Guardians Of The Shifters

by Shannon Schoolcraft

  “So what does that mean for me and other hybrids?”

  Her brows dipped. “I’m afraid in the end you all must die.”

  That was like a big ole’ slap to the face and then some. I guess we got what we came for. I’m sorry to burst her bubble, but I’m not dying anytime soon and nor will the other’s. “Thank you for having us.” I said as we stood up to leave. We rounded the couch before her voice drew me back in.

  “Oh, and Cora?”

  I turned. “Yes?”

  She gave a warm smile. “If the three of you stick together, you can stop this war that’s between us. In all honesty, I’m tired of the fighting, that’s the main reason I live out here.”

  I nodded. “We will do our best.”

  “That’s all anyone can ask for.”

  We didn’t bother with hugs and goodbyes, we just left. I’m guessing the sun started to go down because it looked a bit darker in the swamp. I chewed over everything that she had told us and from the looks on Caden’s and Kevin’s faces, they were thinking about it too.

  I put my dagger away while she was talking because obviously I didn’t need it. For some reason, it didn’t take us that long to get back to the bikes. It always seems to take forever when you’re going somewhere and it seems to take less time getting back. Caden already had the duffel bag strapped to his bike, he handed me my jacket and I slipped it on. Once we were all seated on the bikes, Kevin reeved up his and took the lead.

  Although I’m sure Caden could ride beside him if he wanted, he probably likes the taste of dust. When we got back into the city limits of Daytona Beach, we decided to stop at one of the hotels for the night. Caden and I shared a room and invited Kevin to eat with us.

  We ordered pizza and brown pop. There was barely any talking between us, except for the occasional attempt at a joke that nobody thought was funny. After we ate, we decided that we would head back to Miami in the morning and went to bed. It took a while for me to fall asleep because my mind was racing. I snuggled up to Caden, and when I did fall asleep, I welcomed it.

  Chapter 15

  The next morning, I think it was Thursday, I didn’t want to get out of the comfy bed. I was still tired from the long trip from yesterday and wasn’t looking forward to getting back on the bike and be stiff legged again when the time came to dismount. I wanted to work my muscles in a good ole’ fashioned fight. Caden’s lips kept moving along my neck and collar-bone until I finally opened my eyes. His hair was wet from a shower that I was assuming he took before waking me. A shower did sound good and so did a caramel coffee and a chocolate donut. I smiled up at him as I looped my arms around his neck.

  “Mm…morning.”

  He kissed the corner of my mouth. “I’m going to get breakfast…want anything?”

  “A caramel coffee and a chocolate donut.”

  “You got it.”

  He kissed me a few more times before pushing off the bed and walked out of the room. I stretched before throwing the covers off and getting out of bed. I wasn’t looking forward to putting my dirty clothes back on after my shower, but we didn’t pack a change of clothes because we weren’t expecting to make an overnight stop on our way back.

  I shrugged to myself and shut myself in the bathroom. Setting the water to the desired temp, I stripped and stepped in. I tipped my head back and closed my eyes as I let the water hit my face. I stood like that for a little while longer until I finally decided to wash up and get out.

  When I walked out of the bathroom fully dressed, Kevin and Caden were sitting on the bed with a box of donuts. Caden handed me my coffee and a bag. I opened the bag to peek inside and baked sweetness filled my senses. The smell of warm chocolate made my stomach growl and my taste buds dance because soon they would explode at the taste of heaven.

  I took a donut from the bag and in-hailed that bastard. I was just finishing the second one when I noticed that Kevin was smirking at me.

  I swallowed my food. “What?”

  His smirk deepened. “Did you taste it?”

  “Yeah.” I said confused.

  “You could have fooled me.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You ate the donut like it was your last breath.”

  “I was hungry.”

  He blanched. “Seriously? You ate a full pizza by yourself last night.”

  “So.” I shrugged. “That was last night.”

  “Where are you putting it all?” He eyed me from head to toe. “Your big toe?”

  I scowled at him. “No.”

  Caden couldn’t hold back his laughter anymore. If he laughed too hard, maybe he’ll fall off the bed. I took the last baked goodness out of the bag, crumpled up the bag, and threw it at them. They moved out of the way like it was a big stone soring for their heads. Too bad I didn’t have one. Throwing the crumpled up bag at them only seemed to make them laugh harder. I stepped closer to them and punched them in the shoulder.

  “Owe!” They said in unison.

  I smiled. “Is it time leave yet?”

  Caden rubbed his shoulder. “After you drink your coffee.”

  I only drank half of the cup and threw the rest in the trash can next to the bed. Once outside, Kevin took the room keys back to the receptionist while Caden and I mounted his bike. I was ready to go back to Miami.

  We would have been back already if the boys (mainly Kevin) wouldn’t have wanted to stay for the night. When we did get back, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Did I want to look for a fight or did I want to try and end the fighting between us? Either way, I was ready for all of us to be in the clear.

  Chapter 16

  I wrapped my arms around Caden’s waist as we took off down the road. The buildings, beaches and people were a blur as we sped down the black-top. The sun was beating down on us brightly, but I barely felt the warmth from the sun because of the wind blowing in my face. I rested my cheek between his shoulder blades and closed my eyes letting the wind wash over me.

  I was lost in the moment with the sun shining over my closed eyelids, the wind blowing over my skin, the sound of the bike beneath me and the scent of Caden. All four seeped in and around me, cocooning me in a form of contentment. For the first time in months I felt at home, at peace, so long as Caden was part of it. I smiled as I tightened my hold around his waist.

  I felt the soft brush of his hand on mine. I opened my eyes because I didn’t want to risk falling asleep or falling off the bike. Although, I’m pretty sure that Caden wouldn’t let me fall.

  We were half way back to Miami when I felt the normal tingle skate down my spine. I looked up just in time to see Kevin’s bike swerve before he got control of it again. I knew that he felt it too. I looked behind us to see a truck damn near the size of a tank gaining on us. The windows were tinted to the point that you couldn’t see how many people were in it.

  Kevin turned down a dirt road with a sign that read DEAD END, perfect. We sped down the dirt road, kicking up dust in our wake. We quickly pulled behind a shed, turned off the bikes and dismounted. I already had a dagger in my hand ready to fight off the threat.

  Caden and Kevin walked to one side of the shed, while I went to the other side. The sounds of doors shutting and the prickly sensation sent my blood boiling. I could feel the fire within slowly start to make its way to the for-front and I tried to keep it at bay. It would be too soon for the fire to make its self-known. I closed my eyes and took a couple deep, calming breaths. When I opened my eyes, there was a tint of amber to my surroundings.

  I looked over my shoulder at the boys and one nod from Caden had me stepping out from behind the shed. At first the group of swiftstrikers didn’t see me. I did a head count, there was a total of six. Lucky us, two for each. I scrapped my foot against the ground across the pebbles. The closest one to me jerked his head in my direction.

  A faint scar ran down the right side of his face, from the side of his chin, along his neck, and disappeared under his black long sleeved shirt. He sl
apped his hand on one of his buddies’ shoulders. Once his friend saw me, he made his way towards me and his friend with the scar followed suit.

  My body hummed with anticipation. I tried not to bounce where I stood. I kind of wondered if this was going to be a type of tag-team thing. If one goes down, the other could be tagged in. I smiled a little as that thought skates through my head.

  The guy without the scar swung at me and I leaned back, his knuckles grazed my nose and if his fist had connected, I’m sure my nose would have been broken. Thank god for fast reflexes. He didn’t give me enough time to right myself before he was swinging at me again. This time his fist connected with the side of my jaw, snapping my head to the side. I could feel blood pooling in my mouth. I spit the salty, coppery liquid to the ground and looked back at him smiling. I could feel a little trickle down my chin and wiped it away with the back of my hand.

  I gripped the dagger tightly in my hand, I wasn’t ready to use it, not just yet. I wanted to feel flesh connect with my hand first before delivering the fatal blow. I threw the dagger down, sticking it in the ground. This time I swung at him first. I got in a couple rib and kidney shots before he was able to push me back. All the while, I somehow managed to keep an eye on the other guy. I could tell that he wanted in on the fight, you could see it in his eyes. He wanted it as much as I did. But he would have to wait his turn.

  Other noises echoed around us, but I was focused on my two. He kicked out at me and when he did, I brought up my leg and caught him in the shin. I heard a snapping sound and my guess would be that his shin was broken. He confirmed it as much when he put weight on his foot and he teetered to the side.

  I jumped up and spun, jabbing my foot into the center of his chest. He fell to the ground gasping for air. That’s when his scar faced friend joined the fray. Took him long enough. We delivered punishing blows after punishing blows. Both of our lips were split with blood running down our chins. I could feel blood running from my nose. He had red and pink blotchy spots on his face from where I had hit him and I’m sure that I did too.

  The other guy finally got his footing. I dived to the ground and rolled, scooping up the dagger, I tossed it, sinking the blade in his head to the hilt. His eyes widened in shock as he fell to the ground.

  The small victory was short lived when I felt arms wrap around me, pinning my arms to my sides. Warm breath rolled over my skin and I felt something wet under my ear. Did he seriously lick me? Gross. I brought my head back as hard as I could, smacking into his nose and a sickening crunch followed. He let go of me to cover his nose with both hands.

  I didn’t give him any time to recover. I spun around punching him in the throat. He let out a choking sound. Reaching for another dagger, I brought it up and jabbed it under his chin. With his mouth open, I could see the blade sticking into the roof of his mouth. With little effort, I yanked the blade out, letting him fall to the ground in his own blood. I turned to see how Kevin and Caden were holding up. They were standing over the bodies at their feet of the other four people. I walked over to them.

  “So, how do we clean this up?”

  Kevin spoke. “We put them in the truck and torch it.”

  “With what?”

  “Caden and I will put the bodies in the truck while you look in the shed for a gas can.”

  Nodding my head, I walked over to the shed and pushed open the doors. The first thing I saw were rakes, shovels and gardening crap. I stepped in further and scanned the small room. Over in the left corner was a red, plastic can that looked promising.

  Stumbling my way through the mess of metal and wood to the gas can, I shook it and heard liquid sloshing around. Grabbing the container, I headed back out to the guys and handed it to Caden.

  I watched as he poured the yellowish liquid in the truck, over the bodies and all over the outside. Kevin pulled a pack of matches out of his pocket (I’m assuming he got them from the hotel) lit one and tossed it on the gas soaked truck. We watched the flames engulf the black truck. The fire within me jumped, making me memorized by the orange glow.

  Chapter 17

  We stood there staring at the flames, I was more like gaping at it because I found it beautiful. I didn’t know if it was my human side that thought it beautiful or my hybrid side. Either way, I didn’t want to stop looking at it. The longer I stood there staring at the flames, the more my eyes started to water. I found myself wanting to reach out and touch it to see if it would burn me, or to see if my hybrid side would suppress the pain.

  I felt a pull towards the fire and took a couple steps towards it, I only stopped because I felt hands on my shoulders pulling me back. I wasn’t sure who pulled me back and I was a bit annoyed that they did. A face loomed in front of me and it took me a few minutes to blink the persons face into focus.

  Kevin’s eyes were leveled with mine and I could see fire dancing in the depths of his hazel eyes. His voice echoed through my head.

  “Cora? You need to back away now.”

  I could hear the worry in his voice, but for some reason, it wasn’t registering with me. Part of me wanted to listen, but the other part wouldn’t let me move.

  “Cora, love.” It was Caden’s voice and my heart jumped. “Let’s get out of here. We need to go before the authorities come.”

  The sound of Caden’s voice washed over me and snapped me out of whatever stupor I was in. I stepped away from them and turned to face them.

  “I don’t think Kayla told us everything.”

  “What do you mean?” Kevin asked.

  “The fire.”

  “What about it?”

  “It calls to me.”

  “Cora, what are you talking about?” Caden asked.

  I ignored him and looked straight at Kevin. “You can’t tell me that you didn’t feel a pull towards the flames.”

  “I didn’t feel anything.”

  I took a step forward and lowered my voice. “Bullshit.”

  “No bullshit Cora.”

  I balled my fists at my sides. “You’re a hybrid too, you had to have felt it!”

  He shook his head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “DON’T LIE TO ME!”

  I yelled just before I swung at him. Only, I didn’t make contact because a hand intercepted my attack and it wasn’t Kevin’s. Before I knew it, Caden had me on the ground face first with my hands behind my back. His knee was pressed against my lower back while his hands gripped my wrists. I’ll admit, I was a little surprised by how fast he was able to subdue me. His breath stirred the hair by my ears as he spoke.

  “If I let you up, will you keep your hands to yourself?”

  “Yes.” I huffed.

  His hands let go of my wrists at the same time that the pressure from my back eased up. I pushed myself up to my feet and dusted myself off.

  “I’m ready to leave now.” I said as I stomped towards the back of the shed. I understood why Caden did wat he did, but did he have to do it so quickly? I’d say that my ego was bruised a bit.

  I sat on the back of Caden’s bike waiting for them. It seemed to take them a few minutes to make their way to their bikes. Once they were on the bikes, they started them up and soon after, we took off.

  When we got back to Miami, we passed the hotel that I was staying in. What the hell? A couple twists and turns later, we stopped in front a blue double wide trailer. I was more than confused. When we got off the bikes, they walked ahead of me while I stayed put. I crossed my arms over my chest and stood straight. Caden stopped and turned to face me.

  “Coming?”

  Is that a trick question? “Whose place is this?”

  “Kevin’s.”

  “Why are we here?”

  “This is where we’ll be staying.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “Why?”

  He let out a deep sigh. “Come inside and we will talk.”

  I didn’t want to go inside, I didn’t want to be here, I wanted to go back to my hotel room. But if
I tried, I had a feeling that Caden would throw me over his shoulder like a cave man and take me into the house. With a little stomp to the ground and a huff, I marched past them and up to the door.

  Tapped to the door was an envelope with no name. Curious, I yanked it down and started to open it, but stopped. I had a feeling that whatever was in the envelope was for all of us to see. Once Caden and Kevin were next to me, I thrusted the envelope at Kevin’s chest. He looked at it confused.

  “What’s this?”

  “Hell if I know, it was on your door.”

  “Let’s go inside and see what it says.”

  I scoffed. “Why not open it now?”

  He gave me a long look. “Fine!”

  Caden and I crowded around him as he tore it open with shaky fingers. Inside was a thick folded piece of paper. Taking it out, Kevin unfolded it. I had to read it a couple times to make sure that I was reading it correctly.

  Dear to whomever this may concern:

  As I’ve come to understand, you’ve had a visit with my mother Kayla. She has told me about your visit and I must say that I agree with her. I’d like to put this fighting nonsense behind us for good. As it stands, the war between us started with Levi. I’ve noticed that shifters and hybrid shifters are nothing like him in this day and age. I’d like to have a meeting in the next few weeks to sort this all out and see where we stand. In the meantime, I’ll call off my swiftstrikers and I’m hoping that you’ll keep that hybrid girl of yours on a very short leash. I’m looking forward to meeting all of you. Until then.

  Yours truly

  ASH.

  The three of us just stood there looking at each other. Dare I hope that this will be the end? Or is this a trick or a trap? It was a dangerous thing to hope for and yet, I couldn’t help it. We didn’t say anything as we filed our way inside the house. After cleaning up and eating, we headed to bed. Could it really be, that in the next couple weeks, we would finally be in the clear to live our lives the way we want without having to look over our shoulders?