Song of the Guardians (5 page)

"What do you plan to do?" Emma roused herself from the table and set my plate in the sink.

"How do you mean?" I moved over to the sink and filled the kettle with some fresh water.

"Will you go after him?"

"Go after him?"

"Isn’t that where you went yesterday?" Emma gazed out the kitchen window, her eyes scanning the trees out back.

I inclined my head. "I was going to, but I couldn’t risk it."

"Then what took you so long?"

"I was marking."

Emma wrinkled her nose. "A lot of good that seems to be doing."

I’d gone all over their territory, marking whatever I could. It wasn’t enough. Zarrius had come during the night, covering whatever marks I'd made—challenging my right to keep Emma for myself.

"Confront him," Emma said. "He’ll keep challenging you in this passive-aggressive way, and that’ll get us nowhere. Besides, I’d rather have your thoughts on me instead of your alpha or any of the other wolves." She smiled at that.

"I don’t feel comfortable leaving you here alone," I admitted, investigating the trees outside, but the other wolves knew better than to come so close to the house.

"Then don’t."

"Emma, you know I can’t. I need to be sure it’s Zarrius and not any of the other wolves. I can protect you from him, but I won’t be able to protect you from the entire pack. For all we know, they’re as loyal to him as ever, even if stealing a child from another guardian is against our laws."

"You won’t get anywhere standing here," Emma warned. "Besides, I have the fire poker if they get inside."

I winced at the imagined pain of getting stabbed in the side with a metal poker. I admired her strength. I’d shown her my tragic story and warned her of the dangers outside, and she didn't even flinched.

"You’d make a wonderful alpha," I said, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. "Are you sure you’ll be okay?"

Emma gestured to the dishes in the sink. "These won’t get done on their own, and I’m sure there are other things I can do around the house while I wait."

"I promise I won’t be long." After hugging her tight, I padded to the back door and paused to give her a final warning glance. "Lock the door once I leave, and don’t—"

"Open it for anyone," Emma finished for me, kissing my forehead. "You worry too much. Just be back for lunch."

I eyed the clock hanging on the wall near the door.
But it's eleven-thirty.
"You mean dinner."

"Damn, thought I’d get you to stay." Emma hooked her arms around my neck. "Don’t be too long."

I breathed in her scent before opening the door. "I couldn’t stay away even if I wanted to."

Emma closed the door behind me, and I smiled when she turned the lock. Studying the trees around the house, I knew Zarrius would stay as far away from the dirt roads as possible. After taking a breath, I focused on my human skin, of it pulling away to reveal the wolf underneath. Lowering onto four paws, I scented the air and headed west, into the forest along the side of the house.

I'd give myself an hour. If I didn’t find Zarrius by then, I’d have no choice but to check on Emma. And by then, he'd probably be long gone.

E
mma

The cabin felt way too empty as soon as I closed the door. Watching Tucker shed his human skin was like nothing I’d ever seen before. There was no pain. No bones breaking. No blood or sound. Just Tucker.

His knees buckled beneath him and he pressed his fingertips into the ground, and as he did, a thin stream of water washed over his new coat. Without looking back to see if I was there, he shook out of his clothes then disappeared against the tree line. He probably didn’t realize how much I liked seeing him shift, having caught him twice already, not including when he shifted this morning, waking me up in the process.

Last night, he’d come to the door, naked and shivering from the cold. He'd looked so fragile then, like his human skin didn’t fit right. Then there was the kiss and the way he'd stared at me as I'd drip-dried in front of him after my shower. My heart flipped. I shouldn’t have sent him away or told him to confront Zarrius. I might not have seen him when we'd pulled up to the house, but if Tucker didn’t trust him, then neither did I.

He’ll come back.
He always did.
Even if it takes thirteen years.
He'd come back for me after all those years. There was no way I could turn my back on him now.

I thought back to the night before, his weight on one side of the bed as his wolf slept beside me. felt to have him sleeping beside me, even if he’d been a wolf for the better part of the night. And suddenly, I missed his weight on the covers, his strong wolf smell, the way he'd stared at me when he thought I was asleep. I’d sent him away too soon.

I can watch for him from the bedroom
. I knew he’d be gone before I reached the top of the stairs, but I did it anyway. It beat staying down here, wondering when he’d get back.

After checking the locks, I headed back upstairs. His wolfish scent lingered in the hallway, growing stronger as I hurried to one of the bedroom windows. Blood pounded in my ears and against my cheeks as I peered through the blinds at a forest that went on for miles in all directions. We really were a world away from the ward.

An invisible hand clutched around my throat as a wolf howled in the distance. I climbed onto Tucker’s bed and burrowed my face in one of his pillows.

A mix of human and wolf scents tickled the insides of my nose, and as I fell into fantasy, I let go of everything else.

* * * * *

M
y fingertips touched something warm on Tucker’s side of the bed. Something alive. The form stirred and released a soft moan.

Tucker was lying beside me, his naked form covered in moonlight. I couldn’t say what time it was or how long I’d been asleep, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remember anything between this morning and now.
When did you get here?
I mused, rolling over to curl against his stomach.

He drew an arm around me and nuzzled the back of my neck, sending chills down my spine. With only a blanket between us, I pressed my back against his stomach, teasing him by rocking my hips back and forth.

"Why must you do this to me?" Tucker groaned, kissing the nape of my neck.

I flopped over to face him, tracing small letters on his chest while he did the same thing along the middle of my back. Of course, he had an easier time spelling out the words than I did. At least I was writing them right-side up.

After he'd written his word, I wrote my own, all the while trying to decipher the curves and lines he traced over my skin. The first word Tucker wrote was
eyes.
I repeated the word, knowing they were the first part of him I’d ever seen. It was my turn to go first. I drew the letters
w a r m
into his chest, touching his nipple with the
m
. He whimpered, and we continued, avoiding words like
love, bonded
or
mate.
His rejection from the night before still hurt, but even if he had taken me up on the offer, I don’t think any of the words would’ve felt right.

I knew I felt
something,
but the sensation was so new, I didn’t know what to call it. Rubbing Tucker’s chest to wipe the words away from his skin, I looked up at him, staring at his gray eyes. They weren’t nearly as silver as when he was a wolf, but everything else about them told me he was Tucker.

"What’s wrong?" Tucker asked.

I shook my head. "Is this love? Is what we feel love?"

Tucker propped himself up on an elbow, tracing the curve of my hip with his fingertips. I suddenly felt too hot, trapped under the blankets, and kicked them off, exposing my naked body to the cool air.

Resting his hand on my stomach, he leaned in to kiss me on the lips. Again, I tried to think back on how I'd gotten here, on where the rest of the day had gone and when I’d taken off my clothes. It wasn’t like me to go to sleep without anything on, but my thoughts were chased away once Tucker kissed along the side of my neck.

I imagined him turning into a wolf and biting my skin, which aroused me even more. He could’ve been so very rough with me, but every kiss, every time he touched me, he was as gentle as a breath of wind, barely there, but noticeable at the same time.

He drew circles around my breasts with a feather light touch as a throaty growl escaped his lips. He bowed his head, kissing the small, pink buds, holding me steady whenever I squirmed.

I arched my back when he placed one of his legs between mine, his bare skin so close and yet so far away from where I needed him most. A knowing smile tugged at his lips. He held back and sniffed the air, a small whimper bubbling in his chest.

I wondered then if he could smell me the way a wolf could, if his wolf senses remained even when he was in human form. I decided he could, and hoped whatever he could sense wasn’t too strong. My mind drifted as I lay back, focusing on his touch and our skin against skin.

He pulled my hair, tilting my head back to expose my neck. There was a growl, followed by a bite. I clawed at his shoulders, and as he trailed his fingers down my back, his hand seemed to work on its own, daringly uncertain as it rested against my hip.

It moved again, closer still, never touching. Fire raced under his hand, and I wanted to tell him what I needed. What we both needed. His lips hovered close to mine, pulling away seconds later.

"Emma."

* * * * *

"E
mma," the voice called again, louder than before.

My eyes shot open and I closed them just as fast, blinded by the afternoon light.
Did I fall asleep?
Shielding my eyes with a hand, I scanned the corners of the room, only to find Tucker wasn’t there. It was then I realized I wasn’t wearing any clothes and my hand was on my clit. I let out a soft moan as I withdrew my fingers.

"Emma!" a voice called out. "Open the door."

It was Tucker. Afraid something might be wrong, I jumped off the bed and ran into the bathroom. I grabbed one of the robes hanging on the back of the door, put it on and tied the rope around my waist before running down the steps. I was about to go to the back door when something scratched along the front of the house.

"Tucker?"

"Gods, Emma, let me in." His voice was calmer than before. "Please."

I sucked in a breath, steadying myself before unlocking the door. There, in pure daylight, Tucker stood in human form, as naked as he’d been a night prior. My eyes searched his body for injury but found none.

Relieved, I backed away from the doorframe so he could step inside. After locking the door, Tucker hugged me, his arms hanging around my waist as he pressed his bare chest against my back. He nuzzled the nape of my neck, sniffing at my hair before turning me around to face him.

He drew one of my hands to his lips, taking a deep breath before kissing my fingertips. I squirmed.

"I smell you," Tucker murmured, suddenly sounding out of breath. He pulled one of my fingers into his mouth, sucking on the digit until I moaned. "Trying to replace me, huh?"

I buried my head in his chest. "Replace what?" He hadn’t done anything yet.

His face softened. "Did I interrupt you?"

I wanted to say yes. The words never came, but Tucker didn’t need them. He just knew.

He lifted my chin and arced his thumb across my cheek. I leaned into his touch and closed my eyes when his lips touched mine. His were still cold, and he hovered there a moment, breathing me in.

Neither of us moved. When I opened my eyes again, he was staring back at me.

"I could stare at you all day," he said.

"Can I at least sit down? Standing up isn’t really my thing."

His eyes flashed as he took my hand in his. "I have a better idea."

Neglecting the clothes he’d left at the back door when he'd first left, Tucker led me back upstairs. My stomach lurched forward and my legs refused to work. I stumbled up the steps, tripping on another halfway to the top.

I couldn’t move fast enough and wanted to cry my frustration. Still holding my hand, Tucker took me in his arms. I shivered when a portion of my robe opened, the covering slipping away from one of my breasts.

Stopping once we reached the top of the steps, Tucker leaned in to kiss me, his lips touching mine seconds before his tongue plunged into my mouth. The world spun, or maybe we were the ones spinning around in fast circles.

Tucker backed into a wall, grinning as we deepened our kiss. The tie to the robe felt loose around my waist, and I knew it was going to fall off as soon as I stood up. I moaned against his lips. The thought of him seeing me naked, of actually looking at me, pushed me to the edge.

"Almost there," Tucker said, his inhalation sending tremors down my spine.

"Hurry."

T
ucker

The bedroom had never felt so far away. Emma whimpered against my ear. My heart fluttered. She said something, but the words were lost to me. The way she moved in my arms drove me to the bedroom. Not the hall. Not in front of the fireplace downstairs. The bedroom. Nothing else would do.

I pushed my back against the door, relieved to find it ajar. It opened with little effort, and I kicked it shut behind us. Time stood still. Her breath halted when I set her down. She tested her legs, which wobbled beneath her.

I untied the bit of rope around her waist and pushed the robe from her shoulders. The fabric
whooshed
as it fell, piling around her feet. She shivered under my gaze as I took all of her in. Her breasts were developed, but not so large I couldn’t hold them in my hands. Her nipples hardened from the changing temperatures, begging to be bitten and licked.

I moistened my lips, pressed my hands to her cheeks as I kissed her once more. She inhaled, held her breath and probably would’ve kept holding it if my lips hadn't broken away from hers. She was out of breath. Her face colored. She was absolutely stunning. There was no other way to describe her.

Emma’s body was petite, but not so much her bones protruded against her skin. She had the perfect amount of roundness and curves. Healthy.