The Guardian (5 page)

Chapter
Four

Cassie huddled under the blankets shivering
uncontrollably. She was getting frightened at how sick she felt. The pain
radiating throughout her body felt like her bones were breaking. Her stomach
had emptied before she got this painfully ill fortunately, as her pain and
dizziness were now so bad, she knew she wouldn’t make it to the
bathroom.But
then again dry heaves were torture. She tried
to sit up to call up at the front desk for Myra. There was no way she could drive
herself home like this. She had planned on renting a car, but now she wondered
what she would do. Her grandparents were getting old and easily confused.

Dizziness hit her, and she saw her vision darkening
dangerously. She lay back down on the bed. Fear was not helping at all now.
What if she was dying? She couldn’t even make it to the phone to call for help.

She thought she heard a knock at her door and tried to
cry out for help, but a pitiful whimper came out.
 

“Cassie, love.
It’s me, Myra.
I have the sheriff and our Mayor here. Can we come in?”

“Help me. I am so sick,” Cassie croaked.

Almost instantly she felt cool hands on her. “Cassie,
oh Goddess, child,” she heard Myra exclaim.

She felt large hands on her face she blinked up at the
face. It looked very familiar. Was this the man she saw earlier?
The one that saved her from the wolf?
She blinked while
trying to clear her vision. He stared into her eyes. Even with her vision
blurring she could see his eyes were a gorgeous shade of light jade green with
golden flecks in them. She felt a strong pull to him, as if everything in her
said “this is your mate”. She groaned in pain and confusion over her own
strange feelings. She felt like she was on her deathbed and having visions of
finding a sexy man. As much as her blurring vision allowed she studied him.
Could this really be the same man that she saw in the woods? Maybe she was just
so sick she was imagining things.

“The essence in her has been stirred,” he told Myra
grimly.

“Sweet Goddess.
Is there anything
we can do?” Myra asked fearfully.

“Shifter magic, or essence, is toxic to humans until
it is settled by a guardian. We either change her completely to a shifter, or
she will die.”

Cassie had no idea what they were talking about.
Change me
?

“For now, we need to get her to Doctor Trask. He can
give her some medication that will slow the process and ease the pain for a day
or two. There are some things she needs to decide for herself when she is not
this ill.”

Michael put his arms under her, lifting her up.
Cassie’s teeth
clenched,
and she whined at the searing
pain. She understood he was being careful as he lifted her, but every little
movement was causing so much pain. She would do anything to end the torment.

A few years ago she had been in a terrible car
accident where she had broken several bones including her pelvis and
collarbone, as well as sustaining internal injuries. The pain she felt then was
nothing compared to this. She rested her aching head against his chest. He felt
so warm to her aching body, the comforting type of warmth that she wanted to
wrap around herself. The feeling that she was safe with him grew stronger as
well. She nuzzled her face against his neck and breathed in his clean, woodsy
scent. Perhaps it was just a trick, but she thought that the pain lessoned
slightly. It was not throbbing in time with her heartbeat anymore.

Michael walked out of the motel with her to a waiting
minivan. He sat down in the bucket seat in the middle row. A man in a sheriff’s
uniform slid the door closed and got behind the steering wheel.

“Thank you, Cole,” Michael said when the sheriff
started the van.

Cassie let out a cry when a stabbing pain started in
her chest. It felt like a blade digging into flesh.

“I know it hurts. Hold on, little one,” Michael
whispered in her ear.

Cassie normally did not cry in front of others,
especially strangers, but she had never been in this kind of pain before in her
life. She sobbed into Michael’s chest as he held her. “It hurts.”

“I know. I am so sorry this happened to you,
sweetling
. I will make it better for you, I swear.” She
felt Michael wrap his arms around her, and his lips brushed across her
forehead. His breath fanned across her face. Her hands sought out his bare
skin. She should be embarrassed at how she pawed all over a stranger. Instead
she kissed his neck. She knew she was not imagining it this time. The burning
pain in her body lessened. “That feels better,” she whispered.

“Skin contact is helping to ease your symptoms,” he
murmured.

“Surely there cannot be a soul bond with a human,”
Cole said from the front seat.

 
Michael
murmured something then looked up. “It’s possible. She has shifter
essence,
otherwise Lucas’s bite would have only given her a
very painful bite, nothing more.”

They pulled under the canopy of the hospital, and Cole
quickly got out and opened the sliding door.

Cassie saw a man, with blond hair cut military style,
standing in the doorway. “I have everything ready.”

They walked down several halls and into a hospital
room. Typical of small town hospitals it looked more like a bedroom than a
hospital room. Michael put her down on the bed,
then
stepped away. Cassie’s back arched as all the pain that had been relieved came
back in an instant.

Doctor Trask looked from Cassie to Michael. “Strip off
that shirt, and get hers off as well. I want you two touching skin to skin.”

Cole looked incredulous. “You do not really think they
have that strong of a link?”

 
“You saw the
same thing I did. The presence in her is calming with Michael’s skin contact.
She will not even be able to keep this serum down in her state.”

“But she is part human. How can she they have formed a
bond this strong already?” Cole asked.

“I have heard of it a few times. It is rare, very
rare, but it can happen.”

Cassie gasped and struggled as much as her aching arms
would allow. The doctor was cutting off her clothes!
With two
other men in the room.
“Stop.”
She blocked him
from coming near her with the scissors.

“Hush. This will help,” he told Cassie as he brushed
her hands aside.

Michael pulled off his own shirt and crawled onto the
bed with her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him,
holding her still. She took a relieved breath when the pain and nausea eased.
Embarrassment made her cheeks burn now that the pain was fading.

“What were they talking about?” Cassie asked looking
up into Michael’s eyes.

“Soul bond?
It is hard to
explain, but our souls have already bonded. Our essence is similar, too. The
essence in you recognizes the essence in me. I would have been able to calm it
just by being a guardian, but since we are soul bonded, I can lessen the pain
even more,” he explained.

“Stirring essence?” She rested her face against his
bare chest, ran her hands over his bare skin, and continued to give him light
kisses. She should feel embarrassed by being so intimate with a man she didn’t
know, but it felt right. She felt like he had been her lover for years, and she
was simply claiming what was already hers.
 
She never even flinched when he ran his hands over her skin. Was he
really running his hands along her bare skin? What did make her blush was how
much she enjoyed the skin to skin contact, and it didn’t have all that much to
do with how much better she felt either.

“It is a little like magic. Essence or
presence are
the best words I can think of that you will
understand.
 
I will explain more of it to
you when you are feeling better. For now, you were bitten by a shifter, and
some of his essence entered your body. The dormant essence in you began to
stir.” Michael ran his hands around her mound.

Cassie tensed. This man she did not know was stroking
her, there! “Don’t.” She tried to wiggle away from him.

“
Shhh
, Cassandra.” He kissed
her temple. “I know this is uncomfortable, but I need to calm the essence
enough for the serum to work. This is one of the fastest ways. Trust me,
please. I won’t hurt you.” She kept her fingers dug into his forearm while his
fingers slipped into the cleft between her legs.

Cassie gasped when his finger parted her soft petals
and skimmed over her clit. She closed her eyes and focused on the feeling of
him spreading her most secret place. Using a finger he spread her nectar over
her clit. Her hips moved
on their own,
and her
breathing turned ragged.

An ache that had nothing to do with the pain in her
body formed. She opened her legs to allow him access. His hands moved lightly
circling her nest of curls, then moving to her thigh. He softly stroked down
one leg than up the other. Her body shivered with pleasure, making her wish he
would stroke her clit again.
There are
other people here! You don’t even know him.
She should shove him away from
her and make him leave.
But he is so
strong.
I already tried to get away
.
She drew him closer instead of pushing him away. Even though there were other
people there, watching, she didn’t care. She wanted him too much.
I want him more than I have ever wanted a
man before. I can’t get enough of him.

“She isn’t fighting the bond, so that will help a
lot.” Doctor Trask’s voice came from behind her.

Michael kissed Cassie’s forehead.
“Such
a brave girl.
Do you feel the pull as strongly as I do?” His strong male
fingers returned to caressing her wet secret flesh, making her clench her jaw
to keep from crying out at the blissful feeling.

“Yes,” Cassie whispered. “I want you so much.”
 
Even Tom, whom she’d almost married a few
years back, never turned her on like this while making love to her. He was a
good man despite his lack of skills in the bedroom. When he was offered a
prestigious position in Norway she’d insisted he take it, even if she didn’t
want to go. He had been willing to stay and take a huge hit on his career. She
would not let him do that and called off their engagement. They had ended their
engagement peacefully, and they still spoke now and then. Both of them admitted
they hadn’t been ready and it was a good thing they’d ended their engagement.

Michael leaned his head down and ran his tongue
sensually over her lips. She opened for him and felt another wave of lust wash
over her. “I want you just as much,” he whispered in her ear. “That is the bond
between us. The pleasure I give you will help ease your pain through most of
the change.” His finger stroked through her now soaking wet curls, driving all
thoughts of her ex-boyfriend out of her head. She gasped and opened her legs
even further, shocking herself with her brazenness. She pulled her legs
together and squirmed away from him in a sudden wave of embarrassment. She
looked at him stunned when she realized that the pain had eased. “I feel better
now.” He had been right.

He pulled his body away from her, letting her think
clearly again. “It is because I am a guardian, and I can calm the essence in
you. The faster the essence moves and changes you, the more ill you will
become.”

“I have what?
Essence?
I don’t
understand?” She was going to ask more questions when he placed his hand over
the bite on her shoulder. It grew hot where he was holding his hand. Cassie
squirmed trying to escape the uncomfortable heat, but Michael held her firmly
to him.

“Hold still,” he commanded her.

She looked over where his hand rested and saw it was
glowing slightly like she had seen in the woods. “What is that? What are you
doing?”
 
Now that she was thinking
clearly she was a little frightened by her reaction to him. This was not
natural. He was doing something to her. She could not help but think of what he
had done to that man in the woods. She tried to wiggle away, but he only held
her tighter to him.

“
It’s
okay, Cassandra. I am
helping your body to adapt to the essence.” Michael spoke softly to her. She
looked into his face and calmed down. That feeling of being safe with him
returned as he simply held her.

The doctor came over with a glass of brown liquid. “Drink
this.”

Cassie eyed the glass dubiously. “What is it?”

“It is to help you feel better so you can think
clearly. There are some important decisions you need to make. It isn’t fair to
make you decide when you are feeling so sick and willing to do anything to make
the pain go away.”

Cassie took the glass and sniffed it. It did not smell
terrible. She stuck her tongue out to take a little taste.

“Drink it, Cassandra,” Michael ordered her.

“Cassie. Everyone calls me Cassie,” she said quietly
while slowly moving her tongue towards the brown liquid.

“Cassie, it does not taste good. Just drink it
quickly.” Michael raised his eyebrows at her expectantly when she looked up at
his face.

“Here goes.” She tipped the glass so she could drink
it quickly. Michael was right. It tasted bad. She shuddered at the bitter
flavor, but she kept drinking instead of stopping. Despite that she just met
this man in the worst moment of her life, she trusted him. Something in her
heart told her that he was a good man and he wouldn’t hurt her.

“Good girl.” He smiled at her once the glass was
empty.

The doctor came closer to her. “The effects should
happen fairly soon.”

The three men in the room stared at her as if they
expected her to sprout wings at any moment. Instead her stomach calmed, and the
bone breaking pain ended. She looked up and noticed the room did not spin at
all and her vision had cleared. “I feel better.” She grinned at Michael. “Thank
you so much. I feel normal again.”