Chapter Four
Ranger searched the crowd in the bar, looking for trouble. Dane, his fellow Guardian, handed him a fresh beer he’d paid for and took a seat. Hope was hurrying out from the kitchen with a large tray balanced on her palm. She set the plates in front of her customers, with a smile. His enhanced hearing picked up on her soft voice as she promised some customers to be right back with refills on their drinks.
“How is she?” Dane asked, taking a swig of his beer.
“She seems fine.” Ranger frowned, his brows pushing forward.
“What about you, my friend?” Dane inquired.
“I’m good,” he replied.
Dane knew not to push him. Ranger appreciated his best friend’s concern, but he was on orders from his alpha to watch over the new pride member, and he took his task seriously.
“Did Booth take all of your money?” Dane teased, changing the subject. “Because I could go for a friendly game of pool.”
“Actually,” Ranger smirked, “I took his money.”
“Nice,” Dane chuckled, looking over his shoulder.
They decided to finish their beers before grabbing a game. Ranger was more worried about the patrons in the bar. He didn’t want anyone touching Hope, but after watching her work, he realized the female was a natural and kept a discreet distance from the males, human or shifter.
“Hello,” Hope said as she approached, tucking a tray under her arm. “I’m Hope. We haven’t met.”
“My name is Dane Walker.” He smiled, giving the female a onceover. Ranger’s panther pushed in his mind at his friend’s obvious flirting. “I’m this guy’s best friend.”
“Well,” she chuckled. “It’s nice to meet you, best friend. I see you have an empty beer. Can I get you another one or some food?”
“I can always use another beer.” Dane winked. “I’m good for now on food, but I’m sure Ranger will let you know when we get hungry.”
“Dane,” Ranger snarled in warning.
“My bad, brother,” Dane laughed, shaking his head.
“We are fine,” Ranger told her. “You take care of the bar. Dane and I are set with a fresh round of beers.”
“Okay,” she blushed. “I have about an hour and a half left on my shift. After we are done here, I’d like to go see my brother.”
“Wherever you want to go, I will take you,” Ranger promised.
The female had been at her brother’s side for the past two days, making sure he was healing from his injuries. Thankfully, several hours of being in his panther form healed the majority of what had been done to him. The bruises had subsided, but the soreness from his broken ribs would more than likely linger for another day or two.
“Things are different for this one, huh?” Dane asked, lowering his voice.
“She’s not ours,” Ranger growled.
“I see,” Dane smirked, raising his hands in defense.
There was a time when he and Dane had shared a human female or two. It wasn’t like that with Hope. His panther was prowling in his mind, demanding blood if his best friend even laid a hand on her.
“I respect you,” Dane vowed.
“Thank you.”
His panther was at ease for the first time since she’d arrived at the pride on the verge of death. How had she even made it to the pride without completely succumbing to the weakness? He remembered how he’d been before Talon had rescued him all those years ago. Had it been seven years already?
Ranger had been young, just barely of age. He’d been on a journey from his home pride in Alaska. Talon’s pride was looking for new Guardians, and at the time, none of the males of age had expressed interest in joining him. Word had reached his pride, and Ranger took the offer to come fight for dominance with others who showed up, but he had no idea that he’d have to wait for the following summer to prove his worth to the new alpha.
He had camped overnight in Washington, taking to a nature trail for some time in the woods. His panther had been on edge after being confined in his truck for so long. Dusk was approaching as he headed back to where he’d parked. The only thing he remembered was the roar as the black bear attacked, clamping his jaw around Ranger’s left leg. He was knocked to the ground and passed out when his head hit a large rock, rendering him useless to shift and defend himself.
When he woke, it was the middle of the night. He’d lost a lot of blood, because most of the muscle had been eaten off before the bear must’ve gotten bored or was scared away. For all he knew, he probably didn’t taste all that good either.
He tried to shift, but no amount of going from one form to the next would regrow the part of his body he was missing. Things were better when he was in his panther form. His animal had a scar, but it was faint. Only in his human form did he have a large divot in his calf and a silvery patch of skin as a souvenir.
Talon flew out at the request of his father, the alpha, to Seattle, where he found Ranger in a rundown motel on the side of the road, on the verge of death. With Talon’s help, Ranger was rushed to the Shaw pride to begin healing, but the process was slow. He forced himself to work hard, hitting the gym in the Guardian dorm for several hours every day. By the time the next season rolled around, he was stronger than he’d been when he left his home originally.
His mother and father packed up all of their belongings and headed to Mississippi with his little brother. By the time they arrived, Ranger was on the mend, but nowhere near healed.
He still had the aches and pains that settled in his leg when he was in his human form, but he’d never let his alpha or brothers know. Showing any weakness to a predator was bad, and he was too proud to let his pride down.
“Hey.” Hope smiled as she approached the table. “I need to stay about an hour longer tonight. You know you don’t have to stay, right?”
“Actually, I do,” Ranger grunted, his eyes narrowing. “Talon has ordered your protection, and I take that seriously.”
“I’m a lot tougher than you males give me credit for.” She rolled her eyes and tucked the order pad in her back pocket. Dane raised a curious brow, but otherwise kept his mouth closed. Good thing, too, because Ranger would kill him if he flirted with Hope one more time.
“Really?” he teased, a smirk forming on the corner of his lips when his eyes roamed her small body. “You think so?”
“Ever spar with a female?” she replied, putting her small hand on her hip. Damn, she was a sassy thing.
“Actually, yes.” Ranger turned in his seat and looked Hope up and down in that way that opponents did. He wouldn’t even admit to himself that he noticed how her hips flared just right and her breasts looked like they’d fit his palm perfectly.
His panther, however, rumbled in agreement.
“Oh, really?” she chuckled.
Before he could reply, an intoxicated human stumbled to the side, his body falling toward Hope. With no second to react, Ranger jumped from his seat and used his back to shield Hope from being knocked over. Dane made a move to touch Hope if things got out of hand, but a harsh snarl from Ranger told the other Guardian that wouldn’t be a great idea at the moment.
A loud umph sounded from him as the human collided. The man cursed and jumped back, almost tripping over the leg of a chair. Dane righted the man instead of the female, turning him the opposite way.
“Sorry, sorry,” the guy mumbled, turning on his heel. Ranger’s eyes never left Hope as she stared over his shoulder at the human male. When her eyes flickered amber and fell on him, he felt his own panther prowl beneath his skin, demanding he go after the male. What the hell is going on?
“I’m okay,” she barked, just a hint of her canines showing as she rushed off toward the kitchen.
Ranger felt his panther bristle at her anger. Rubbing the back of his neck, he sat down heavily in his seat and wrapped his long fingers around the neck of his beer bottle. He brought it to his lips and downed the rest of the cold liquid, hoping to calm his beast.
It didn’t work.
Hope leaned against the bathroom door, her hand held tightly against her chest. There was no way that male was her mate. It couldn’t be.
Her panther snarled in her head to disagree as his mating scent still lingered in her nose.
“Fuck,” she cursed. “I’m not ready for this. I can’t have a mate right now. It’s too dangerous.”
In fact, it was too dangerous. The alpha from her old pride would kill him if he found out. Boris Small was a deadly man. He’d even told his Guardians that if anyone was found touching the women he’d marked, they’d die a very painful death.
A hard push on the door sent Hope toward the wall. She let out a harsh curse when she turned around and found Ranger standing in the doorway. His face was set in stone, his lips mashed into a thin line. His scent drifted into the room and her panther purred softly in her mind.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Ranger’s eyes sparked amber as he searched the bathroom. He only relaxed when he realized she was in there alone.
“I needed a moment to myself,” she scoffed, looking at him with wide eyes. “This is the women’s restroom, Guardian. You’re not allowed in here.”
“The hell I’m not,” he snarled. “You are under my protection, and if you are away from me for too long, I’ll come looking for you.”
“You’re going to be a pain in my ass, aren’t you?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.
“Every damn day, angel,” he smirked. “You’ll learn that the Shaw pride is very protective of our people, male or female.”
“Well, I came from a different pride,” she retorted. “The pride taught their females to protect themselves.”
“Was this before or after you were scarred?” he bit out, his canines elongating with his anger.
“Before,” she snapped, her beast cowering inside her mind at the mention of her scar. “That was before the new alpha came in and took over.”
“I know.” Ranger cursed, wiping a hand over his face in frustration. “I’m sorry.”
“So, I’m guessing Talon told you?”
“What happened to you, Hope?” he pushed, taking a step toward her. She didn’t move, holding her ground. He was trying to intimidate her, but what the Guardian didn’t know…she was a lot tougher than she looked. “He only told me the basics.”
“The new alpha was marking females he wanted for his own…” she paused when his canines snapped in anger, biting into his bottom lip. His eyes were completely amber. She held out her hand when his face began to ripple with the oncoming change. “Calm down, Ranger. I’m okay.”
“This is not okay,” he growled low in his throat. “None of this is okay, Hope.”
“I know it’s not,” she breathed, dropping her hand to her side. “But what’s done is done, Guardian.”
“He will pay for harming a female,” Ranger promised, his hands clenching at his sides.
Hope didn’t blame him for the anger. She was angry, too. Their kind were overprotective of females, and for one of them to purposely hurt one was almost unheard of. She was thankful for her brother. He’d taught her ways to defend herself and how to fight back. It wasn’t that Kraven wasn’t protective either. No, he’d always been her first line of protection, but since she’d matured, he had instilled in her the knowledge she’d need to protect herself if the time ever came. Too bad she hadn’t been able to do that when the new alpha and six of his Guardians came for her while she slept. Kraven had been missing, and she was alone with no one there to help her.
“Hope?” Ranger frowned, bringing her back to the present.
“Sorry,” she blurted. “I’m okay, Ranger. Promise.”
A female squeaked out in surprise when she opened the bathroom door and found the two of them inside. Ranger muttered an apology and held the door open for Hope to leave so the woman could come inside. He kept his distance and allowed her to walk ahead of him.
She didn’t say anything to him as she stopped by the kitchen window. The human cook, Moe, was just plating an order. He gave her a fatherly smile and turned back to the stove. After grabbing a tray, Hope loaded the food and headed out to the bar.
Ranger took his seat at the bar and turned around to watch the crowd. Cole handed over a fresh beer, and that was it. Over the remainder of her shift, Ranger’s eyes were on her. Hope could feel them even when her back was turned. A little voice…okay, the panther inside her, was ecstatic that he was watching over her.
She fought against her beast as she returned to the kitchen, leaning against the counter, waiting on another order to be set in the window. The damn thing was on edge, prowling and insisting she return to him and allow the touch.
“Stop,” she growled low in her throat.
“You say something, Hope?” Moe, the cook, asked as he approached the window, his brow furrowing. “Everything alright out there?”
“Yeah, sorry.” She shrugged. “Just arguing with myself.”
“Now that, I understand, sugar,” Moe chuckled. “Everyone does it.”
Hope smiled, taking the plates from the window. If the human only knew how much different it was when you had an actual animal fighting for dominance inside their body.
Protests were coming…
Men in dark robes…
Claiming God’s will…
Garrett Lynch sat in his patrol car, waiting for the sun to set on another hot August day. His mission to watch over the panthers was about to get complicated. He’d been having visions of the Community and their modern day witch hunts over the past two nights. He knew they would be coming for females of the pride, but that was where his telling of the future stopped. For once, he was confused because there were holes in his vision…holes he couldn’t understand. Flashes of scenarios that would or wouldn’t happen shouldn’t be called visions of the future. The gods were of no help. They only told him to stand beside the shifters he was tasked in keeping safe, and he would know when he was needed.
Word through the human authorities was minimal. The Community was nothing more than a religious organization, and with most church related things, the government turned a blind eye to their ways unless they were involved with illegal activities, and even then, it took a lot to start an investigation. Talon and Garrett both knew that they were using the cover of human religion to eventually throw the shifters into a bad light. Garrett’s worry was that they would try to come for all shifters, demanding their execution.
There was no way he would speak about this to the alpha until he was certain what was coming for them. Right now, the only information he had was that this Community was holed up in a church community in North Carolina. They’d been quiet for the past few weeks, and the sheriff knew that could be bad news in the long run.
Were they plotting something big? Who the hell knew? Being a Watcher wasn’t always easy. Knowing he was there for the protection of the pride, but not told what he needed to look for as far as an enemy, really just pissed him off. The visions had always been more of a pain in his ass than anything. Even when Liberty was younger, before Talon, he’d had them, but it took a lot for him to decipher what they meant. As far as he was concerned, the visions meant nothing. He kept his ear to the ground, mostly because that was better than this so-called ability the gods had cursed him with when he was sent to Earth.
Garrett turned the key, firing up the engine to his patrol car, and pulled out of the lot. A manila folder lay on the seat next to him. The information on the Community had run dry over the past few weeks.
Something was wrong, and he had a bad feeling things were just going to get worse.
The training room was cooled by the central air system that had been installed along with the added room for the Guardians to strengthen and hone their fighting skills to keep their pride safe. Even with the added air conditioning, Evie and Ranger wiped their brows as they backed away from their boxing session.
“Very good, Evie.” Ranger nodded toward the large bag in the corner.
“When are we going to take off these gloves and teach me how to fight like the Guardians do?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.
“You want to try that?” Ranger asked.
“Of course,” she said, then rolled her eyes.
“You do realize that when you are mated, you won’t be able to hit a male without feeling the burn from making contact with their skin, right?”
“I have thought about that.” She narrowed her eyes. “Still, it doesn’t matter. I want to learn.”
“If that is what you want,” Ranger paused, a mischievous smirk pulling at one corner of his mouth, “we can start that training later when Kye is around, because I want to see you punch him.”
“Seriously?” she chuckled.
“Yeah,” he winked, “he needs to be smacked around a bit.”
“I won’t tell him you said that.” Evie shook her head, walking over to remove her gloves.
“I have to train the new Guardians, but you are free to work by yourself.”
“No, I need to head home,” she panted, wiping sweat off her brow again. “Kye wants to go for a run.”
“Good,” Ranger said, removing his gloves. “How’s it going with him?”
“Really well,” she blushed. “Things have been good.”
“He’s not giving you any problems about fighting?” Ranger pushed, knowing that the young male had been adamant about her not fighting, but after Evie had talked to him, Kye had decided to help her instead of holding her back from facing her fears.
“No, not really,” she said, scrunching her nose. “I think he still resists my decision, but he loves me and wants me to overcome everything.”
“Have you talked to him? About what happened?” Ranger leaned over and tucked his gloves in his gym bag and turned around to wait for her reply. The female wasn’t out of the woods, but she was getting there. He knew there was more to what happened, but he didn’t know the details.
“Not everything,” she admitted. “I’m not ready, Ranger.”
“Evie,” he warned, but was interrupted when the door to the gym opened. All four new Guardians entered, dropping their bags by the door.
“I’ll talk to you later,” she whispered, picking up her things and leaving before anyone could say hello. Ranger wiped his hand over his face and turned to the new recruits.
“Good evening,” he began, shaking his head. Evie was going to have to talk to Kye on her own. He would continue to train her when Kye could not. He just hoped what they were doing would pay off in the long run and help her overcome her fears. “Put your bags down and everyone line up on the mats.”
Lucky Cooper and Taze Malone set their bags on top of the bench and walked over to the mat. Diesel stopped to remove his shoes, but kept quiet. Ranger’s brother, Axel, was the only one to approach him.
“Is Evie okay?” he whispered as he pulled off his shirt.
“She will be,” Ranger replied, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“Is she your mate?” Axel whispered, so low that none of the other Guardians heard him. “If she is, you need to talk to Kye.”
“No,” Ranger gasped, giving his brother a hard glare. “She is not, and what gave you that idea?”
“You two have been spending a lot of time together.” Axel shrugged. “Everyone is curious.”
“She’s way too young for me, Axel,” Ranger growled. The thought of the pride gossiping just pissed him off. Plus, he looked at Evie as a little sister and would do anything for her. Hell, he was eight years older than her.
“Then what about that new girl?” Axel wagged his eyebrows suggestively and Ranger’s panther pushed at his skin to tear a chunk of his brother’s hide out with his teeth. Ranger knew when his brother saw his eyes flash amber. “Never mind. I think I have my answer.”
“Lucky and Axel, partner up. Diesel, that means you are with Taze.” Ranger ignored his brother’s chuckle as he walked away. Now was not the time to be thinking about females.
The new Guardians nodded and found their spots on the mat. Training the males was a whole hell of a lot different from what Evie had been doing. Where these Guardians were concerned, there were no gloves. They had to fight hand to hand, accepting any bruises and cuts they might sustain.
As well as Evie was doing, he was ready to teach her how to use her fists to protect herself. His only worry was that Kye would kick his ass if she stepped out of training with a black eye.
His brother’s words rang through Ranger’s head for the rest of the day. Evie was definitely not his. She was destined to be with Kye. It had been written in the stars a long time before those two had ever been born. Time would heal Evie, and Kye would grow into a strong alpha with his brother’s guidance.