3 Weeks After Ruby’s Birth (Wes and Daniel’s Baby)

“All Guardians please report to the Division meeting room immediately.”

I blinked open bleary eyes and tore off the covers. 

What did they want this time?

I’d finally managed to get some sleep, and now they came barging in with their announcement system to try and get me out of bed. Screw that. 

But even as I laid in bed for a few last moments and stewed, I knew I had a job to do. They’d come looking for me sooner or later if I was late. Just ask Ollie. 

So I wiped the sleep from my eyes, threw my legs over the side of the bed, and got dressed.

Just another day in the life of a Gemstone Guardian.

I wasn’t the last Guardian to arrive for once, which meant there was someone even lazier than me out there. That made me feel a little better as I slipped into a seat next to Salem and Quin. Wes waved to me from the other end of the table. He’d just had his kid Ruby not long ago, but from the look on his face, was bouncing back nicely. 

You couldn’t catch me doing that whole baby thing. No siree.  

Even as I thought that, though, another vision passed through my mind unbidden. The young omega I’d taken to bed. The topaz light that bathed us both as we clung to one another, thrusting and gasping.

I’d worn a condom for that very reason. And well, he wasn’t even in heat. Besides, omegas rarely got pregnant these days anyway. Some kind of genetic mutation, the doctor had said. 

That hadn’t stopped Wes from getting pregnant, though. And they thought it had something to do with the gems.

Ivan and Ollie filed into the meeting room and the door swung closed behind them, cutting off that train of thought. Claria and Chester were there, as well as our teacher Milo and Claria’s mate Ever.

Must have been important, to drag everyone over here at this hour. I yawned and looked at my watch.

5:00 am.

No wonder I felt like shit.

Claria cleared her throat and stepped up to the podium, waiting until she had our attention. I pushed away the thoughts about the strange, sad omega and listened in, wondering what kind of crisis we had to deal with today.

“Thank you all for coming out here at this early hour,” she began, stifling a little yawn herself before continuing. “We’ve received a report of the utmost urgency, and I thought it important to let you all know as soon as possible.”

I leaned forward in my seat, mind racing. More Void sightings? Things sure had been quiet since the attack on Cormera. Too quiet...

“As you all know, Diamond Falls is home to many different types of Supers. Not only do we train and house our Gemstone Guardians, but also shifters, witches, and vampires. While we do our best to seek them out and bring them into our fold before they can get dangerous, sometimes that’s not always possible. Our scouts brought us news early this morning of an attack over in the nearby town of Cormera…perhaps you know the one? What’s especially concerning, for the safety of not only the humans but to our integrity as well, is that it looks to be caused by vampires. Rogue vampires. They’re calling themselves the Nightwatch Coven.”

I let that thought sink in. I’d met a couple vampires at Koxerra. As long as they got the right treatment and training, they weren’t very dangerous at all. Milo, one of our teachers, was a vampire himself. While he had a knack for macabre humor at times, I’d never found him truly intimidating. It was easy to get too complacent, though, in a place like this.

“We need to go investigate the scene immediately and provide aid to those affected. Since the town is not far from our walls, we’ll also need to renew our scouting and warding capabilities to ensure that these rogue vampires cannot find us here. Your mission, Guardians, is to survey the scene of the attack. Find any clues if you can, that might lead us to the motives or the location of these vampires. Then we’ll need to track them down, and if necessary, eliminate them.” She said the last words with a grim turn of her mouth.

That didn’t sound ominous at all.

“When you say eliminate, you mean...” Ollie started, always the first one to ask questions. 

“We’ll do everything we can to keep it from coming to that.” Claria paced to the other side of the stage. “You all will be going with Milo and some of our other vampires to the scene. They’ll be able to pick up on signs of other vampires in the area, and if there’s still trouble, you’ll let us know.”

Milo waved a hand toward us. “Don’t forget your gems. We don’t know what we’re dealing with here. Might be something...might be nothing. But best if we go in prepared.” 

“Dismissed,” Claria called with a wave of her hand. “You’ll report back to Milo in twenty minutes out at the courtyard. Go gather your things, we head out at half-past.”

And with a snap of her fingers, the conference room dissolved around us again. 

I leaned over to where Salem was sitting, raising an eyebrow. “What do you think about all this?”

“Vampires?” He replied. “I dunno, man. Thought we were just supposed to deal with that Void stuff.”

I shrugged. “Must be important if they’re calling us in.”

“You think anyone got hurt?” Ollie asked, peering around Ivan’s shoulder.

Without even meaning to, Ollie voiced the fear that stood out most in my mind. Ever since Claria named the site of the attack, there was only one thing I could think about: Beck. 

The small, scared omega I’d shared a lonesome night with. No one else knew about that tryst. Why should they? But if the attacks were happening again, and so close to home, I feared for the worst. 

Had I unintentionally drawn the rogue clan there? I closed my eyes, let out a breath.

Not after what had happened to my brother. Gang members abducted him not long before I was recruited as a Gemstone Guardian, and I hadn’t seen him since. I wouldn’t—couldn’t let that happen again. When evil was on the move, it was our job to stop it. 

And stop it we would, before it could get any further. Before it could hurt Beck.

Didn’t take long to grab my stuff and suit up. I was first into the courtyard where Milo waited for us. His eyebrows raised when he saw me coming, clearly not expecting me to have gotten ready so fast.

“You’re early,” he mused. “Eager to get going?” His eyes flashed a pale red that belied his vampiric nature. He had a knack for melodrama and mysticism, but I never really knew if he could read our minds or not. Sure seemed like it, sometimes.

The way he watched me was way too eerie to mean anything else.

“Yeah,” I said, trying to change the subject. “I figure we go over there, do some recon, come back. We’ve got a team exercise with the witches later today, don’t we?”

“That’s more of Claria’s wheelhouse, but I do believe I remember hearing something about that. Of course, your duties come first. A couple of my vampire recruits will be joining us here shortly, and—oh there they are!”

A man and a woman approached us, both tall and extremely pale. The sky was overcast today, with clouds hanging low and a wet mist hanging in the air. Even so, they wrapped up as much as they could, shielding their sensitive skin from the remaining sunlight. 

“Leyla, Jericho, meet Edison, our Topaz Guardian.”

Leyla pulled down her headscarf to uncover her mouth and smiled at me, showing blood-red lips that could only be achieved with the darkest lipstick. Her smile was even more blinding against the crimson hue, and her skin was nearly as white as her pearly teeth. I shivered when she stuck out her hand to shake. Her skin was cold, even beneath the hand wraps she wore. 

I wouldn’t want to be a vampire, that was for sure.

They probably had it worst of all the Koxerrans. I’d learned recently that vampires were made, not born. Unlike shifters and witches, who were born with their powers, vampires were most often created by a rare blood disease, or in some cases...a bite from another vampire. 

The thought raced across my mind. If Cormera came under attack by rogue vampires...what if they’d turned some of them? What if they were growing their forces, even now?

All the more reason to get there as soon as possible and put a stop to all this.

“Nice to meet you.” Jericho shook my hand next, his grip crushing. “Is it true that you vanquished the Void? We heard all about it.”

They both looked on with wide, excited eyes. “Yeah,” I started, glancing across the lawn to see if the others were on their way. Didn’t much like being put on the spot like this. Where were they? What was taking them so long?

“Vanquish is a strong word, though,” I pointed out. “The Void never really goes away. Not completely. That’s why we’re up there in the tower, training and tracking it every day.”

“Wow,” Leyla said, brushing a strand of blue hair back from her forehead. “That’s so cool!”

“Ha, thanks,” I said, giving them an awkward smile. This was the best that the Vampire Faction had to offer? They seemed too...overexcited to be vampires. Maybe that was just my prejudice getting in the way. “You know anything about these rogue vamps, then?” I asked, hoping to change the subject.

Jericho answered this time. “A little, but it’s still a mystery to us. The fact that there even are more vampires out there is alarming. I know when I was turned...” He shuddered. “Lemme just say I’m glad Claria found me when she did. Dunno what I would have done otherwise.”

I thought about that for a moment. Being turned into a vampire against one’s will, being scared and alone and unable to control your cravings...no wonder the vampires were on the warpath. 

“I think we can help them,” Leyla added, lacing her fingers together. “But we’ve got to find them first. I just hope they haven’t turned anyone else...” She looked warily at Jericho, who nodded with grim agreement. 

“Oh, there’s the rest of our crew!” Milo called. I looked up to see the rest of the Guardian team heading our way. Wes’s mate, Daniel, stood by his side, their hands locked together.

After seeing what they could do as mates, it would have been silly not to bring him along.

And when will you find a mate? I wondered, the image of the Ruby Guardian’s weapon still fresh in my mind. To have someone so close to you, to connect your energies in a way that improved you both...

Must be nice.

“Where’s little Ruby?” Milo asked Wes and Dan when they approached. “Not coming along for the ride?” 

“Chester offered to babysit,” Dan said. Wes shifted uneasily and he wrapped a hand around his mate’s shoulders. “Can’t blame us if we’re a little nervous though. First time leaving the little one.”

“I’m sure she will be fine,” Milo assured them. “Chester is quite good with kids, when he isn’t sniffing around in guinea pig form.” 

That got a laugh out of the team. Chester Eberforth was a strange little man with a strange power: he could shift into a guinea pig. I shook my head, remembering how ridiculous it was the first time I’d seen him. Most shifters were something badass like wolves, dragons, or bears. Chester? He was a guinea pig, and just as badass as any of them.

Wes squeezed Dan’s hand, and they stepped into the tiled circle. “Everyone ready?” Milo asked, looking around to the crowd. Ollie and Salem, Quin and Ivan, Wes and Dan. Then Leyla, Jericho, and me. Hopefully it would be enough to defeat whatever we found in Cormera.

I swallowed the festering anxiety and stood my ground, crossing my arms. “Ready.” 

“You’ll want to activate your gems now, before we get too much closer,” Milo warned us. “Just as we’ve went over. Dan, Wes, you know what to do.” He nodded to them separately, the only mated pair of Guardians so far. 

“Once we’re all in position, we can head over to Cormera. Rex has found us a secret passageway that’ll let us get in and out easy.”

Probably the same secret trail I’d used to sneak away to meet Beck. I thought I hadn’t left any trace, but...

“On three, Guardians!” Milo called, gathering the two vampire scouts to his side. “One, two...three!”

I held my topaz gem aloft, feeling the power of it and all the Guardians before flow into me. It pulsed and shone with an ancient light, filling me up from the inside out. Only then when I reached that perfect resonance did I utter those magical words.

“By the power of Light, I choose to fight!”

And thus the transformation sequence began. It wasn’t so odd now that I’d done it a few times, but I still couldn’t get over the rush of energy as the gem and I became one. My feet lifted off the ground, leaves and pebbles from the nearby garden flew and floated around me, and the topaz light sunk down, deep down, all the way into my soul. When the dust cleared and I was back on solid ground, the gem had taken up residence right at my breastbone like a badge of honor. 

I was the Topaz Guardian, blessed with the power of telekinesis, and nothing would stand in my way.

I looked around at my teammates, feeling the pulse of their energies in tune with mine. It had taken a little while to get used to it, but all that practice in the Crystal Ring hadn’t been for nothing. I could almost hear the chime in my head as we touched down as a team: Synchronization complete.

Wes and Dan had both transformed as part of the Guardian ritual. Now that they were mated, they could play off of one another and feed on each other’s power. When the time was right, their energies combined to create a brilliant, sparkling scepter. The Ruby Weapon. It could turn the tide of battle, or shut down an intruder in no time, if used properly. 

I remembered what Chester told us about finding our mates. If Wes and Dan were that powerful being the only mated pair on the team, what would we be like once we all had partnered up?

Well, we’d be a force to be reckoned with. That much was for sure.

Milo regarded us with a proud grin, then waved his arm toward the west walls. “Let’s go, all of you. And stay alert.”

Leyla and Jericho fell into line behind Milo, keeping up with his impossibly quick strides. The rest of us fanned out behind him in a rainbow of jewels and silks. 

It was no coincidence that each of the gems represented a color of the rainbow, I realized. When put together, we created a spectrum so fierce it could overcome the greatest darkness. And that’s what being a Gemstone Guardian was all about.

Not the frilly outfits or the magic gems, but working together for a common cause. Making the world a better, safer place by putting ourselves in harm’s way, so the innocents didn’t have to.

It kind of reminded me of my short stint in the military, actually. If the military was magic, and super gay. I chuckled at the thought. No “don’t ask, don’t tell” here!

I put on another burst of speed and ran to catch up with the rest of the group, feeling the pulse of my brothers in arms beside me. Whatever happened, I prayed silently as we drew close to the city walls, let Beck be okay.

We did indeed take the shortcut I’d found on the way to Cormera. It was still a little overgrown with bushes and ferns, but someone besides me had been this way recently, that much was obvious. I’d never leave such obvious trample marks everywhere.

“Stay on your guard,” Milo warned us as the first buildings on the outskirts of town came into view. “Remember, neutralize first. Use as little force as you can. We’re here to recon and gather info to figure out where the vamps might be heading next. That,” he said, looking back at us, “and looking for any survivors.” 

Another stone of dread settled into my gut at the word. Survivors. Would there even be any?

I didn’t know much about the attack, other than the fact it had caused quite the upheaval. When we crested the hill that overlooked the main square, I saw with horror just what they were talking about.

Charred wood and broken stone lay everywhere, burn marks branded into the earth like tattoos. Some of the ruins still smoked, giving off a foul odor of decay, destruction, and death. Milo and Jericho covered their noses, wincing against the scent. Leyla appeared to be the only one prepared in that respect; she pulled up her headscarf to cover her nose and mouth, though pain and disgust still marred her features.

What could they smell that we couldn’t?

“Here, try these!” Ivan called, fishing into his bag for something. He brought out two emerald green handkerchiefs, tossing them toward Milo. He caught both in mid-air, wrapping one around his face like a bandit with lightning-fast reflexes. It didn’t look like much, but as soon as he had it fastened he straightened again, taking a relieved breath. 

“Thank you,” he said with genuine gratitude. “Bastards pulled one over on us.” He balled up the remaining handkerchief and tossed it in Jericho’s direction. He accepted it gratefully, his breathing finally returning to normal after a few ragged coughs. 

“Good thinking,” Quin called to Ivan. “That’s Argent Gas.”

“What’s that?”

“Silver particles in the air.” Ollie piped up. “Especially poisonous to vampires.”

I grimaced. Okay, I really needed to start paying attention to the reading assignments. 

“It won’t hurt us?” I asked warily, squinting through the haze. I couldn’t see anything, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t some other invisible poison waiting for us too.

“You’re not a vampire, are you?” Milo quipped. “Shouldn’t, long as you make it quick. Come on, I don’t like the feel of this place already.”

We pushed through into town, my heart thrumming faster with every step. It felt like only yesterday I’d visited this sleepy little town in the dead of night. Felt like only yesterday I’d hooked up with the most gorgeous, most confounding omega I’d ever met.

And then he’d gone off the grid. Disappeared off the app. Couldn’t get in touch. Maybe he’d had second thoughts. Or maybe I had. I winced at the thought. I was the one that left him the next morning before he even woke up. 

What could I say? I was scared.

It was a coward move. I saw that now. But when I woke up next to sweet little Beck and realized what I’d done, I knew I had to leave. It was for the best, for both of us, wasn’t it? 

Because what happened that night between us was no mere one night stand. I was scared of how strongly I’d reacted to him. Scared of how much I wanted not only to fuck him, but to hold him and kiss his every worry away. 

And scared of how the gem had reacted that night, as if trying to tell me that he was the one. 

I’d up and left him, hanging high and dry without so much as a letter or a text. I thought if I moved on, put it all out of my mind, I could forget about him and what we’d shared. 

But things were never that easy, were they?

Truth was, I wasn’t ready for a relationship. I could barely take care of myself, and not even that sometimes. Not to mention, especially after what I let happen to my brother Noah…

I frowned. No. I didn’t deserve to be with anyone.

Beck would find that out sooner or later. I was just saving myself the trouble by cutting things off now. Right?

“Vecta preserve us,” Milo cursed, bringing me back to the present. We stood on smoldering ground, staring in awestruck horror at the destruction around us. So much for this being a simple one-off attack. They’d razed the entire town, almost. And the villagers? Nowhere to be found.

“What could have driven them to this?” Leyla breathed, picking through the rubble. Her face contorted with disgust and loathing more than the others. Perhaps because she knew that had things happened differently, she could be on the rogue side right now. “This isn’t just an attack. It’s a massacre.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, fighting back the panic. She was right. The town was pretty much destroyed. Club Aether lay in ruins. The Brass Lantern Cafe was nothing but a smoking pile of rubble. And that meant...I held my breath, not wanting to confirm it...

Beck’s house. Even though I’d only been once, I remembered where it was like the back of my hand. And the spot where it used to be? A smoldering pile of ash and stone. 

I cried out, unable to help it any longer. The gem pulled me forward by some force greater than myself and I staggered through the rubble, my heart crying out in loss and grief.

Please let him be okay. Please let him be okay. Please let—

A bright red canvas sneaker caught my eye, discarded in the chaos. I knew that shoe. That was Beck’s. I’d notice it anywhere.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I just hoped that meant...

The topaz pulled me forward, like I was being yanked along a string. My eyes caught on to one shoe, and then the other. Then I saw a bare foot sticking out from beneath a wooden beam.

Oh god.

“Hey, over here!” I cried, rushing toward the body. It wasn’t moving, but the power of the gem continued to pull me forward. Like it was my destiny to find him here, like this, right now. 

I called upon my power and things started flying everywhere. I ducked a wobbling glass bowl that might have once held a few fish, honing in on my target as the glass shattered on the ground.

Focus, Edison. Focus. 

I huffed out a breath, planted my feet, and stared at the bare foot and the wooden beam trapping him there. It shivered and shook for a moment, creaking and groaning as dust rained down around us. I grit my teeth, pressing upward with the force I’d learned. 

Easy does it, I reminded myself. Gentle...

The beam cracked, creaked, then floated free, revealing the trapped human underneath. 

But it wasn’t just any trapped human, I realized with horror and a gnawing dread that I’d seen this coming. 

It was Beck. 

And he wasn’t moving.

My power faltered and I stumbled forward, nearly tripping over the rubble and bringing down the beam on top of him all over again. 

I knelt next to him, looking for any sign of injury. But that was the problem. I couldn’t find one. His skin was absolutely flawless. Even the area where the splintered wood should have torn up his ankle showed no sign of scratches, cuts, or bruises.

And then Beck opened his eyes, stared right at me with blood-red fury, and attacked.