Guardians Of The Shifters (9 page)

                          Chapter 17

Caden slowly made his way towards us with his hands up and palms out, what did he think I was going to do, blow a stream of fire up his ass? Cole wiggled under my hold and it made me grip his throat tighter. There was no way that I was going to let this asshole get away from me and I wasn’t going to let Caden try to get me to let him go. Cole had a lot of explaining to do. Caden stopped a few feet from me and sat on the edge of a nearby table and his eyes never once left mine, he never gave Cole a second glance. He crossed his arms over his chest and got comfy.

“Looks like you’re in a predicament.” I tipped my head to the side in confusion. “You can either crush his wind pipe or you can calm down and let him go so he can explain to us what’s going on.” He shrugged like it didn’t matter. “It’s your choice either way love.”

Did I want to kill him or did I want to let him go? Two very good questions. I struggled with my decision and in the long run decided to let go of him. Very slowly my fingers loosened from around his neck and the heat within and around me reseeded until it was back in its rightful place deep inside me. I didn’t back away from him because I didn’t want to give him the chance to run off. I glanced at Caden over my shoulder. He didn’t look at me like I was some kind of freak, he looked at me with a kind of longing. I turned my attention back to Cole.

“Start talking.”

He rubbed his throat. “You won’t like it.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Talk!” I spit out between clenched teeth.

“Very well…let me sit first.”

I kept my eyes on him as he crept around me to sit down on the bench closest to Caden, he ran his fingers through his hair and let out a loud sigh.

“I didn’t mean for it to get this way and before you ask…no I’m not secretly an assassin. Was I born among them? Yes I was, but my mother fled with me when I was a child. Too young to remember it. My mother told me all about the assassins, shifters and guardians. She told me what the assassins did so I spent most of my years protecting the shifters.” He looked at Caden. “My brother was the one who attacked your parents.”

I grabbed Caden’s arm to stop him from getting his hands on Cole, when he sat back down with his fists balled, Cole arched a brow at us and a thoughtful looked crossed his face before he continued.

“I didn’t know until after the fact, but Cora’s family was a different story.” He looked at me with an apologetic look. Caden’s hand clamped down on my leg to keep me from moving. I don’t think I could move even if I wanted to, I was frozen and so was the air in my lungs. Hell I couldn’t say anything, so I did the only thing I could do and that was concentrate on Caden’s hand and the warmth that it brung. I sat as still as I could while Cole went on.

“I’ve known your mother for a long time, she was one of the best guardians I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and I loved that about her.” He shook his head and ran his hands down his face. “I was there for her when she lost her first charge, we bonded over the deaths of our charges and we grew closer almost unseperatable…that was until he came.” He paused and stared off into the distance as a sour look crossed his face. “His name was Jack Jones, he was a shifter that was only supposed to be passing through. After he was here for a week he decided to stay and I knew it was mostly because of your mother.”

The sour look on his face intensified, ah now I get it, he became a traitor over jealousy, over something that happened over thirty years ago. How very stupid. I sneered at him and tried to keep the amusement out of my voice.

“All this over something that happened over thirty years ago.”

Cole looked back at me. “I’m not finished yet.”

Waving my hand out in front of me. “Then please go on…the floor is yours.” Caden chuckled next to me and Cole arched a brow at us again and that same thoughtful looked crossed his face. He shook himself out of it and spoke.

“Jack became your mothers charge and I knew that it was a bad idea, I even tried bringing it up to the original head honcho of this place, nothing I said sank into the old fools head not even a list of reasons why it was a bad idea, but the bastard wouldn’t hear any of it. Jacqueline and Jack gave each other googly eyes and it was quite sickening to say in the least. They managed to keep their relationship a secret for years but I already knew.” He paused again for a moment. “They left when I threatened to tell the others about them and the fact that she was pregnant with you. She just didn’t get the fact that I was trying to protect her from herself and Jack, that’s all I ever wanted to do was protect her.” His gaze dropped. “I found out where they were staying and I told my brother, he and a group of his people hunted them down.”

My stomach dropped to my toes and my pulse picked up its pace like I’ve just run a marathon, my breathing became difficult and I felt like I was going to pass out. I didn’t want to hear anymore but I knew that I had to. “Keep…keep going.” I whispered, I looked down when I felt Caden’s hand slide into mine.

Cole noticed the action and nodded reluctantly. “Your mother wasn’t there, too bad really, they could have gotten rid of all three of you at once. A few assassins stayed behind just in case she came back, but somehow…somehow she was able to give them the slip. She was always a smart one, too smart for her own good if you ask me. It still didn’t save her in the end though. She died a few minutes after giving birth to you and all I have to say to that is…” He looked me dead in the eye and smirked. “Good riddance and too bad you didn’t die along with her.”

I was across the table grabbing him by the throat and slamming him on the floor before Caden even had a chance to get a good hold on me. I had my dagger out in my other hand and pressed it under his chin. He had the audacity to smile up at me and that pissed me off more. I slammed his head against the floor.

“How could you do that to them!?”

He chuckled. “Don’t you get it Cora…you’re a hybrid shifter, something that’s not supposed to be. You are the first one in two hundred years, the last one couldn’t control its self and turned on guardians and shifters alike, he got put down like a dog and it was a good thing to. You’ll end up doing the same thing.” He chuckled more. “Look at you, you can hardly contain your anger as is, your eyes are glowing and I can see the fire dancing in them and around you. Everyone would be a lot safer if you didn’t exist and so would the world.” He leaned in closer and whispered. “History will repeat its self, like mother like daughter.” He looked past me at Caden. “You’re in love with your charge, I can see it in the way you look at him and vice versa…you’ll be the death of him Cora.”

He started laughing uncontrollably until I couldn’t take it anymore and I plunged the dagger deep into his chest. His eyes grew wide with shock and his laughter died off. I watched as his eyes dulled and only removed the dagger when he took his last breath. I stood up to face Caden as I whipped the blood from the dagger onto my pants. His mouth hung slightly open as he stared down at the lifeless shell of Cole. My name came out as a ragged whisper. “Cora?” I shook my head and didn’t say anything as I walked past him, I was numb from the inside out.

Caden kept calling out my name but I just kept on walking, I couldn’t look at him because I didn’t want him to look at me any differently. All I wanted to do was be alone. I wasn’t sure what I would find when I walked out these doors. Walking out into the afternoon sun only to have silence greet me. Nobody was out and about and I wondered if I imagined the sirens and the fighting. It was all just so odd. I also wondered if I made a grave mistake when I shoved my dagger in Cole’s chest.

All things I would think about once I’m alone. Instead of heading over to Caden’s house I went to my own place and locked myself inside. I slid down the length of the door, rested my head on my bent knees and began to cry.

                        Chapter 18

I’m not sure how long I sat there crying for, I cried for the loss of my parents, for Carla and for the guardians and shifters that have lost their lives. It didn’t seem like anyone else would cry for them, so I did. My eyes were puffy, red and sore by the time I was done letting it all out. Even after the tears stopped running down my face I still sat on the floor by the door hugging my knees to my chest with my cheek resting on them. After a few more minutes of sitting on the cold hard floor, I stood up and looked around at my surroundings. It wasn’t much but it has been home for the last five or six days, hell might as well call it a week.

Once I leave here I won’t know where I’ll stay or what I’ll do. I still have that big ol’wad of cash stashed in the dresser, I could use that for a cheap place or rent a hotel room in a secluded area. Nodding my head to myself I walked over to the bed, bent down and pulled the duffel bags out from under the bed. I set them on the bed and began to fill them with the little things that I owned. I face palmed myself when I remembered that my backpack was still over at Caden’s.

I’ll be needing to get that back, it was the only thing I had that belonged to my parents besides the pocket knife. Speaking of said knife, where the hell was it? I went through each of my pants pockets as I packed them and was disappointed when I came up empty. I grabbed the dirty light blue jacket that was on the floor and went through those pockets. Ah ha, jackpot! I shoved the knife in my current pants pocket.

After my clothes were packed I started to put the money and daggers in the other duffel bag but kept out a sword, a black dagger, two silver daggers with black handles and another dagger that had a blue handle. I went to the bathroom, grabbed a couple towels, went back to the bed and stuffed them in the bag. It was very doubtful that these guys will miss a couple towels, after all this unit used to be my mother’s according…according to Cole.

I closed my eyes and shook my head to try and get the image of Cole’s dead body out of my head. After a few minutes I opened my eyes, put on a different light blue jacket and started strapping the daggers somewhere on my body. I grabbed the duffel bags and headed to the door.

I wasn’t expecting anyone to be standing on the other side when I opened the door. To my surprise Caden was standing there holding my backpack…So much for a clean break.

“I figured you would be here since I didn’t find you at…” His voice trailed off when he noticed the bags in my hand. His eyes snapped back up to mine. “Where are you going?”

“I’m leaving.” Obviously.

His mouth opened and closed a few times before he was able to speak again. “Leaving…why?”

Letting out a strangled breath. “Because it will be safer for you…and everyone else.” He was the only thing I really cared about.

He scowled. “Oh, I’ll be the judge of that love.” Running his fingers through his hair shakily and when he looked back at me he looked desperate. “Let me go with you.”

His voice pleaded, this was already hard for me. “Caden, you-.”

He grabbed my free hand cutting me off. “We can protect each other…remember, we are stronger together.”

“Caden, you belong here.”

“So do you.”

Shaking my head. “Not the way you do.” I swallowed the lump that started to form in my throat. “I’m not sure where I belong anymore.”

He let go of my hand and softly trailed his thumb down my cheek. His eyes looked so earnest and pleading. “I do…you belong here with me.”

“I’m sorry Caden…but I have to go.”

I started to walk past him and he stopped me by gently grabbing my arm. “Please don’t.” His voice took on a sadder edge.

“I’ve already made up my mind.”

His hand fell away from me. “Cora, please stay.” Bringing both his hands up he placed them on my cheeks. “Stay here with me.” His eyes searched mine. “We can make this a better place.”

Briefly closing my eyes to keep the tears at bay, one managed to slip down. “Don’t you see, they know where you are now and they’ll keep coming? Someone hast to go out and try to stop them.”

“That somebody doesn’t have to be you.”

“Yes it does.”

“Then let me go with you…let me help.” He tried again.

I shook my head again. “I won’t risk you.” Standing on my tippy toes I placed a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth. “Good-bye Caden.”

I grabbed the backpack from his slack fingers and stepped past him, I was a few feet away when he called out. “No Cora, this is not good-bye.” I just kept on walking because I knew that if I turned around I wouldn’t be leaving. He sounds so determined that it’s not good-bye and I wouldn’t have expected anything less. I ignored the whispers and stares that were directed at me but I still kept walking.

Rex stood at the first set of doors, keyed in a code and said “See you soon.” Only he wouldn’t be. It was a long walk to the second set of doors, they slowly opened to reveal the electric currents (that for reasons I didn’t know) were still off. I quickly walked across them just in case they decided to turn them back on. The doors started to close behind me and at this point I couldn’t help but to look over my shoulder.

Caden’s sad face was the last thing I saw before the doors fully shut locking me out, letting out a shaky breath I put one foot in front of the other and I smiled to myself as I walked down the road…Time to get this party started… I’m coming for you.