Chapter Three

Ethney stood by the shore with a pile of clothes in her hand, watching as the waves crested and slapped the sand. The sun was starting to peek over the horizon. In the distance, she could see a ripple of movement on the water. It was moving fast, at only a speed Aric could.

The water dragon was the only one of his kind. The Greek Goddess Astraea created the twelve guardians of the zodiac centuries ago. Each guardian chose which animal form to take to help protect the people of Earth based on their astrological sign’s element. Why Aric chose a water dragon she had no idea, but it seemed to suit him.

The ripple grew larger, turning into a wave until the large blue water dragon jumped from the water and landed on the ground before her. Water slapped against his long tail and legs. He closed his cobalt blue eyes and morphed into his human form. “Hey, heard you needed help,” Aric said as he started toward her.

She handed the clothes to him and averted her eyes to the rising sun. “The group here is much bigger than we were led to believe. They didn’t split up as we were told.”

Aric frowned. “Huh. My group in the Keys was tiny. There were only five of them. I was hoping to catch a few Zs before moving on to my next assignment, but as always, I’m here to help.”

The zipper of the jeans creaked as he fastened his pants and she turned back to him with a forlorn expression. “Mine was at least a hundred.”

“One hundred?” Aric gaped at her.

She nodded. “Yeah. They took me by surprise and I only got away with some help. At least I took a few of them down.”

“We’ve never seen a group that big before. I’m sorry, hun. You okay?” Aric asked, as his worried eyes met hers.

“I’ve had worse things happen to me.” She ground her teeth at the reminder. Being a guardian put her pain threshold to the test numerous times, but nothing could compare to her torture and death as a human.

Aric huffed and shook his head. “Haven’t we all.”

“I think someone is betraying us,” Ethney blurted out. Trent’s words still rang in her ears and being betrayed in the past, she knew better than to turn her back on that kind of warning, even if it was coming from her sworn enemy.

“What? Who do you think would do that?” Aric asked, fixing his shirt that was a touch too big.

“Trent Brockwell told me he was working with one of us.” She wrapped her arms around her middle and hugged herself.

Aric put his hand on her shoulder. “You can’t believe what that asshole says, Ethney.”

“I know. It’s just...and normally I wouldn’t, but Aric, they were waiting for me. They knew I was coming and how I was coming.” She shook her head and suppressed the urge to shudder. “He was proud of himself. Proud of the fact he swayed one of us to his side.”

Aric frowned. “You think he’s telling the truth?”

She nodded. “He was smug, Aric. Sure of himself—too sure. He said they already might have a few of us in captivity.”

“Have you told Astraea?”

“She said she’d look into it, but...” Ethney shrugged and looked to the stars where the goddess who created them ruled. “I can’t shake the feeling in the pit of my stomach something really bad is coming.”

“Hey,” Aric gripped both her shoulders and gave her a shake. “I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you. Understand?”

Aric was a good guy and she did believe him, but he didn’t witness Trent and his army. If he carried on his plan until the full moon, his numbers would continue to grow to a number even the guardians couldn’t contain.

“Who’s that?” Aric asked his gaze drifting to somewhere over her shoulder.

Ethney turned around to the sliding door of the beach house where Noah and the others were staying. She blew out a breath before tucking a lock of hair behind her ear and turned back to Aric while trying to get the image of Noah out of her mind. Why did the lycanthrope have to look so good? “A friend, of sorts.”

Understanding washed over Aric’s face. Ethney had no doubt he could smell what Noah was from where they stood. “So, we’re doing this again?”

Ethney licked her lips and turned back to Noah, holding his gaze. Her heart hurt; the memory of the kid she killed in January was still fresh in her mind six months later.  They hadn’t been able to save him and she doubted they could save Noah and the kids here, but damn it, she was going to try.

“He’s an Army Ranger. We’ve come to an arrangement. Astraea’s already okayed it, so long as the humans don’t know about me—us. I’m accompanying him to Atlanta to meet with some doctor—he’s searching for a cure. In exchange, he’ll get his buddies to help with our lycanthrope problem.”

Aric rolled his shoulders back. “Sounds fair. I suppose it’s only a matter of time before the humans find out about the lycanthrope anyway.”

Ethney slipped her shoes off, letting her toes squish into the sand. Too bad she wasn’t closer to the water, it would be nice and comforting to dip her toes in the ocean. There weren’t many things in this world she could control, but water was one of them and the closer she was to it, the more it calmed her ever-fraying nerves and frustration.

“Have you seen the news? They are already aware there is something going on. We are losing control, Aric. It’s only a matter of time before the lycanthrope infestation can no longer be contained.”

“Maybe Selene will feel Zeus’ wrath for her creations getting out of control,” Aric grinned. “Maybe then she’ll finally clean up her mess and we’ll be free.”

“Free?” Ethney asked quietly.

What would she do if she weren’t a guardian? Sure the job did get to her, but she enjoyed it for the most part. There was something thrilling about saving people and hunting down the bad guys—it was her life. She could never regret her decision to become a guardian, but she had to admit it seemed they were fighting a losing battle lately. Hopefully, Aric wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. They still had a lot of work to do.

Pushing her thoughts away, she turned back to Aric. “There are four kids here. I was hoping you could keep an eye out for them while I’m gone in Atlanta. It will only be for the day.”

Aric’s face fell. He hated when children were involved as much as she did. “Damn. Kids again?”

Ethney pushed her toes deeper into the sand. “Three of them are teens between thirteen and seventeen and the youngest is ten. They’re just babies.”

Aric growled low in his throat and ground his teeth together. “I want to rip Trent’s head off already. What do you say we take care of the lycanthrope problem first?”

“Noah,” Ethney turned and nodded to where he was standing by the sliding doors, “already called his superiors,” she paused to roll her eyes, “at the government. They have to get the all-clear before they can involve his team. At least this way we can be semi-productive while we wait.”

Aric rubbed his hand over his face. “All the bureaucratic red tape makes me glad we work for Astraea and not the governments’ of the world. Do you think they’ll be ready to go before the full moon? It’s only two weeks away and we can’t afford to wait that long. Not with a group this size.”

Ethney blew out a breath. “They are aware of the monster problem. Supposedly the orders have been expedited straight to the president. We should have our answer by the end of today, at least that’s what Noah claims. Speaking of Noah, if I’m going to get to Atlanta and back today I need to be on my way.”

“And we’ve been authorized to speak to this doctor? That doesn’t seem like Astraea at all. She’s always been about keeping us a secret,” Aric stated while lifting his brow.

“Astraea wasn’t keen on the idea, but I think she realizes this problem is becoming uncontrollable and her twelve guardians can no longer restrain the ever growing lycanthrope population. Not to mention, look at how hard it has been for her to find a replacement for Daire. It’s been six months and she still hasn’t found someone worthy. I can’t imagine her trying to find more guardians to help tackle the increasing problem when she can’t even find one replacement. Besides, she can’t help the lycanthrope with her god magic, but maybe modern medicine can. Humans have come a long way in the past few decades. Without more guardians, it’s our only true hope.”

Daire found his true soul mate in January. Grace was an amazing woman and Ethney was glad her friend finally found some happiness. The gods knew they all deserved it, Daire most of all. Astraea released him from his responsibilities pending her finding a replacement for him. In the interim, he was still allowed to stay with Grace and her son and was only called in to help for quick jobs around the full moon.

“People suck,” Aric grumbled. “I remember a time when people banded together and helped each other, but people today are so selfish and only care about indulging in petty things. She’ll never find a replacement for Daire—or any of us.”

Ethney grunted knowing he was probably right. The job might get to her, but she couldn’t stop to find peace until she knew the threat was destroyed. Her family had been ripped apart; she wouldn’t allow someone else’s to be, too. No one should have to endure that pain.

The sliding door opened and Noah stepped out with Claire following behind him. A bag was slung over his shoulder and a pair of keys in his hand. “Are we ready? I promised Claire I’d be back to tuck her in.”

“Is this your daughter?” Aric asked. He knelt down and held his hand out to Claire. “I’m Aric.”

“Niece. Claire, sweetie, this is Aric, the water dragon guardian,” Noah said. He put his hand on the girl’s shoulder and gave her hair a gentle, playful rub.

“Hi,” Claire said as she took Aric’s hand. He bobbed it up and down and gave her a goofy grin.

Noah turned his attention to Ethney. “He’ll keep her safe?”

“She’ll be safe under my watch,” Aric promised with a nod. “Now tell me, what goodies do you have in the house? Play Station? X-Box? Wii? Is there a pool? Why don’t you show me what it is you do for fun here, huh?”

Noah appraised Aric for a long moment before he let out a breath and knelt down next to Claire. “You be good for Aric, okay?” She nodded and fell into his arms, giving him a big hug. “I’ll be back soon.” Noah looked up at Aric. “The other three girls are inside still in bed. They know you’re coming.”

“Good to know. I hate when I surprise people. I’ll see you tonight, Ethney.” He wrapped an arm around Claire and led her inside.

“They’ll be fine with him. Aric’s good with kids,” Ethney said.

Noah started to walk. “Let’s go so we can get back. I don’t like leaving her here so close to Brockwell.”

“You know, I could go to Atlanta and meet this doctor by myself if you’d like,” Ethney offered.

It would save her from having to spend the whole day with him. The more time she spent with him the more she’d get to know him, which would make her job that much harder when the inevitable happened, for she had no doubt this would end badly. Killing newly turned lycanthrope was never easy, but it was ten times harder when she knew them on a personal level; not to mention, it didn’t hurt that Noah was easy on the eyes. Still, even though she knew not to get her hopes up, something inside her told her maybe, just maybe, this could be the time they saved someone.

“I need to meet with her personally.”

Noah led them to her SUV parked in front of the beach house. Apparently, he found her keys and driven it back to the house with her in the back seat. He opened the back door and tossed his bag on the seat before opening the driver’s side door and getting in behind the wheel.

Ethney climbed in and buckled up, doing her best to get comfortable. “Why does it have to be you?” she asked curiously.

Noah started the car and eased them down the driveway. “She’s my sister. I thought about seeking her out sooner, but right now she, and most of the south, thinks Claire and I are missing. There have been Amber Alerts out for Claire and the three girls. It’s been a few days since our photos were plastered on the TV, but I’m afraid someone is going to recognize the girls if they go outside.”

“Let me guess—your sister doesn’t know we are coming?” Ethney said with a sigh. Great. This was just great.

Noah shook his head. “No. Elena will have questions and it will be a lot easier to answer them in person. It’s not like I could call her either. You know, I couldn’t go to my sister’s funeral, which meant Claire couldn’t go to her parents’ funerals. This whole situation is just messed up.”

Ethney licked her lips, her heart aching a little bit more for the innocent children involved. She was not able to say goodbye to her family, either. Even after all these years, she still wished for that closure. “What type of doctor is your sister exactly?”

“She works for the CDC and specializes in infectious diseases.”

“Really?” Ethney asked. The lycanthrope transformation was sort of like an infectious disease in the way it attacked the host. Her heart picked up a notch, but she tried not to get her hopes up too much.

“I’m guessing you’ve never worked with someone of her expertise before?” Noah asked, turning his gaze on her before flicking it back to the road.

“No, we haven’t. As I’ve told you already, humans aren’t supposed to know about lycanthropes or guardians. I still think you should be prepared for this not to work,” Ethney said quietly.

Noah blew out a breath and then turned on his signal to ease onto the main road. “Maybe not, but maybe this can be the groundwork you need to find a cure. Modern medicine has come a long way since...” he trailed off.

“There’s a big difference between modern medicine and magic from the gods,” Ethney reminded him. She shifted in her seat so she could dig out her cell phone. “By the way, I didn’t catch your full name?”

“Noah Hawthorne.”

“And is your sister’s last name is the same as yours?” she asked as she thumbed through her contacts until she found Grace’s name. Grace knew about the lycanthrope and guardians. She was also great at digging up details.

“Yeah. Why?”

Ethney typed Noah and Elena’s names into her phone and sent Grace a text asking for information on them. If she was going to get involved with them, she wanted to know everything she could about them. “Just curious. You seem to know a lot about me, it’d be nice to know a little about you. We are going to be spending the day together and I am trusting you to follow through with this Op.”

“I only know what Trent and his men told us about you. They had a whole board set up with pictures of you, Aric, and two other men. They told us you were coming to kill us and if we saw you to alert them. He said you had to be captured before you harmed someone.”

Ethney frowned. “So naturally you thought you’d come to my aide then?”

Noah flexed his fingers before tightening them on the wheel. “Trent Brockwell is a madman. He murdered my sister and brother-in-law. I figured the enemy of my enemy was my friend. I took a gamble on us working together.”

“That was pretty risky.”

Noah sighed. “I probably wouldn’t have if I didn’t have Claire and the other girls depending on me. If it had just been me, I would have done everything I could to take out Brockwell and his group. But those girls...they deserve a chance to live. This should’ve never happened to them.”

Ethney tousled her hair. She knew how he felt. There were risks you could take when it was just you, but throw a kid or two into the mix and the game changed exponentially.

She turned to look at him. He was almost too tall for the vehicle. His broad, muscular shoulders didn’t fit across the width of the seat, and she wondered how he could possibly be comfortable. Everything about his persona screamed hot right down to his chiseled features and rugged looks. She squirmed in her seat realizing how truly attractive he was for the first time.

It had been a long time since she spent some time between the sheets with a man; Noah Hawthorne was definitely the wrong man to break her streak. He was a beast and her sworn enemy whom she would have to kill in a few weeks. Falling for him would be a monumental mistake—one she just couldn’t afford.

Her phone chimed in her hand and she looked down at it to see a text from Grace. She swiped her finger over the touchpad and read.

No problem. Give me a few hours and I’ll see what I can dig up.

Ethney typed back thanks and then tucked her phone back into her pocket.

“How do you plan to get in to see your sister?” Ethney asked.

“I know my sister. She’s very OCD about her schedule and job. We should get to the CDC right around the time she’ll be taking her lunch break. She always goes to a café a block from her work to get a sub and chips. We’ll catch her on her way out of the building and talk to her.”

“So you see your sister often?” Ethney asked.

“No, not really. My job keeps me away from my family most of the time. I know Elena quite well though; I might not see her often, but I do talk to her. This is her favorite restaurant, she’s always talking about it and she never strays from her routine. She’ll be there.”

“That must be hard not seeing your family,” Ethney said quietly before she could think better of it.

“It is,” Noah shrugged, “but I know when I’m out there doing my job I’m making the world better, safer, for them. My parents are proud of my career path. I can only imagine what they are going through with losing my sister and Claire and I’m missing and presumed dead.” He ran a hand over his face and leaned his head back against the headrest while keeping his hands on the wheel. “They are probably beside themselves with grief. I can’t call them or see them until I know I’m better. It wouldn’t be right to get their hopes up only to lose us again in a few weeks.”

“You’re doing the right thing,” she told him. He must already know that, but she figured it probably wouldn’t hurt for him to hear it, too.

“I appreciate you helping even if you think it is a lost cause.” Noah turned to look at her and held her gaze for a long moment before turning back to the road. The worry in his stare was prevalent and she wished she could soothe it away. He was much too attractive to keep frowning the way he did. Wait, I shouldn’t care about that, she chastised herself.  But she was too kind. It wasn’t in her to turn her back on someone who needed her help. Not to mention, she hated confrontation. Sometimes it was easier to be agreeable instead of fighting.

It was the curse of her Zodiac Sign; Cancers were known for being kind people though it was her benevolence that always ended up screwing her in the end.