Reluctant Guardian

by Elisha Bugg

  Chapter Sixteen

  Anya had been putting off going to Edwin's, afraid what he might say to her.

  She wasn't sure whether she was ready to learn the truth yet, but she couldn't hide from it forever.

  Anya strolled up to Edwin's front door, hesitant to enter for the first time in her life.

  She loved Edwin like the father he had always been to her. Could she handle finding out how much he’d lied?

  She'd always believed that there was more to Edwin. He acted like a man who had seen the world change, always staying so calm and collected no matter the situation.

  Was he a shifter like Thane and Tynan? If not, what was he? How did he know about them?

  Anya slotted her key into the lock and sighed as she pushed open the heavy front door.

  Thane's voice boomed from down the hallway. There was no mistaking that gravelly tone. But why did he sound so furious?

  She couldn't understand what they were arguing about, the words sounding foreign as she stepped over the threshold, unsure whether she should turn and leave.

  Biting her lip, Anya steeled her nerves and slammed the door closed behind her, hoping someone would hear her. She didn’t want them to think she was eavesdropping on their conversation.

  "Anya?" Edwin called from down the hall. "Come in child."

  Anya walked into Edwin's study, both men staring at her, making her feel uncomfortable. She fidgeted, pulling down on the hem of her tank top as she glanced from one to the other.

  Thane's eyes were dark and dangerous, all hints of his usual blue shade vanished, leaving those dark navy pits behind. His expression hard and menacing just like it had been the other night when he'd awoken from his nightmare.

  What had happened between them to make Thane look this angry?

  She turned to Edwin, curious to see if he too showed signs of rage.

  Nothing.

  He looked just as calm and unfazed as he always did, no doubt annoying Thane further.

  "Sorry I interrupted," she whispered, suddenly feeling very out of place and awkward. Perhaps she should have left and came back later, allowing them to continue their heated discussion.

  "Nonsense. Thane and I were just done," Edwin shrugged, leaning back in his chair, clasping his slender fingers in front of him.

  Thane turned and glared at Edwin, anger pouring off of him in waves, but he didn't argue, just stormed from the room without another word, nodding his head in the slightest gesture as he passed her.

  "Sorry about that my dear. Thane was just expressing his distaste with some of my choices," Edwin sighed. “If he finally accepted his position, he’d be able to make the difficult decisions for himself."

  “What position?”

  “He is to succeed me as leader of the Guard.”

  “What’s that?” she found herself asking, not expecting an answer from him without working hard for it.

  Edwin sighed and picked up his glass. A concoction of apple and cinnamon, a drink and scent she always associated with him, making her feel at home.

  “The Guardians are an alliance that was formed centuries ago by several different factions of Lore. Each race involved sent forward their strongest warriors to become Guardians, fighters for the alliance.” Edwin explained, never taking his eyes off of her as he spoke, draining the contents of his glass between sentences.

  “As a Guardian, our job is to protect the alliance and the humans. We keep the hunters in check and stop leaks about our kind spreading, causing panic and mass hysteria. No matter what, we protect what we are and those around us, even if that means putting down our own men and women when they lose control, or turn rogue.”

  Anya grabbed hold of the ring secured to her necklace and dragged it back and forth along the chain. She knew he was hiding something from her all these years, but she never expected it to be something so big.

  He wasn’t human, like them.

  Her chest tightened as her world unravelled around her.

  Everything she knew had been a lie.

  She understood why Thane hadn’t told her he was the wolf she had met. He was doing his job after all, protecting his secret and being cautious with hunters around, but Edwin, he was supposed to have been her guardian. Her father figure.

  He should have trusted her.

  “What, are you?”

  “Like Thane, and Tynan, I am a shifter. A lion shifter to be precise.”

  Her heart continued to pound painfully against her ribs, making her gasp for breath and cling even tighter to her necklace.

  Just what else had he been hiding from her all these years?

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what I was sooner,” he sighed swishing the remnants of his drink in the bottom of his glass as he lowered his gaze from her.

  “I thought it was best to keep you in the dark about it. I had hoped you would grow up and feel safe at last, but I fear I’ve made matters worse. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

  “H-how could you have made things worse? What aren’t you telling me Edwin?” she demanded, pushing to the edge of her seat, waiting for the bombshell he was about to drop.

  “I lied to Thane, claiming I wanted his help with the hunters, when in fact I wanted him to protect you. He’s my successor and the only person I trust with your safety.”

  “Well he clearly wasn’t happy with the task you gave him.”

  “He never knew,” Edwin sighed, rubbing his hand across his nape, his eyes now returning to their usual pale yellow shade. “I don’t know how much of your past you remember my dear, but I told Thane how you ended up in my care. How you came to be so important to me.”

  Anya furrowed her brows between her eyes. She didn’t remember much before the age of five. That was when she remembered playing with some of the other children that dropped by, and when she used to sneak into some of the meetings to sit on Edwin’s lap whilst he did his work.

  She never realised what it was he did, but he hadn't once told her to leave.

  So many faces had come and gone over the years, but Edwin's remained. The only constant thing in her life.

  “I don’t remember,” she replied quietly.

  “You were found caged inside one of the hunter’s hideouts, along with several others,”

  Edwin told her, stepping round the desk to crouch down beside her, taking her trembling hand in his.

  Suddenly a face with glowing eyes of fire flashed before her. Could it be a memory of the one who found her; or one of the men who'd taken her?

  “None of us knew who or what you were, but our biggest weakness is children and nobody argued when I told them I was keeping you with me. Everyone was just appalled and sickened that they could be so vile to a child.”

  Anya’s heart began to pound against her ribs, her breathing quickening as the floods of memories she’d tried so hard to suppress filled her mind.

  Locked away in darkness. All she could see were the shiny bars that held her captive, glistening in the sliver of light that flickered in the distance. A small candle placed in the corner of the room, lighting up a blank face that haunted her dreams. A man with a vicious and weasel-like smile, always smirking, even when he hurt her. Bile rose in her throat as his hands had bent and prodded at her body.

  “Shh. Anya, don’t force yourself to remember this. You don’t need to remember,” Edwin spoke, trying to soothe her with his gentle voice and warm touch, but it wasn’t working. Darkness overwhelmed her mind, filling her vision with nothing but that smile.

  How could she have forgotten what those men did to her? To her mum.

  A loud sob escaped her throat, tears falling freely down her face.

  She could see her mother's face. Those beautiful light blue eyes staring down at her as she held her in her arms, holding her tightly to her chest. Her long, wavy, burgundy hair blowing in the wind under the sun. Then the memory changed. She could see her mother tied to a bed with men looming over her, knives and other instruments in their hands.

>   She could hear her mother screaming, telling her to hide, but it was too late, they'd already spotted her.

  All she could hear was her mother's sobs as two of the men plunged a dagger into her chest whilst another held Anya, kicking and screaming, crying for her mum.

  “T-They,” Anya tried to speak around the lump in her throat, tears burning their way down her cheeks. “They killed her in front of me.”

  Edwin jumped to his feet and pulled her into a tight embrace, holding her head to his chest as the tears fell silently. Her body trembled as she hiccuped, trying to hold back the tears.

  “I’m so sorry. I should never have asked you to remember such things,” he cooed. “Maybe if I had asked you what had happened sooner, none of this would have happened. I just couldn’t bring myself to question you when you appeared so broken. It took you two years to even begin speaking.”

  “This is why Thane and I were arguing earlier,” Edwin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and fingers. “We all thought Lucas was dead. All of us, except Thane. He was the only one insisting we keep searching and not give up. The rest of us thought it was a fool's mission. Turns out, we were the fools.”

  “What are you talking about?” Anya asked around her sobs, grabbing hold of Edwin’s arm to regain his attention.

  “The man you saw in the hunter's basement, Lucas. He’s your father.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Anya froze.

  Her heart felt like it stopped beating as she clenched her hands into fists, her knuckles blanching of colour.

  For years she'd believed she had no family left. Now Edwin was telling her that Lucas, the man she’d met, was her father.

  How was that possible?

  "I know it's hard to believe my dear, but Lucas is your father."

  "How do you know? How could you possibly?"

  "Your mother's name was Amelia."

  "I don't know my mother's name!" she insisted, her hands now shaking through anger and grief.

  "No. But you know her face," Edwin replied, pulling an old photograph from his pocket, holding it out for her to take.

  Anya glanced down at the three people she could see in the photo, all of them smiling happily.

  Not daring to touch it, she stared down at those familiar faces.

  Her mother smiling with a man's arm draped around her shoulders. A man who looked so much like Lucas. His green eyes were like looking into a mirror. And behind them, Thane. He looked so young, his face matching those around him with a genuine smile.

  The sob she had been trying to hold in broke free.

  "I never thought he was still alive. I would never have given up on him if I had any idea."

  "Why didn't you tell me when you found out?"

  "I haven't seen you since," Edwin replied with a frown, pulling on his shirt cuffs.

  "You could have come and told me. Don't use my absence as an excuse, Edwin. I had a right to know," she replied, knocking his hand away so he'd look at her.

  "If I hadn't found out about all of this from the hunters, would you have told me?"

  "I can't answer that."

  "Would you have told me?" she demanded, raising her voice, hands balled tightly by her sides.

  "I don't know," he admitted, hanging his head in shame.

  "Since the moment you were brought to me I've wondered whether you were human or not, but I never knew who you were. Somehow your scent had changed.”

  Her whole life with Edwin had been a lie. He'd bought her up ignorant to the world she was living in, even when he doubted she was human.

  “It was Thane who figured it all out. If you hadn't found out about Lucas from the hunters, it may never have triggered his memory.”

  "You should have told me when he figured it out."

  "I'm sorry. I was a coward," Edwin replied, glancing up at her, his eyes full of pain and sorrow.

  Anya felt numb as she thought about all he was telling her. All the times he told her she was imagining things when she asked about someone who seemed different, confiding in him when something scared her.

  She clenched her hands tighter until her nails dug into the palm of her hand.

  "I may not be human and you lied to me," she shouted, slamming her hand down hard on the table.

  "All those times I told you I'd seen something strange. You told me I had a vivid imagination.”

  "I should have told you sooner. I'm sorry.”

  “Even when I spoke to you months ago, scared that I was going crazy. You still said nothing, knowing what you did.”

  “I didn't know who your parents were at that point.”

  "You still lied," she shouted, running from the room as fast as her legs could take her.

  She could hear Edwin shouting behind her, asking her to stop and listen, but how could she?

  She couldn't sit there and listen to the one man she’d trusted all her life. A man who’d been lying to her for the past sixteen years.

  Silent tears fell, streaming across her face as she continued to run, her body shuddering as she tried to fight the sobs that coursed through her. Her chest heaved as she fought for each breath.

  Anya slowed when she realised she could no longer hear Edwin chasing after her. No longer hear his lies as he insisted it was for her own good.

  She couldn't face what he was telling her, couldn't bring herself to consider that he might be right, that she was half shifter.

  There would have been signs she was different.

  She stopped, catching her breath, leaning over with her hands on her knees.

  Nausea overwhelmed her as she pictured Lucas's face behind those bars, remembering how connected she'd felt to him. His long, tangled hair matted around his thin and tired face. His body battered and bloody.

  Had he known who she was; is that why he fought to protect her when Hugh and Richard came close?

  Edwin had given up on him. The man meant to be his successor. He'd told everyone he was dead instead of continuing to search for him.

  Fresh tears cascaded down her cheeks, burning red hot against her fevered skin. How could he give up on someone he claimed to care so much about?

  A noise sounded from behind her, forcing her to start running once more. She didn't want to stand there and listen to Edwin as he pleaded for forgiveness. Not when all she could picture was the haunted look in Lucas's eyes as he stared at her in disbelief.

  She cried harder, making it impossible to breathe, forcing her to stop.

  She remembered talking with Thane the night she found out what he was. He'd told her that mates were connected, that they felt each other's pain, knowing when the other was in danger. That they would know when the other had died.

  Lucas must have gone crazy not being able to reach her mum as she fought for her life and that of her child's.

  How had he continued to fight knowing everything he loved had been taken from him?

  "Anya?" she heard a male voice calling her in the distance.

  She didn't stop to listen and find out who it was, or what they wanted. Didn't want to talk to any of them, not now. Her emotions were too raw.

  Fighting the exhaustion from her body and the fire in her lungs, she continued to run hoping they gave up before she did. Only, whoever was running behind wasn't giving up. In fact, they were gaining on her, quickly. She should have known she would never outrun one of them. She'd seen for herself how fast they could move.

  There was no alternative. She would have to hide instead and hope they were unable to track her. The woods to her right gave her the best chance.

  Just as she was about to enter a small gap in the trees big enough for her to crawl through, a strong hand grabbed her shoulder.

  She spun around, flailing her arms wildly, trying to hit him, but he was too quick, catching both her arms in mid-air, holding them still above her head.

  "Calm down," he commanded, holding her in a vice like grip.

  Her face snapped up to meet thos
e stunning azure eyes and she cracked, bursting into tears once again.

  Thane let go of her wrists and wrapped his big arms around her, holding her tight while she continued to fight against him, pummelling his solid chest.

  "Shh," he soothed, leaning his head on top of hers, stroking his hand over her hair.

  Anya gave in, leaning her head against him, sobbing into his chest.

  "How could he-" she hiccuped, her voice hoarse. Her throat sore and dry.

  "Why didn't he tell me?"

  "I can't speak for Edwin. He's the only one who can answer why he kept it from you for so long," Thane replied, continuing to pet the back of her head, comforting her, “but I know Edwin does what he thinks is right. He probably thought he was protecting you."

  "He should have told me when he found out. When he had the first inkling I was something more."

  "Yes he should have."

  "He used you too you know. Lied to you."

  "I know, Anya. I am angry with him as well. But he didn't lie about everything. He honestly thought Lucas was dead. We all did," Thane replied, holding her at arm's length, his blue eyes flickering a darker shade.

  "You didn't."

  "No," he sighed, looking away from her gaze.

  "Why?"

  "I refused to give up on him. He was my mentor, and my friend. I couldn't believe someone like him, someone so strong, could die."

  "But everyone dies."

  Though it broke her heart to admit it, she knew it to be true.

  It didn't matter how strong or powerful, rich or poor, eventually everybody died. Her family had, at least that's what she had believed.

  "I know. I just refused to believe it. Everybody told me I was losing it, but my heart refused to let go. It destroyed me," he admitted, hanging his head in shame as he slumped to the floor, pulling her down onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.

  "I know what it's like to lose everyone you care about, Anya. I know how hard it is to cope and how easy it is to give in, but Lucas saved me from becoming a monster,” he whispered in her ear, his warm breath sending shivers down her spine as it tickled her sensitive skin, "You should never give up on those around you. Edwin cares deeply about you. He just wanted to save you from a life of always looking over your shoulder."