by Kim Faulks
I'd missed the place on first glance, until the sound of hammers and drills cut through the quiet. Day and night the crew worked, day and night.
“Tell me again, Alpha. What’s behind that fence?”
The Marine followed my gaze to the property. “A home,” he answered. “One that’s desperately needed.”
“Looks like Terror was the clear winner,” Husky called. “We need a new opponent! Who’s game…come on. There has to be someone…Helen!”
Helen shook her head, as a hush swallowed the din. Out of the corner of my eye, another moved…this thin, quiet, barely-a-woman shifter stepped close. Her gaze darted from one man to another and I remembered Ace’s words….lived her entire life isolated…Marines slaughtered her clan…
Her long silver hair glistened in the mid-day sun as she neared. She moved different than the wolves, meeting each silver stare—until the Wolves broke away and lowered their gaze.
She was the apex predator. One I’d waited my entire life to see.
And now that I had—I was a little goddamn terrified.
On that rise, in front of that burning compound, I’d seen what she’d done to the bodies. I’d seen what those claws and those teeth left behind—and it wasn’t much.
“Ghost,” Ace called out, and the sniper jogged to catch up to her, still favoring his knee. “Honey, they’re okay. Human, like me, remember?”
She jerked her head toward him, and love shone through. “Ace,” she murmured and cast the men a look of panic. “I need to run…too many—too many…”
He moved close, touching her arm, then her shoulder and her jaw, turning her gaze to his. “Hey. Hey, it’s okay. Friends…friends, remember?”
Harvey was the first to move. Blood glistened from the graze on his head as he swiped his dirty palm against his pants and raised it, facing out. “Friend,” he echoed. “We’re the good guys, remember? You want to run? Me and a few of the boys were heading out for a jog. We can tag along, if you want? As long as you…” don’t eat us.
The words hung in the air. Ace still hobbled, his blown-out knee fighting to mend. A woman…Doc, he called her, had been visiting, injecting the joint with a new type of treatment she’d been working on.
And in days the Marine had gone from barely able to stand to walking with barely more than a jerk. The woman was quiet, cagey if you asked me. I wanted to know more, who she was, what this ‘new treatment’ consisted of.
Ghost stared at Harvey’s hand and then leaned close to the Marine. He stiffened, hand trembling in the air as she dragged in his scent and then stared at his forehead.
“Run,” Ghost whispered. “Like a hunt…like a kill.”
Harvey shuddered. He kept his voice stony cold as he answered. “Then lead the way, Ma’am. Me and the boys…we’ll try to keep up.”
“Wait, so we got no takers?” Husky called with a grin. “Come on, is that the best you got?”
“I’ll take it,” a small feminine voice turned my head.
I barely registered her as she slipped through the crowd. X, they called her. No name, I was told. Her hair had grown a little, but I could still see the uneven cut, hacked with scissors. She was thin, small…and dangerous.
Wide brown eyes matched her perfect Cherokee skin. She moved like no fighter I’d ever seen, whipping the tomahawk from her waist, spinning the weapon in her grip and set her sights on Terror.
The Marine never moved, only stared as X swung the blade along the ground, barely leaving an inch, and arced high, carving the air.
She whipped her body to the side and the blade followed, as graceful as any gymnast I’d ever seen. The air seemed to ripple, as though the woman hacked through time itself, to stop the blade a hair’s breadth from Terror’s nose.
And for the second time, today the men fell silent.
That was terrifying in itself.
“Fuck no,” Terror whispered, staring into her icy gaze. He slowly raised his hands, palms up—submissive. “I’m out.”
She just stared as he took a slow step backwards, the sight almost comical to see. One slight woman with no goddamn name, besting a seasoned Marine with more confirmed kills than anyone else in the entire platoon, with not even one goddamn blow.
She stayed there, hand gripping the leather strapping on the weapon as he stepped away, and then slowly nodded.
Give the man credit when it was due—he knew there was no way he’d win. Not against someone like her.
“Fuck, she’s beautiful,” Alpha hissed. “Just fucking perfection.”
The sharp bleat of his phone rang out. I tore my gaze from X as he answered. “Yeah. Hey, what’s up?”
Chatter filled the air as X finally lowered the blade. My men closed, slamming her with a barrage of questions. Hey, how the Hell did you do that? The tomahawk—can you teach me? Where are you from? How the Hell did you end up with a goofball like him?
With a weapon, she was deadly. With stupid, idiotic questions, though—she was more than outnumbered.
“Oh, okay, sure,” Alpha continued. “I’ll let him know.”
He pressed the screen, ending the call, and looked me straight in the eye. “Looks like you’ve been invited to a naming ceremony.“ I stared with a mixture of elation, confusion, and torment as he finished, “To meet the Guardians.”
My breath stilled. I’d seen the reports, and watched the leaked footage of a man who turned into a red-skinned monster and sprouted horns. I knew who they were…these winged beasts, and what they represented—but now I finally had a chance to meet the real thing.
The Dragon Guardians.
2
Samson
My Platoon Sergeant shifted in the rear seat of the SUV for the second time in as many seconds. I stared straight ahead as Alpha drove through the small, picturesque town of Nyx, and fought the need to second guess this entire damn thing.
Scratch, shift…sigh. A nerve twitched near my eye. “Sergeant, if you have something you need to say, then let’s hear it?”
Alfie was quiet for a second before the deep bass filled the cabin of the SUV. “No, sir.”
I gave a nod, and focused on the blacktop. The trees hugged the road, thick and green, like time didn’t touch this place. I stabbed the button, cracked open the window, and the crisp scent flooded in. A lifetime could pass nestled in these hills, and you’d never know it.
The Marine down-shifted, and the SUV surged with power. I scanned the slope as we climbed and then slowed midway along the rise. I glanced to the rear seat, but my words were for the Marine at my side. “I want you to know, I’ve got my best men looking for your father. I won’t rest, not until we get him back, Alpha…” Dead or alive.
The words hung in the air as he met my gaze. Gone was that mischievous glint in his eyes. Pain dulled everything. “I appreciate that, sir. I’ve still got hope he’s out there, alive, somewhere. He survived the last twenty years on his own—he can survive a little longer.”
“I’m sure he will. He’s a strong man, much like his son. I admire that,” I kept my focus on the road, while my words hardened and turned cold. “But the next time one of my men comes to you with a problem, you direct them to me. Go behind my back again, and we’re going to have a problem. You understand me?”
There was a heartbeat of silence. His fingers tightened on the wheel as he answered. “With all due respect, Commander, if a Marine comes to me in desperation and pain, I’m gonna do everything in my power to help with that. If that means going behind your back, then so be it. The Doc did what she was asked to do, as did I, and you’ve gotta remember…I’m not under your command now.”
I clenched my jaw and swallowed the anger. But it wasn’t out of arrogance, it wasn’t out of indifference. It was out of the desire to keep us all together…to keep us a platoon. One grain of sand was all it took…one tiny grain to slip through my fingers and more would follow.
And then what would I have?
Shattered pieces…a remnant of what I once
had—of what I once was—just like my damn marriage.
The blinker came on, and the SUV nosed in, tracing well-worn tire marks that slipped through a thick curtain of evergreen.
Darkness descended, consuming the vehicle, as we came to a stop at a massive iron gate. I took in the peeling black paint and the lopsided intercom box as Alpha leaned out, stabbed the buttons, and waited for the gate to move.
There was a shake, and a shudder. A screech pierced the air as the ancient thing moved. Alpha waited before easing the truck through and heading along the long drive. White peeked out in the distance before the SUV followed the bend in the driveway and the endless pines stole the sight once more.
I hadn’t known what to expect. Grand, probably…outdated for sure—but this? This…brittle…decomposed world?
Weeds choked the pebbled driveway. Thorns and bristles followed, pushing in with tiny claws at the ready.
“Not quite what you expected, huh?”
I glanced toward the Marine and shook my head.
“Never is. I’ve been here more times than I can count and it still rocks me. A word of advice…try not to piss anyone off, okay…”
I nodded. “I’ll do my best,” as we rounded the last bend and I stared at the monolithic specter.
The SUV came to a stop behind a beaten-up Bronco. Three other trucks lined the drive, but, apart from that, the place looked quiet.
The engine died with my window still wound down…and for a second I couldn’t move. We waited, and no one said a word while I took in the white stone mansion in all its faded glory.
Windows were broken. I followed the boarded-up shattered mess and counted one, two, and then three along the front before I settled on the entrance. The busted handle was hanging…literally hanging. Blood smeared the cracked doorframe. I followed the crack as I gripped the passenger’s door handle and shoved, the fracture speared upwards all the way to the second story.
This place was real. Honest to God, terrifyingly real, and damn well decrepit.
Voices called from inside the home. The squeal of a child, and the roar of male laughter followed. Something inside flared to life, a subtlety changed. This wasn’t the home of monsters…this wasn’t the home of beasts.
This wasn’t at all what I’d expected.
The front door flew open. Tiny bare feet thudded. Tortoiseshell-colored hair streamed behind like a beacon—and a piercing squeal followed. One that made me grit my teeth and wince.
The little one stumbled, and then shot forward, running with hands curled into fists and a panicked look, like the Devil himself was behind her.
She lifted her head, caught my gaze, and came to a shuddering stop in front of me. “Ander!” She yelled and punched the air in my direction. “Ander!”
A male tore after her, snarling and growling with a wide smile across his face. He scooped her into his arms and lifted. Her feet kicked the air, tickles and laughter ensued.
“You wanna run from me?” The male rumbled, finding the spot on her belly that made her squeal.
Alpha cleared his throat. “Evander, when you’re finished playing, I’d like to introduce you to someone. Commander Marks, this is Evander Kane.”
Kane…I swallowed hard…a Guardian. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I reached out nice and slow.
Long, shaggy brown hair swept the air as he gripped the thrashing child with one hand and clasped my palm with the other. “Welcome,” he smiled, nodded and then happiness died as he turned to the Marine. “And you,” he snarled, his top lip curled. “How dare you leave me with a pissed-off woman. You think ‘Hell hath no fury’ has a fucking time limit?”
Alpha stilled.
“Got nothing to say for yourself? No, sorry. Evander. I was only doing the right thing getting myself shot to pieces while I left…Gunny…with…you?”
“Ander!” squealed the child, and lashed out with a well-aimed kick right for his face.
The shifter caught the leg with one smooth move and snarled until she giggled.
“You wanted her…” Alpha answered. “And now you got her. No take-backs when the woman’s got your balls around her neck. You did this to yourself, brother.” The Marine stepped forward to punch him in the shoulder and lean close. “Have fun with that.”
The shifter turned his head as the Marine stepped back. The rumble that slipped from his lips was anything but friendly. Alpha dropped his head backwards and chuckled, then made for the open front door.
“Alpha.”
His steps stilled, and the laughter died, as former Gunnery Sergeant Regan Rivers stepped through the door and set her sights on him.
I knew the woman by name and reputation alone. A hard-ass, loyal to the Marines until the day she was deployed on a re-con mission with her squad and almost died.
Mauled by a rogue shifter, we were told. No further intel was given, and standing here, for the life of me I couldn’t understand why I hadn’t demanded more.
The things Alpha told me, the compounds I was shown, all screamed of a coverup in the most terrifying way, and here she was…this torn-apart Marine leading the charge to make it right.
She stepped down from the doorway and headed toward us with barely a limp. She never turned her head, never gave me the slightest glance, as she set her sights on the Guardian. “If you’re gonna tease him, at least do it properly.”
“I wasn’t—" Evander started and Gunny cut an icy glare in his direction and held up her hand.
“Don’t even start with me, Evander Kane. You knew all along he was setting himself up as bait, and you kept it from me. Don’t bother justifying it. So you can sleep on the couch, with the rest of the wolves, until Hell freezes over.”
And only then did she turn her head. “Thank you for coming, sir, and sir,” she nodded to Alfie behind me. “I know today’s a bit of a handful, but at least you’ll get to meet everyone. I’ve briefed the Guardians on where you stand and I hope with some face-to-face information you can get a better grasp on the situation.”
She took a step and held out her hand. I was struck by how handsome she was. There was a hardness, one I’d seen in every seasoned Marine, but underneath that a kind of raw honesty, one that made her very attractive… “I trust the boys have taken good care of you at Soteria?”
“Yes,” I gripped her hand. “It’s been a learning curve on both sides, I think. But we’ve all handled it well so far.”
“Good,” she nodded and dropped my grasp.
“The child,” I nodded toward the squirming bundle of giggles. “One of yours?”
“No,” the warmth seemed to bleed from Gunny’s tone. “She was found outside a pig pen. Filthy and starved, close to death, as she waited for her mother to return. But there was no coming back for her mother, or the thousands of female Wolves the Echo pack sold or traded to Vampires and Demons, and Major Sergeant Slater.”
I flinched at the name and stared at the little girl. The memory of my own flesh and blood filled my mind. “Is her mother alive?”
Gunny turned her head and lifted her hand, touching a perfect golden curl. “I doubt it. To them, females were expendable, they used, they killed, especially wolves.”
I tried to picture Neve at that age, filthy, scared—alone, waiting for her mother to come back. My chest tightened, and an ache flared at the back of my throat like a fist clenched tight.
How could this happen…and right under our noses?
Evander moved close and spilled the squirming child into Alpha’s arms. “Be a good Marine and take care of this, will you?”
Then the Guardian reached for her hand, and I no longer existed. Black smears shone along her arms…like bruises…ones I hadn’t noticed before.
They clutched each other’s hand and turned, leaving me with Alpha and a giggling child.
“Her arms,” I murmured staring after them.
“Yeah, about that. Gunny’s what I’d call…not entirely human. So maybe it’s best to keep that piece of information
to ourselves for now. I think your men have enough crazy on their plates.”
“Let them see her as still one of us,” Alfie muttered behind me. “I think that’s a smart idea. The more ‘normal’ we can give them right now, the better.”
“Believe me, once they meet these guys, a few marks on an arm and the ability to call the power of the moon won’t even raise an eyebrow,”
I jerked my gaze toward the open door. “Call the power of the moon?”
“Oh yeah,” Alpha muttered and shook his head. “That’s a story that’ll give you nightmares for a damn week. Remind me one day when I’ve had a little too much to drink and I’ll tell you all about it.”
The crunch of pebbles dragged my gaze to the right. A young woman with blazing red hair stepped from behind the crowded tree line and headed for us.
She moved with the kind of grace that screamed shifter. Her quick gaze scanned the cars. Wolf, I was betting. Maybe because Wolves and one Berserker was all I’d seen.
“Alpha,” she nodded to the Marine, cast me a careful gaze, and then settled on the little shifter in his arms. “See you’re enjoying yourself.”
She reached for the little one, and in an instant the child calmed. Tiny arms went around her neck, legs wrapped around her waist. The child nuzzled her skin as the woman lowered her to the ground. “Now, in with the others. You should be helping with the babies. Off you go.”
One tiny push toward the house and the little one scampered away.
I couldn’t help but nod. “You’re good with the little ones.”
“She should be. She’s their Alpha,” came a growl behind her and a towering male stepped through.
I knew him…the leaked video come to life.
My breath stilled as midnight eyes settled on mine. His name spilled in a rush. “Marcus Kane.”
“Commander Marks,” he reached out, swallowing my hand with his. “Good of you to come. This is Abrial, the leader of the Bloodstone Pack.”
I gave the young woman a nod—a female Alpha. I was impressed. She must’ve had one hell of an impact to stop someone like Marcus Kane.