Her Guardian Series Box Set

by G. Bailey

  I eventually calm myself down. Knowing that the wolf is only a child and needs help, no matter what he is, helps me do that. I go closer to see the stab wound, and I’m surprised it is looking better, as it’s nearly all sealed up. I decide to grab a blanket from my room and cover the wolf up to the neck, just in case he turns again. I’m guessing the fast healing must be a wolf thing. I do eventually think of the downside of having a supernatural creature in my house—what if others that are like him come looking for the child and think I hurt him? I should run, but I don’t, because I can’t leave a child without knowing for certain he is okay.

  I've always been the type to do a massive cleaning when I'm stressed. Alex is the kind that cooks everything, like my mum does, but Alex doesn’t make anything edible or without a high risk of food poisoning. I get some bleach and water, then start scrubbing the floor up to the door where there is blood and outside my door too, before locking it.

  I check on the wolf, and I'm not that surprised to see it’s the boy again, but it still looks like he is sleeping. I go to my room, taking off the now blood-covered dress and putting on some casual clothes. I avoid looking at myself in the mirror because that would make this night way too real for me, and I want some answers from the boy before I do that.

  I get a wash cloth out of my bathroom, getting it a little wet before going to the boy.

  "Hey, I'm just going to clean you up a little," I say to him. Even if he isn't awake, I’m hoping he can hear me. I can still hear his yelp when I pulled that dagger out, who would hurt a little child like that?

  I clean his face and then his shoulders. I lift the blanket to look at the dagger wound on his lower leg. It's nearly all healed, so I clean it up carefully and put a bandage on it before covering his leg up again.

  I sit down on the couch, looking at the boy, wondering what the hell to do now. It's not like I can call a doctor to explain I have a boy that changes into a wolf sometimes. Or would I call a vet? I eventually lie down on my couch and drift off to sleep.

  Four

  Wyatt

  “Atti, I know it’s her, for fuck’s sake,” I mutter down the phone. Atti is a witch and general pain in the ass, but I need him to know about this.

  “Hold on a sec,” he says to someone else and hangs up on me. I’m the prince of the fucking vampires, and he puts the phone down on me like he couldn’t give two shits. Typical.

  “I’ve cleared the apartment, now tell me, what’s going on?” Drake says, coming into the living room.

  “It’s Winter, the girl we have all been waiting for. She’s been your mate’s best friend all this time,” I tell him harshly, and he tries to hide his shock.

  “I can’t believe it,” he eventually mutters. Drake paces by the door, and I just watch him as he tries to process this. Drake has been my protector since I was born. I think he is around a hundred years old and never took a mate. When he told me he was mating with a human girl he had met, I was a little taken aback. Drake basically brought me up and yet is never nice to anyone other than me.

  “Baby, are you in here?” Alex’s voice comes from the other side of the door. Drake opens the door and takes her hand gently.

  “We will discuss this another time,” he tells me, and I nod at him.

  “Wait. How did your date go?” Alex asks, pushing around Drake. Alex has known about us for over a year. She met him in a local pub, and she let Drake feed on her. From the first time he saw her, he told me he didn’t want to leave her and had to get to know her. I have no idea why she thought setting her best friend up on a date with a vampire was a good idea, but she did.

  “I may have messed it up a little,” I say to her.

  “If you upset her, I swear I'll find a way to stake your ass,” she says with a glare, trying to move towards me, but Drake lifts her over his shoulder.

  “Winter may have left the date after an argument,” I say.

  “Drake put me down and help me find a stake!” she tells him, loudly.

  “Stakes don’t work, Alex, and I didn’t upset her too much,” I tell her, as Drake whispers something to her. I could listen in, but I don’t.

  “Fine, we can talk about this in the morning, and I know stakes don’t work. But I bet it would hurt.” She grins at me, and I hear Drake’s chuckle as he walks her out.

  A few minutes later, as I walk aimlessly around my apartment, Atti appears in the room. Witches can travel anywhere they have been before. Atti is their soon-to-be leader, their prince, and is the most powerful witch around.

  “You’re sure? Like completely, not fucking around with me right now?” he asks in my mind. Another annoying habit of his, forgetting to actually talk out loud, when he knows it gives me a headache.

  “Yes, I tried to make her dance with me, and she resisted like it was nothing. No one has ever been able to stop me, other than my father and some witches. It’s also how drawn I was to her; like she was all I could see,” I tell him out loud. I sit in my chair by my fireplace, thinking about Winter.

  “Don’t forget me, D, and Jax. Your powers never work on us, it does make me laugh though.” He laughs out loud, and I fold in my fists. I know how much Atti likes to fuck with me.

  “Tell me about her?” Atti asks, thankfully out loud, as he takes the seat opposite me.

  “She has long, brown hair, light-blue eyes, a body that could outdo an angel’s, and from the little I spoke to her, she seemed good,” I tell him.

  “Of course she is good. Man, I love brunettes.” Atti sighs, rubbing his tired face.

  “I have to tell Dabriel,” I tell him.

  “And Jax,” Atti tells me with a stern look on his face.

  “No, he made it clear that he didn’t want anything to do with us after what happened. We haven’t seen him in seven years,” I remind Atti. It’s difficult to even talk about him, he was like a brother to me.

  “That was in the past and nothing to do with Winter,” Atti says. A sad look crosses his face, as I know he feels sorry for me. I have to remind myself not to punch him. He, too, is like a brother to me; plus, I don’t want to destroy my apartment by fighting with him.

  “Doesn’t matter. He would kill her first and ask questions later,” I tell him.

  “Fine. Just for now, until we tell Winter who she is, but you know D likely knows about her by now,” Atti says. Dabriel is an angel and a prince. Angels have the power to tell the future, among other things.

  “He doesn’t see everything, and his council won’t let him go near her, anyway,” I remind Atti again about all the stupid, fucking rules.

  “The prophecy says–” Atti starts, but I cut him off.

  “It says a hell of a lot, but no one believes it anymore. Our births were deemed as miracles and not the work of the goddess. We are on our own, and it’s best we keep this a secret. I don’t want my father finding out about Winter,” I tell him, and he nods.

  “It’s best my coven doesn’t find out yet, they are still planning this stupid marriage between me and the leader of the dark witches,” Atti says, his face looking like he is sucking lemons.

  “Then we are in agreement. I'll get to know her and eventually introduce you,” I tell him. I may have to get Alex to help me. I think I was a bit rude and maybe scary tonight. It just took me by surprise to see her there. I expected a pretty girl for the night, and instead, this stunning girl walks up to me, looking perfect and smelling like sin. I just wanted to taste her right then. I had to drink four bags of blood tonight to stop myself from chasing after her.

  “I can’t see her for a few weeks, there’s a meeting between our kind, and I have to be there constantly. The amount of stupid fights I'll have to break up in the next two weeks is bloody stupid,” Atti grumbles.

  “That’s what happens when all your council are women, and you’re the only male allowed in,” I tell him. I don’t want to swap places with him when he has to deal with their cat fights. Atti once told me that he had to put ten women to sleep when a fight
broke out over him. Every woman in his coven would die for a chance to mate with him. He is lucky his mother still protects him, and as Queen, most of them are terrified of her. They should be.

  “I had to be the first royal, male witch born in thousands of years,” Atti grumbles.

  “Yes, you unlucky fucker, hordes of hot witches throwing themselves at you,” I smirk at him.

  “Well, I’m going to be without a bed mate for a long time, now that we have found her,” he tells me.

  “Aren’t we all? Honestly, after seeing her, I couldn’t touch anyone else,” I look away as I speak.

  “She must be something.” Atti stands. I don’t want to admit how much of a something she is. She is the first girl I’ve felt anything for since I lost Demi. Demi was my childhood friend, and we only had a year together, romantically, before she was killed. I thought I’d never get over her, but I always knew she wasn’t meant to be my mate. I knew since I was a child that another was destined for me, but I was young and stubborn. I never tried to mate with her, and she never asked me to. She knew I was meant for another, but she said she wanted what little time she could have. I try to ignore the sharp pang of guilt in my heart at the fact I’m moving on.

  “I can’t stay. A word of warning for a friend, your father has met with my mother; he wants her help for something, but she won’t tell me what it is. Do you think he knows where the pack is?” Atti asks.

  “No, I keep them safe. That’s why I still stay around this small town,” I don’t mean it to sound as hostile as it comes out. Atti ignores it or is used to my curt tone, because he doesn’t show any response.

  “Something is changing. The witches are feeling it; be careful, brother.” Atti pats my shoulder as he passes.

  “I will,” I reply, watching the fireplace.

  “Keep her safe and no sleeping with her. Not yet,” Atti tells me.

  I try to keep the grin from my face, “No promises. She is going to be my mate, after all.”

  “Mine, too.” Atti says before he disappears.

  Five

  Winter

  “Hey, lady, wake up," a voice says as I groan mentally. I open my eyes to see the boy from last night kneeling in front of the sofa with his face close to mine. With his eyes open, I can see they are a very bright shade of brown, and I quickly sit up as he leans back holding the blanket tight around his waist.

  "Hi," I feel awkward as I look him over. I was right thinking he can’t be more than eight. He has a young face, messy black hair with what looks like dyed-blond tips, and a skinny frame.

  "Thanks for helping me. I would be dead now, if you hadn’t,” he tells me, looking down at the floor, and I just stare in silence.

  “I'm guessing you know I'm a shifter. My Uncle J is going to go ape when he finds me with a human." The boy drops his head down into his one hand, and I hear a few sobs as he wipes away his tears.

  "Hey, don't get upset. Look, what's your name?" He looks up at me in confusion, and I can see how truly upset he is. I have no idea if he has rules about telling humans, I mean me, about shifters.

  "Freddy. You?" he says carefully, like I’m going to start screaming or attacking him like a crazy person. I guess a normal person might have that reaction to a shifter, but, honestly, I’m not that shocked that there’s more than humans on earth.

  "Winter. Right—wolf-boy or not, you need some clothes and food." I get up, moving around him to my room while he watches me. I grab my old boyfriend’s shorts and top that I was going to throw out. I know they are going to be too big for him, but the shorts have strings that he can tie up.

  "Here, change into these while I cook. Are bacon and eggs alright?" I ask, coming back into the room and handing him the clothes as he watches me carefully.

  "Yes," he mutters, blushing a little, which makes me smile.

  "How's the leg by the way? It looked almost fully healed last night." I comment, waving a hand towards the boy’s leg.

  "It's all healed, look." He shows me his leg quickly. I watch in mild curiosity as he pulls the bandage off and shows me his unharmed leg. My mouth must have dropped open, because Freddy laughs.

  "I can tell you some cool stuff about wolves, if you want, like healing. I’m a little different because I can heal quicker than most wolves, and I am immune to silver, so I won’t get ill,” he tells me, looking very proud of that fact. I can’t help the little smile I give him. I have to admit the kid is cute, and I bet he is used to being spoilt.

  "Why would you have died, if you can heal like that?" I ask, a little confused about last night.

  "Silver is poisonous to us, and I would be dead if I didn’t have the immunity; the longer we are in contact with it, the more it poisons us. With the dagger inside my leg, I would have just bled out. My wolf won't let me shift back when I'm in danger, and I couldn’t run home," he comments with a pained look.

  "Right, that's interesting, and a lot to take in. I’m going to go cook, then we can call someone to come and get you," I tell him, feeling tired. The clock in the room says it’s only four in the morning, so I didn’t get much sleep.

  "My pack will find me soon, anyway, don't worry." He grins back at me as he carries the blanket and clothes into my room. I must stand staring at the closed bedroom door for a few minutes, as I think about what he just said. What will his pack think when they find him here with me? I don’t get the impression they will hurt me for knowing about shifters because Freddy seems so relaxed. I mentally sigh to myself. I go into the kitchen and start pulling out food from the fridge.

  I’m half-way through cooking when my front door is banged loudly three times, followed by a man’s voice, with a slight Scottish accent, shouting, "I know you’re in there, lad, and you have some explaining to do." The voice sounds gruff and deep, enough for me to know it’s an older man.

  I turn off the cooker with slightly shaking hands, before opening the door to a much younger man than I expected. The only thought that comes to mind is how good-looking he is. I look down at his leather boots, black jeans, leather jacket that's stretched across his impressive chest and finally to his frowning face. He is freshly shaven with dark-brown hair cut short on the sides and bits of it falling on his forehead at the top. His bright green eyes, as bright as Freddy’s brown ones, are glaring at me. He may be attractive, but he is clearly not friendly. I just smile back, and that seems to confuse him.

  "Where's my nephew, and why the hell can I smell his blood, lass? Don't make me hurt you to find out," he says in a growling voice, which makes me shiver, and want to tell him anything he wants out of fear. I shiver a little more, as he moves closer and looks at me. I don’t lose eye contact, as we both stare at each other. I don’t say anything because I can’t back down, and I try to ignore the fact that he smells amazing this close. The man looks like he wants to kill me, and I’m focusing on what he smells like and not telling him his nephew is fine. What is wrong with me?

  "Don't you dare hurt her, I owe her my life, Uncle Jaxson." Freddy's voice comes from right behind me. I feel his hand press onto my shoulder in comfort, and that finally makes me look away from Jaxson, who is now growling at me with glowing green eyes. The man looks close to killing me, but he seems annoyed that he can’t. So, his name is Jaxson, it kind of suits him.

  "Why don't you come in, and less of the growling, please?" I tut at him in a nervous voice and walk past Freddy, who follows me into the kitchen. I can hear Jaxson’s loud boots as he walks in. The slam of the door tells me he is not happy.

  "Now you go and sit back down. Your uncle won't hurt me, and I will finish your food while I explain last night to him," I tell Freddy as I lay a hand on his shoulder. He looks so worried that I want to protect him, even from his uncle. I don’t care who the hot guy is, Freddy has had a rough night and needs to rest. Wolf-boy or not.

  "No, Freddy will explain it to me, not some human." He gives a disgusted look at my hand on Freddy’s shoulder. What bugs me more is how he talks like it’s a fac
t, no discussion is going to be had. He has another thing coming if he thinks I’m going to be spoken to like that, before I’ve even had a coffee this morning.

  "No, he won't. He is a child and has had a long night. I don’t care who you are, Wolfman, but Freddy needs to rest. So, shut it," I tell him, and I try to ignore the loud growling that I hear. I turn to look at Freddy, who is looking at us both, smiling like he has won a prize.

  "Go and sit," I say waving towards the lounge, and he nods, walking off. I don’t bother to turn and look at Jaxson as I go back to my cooking. I finish off the bacon and eggs and put them on a plate in the weird silence of the kitchen. He may not say anything, but I can feel his hot gaze on me as I move around the kitchen. After I make myself a coffee, not bothering to offer him one, I turn to him.

  "Come on, Wolfman, let’s have a long chat,” I tell him. I hear him mutter something under his breath, but I can’t hear what he said.

  “Fair warning, if you try to hurt me, you will regret it." I turn to glare at him, and he smirks at me as he crosses his arms and nods. I know what he could shift into, but I won't go down quietly. My mum always taught me how to look after myself and made me go to self-defence lessons for years. Jaxson hasn’t moved from the middle of the kitchen and has been silent, watching me cook until he comes to stand in front of me, way too close, and blocking me between the counter and him. Jaxson is much taller than me and causes me to look way up, just so I can see him. I watch as his eyes lower to my neck before moving up to my eyes.

  "Aye, lass, now how will you do that? If you hurt my nephew, you will pay for it." He whispers the end part in my ear, before sniffing my hair, I think.

  "Back off!" I shout at him with a shove to his shoulders, and his eyebrows rise, before he backs away with a smirk.

  He is clearly a class ‘A’ jerk.