The Guardian (4 page)

“You poor dear.”
The woman
looked at her with such compassion Cassie nearly started to cry. “Don’t you
worry about paying for the
room.
You have had a hard
enough evening. Just give me your full name.”

Cassie was stunned for a moment, but then nodded and
handed over her license with her full legal name on it.
“Cassandra
Elaine Morgan.”

“Thank you, Cassandra.” She copied the license and
handed it back to her.

“Just Cassie.
No one but my
grandma calls me Cassandra.”

“Cassie then,” the woman said handing her a key.

Cassie took the key with numb fingers. She could feel
herself shaking, and her teeth started to chatter.

“Oh you poor dear, you are shaking.” Myra came around
the desk and wrapped an arm around her. “Let me help you to your room. Do you
have a change of clothes?” she asked as she led her down a hall.

“No,” Cassie stammered. “I left them with everything
else.”

“Oh well good thing we keep a collection of clothes
here. You just never know when someone will come in needing some. I am sure I
can get something close to your size.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Cassie said in halting speech.

“Oh, you don’t have to be so formal. Call me Myra.”

“Thank you, Myra,” Cassie repeated. She stood feeling
dizzy as Myra swiped a card for a door just a couple doors down from the main
desk.

“Most of the motel has outside rooms, but I think it
would be best to keep you close. You get the special room.”

Cassie was pulled in, feeling surprised the room was
so nice. There was a huge bed, a large television hanging on the wall, a dining
area, and a large bathroom. Myra started the water in the garden tub while she
kept talking. Cassie was too lost in her own storm of emotions to pay much
attention.

“Okay, let me get you something to wear to bed, and I
will find you something better for tomorrow,” Myra said and walked out of the
room.

Cassie stood in the center of the room listening to
the bath running. She wanted to hide, afraid that at any moment a wolf would
jump out snarling at her. She told herself to walk towards the bathroom and get
the bath nice and hot, instead of under the bed. She could wash off the filth
at least. Too bad the memories would not be so easy to get rid of.

“Here we go.” Myra held up a white oversized T shirt
and some cotton elastic band grey shorts for her. “You can at least be
comfortable.”

With shaking hands, Cassie took the clothes with a
grateful smile. “Thank you.”

“Let’s get you into a nice hot bath.” Myra started to
pull up her ruined shirt when her phone went off. She hit the speaker button.
“Yes, Warren?”

“Myra, where the hell are you?
I need to speak to you, now.”

 
“Sorry, I was
getting a young woman settled. She had a bad night and needed a bit of help.”

“Get up here, woman,” Warren growled.

“I am coming, you old bear.” Myra shook her head, “He
is a grumpy bear.”

Cassie looked at her worriedly. “I didn’t get you into
trouble, did I?”

Myra smiled at her and touched her cheek tenderly. “Oh
no, do not mind Warren. He is just growling.”

Cassie was kind of relieved that Myra was getting
called away. She knew she had been bitten, and she didn’t want another lecture
about going to the hospital in town.

“I’m sorry, but I need to leave.” Myra wrung her hands
together, and Cassie knew she was worried about leaving her.

“I will be okay, thank you,” Cassie assured her.

Cassie waited until Myra had left before sitting on
the bed and picking up the motel phone. It was late, but fortunately her office
had voice mail.
 
She could leave a
message, and they would get it in the morning. The phone went straight to
voicemail. “Kyle, this is Cassie. There has been an accident here. I will need
more time off. I will call you when I can.” She hoped that would not make him
think she was just trying to get more time off. When she got home and saw her
doctor she would need to get some documentation of her injuries. She hung up
the phone and unbuttoned the waist of her shorts before peeling them off.

 
The bites on
her arm and side did not look that bad, but the way they hurt, she expected to
see her skin torn to pieces. Instead there were just some puncture marks that
had not even bled much. She gently touched the one on her side and hissed at
how much it hurt to just feel it, and she also noticed that it was really weirdly
hot to the touch, hotter than if she had a fever. She lightly pressed the area
around the bites and winced at the pain. They were just as painful if not more.
Her body ached all over now, and on top of everything else, she was beginning
to feel unwell, too.

She got into the almost too hot water and felt a stab
of disappointment that the water was not helping her pain at all. If anything, since
she was just sitting there instead of her mind racing with what her next move
would be, she now noticed the pain even more.

After she carefully washed the dirt and blood off of
her she got out of the tub. She was really beginning to feel ill now on top of
the pain. When she stood up a wave of dizziness, far worse than before, hit
her. She leaned over the toilet and emptied her stomach once again. Her whole
body ached even more, and she felt feverish. When she looked out of the
bathroom door her vision wavered and blurred. “Great.
Just
fucking great.
On top of this pain I am getting the damn flu.” She began
to wonder if she should have gone to be checked out. It had not been long
enough for infection or rabies to set in. It had to be a virus of some kind.

****

Michael waited until Myra was able to get away from
the motel she and Warren ran together before he started the meeting. Several of
the shifters eyed him worriedly as they waited.
 
He hated that he was causing them anxiety. Meetings called without
notice were usually bad news, but fortunately this time there was not a feral
shifter on a killing spree, wraiths, or hunters that thought they could catch
some creature. The shifters in his territory were a tightly knit clan that
wanted to live in peace. They had all heard the stories out of Alaska and
Cascade mountain ranges of human hunters hearing stories of shape shifting
animals and hunting for a prize. They had not had much trouble here, but they
were all very careful to take care of any accidental human exposure. Tampering
with the human’s memory was exhausting for Michael, but it kept his people
safe.

Myra walked in and eyed him warily. Her normal
cheerful demeanor was replaced by a fearful one. “Myra, lock the door please,” Michael
asked her.
 
They met in the veterans’
lodge since that was the best indoor place to hold everyone, and they could
secure the doors so none of the human residents could accidently stumble on a
shifter meeting.

Myra hung the sign outside that read “Closed for a
private party” and locked the door.

“Do we have hunters?” Blair, the little fox who owned
the coffee and pastry shop, asked as she glanced at Myra. Myra lost her brother
and mate in one night to hunters. Blair had lost the love of her life, Cole, as
well. Not to the Goddess, but because the idiot man allowed fear to drive him
from her. It all happened that horrible night Brian and Nathan were gunned down
by hunters.

Myra sat next to Blair and Warren. Blair gasped. “I am
so sorry, Myra. I know you do not need that memory brought up again.”

Myra waved at Blair to dismiss her worry. “Don’t worry
about it.” Myra took Warren’s hand. Michael had always felt that Cole
witnessing Brian’s death, along with Myra’s emotional collapse afterwards, was the
cause of him leaving Blair. Michael needed to think of a way to get those two
to talk. He had no reason to force her to spend time with Cole. She was careful
to never do anything that would earn her judgment or punishment. He would think
more on it later, but for now they had more urgent matters.

“I heard there was trouble out by the lake. Did a
feral shifter start killing campers?” the old mountain lion, Tom called out.

“Are we in danger?” Gayle, the librarian, asked
fearfully.

Michael held up his hand for silence. The shifters in
the room all calmed and turned their attention to him. Some were grim and
looked ready to fight, if needed, while others looked ready to run like
frightened rabbits. “There was an incident up by the lake. Two women were attacked
by Lucas.”

Several women gasped and started chattering. They
quieted when the sheriff cleared his throat, which was his way of telling them
to be quiet and pay attention.

“One was killed, and the other is injured. It is the
injured one that brings us to this meeting. She ran away before Cole or any of
the deputies could get to her. She saw both myself and Lucas shift. We think
she got a ride into town.”

“What does she look like?” Doctor Trask asked. “I have
not had any injured women come into the urgent care, but I will let you know if
anyone does.”

“Her cell phone was damaged. I can’t give you a name
yet, but I got a look at her. She has long light brown to dark blonde hair,
brown eyes, and was around one hundred and thirty pounds. She was about five
foot four, and was wearing a black T shirt and blue jean shorts—”

“I saw her.” Blair stood up and waved her arms.
 
“I picked up a young woman matching that
description off the highway and brought her into town.”

“Where did you take her?” Cole asked standing straighter
now that they were getting leads.

“The motel.
She was injured
and I wanted to take her into the clinic, but she refused.”

Myra nodded. “I was getting her settled when Warren
called me to the meeting.”

 
“Well why you
didn’t tell me you were getting the woman we are looking for settled, woman?”
Warren growled.

“I didn’t know you were looking for her.” Myra rolled
her eyes at him. “Besides I know how you would go after her with your questions.
You are no longer the
Kelach
, but you still carry on
as if you are in charge of protecting our territory.”

“Well I need to ask questions. What if she saw
something and tells other people? She can bring hunters, the human military, or
worse, humans that would want to dissect us.”

Several murmured their agreement while others shook
their heads. “Most humans are good people,” Blair called out.

“You keep thinking that when you are strapped to a
table about to be cut open,” Neil Clemmons, the owner of the bar yelled out.

“Or have poison dumped in your veins,” Will Jenson
said in an ominous tone.
 
Everyone knew
his sister Allie, who had been bonded to a guardian in the next territory, had
been murdered by an insane scientist.

It was silent for a moment. Allie’s death had changed
many people.

Michael cleared his throat. He knew the full story,
and could never figure out why Lucas struggled to move past Allie’s death. Lana
had been able to move on from her own mate’s death and was happy once again.
“She isn’t a hunter, or a scientist. I would have sensed the evil in her,”
Michael said firmly.

Arguing broke out among the shifters gathered. “We
should have her memory changed now,” Neil yelled.

“We do not even know what she saw,” Blair hollered
back over the rising volume of chatter. “She told me a dog attacked her. If she
was going to tell anyone, it would be a stranger who rescued her.”

Michael raised his hands while Cole whistled to get
everyone’s attention. Michael understood everyone’s worries. The military could
see them as a threat, or try to exploit them. As Neil feared some would want to
see how to make more by experimenting on them. They had been attacked by a
psychotic scientist wanting to turn them into weapons once before. It was a
valid fear. Then there were the humans that would see them as nothing more than
a prize to kill to hang on their wall, intelligent prey for them to show off.
Michael had got a good look at the woman. He did not think she was a threat. He
was more concerned for her health right now than who she would tell, especially
since her phone was broken and in his pocket.

Michael looked at Myra. “How is she?” he asked feeling
relieved she was found.

“She was very frightened. I was taking care of her
since it looked like she was coming out of a numbed shock and starting to have
trouble. Her name is Cassandra Morgan.”

Several townspeople stood up. “Let’s go and get her,
now. Bring her back here and question her,” Warren yelled.

Michael raised his hand. “All of you sit down.
Cassandra has been through a terrible ordeal this evening. We are not going to make
it even worse on her by rampaging into her room, with our pitchforks raised
high, and abducting her. Myra, Cole, and
myself
will
go over and check on her. Warren, you trained Cole to take over as beta and
territory protector. Trust him now to do the job. We know where she is, and she
has done nothing wrong. She is a victim here, not a criminal.”

Warren nodded then looked at Myra. “She was frightened
you say.”

Myra looked back at him. “Very. Trust
me,
she is not a danger to us. She is just a scared young
woman who was looking for a place to sleep.”

Warren nodded. “Good enough for me. My little wolf has
strong empathy senses. If she says the girl is not a danger, then I believe
her. Take care of her.”

“I will, Uncle Warren,” Cole agreed with a nod.

Once Warren had agreed Cassie was likely not a danger
but a victim, most of the town followed suit. A couple of the hard assed elders
still looked displeased, but not much pleased them these days. Michael was
proud of the shifters in his territory. They generally had the same view of
humans as he did. Most wanted to live in peace and meant no harm to anyone
whether it
be
shifter, animal, or human. There were a
few humans that were not to be trusted, but Lucas was proof that shifters had
the same capability to harm innocent life, too.