Bodyguard of Love

by Lane, Terri

  “Don’t blame it on me Kevin,” Erickson barked.

  “The both of you are acting like children,” Kai said in a stern voice. “Kevin, as Second you have responsibilities and standards to uphold and live up to. You just failed,” he said, truly upset then. “When are you going to stop acting like a kid?” he asked.

  “Whoa Kai, relax. We were on the outskirts of the forest, not too deep in,” he said. “We wouldn’t have gotten into any trouble,” he said. Kai sighed in frustration and shook his head. I realized that once Kai left, Kevin would be his pack’s Alpha. Of course Kai would be upset at Kevin’s actions.

  “This shit with the Hunters is serious,” Kai added.

  “I got that Kai,” Kevin said respectfully.

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “I don’t know,” he sighed.

  “If she’s here to talk coalition, why don’t you bring her to the thing…?” Kevin asked.

  “Are you kidding? Ephraim would not approve of that at all,” Erickson said.

  “I’ll bring it up tonight, but I’m not dumb enough to bring Sophia along,” Kai said. Tongue in cheek, I glanced at him through the corner of my eye. He didn’t look at me.

  “Fine, just drop me off downtown. We’ll talk further after this meeting,” I said. Kai nodded. He was so confident that his pack mates didn’t know of his studio that he dropped me off directly in front of the building. I exchanged a brief glance with him before getting out of the truck. His eyes asked me to trust him, so I did.

  * * *

  Kai

  My temples were about to explode with a pressure migraine. I couldn’t watch Sophia get out of the truck and make sure she got upstairs safe. I had to act like I didn’t care about her, like I wasn’t in love with her and our growing baby in her belly. We were getting sucked into the soupy mess of the Hunter war.

  “You look like you’re sucking on a lemon,” Kevin observed.

  “What would you expect, he just spent time talking to a vampire,” Erickson said. I ignored them while driving back to my regular apartment. But that was seeming less and less like home. Oddly enough, the studio was what I went home to more often. Sophia’s scent lingered there. Both Kevin and Erickson lived nearby the regular apartment. They knew my expressions well enough not to follow me home. As soon as I got upstairs, I called Sophia and she answered on the second ring.

  “Hey, you okay?” I asked.

  “I’m fine…bored without you here. But fine I suppose,” she said. Her voice sounded off, kind of annoyed.

  “I’m sorry I had to act that way in the truck. You know I love you, right?” I said.

  “I know Kai. Don’t worry, I’m not angry with you, nor do I blame you,” she sighed.

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  “Yes, though I am afraid we’ve…gotten ourselves into a mess,” she said.

  “Yeah…I have to say something at the meeting. Kevin likes to think the best of me, but Erickson? His thoughts and emotions can change on a dime,” I said.

  It’s fine…say what you must at the meeting. But try not to sell the idea of working with the vampires. Maybe your pack leader council will overlook the suggestion,” she said.

  “My ‘pack leader council’?” I asked, chuckling.

  “You know what I mean,” she said, giving in to a short chuckle.

  “I’ll try. I don’t know, maybe we should just get the hell out of here once and for all,” I mumbled.

  “Do you really want to? Right now? I’ve gotten a sort of closure from my coven, but how about you?” she asked softly.

  “No…I don’t have closure yet,” I admitted. But closure was something I think I needed. What if we both walked this fine line of never quite leaving because deep down we wanted to help with the war?

  “Still there?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I’m here,” I said.

  “After your meeting we’re out of here,” she said and I heard relief in her voice.

  “I’ll uh, I’ll call you back in a little bit,” I said.

  “Okay,” she said. I hung up and started to pace, mostly just to get away from my thoughts. But they caught up with me, along with my conscience. It was my pack…I couldn’t let them face an enemy that could potentially wipe them off the face of the planet. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if that happened.

  * * *

  “Maybe you should have a drink before going in?” Kevin suggested. I glanced at him with a smirk.

  “I look that stressed?” I asked.

  “Yeah…look the way I see it, all you’re doing is making a suggestion. It’s not like you’re pitching something they have to accept. Or will shun you for saying,” he said.

  “I don’t know, I’ve felt weird about today ever since I woke up,” I mumbled.

  “Don’t dwell. It’s not like the Hunters are barreling through our meeting dens and sniffing out every wolf in town to off them,” he said. I nodded and took another deep breath.

  “You’re right, thanks man,” I said. I forced myself to take a breath and then walked into one of the bars my father owned. It served as Gresham’s wolf den whenever a couple or more packs needed to meet up for any reason. The bar was shut down for the meeting. There were about thirty wolves gathered and one bartender, also a wolf. It was every alpha of the North Pacific and his or her Second. I went straight to the bar, per Kevin’s suggestion.

  “I need your strongest bourbon,” I said.

  “Comin’ right up,” he said. A second later I had a half glass of nerve balm. I took a couple swigs before going to make my round of greetings. Ephraim intercepted me before I could get very far from the bar.

  “Stressing?” he asked.

  “A little bit, yeah. We had…an incident earlier today. Those elite Hunters are in Forest Park now,” I said.

  “It’s exactly why we’re here. To figure out a way to stop the Hunters in their tracks and send them back to chasing deer and ducks,” he said. I chuckled and took another swig of my drink.

  “Excuse me, I’ve gotta catch up with these folks,” I said. Ephraim nodded and I made my way around the room. My anxiety dulled as I caught up with old running mates from when I was in my twenties. I think the entire room needed the feeling of communion, that no matter what, we still had our original pack. Even though that was changing for me soon. Instead of getting all down about it, I found I was making my peace in leaving. The thing about going down memory lane was that it gave a person perspective. Who I was back then wasn’t me anymore. I was ready for the life I had envisioned with Sophia. I was ready for a new age. But the question of abandoning these guys to face one of our biggest adversaries still poked at the center of my chest.

  * * *

  Kai

  Ephraim called the meeting to order

  “Alright everyone, listen up. I don’t have to explain why we’re all here tonight. So, let’s just get right into it. We need to figure out a way to handle this Hunter situation. Any suggestions?”

  It took everyone a second before jumping into the discussion.

  Blue, an alpha nearly as old as my dad spoke up. “You know who we have in our back pockets. We can have weapons just as lethal as what the Hunters are packing in a matter of days,” he said. The room responded well to that.

  “At the very least, we wouldn’t be wary about going for a run in the woods,” I added. The sounds of agreement continued. I chose that time to slip in my ‘small’ suggestion. “It’ll take a considerable force though, to cleanse the region of Hunters,” I started.

  “That’s true, their numbers are well into the hundreds by now,” Blue said.

  “That’s more than our packs combined can handle,” Ephraim mumbled.

  “Exactly…” I drained the last of what was in my cup and took a deep breath.

  “What do you mean by ‘exactly’?” Ephraim asked, the room stared to quiet down as everyone waited for my answer.

  “I was approached by Sophia, the same vampire I g
ot holed up with in Gifford Pinchot. She suggested the wolves and vampires work together to get to the bottom of the Hunter issue,” I said.

  “Vampires?” Ephraim said. His voice was so gruff the word sounded like a bark. “Wolves fighting alongside vampires?” he asked incredulously.

  “It’s how I got out of that forest alive,” I said.

  “I think you may be deluded Kai, with all due respect. One vampire who you were confined with may be partial to you. But the other vampires? What makes you think they’ll work with us?” Blue asked.

  “It’s like Kai said, Sophia approached him with the suggestion. The vampires have met just like we are now, their coven leaders know they don’t stand a chance against the Hunters on their own,” Kevin spoke up on my behalf. I growled for him to shut up.

  “They are willing to talk strategy,” I lied. Everyone in the room checked each other’s expressions before forming their own opinions. No one dared say anything yet. We were all hanging on what Ephraim would say next.

  “You know this for fact?” he asked me.

  “I wouldn’t have brought them up if I didn’t,” I said. I wondered just how much flesh Sophia would take out of me for what I was saying.

  “Teaming up with vampires seems extreme. What about calling on the aid of other packs?” Sarai, another alpha, asked.

  “Please, and have our territory taken from us? You know those northern nomads would jump at the chance to move in and overpopulate the area. Then we’ll have a war not only against the Hunters, but the vampires as well,” Ephraim said.

  It was true, every time the population of wolves increased from migrant packs the vampires got all riled up. Things usually ended up in dead bodies and panic with the humans thinking gang wars were starting up.

  “But teaming up with them? Are we going to be expected to hold hands with them after the war is done?” Sarai asked.

  “Of course not. But these are serious times. We can’t let the Hunter threat be underestimated and go unchecked,” I said. “Sarai, with all due respect, your pack is on the far coast. You haven’t experienced the reality of what these Hunters have evolved into. Their numbers and firepower make them deadly.”

  “So, what then? What are the vampires offering?” Ephraim asked.

  “We haven’t gotten that far. Frankly we didn’t think the region’s vampire council and pack alphas would be open to work with each other at all,” I said.

  “This is your task then Kai. Liaise with the vampires and come back to me with a proposal for coalition,” Ephraim said. “In the meantime, Blue get just enough weapons to arm each wolf in our region,” he added.

  The meeting ended soon after that. I walked outside wide eyed and a little mystified.

  “That wasn’t so bad, right?” Kevin asked.

  “Ah…no, I guess not,” I said slowly. “Can you catch a ride with someone here? I have to get in touch with Sophia,” I said. Kevin waved me off, always understanding.

  I sprinted to my truck and dialed Sophia’s number while peeling out of the bar’s parking lot to get to the Studio.

  “Hey,” she answered on the first ring.

  “We gotta talk when I get home,” I said. She paused before responding.

  “That sounds…troubling, Kai,” she said in a measured tone.

  “Just remember that you love me and you’re pregnant so you shouldn’t kill the father of your child,” I said.

  “Kai—” she began, but then cut off abruptly. I couldn’t even hear her breathing on the other line.

  “What? What is it?” I asked.

  “My father keeps calling me. Hurry up and get here,” she said and hung up. She already sounded pissed. Our first real fight was bound to be interesting. I prayed for the first time in my life as I sped the rest of the way home.

  * * *

  Sophia

  I stared at my phone as it buzzed with incoming text after text. Alexis, my father, Porter. They were all wondering where I’d run off to. The council was convening again and my presence was more than expected. I continued pacing around the studio. Thankfully, Kai was swift in getting back.

  “What happened?” I asked him.

  “I ah…well I did something. Intentionally,” he said.

  “What is that supposed to mean? I demanded. His expression was guilty, but also oddly resolved.

  “I told the alphas that the vampires wanted to work with us in a coalition against the Hunters in Gifford Pinchot,” he said. Those were quite possibly the worst words he could have said to me.

  “But that isn’t true Kai,” I hissed.

  “I know, please hear me out. You know how in the beginning you were worried about leaving your coven. Because it’s your coven? Well I feel that same sort of guilt. I realized I can’t leave when there’s a threat as big as there is out there. The packs are my extended family. I can’t live with myself if they were all wiped out when I could’ve done something to stop it,” he said.

  “Yes, but the vampires won’t even listen to—”

  “We have to make them listen. Sophia, we can work something out. The wolves have access to weapons just as powerful as what those elite Hunters are packing. That has to stand for something to your council,” he said. Kai held up his hands in surrender. Only then did I realize I’d begun to stalk towards him. My phone rang. I answered it, already knowing it was my father.

  “Sophia, where have you been?” Wraith hissed, his tone furious.

  “Father, I apologize for…disappearing. But I—I’m on the way back,” I said.

  “How far away are you from the coven?” he asked.

  “I’m in Portland. Look father, I know this didn’t go well the last time I mentioned wolves to the council. But they have the very thing we need,” I said.

  “All this time you’ve been conferring with wolves?” he said. I pulled the phone away from my ear slightly as anger laced nearly every syllable of his words.

  “Father you must believe me. I only mean to help our cause. Both our causes. The wolves want the Hunters eradicated as well,” I said.

  “Get here now Sophia. We will discuss this in person,” he said and ended the call. I dropped the phone and forced myself to relax. Kai was wise enough not to say a word.

  “Do you own a suit?” I asked.

  “You want me to come with you?” he asked.

  “What do you think? They need to hear the perspective of the wolves from a wolf!” I said. I couldn’t keep from raising my voice. I was angry with him for acting so impulsively, for not speaking to me clearly about how he was feeling. “You could have told me that you felt guilty. Then I wouldn’t have been blindsided like this. I would have dealt with the council with more delicacy, more finesse. You don’t know how the vampires work,” I said.

  “I did tell you I had a bad feeling about leaving if it meant the pack would be decimated. Just after those Hunters attacked us in the city,” said Kai.

  I tried to cast my mind back.

  “Yes, and I remember after that you agreeing that we could leave the wolves and the vampires to handle it without us,” I said. “We had a plan to leave and you’d agreed to it!”

  Hands still up in front of his chest, he slowly closed the distance between us to a foot. “I’m sorry. I’ve always felt this way, but the closer we got to leaving, the clearer it was in my mind that I couldn’t just leave, that I had to help,” he said. “But can’t you admit that you want to help too?” he asked.

  I fumed at him. “Don’t turn this back to me!” I said.

  “I-”

  “If either of us dies in this fight it’s your fault,” I said, cutting him off and resigning myself to this course of action. “Wear dark colors.”

  I turned my back on his shocked expression and went to put my dress and heels back on. We dressed in silence and got into his truck in thicker quiet. I realized what I’d said was perhaps going too far, but he didn’t realize the situation he’d put us both in. Going back to the coven was as much a dea
th sentence as dropping us in the center of the war. We might as well go back to the edge of Gifford Pinchot, lie down and wait for the Hunters.

  I had to break the silence to give him directions to the coven. When we arrived, we were escorted in by four warriors.

  “Tell me Sophia, is what you have to propose to the council worth betrayal?” asked one of the warriors. We’d just passed into the house and the foyer was full of a spectating crowd. I was still upset enough not to care what came of my actions. I kicked the fighter’s legs out from under him and took the knife he planned to use against me. I snatched his head back by the hair and held the edge of the knife to his throat.

  “Please speak clearly, I didn’t quite catch what you said?” I asked in a deathly calm voice. The entire foyer stopped to watch and listen.

  “N-nothing Sophia…please forgive my mumbling,” he said quickly. I let him go and kept his knife.

  “Leave us be, I know my way,” I told the other warriors. They were wise enough not to question me. Kai followed close behind me as I quickly walked to the library. Before I led him up to the second level, I studied what he wore. It was a tasteful suit, tailored to him. He wore a dark maroon shirt and black blazer and slacks. He’d do. Even though I was still upset at what he’d done, I felt my attraction for him and a bit of possessiveness.

  “Should I know anything…like any etiquette before we go in?” he asked.

  “Don’t say anything unless directly asked to comment,” I said. He nodded, then we went into the waiting council. There was a dramatic collective gasp. The coven leaders were already seated at the table.

  “Yes, he’s a wolf. Relax,” I said.

  “Is he…tame?” asked Arden, one of the coven leaders.

  “Irrelevant, who gave you permission to bring a wolf into this coven Sophia?” Arya asked. My gaze slid lazily to her.

  “I did. Seeing as I’ll be running it in the future. I took initiative,” I said. “It’s what’s needed every once in a while. Our kind tends to lag in stagnant ways. It takes something drastic to move us forward,” I said.

  “So…take initiative Sophia, what presentation have you prepared for us tonight?” Wraith asked. His tone was a challenge, though there was underlying anger still there.