For the Love of The Guardian

One More Time

“You did what?!” Henri’s voice broke an octave, as his blood boiled in his chest. He stood like a statue in his living room. His daughter sat in the lap of the one she claimed was her mate. Eli and Sebastian sat on the two chairs opposite the small sofa. He felt his face growing hot as his anger began to rise.

“Father, please.” Sarah spoke calmly, her voice a peace among the chaos in the room.

“Sarah,” Eli chimes in, “you both know better then to jump into this.”

I told you they wouldn’t understand. Liam’s voice rang in her soul, she could almost feel his wolf’s agitation.

They will, my love. Sarah looked to Liam, peace washing from her to him in that one glance.

Chaos was heard in the house below. Sounds yelling and anger, as loud steps were heard climbing beyond their door.

“Now what?” Henri growled as he looked to his apartment door. His right eye began to twitch at the bottom, the aggravation of the days circumstances raises his blood pressure even more.

The wooden door burst open, a familiar face appeared before them. His well trimmed beard and short brown hair had gray hidden within it. His green eyes were tired and his broad shoulders were slumped slightly. Sarah was the first to move to greet the guest, her eyes lighting at his arrival.

“Hektor!” Sarah embraced the man, his arms lightly touching her as he solemnly touched her.

“Alpha,” his eyes moved to Henri, “we must talk.”

Sarah ushered Hektor into the room and moved to sit on the arm rest beside Liam.

Who is he? Liam’s soul connected with hers once more.

The mate of my Godmother.

“Hektor, what is it?” Henri gave the lumberjack his full attention.

His eyes scanned the room, unsure of who to trust in this moment.

“It’s ok,” Henri assured him, “you can trust these men.” His eyes lingering on Liam for a moment, as if to say they weren’t finished.

“Vera is gone.”

“Gone?!” Sarah gasped, her eyes wide and her pulse rushing.

Henri watched as Liam place a hand on his new mate, calming her quickly. It was as if a conversation was taking place between them in that one touch. His eyes shifted back to Hektor, “What do you mean gone?”

“Her home was razed yesterday. There’s nothing left.” A tear threatened at the brim of his eye lids. “When I arrived last night, there was still smoke billowing up. The enchantment was removed and her home destroyed.”

Eli observed the situation, his mind racing on what to do next. “We should go look for tracks.” He pointed to himself and Sebastian.

“Good idea, take your boys with you. Fresh eyes on the site might find something new.” Henri agreed.

“I should go.” Sarah spoke up.

“No!” Every male in the room chorused the response.

“Sarah,” Hektor’s eyes pleaded with her, “you don’t want to see what I saw. The animals in her sanctuary were not spared.” His eyes turned to Henri, “They killed them and put them on display.”

“Druids.” Liam exhaled, his eyes taking in the shocked expression from the others. “They had been trying to encroach on Blue Blood lands for years. I am not surprised that they found another way into the territories.”

What would druids want with my Godmother?

I don’t know, my love. Liam’s hand rested on her leg.

“Do they do that often?” Hektor looked disturbed by their interaction.

“Lately, yes.” Sebastian remarked.

“I would like answers to what is going on.” Henri pointed to the two of them, “However, that will have to wait.” He turned to the mantle and wrote something on a small piece of paper. Tearing the paper in two, he handed one to Sarah and the other to Liam.

Sarah looked at the writing on her paper; Koshen U. - Dr. Aaron Reck. Sarah’s brow furrowed as she read it. Instructions to tell no one written on the bottom of her paper. Her eyes confused as she looked to her father.

Liam looked at his own; Eckenro - Mrs. Ellen Jameson. His own instruction to tell no one on his paper. His eyes looked to Sarah and then to his, now, Alpha.

“Alpha?” Liam questioned, garnering stares from the other men in the room.

“Liam, Sarah,” Henri turned to face them both, “you have your assignment from your Alpha. Will you heed my wishes?”

Sarah stood slowly, folding her paper over in her hand. She walked to the mantle and picked up a small candle from the it’s resting place. Carefully, as Vera had shown her, she summoned a flame to rest on the wick of the wax obelisk. The warmth bringing little comfort, the soft light dancing along her hands as she rested it on the coffee table in the middle of the room. She looked to her Alpha, their eyes meeting calmly. She nodded slowly, sadness on her face as she raised the paper to the candle’s flame. Watching as the words were burned away from anyone to know.

Liam watched her actions closely, understanding she had the same instruction. His lungs filled with a deep breath, his nostrils filled with the smell of burnt paper mixed with hints of fall spice. He hung his head and nodded softly, his own hand coming up to the flame. He watched as the words on his paper burned away, his mind the only secured place of this knowledge. He brought his eyes up to Henri’s gaze, nodding once more.

“Very well, you two have your assignments. You leave at once.” Henri was solemn as he watched the pain wash over the newly mated couple. “Under normal circumstances, you would have your time away together. I am sorry I can’t give you that now.”

Liam stood slowly to his feet, his hands resting on Sarah’s shoulders. “How can I protect her if I am not with her?”

“How do you know you are going someplace else?” Henri’s brow lifted.

“He can feel my sorrow, father.” Sarah lifted her left hand to rest on his right. “He can hear the cry of my soul.”

“Unbelievable.” Eli leaned forward as he watched the couple intently, “Can you talk to each other? Like not with your mouths?”

“Yes, we can.” Liam spoke confidently from behind his mate.

“It’s what I was trying to tell you, father.” Sarah continued her plea with her father.

“So I guess that means no secrets are safe between you two?”

“Not really. We both know where the other is headed, sort of.” Sarah let her head drop, “I know he’s going the opposite direction of me.” Her fingers gripped his hand tightly.

“I know this will be hard for the two of you,” Henri placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “I promise I would do it another way if I could, but this is important. Both of these people need to be talked to, and I trust you both to be diplomatic about this.”

“I understand.” Sarah sighed, hints of her childhood flashing across her face.

Henri realized how young she truly was in this moment. “We’ll give you two some time alone. You’ll leave as sunset.”

“I can make a distraction during dinner, so you can sneak out.” Sebastian half smiled to the pair as he rose from his seat.

“Come, gentleman.” Henri motioned for them to exit, “Let’s convene in my office.”

Henri ushered the three men from his home and down the hall. His small office felt a little crowded as they all tucked inside. There was space for them all to sit, but the room quickly warmed from their body heat.

“It’s so rare.” Eli was the first to speak.

“What is?” Hektor’s booming voice nearly rattled the walls.

“For a bond like that to happen. To feel the other, let alone hear them in your head.”

“Jhera and I had that.” Henri spoke from behind his desk, his voice solemn. “I remember feeling her pulse in my own veins.” His hands fiddled with a pen on his desk. The subtle scar from the union with Jhera was hidden beneath the calluses on his right hand. His mind replayed the moments he felt her heart beating in his chest. How he knew it was her, even as he ran through the deep ravine.

“Henri, why didn’t you say anything?” Eli’s voice was consoling, noticing the deep thought he was in.

“What good would it have done?” His eyes lifting to look to the men. “Our Luna was dieing and young Sarah needed me. I didn’t have time to debrief, I barely kept my head above the water.” He stood from his seat, a deep breath filling his lungs. “You should know, the prophecy.” He felt their eyes on him as he crossed the room. He reached for a small leather bound text tucked away in the large book case. His hands turning it over repeatedly as he read the engraved words, Wicked Wasted Well. “When I found this in Jhera’s things, it was blank. The pages were empty and I didn’t understand why she had it.” He leaned back against his desk, “Sarah was about 6 when she found this text. She brought it to me, asking me to read her the story. I told her the pages were empty, and I patiently showed her as she corrected me. That was when I saw the writing hidden away for the first time.” He handed Eli the small book. “Inside it talks about the Guardian of the line. How they are born with the sole purpose to serve and protect the line.”

Eli ran his fingers over the text, “In the Twelfth Generation, the Winter cold will bring forth a Lunar Darkness. The birth of The Guardian, the true protector of the bloodline.” Eli’s brow furrowed as he looked to Henri, “That’s the night…”

“It is.” Henri nodded.

“So have we found this Guardian?” Sebastian asked, his mind already understanding where they were going.

“I believe I have, and I believe I know who they are to protect.” Henri took in a deep breath, “If what I have learned to be true, then their paths will cross once more.”

“You aren’t serious?” Eli rose to his feet, “Liam an Sarah?”

Henri’s hands rose to the air in front of him, as he tried to keep the males before him calm. “I am serious. I have reason to believe that their destiny’s are entwined beyond mating.”

“So, you aren’t mad that they mated?” Sebastion interjected.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, I am beyond pissed. Yet there is nothing I can do to stop it now, and hopefully it will prove useful as the two face off what is ahead of them.” Henri sighed, as he moved to behind his desk. The sound of an old drawer sliding open was heard clearly, the thud of a wooden box on top of Henri’s desk caught their attention more. “Eli, will you assist me?”

“Alpha?” Eli rose to his feet once more, his eyes on the intricately decorated box. His mind recalling when he last held that box in his hands, Jhera’s Luna ceremony. The silver dagger that once held the blood of Henri and Jhera, the same one that caused the scar that ran along his palm.

“Our pack is his pack. Their union must be finished before they leave.”

“Alpha Cage will know he has lost his allegiance.” Sebastian reminded them, Hektor nodding beside him.

“And so the choice must be made.” Henri lifted the box and walked from the room, Eli meeting his stride.

“If he refuses?” Eli whispered.

“Then he rejects his mate.” Henri stoned his expression before opening the front door. His eyes saw the pair snuggled into each other on the couch. They hadn’t moved in the hour or so they had left them. Tears were running down his daughter’s face as she lifted her swollen gaze to meet her father.

“Alpha?” Liam spoke quietly, his body not turning from the encompassing grasp of his mate.

“Liam and Sarah,” Henri spoke firmly, “your union must be completed.”

Both of them turned quickly to the Alpha, the ornate box in his hands. Sarah swallowed hard as she rose to her feet. “Father?” Her brow furrowed as she watched Liam rise to his feet.

Eli moved to the wood box, lifting the lid he revealed the simple silver dagger. The leather sheath keeping it safe until it was needed next. Slowly Eli lifted it from the box and released it from it’s holding. The bright silver shined in the dimly lit room, the sun outside already setting and the moon rising to the sky.

“By the light of the moon,” Eli’s voice was quiet and soft, as he turned to look to the couple, “the Luna has taken her mate.” Eli stepped before the pair, his free hand motioning for their hands.

Liam offered up his right hand and watched as Sarah reluctantly offered hers. He felt the fear in her soul, and gently placed a hand on her lower back to calm her.

“Do you, Luna Sarah Lorraine Cobalt, take this male as your mate?” Eli’s voice asked with treasured respect.

“Yes.” Sarah half whispered.

“Sir Liam James Estro, do you accept this she-wolf as your mate, your Luna?” Eli watched Liam closely.

“Yes.” His voice strong, hiding how sacred he was of what was to come.

“By soul you are entwined. By blood you shall be bound. One heart, one soul, your paths she be joined.” Eli looked to Sarah, “Your pack, shall be his pack,” his eyes shifted to Liam. “Your family, shall be her family.”

“Agreed.” The pair spoke quietly in the small room.

 Eli slowly took Sarah’s right hand in his own, the silver dagger tip cutting delicately into her hand. He didn’t miss the hiss of pain that Sarah released as the blade cut into. Carefully releasing her hand, he reached for Liam’s hand and made the same cut in his right palm. His own his of pain from the dagger’s bite taking it’s toll. Eli recalled the same reaction from the last time he held this same dagger in his own hand. Stepping back, Eli nodded to Henri.

Setting the ornate box on the coffee table, Henri stepped before the couple. His hands took their right hands in his own, bringing the palms together. “In unity you shall reign.” His hands pressed their palms together, their blood mixing.

Liam felt the rush of loss and then the rush of acceptance. He knew his father felt the loss of a pack member, just as he knew Henri now felt the acceptance of another. He looked to Henri, who only nodded slowly. Without further hesitation, his lips pressed against Sarah’s. Their hands grasped tightly between them as they felt the rush of their union.

Henri cleared his throat, “Pack quickly, dinner will be served shortly.”

“Yes Alpha.” The pair spoke together, their eyes on each other.

Sarah knew they were leaving under the cover of night. She had not expected Liam to deny his pack for her, and yet he no longer held ties to Blue Blood. The path that was before them was unknown and yet she felt ready now. Her gray eyes scanned the face of the future Alpha, she was ready to be his Luna.