“What kind of truce?” Jon’s voice rang out.
I looked at him. “I may have suggested that our people and their people be seen together. Be it either helping fix houses, giving out food and even possibly…dating.”
Too many voices spoke out at once. I couldn’t decipher what each of them were saying. I did catch a few people saying disgusting and we shouldn’t mix. They were all talking at once. Part of me expected this, but the other part was hopeful that they would go along with it.
All the voices pounded in my head and seemed to get louder. I pinched the bridge of my nose to try and keep the headache that I knew would come, away. I couldn’t take the noise of them droning on, so I stood.
“QUIET!” I yelled.
One by one, the voices quieted down and I was able to think again. I looked at each and every one of them.
“The war between us should have ended with Levi. The shifters are nothing like he was. I’m tired of fighting and I’m sure most of you are too. Don’t you want to have a safer life?”
Around the room I could see heads bobbing in agreement. One voice spoke out and I turned my attention to Jon.
“What about the hybrid girl, cousin?”
“What about her?” I tensed.
He smiled. “Isn’t she a descendent of Levi?”
It took me a minute to answer. “Yes, she is.”
His smile deepened. “How do we know she’s not just like him?”
“We don’t, but just because she’s from his bloodline, doesn’t mean she’s anything like him.”
Jon could hear the protectiveness in my voice and if he could, I’m sure everyone else could too. I stood my ground as he stepped closer to me and whispered.
“You’re quite smitten with her aren’t you?”
I didn’t answer.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
He held my gaze for a few seconds longer before he turned and disappeared out of the room. I turned my attention back to the others in the room.
“I arranged to have another meeting with them in the next few weeks to a month, so you have that long to decide.”
“And if we don’t?” Came a women’s voice.
I turned my attention to Joann. “Then feel free to leave, go anywhere you please.” I tipped my head to the side. “Just as long as you’re no longer here in Florida.”
I didn’t stay to see her reaction. I left the sitting room and left them to their discussion while I headed to my room to get some much needed rest. I crawled onto my bed without removing my boots and closed my eyes. Sleep came easy to me just then. I clung to the image of Cora’s eyes as I drifted off into a deep sleep.
Chapter 10: CORA
We twist and turned our way down the all too familiar road that would take us to the safe haven. My stomach knotted again as the nerves started to take hold. We still had a few miles to go, but that still didn’t stop the nervous feeling from creeping up on me. If this was going to truly be the end of the war between our races, I wished that I could have one last fight.
No sooner than the thought crossing my mind, I felt the familiar tingle race down my spine. I decided that when we slowed down for the next curve, I’d jump off the bike and face the threat head on.
Twenty seconds later, I felt the bike begin to slow, it’s now or never. I threw myself sideways, letting go of Caden in the process. I heard Caden’s curse above the sound of the bike as I hit the pavement hard and rolled a few times.
My arms and legs got scrapped up pretty good and I was amazed that I didn’t break anything, but it still hurt. I stood from the ground, wiping pebbles and dirt from my skin and clothes when four shadows emerged from the surrounding trees. I reached for a dagger and realized that I didn’t strap any on when my hand came back empty. Damn.
The one closest to me stepped forward and smiled down at me. He kind of looked like someone that I’ve met recently. I didn’t get a chance to put that piece of the puzzle together because he swung at me, knocking my head to the side. My teeth dug into my cheek with the hit and I could taste blood in my mouth. Fuck it, I’m going to have to deal without my dagger.
I spit a stream of blood onto the ashfault and centered my attention on the guy who hit me. By now, Caden and Kevin turned back and was in there own fight with the other three people that accompanied this guy.
I swung out and punched him on the side of his face and he barely budged. That can’t be good. I didn’t just stop there, I put my whole body weight into each hit and kick but nothing seemed to faze him. He wasn’t hitting back and I soon realized that he was trying to ware me out. I stopped my attack and stood in a defensive pose. A deep chuckle rumbled up from his chest.
“What, no more love taps?”
“Fuck you.”
He smiled. “Is that an invitation?”
I wrinkled my nose. “Gross.”
His smirk faded and a scowl replaced it. He swung at me and luckily I dodged it, but he recounted the attack with a kick, catching me in the side. OW! I think he cracked my ribs. I tried not to show how much it hurt.
“Come on Cora, I know you can do better than that.” He taunted. “Or has Miss. little hybrid gone soft?”
I lunged at him but he easily threw me to the ground. My head cracked off the pavement and I laid there dazed. My hybrid side wasn’t staying dormant any longer. The fire rushed through me with a force so powerful, that the trees around me bent and swayed. Orange light lit up the darkness as I climbed to my feet with a sharp twig in my hand.
With a speed he didn’t see coming, I stabbed the fire enflamed twig through his eyes. His screams echoed around me. He fell onto his back trying to dislodge the stick from his eye as I stepped over him. I bent down so my eyes were level with his.
“No, Miss little hybrid hasn’t gone soft.”
My voice didn’t sound familiar to my own ears. It cracked and jumped like the fire surrounding me. I looked down at the man’s face, he showed no fear in his eyes. Very slowly, I reached out with my hands and placed my fingertips on his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth as the fire started to lick its way over his body. He made no sound as he lay there dying.
I pulled back and all that was left of him was a chard and smoking outline of where his body used to lay. I stood there for several minutes, trying to rain in the fire that took over. Slowly it receded back to its rightful place just below my ribcage, mending my ribs as it went. My eyes were still bright as embers when I turned to look at Caden and Kevin. There should have been four dead bodies lying on the ground, but there was only three.
“Where is the other one?”
“He took off.” Kevin said.
“And you didn’t go after him?”
“We were a little busy ourselves, besides, if you wouldn’t have been toying with Mr. Crispy there, you could have gone after him yourself.”
“I was finishing him off.”
“Yeah, and I’d say he’s well done.”
“Enough you two.” Caden stepped in. “We don’t have far to go. Let’s just get there.”
I turned to him. “You could have shifted.”
“You did enough of that for the three of us. What do you think scared him off?”
“Whatever.”
Caden turned to Kevin. “Go to the safe haven, it’s not far from here.”
“What about you two and how will I know when I’m there?”
“Cora and I need to talk alone. Trust me, you’ll know when you’re there. Just tell them Caden sent you. And for fucks sake, don’t spill the beans on why we’re there until Cora and I get there.”
Kevin nodded his head, jogged to his dirt bike, jumped on and took off. I watched as the red lights from the bike faded in the distance and only then did I look at Caden. Caden stood with his arms folded across his chest and legs braced apart staring at me. His voice broke the silence, bouncing off the trees.
“What’s wrong with you and don’t say nothing I’m fine.”
“I honestly don’t know.”
“You’ve been moody and your emotions are all over-.”
He broke off and his arms fell loosely to his sides.
“What?”
I was on high alert, looking around, ready for another fight. Caden slowly walked up to me and placed his hands on my shoulders. A goofy smile was plastered on his face. His green eyes were brimming with unshed tears. My heart started to beat faster in my chest. The look on his face was starting to creep me out.
“Caden, why are you looking at me like that?”
“I should have known sooner.”
“Known what sooner?” I was confused.
“My kind can tell these sorts of things. Oh my god, I should have known.”
“Caden, what the hell are you talking about?”
I think he might be going crazy, knocked off his rocker because he was making absolutely no freaking sense. Instead of him answering me, he removed one hand from my shoulder and placed it over my stomach, sprawling out his fingers. The goofy smile was back in full force as he whispered.
“You’re pregnant.”
“I’m what!” I squeaked.
He didn’t repeat himself, he just stood there smiling at me and kept his hand on my stomach. Oh god, I think I’m going to faint. My legs buckled from under me and Caden caught me. He picked me up in his arms, cradling me like a small child. My head rolled on his shoulder. I heard his whispering voice just before the blackness took over.
“I’ve got you love, I’ve always got you.”
Chapter 11: ASH
I woke up some time later by the sounds of pounding on my door. They were quick, frantic beats that got me out of bed and across the room throwing the door open. Caleb stood there out of breath and the look on his face was like a cold glass of water splashing in your face. I was instantly awake and alert.
I stood there, waiting for him to tell me what was going on, but all he only seemed able to do was open and close his mouth.
“What is it Caleb?’
“Something happened.”
Dread started to creep up on me. “What happened?”
“It’s Jon.”
“What about him?”
Caleb looked away from me. “He’s dead.”
Those two words had me pushing past him and running towards the stairs and down them. I followed the sounds of commotion coming from the sitting room. The voices rose higher the closer I got. When they saw me, their bickering stopped and silence fell over the room.
They moved out of my way as I stepped forward. I was expecting to see the body of my cousin, but instead, I saw a terrified, twenty something year old Michael. He sat on the couch gripping his thighs and rocking back and forth. I bent down so that I was at eye level with him.
“What happened Michael?”
He stopped moving. “I told him it was a bad idea.”
“What was?” I prompted.
“I told him we shouldn’t go.”
I grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and hauled him up to his feet and shook him. I wanted to know what happened to my cousin.
“What happened Michael?”
“I told him that we shouldn’t go out and look for trouble. He grabbed two of his buddies and headed out the door. I followed them.” He shook his head. “The four of us were heading to that safe haven place to see if those shifter made it there yet, but when Jon caught wind of that Cora chick, he had a different plan. He said he was just going to rough her up a bit, but instead, he full out attacked her.”
I let go of him and backed away, my only thought right then was that I hoped that Cora was okay. Michael’s voice pulled me back.
“The other two went after the other shifters. Everything happened so fast after that. There was a change in the air and I was literally knocked on my ass from the force of it. By the time I got to my feet, that crazy bitch burnt him to nothing but dust. I ran like hell and never looked back. I’ve never seen anything like it.” He looked me in the eye just then. “I think she should be put down for good.”
I grabbed my chair and threw it across the room, it splintered apart as it hit the wall.
“She will not be touched!”
“Are you crazy? That bitch killed Jon.”
“Rightfully so, Jon new better than to go after them.”
“So we do nothing!” Michael shouted.
“Yes, we do nothing.”
“He was your cousin.”
“I’m well aware of that. You can think I’m a heartless bastard all you want, I really don’t care. Jon knew the consequences of his actions and he paid the price with his life. As I’ve said weeks ago, there will be no more going after the shifters or their guardians. From now on, we all get along. I’m tired of the fighting, I’m fucking over it. But mark my words, you so much as go after them, you’ll have me to deal with.”
I made my way out of the room, pushing people as I went. Was I upset that Jon was dead? Yes. Should I care more about it? Yes I should, but I didn’t. I banged my way through the massive house until I stepped outside.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as I stepped off the porch. I should make this right, I should take a life of someone close to her and see how she likes it. With my mind made up, I headed out of the yard, only to stop when a hand landed on my shoulder. I turned slightly to see Caleb.
“Where are you going Ash?”
“To settle a score.”
“I thought you wanted to live in peace?”
“I do, but I never said I was going to be part of that peace.”
He scoffed. “Do you have a death wish?”
“I just might.”
He shook his head. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to have a meeting.”
“And will you be coming back from that meeting?”
I looked away from him. “I just don’t know Caleb. If I don’t, I want you to hold down the fort. The house is yours to do with what you wish. I only ask one thing.”
“What’s that?” His voice shook.
“Make sure our people don’t go after their people anymore.”
“You’re that sure you might not be coming back?”
I clasped him on the shoulder. “I’m tired of everything Caleb. If I’m going out, I’m going out with one last hurrah and I’m taking one of them with me and I don’t care which one it is.”
He nodded his head in understanding. “See you on the other side old friend.”
I smiled at him. “See you on the other side.”
I waited until Caleb was back in the house before I set out on my last mission and I didn’t know whether or not if I was coming back from it.
Chapter 12: CORA
I woke up on a soft fluffy bed with light streaming through the windows and for a minute I didn’t know where I was. I looked around at the now familiar surroundings of Caden’s place at the safe haven. I crawled my way out of the bed and made my way towards the living room with my hands sliding along the smooth surface of the wall. Caden was banging around in the kitchen, throwing things on the counter.
There was a wooden tray with handles sitting on the table. There were fruits, veggies and small sandwiches already placed on it with a half a glass or orange juice. I stood by the table with my elbows resting on the back of a chair as I leaned forward. I wondered how long it would take him to notice that I was standing there, watching him.
A few minutes later, he stopped what he was doing and slowly turned to face me. A slow, half smile spread across his face and I couldn’t help but to return his smile with one of my own. He walked over to me and pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around me.
Slowly the events of last night came to me and only two words stuck out, you’re pregnant. My groan sounded muffled because my face was buried in his chest. How could this happen? I mean, I know how it happened, it’s just that, I thought we were careful. Thinking back to that first time, of course, the shower. That was a month ago. Oh god, oh
god. I pulled back slightly and Caden saw my freaked out expression.
“What’s wrong?”
My face blanched. “I’m pregnant.”
He smiled again. “Yes.”
“Are you sure?” I stumbled over my words.
“Yes I’m sure.”
“But how do you know?”
“Cora, I-.”
He saw the mortified look on my face and pulled me back into his arms, resting his chin on the top of my head. We swayed back and forth for a little bit until my stomach let out the loudest growl I’ve ever heard. Yeah, that’s not embarrassing or anything. Caden chuckled and retracted his arms from around me.
“Come on, sit down. I was going to bring this to the room, but since you’re awake, here you go.”
He set the tray in front of me. He didn’t have to tell me to eat because I was already digging in.
“We shifters.” He began. “Can sense when their partners are close to their cycle or when they’re pregnant. I don’t know how it works. I think it’s because we spend so much time around each other, that our lives are intertwined.” He sat in thought for a minute while I finished the fruit. “My mother once told me that when I find the person I’m destined to be with, that I’ll instantly know.” He looked at me. “We were fated long before you were born. You are my soulmate. But if you want, we have a clinic here and we can get a test done, just to be sure. They’ll keep it on the down low.”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Okay, finish eating and after you wash up, we’ll go.”
I ate three more small sandwiches and jumped up from the chair and ran to the bathroom to clean up. Caden was standing by the window looking out it, deep in thought when I came back out. He looked over at me and smiled half-heartedly as he reached out his hand to take mine.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that he’s hoping that we are going to have a baby. Hand in hand, we walked out the door and into a warm, brightly lit day. A few people milled about, waving when they saw us and a few hay’s and welcome back were thrown at us.
We waved back, too nervous to say anything, well I was nervous anyway, not sure about him.
Guardians Of The Shifters Page 17