Veiled Guardian: A Borne of Angels Novel (The Awakening Book 1)

by Leigha Wolffe

  He should’ve walked away.

  “Alex, please wait, I’m sorry. I... What are you even doing here?”

  “You mean in this super-secret hallway… that leads to the restrooms?!” I reined myself in as an incredible cold fell over me. I felt like ice, and as the frost reached my heart, I felt a sudden calm. I looked back at Ash, expressionless. “It doesn’t matter. No need to apologize, Ash. We’re nothing to one another.”

  “Alexis, come on! It’s no different than what you were just out there doing with that dirty blood-sucker on the dance floor!”

  “It’s wildly different, considering we were just dancing.”

  “I saw you kiss him, and he didn’t exactly look shy about it.”

  “Oh, shut the fuck up. He kissed me…. as I was trying to walk away to come talk to you!”

  “What?”

  “You heard me. He convinced me, or I convinced myself, not actually sure who convinced who at this point, but I guess it doesn’t really matter. It was some stupid, panicky, hormonal, teenage girl move that was designed to make you jealous so you’d stop being stupid. Although it seems to have had the opposite effect,” I spat venomously.

  “Alex… I… I just...” Ash took a deep breath, then met my gaze with hard eyes. “It shouldn’t have been. You should go out and meet someone who’s worthy of you, someone who will bust their ass to make your life better. You deserve someone who—”

  “Oh, go fuck yourself, Ash. No, strike that. Go find the club rat you were about to fuck when I interrupted you and fuck her. Either way. Leave me out of it!”

  I turned away before he could see the glistening tears fall from my eyes and practically ran to the bathroom, but Ash came bursting in behind me.

  I rounded on him with murder in my eyes, and he actually flinched. Smart man. “Get the hell out, Ash.” I said in a level voice, the cold settled over me again, helping me to control my rage.

  A mask of resolve settled over his features, and while his expression became gentler, it also became stony, and I could tell I was in for a fight.

  “No. It’s my club. I don’t have to do a damn thing I don’t feel like doing,” he stated carefully, arms out beside him and moving very slowly like he’d cornered a wild animal.

  It was probably a fairly accurate description of me at the moment. I felt wild, and I was definitely unpredictable. I didn’t even know what I was going to do next.

  “I can make you,” I growled. Actually growled. It had this eerie echoing quality to it that made even me a little skittish. It didn’t sound like it came from me, but I knew I’d spoken. Ash almost looked like he was going to back down for a minute, but his momentary indecision was replaced with a ferocious grin, and he bristled in response.

  “Try it, Princess.” His eyes began to glow a deadly red, and I could feel my ice melting, replaced by heat like I’d never felt before. It was instantaneous. I hadn’t accepted my Other until that very night in the yard with Jade. Only now was I realizing what that truly meant. It was more than sights and sounds, more than instinct and knowledge. It had changed things between us, just as she’d warned me it would. Mostly because there was no more between us. We were becoming one.

  I was stronger. I could feel it. I was also more in control. I could control my change, and I did. Rolling my head and shoulders, I shifted only partially, taking my time. Wings unfolded gently from my back, my black lion-like tail snaked out from my tailbone, shoving my already low jeans down even further as it wrapped around my left leg. Then I tilted my head to the side and stared at him, challenging him.

  “What the fuck just happened, Princess?” Ash asked, his savage countenance suddenly uncertain.

  “Whatever do you mean, Ash?” I asked, sweetly.

  “You know what I mean. When did you learn to do that?” he asked, awestruck as he stared at me.

  Flexing my wings, I explained. “I accepted my Other. We are now truly the Guardian. We are both, and we are the one. You should try it sometime. Now get out,” I spat.

  “No.”

  “Get. Out.”

  “No,” he ground out. “I’m not leaving until you talk to me, Alex. I’ve been fighting this for a reason. You’re acting like I just don’t care, and that’s not true. It’s just easier if I’m an asshole, okay. We can’t be together...”

  “I’ve heard enough of your excuses, Ash. You’re afraid. Of everything. You’re afraid of what you are and who you are. You’re afraid of being rejected by one more person who’s supposed to love you, and mostly, you’re afraid of me. Aiden was right. You’re a coward. Now get out, or I will. And I will go through you.”

  “Then go through me, cuz I’m not moving.”

  I launched myself at him so fast even the demon wolf didn’t have a chance to respond. I grabbed him by the neck, lifting him off the ground, and threw him across the room, back toward the door he’d just burst through. He landed on one knee, skidding to a stop just short of the door before his glowing, gold eyes looked up at me. He bulleted back across the room. I flew up at the very last moment out of his way, but he was smart and ready for my tricks. He grabbed my ankle and yanked me back down. I hit the floor hard, and he tried to throw his body on top of me, but I pulled my feet up between us, effectively stopping him, and thrust him off me with a powerful push of my legs.

  He flew across the room and slammed into the wall next to the door, shattering the tile around him and landing on the floor, shaking. I thought he was hurt for a moment, and it was like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over my head.

  “Ash?” I approached quickly, realizing too late he was actually trying to control the Other within him.

  He caught me off guard, standing, grabbing me by the throat, and spinning around to slam me into the wall he’d just destroyed, all in one smooth motion.

  “Ash, fight it. I’m going to give you a moment to get yourself under control, but I will make you if you don’t let me go in the next few seconds.”

  He snarled in response, the monster within him threatening to take over, but it wouldn’t let him hurt me. I could sense that, somehow.

  Then, in a much deeper rendition of the nightmarish echo I had used earlier, he growled, “Miiiiine!”

  Everything inside me responded. My heart, my soul, my body, and the spirit of the Other contained within me rose up as one. What happened next happened so fast that I couldn’t have stopped it if I wanted to. And I didn’t want to.

  He lowered my feet to the floor, tangling one hand in my hair and wrapping the other around my waist as he claimed my mouth in a bruising kiss. It felt almost like we were still fighting for a few minutes as he slammed me back against the wall. We became a tangle of tongues and teeth clashing and hands clawing for a better grip. He hitched my waist up, and I wrapped my legs around him, squeezing, desperately pulling him closer to me, but as close as I could get him, it still wasn’t close enough.

  He shoved at my shirt as I ripped his from his body, exposing his tan, muscular torso. Rippling muscles greeted my wandering hands as our tongues wrestled, both of us trying to gain the upper hand. Ah, but I had wings.

  A single flap of my wings propelled us both upward, then immediately back down, slamming Ash down on his back with me straddling him. He landed with a grunt, expelling all the breath from his lungs, but I was there to steal it from him. His hands tangled in my hair as mine roved about his naked torso. He groaned in my mouth, seeming to finally give in to whatever this was between us, but when my hand slipped inside the waistband of his jeans his body stiffened. He grabbed my hand and flipped us over with a roar.

  As I landed hard on my back. My lips reached for his again, but he turned his head away and whispered, “Stop.”

  It was so quiet that I didn’t quite catch it at first, but as he pushed me away from him, my mind cleared slightly and finally processed what it was he’d actually said. I pulled back and looked at him, eyes questioning, but I could see the answer in his face.

  “We can�
��t do this. I almost lost control again. I… I did lose control for a minute. It wasn’t me, and I barely regained control.” He dropped his head between us, and his effortless blonde curls fell away from his head and draped in the air above my head. “I could have hurt you, Alex. We can’t do this. No matter how much we might want to. It isn’t safe,” he said, sitting back and leaving me cold once again.

  “Gods and goddesses, your arrogance knows no bounds!” I gasped, exasperated with his macho martyrdom. I collapsed back onto the cold tile, tangling my hands in my hair to keep them from pummeling him into submission. “I was barely putting forth any effort, Ash. I could’ve ended that little showdown at any point.”

  I sat up and fixed him with a stern look. “You seem to be under the impression that I’m still breakable, but let me assure you, there is no circumstance under which you can hurt me. Even if you get lucky and get a knock or two in, I’ll heal. And I’ll still win.” Of this I was certain, but his face still had that resolute set telling me he was determined to do ‘the right thing.’

  “I just can’t take that chance,” he whispered, looking so sad it broke my heart. Or it would have if I hadn’t been so pissed at him.

  “With me, you mean?” I spat as I pushed up to my knees.

  He moved back out of my way, allowing me the dignity of standing and walking away, at least, before he asked the dumbest question in the history of ever. “What do you mean?”

  “What do I mean?!” I yelled, rounding on him. “I mean you were seconds away from fucking that blonde in the hallway, so apparently you just can’t take that chance with me.” The venom in my voice was so apparent, he flinched a bit.

  “Do you really think I’d ever lose control with that girl? Or any other for that matter?! Alex, I care about you. I… He wants you, and I don’t know if I can control him when I’m that out of control of myself!” he yelled, his volume continuing to rise. “It’s just you! You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted that way, that much! The only one that’s ever made me lose control!” He was screaming at me by the time he finished, but I was too angry to care.

  “That should mean it’s worth fighting for!” I screamed, seconds from tears. I couldn’t. I just couldn’t cry in front of him, couldn’t be here anymore. I turned and fled. Folding my wings into my body as I ran, I sprinted back down the hall and shoved my way through the crowded club as fast as I could, not caring how much attention I drew. I wouldn’t be coming back, anyway.

  As I approached the front entrance, I saw Jade, still talking to Aiden by the bar, surrounded by groupies desperately trying to sit at their cool kids’ table. She felt me coming before she saw me and looked up already concerned. Aiden followed her gaze and started to smile until he saw the look on my face, then his expression turned deadly. He stepped forward, intending to intercept me on my way out, but Jade—Goddess bless herself—stopped him with a hand on his arm and pulled him out of my way as I rushed past. She didn’t attempt to stop me, but her beautiful green eyes glowed murderously as she watched me go.

  Well, at the very least they would slow Ash down for me if he attempted to follow.

  As soon as I was out the door, I sprinted to the alley Jade and I had poofed into earlier, and releasing my wings, I took off into the night sky.

  22

  Alex

  Somewhere in my cloudy mind, I could sense my wings pounding the air beneath me, taking me higher and higher into the night sky. Everything else melted away as I breathed deeply of the fresh air high above the smells of the city. Every thought plaguing my mind, every painful memory, every question and doubt about the future and the present, they all sloughed off like so much dead skin as the clear, navy sky enveloped me in its chilly embrace. The stars and moon beckoned me, and the low hanging clouds caressed my skin as I flew through their gentle mist. An owl screeched somewhere below me, adding to the serenade of the wind and the trees.

  My mind was clear for the first time in months. I was flying. I was home. I’d felt the pull of the sky and the wind since this all started, but I hadn’t allowed myself the freedom of true flight, only hovering above the ground for training purposes. This was so much different, so much more. I’d been so tormented by the wedding that I hadn’t really lived before tonight. I’d kept myself shut away from the world and everything it held.

  Except that wasn’t really true. That was what I’d been telling myself, but it wasn’t my reality. I’d been so tormented by guilt over my attraction to Ash that I’d hidden away. Andrew was gone, and my grief didn’t look like I thought it would. I was grieving, just not in the way I had expected. It was horrible, gut-wrenching pain, but my life hadn’t ended like I’d assumed it would when I lost the love of my life. Even now, that wasn’t who my mind kept wandering back to. Or my heart, and I found myself wondering more and more often if it was possible to have more than one soulmate.

  If I was honest with myself, I knew what I felt for Ash, but once I said it, I couldn’t go back. I couldn’t trust Ash. That much was clear, and when it came to trust, well… no trust was a deal breaker. My heart wanted him, my body wanted him, the Other had wanted him since the beginning. But my mind, well—

  A piercing howl jarred me from my thoughts, immediately followed by another. I scanned the ground below me and finally found an enormous black Wolf streaking through the city streets below me. He was barely a spec, I was so high, but I could still see him clearly. He raised his head and released another mournful wail as he raced through the shadows among the cars and buildings. My God, how was that animal so fast?

  Even as I wondered, I knew. It wasn’t an animal. It was Ash, shifted into an enormous wolf and running through the middle of the Entity-damned city. That brought me somewhat back to reality. I’d never seen a werewolf until this afternoon—at least not that I knew of—and looking at him now, I wondered if it would ever seem less magical.

  In all honesty, I’d been dying to see Ash’s wolf since the moment I found out about them all, but I’d been surprised he looked like a normal wolf, albeit much larger. I’d assumed he would look different because of his mother, a demonic twisted shadow of a wolf, but perhaps keeping the Other constantly caged had prevented any physical clues to his heritage. Could that be the reason Henry had forced him to lock the beast away? So that Ash would look normal and not embarrass the great Alpha Tennyn?

  One day, when he let the beast run free—and I had no doubt it would happen eventually—I wondered if his form would change to reflect what he truly was. Had it changed when he’d lost control earlier? The beast had broken free for a moment. It had come for me. Looking at him now, would I be able to tell?

  I wanted to know, to verify he was whole and him, wanted to fly down to him, but I just couldn’t. I was still hurt and angry... and embarrassed. So I chose to ignore him as I glided above the city lights, reveling in the feel of the wind in my wings and the power of every thrust that carried me forward.

  The wolf was still running below me until I veered off the straight line I’d been flying. He fell behind making his way around the city blocks. I’d done it to avoid him, but even as angry as I was, it unnerved me to actually lose sight of him. He likely just couldn't catch up, but… maybe he finally gave up and turned back. The thought made my stomach turn. I didn't want him to give up. I wanted him to fight for me no matter how angry I was.

  I'd been steadily slowing since I lost sight of him and was about to turn around and head back to look for him when I heard it. The scream that made my blood run cold, like some nightmare mutant combination of a chimp, a boar, and a cougar. Panicking, I checked the skies first, but when I heard it again, I realized it was coming from below me. I scanned the city below until I eventually caught sight of movement a few miles ahead.

  I almost vomited when I saw them, the creature from my nightmare and a pack of buddies running through the shadows alongside him. What were they doing here? I didn't even have time to ponder my own question before I heard the most terrifying sound I
could ever imagine. A different scream. A child's screams.

  Instinctively, I sped up and focused in on the creatures, looking ahead along their path. There they were, two tiny figures, several streets ahead of the monsters and running as fast as their tiny legs could carry them. There was a small girl being pulled along by an older boy just ahead of her.

  I realized, only then, that I was already diving. The children had a head start, but the creatures were closing the gap at an unbelievable rate. I was too terrified to control my shift. I was partially shifted already, but a partial shift wasn’t going to do it. If I had any chance at all of saving these kids, I needed the real deal.

  I need you. Please! I begged with no response. Seriously, this is not a drill. I can't do this by myself, and I am doing it, so either you help, or we die tonight.

  For a terrifying, split second, nothing happened. Then I felt my body explode in heat. The inferno quickly spread through my limbs, and I felt the change slide over me faster than before, instantaneously and just in time.

  I landed with a thunderous boom, the concrete beneath my feet splitting and cracking around me, directly between the children and the creatures.

  Hellhounds... Jade had called them Hellhounds.

  23

  Ash

  Ineeded to talk to Alex. She was angry and inexperienced. A bad combination. I’d done pretty well keeping up with her, but I could tell she wasn't really trying either. She was taking a leisurely stroll through the night sky, and I was running as hard and fast as I could to keep up. Anyone but me would've lost her much sooner, but being on the ground also meant I had to make my way around buildings while she was flying in a straight line above them.

  People aren't super friendly to oversized black wolves making their way through populated areas, but I didn’t care right now. I’d hurt her, and while I stood by my decision, I didn’t want her angry and out on her own. Jade had been what had delayed me, or I’d have been on Alex’s tail immediately. The bloodsucker had tried to get in my face too. I would’ve been more than happy to release some of my frustration on that monster, but I’d had some place to be, and then Jade had stepped in and reminded us that Alex would be none too happy either of us for killing one another. That put a quick stop to the whole thing, so she’d sent the vamp to the bar and faced me down alone.