andrews went away to train with the Guardians. It wasn't unusual, in the Morning Glade pack, more than forty percent of the pack joined the Guardians or something. Some people joined as young as their first shift.

What made Thea unusual was her gifts. She was able to control water and fire, opposite sides of the spectrum. Neither of her parents or grandparents had gifts of any kind, so it seemed impossible for her to have one much less two.

As a guardian, she was trained to control her gifts as well as fight, plan, think as well as much more. All of this preparation for the benefit of her futureward.

Thea was given her first ward at the age of seventeen. She served the twenty-year-old girl for two years. For six months she waited for another charge. Her next charge was a child of six and her parents. She served them for six years.

She had two years left of her service but the thought of leaving the Guardians wasn't something she wanted. So, her next service was just supposed to fill in the time. At the end of it, she intended to complete a one-year walkabout then reenlist for another five years.

The never expected to meet her mate while on assignment.

Galvan John Caviler. Die-hard Guardian. Four years her senior. One of her partners during the Wakefield assignment.

He made it clear he didn't want a mate at the initial meeting with the Wakefield family. He didn't outright reject her but he ignored her. The handler introduced them to the family, explained to the family what was expected of them, explained the guardians' duties and the three guardians were left to deal with their charges.

Somehow, for three weeks, Thea and Galvan didn't have a moment alone. One was always on duty or the third guardian, Baker Whittle, was present for the meeting to discuss the recent activity or lack thereof.

Over that time Thea changed her mind. What was the point of going on a walkabout if she had no mate to find? As soon as possible she'd reenlist with a request not to serve with Galvan again.

Thea couldn't sleep. Baker was on duty so she decided to search him out. Instead, she found Galvan.

Unable to sleep she decided to go help Baker with his watch. She could even possibly get him to trade shifts with her. There was no need for both of them to be awake. She turned and entered the balcony through the double glass doors. "I thought Baker was on." She asked the silhouetted man standing on the second story balcony.

He turned to her. "I couldn't sleep so we traded."

"Oh, well, I guess I'll leave you to it, then." She started to turn back into the house. With a shake of her head, she turned back to face him. "Why?"

"I told you I can't sleep."

"Don't play stupid." She squared her shoulders. "Why have you treated me like a leper from the second we met."

He tilted his head and studied her in the dim light. "Really? And what have you been doing? Not once have you sought me out. You don't even give me the courtesy of eye contact. I enter a room, you leave. You agree with everything Baker says. You take extra shifts, you don't have a moment where Baker or one of the Wakefields aren't there. So tell me, Thea, who is the leper?"

"Are you insane?" She hissed when she got over her moment of shock. "You ignored me from the first second. At first, I wasn't sure you even felt the spark."

"I ignored you while the handler was here. Five minutes later I couldn't get a second of your time. I wanted to talk to you, get to know you."

"I was following-"

"Don't you dare." He cut her off. "No. You don't get to blame me." he took a step forward and paused. "Maybe, we're both to blame. We could have tried harder. Either of us could have made time."

Thea stared at the floor. He was right. She knew why she hadn't forced a meeting with him one on one. She was scared. If she had made him spend time with her it would have taken all of thirty seconds for him to reject her. Granted he could have done the same in public but that was seldom done.

"I didn't want you to reject me." she lifted her head. He stood in the moonlight watching her, he seemed to be waiting. "Say something."

"I thought you were going to reject me," he admitted. There was a slight smile playing over his lips. "So... You don't want to reject me. And I don't want to reject you. Where does that leave us?"

"As mates," she whispered. She took a step forward. He moved. They met in the center of the balcony. Their lips met in a slow, short, tentative kiss.