by Holly Evans
“You can call me Alasdair. You’ve been chosen by the moon goddess to work as my partner. We’ll be staying in Dublin tonight so you can pack up your life. Then you’ll be accompanying me to Galway, where we’ll meet a priestess to receive our first assignment,” he said.
He sounded so calm and collected, as if he’d just told me that bacon sandwiches were best with ketchup. I was at a loss for words, my head was spinning. The goddess didn’t choose made shifters - we were abominations created by blood and pain, not birthed under her light.
“Are you fucking with me?” I growled.
He laughed, a honey-toned sound that I wanted to hear more of.
“No, Niko, I am not fucking with you,” he said with a slight weight on the word fucking.
My mind slipped to sinful places before I began pacing.
“Are you saying I’m a Guardian…?” I said, looking at the beautiful tattoos on the back of his hands.
Had the goddess really chosen me? Could I finally make a difference in this cursed world? He exhaled slowly through his nose and rolled his shoulders.
“Not yet, no.”
I tilted my head slightly to one side and stared him down, waiting for him to continue. I felt more than saw his ears flatten against his head slightly. His wolf was unamused by my challenge. We stood like that for a long minute, each staring at the other, testing the other’s dominance. Neither of us flinched or looked away. We were an even match.
“The goddess has chosen you to… be considered. It’s not unusual for people to fail this stage. The goddess has her reasons, and they’re not my concern.”
I curled my lip, not liking the sensation that I was being tested and played with.
“And if I decline?”
He grinned at me, a predatory expression full of sharp teeth and dark mirth.
“No one declines the goddess.”
I lifted my chin. I was tempted, purely to push back and show I wasn’t some weak pup to be walked all over.
“Would you really turn this down because of childish stubbornness and pride?” he asked, his head tilting slightly to one side, mimicking my earlier expression.
His eyes softened, and small creases formed at the corners of his mouth as pure curiosity filled his face.
“I don’t have much of a life. It’ll take ten minutes to pack. We can leave for Galway in an hour.”
“You’ll be compensated for your time and given accommodations. The goddess looks after her Guardians.”
The idea of not having to scrimp and save for the basics appealed. I wanted to make a difference, to help people, more than anything. Now that I’d been given the opportunity, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was a twisted joke that Sean and the others were playing on me. I looked the Guardian up and down, trying to pick out any signs that he was full of shit. The smirk returned to his mouth, as he likely thought I was checking him out.
“We’ll get you dressed appropriately this afternoon,” he said, his tongue slipping over his bottom lip.
I raised an eyebrow at him and crossed my arms.
“There’s nothing wrong with my clothes. I can hardly fight in a suit.”
His eyes hardened and took on a soft amber hue.
“Would you like to see how well I fight in this suit, Mr. Conall?”
I stepped into his space.
“I wouldn’t want to embarrass you.”
Twelve
Alasdair had laughed at my statement and led me out through the office where the enforcers and Sean all watched, their mouths hanging open in shock. The room burst into noise the moment we stepped out into the hallway. No one had seen my becoming a Guardian coming, least of all me. I’m not a Guardian yet, I reminded myself.
The black muscle car was Alasdair’s, because what else would a man like him drive? He had insisted that we go back to my place so I could get changed and pack up my stuff. I’d never taken well to authority, and that had only gotten worse once I became made. I gave it two hours before Alasdair and I got into a fight to see who was really more dominant. Running my tongue over my teeth, I tried to quell that urge. He would likely kick my ass. And no good ever came from pissing off a Guardian. They had the goddess backing them.
I wove my way through the Dublin traffic and parked up in front of my apartment building, not bothering to check if Alasdair was still behind me. He’d find me if he needed to. That thought didn’t sit well with me. If this all went sideways, then he’d gotten close to me. He’d be able to track me down wherever I went. Or at least, that was the rumour. No one quite knew how Guardians really worked. They were myths, beings that simultaneously evoked terror and awe.
I stepped into the small lift and felt him close behind me. Turning to face him, I schooled my face into a disinterested nonchalance. He stepped into my space and planted his hand next to my head and leaned in.
“What’s your problem with me, Niko?” his words were edged with a soft growl.
My heart caught in my throat. His scent, a heady mix of Scottish heather and stormy seas, wrapped around me and tempted me to lean in and take his bottom lip between my teeth.
“You’re a Guardian. I’m made,” I said with a shrug as I glanced at the floor numbers, willing the lift to rise quicker.
He leaned in close, his lips almost brushed my ear when he said, “You’re my partner.”
“Do you treat all of your colleagues like this?” I growled in his ear.
Two could play that game, after all.
He gave me a positively feral grin before he stepped backwards out into the hallway of my floor.
“I don’t have colleagues. I only have you.”
Goddess be with me, I had no idea what I was supposed to say or do to that. I rolled my eyes and brushed past him to head to my door.
“You shouldn’t be ashamed of being made. It proves that you’re strong, you have to be to survive.”
“I’m not ashamed of anything.”
Thankfully, I kept my flat clean and tidy; it was too small to do otherwise. I felt him looking around the space. The disdain radiated off him. Not that I could blame him.
“I’ll be ten minutes,” I said as I headed into the bedroom and began throwing my things into my big backpack.
I didn’t have much, partly from the Order refusing to pay me a decent wage and partly from having moved around a good bit. Stuff weighed you down and made it harder to move on at short notice, and people like me needed to be able to slip away into the night.
“Don’t forget to get changed into something presentable,” he said from behind me.
I glanced over my shoulder to see him lounging out on my bed.
“And what exactly is wrong with what I’m currently wearing?”
“You can’t wear bike leathers to a tailor. You’re going to be fitted for a suit and some other good clothes. I assume you’ll need shoes while we’re there.”
“I am not fighting feral lycans in a suit,” I said as I stuffed the last of my t-shirts into my backpack.
“You are the goddess’ ambassador now. You are not walking around in scruffy leathers.”
“These will protect me from teeth and claws.”
“You’re wasting time. Change into something clean so we can go and get lunch.”
My stomach growled. It had been a couple of hours since I’d eaten. Shifters had high metabolisms. It would take me a couple more days of eating well to recover from the starvation rations I’d been on thanks to Sean.
Alasdair showed no sign of budging as I slowly peeled off my leathers, leaving me in my under armour. I looked pointedly at him, waiting for him to give me some space to get changed. He propped himself up on his elbows and smirked at me, waiting. I wasn’t shy, but he put me on edge. With a growl, I pulled off the under armour, leaving me in nothing but my boxers as I dug out my only clean jeans and long-sleeved shirt.
“Ready?”
I picked up my backpack and tugged on my sturdy boots.
“As I’ll ev
er be,” I said.
“Leave the key on the coffee table, someone will be by in thirty minutes to clean this place and make it ready for your replacement.”
They’d acted quickly. I bet my replacement would be greeted with open arms and beers all around. I wouldn’t miss the bastards I’d shared that office space with. I couldn’t say I’d worked with them, as they wouldn’t have helped me if their lives depended on it.
I was getting a fresh start in an exciting new job with fantastic potential; assuming I survived Alasdair, that is.
Thirteen
Alasdair had insisted that I leave my bike at his hotel and ride in his car. I’ll admit his car was every bit as fun as I imagined it would be, the engine growling a deep throaty growl when Alasdair touched the accelerator. It was full pale leather interior with fancy chrome trim, but it was the way it picked up and felt like it was raring to go even from the passenger seat. I was definitely going to buy myself one when I had the money and place to park it. I loved my bike, but it would be nice to have the security and room a car gave.
“How long have you been an enforcer?”
I shrugged and looked out the window.
“I’m sure you already know all about me. When did you become a Guardian?”
“Four hundred years ago. I was a warrior, and the goddess chose me to become one of her warriors.”
I didn’t miss the tinge of sadness there.
“What happened?”
A soft growl rumbled in his throat. “Do you have any friends we need to notify of your departure?”
I snorted.
“I’m made. No, I don’t have any friends.”
“Some made do quite well for themselves.”
I gritted my teeth as I remembered the shifter’s reaction to finding out I was made a couple of nights ago.
“Wait, does this mean I won’t have my enforcer brand anymore?”
That would mean that I could hide the fact I was made if I kept my wolf buried deep enough.
“It will be gone by the morning, yes.”
This Guardian thing was looking better and better.
Alasdair had taken us to a gastro-pub where the fish ‘n’ chips was made with some fancy beer batter and they offered wines with odd names with every meal. I decided on a simple fish ’n’ chips and a Guinness while studiously ignoring Alasdair. He was leaning back in the booth and had stretched his arms along the back over the ox-blood leather, his wolf barely restrained just below the surface. His beautiful pale silver eyes were flecked with deep gold and his canines had extended slightly, which only added to his predatory appearance.
The poor waitress didn’t know whether to run away or throw herself at him. She opted for something between the two, which resulted in us having to repeat everything three times, and I still ended up with a whisky instead of a Guinness. I sniffed the whisky, which hurt my nose. The damn thing had some bite to it. Beneath the pain was a sweetness and what could have been raspberry. I took a cautious sip and was surprised to find it tasted pretty good, even if it did burn all the way down.
“Tell me about yourself, Niko,” Alasdair said with the edge of command to his words.
I leaned back and took another sip of my whisky.
“Quid pro quo,” I said with a smile.
His eyes hardened a little as he ran the thought through his mind.
“Deal. Do you have a girlfriend?”
My stomach twisted itself into knots. I’d been expecting something simple like what type of work experience I had.
“No. I’ve had casual flings, and there was the start of a relationship once, but that was years ago.”
I held his gaze and waited for his response. A quiet voice hoped he said yes, he had someone. The majority of me eagerly awaited to hear that he was single, though. I was being betrayed by my hormones.
“No. I haven’t had the time to devote to a relationship.” There was that twinge of sadness again. “Tell me about the relationship.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. That was very personal, given we’d met each other an hour ago. Hell, it was fucking personal for someone who’d known me a few months. Still, I wasn’t going to show weakness by backing down.
“My family weren’t all that interested in me - not until they could marry me off at eighteen, anyway. I used to hang out with a small group of people my age from families connected to mine.” I was trying to be careful to frame it in a way that could be said around normal people.
The memories flooded back in crisp clear images. There had been six of us, all offspring of my mother’s coven. All of us without magic, thus useless and forgotten by the rest of the coven. Two girls and four boys - the girls had it harder. Boys were expected to be without magic, but girls were supposed to have at least a flicker. They were a disappointment, worthless. We’d grown up together and spent our spare time together while the other people our age were trained as witches and brought into their potential.
Over the years, I’d grown closer to Brodie. He was almost two years older than me. My throat closed as I remembered how he was so quick to smile, it would light up his pale brown eyes. He’d been my first kiss when I was fourteen. It was a gentle tender kiss that remained with me. We’d grown closer after that. I gave him my virginity when I was fifteen. I loved him. In the quiet darkness of night, when we held each other close, we would whisper about a life away from the coven. Just us in blissful peace.
The memories skipped forward to that fateful night. When I’d come to coated in blood, the first thing I’d seen had been his accusing stare, his once-beautiful eyes lifeless and cold. I prayed to the goddess I hadn’t done that.
“There was a boy, Brodie. We hung out a lot and grew close. He was gentle and quick to smile, made my world a little brighter. I lost him on the night everything changed.” I finished my whisky in one painful gulp. “Your turn.”
Fourteen
“I haven’t had time to devote to a relationship,” he said as he sat forward to receive his shepherd’s pie from the waitress.
I felt cheated. He was the first person I’d mentioned Brodie to, and he shut me out in return. I thanked the waitress for my food and ate that in silence while I tried to keep my wolf buried and the memories with it. Alasdair wore his predator like a second skin. The non-magical people could feel it. They moved away from him when he walked, some whispered and glanced at him before they left. Everyone in the pub knew he was an apex predator, even if they couldn’t put the sensation or knowledge into words. I couldn’t imagine wielding my wolf like that.
Alasdair’s phone buzzed as the waitress came over to ask if we wanted dessert.
“It would seem we’re not going to the tailor after all. That was Saoirse, we’re meeting her in Galway this evening.”
“Shame,” I said with a sharp grin.
The idea of wearing a suit was completely absurd. I’ll admit he looked incredible in his, but it was impractical. Suits were for offices and balls, and I had no intention of going to either.
“Don’t worry, there’s a good tailor in Galway. I’m sure we can get you fitted soon,” Alasdair said with an equally sharp grin.
I had insisted on Alasdair’s giving me the address to the place we were heading to in Galway so I could make my own way there. In turn, he had insisted on keeping my backpack in his car. If it came to it, I’d move on with nothing more than the clothes on my back and my bike. Given my full leathers were in the backpack, I wore my armored jacket. Even made shifters could heal almost anything, given a couple of days and plenty of food, but that didn’t mean I wanted to go through that pain and hassle.
The ride across the country was set to take a couple of hours, perfect to clear my head and figure out what the fuck I was going to do. It was simultaneously a nightmare and dream come true. On one hand, the goddess has chosen me to be a Guardian! On the other hand, that meant working with Alasdair. Yes, he was exactly my type and the image of perfection, but there was still a strong risk that he’d throw
me to the hellhounds. Dear goddess, what if he found out about my magic? Surely, all bets would be off then.
I lost myself in the feeling of the bike as I threw it around the corners and watched the hedgerows fly by. To Alasdair’s credit, he remained close behind me in that muscle car of his. He couldn’t stay tight to me around the corners, but he was right behind me on the straights. It wasn’t long before we both began pushing and testing. Just how well could his car handle? I grinned to myself and changed our route to the more scenic twisting path and enjoyed flying down the narrower roads with the growl of his car behind me. It wasn’t as good as a real run, but I still reached our destination riding a high.
Fifteen
The apartment building I’d pulled up in front of was a converted barn made of old grey stone. It had a good character about it, unlike the flimsy modern thing I’d lived in in Dublin. To my delight, it even had views over the ocean. This Guardian position was looking pretty damn good. Alasdair handed me my backpack and led the way into the building, where the warmth hit me. I stripped out of my jacket and looked around at the elegant and luxurious interior as we walked to the lift. The woods looked and smelled like genuine oak, the walls had tasteful art prints scattered upon them, and the doors of the lift appeared to be made from copper.
“So, this is how the other half lives,” I said.
Alasdair casually leaned against the mirror at the back of the spacious lift.
“The goddess makes sure her Guardians are well cared for.”
“So, this is where I’ll live while I’m doing this initiation?”
His nose wrinkled at that.
“Yes, this will be your accommodations during your trial period. Once that’s complete, well, that’s down to the goddess.”
I curled my lip a little at that. I didn’t like the way he was waving everything off and putting it on the goddess.