The Sacred Guardians Series Box Set: Books 1-4 Omnibus

by Wendy Owens

  “With all due respect, Sir, I don’t care what you think of my abilities to protect her. She is going to be my wife and I’m not leaving her side,” Gabe answered firmly.

  Michael stood silent for a moment, looking Gabe up and down. At last he relented, “Very well.”

  “Are you serious? You tell me I’m too weak to take care of the woman I love and then simply give up?”

  “All these years and you still don’t get it. I don’t force anyone to do anything. I’m telling you you’re not strong enough, if you don’t want to listen to me and you want to put her life in danger, there’s nothing I can do.”

  “Oh, I get it, this is your way of subtly saying you did what I wanted when it came to Sophie and look how that turned out. Well, it’s not going to work,” Gabe argued.

  “I’m doing no such thing,” Michael replied. “In fact, you’re welcome to have the wedding here, but it needs to be quick if you choose to do so. Things are increasingly unsafe and we’ll soon be attempting to rehouse many of the refugees elsewhere. It would be far too unsafe for the two of you to remain for an extended period of time.”

  “So you’re just going to let me take her?” Gabe questioned in disbelief.

  “Of course. If you choose to have the ceremony here, afterwards you can take Rachel and any supplies you might need,” Michael offered.

  “You think that’s a bad idea?” Gabe asked, questioning himself more than Michael.

  “You do what you think is right. Things are getting bad out there though, you’ll need to make sure you stay one step ahead of the trackers. You’ve made it this long however, I’m sure you’ll both be fine.

  Gabe thought about Michael’s words, he was right; he had no current experience dealing with this war. He had been hiding for over a year. How could he possibly keep Rachel safe?

  “I’m not going to leave her,” Gabe insisted.

  “And nobody says you should,” Michael reassured him, turning to rifle through a stack of papers on the table.

  “Let’s say I wanted your help, the help of the Guardians, what were you thinking?”

  Michael looked up at Gabe and smiled softly, “If you want, I can send Uri and Haim along with you.”

  “Where are we supposed to go?” Gabe asked.

  “Anywhere you can, just don’t stay in one place too long. You only need to stay ahead of the trackers,” Michael explained. “Think about my offer. I have to go; the elders are waiting for my report. I will be back soon; in the meantime, Dina can help with the wedding plans, if you choose to have it here.”

  Gabe said nothing; he wasn’t sure what he could possibly say.

  Michael walked up and grabbed hold of Gabe’s arm, “I really am happy for you.”

  In a flash, Michael was out the door, bounding down the corridor, leaving Gabe standing there alone, wondering what had just happened.

  Gabe strode to the edge of the empty room, his mind still reeling from his conversation with Michael. When Gabe asked Rachel to marry him, all he had been thinking about were his feelings for her, his selfish feelings. He wanted her to become his wife because he didn’t like who he was without her. He didn’t want to be alone again. He hadn’t put any serious thought into what that would mean for her. She was already being hunted, and now to be with him would enlarge the target dramatically on her back. He wondered how he could be so naive to think love was the only thing that mattered in this.

  Glancing back at the now empty chamber, he contemplated the meeting that had just taken place. It wasn’t just the fear of the unknown that had Gabe’s adrenaline pumping. Being here, back in the thick of it, was invigorating. No matter how far he ran from his destiny, it never changed who he was. He was a born fighter, without that battle in his life something was missing.

  As a boy, Gabe knew much less about himself than he did now. He knew now that leaving Rampart was about so much more than a broken heart and frustration over all the secrets and lies. He fled all those years ago because he was scared of himself, of who he really was. He had denied it for years because he didn’t want to admit it, he left because he knew if he stayed he would be driven to fulfill his destiny.

  All these years alone, he had been miserable. It was easier for him to blame it on everyone else, to accuse them of robbing him of his life. But, what actual life did he lose? He had no friends before Rampart, he had no family that Uri took him away from, he had only darkness. He knew that if he stayed, he would have fulfilled the prophecy, he could feel the urge to fight in his bones.

  He left because he wanted to live, no other reason explained it. Things had changed now though, unknowingly. When he let Rachel in his life, the walls started coming down. Once she had made her way into his thoughts, he couldn’t get her out, he was hers now, and nothing else mattered except being with her. The desire to be with her leading him back to this place wasn’t what scared him. He felt alive here, surrounded by his friends. What scared him was that Michael was right and he wouldn’t be able to protect her. He had a chance to have it back, his life with the Guardians if he wanted it. And now he had love. Gabe was petrified he wouldn’t be able to hold it all together, that he would lose it like he had before.

  He turned back around to exit the room, excited to see Rachel and tell her all that had happened. To introduce her to everyone, and most of all he wanted to assure her that, with the help of Uri and Haim, she would be safe.

  Much to Gabe’s surprise, blocking his path, stood Sophie. She stared at him like a tiger staring at its prey. Uneasy about how close she stood to him, Gabe stumbled backwards. “Oh, excuse me, I didn’t see you there.”

  “Losing your touch, huh?” Sophie growled entering the room, walking past him to stand next to the large round table.

  “Umm, no— I— I simply wasn’t expecting you to be there,” Gabe argued, clearly rattled by her presence.

  “There used to be a time when nobody could sneak up on you. The great Gabe Harwood, protector and savior of us all,” Sophie taunted. “I guess those days are over, huh?”

  “I never claimed to be anyone’s savior, and besides, how would you know? Last time we spoke you didn’t even remember who I was. Perhaps you should keep your opinions to yourself when it comes to speaking about people you have no recollection of,” Gabe fired back.

  “Oh, but I do know you, Gabe,” Sophie said flatly.

  He stared into Sophie’s eyes, forgetting to breathe, hunting for something recognizable. She simply stood there, hip cocked, a devilish grin on her face as she twirled her flaming locks around her slender finger. For an instant he thought he saw it, the light in her eyes that he hadn’t seen for so long. He shook his head, sure he had to be mistaken.

  His chest felt like it was on fire, as if his heart was going to burst from his chest. Gasping, Gabe remembered suddenly he needed to take in oxygen. When he fled Rampart, Sophie had become a stranger. He risked everything to save her from the curse and when his efforts weren’t enough, he demanded Michael wipe her mind in an attempt to return her memories to the point where the curse had taken hold. Things had gone horribly wrong, instead Sophie lost all memory of him and everything that had happened since she first came to the school. She lost any piece of who she was because of Gabe and his insistence on the memory wipe.

  It was different than when he had left Rampart though, now, standing here, it was like looking into the eyes of the Sophie he once knew. From the moment he had met her, it was clear she was a warrior, strong and bold, just one of the guys, always ready for the fight. It had been something they shared, though he hadn’t realized that until after he was already gone. Her feverish attitude was one that was always keeping the people around her on their toes, and there it was, the fire was back in her eyes, but it couldn’t be, that Sophie was gone forever. Confused by her behavior, Gabe sought clarity, “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about the fact that you’re the chosen one, the great Gabe Harwood, or have you so easily forgotten that par
t? Perhaps it’s not me with the memory issues. Oh no, of course you remember, after all, the first night you came to Rampart you brought me back from the brink of death with your healing abilities. You’re a legend, I’m just wondering when you’ll start acting like it.”

  “I know exactly who I am, so let’s not presume you’re here to enlighten me or something. My question is; who told you about me? You seem to be getting your information from somewhere.”

  “Really? You’re not as clever as I remember, that’s for sure,” Sophie replied firmly.

  “Wait, no, that can’t be right. When I left Rampart Manor you had no memory of me, of us. Heck, when I left you were fantasizing over Uri,” Gabe insisted.

  “Oh please, Uri? Anyone with any common sense would have known that wasn’t going to last. Like I could ever fall in love with someone like Uri,” Sophie scoffed as she shuddered. “Actually, that’s quite gross, he’s like my brother.”

  “No, if you remembered, someone would have told me,” Gabe argued.

  “Let me get this straight, you left in the middle of the night, not telling anyone, leaving us to fend for ourselves. Then we are attacked, one of your supposed best friends is killed, yet you don’t return to ensure your other so-called friends are all right? Yes, I think that about sums it up. And you wonder why people didn’t run out to tell you I got my memory back,” Sophie’s words dripped with venom.

  “I didn’t know Rampart had been attacked.”

  “You didn’t know, because you didn’t care to know.”

  Gabe sucked in a gasp of air. She was clearly wounded and he knew he needed to attack the talk head on. “Sophie, I loved you. If you had your memory back, why wouldn’t you have come after me?

  “After the attack, the night you abandoned us, we fled, spread out all over the planet. Dina watched over me; in my condition I wasn’t able to fight. Had you been there, maybe Raimie wouldn’t have had to die,” Sophie explained. “How could I possibly come after you after you abandoned us?”

  “Don’t start, you know I left because I couldn’t watch you love someone else,” Gabe defended.

  “You gave up so easily,” Sophie challenged. Gabe didn’t know how to respond, questioning himself and his choices all those years ago. “Eventually we ended up at Iron Gate; it was only a matter of months before my memories started returning. The effects of the wipe fading.”

  Gabe didn’t know if he should feel regret for leaving or anger that she wanted to keep the truth from him. “Why Sophie? Why wouldn’t you let Dina send someone for me?” Gabe pleaded.

  “You didn’t think I was worth sticking around for. You didn’t think your friends were worth it. I got to watch Dina go through her grief over Raimie, not you. Just when I started remembering things, she got really bad. I don’t bail when my friends need me the most.”

  “What do you mean she got really bad?”

  “You don’t get to ask those questions, Gabe. You lost that privilege when you left us.”

  “Fine, you hate me. Fine, I left. What’s the point of all this then?” Gabe had enough of the blame; he wanted to be anywhere but there.

  “Don’t you get it? I want you to know what you walked away from,” Sophie snarled.

  “So this entire conversation is just to make me feel terrible. Mission accomplished, I’ve been miserable for five years, Sophie!” Gabe shouted.

  “Then why was it so easy for you to leave?”

  Rushing forward towards her, infuriated by her flippant disregard for the relationship they had, Gabe cried, “You think leaving was easy? You can’t be serious! That was the first time in my life I had people who seemed to care about me. Leaving Rampart meant leaving the only place that ever felt like home. I was in Hell while I was gone.”

  “Oh yeah, Gabe. Partying every night must have been so hard on you,” Sophie’s words cut sharply.

  “How did you—?” Gabe started, surprised by the confrontation, a rush of shame flooding over him.

  “Just because I wouldn’t let anyone tell you I regained my memories, didn’t mean I wasn’t keeping tabs on you. Dina told me about the charm enchantment in case I changed my mind and decided to tell you my memories came back. You see, I couldn’t simply turn my feelings off as easily as you.”

  “Sophie, you have got to be kidding me with this, right? Why do you think I went so wild after I left? I was trying to forget about us, what we had.”

  “So that’s what Rachel is? A way to forget about me?” Sophie’s tone shifted, a sliver of optimism and hope in her voice.

  “No, it’s not like that with her. You have to understand, it wasn’t easy to put you behind me, but there came a time I had to move on. What about you? I thought you were supposed to be married to Peter.”

  “Oh please, he was a complete and total snooze fest. There was no way I could actually go through with it. Had I married him, I think I would have died from boredom,” Sophie dismissed Gabe’s suggestion as if it were absurd.

  “I see,” Gabe stated, hesitating, still unable to figure out what Sophie wanted from the conversation. Why was she sharing all of this with him? It didn’t matter anymore, he was over her, he was with Rachel now.

  “That’s all you have to say? Don’t you get it, Gabe? Of course not, I can’t even believe it myself, that I would still want you after everything we’ve been through. All these years of holding it in, not telling you, it’s too much. I miss everything about you, even the things that infuriate me, and I want you back,” Sophie confided.

  Gabe’s head spun at her statement, he wanted to scream in anger and sweep her up into an embrace at the same time. He had wanted to hear Sophie say those words for so long; it had been all he thought about for years. Now that she was here, telling him what he had so deeply desired, it brought him a sense of satisfaction, yet at the same time he kept seeing Rachel in his mind, lying on that cot, helpless, waiting for him. Rachel loved him, it was a certainty he had no doubt of, like the idea he needed air to breath, they needed each other.

  “What am I supposed to say to that, Sophie? It was your choice to keep this from me, all these years, there’s no going back. Look, I have to go, Rachel might wake up,” Gabe fired off; he was frustrated Sophie had even revealed that her memories had returned.

  “Ha! Don’t make me laugh,” Sophie barked.

  Gabe took a step back, his face flushed red in anger. “We haven’t seen each other in a very long time; I would be careful what you say next.”

  “Oh yeah? Is that right?”

  “I mean it, Sophie, she’s the woman I love and she’s going to become my wife.”

  “There is no way she will ever be your wife,” Sophie informed her long lost love.

  “Oh really? Care to enlighten me as to why not?” Gabe asked over as his shoulder as he walked towards the entryway. Stopping and turning, he paused for a moment to hear her answer. He waited impatiently.

  “Because, now that you know I remember us, you won’t be able to marry her,” Sophie revealed at last.

  Without hesitation, Gabe answered, “I’m really glad you remembered who you are, even if that is some crazy manipulative witch, but I got over you a long time ago. Sorry to disappoint. I’m going to check on Rachel now.”

  With great intensity Gabe turned on his heels and rushed out of the room, Sophie calling out behind him, “We’ll see Gabe, we’ll see!”

  A fog rolled in across the grounds, like a heavy, pillowy, blanket, concealing the faces of the people milling around outside. Gabe preferred it this way; it was easier not to look at all the sad, pathetic faces of the individuals who had been displaced by this war.

  It didn’t help that Gabe had delusions that everyone recognized him. He was sure the whispers he heard as he passed the strangers were about him. The paranoia began after the harsh conversation he had shared with Sophie. Gabe kept imagining everyone staring at him, thinking things like, “There goes the coward of Rampart,” or “And he was supposed to be the chosen one? What a dis
appointment.” In the fog his face was hidden and the imaginary voices quieted.

  Rounding the corner, entering the great hall, Gabe slowed only for a moment. His thoughts were now consumed with Sophie’s words from the day before. He had dreamed about her remembering their love since leaving Rampart, imagined how he would feel, how he would react. Now that the day had arrived, the one thing he had wanted to happen more than any other, didn’t stir the emotions he had always envisioned.

  It’s been years since we were separated, Gabe thought, and she’s the one who chose to leave me in darkness. What does she expect from me? How could I ever be with a woman who could do that to me? She knew I was in pain, she didn’t care.

  Gabe’s thought shifted to Rachel. She loved him, she made him want to be a better man, to be worthy of her. He loved her as well. He couldn’t imagine her ever wanting to hurt him like Sophie had.

  Gabe strolled to the end of the long row, where he caught sight of Uri standing, talking to someone. Quickening his pace, Gabe closed in on Uri’s position and as he did, Rachel came into view. She was sitting up and talking, his heart ached. All he wanted to do was scoop her up into an embrace. “Rachel,” Gabe called out.

  Spinning around on the cot, her chestnut hair flaring out around her face, Rachel stopped to catch a glimpse of Gabe as he neared. He watched as her eyes lit up, her face beaming with joy after catching sight of him. In that moment, he want to run to her, tell her everything, all the things Sophie had told him, the way it made him feel tied in knots. After confessing everything, he would lay his head in her lap while she made it all drift away with the delicate twisting of her fingertips in his hair; but he couldn’t, he couldn’t imagine the pain it might bring her. Instead, he simply smiled, coming to rest at her side, perched on one knee.