Filed to story: Cara Nelson The Guardian: Werewolf Book PDF Free
“He was carrying a toddler. I think it’s the child Liam and Rik told me about.” She says quietly.
“That’s very possible, and it’s possible that his mate will be here. If you plan to confront also very him while we’re here, you need to be prepared for that.” I hold her for another couple of minutes.
“Come on. Let’s take a shower and get into bed. We have a very early morning and we’ve had a long day of traveling.”
“What about trying?” My sassy mate says as she gets off my lap.
“Who says we can’t ‘try’ in the shower?” I say, and I chase my mate into the bathroom where we’ try’ three times before we finally drop into bed.
The next morning, we both groan when the alarm wakes us ridiculously early, but by the time we get to breakfast, the energy is buzzing from everywhere and we’re ready to cheer our warriors on to victory.
As we’re eating, the elders come in to announce the beginning of the tournament.
“Welcome to the Tournament of the Moon Goddess. This four-day tournament will showcase the strengths of your packs and allow us to rank the packs in strength and numbers.”
He goes through an explaination of how the days will be divided, points given and that each day the packs will be ranked based on their total number of points. There is a challenger board, where we can watch the progression of the matches and see which of the challengers progresses as well as who they will fight in the next round. All fights will be in human form, which is why Carlos is able to participate.
After breakfast, the battles begin. These initial fights are elimination of the weaker packs, and because there are so many packs, it’s time consuming.
At lunch time, everyone breaks to eat. We meet up with Cara, Rik, Liam and Angel. All our warriors are still in the battle. The first two rounds have been completed, eliminating just under 2500 wolves. The afternoon battles will have fewer contestants, but they will last longer as the stronger warriors progress to the next levels.
We’re getting food and finding a table when Angel turns. “Jude?”
I watch as an older gentleman turns, looking at Angel. “Do I know you?”
Angel sets down her tray before walking over to the gentleman. Liam is watching her uneasily, and Grace reaches her arms out to take Richie. Liam passes him off and follows Angel.
“Jude. It’s me, Angel Bennis. Well, I’m Angel Holstin now.
“Angel? Angel, oh my goddess.” He says and pulls her into a hug, eliciting a loud snarl from Liam. Jude immediately drops his arms stepping back.
“Alpha Liam. I meant no disrespect. I was friends with Angel’s father. We were warriors together.” He says, exposing his throat in submission. I guess everyone here knows the Alpha of the pack that has been named the strongest for nearly a decade.
Angel turns to Liam. “Jude was the one that helped my family. The only time I remember feeling safe after we left the pack.”
Liam’s entire demeanor changes and he reaches o helping my mate and her family.” his hand. “I owe you a debt of gratitude for
Jude looks back at Angel. “When we found your parents…” He stops, getting choked up. “We thought, we thought you…”
“It’s a long story. One I’d be happy to share when we have more time if you want to hear it.”
“I want to hear it.”
As I watch, another Alpha walks up. “Jude, what’s going on here?”
“Alpha Paul, May I introduce you to Liam and Angel Holstin. Angel is the daughter of Richard and Kathryn Bennis.” Jude’s manner changes as the Alpha approaches. He is no longer relaxed. His Alpha or this conversation is making him nervous.
The Alpha turns to Jude. “The couple that left our pack so suddenly and we later found killed? But I thought their daughter died with them.” He says, turning back to Angel.
I can see that Angel is following Jude’s lead and treading lightly in the conversation. “No, as ! mentioned to Jude, it’s a long story and one that we don’t have time to get into right now.”
The Alpha stares at Angel a moment too long, causing Liam to step closer to her, putting his arm around her protectively.
“I would like to know why your family left. From what my father tells me, he never understood why his Lead Warrior would just leave and turn rogue. He searched for your family for years until we found them dead.”
“Angel’s father didn’t trust your father with his daughter’s life.” Liam says.
“My father would never have harmed a member of his pack. That is preposterous. I don’t know what you think your father’s reasons were, but my father was a good Alpha.” As I watch, Jude’s jaw clenches. Definitely something going on there.
“What is it?” Grace asks me, patting Richie on the back and bouncing softly like I’ve seen Angel and Cara doing when they are holding the babies.
“Something is off with that Alpha. We’ve seen too many of our pack members react around Alphas. not to notice the signs.” I say quietly. Grace looks over and it only takes her a minute.
“Definitely something off. Do you know who they are?” She replies just as quietly.
“I’m getting that they are from Angel’s pack. The one her parents ran from when they found out.” I don’t say any more since we’re in a room full of shifters and everyone can hear. Angel hasn’t announced what she is, and it isn’t my place to say it.
Liam reaches over and kisses she side of Angel’s head, his eyes never leaving the Alpha. “Show him, little angel.”
My eyes go to the Alpha. I see the minute Angel’s eyes change. His eyes go from offended to covetous. And that’s why her parents took her and ran.
“Guardian.” He says it in a purring voice that makes even my skin crawl.
“Well, the wolf’s out of the bag now.” Cara says beside us. I look around the room and see that it’s gone quiet. But they aren’t all just looking at Angel. They’ve noticed that our packs are close. They are looking at Cara and Grace now, too.
Maia pushes forward, answering the question of the Alphas in the room. I hear a collective gasp and realize that Artemis has come forward as well.
“All happily marked and mated.” Rik says, his voice a challenge as he stands. I realize he has passed Lily back to Cara. He’s ready for a fight.
Eli’s arm goes around me possessively. When I look, I see Louis shining in his eyes. Rik’s and Liam’s eyes have their wolves shining in them as well. It’s a clear threat. Do not touch what is mine.
One of the elders who is managing the tournament stands. “Alphas. No one will attempt to take your mates from you. This is a competition, but it is friendly. Your mates are marked, and everyone here can smell your scents on them. Anyone who is paying attention will have seen the three females that will battle on the Alpha Day. Perhaps they believed they were Alpha females. but now we all know, it’s the Guardians that are here to battle. Let us finish our lunch and get back to the competition.”
With that, the tension dissipates. Liam guides Angel back to our table, but his eyes haven’t left the Alpha. When they sit, I hand Richie back to Angel. It’s almost like everyone in the room just realized that there are two babies at our table that belong to Guardians. It feels like it solidifies. the fact that we are taken.
After lunch, the packs with warriors still in battle go back to the battlefield. Others choose to go watch while some take the afternoon to let their wolves run or relax. By 4pm, we have gotten to the final 100 warriors. All the warriors from our three packs are still in the running. By 6pm, that number has dropped to 50 and some of Rik’s and Liam’s warriors were eliminated by our warriors and a couple other warriors that are doing very well are still in the fight. By 8pm, we are down to the final 10. Eli and I have five warriors still fighting, Liam has three and Rik has two. All the other packs have been eliminated.
By 10pm, the battles are over. Our warrior, Ezra, came in first, and Eli and I decide we will offer him the Lead Warrior position when we return home. Liam’s warrior took second and Rik’s took third place, Liam’s warriors and ours both earned extra points for either taking out their opponent with one hit or fighting through their injuries.
At the end of the day, the rankings flash up on the leader board:
1st Place: Shadow Falls Pack 230 points