by Dianna Love
After he was sure that he dragged no tail, Justin entered long-term parking at the airport and left her locked in the truck with a loaded gun.
He had pulled on a hoodie and tinted shooting glasses, just in case the wolves were smart enough to start hunting for him through multiple rental car companies.
He seriously doubted anyone could be that on the ball yet. He’d already sent a text to a Gallize cleanup team in this region that should dump Toro’s body in the hole, strip all clothing and other materials away, then cover the naked bodies with enough rocks and dead trees to bury them where they would eventually turn into compost.
A fitting end for two pieces of shit.
Returning to his first truck in record time with a new gray sport utility, he transferred Eli along with their belongings.
Back on the highway, Justin set a course for the one place he could keep Eli safe for the next two days.
Wyoming.
Once he was in the area of the Guardian’s land, he’d find a hotel so Eli could take a real shower and feel prepared to meet new people. Maybe let her sleep more than she would be able to during the drive.
He worked on what he’d tell the Guardian. He hoped his boss would make the trip to meet with him to discuss Eli and open the ward so she could pass.
Once Justin explained what a bear shifter in Clan Boudreaux had tried to do, he expected his boss to be equally furious. Justin could see the Guardian maybe using that breach of the contract to negotiate a deal for Eli to stay with Justin and have Nico, too.
Eli could spend the next two days seeing some of Wyoming.
Adrian would not harm her with Justin, Cole and Rory there.
Plus, Justin believed that the same man still lived deep inside Adrian who had wrecked many a bar when a guy treated a woman poorly. Also, Rory could flush the titanium out of Justin’s wounds. He swiped sweat off his brow again, feeling the fever that had begun climbing across his skin during the drive. He’d washed the new head wound with bottled water as soon as they got to the truck, but he’d pushed past the normal deadline to get the residues out of his body. All the shifting was helping, but until the titanium was purged from his body, he’d have to take it easy on his bad leg to keep from breaking the bone again.
Rory would irrigate the wound and have to break the leg one more time to reset the bone properly.
Yep, that would be loads of fun.
He and Herc would be laid up a day or two for healing.
Eli would be there to kiss him and make it all better.
Six hours passed with Eli snoozing and Justin still mentally editing his conversation with the Guardian and making plans for his and Eli’s future. She’d have plenty of input, because he wanted his mate happy.
Scratch that.
He wanted his mate ecstatic.
When he was an hour out from the north Wyoming warded area and sitting at a traffic light in the middle of nowhere, Justin sent a text to Cole.
Heads up. Need to meet G in WY after 0600 Tuesday for report and open ward. Future mate with me. What about A?
Justin didn’t like bringing the Guardian around Adrian until the wolf was ready, but Cole and Rory could manage Adrian while the Guardian tweaked the ward. Justin would pull his boss back to the hotel to talk, thank him for opening the ward for Eli and say goodbye.
He hoped the Guardian wouldn’t want to see Adrian then, but no one could stop it if his boss decided to take a look.
Justin wanted the four days they had left to get Adrian in shape. Justin was not losing Adrian, even if he had to drag his friend back to sanity kicking and screaming.
Adrian would do the same for him.
Justin relaxed for the first time since that first damn titanium round had grazed his scalp. He loved it when a plan came together.
Eli snored softly. A lady snore.
Yes, he found that hot, too.
If Cole was in human form, he’d reply to the text right away. If not, Justin would hear back by the time he got settled in the hotel.
His phone dinged with a message from Cole.
UR mate? Damn. Need details. Glad ur coming bc G is already
on way here tonight to talk. Not sure why. A ... not much
change. Going dark now w/A+R to keep driving A’s wolf hard.
Hope he sleeps thru G visit.
Justin sent back a 10-4 and suffered a wave of guilt over Adrian not improving.
Then he trounced that thought.
Cole and Rory were doing everything possible. Justin had no special cure. He just needed to be there doing his part to work with Adrian.
Why was the Guardian headed to Wyoming?
That was good news, right?
He couldn’t muster any excitement. The Guardian had strange powers and shifted into a sea eagle. Had the boss been flying over Wyoming at night and seen how little progress Adrian had made?
Even so, the Guardian had given the three of them time off for this trip to be with Adrian. Their boss would never break his word, but all three of them had agreed to return to duty if something big happened.
Shit, that would mean Justin, too, when he finished his assignment with Eli, but things had changed. He had no idea what to expect when he saw his boss.
He’d been holding Eli’s hand just because it made him happy to touch her.
Her fingers suddenly squeezed tight as a vise.
“Babe?”
One look told him she was having a vision. He stroked his thumb over her hand, just letting her know he was with her. When she came back to herself, she opened her eyes and sat up.
When she looked over at Justin, she said, “Wolf attack.”
Recalling her last vision, he smiled at her. “That’s all done, Eli, babe. You said I had to stop a wolf from killing someone I cared about. That’s you and the wolf is dead.”
She shook her head, looking panicked. “No. I say wolf attack person important to you. You must stop attack.”
That did sound like her exact words, which he had interpreted to mean the vision had been about them and the wolf. “I don’t understand. The person important to me is you.” He thought back and said, “You had a dark fog last time. Did you have that again? Maybe this is just something left over from the first vision.”
“No. I see much this time. Cazador wolf black. Wolf in vision red ... and attack eagle.”
His hair stood on end.
Adrian had to be the red wolf and he was going to attack the Guardian.
Cole and Rory had gone dark and the Guardian would be airborne.
Chills covered Justin’s heated skin.
Eli just had a vision of Adrian’s death.
CHAPTER 35
Justin blew speed limits, taking advantage of scant traffic so early on a Tuesday. He was in northern Wyoming, but still had to reach the entrance to Guardian’s warded land by six in the morning as he’d told Cole.
This time, Justin would park near the shortest route to the ward entrance.
So much had happened since his last casual stroll into the mountains with Cole and Rory, that his head swam when he thought about it.
The sun hadn’t peeked above the horizon yet, but the lightening sky warned it would show up soon. Every second counted right now.
The Guardian generally flew in his eagle form at night. Would he still be airborne or already with the guys?
When Justin told Eli that he couldn’t stop for food or to shower at the hotel, she’d shrugged and said, “Can wait.”
She was a gem.
“What wrong?”
He glanced at her. “What do you mean?”
“More than worry.”
Was she picking up on the guilt he’d been suffering since rescuing Adrian? It drove him to fix his friend, who had taken Justin’s place.
He admitted, “I’m worried about a friend of mine. I was assigned to lead a mission, but my mother died so my friend, Adrian, took my place. He got captured.” Saying those three words still knifed Justin in th
e gut. He spent the rest of the frantic hour-long drive filling her in on how Adrian and his wolf had been badly damaged due to Adrian being held prisoner in a small cage for weeks.
He hadn’t shared so much of his deep thoughts with his buddies, and telling Eli actually helped some.
Her face turned greenish. “Would not live.”
“Yes, you would. You’re strong and so is Adrian, but he’s had a bad split with his animal.” He’d already told her about Cole and Rory. “My friends and I don’t want to lose him. Our boss is coming in for some reason not to do with us,” he said, indicating the two of them. “My boss wants to save Adrian, too, but if Adrian can’t regain control ... our boss is the one who can call up our animal or ... put down a dangerous shifter.”
He waited for anything from her, but she continued to listen with that quiet intensity. Justin said, “I’m not supposed to tell you anything, but I can’t leave you alone while I deal with them and I want you to know what you’re walking into.”
“Yes, okay.”
Justin gave his next words a lot of consideration then said, “You love me, right?”
“Yes. Love you much.” She kissed his cheek.
He squeezed her fingers. “I love you, too, Eli, babe. More than you can ever know. That’s why I want to make you my mate and get Nico for you.”
Worry climbed into her face, but she withheld her thoughts and allowed him to explain.
“If I can absolutely get you Nico, will you agree to be my mate?” His stomach flipped over in the seconds it took her to answer.
“Yes. Want you and Nico.”
“I know how important he is to you, babe. If it came down to a choice between us, I would never put you in that position.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m not supposed to tell anyone about our shifters and my boss, but we can tell our mates so I’m considering you my mate because I will never want another.”
“I want no other. No share your words.”
That was good enough for Justin.
“Like I said, all of us are different shifters,” Justin began. “Remember I told you about being twenty-one when my bear was called up?” When she nodded, he continued. “Adrian and Cole are wolves. Rory is a jaguar, but don’t tell him I told you. He’s kind of a loner when he isn’t with us and likes to keep everything secretive.”
“Like all cats.”
“Yep. Our boss is known as the Guardian and he can shift into a giant sea eagle.”
She gasped. “Wolf attack eagle.”
“Yes, that’s what I think your vision means and why I think you need to know more.” Getting back on track, Justin said, “When we become mates, you’ll receive a link to me and my power.”
“Is power you try give on mountain?”
“Right. I told you about the druidess, and how we came to be Gallize shifters.”
Her eyebrows went up. “Yes. You tell much. Ask odd much too.”
“What did I ask you that was odd?”
“You ask birth month. Mean something, yes?”
“Ah, yes, I did ask about that. You’ve heard of the term blue moon?”
“Yes. Two moon. One month.”
“Correct. Gallize females are born during a month with two full moons, but it’s the thirteenth full moon that appears in a twelve month cycle. And they are always the second-born child, which you are, but we don’t know your exact birth date.”
“You think I am ... ?”
“That you’re a Gallize? Maybe, but not exactly. Supposedly, the Gallize females are born with their own powers, but as far as we know, they aren’t shifters. On the other hand, I was born into a grizzly clan and would have been a shifter either way. I shifted late because I was Gallize. So I’m wondering if you are a Gallize female, but like me, you were born a shifter, too. I don’t know if you are a Gallize, but I’ve felt your energy and you’ve got some kind of extra power going on besides being a shifter.”
Her voice was soft. “Yes, I have ... strange power inside.”
He smiled at her. “I’m thrilled, because that’s a winning combination for us even if you aren’t Gallize. But know this, if I thought for a minute that your body couldn’t accept my power safely, I would never ask you to be my mate.” He glanced over, giving her a serious look. “I will never risk harming you or allow anyone else to hurt you.”
She got a twinkle in her eyes. “I am ... special?”
He laughed. She didn’t bat an eyelash at all of his concerns, but zeroed in on something she’d never realized her whole life. “You are very, very, very special, Eli, babe.”
Her throat moved with a hard swallow. “You love me. Love Mishka. Show me you have love for Herc. I am make better with Mishka. Love her now. I am special for you. Only you.”
Damn right. “That makes me happy for you and Mishka to start building a relationship. You’ll never regret being close to your bear. I’ll explain a lot more about my background and our group when we have time alone together. For now, just please let me try to sort this out with my boss.”
“Eagle must not meet wolf.” Her happy look fell away.
“I know, but that may be out of our control, babe. I’m trying to get to everyone before my wolf buddy attacks the eagle.”
She grumbled, “Wolves. Much trouble.”
“After all you’ve been through, I don’t blame you for feeling that way, but these wolf shifters are my friends. They are brothers to me and will be to you and Nico. They’ll be thrilled to meet you and they will always protect you, just as I will.”
Of course, that was assuming the Guardian wasn’t in the middle of putting Adrian down. Bile ran up Justin’s throat at that visual.
Eli waited quietly as he pulled off the highway and drove the dog piss out of the rental to reach the access point in the ward. He didn’t park at the usual stop, just drove over everything, bouncing them to hell and back.
He parked and jumped out. He had to grab the vehicle door for a second to keep from wobbling, and gritted his teeth over the aching leg, but the bone had mended decently while on the road. That wasn’t helping his fever, but his adrenaline rush knocked back the headache and body aches from the titanium poisoning for now.
All that misery would come knocking.
Later, rather than sooner, he hoped.
His gut kept telling him that he’d be down for the count already if Eli hadn’t been lending him some of her unusual power every time she touched him. He had no other explanation for why he was still upright with so much titanium residue in his body.
Eli met him in front of the truck. He took her hand. “Don’t let go of me until I say we’re inside. I’m going to stop when I’m close to the ward entrance and test it with our joined hands.”
Had the Guardian arrived yet, and had Cole already asked him to alter the ward?
Eli stayed with his long strides as he hurried to the two gargantuan trees that marked the passage through the ward.
Slowing to make sure nothing harmed Eli, he stepped ahead and eased her toward him.
Sparkles glittered around their joined hands first, so he kept bringing her through. The sparkling outlined her body, then she was inside.
He asked, “Ready?”
“Yes. Run.”
He released her hand and kept his speed so that she stayed with him. They raced down the path he’d walked only days ago with Cole and Rory. Straight through the woods was shorter, but he and Eli would make equal time running all-out on the hard-packed dirt road.
When he rushed from the woods to the open field where the cabin once stood at the top of the rise, he saw Rory and Cole shifting from their animals. Next thing, they stood stood nude in front of the Guardian, who was dressed like a Manhattan stockbroker as usual.
“Don’t look at them,” Justin said, catching a breath as he slowed their pace.
“Am shifter. See much naked.”
“That doesn’t mean I want you seeing them naked.”
Nothing w
as happening yet, but the Guardian would have known the minute Justin entered the ward and sensed his approach.
That had to be why, in the next second, Cole and Rory were outfitted in T-shirts, jeans and boots.
Eli whispered, “Much magic. Old magic.”
Justin would thank his boss later for that consideration for Eli, but it was not surprising from a man over three hundred years old who held to propriety.
Even twenty yards away, Justin could hear Cole arguing. More reserved, but no less opinionated, Rory chose his words and his moments to interject them.
Justin caught a flash of movement far to the right that burst from the woods behind the Guardian just as Eli said, “Wolf!”
Eli’s vision was playing out before Justin’s eyes.
Adrian’s fierce wolf barreled across the open space straight for the Guardian’s back.
Without a second thought, Justin released her hand to race forward. He exploded out of his clothes as he shifted to Herc on the run.
That was going to hurt later, but at least the shift to Herc gave his bad leg one more healing boost.
Cole and Rory looked at Herc, then at Adrian’s wolf, and started to move.
The Guardian ordered them to stand down then turned to face the threat.
Adrian’s wolf ran at top speed, hair standing up on his back and fangs exposed.
Fully shifted and eating up ground, Herc bellowed a warning, and everyone turned to him except Adrian’s red wolf.
Suicidal damn wolf leaped. He was going for the Guardian’s throat.
Herc pushed his massive bulk off the ground and met Red in the air mere feet in front of the Guardian.
Herc and the wolf crashed to the ground together.
Justin shouted at Adrian mind to mind, Stop it, Adrian!
Adrian’s voice came from far away, begging Justin, End it now. I ... can’t ... hold him.
If Justin gave in, the Guardian would do just that and terminate Adrian’s life on the spot. Their boss hadn’t so much as flinched over Adrian’s blatant attack.
The Guardian was never in danger.
Everyone here knew that at the last moment the Guardian would have lifted a hand and used his power to slam the wolf down. His next move would have been what he considered a mercy killing.
