Guardians Of The Shifters

by Shannon Schoolcraft

  SAFE AT LAST

  Chapter 1: CORA

  Gravel crunched under our feet as we made our way towards the old abandoned warehouse on the north side of Miami Florida. Three weeks ago, we got a letter from a mysterious person named Ash, stating that they wanted to meet and put this whole fighting each other behind us. And of course, I was put on a very short leash and wasn’t able to do anything without Caden or Kevin shoved up my ass. I was surprised that they let me go to the bathroom or take a shower in peace.

  It was hard for me not to go looking for a fight. Also, I was surprised that this mysterious Ash pulled back their people. But that still didn’t stop us from loading ourselves down with weapons just in case this turned out to be a trap.

  I spent three weeks wondering if this Ash person was male or female and soon we would find out. It was hard for me not to reach for one of my blue handled daggers the closer we got to the warehouse.

  We stopped a few feet away from the door and looked up at the big building looming in front of us. My eyes scanned every outer inch, looking for an escape route just in case we needed one. I was banking on the window above our heads on the right with its missing window pieces. It had a sturdy looking fire escape under it, but I wouldn’t suggest all three of us jumping on it at the same time. Not unless we wanted to fall to our deaths on the rusty metal sticking up from the ground with their sharp and jagged edges.

  We stood outside for a few minutes longer debating, on whether or not to continue forward. One nod from Caden had us moving forward yet again. The door creaked as Kevin pushed it open. There was barely any light shining through the dust covered windows. I guess we would have to watch our steps to make sure that we didn’t step in any bear traps or any other booby traps.

  Kevin was the first inside since he seemed to like to play leader. Figures, young kids these days. Caden and I stood on either side of him. It was a bit eary with how quiet it was inside the building. I strained my ears to see if I could pick up any type of noise, but the only thing that greeted us was silence. I gave Kevin a weary look.

  “Do you think it’s a trap?”

  He shook his head. “Ash wouldn’t be that stupid.”

  “How do you know?” I asked puzzled.

  He gave me a pointed look. “I used to be-.”

  “One of them.” I cut him off.

  I still didn’t see his point. Kevin is a hybrid shifter like me, and Ash is a swiftstrikers, a killer. I doubt Kevin killed anyone while he was with them, he was too, I don’t know…pure.

  I shook my head as we walked further into the dust covered and musky smelling building. Old wooden benches and tables were toppled over, like people were in a hurry to leave this place. Windows were broken and boarded up. Looking farther into the room, I noticed a rickety metal stair case leading up to the second floor. I hoped that we didn’t have to climb them, they didn’t look safe.

  The small glow coming from the top of the stairs told us otherwise. When we stopped at the bottom of the stairs, Kevin took the first step and shook it a little. There was a rattling sound, but other than that, it was still sturdy enough.

  Kevin was in the lead with me behind him and Caden taking up the rear. For Kevin being a teenager, I’ll admit, he had some balls. He always wanted to go first, but for me being older then him, I should be the one going first, I kind of felt protective of him. I didn’t want anything bad happening to the kid, that’s all he was, was a kid, he shouldn’t have to be put in the middle of all this.

  But with him being a hybrid shifter, it was his fight too. We stood side by side as we stepped off the last step. There was a huge hole in the floor that I didn’t notice while standing on the lower floor.

  We carefully walked around it towards the room that the light was coming from. I took a deep breath before stepping over the thresh hold. Six other people all clad in black were standing in the room with their arms folded across their chests and all but one had a weapon in their hands.

  Chapter 2: CORA

  I knew I should have un-sheathed a dagger before stepping into this building or even this room for that matter. I looked at each of the six faces trying to figure out which one was the mysterious Ash. I was just about to ask until a tall, muscular man stepped forward. He looked to be almost as tall as Caden.

  He had sharp angular cheekbones, strong jaw with day old stubble and a thick muscular neck just bagging to be bitten. His lips were plump and looked kissable. His dark brown hair fell slightly over his aqua colored eyes. His arms and legs were thick with muscles and I’ll bet he had great lickable abs to go along with the rest of his nicely shaped body.

  I’ll also admit that he was handsome. I didn’t mean to stare at him, but damn, who wouldn’t? I bet this guy had all the ladies tripping over themselves just to be on his arm. I felt heat rush to my cheeks and quickly averted my eyes to the floor, but not before I saw the knowing smirk on his face. His voice had my eyes snapping back up to his, holy hell, he was British too.

  “I thought you guys would never come and since you’re finally here, let’s get the formalities out of the way before we discuss the topic at hand.” He paused. “I’m Ash and these are my friends.”

  “I’m Caden, he’s Kevin and this is Cora.” Thank god Caden spoke up.

  Ash’s eyes raked me from head to toe. “Ah, the lovely Cora in the flesh, we meet at last.”

  He stuck his hand out and I hesitantly took it. What he did next shocked me. Ash brought my hand up to his lips and gently kissed the inside of my wrist. I couldn’t pull my hand back fast enough. A low, throaty chuckle radiated through his chest.

  “Shall we sit?” Sit? I looked around, sit on what, the cold floor? We followed him further into the room and to my surprise there was a new-ish looking table with nine chairs around it. Sitting on the table were three oil lamps, one on each end of the table and one in the center.

  The bottom of them were kind of circular with a clear liquid half-way filling it. The glass covering the thick wick was in an hourglass shape and sat in a copper colored clasps that were attached to the bottom part of the glass. If you wanted more light, there was a small dial on the side that you would turn one way and if you wanted less light you would turn that same dial the other way.

  Kind of convenient if you asked me, it saved on electricity. Also on the table were drinks and snack like foods, like cheese and crackers. We each took a seat and somehow I ended up sitting next to Ash. Ash cleared his throat and spoke in his deep British voice.

  “Let’s get down to the topic at hand.”

  “Yes, lets.” I found myself saying.

  He smiled a heart stopping smile before he began. “For as long as I can remember, we have been fighting each other-.”

  “With you guys attacking first.” I cut in. I looked across the table at Caden and it looked like he was about ready to have a heart attack.

  “Yes, with us attacking first.” Ash said dryly. “But what could you expect from us? We were lead to believe that you guys are the true enemy. We grew up to fight first and ask questions later. With what we heard about Levi, we assumed you were all the same.”

  “Oh please.” I said. “That’s a bunch of bullshit. You can’t expect to sit there and have us believe you.”

  I felt a foot connect with my ankle under the table causing me to jerk my knee up and hit it off the edge of the table. Ash sneered at me.

  “I don’t expect any of you to believe me, but believe me when I say that I want to put an end to this. I’m thirty-five years old and would like to settle down and have a family knowing that they’ll be safe. I don’t want my children to grow up in a world of fighting. Just as I’m sure you and Caden would love to go on with your lives, not worrying or always looking over your shoulders.”

  He had a point there, but would I be able to live a life without fighting? I looked across the table at Caden and realized in that moment that I would try. I would try anything if it meant that Caden would always be by my side. I looked
at Ash from the corner of my eye.

  “What do you suppose we do?”

  “Well Cora, I could talk to my people and try to convince them that there is no longer a need to go after your people and you could convince your people the same. I’m not saying that it will be easy, some may not want to give in so easily. I guess we could prove to each other that each side can be trusted. I’m not saying we just hand over that trust because I know that trust needs to be earned. We can kind of work together.”

  “What do you mean?” Caden asked.

  “What I mean by work together is by having one of your people and one of my people always be seen together. They could help fix houses, or take food to people, or walk down the street together or even possibly date.”

  Ash looked at me when he said that last part, it made my stomach roll. I’m glad I didn’t eat any of the cheese and crackers because I’m sure that it would have come right back up. Ash could not be serious about one of his people and one of my people dating.

  That just goes against everything. I could tell that Caden and Kevin tried hard to keep the disgusted look off their faces. We couldn’t just intertwine our species, that wouldn’t be right and besides, I highly doubt my people would go along with it. Ash’s voice brought my attention back to him.

  “You already have six willing people.”

  “Six willing people for what?” My voice wavered.

  A slow smile spread across his lips. “To intertwine our people of course. It might take some convincing, but you’ll find out that we aren’t all that bad.”

  “It will take more than convincing.” I heard myself say.

  Ash sighed. “Look, get your people together and have a heart to heart. I’ll get my people together and have a chat. We’ll have another meeting in a few weeks, possibly a month. I’m sure all you’re looking for is to be safe at last and so are we. We aren’t all that different, you guys shift and we are merely human. I’ll get word to you for our next meeting.”

  And just like that we were dismissed. Caden, Kevin and I quickly stood and filed out of the room, down the stairs and out of the warehouse. My mind was spinning and I was at a loss of what to say. One thing that I did know for sure was that we were going back to the safe haven.

  Chapter 3: ASH

  I watched the three shifters leave at a quick pace, like they were afraid that they would catch a disease from us. I chuckled to myself. I liked Cora, she had spunk and was she ever pretty. Although, I don’t think pretty even covered it. She was more than that, a lot more. I’ll admit, I liked how her amethyst eyes raked over me, it sent a jolt straight my heart and other places.

  Believe me, I was checking her out too. It was hard not to. Hearing stories about her didn’t quite cut it, now, seeing her in person was an entirely different story.

  Her tight jeans seemed to make her legs go on forever. She had curves in all the right places. Her hair was a little short for my liking, but still enough to sink your hands into and grab a hold of. It was her eyes that drew me in.

  That first look at them had my heart racing and my blood boiling. I felt a jolt of protectiveness towards her. I know it was silly on my part. I know that she only had eyes for Caden, but could there possibly be a way to persuade her to be with me? I saw the way her pulse jumped in her throat when she saw me and I saw how she reacted when she heard my voice.

  Could she really have a thing for British people? With her being with Caden, was a definite yes to that question. “Ash?” The sound of my name brought me out of my thoughts and turning my gaze to my closest friend.

  “Yes Caleb.”

  Do you think they’ll go along with it?”

  “Which part?”

  “About us dating one of them.”

  I thought for a minute. “We won’t know until we meet with them next. I know they want to stop the fighting just as much as we do.”

  He gave me a bland look. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that.”

  I tipped my head to the side. “Please, do tell.”

  “I don’t really know. There is just something about that girl. There is something in her eyes that enjoys the fight. With a look like that, something tells me that she won’t give up the fighting so easily. The others might, but her…I’m not so sure.”

  Yes, I saw that too. I sat back in the uncomfortable chair and lost myself to my thoughts. I’ve noticed a lot of things about her and the hunger for the fights danced in the depths of her eyes. It might take longer than that to convince them.

  I agree with my mother a hundred percent. I was ready to put this fighting shit behind us. It might not be Cora herself that hungers for the fight, it might be the hybrid inside her that does. After all, she is a descendent from Levi. I looked back at my friend.

  “Let’s head out and back to the fort and talk to our people.”

  “Alright.”

  One by one, the guys around me shuffled out of the room. I stayed behind a little longer to douse out the oil lamps. I briefly closed my eyes and in that small moment, a flash of amethyst eyes danced across my closed lids.

  I smiled to myself as I walked out of the room, down the rusty old stairs and out the doors of the warehouse. Cora was a puzzle, a mystery that I was all too willing to figure out. Caden may already have her, but if it came down to it, I’ll fight him to the death to have her hand. The last man standing wins and I’m determined to win. Cora is worth winning and so much more.

  Chapter 4: CORA

  I was glad to be out of the musty building and away from Ash and his people. I just couldn’t believe that he suggested that my people and his people get together. There was no way that the other guardians and shifters would go for it. He had to be out of his freaking mind. My head was still spinning as we left the warehouse behind us and stopped at an outside restaurant to get something to eat.

  My stomach was in knots and I wasn’t even sure if I’d be able to eat anything. I sat in a chair next to Caden. He grabbed my hand and with his thumb, he traced small, soothing circles on the back of my hand. I vaguely looked at the menu and ordered water and a small burger while the guys ordered a heaping plate of food. Good to know that they still had an appetite. I took one bite of the burger and pushed my plate away. That one bite felt like stones in the pit of my stomach.

  “I can’t believe he would suggest something like that.” I found myself saying. “I don’t think the others will go for it.”

  “They might.” Kevin said.

  “If it means peace.” Caden finished.

  “Yeah, but it’s just-.”

  “Wrong.” Caden cut in. “We don’t have to decide anything yet. We have a month to talk to our friends and see what they have to say. If they decide not to go along with it, then we will find another way.”

  “There might not be another way.”

  We both looked at Kevin and from the look on his face, had the hope inside me about finding another way, shriveled up and died. From the look on his face I could tell that he was agreeing to what Ash suggested. Right then and there, I knew that Kevin had already made up his mind on the matter.

  Of course it was easy for him to decide, he was raised by them. I wanted to reach over and slap some sense into him. I leaned forward and lowered my voice.

  “You need to pick a side, you can’t have it both ways.”

  He slammed his hands on the table. “I’m trying to help our people!”

  “By siding with them?” I questioned.

  Kevin and I stared each other down. The fire within him danced dangerously in his eyes, triggering my own hybrid side. I could start to feel the fire in me start to make its way towards the surface. Caden noticed the tension between us and put his hand on my shoulder. That small touch kept my hybrid side at bay, well at least for now.

  “You two need to calm down.” Caden was saying. “Let’s go back to Kevin’s and talk this through.”

  “Fine!” Kevin and I said in unison.

  Kevin and I both stood at the same ti
me, never taking our eyes off each other and if looks could kill, we’d both be dead. Caden had to walk in between us, but that still didn’t keep us from glaring at each other. I wanted to find a different way to finally be safe and Kevin wanted to mix species. Fuck that, I won’t let our people be diluted. Although, I just may not have a say in the end when it comes down to it.

  I grumbled to myself as we made our way back to Kevin’s. It was more like a string of curses that I was saying under my breath. I kicked a stray pebble and watched as it rolled a few feet ahead of us. Occasionally, I would glance over at Kevin. His hands were shoved deep in his pockets, I knew he could feel my eyes on him but he never looked up, his eyes continued to stare at the ground as we walked.

  He needs to understand why I’m having a hard time agreeing with Ash. It wasn’t because Ash is extremely good looking. I just can’t help but to think that if we did mix, and if they had kids, that those kids would be assassin/shifters and then our whole race would be screwed.

  There wouldn’t be anything more dangerous than a shifter gone assassin. I wasn’t willing to take that risk and he shouldn’t be either. As soon as we were in Kevin’s house, I rounded on him.

  “I can’t take the risk of our races mixing.”

  “What would be so bad about it?” He spat back. “We are half human you know.”

  “It’s not that Kevin.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “What if Ash want’s to mix our races just to have stronger assassins, ones that are able to shift too?”