The Alpha’s Guardian

Chapter 4

My first week goes by in a blur. There is no grace period with my classes. Each teacher starts out at warp speed, and they are piling on homework. I have barely seen Beth. I have been spending most my time in the library and have found the perfect spot to set up and study. By the time I am back to my room I fall straight into bed and die.

Friday afternoon I am in my bedroom. I have books spread out all over the place. I hear Beth gentle knock on my door, and I yell come in. She pokes her head in and looks at the disaster of papers laying everywhere.

“Busy week?”

“Yes,” I heave a sigh. “I didn’t realize there would be so much work.”

She giggles. “It gets better.”

I nod and look up at her, “What’s up?”

“I am heading out for the weekend, Family Drama.” She sighs. “I see you late Sunday night.”

“Okay. Have a good time.”

She rolls her eyes at me and waves as she shuts my door. A couple hours after Beth have left, I decided I cannot look at one more law book. I get up and fish out the card from my backpack. ‘Jackson Rider, Campus Police’ is written on the card in plain black letters. There is a phone number under his name. I pull out my cell phone and dial his number. A few rings later I hear a rough male voice, “This is Rider.”

“Mr. Rider? Ms. Johnson told me to call you if I need a safe place to run.” I purposely state it very vague in case I have the wrong person.

“Run? Who is this?” He asks and then he pauses.

“Nanurjuk, um, Ana, Black. I am the new law student.”

“Oh, yes. Let me make a couple of calls. I will meet you in front of your dorm in 30 minutes.”

“Thank You,” I mumble and hang up the phone.

Thirty minutes on the dot Jackson Rider pulls up in front of my dorm in a plain blue truck. He steps out of the truck and introduces himself to me. He is an older man; I would say mid 40’s. Brown hair cut close to his head and brown eyes. He is fit, but there is nothing special about him, nothing that stands outs.

I can smell he is a shifter, but I cannot tell which kind, defiantly not wolf.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

“Not far,” he tells me. “There is a nature preserve about 40 minutes north of here. I have cleared it with the local pack.”

We pull into the preserve and Rider gets out and unlocks a gate and he returns to the truck and drive through pulling deeper into the preserve. Finally, he stops and motions for me to get out. He follows me to the edge of the parking area. He points to some small flags along the edge of the parking area.

“See these flags?”

I nod, I can also smell something from them.

“They are sprayed with a pheromone that only shifter can smell. They surround about a 10 acres plot of land. There shouldn’t be any other shifter in this area so if you stay within these markers you should be safe. I’ll wait here in the truck.”

I go to protest, and he holds up his hand. “Sorry Ms. Black, you are my responsibility. If you need anything just yell. I will hear you, other than that go have fun. You have 2 hours.”

I nod and move to the edge of the woods. I turn to look at him and he pulls his phone from his pocket and goes to sit in the truck. As soon as I am out of sight I strip down and shift into my wolf form. I am a medium size sleek grey wolf. What I don’t have in size and strength I make up in speed. For the next hour and half, I let myself run making sure I stay within the boundary.

There is a small stream that runs through the property, and I stop there to get a drink of water. As I look up, I sense another wolf. I freeze and scan my surroundings. I am not afraid. I have been trained from birth how to fight, to survive. Wolves from the more populated areas call us feral. We purposely shun the human population and hide in the woods that have been preserved by the 1876 Indian Act. There is a hidden amendment to the act that covers shifters. Our lands and people are protected the same way as the First Nations are protected.

I hear him and then I see him. I male wolf-shifter on the other side of the stream staring at me. I shift back to my human form and demand he shifts as well. The wolf c***s his head to the side and looks me up and down. Finally, he pulls back and shifts as well. In a moment Brad is standing before me in all his naked glory. He really is a beautiful man. All tight muscles and smooth skin. Even his more private parts are large and in charge.

“You shouldn’t be here.” I tell him. “Rider said I had this area to myself.”

He laughs, “I don’t need permission to use this area. My father is alpha of this territory.”

“Good for you,” I tell him, again. “I had permission from your pack.”

He studies me for a couple of moments and then smiles. He steps across the stream and walks right up to me. He sticks out his hand and says, “truce?”

I look at his hand and consider. I decide it is not in my best interest to make enemies with the son of the local alpha, so I take his hand and say, “Truce.”

He shakes it hard a couple of times and let’s go. “How much more time do you have?”

“Half an hour,” I tell him.

“Do you want company for the remaining time?”

I look at him and smile, “Sure.”

I do not wait for him to say anything. I shift back and take off towards the woods. I hear him fast approaching and then I increase my speed till I have a large lead. We chase each other around for the next 20 minutes and I start back to the parking areas. Once I am close, I stop and shift to my human form. Bard stops behind me and shifts as well.

“I need to head back.”

He nods, “It was nice to run with you. Maybe we could do it again sometime.”

I shrug, “Maybe.”

He laughs, “See you around Ana.” He turns and shifts back to his large black wolf and darts back into the woods. I turn and jog up to where I left my clothes and change.

As I emerge from the woods, I see Rider leaning on his truck. “I heard you had company?” He asks me.

“Yes, the alpha son surprised me about half an hour ago.”

“That damn pup is going to be the death of me.” Rider scans me up and down. “Since you didn’t yell or anything, I assumed he was just in the area. He didn’t bother you, did he?”

“Um, No, just asked if I wanted to run. I didn’t want to be rude, so I agreed.”

Rider just nodded. “You let me know if he does anything that makes you uncomfortable.” He pushes off the truck and moves to the driver seat.

I just nod and climb back into the truck.

The ride back to the school is silent. I want to ask what he meant by Brad bothering me, but I decide not to. Bard has probably gone to this school as an undergrad like Beth and the other ladies. He has probably watch him as an 18-year-old pup getting himself into all kinds of trouble and, since he is the pampered prince of the local pack, get himself out of trouble just as easily. I know the elders from my pack were always annoyed at the antics my brother and I got into. I chuckle to myself; the elders and my parents still saw us as pups. These police officers and teachers probably see Brad and the other people who have been here since undergrad the same.