Midnight Guardian

by Tamara White

  “Oh, we’ll get there, love.” She pats my arm gently before withdrawing hers from mine. “What dorm are you in?”

  “Dorm B,” I reply, the yawn finally escaping my lips. It’s the combined lack of proper fuel last night and the long day of different classes. It’s so hard to remember all this shit, but I’ll do my best.

  “I’m in dorm C, so I’ll walk with you then be on my way.”

  I nod, not arguing, just eager to get back up in my bed. She must sense that I’m no longer in a mood to chat, because Ellen remains quiet the rest of the way. When we reach my dorm, she gives me a small smile. “Go get your rest, Isobel. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, bright and early.”

  “Wait, why early?” I ask, the thought of my precious sleep being taken from me a completely ridiculous concept. Does she not know how important sleep is?

  “Early bird gets the worm,” she responds with a wink, before turning away and taking her leave.

  I groan and step into the foyer as Ellen calls out, “Enjoy your beauty sleep, Isobel. You sure as hell need it.”

  Normally, if someone else would have said that, I’d probably have gone on a rampage, killing her for something that was an obvious reference to the scars across my cheek, but I could tell she meant it in a teasing way. I think that’s this woman’s secret, she’s just too nice to hate.

  I glance back at her, my lips pulling at the corner. “You’re right, I need all the damn beauty sleep I can get, but at least I’ve still got my age, grandma.”

  I leave her chuckling as I close the door behind me.

  I shake my head, liking Ellen for her boldness. She had no idea how I would take her comment, but it didn’t stop her from saying it.

  I quickly take the stairs up to my floor and head straight to my room, well aware of the weakness in my limbs.

  As I get into my room, I quickly move the desk and strip bare before climbing under my sheets. Sleep won’t help too much, but it will give me the small burst of energy I need until I can feed. Hopefully, I can get a few supes tonight.

  I sigh sadly at that last thought. I shouldn’t be hoping for supes to misbehave because it means that humans suffer. And I want to prevent that. I want to ensure that no human ever has to fear being hunted in the night like my family was. I don’t know what I’ll do when I finally achieve that goal, especially as I rely on killing to feed, but I guess I’ll just cross that bridge when I come to it.

  For now, all I want is a nice nap and to finally process all I’ve learned.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Drake

  Jordan and I are packing in silence, ignoring the pain both of us are suffering. Ripping the marks from our skin hurt like a motherfucking bitch, but Jordan was right. Magic was involved, because the moment mine was gone, it was like a wave of clarity washed over me.

  No longer was I fully convinced Isobel had been fucking Locke behind my back. Now rather than being sure she was doing such things, my mind was able to mull over why she would do that, and the more I thought it over, the more I realized the council must have done some sick shit to make me believe Isobel would ever fuck Locke.

  “I still can’t believe it,” I mutter harshly, stuffing the remaining daggers in my bag, thinking of the way I taught Isobel to fight. I should have known she was more honorable than to fuck another guy while we were engaged. I should have been fucking smarter, but apparently the council started weaving whatever magic on me after our skin was branded. Why it didn’t work on Jordan, I have no fucking clue, but it worked on me and probably did exactly what the council wanted.

  “Man, stop beating yourself up over it. You couldn’t have fucking known the council would stoop to such levels. Hell, even I didn’t want to believe they would use such magic but, well, here we are. Now we just gotta focus on the future, our future, the one with Isobel back with us and no longer running from a council of corrupted assholes. No, we need to get to her and make sure she’s safe, protect her, and soon, follow her as she takes her rightful place among our people.”

  “You’re sure she’d go to Midnight? I mean, I get that you have this bond where Isobel actually listens to you, but I doubt she would subject herself to that environment unless her very life depended on it. Especially knowing the council is after her.”

  Jordan scoffs as he zips up his duffle. “Midnight is probably the safest place for her because no one, not even the damn council, would think she’d go to a place that would expose her so easily. It also made it the last place you’d go since you have all that family drama going on,” he points out.

  Fuck, he’s right. Even if I got wind of her at Midnight, I wouldn’t have gone easily. I fucked up with my family and I knew it. I got so absorbed in the council’s politics, their lies, and Isobel’s growth as Supreme Alpha that I neglected my familial duty. I should have spoken to Quinn more to keep our ties open, but I was stupid. And from the way my call went two days ago, they won’t be happy to have me return home.

  “Damn, I hate it when you’re right,” I mumble, zipping up my own bag, throwing it over my shoulder, and facing him with determination. “I suppose this will give me the chance to talk to Tristan at least, and apologize for my part in everything that happened. Well, at least it may give me the chance I need to make things right with my family.”

  “Drake...” Jordan sighs and strides over to me, setting both hands firmly on my shoulders, squeezing firmly until I look him in the eyes. “You had two impossible fucking choices—kill your brother because he turned into a supe that was on the edge of being a monster along with your mother for causing him to turn, or kill your mother and have a chance at rehabilitating your brother. Your mother made you do the right thing. She knew her death would be demanded for doing such a thing without council approval, but she did it to protect Tristan. To turn him from the human he was into a supe with the ability to protect himself. He never would have survived this world otherwise. We both know that.”

  I know Jordan is trying to make me feel better, but I don’t. Killing my mother was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my life. She had no choice in turning Tristan, at least I thought so. He was one of the few supes born into this world with no supernatural affinity whatsoever. My father, an Alpha wolf shifter, was not happy about it and hoped that maybe he would just have latent abilities manifest later in life, but after years of nothing, my father grew angrier and was convinced that Tristan was not his biological child. No matter how much my mother tried to persuade him otherwise, he believed it so fiercely, nothing she said or did could convince him Tristan was his. And so my father left us.

  Tristan was thirteen and old enough to carry the burden of thinking it was his fault. No matter how hard we tried to tell him he was fine as he was, he resented what he was born as. He became so lost in his own misery that he started acting out, and since my mother was a council enforcer, it put her in a precarious position. Especially when Tristan was badly hurt when another wolf in human form beat my brother bloody at the age of sixteen. It was one of the reasons that led her to the decision she made. Tristan could have very well died while we were both on council missions, she needed to know he could protect himself. So after he turned twenty-one, she did the unthinkable.

  None of us could have predicted what happened. With one bite from our mother while he slept, it turned him, but not into a wolf like we expected. Instead, he turned into a vampire, one with an extreme hunger.

  It took a year after my mother’s death to realize he thrived on death blood. He needed to take a life to actually feed and survive. That knowledge was very helpful when it came to Isobel, because after she turned, she had that drive for food like a vampire, but she was never quite satiated. It wasn’t hard to make the logical leap that the two were the same.

  Now, it’s time to go home and to face my past as well as my future. Jordan smiles over at me, his bag on his shoulder, ready to go to Isobel to fix all that’s happened in the past six months. I reach for the door, freez
ing when the sound of footsteps stop on the other side. I glance back at Jordan and he nods, indicating he heard them. He backs up a step and drops the bag, as do I.

  I’m barely out of the way when the door is blown to splinters, spraying us both with debris. Not a second later, Locke strolls through the doorway, his face smug at the sight of us.

  “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the council’s little toys, both together and defenseless. You boys fucked up,” he drawls, his eyes twinkling with delight. “Now, it’s my pleasure to bring you before your masters and watch as they make you heel like the filthy mutts you are.”

  Jordan bristles, his body shaking with rage. “Be careful who you’re calling a mutt, little pup. You may work for the council as an enforcer, but you would do well to remember just who I am.”

  Locke pales ever so slightly, trying to brush off Jordan’s comments, but it’s not just the council lackey who’s afraid of Jordan. Even the council themselves are frightened of him and the power he contains. It’s said that once upon a time, Jordan laid armies to waste, but while I’ve never witnessed it myself, I know he has the strength and age to back him up if it comes to a fight.

  Locke straightens to his full height as more enforcers appear in the hall of the dingy motel we had bunkered down in. “Hands behind your backs, boys. You don’t want to make this worse than it has to be.”

  I can tell by the look on his face Locke knows neither one of us are going to go easily. And he’s right. We aren’t going back to a council filled with corrupt power seeking assholes when we have our girl to find. We need to help her become who she’s meant to be, to bring our people out of the backward thinking the council has adopted over the years.

  “How about you and yours get the hell out of here before I rip them all apart?” I growl angrily, taking a threateningly step forward, enjoying the fear that fills the room.

  Locke sighs loudly before a small smile grows at the corners of his lips. “I’d hoped you would make this fun for me.” He glances over his shoulder, which in itself tells me something is wrong. No one should take their eyes off the threat in the room. “Take them,” he calls, and before Jordan and I have a chance to move, shots are fired through the wall. Pain ricochets through me, so much so I can’t tell what damage the bullets have done.

  I drop to my knees as the agony spreads and turns to a tingling. Assessing myself, I realize the bullets aren’t normal, but filled with some kind of drug. Magic and iron, the only thing that can disable a supe. Son of a fucking bitch!

  My vision goes hazy as Locke saunters into the room to where I kneel. He crouches down, his voice filled with excitement as he taunts, “You know, I thought you two would put up more of a fight. I mean, you have to know that the only reason the council wants you two is to lure that slut back to them.” He sighs audibly. “When I find her, I’ll make that little bitch regret refusing me. She was more than happy to fuck you and that vamp, but when I make a move, I’m the sick one. Well, I’ll show that little bitch that Alpha or not, she’ll learn her place at my feet.” He leans in, his lips brushing against my ear, the hot breath running over me and causing a shiver of disgust to roll through my body. “The council has given her to me, you know. They didn’t want her carrying a pup from you or the vamp, so they got rid of it. But they are very eager for me to plant my seed in her belly. I’ll make you two fucks watch as I take her over and over, and let you watch on as my pup grows within. When she’s birthed the new Alpha, I’ll end your suffering. But not one fucking second sooner.”

  Questions are bouncing around in my head. His veiled reference about her not having a pup of mine or Jordan’s sticks with me. More than ever, I want to ask questions, to fight back, but the magic is too much for me. The last words I utter, I mean with my whole being. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Quinn

  Adrian, Marcus, and Jesse are all sitting at the table, watching me with varying expressions of annoyance, which frustrates me to no end.

  We agreed to this meeting because of the new girl, Isobel. All of us had some kind of encounter with her today, and I knew I needed to set some boundaries for my family. It was clear after we separated today that Tristan was completely enamored with her. Unfortunately due to his closeness to the subject, I asked him to go down to his room, his private space. His room has been modified since he wanted to live in his mother’s house, even after everything that happened. Obviously, due to his temperament, it wasn’t good for him to live apart from us, so we renovated the basement for him. It was Drake’s idea, and something he thought would help Tristan cope better. Now, it has to be the most extravagant room in the house. There aren’t any windows, so Tristan isn’t bothered by the sunlight. It has its own fully functioning kitchenette, as well as a large bathroom. We soundproofed the walls and made sure he had everything he could possibly need. Adrian and Marcus helped build and design the space, while Jesse and Tristan chose the furnishings. There really isn’t any reason for him to leave, which is how Drake wanted it.

  It’s best he’s down there now, because he would not be happy to hear the words coming from my mouth.

  Marcus leans forward in his seat, his eyes intense. “You want us to just ignore our Supreme Alpha? Are you out of your mind?”

  I pace the length of the kitchen, unsure how to put my concerns into words. This girl had no clue who she descended from, which is obviously by design. The council wants to keep her sheltered. For us to tell her more than they wanted her to know could paint a target on our backs.

  “She’s bad news. You all saw how quickly she shot Jesse at the mere mention of the council. If she’s that afraid of them, it’s for good reason. Which means we’d be stupid to befriend her and draw their wrath on us too.”

  Marcus looks ready to argue, but it’s Adrian who stands, anger in his stance. “What you’re saying makes no fucking sense. If she’s our Supreme Alpha, then she overrules the council. Wouldn’t we be safer being her friend? She could protect Tristan,” he drawls, like I’m stupid for not making that connection.

  While I did weigh the advantage of having someone like her on our team, she doesn’t know enough to help us. If the council showed up tomorrow, we would be the ones to pay the price. She would be unable to protect Tristan when she barely seems to know a thing about our world.

  “Yes, I did consider that, Adrian, but the thing none of you seem to realize is just how much of a novice to this world she is. Sure, she knows certain things, but did any of you notice the lack of true knowledge she has?”

  Adrian mutters under his breath, his voice filled with defeat. “I think she’s my mate.”

  Shocked silence fills the kitchen, and I have to fight my wolf’s urge to take control. Son of a motherfucking bitch. I clear my throat, trying to keep the wolf’s primal rage locked down. “You’re sure?”

  He nods slowly, his eyes fixed on the floor. I turn to Jesse and Marcus to convey my surprise, only to see varying degrees of anger, jealousy, and longing in their gazes. “Please don’t tell me you guys feel the same?” I sink to a chair as they both give one sharp nod, and curse this girl for coming into our lives. “Fuck, my wolf is drawn to her too.”

  How the fuck is this possible? Mates are few and far between these days. Sure, it’s not uncommon for a woman to have more than one, same for a male, but for one woman to have a group of mates who are different supes in varying ages and are friends?

  Most multi mate relationships were a case of the male or female meeting their mates over a period of time, but their mates were always in or around the age of each other. But for us, there is such a variance.

  We may not look it at first glance, but none of us are exactly young. Well, aside from Tristan, who recently celebrated his twenty-fifth birthday.

  Fuck, Tristan! Does he feel this connection too? “Have any of you heard how Tristan feels toward Isobel? It’s clear he has an addiction, but is it...”

  I trail off at the sombe
r look Adrian aims my way. “He told her in my lesson today that he loved her. I think it’s safe to say even if he doesn’t think she’s he’s mate, he won’t be letting her go any time soon.”

  “Shit,” Jesse mutters. “In full disclosure, since you guys are my brothers, I feel it only fair to warn you that Isobel and I kinda…” He trails off, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. That alone tells me I won’t like what he has to say. Jesse opens and closes his mouth, stopping before a word leaves his lips. What could be so bad that he’s this nervous to tell us?

  Marcus rolls his eyes in exasperation. “What my idiot brother wants to confess is that he fucked Isobel in the showers this morning.”

  Jesse seems to choke on his voice, and rather than meet the angry glares that are pointed his way, his gaze stays fixed on the table.

  I sigh loudly and close my eyes to think. This girl didn’t seem to know shit about our life or our history. Does she know about mates? About the possibility of having multiple men or women vying for her attention?

  “Fuck, this is out of control,” I mutter under my breath, a deep sigh escaping me. How the hell am I supposed to protect our family from this? A war with the council, sure, I’ll go into battle, but jealousy among them over one female? Well, no man can handle that. Especially when I, too, have a wedge of jealousy and resentment that they already know her better. It’s in my nature to be closed off, to protect our family as best as I can. The others are not as concerned about such things, but I have to protect them, even when they can’t protect themselves.

  “Right, Adrian, go grab Tristan. If he’s her mate also, we need to know. Then we can go from there.” If he’s her mate also, then it’s clear that we won’t be ignoring her anytime soon.