Midnight Guardian

by Tamara White

  Chapter Sixteen

  Isobel

  Marcus and Quinn are supervising the class of students as they spar against their partners. We’ve been given the objective to use human ability only to fend off an attack from our opponent. It’s supposed to show them where our weaknesses lie and what needs to be improved on.

  Apparently, we also need to face each other by using our supernatural ability too, but I don’t know if I feel comfortable doing that.

  Ellen is before me, a cocky smile on her face. “You know, age is just a number, Isobel. I plan to give your sexy ass a whooping.”

  “Sexy?” I respond with a grin. “You think I’ll go easy on you if you flatter me? Well, it ain’t gonna happen. Bring it on, panther cub,” I tease, enjoying our playful banter as we circle each other in our section of the room.

  Everyone has given us a wide berth after what happened with Marcus and Quinn earlier. I’m sure they assumed that if I could verbally spar with the instructors, then they didn’t want to risk it happening to them either. Which works well for me. I like a little isolation.

  As for Ellen, I’m not sure why she was being snarky toward them, but I loved every second of it. She’s like me, only older and full of a vibrancy I don’t have.

  Ellen lunges at me suddenly, and I pivot just enough so she misses hitting me and ends up behind me. I turn just in time to watch as she stumbles to the ground on her hands and knees. My natural courtesy tells me to help her to her feet, but I have a feeling she’s playing me. She wants me to help her up so she can pull me down to the ground, effectively pinning me. At least that’s what I’d do.

  When I don’t help her up, she casts a glance over her shoulder with a wicked grin. “You’re a lot smarter than others I’ve encountered.” She climbs to her feet, dusting her hands off. “How exactly do they expect us to fight each other when we’re both cunning and think alike? And why does this have anything to do with the course we have to go through?”

  I straighten from my defensive stance. “You’re right. We do seem to have a similar thought pattern. Maybe we should just skip this? We could head outside and try to train in the woods? Maybe it would help challenge both of us?”

  “Can we just leave though? My Alpha told me it was mandatory we attend each and every class until I was approved to leave.”

  A small smirk curves my lips as Marcus comes closer, obviously noticing our lack of training.

  “I have an idea.”

  He joins us, a frown on his face. “Why aren’t you two training?”

  “Well, about that,” I begin, a coy smile on my lips. “This is clearly the wrong environment for Ellen and me to be in. We think alike and this room doesn’t exactly leave much space for us to maneuver in. So I thought maybe we could head out into the forest for the rest of class. Maybe it will offer us the challenge we need?” I suggest, biting my lip in a way that seems to distract most men. Ellen is watching from behind Marcus, and makes a silent gagging motion. I ignore her as best as I can, giving Marcus my full attention.

  He looks at me suspiciously, crossing his arms. “You’re supposed to attend every class or you’ll be sent back to wherever you came from. You don’t want that, do you?”

  Anger sparks inside me at his little threat, and I decide if he wants to play dirty, then it’s only fair I do too. I step closer, keeping my voice low enough for only him and Ellen to hear. “Either we get to leave class, or I’ll make you allow us to leave. Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten who I am, Marcus,” I chide wickedly.

  Ellen is probably wondering what I mean by who I am, but if she’s really that curious, I’m sure she’ll ask after we leave.

  Marcus glances back at Quinn, who’s glaring over at us while instructing others. When he turns back, there’s a wariness in his eyes. “Fine, but please don’t use your ability on us. I’m not sure he knows it, but Quinn is struggling with your arrival here. We still haven’t quite figured out if it’s lust or hate he’s directing your way, but I really don’t want to test him and find out,” Marcus murmurs lowly, with a note of fear in his voice.

  I look over at Quinn again, sure what Marcus said is false. I was certain that on sight alone, Quinn hated me. He’s still glaring at me, but it’s now directed at Marcus too.

  “Alright, I won’t tell him and if you need to tell him why I left, just say I got PMS and Ellen needs to help me insert a tampon or something gross so he won’t ask a bunch of questions.”

  Marcus scoffs, “Yeah, because a wolf shifter wouldn’t have scented that before I did. Jeez, you may need these classes more than I thought. Sure you want to head outside?”

  “I’m sure.” I move around him without a goodbye and grab Ellen by the elbow, leading her quickly past a few people.

  We get to the doors and we hurriedly escape the classroom, letting the door click closed softly behind us.

  “Are we really going to train?” Ellen asks me, as we walk down the empty hallway.

  I shrug. “We’ll see. Mainly, I want to explore, but we’d be idiots if we didn’t even try to discuss a strategy for this course they plan to have us run through.”

  She murmurs her agreement even as we walk through the building. It’s not as big as it looks from the outside. I thought maybe it would be three or four stories by how high it is outside, but it’s definitely only the two floors. After being in the classroom, though, I realize it’s because the ceilings are higher. Probably so people can shift or use magic without fear of breaking something.

  We pass many classrooms until we get to a door in the back of the building. I study the locks, noticing we’re locked in when I hear a subtle cough above me.

  Looking up, I let out an annoyed puff of air when I see Jesse leaning over the balcony from the second floor, looking at Ellen and me with a smug grin.

  “I take it no one told you the doors were locked the moment the day starts?” he taunts just as smugly as the grin on his stupid face.

  “Sure, they did,” I lie quickly. “I just assumed it would be a simple lock to pick. If I had a laptop on me, I could hack my way out, but then it seems pointless to carry one around just to get in and out of the building. Besides, your brother made it seem like they would be open, what with how he let us leave the classroom.”

  I can just imagine the equally smug grin on Marcus’ face after we left the room. That bastard knew the doors would be locked and that we’d have to come crawling back to class or wander around aimlessly. That son of a bitch is going to get some major payback for this.

  Jesse grins down at me. “Well, if you ask me nicely, then I may come down and let you out. But you really gotta beg. I mean hands and knees, Isobel.”

  I roll my eyes up at him. There is no way I’ll beg him. Just because I let him fuck me against a shower stall doesn’t mean he’ll get special treatment from me.

  He chuckles softly and pushes away from the railing. I hear his feet on the steps and know he’s coming down to me.

  Ellen leans close to whisper, “I don’t know what on earth is running through your veins, but I swear, girlie, it must be shifter crack to get these guys all watching you like dogs in heat.”

  “Wouldn’t that be me in heat, since technically I’m the bitch in this situation?” I muse, loving Ellen’s cheekiness. Despite her age, she strikes me as the type of person who likes to be the life of the party no matter what kind of party it is.

  “Well, I mean, if you like to think of yourself as the bitch then that’s fine, but I genuinely think of the men in relationships as whiney little bitches. Take my husband for example. When I was giving birth to our daughter in the hospital, he stepped on a thumbtack and proceeded to whine so much that my midwife had to stop helping me push a child out of my vagina in order to pull the damn tack out and put numbing cream over the wound. To this day, whenever he tries to win an argument, I go in our study, pull a jar out that contains the little tack, and then proceed to shake the jar until he apologizes for whatever stupid idea he had or
argument he tried to win.”

  I press my lips together to keep from laughing, because it totally sounds like something I would do. The fact she kept evidence just cracks me up.

  “How long has it been?” I question, unable to keep the high-pitched note from my voice. I don’t know how long I can keep my laughter in.

  She grins, sending a wink my way. “Twenty-eight years,” Ellen boasts proudly, just as Jesse reaches the bottom floor. He would have heard every word she said, which explains why he looks so wary.

  “Damn, I thought I had to be scared of Izzy, but if you can hold a grudge that long, then maybe I should watch my back around you,” he jokes.

  My mood drops at the nickname he uses, but I don’t say anything. One thing I had to learn while with the council is that it’s natural for people to shorten my name. I can’t get angry anytime someone calls me by the same name as my family used to. Sure, it hurts every time, but each time it aches a little less.

  Ellen glances between Jesse and me with a confused expression. “Why would he be afraid of you?” she inquires, the question aimed at me.

  Sure, I get it. I look like nothing but a harmless puppy to most, but the fact Ellen doesn’t find me the least bit intimidating is slightly annoying. Why doesn’t she feel the same fear others do around me? It’s like she’s completely unaffected by my power, which is something I’ve yet to encounter.

  “Basically I nearly killed him and then saved his life so now he’s afraid of me. Doesn’t matter though, I’m pretty much used to everyone fearing me. But I’m curious, Ellen, do you fear me even a little?”

  She mulls my question over before answering slowly. “No, not really. I admit I felt a draw to you though, like I had to be near you. It was strange. Haven’t felt that way since I first shifted with the Panthera. Should I fear you?”

  “To be honest, yes, you should be afraid of me to some extent. Everyone I’ve met in my life, regardless of species, has always feared me. They haven’t all understood what it is about me that causes such a reaction, but there has always been some instinctual urge that keeps them from being friendly. You are one of the first people who’s acted as if there are no pheromones or power repelling you.” Well, besides the five new men last night.

  As I look between Jesse and Ellen, I have to wonder just what it is about them that makes them different. Why didn’t Tristan, Marcus, Quinn, or Adrian fear me either? Is whatever it is that causes the fear dying out? Am I weakening from being so far from the men I claimed as my mates? Or is it something about them as individuals that makes them different?

  Maybe rather than go outside, now’s the time to look in the library. Now, more than ever, I need answers.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Isobel

  “Stop following us!” I hiss at Jesse, who simply smirks at my annoyance.

  After I decided the library would be a more productive use of my time, I asked Ellen if she wanted to come with me and do some research. So we ditched Jesse by the door and started our search for the library. Only he didn’t stay abandoned long before he started trailing after us like a lost puppy.

  Ellen leans in to whisper with a naughty smile. “You know, I could give him one swift kick to the nuts, and he’d be down for an hour or two. No one would be mad at me. I could just say he attacked us and I was defending our womanly honor.”

  “Hey!” Jesse gripes behind us.

  I reach up to rub my temples in frustration. I feel like I’m stuck between two children. I halt my steps and turn an icy glare on Jesse. “Why exactly are you following us? Are you really that much of a glutton for punishment that you want to hang around when someone clearly doesn’t want you near?”

  He grins, not even missing a beat at my words. “Technically, the only reason I’m going to the library is to protect you. I left Tristan up there alone, and if you two ladies are insisting on going up there with my child of a friend, then I have to be there whether you like it or not. I’m his sitter of the day.”

  Ellen gasps in horror. “You left a child up there? Alone?”

  She turns and takes off at a run, while I glower at Jesse. “Well, look what you did now, genius.” I spin and head to the library at a more leisurely pace. By the speed with which she goes up the staircase to the room Jesse gestured toward, you can tell she’s a shifter. No elderly woman could move that fast without some supernatural power helping her.

  Jesse jogs to catch up with me, grabbing my hand like it’s the most normal thing in the world.

  I extract myself from his grasp and ask the obvious questions. “So why is Tristan in need of a sitter and why did you leave him if you were in charge of him?”

  “Well, after what we told you last night, I’d think that would be obvious.”

  “What, that he’s a little bipolar? So?”

  “Isobel, he’s dangerous. He may act like your everyday twenty-year-old guy, but never forget that he’s a killing machine. His brother left us in charge of his wellbeing, and that of everyone else in his vicinity.”

  “Wait, his brother just... left him? Why is his brother not taking care of him if Tristan’s such a big risk?” Anger rages inside me at the idea of Tristan being abandoned by someone who should be there to protect him and help him. No matter what he’d done, I would have never left Jarrod on his own. I would have been by his side every day through any problem he faced. Not just dumped him and his issues on another.

  “It’s complicated,” Jesse replies with a sigh, as we go up the steps to the library door where Ellen is waiting, a frantic look on her face. When Jesse pulls out an ID card and swipes it in the door, I realize he actually locked Tristan inside while he basically galivanted around.

  The glare I send him says it all, and judging by the way he shrinks back, he knows I want to punch him in the face. It’s one thing to lock someone inside when you’re with them, but to just lock him up and walk away? How cruel are these animals?

  Ellen rushes into the library and I follow after her, hoping Tristan is okay. Did they leave him to sit in the sun? Did they give him bagged blood to feed on? What on earth would Jesse have done if someone other than us was interested in exploring the library? What if Tristan had escaped? So many questions that make me think that whoever Tristan’s brother is, he’s one giant fucking dick. Does he not care what these guys are doing to him at all?

  When Ellen finds Tristan, she halts and turns to me with a horrified look. When I glance past her, a small smile twitches my lips. Tristan is on the floor, lapping up blood that’s obviously spilled from a bag. He’s on his hands and knees, growling lowly in enjoyment as he licks the mess from the linoleum. The noises he makes as he does so causes me to squeeze my thighs together with a frown. Why on earth am I aroused at such a sight? Sure, it could just be the scent of blood exciting the vampire part of me, but it’s not just the blood. It’s him and his blood covered face without a drop of shame that’s appealing to me. He just doesn’t give a shit.

  Jesse sighs behind me, but I don’t take my gaze off Tristan, unconsciously moving a step closer to him.

  As if my movement alerts him to our presence, his eyes dart up. He focuses on me, the brown shade of his irises I saw last night now red-rimmed. It’s very intriguing, because all vamps should have red eyes when feeding. That he doesn’t makes me curious just what his deal is. The others may say he’s like a bipolar human, but the vibe I get from him is harmless.

  Suddenly, a grin breaks free, and his blood-coated teeth are on full display as he quickly straightens himself. “Isobel!” He lunges for me and Jesse is quick to appear at my side, warily holding him back.

  I aim an annoyed glare at Jesse. “Really? Do you honestly think I can’t handle him? Just step back and leave him alone.”

  Anger is thick in my voice and it’s from the way poor Tristan has been treated. Part of me wants to rip this poor guy from his friends and show him a life outside of being controlled, but it’s not my place to do so.

  The moment Tris
tan is freed from Jesse’s grasp, he practically bowls me over in a bone-crushing hug.

  By the level of familiarity as he holds me, and sniffs me like I’m a tasty snack, you’d think we’ve been lifelong friends. “Ah, Tristan?”

  “Yes,” he mutters dreamily without moving an inch.

  “You know we barely met twelve hours ago, yeah?”

  “So?”

  “Well, this is a little too much contact for someone who doesn’t know you. Maybe you could save the hugs until we’re on friendlier terms,” I suggest, slowly peeling away from him.

  He looks down at me with a curious gaze. “Okay, then can we be friends? I like you.”

  My lips twitch. “Sure, we can be friends.”

  “Who are you?” Tristan demands, his gaze snapping over to Ellen with a growl.

  “She’s my friend,” I tell him, surprised how quickly his attention went from me to her.

  He just studies her for a moment before dismissing her and smiling back at me. “Do you want to come home with me?”

  I blink, unsure what the hell he just asked me. Surely he didn’t just ask me to go back to his place in the middle of the day?

  “Uh...” I look to Jesse for some kind of help. Now I’m starting to wonder if they confused bipolar with some kind of attention disorder, because with the way he’s acting right now, I expect him to shout “squirrel” at any moment and dive out a window.

  Jesse presses his lips together, but I notice the way his chest moves. The bastard is laughing at me.

  Sensing no help from him, my gaze goes back to Tristan.

  “I can’t.” His face falls. “Right now,” I hurry to add. “I’ve got to look through the books for some stuff. But maybe after my classes are done?”