Iris's Guardian

by Lisa Daniels

  All with Brann by her side.

  Rescued by Ryland

  Deep River Shifters – Book 1

  By Lisa Daniels

  Chapter 1

  Settling in and an Unexpected Distraction

  Placing her hand on the back of her neck, Serenity rolled her head back trying to pop her neck. As much as she loved programming apps, there were times when she wanted nothing more than to throw her computer against the wall and run outside. Granted, it was why she really needed to set up a timer for herself – being sedentary for long periods of time had always gotten to her, no matter how much she liked what she was doing. Her neck gave a satisfying pop and Serenity let out a loud sigh. Pushing her chestnut brown hair off of her shoulder, the young woman was beginning to feel entirely restless.

  She should have gotten up and gone outside several hours ago. Looking at the clock, she realized that she hadn’t stood up in about three hours. She rubbed a hand over her face and decided it was time for a long stroll outside, even though it was getting close to sunset.

  Placing her computer beside her on the couch, Serenity quickly saved her work and closed the computer. “Yeah, I think that is the sign I need. When I can’t debug something that simple, then it is obviously time to take a break,” she muttered as she pushed herself up from the couch. Her long legs easily cleared the ottoman she had purchased for her new place but was too lazy to move out of the way. Most of her furniture had come from her guardian and friends, so the living room of the apartment was a hodge-podge of various styles and looks – not that she really paid any attention. The bright red ottoman didn’t match anything in the room, and clashed fairly painfully against the orange sofa. Interior decorating had never been one of her strong suits. Anything that didn’t involve being physically active or coding was largely out of Serenity’s understanding. A few of her friends had offered to decorate her last apartment, but had been met with a simple shrug of her slender shoulders. When she left MIT for the Pacific Northwest, only a few of her closest friends had assisted. Most were too disappointed that she had chosen to leave the prestigious school for some unheard of town in the middle of nowhere on the other side of the country. They felt that as a cum laude graduate, she owed it to the school to stick around – they simply could not understand what would make her decide to move somewhere more open and dangerous than their old New England city. With several large cities nearby, her fellow students and graduates could not image anywhere that could possibly offer more entertainment and excitement than where they were. And that was exactly why she didn’t bother trying to explain it to them. The cities were nice, but Serenity was done living in large cities. Her friends had chided her for wanting to live near the heart of the tech industry, but that wasn’t it at all. She wanted to live somewhere that had fewer people and easier access to a wider range of outdoor activities. Silicon Valley had never been a place she considered; that was why she had chosen a small town in Washington State.

  Serenity was actually pleased with the change in environment now that she was settled in. Deep River was like living in a completely different world, and it offered her everything that she had dreamed of. The first day that she had woken up to the cool air coming through the window and the sound of birds chirping, all doubt about her choice had disappeared. Not that she had ever had much doubt. Serenity had wondered if she had perhaps over-romanticized what life would be like, but the stark contrast to the way things had been was taking her life in the direction she had always wanted. As much as she loved coding and developing, the draw of the outdoors was impossible to ignore. Living on the east coast, there were a few things that she could do outside, but it usually meant having to spend a good portion of the day driving. Serenity hated driving. Her new home was just a few blocks from the campus, and some outstanding hiking was just a half-hour away. So far, she had explored three state parks and one federal park. And every morning the sound of nature gently woke her, instead of the sounds of cars passing nearby. Here she really felt like she could do anything that she wanted to do whenever she wanted to do it. Though she hadn’t been to either Seattle or Portland, she knew that it was just a matter of time before she would check them out. Not that she was interested in moving back to a city; rather, she was curious to see how accurate their reputations were.

  If there was a problem it was the cultural shock. The people on the west coast were incredibly different from those on the east coast. Not in a bad way, but Serenity had never considered that the personalities would be so drastically different. Having traveled up and down the east coast, she thought that she knew what people would be like – but there was nothing to prepare her for just how different people on the west side thought.

  It wasn’t something she noticed right away because there had been so many things to take in at first. When she had been staying in a hotel, the graduate student had figured that the attitudes of the few people that she interacted with were mostly a façade because she only talked to people whose primary job was taking care of people. Of course, she would have to admit that even the customer-oriented businesses on the east coast did not go quite as far in how astonishingly nice they could be. If she asked a question, the answer was about three times longer than she expected, and by the end, the person she had asked had provided her with answers to a lot of questions she had not asked. It left her somewhat baffled. It was only after a week or so that she realized that part of the problem were the questions she was asking. They were far too generic. Kind of like looking up the definition of the word “the” in the dictionary, if you didn’t provide context, you were going to get a lot more information than you wanted. Over time she learned to narrow down her questions, so that a little over a month later, she knew how to get a more direct answer, although there were times when she would have to remind herself to keep the questions more direct.

  Another thing she noticed was that people were far friendlier when she was out in public. On the east coast, if someone said hi, she had learned to expect that they would be asking her for a phone number. The cool response she had developed to dissuade people from approaching her with an interest in dating did not have the same effect on the west coast. Instead of taking her somewhat cold response as a sign that she wasn’t interested in talking, people of Deep River seemed to think that it meant that something was wrong. Strangers would start asking if she was alright or if she needed help with a problem. The first time it happened, she had been moving boxes off of the truck, and the guy hadn’t even asked if she was alright. When Serenity had given him a tepid response, he had immediately started helping her move things into her home. She was so flabbergasted that he was already on his second trip before she realized she should try to stop him. He had simply waved her off and struck up a conversation about where she was moving from as he worked. The other three movers hadn’t seemed at all offended for the help either. Serenity had expected to have to be mean when it was over to get him to leave since she had not asked the guy for help. Instead, as soon as the work was one, he had wiped his forehead, given her a smile, welcomed her to the neighborhood, and left. Serenity had watched him with a truly puzzled look because he hadn’t hit on her once. It was only the voice of one of the movers breaking into her thinking that had brought her back to the task at hand. She had largely forgotten about the encounter after that because as exhausting as the long move had been, there was still too much to do to think about things like strangers.

  Later Serenity had found out that the guy who had helped her was married with three kids. She only found that out when she encountered him on one of her first walks through the neighborhood. The man’s wife had given him a playful slap on the arm and reprimanded her husband for not asking her to help with the move. Serenity had no idea how to respond to the open kindness because it was nothing like what she was accustomed to. The conversation had been short, but it had given her a lot to think about.

  The next month and a half, she learned how to talk to the strangers who honestly
had no other interest than being friendly. If she was troubled, there was always someone willing to help. The town was a lot smaller than anywhere she had lived on the east coast, but it was still over 17,000 people. That meant that there were plenty of people who didn’t know each other. Still, it was small enough that people tended to treat each other in a way that was associated with tiny communities, and she suspected that it was not just the town that was like that.

  The different outlook on life and strangers had certainly come as a shock, and one that took a while to get acclimated to, but she had plenty of reasons to grow to appreciate it as well. Through the open and friendly approach to life, Serenity had learned about her favorite hiking places. She still had not made friends as she had been too busy to do anything apart from unpacking, preparing for class, and developing an app for one of her friends back east. Making friends had never been a high priority, mostly because people tended to just include her in stuff. Serenity was aware that she was attractive, but it hadn’t seemed important because it had nothing to do with what interested her. Since people had gravitated to her, there hadn’t been much of a need to put in an effort. With the incredibly friendly mannerisms and gregariousness of the people in the Pacific Northwest, Serenity felt far less lonely than she had thought she might. It was incredibly rare when she felt any twinge of desire to be back on the east coast, and those never lasted more than a few seconds. By simply looking around at the striking Cascades and miles of beautiful land, she had plenty to remind her just how much better things were in her new place. Still, after a month and a half, she was starting to feel a need for a closer relationship than the conversations she had with people when out running errands or hiking.

  Despite a lack of a real social life, the first month and a half had been enjoyable, and now it was time to pay for it. School would be starting up soon, and she would need to get her head back into the books. Programming for fun was so much different than doing it for classes. Of course, there was always plenty of room for innovation and creativity, it was just that the assignments always put limitations on her work that Serenity didn’t like. Now that she was working toward a Master’s in a different place, she wondered just how much it was likely to change.

  Don’t get your hopes up that you are going to be given the room to be creative. You know that is not the way it works, she thought to herself as she slipped her shoes on. The last thing you need is disappointment to start off the school year. Just focus and get it done.

  The cool mid-September air struck her face as she opened the door. The sky was completely cloudy, something that she was not accustomed to yet. Most of the last month and a half had been sunny and nearly too hot. Without AC, she had often found it difficult to make it through the middle of the day. By the next morning, it was hard to believe just how hot it would get because there was about a 40-degree temperature difference between the morning and middle of the day. She learned how to keep her home cool even during the worst part of the heat, and it meant that her power bills were nothing compared to what she had managed on the east coast. A little bit of discomfort was worth it since she had ended up saving a lot of money. What she saved on utilities came as a relief as the price of rent was not any cheaper than it had been at her previous place. Since she didn’t have time to get a job, Serenity was pleased that she wouldn’t have to try to squeeze it into her schedule to pay for essentials. She would just have to be careful with her budget now that she didn’t have scholarships and grants to cover her schooling.

  Her steps turned toward a familiar path where she knew she would get an excellent view as her mind turned away from the mundane and to her surroundings. This particular walk was not difficult, but it was a lot more exercise than she usually got walking the same distance near MIT. Living near the base of part of the Cascades created some slopes for walking, and she was only now able to walk up them at her usual pace without getting winded.

  About 25 minutes after leaving her home, Serenity had gone much further along the trail than she had gone before. Her eyes were met by the sight that she had most wanted to see after staring at a screen for so long. She had gone far enough up the trail to have a fantastic view out over a shallow valley, something that she probably would have explored more if she had come this far up earlier. Looking out over the mountainous landscape, Serenity’s face spread into a grin. “I’m never going to get used to that.”

  “Tell me about it. I grew up here, but living in California for ten years really taught me to appreciate it,” a voice to the side startled her.

  Serenity turned and saw a figure leaning over a rail just off to the side of the trail. The man was tall and his shoulders were wide. For the first time in years, Serenity’s mind started to analyze someone based purely on looks. It was a primal response, one that she had repressed since she started college. Nearly as soon as she realized that she was doing it, Serenity tried to shut it down. Chalking up the thoughts to having spent too much time alone, the young woman decided she would need to start making friends soon to stave off that kind of thing. Slightly embarrassed that someone had heard her talking to herself, Serenity fell into her usual cold demeanor for keeping men at arm’s length.

  “Seems like an error in judgment to have left it in the first place.”

  It was only after she said it that Serenity realized that the man had not been looking at her. He moved a little and looked at her now, and she couldn’t help but see just how attractive he was. His hair was jet black and it appeared that it had been carefully styled to give off the impression that he didn’t care about his looks. The long black eyelashes looked equally touched up to highlight his startling blue eyes. They reminded her of the tip of an iceberg drifting across the ocean. His face was chiseled, and the way he posed appeared to be very practiced. This was someone who knew how to give off a chilled vibe. She was almost impressed because it had taken her years to master her cool attitude. If she had been told the same thing so many times in her life, she would have said that he looked like a model. Saying it about someone else was not something she would do because she never felt like it was the compliment people believed it to be.

  He looks about as polished as the guys from New York who thought they were cool. It’s way too casual to be sincere.

  For a moment, Serenity wondered just how much of her analysis was accurate, and how much of it was tinged with her experiences in college. When he turned back around to look at the view, she realized that she had spent a lot more time staring at him than he had spent looking at her. It almost bothered her.

  What is wrong with you? Are you turning into the hermit people joked you would become living over here? Man, Serenity, stop being an idiot and be happy that he’s not trying to hit on you. At the last thought, she frowned. The man really was attractive. Would it be so bad if he did want to go out with her? There’s something familiar about him, too. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen him around. Certainly looks like someone from around here.

  With a quick shake of her head, she was about to start walking again when he seemed to try to start a conversation with her. “So, you aren’t from around here. I hope you are finding the west a bit better for your health than the east.”

  With a slight frown, Serenity tried to keep the conversation short. “It’s different.” The sun was about on the horizon and she wanted to reach a certain place before turning around – at least that was what she tried to tell herself. Then she realized exactly what he said. “What do you mean from the east?”

  He turned and looked at her again, his head cocked to the side and a slight smile on his face. “Judging by… your walk and attitude, you are not from anywhere north of L.A. Judging by the clipped manner of speaking… sounds like someone from New England.”

  Serenity scowled, “Are you trying to stereotype me?”

  His left eyebrow was raised while the left side of his mouth twitched up, “Only as much as you are stereotyping me.”

  She blinked a couple of times in response, n
ot quite certain whether to deny it or be honest. Then she realized that she hadn’t said anything that would sound like she was stereotyping him. For a moment, she wondered if her face was giving away what she was thinking. After the pause, Serenity settled for a shrug, then turned to leave again. This time he didn’t say anything as she walked away.

  After walking a few paces, curiosity got the better of her and Serenity walked back.

  “I’m sorry about this, but you look familiar. Have we talked before? If so, I do apologize. Just feeling a little scrambled after spending too much time inside.”

  The man looked up at her with a weary smile and shrugged. It was no kind of response to her question, but then Serenity found that she didn’t really need an answer. It was nice just to have someone who looked to be about her age to talk to. Most everyone she had met was either married or a child. The university students were probably all too busy moving back into their places to be out much; still, it made things a little less comfortable since there wasn’t much for her to talk about with the people she encountered. Feeling slightly guilty for her initially cold response, Serenity decided to be at least as sociable with the man as she had been with other strangers.

  She put her arms on the rail and looked at what he was watching. Having passed by the area numerous times, she had never managed to stop and look at the viewpoint. It was breathtaking, even though they were not very high up.

  “It’s stunning,” she muttered. “You are lucky to have grown up seeing this. Had I grown up out here… I bet I would have gone into a different field than tech. It’s just… indescribable.”