Page 27 of The Hidden Guardian

“He was shot in the woods, but they found our house after Renall had …” I pause, I don’t want him to appear weak, especially now. “Found me.”

More growls and a few males rise and pump their fists. Others just stare.

“So Renall’s scent was in your house when the demons were there?” Onai growls something back, probably to the effect of one question at a time, because the growls slow.

“Yes,” I respond.

“What if they followed you here? How could you be so reckless? How did you beat them? Did you kill at least one of them? How many are there?” Onai gasps for breath, but the growls keep on coming.

“There’s usually five in the area, but I’ve seen more. They know me from the town. I worked at the gun store, and they would come and get their bullets from me. I don’t know how they found my brother, but I do know their guns take the kind of bullets that were found in his head. They were shooting at me and Renall, so we ran. We didn’t kill any yet. As far as being reckless, I would like to see you assholes try and fight five against two, with guns the size of your arm, and let us see how many you take down.”

That was the wrong thing to say as more growls greet me. Zev must stand now and growl something back. I meet Renall’s eyes beside him, he’s smirking at me.

“What is your gift?” A Guardian in a deep purple velvet dress asks in English.

I sigh. Glancing at my shoes, I state, “I don’t know yet.”

“Well, what can you do?” another Guardian asks.

“I’ve made some greenery … and stuff.”

A few snorts and laughter greet my admission. Renall growls, then silences them.

Onai whispers, “Renall just told them he feels your power and it has yet to manifest to its fullest. He also added to shut up or he’ll rip their throats out.”

Another growl comes from a young male in the front row. He growls louder than all the others and spits at me when he’s finished. I stare at the spit in front of my shoe as Onai translates, “You haven’t mastered your gifts or how to control it, so what makes you think you are good enough for an ancient warrior? What makes you think you deserve him?”

I answer honestly, “I don’t. I don’t deserve him.”

Onai translates, and immediately a red-haired male in the third row snickers, and Onai whispers his growls as if she didn’t want to repeat them loud enough for all to hear, “She might deserve him; Renall has lost his touch. Renall is weak.”

I feel Renall rise from across the stage, his anger spilling out of him in waves. But it’s my own anger surging forward that I can’t control. Sheer protectiveness bubbles up inside of me. They can say what they want about me, but Renall is where I draw the line. My legs rise of their own accord, and I kick the stump backward as I snarl back at the male and his friends who agreed with him. My eyes have locked on my target, and I’m ready to pounce, damn it all to hell. I don’t notice their faces change or the way they rise until the pain erupts behind my eyes and I bite my tongue as my head is knocked against the cave wall. The metallic taste of blood fills my mouth.

Renall is in his wolf form, pinning me against the wall behind him.

More single men stand at attention as they sniff the air. Only then do I feel a droplet fall down my inner thigh. The air whips around me as more men transform into their wolf.

“Oh, Goddess, you’re bleeding,” Onai gasps.

“So?” I mumble, the pain coursing through my tongue. “Isn’t that like water to you guys?” I finish between gritted teeth.

“This is a different kind of blood.” She blushes slightly as she whispers to me, “Andit’s the blood of an unmated Guardian.”

My eyes widen in realization, the stomach cramping this morning, the nausea—I thought it was because of the nerves, and it may as well have been, but it was something else as well. I just got my period in front of an entire pack of werewolves and Guardians. The sheer embarrassment will destroy me if these desperate feral wolves do not.

The vibrations of Renall’s snarls echo through me. A snarl that I know deep in my bones is protective in nature and dares anyone to make another step toward me. Toward us.

A young wolf, half Renall’s size, makes that mistake. Young, stupid, and desperate enough to test that Renall’s bite is worse than his snarl. The young wolf lunges toward Renall’s throat, but in doing so leaves his own extended. Renall slipped to his side to sink his teeth in the wolf’s brown hide before he had time to close his jaw. His eyes meet mine, inches from my face, as the life fizzles out of them. I swallow the tears, ready to drop at any moment. I had the urge to attack them a few seconds ago, and yet now, seeing it firsthand, makes me sick.

Hold it in, Autumn. Hold it until you’re alone. Don’t show any weakness, not here. Not now.

My wolf snarls again, taking a step forward. I copy his feet, always keeping myself behind him. Renall still has me pinned to the wall as we slide toward the stairs. A few wolves growl and snap their jowls in response. I’m too far away from Onai now to get a translation, but from the depth and sheer ferocity, they aren’t happy that Renall is keeping them away from me.

Slowly, we ascend the stairs, and Renall switches sides as we pass the onlookers on our floor. A few couples escape into their rooms to avoid us. Only one man dares to step in front of our path. He has a scar from his temple to his lip. His smooth onyx hair is held back with a single piece of twine. His chocolate eyes don’t acknowledge Renall at all, they are set onme.

The remainder of the ledge is vacated as our audience below grows. Without warning, the scarred man transforms into a smooth onyx wolf before our eyes. His face still has that scar from ear to lip in his wolf form. I’m wondering whether he got it in human or wolf form when he lunges for Renall. His canines locking onto Renall’s front haunches as his eyes remain focused on me and his teeth close hard. Those eyes swallow me whole. They reek of possession and sheer desperation. A shiver crawls down my back. Renall has caught the wolf in the leg as well, and as the onyx wolf releases his hold on Renall, he opens his crimson-dripped jowls toward me. He can’t reach me over Renall’s body, so his bloody tongue reaches out. Even though I flinch away, he catches me on the side of my face. His blood-slicked tongue slides up my cheek.

Renall snaps his head back as his teeth sink deeper into the scarred wolf’s leg, dragging the attacker’s body with him before Renall flips him over the ledge. In a single movement, Renall spins around and he’s in his human form, ushering me through our door. He slams it shut, locking it behind us. Renall turns my face toward his, his eyes roving all over me as he’s inspecting me.

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