The Guardian Alpha (10 page)

The glint of metal in the moonlight caught Jay's eye. Behind Kristi, among the battling bodies, someone stood and leveled something at her back. On the air, he heard the click and his heart sank. The Wolf abated, whimpering at the sight of the gun. He jerked toward Kristi.

Jay's sudden lunge forced Kristi to charge at him, despite her wavering determination. Something familiar twanged on the air. Over his shoulder, she saw it. Someone from her pack hoisted the elven bow high, notched silver-tipped arrow at the ready. Her eyes widened.

Together, Jay and Kristi gripped each other and spun.

The gunshot cracked. The bow snapped. Bullet and arrow whizzed through the air, their impending whistle the only thing Jay and Kristi could hear for a split second.

Searing heat and pain blasted into Jay's back, the edges of his vision fuzzed and darkened. The bullet tore through his body, rending his flesh and burning him from the inside out with silver burns. A pained gasp echoed from Kristi's lips as the sharp burn cleaved through her. Her hands tangled into Jay's shirt. His fingers dug painfully into her upper arms. Kristi and Jay locked gazes.

A haggard breath left Jay's lips while a large red blot expanded on his chest. A defeated smile twisted at his lips as Kristi's gaze flickered from his chest to his eyes. “I'm sorry, Kristi.”

“Me, too,” whispered Kristi, the word coming out slightly cracked as tears strained from her eyes. A cough heaved through her chest, blood spattering her hand. The silver-tipped arrow burned her Wolf back. As his Mate leaned into him, he saw the arrow protruding from his back. Tears bit at the edge of his vision. He collapsed to his knees, his own vision blurring at the edges.

This was it. For both of them.

Someone noticed. Someone screamed Kristi's name. Then Jay's. All the fighting halted, shock taking the crowd by the throat. The moon hovered higher in the sky, seeking a better vantage. From atop the hill, the sudden silence cut through Selene and Mayor Stone's battle. Their gaze, as if directed by instinct, snapped to Jay and Kristi. Both gasped softly. The alpha and mayor exchanged an uncertain glance, shock painting their eyes wide. As their eyes met, though, realization hardened in their expression. Jay or Kristi could be out of the way, tilting the favor of battle.

Selene and Mayor Stone charged down the hill, claws out and ready to end someone's life. Their simultaneous shrieks tore attention to them.

Three little blurs ran out from the throngs of ceased battle. Jay's heart twisted as he realized who they were. He couldn't find the energy, or the words, to ask them to stop. They formed a mini-wall between Selene and Jay. Hazel, Vera, and Lily – with tear-streaked cheeks – glared up at their alpha. In unison, the pups screamed, “Stop!”

Two figures cut between Mayor Stone and Kristi. Their eyes slit and claws bared, should they have to fight. Marie and Thad glared at Mayor Stone, taking protective position in front of Kristi.

The alpha's and the mayor's gaze swung up and down the short line of protectors. Confusion mottled their expressions as the Wolf tried to make sense of this. Selene was the first to posit her question as a demand, “What is the meaning of this?”

Hazel answered, “This has to stop!”

“Look at what you've done to Kristi and Jay,” sniffed Vera, motioning to the two. Kristi shifted, peering out from her thicket of black hair toward the two leaders. She could barely make out the blurry figures that surrounded her and Jay. Her fingers weakly dug into Jay's tattered shirt. Jay hugged Kristi closer to him. Fear outweighed hope, but the latter still lingered. His fingers dug into Kristi as he listened to the debate.

Marie stepped forward, pinning the mayor with a glare. Her gaze swung from mayor to alpha, a scowl twisted over her lips. “They were Mates and you pitted them against one another!”

“Fifty years before our separation, we were allied together.” Thad's voice carried across the field. Uncertain whispers rifled through the pack, but the Sentinels – and those volunteer citizens from Goldbridge – remained unswayed.

“Crystal Ridge and Goldbridge lived side by side, in harmony, thanks to an agreement when Goldbridge was established,” Marie continued, firmness in her voice. Her hard gaze pinned the unimpressed members of the crowd. “Thanks to the greed of one man in power, our ancestors started this long-lasting feud.”

Thad added, as the pack began to mutter about farces. “Our ancestors, hurt and betrayed, lost this fact and clung to anger.”

Marie's brows lowered as she thrust papers into the air. Her voice carried through the tense, quiet air on the back of surety, “I have proof right here.”

Alpha Selene's eyes darted from face to face, apparently seeking support. Too many of her pack leered back with uncertainty. Turning back to Jay and Kristi's protectors, Selene screamed, with a crackling voice, “This is
our
land!”

“Are our lives worth this land, Alpha Selene?” The three pups screamed in unison, their pain and anger echoing through the air. Silence reigned in after their question. Everyone knew the answer.

A thump echoed through the air. As one, the assembled groups turned their gaze to Jay and Kristi. The two lay crumpled on the ground, Kristi atop Jay. Dark blood pooled beneath their bodies. The moonlight cast a ghostly sheen over their pallid flesh. Dread hung in the air like a storm cloud. A chill descended across the battlefield.

A calm voice cut through the emptiness, “Excuse me, I must get through.” Dr. Young pushed her way through the ceased battle. Blood smeared over her torn coat. Determination dotted her brow and it was clear she wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer. Finally, the doctor made her way to the center of the circle, kneeling down beside Jay and Kristi. Her fingers sought out pulses along their wrists, their throats, checking for fatalities with a calculating eye.

Alpha Selene jerked forward, her hand reaching toward Dr. Young. Marie and Thad stopped her, but the bark still fell from her lips, “Don't touch her; the pack has heal–”

“They're still alive,” Dr. Young ignored the alpha's demand. Her hard gaze tilted upward toward Selene, her expression impassive, but her tone betraying a sense of urgency, “They have a chance if we get them to the hospital.
Now
.”

Alpha Selene's tense shoulders sank. While the pack respected Selene, they adored Kristi. Kristi embodied the fierce determination the pack always thought was consistent with their goals. Part of Selene knew Goldbridge had to pay – especially after everything she heard – but another part of her was sick and tired of the fight. It had lasted far too long. Suddenly, and for the first time, Selene felt extremely unqualified.

It was Mayor Stone's turn. She sneered, her gaze drifting away from Jay and Kristi's bodies. This wasn't how she saw the battle going. Her mind scrabbled to make sense of the situation while clinging to pettiness. “Why should I permit the hospital to care for an alpha who wants us all dead?”

“Because it's the right thing to do.” A voice cracked from the thick of the battle. Covered in blood, bruises, and scratches, Thad limped out of the crowd. He took a position beside Marie, his glare poised directly at Mayor Stone. “And it's the
taxpayers
who have a bigger say than you, Mayor Stone.”

The mayor's eyes widened and her slit pupils dilated to roundness. She wasn't the unquestioned leader, as an alpha was. Whispers radiated from the assembled battlers, ranging from concurrence to bristled frustration.

Mayor Stone swallowed heavily. She and Selene exchanged looks. For once, there was no vehemence passed between the two women. Both knew how this ordeal was going to end.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

On the outskirts of Goldbridge, houses had recently blossomed. They sat between the town and the forest, with their backyards opening into the wooded areas. In the backyard of one such house, thirteen-year-old Hazel watched two toddlers wrestle. Their yellow eyes stood out against their rich umber skin. Tufts of golden hair, which darkened closer to the roots, stood out at wild angles from their head. The twins grinned and giggled as they crawled over one another.

From the forest, their mother emerged. Her clothes were spattered with blood. Her long black hair, littered with twigs and leaves, strained at the confines of the ponytail and her yellow eyes caught the evening sun. Kristi smiled as she approached Hazel. “Thanks for watching them.”

“No problem! It was my pleasure.” Hazel stood up, dusting off the butt of her jeans. Her gaze dipped over Kristi's clothes, “The hunting go well?”

“Yes, I put it in the smokehouse, if you'd like some.”

“Thanks, I'm sure Mom will love some. You know her and elk.”

Amicable silence fell over the two of them. A sense of surreality niggled at Kristi's mind, though. Little over three years ago, it would have seemed delirious to think the Crystal Ridge pack would ever live like this. In houses, hunting when they desired, always stocked with food and offered medical from Goldbridge. Meanwhile, the pack found their own ways to assist Goldbridge: farming, leading spiritual events, and assisting in construction.

Kristi's amazement was cut short as her maternal sight focused on her children. “Drop the rock, Robin!”

She glared until the girl dropped the rock. Robin hunched her shoulders and turned tot he house. She was going to go pout under the back porch; Kristi just knew it.

“So, how's the injury, Kristi?”

Hazel's question roused her from her on-the-money prediction of her child. Kristi turned her gaze toward Hazel, eyebrows crawling upward. “Hm?”

“The arrow you took.” Hazel glanced at Kristi's chest, undoubtedly imagining the scar on her back. At the mention, Kristi hid her wince. “Does it still act up?”

“Sometimes,” Kristi muttered. The gouge began to burn as soon as Hazel mentioned it. Kristi winced, remembering the months of recuperation after the injury. Flecks of silver had broken off into her body, filling her days with pain. And all while pregnant. Those days had been scarier than anything Kristi ever experienced. She went to bed and woke up, wondering if her developing pups had lived through the night.

Dr. Young recorded the twins' development closely. Though, she was certain they were in the clear, Kristi still worried. She didn't even have Jay to comfort her on those long nights in the hospital. Her heart ached, residual anxiety and despair rearing its head.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories,” Hazel murmured, her voice rife with apology.

Kristi's gaze flickered back to Hazel, a smile curling at her lips. Throughout the transition, Hazel and her friends had done their best to help in any way. She was certain the three of them would someday join the council that kept Goldbridge and Crystal Ridge in peace. They certainly earned it.

“You're fine, Hazel. We have the future to look forward to.” And Kristi meant every word. Those days of fighting with Goldbridge were over. The documents Jay had found initiated change. Goldbridge realized their people were not infallible and Crystal Ridge acknowledged the land was no longer simply
theirs
. Both had to swallow their pride, but it happened.

Now, they thrived together. The people of Goldbridge strengthened their spiritual connection by the pack's guidance. Crystal Ridge never went hungry, nor died of infected wounds under Goldbridge's watch. Citizens of both sides befriended and even fell in love. Marie and Thad danced across Kristi's thoughts, realizing it was almost their anniversary.

Hazel glanced toward the sky, gauging the time from the sun's position. “I better get going. I'll let Mom know about the elk.”

Before Kristi could utter a farewell, the teenager was off. Kristi watched Hazel dart off into the shadows. Her lips twisted into a smile. The girl was surely rushing off to meet Rebecca Stone's oldest son. After all, Hazel's home laid in the opposite direction. Kristi laughed and shook her head. Faintly, she wondered how Rebecca and Selene were doing.

Since the establishment of the council, both had stepped down from their roles as leaders. Though, the two of them found it hard to keep away from community work. Under the new alliance, Rebecca and Selene had grown closer.

“Theo, Robin, head inside and wash up!” The two – one with great haste and the other with grudging movements – headed inside. Kristi sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Her muscles ached from bringing down that prey, but it was a welcome expenditure of energy.

Just as Kristi started for the porch to her home, arms wrapped around her middle. Her breath caught as immense warmth sunk into her back and resonated in her head. Her face flared with heat. Even after so much time, Kristi was always caught off-guard by his tenderness.

“Honey, I'm home.” Jay's teasing words caressed her ear. Kristi swallowed down a shiver. Jay's firm, warm body still brought excitement raving over Kristi's flesh.

She turned in his arms, facing him. Her arms wrapped around his neck, a smile on her lips. “How was work, Sentinel?”

“Tedious,” snorted Jay as he rolled his eyes. He tried to playfully frown at Kristi as she used his old title. He didn't quite manage a scowl and it completely dissipated as he touched his forehead to his Mate's head. Jay locked gazes with Kristi, his voice full of sincerity, “I'm glad to be home.”

“Your family is glad to have you.” Kristi's lips brushed over Jay's, a slight smile on her lips. Warmth filled her chest and arced down her limbs. Complete satisfaction at her place in the world – a far cry from her life as a Beta over three years ago - consumed her body.

A surge of delight pumped through Jay. A family, a Mate, a home. He flashed Kristi a smile, just before his lips swept down and caught hers. What had he done to deserve such a wonderful life?