The Protector Read online

  “Warren,” Michael called out, distracting Cole from his thoughts. “Come here.”

  Warren held his head high as he walked into the grove of trees Michael was standing in. Cole felt sick to his stomach, and his hands shook. The forest was deathly silent making the atmosphere all the more foreboding.

  Cole waited, staring intently into the trees for any sign of movement. Cole saw a glow coming from the middle of the trees. It became brighter, and he saw Michael holding his hands over Warren. Warren fell to his knees, his face turned up towards Michael. The two men glowed with their Goddess’s light while Michael spoke too softly to be heard. The glow faded, leaving them in darkness once more. Please, Goddess, have mercy on my uncle.

  Cole tried to think about what to do now. Whatever punishment Warren received, Cole could not interfere. Michael and Warren appeared out of the tree line. Soon he would know the punishment that Michael had handed down.

  Cole’s anger grew. Warren might be banished for avenging Brian and Nathan’s murder. Those hunters murdered my friends and fellow cholan. Those humans knew they were not pure animals, and they shot them anyway. Cole turned and fell to his knees by Brian’s body. He felt like his emotions shut down as he sat in the snow watching the chaos with horror. Brian and Nathan are fucking dead. What the hell is Myra going to do? Both her mate and brother are gone, just like that. Cole closed his eyes. Maybe cholan had no business mating and creating children.

  Cole was unsure how long he sat there staring at his friend, when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Michael standing over him. His face looked grim and sad at the same time. Warren was standing next to him looking pale. Cole noticed the Sheriff badge was gone from Warren’s coat, and his gun was gone, too.

  “Is it as bad as I feared it would be?” Cole asked, looking at Warren.

  Warren shook his head. “No, I was not banished. Our Goddess Ilithyia had mercy on me. I have resigned as Kelach and territory beta, although I will stay close to train you, but right now, you are Kelach and beta.”

  Cole shook his head in denial. “No, I’m not ready. I can’t take your place.”

  Michael firmed his grip. “It is done. He denied these two men a fair judgment, even though I would have sentenced them to death. They came onto our lands with the intent of killing shifters. I would not have let them leave here alive.” Michael gave Warren a direct look. “Warren chose to resign though.”

  Cole frowned. He thought Michael’s tone was odd, but he was too tired to think about it. Shaking off the thought he looked back to his friend, Brian. “Who will tell Myra?” Cole stood up, Aaron covered up Nathan and Brian’s bodies, and he needed to start standing up like a full grown wolf instead of a pup.

  Michael looked him in the eye. “You and Warren will go, together. I do not want many shifters knowing what happened here. None of you are to repeat what happened today. Facts have a way of getting twisted, and before long it will spread to nefarious shifters and humans. As far as anyone knows, Warren stepped down to care for Myra and the boys after the death of her mate." He turned to the other shifters in the clearing. "Does everyone understand?”

  “Yes, Guardian,” the shifters said together.

  Cole nodded his understanding. Warren, Brian, and Myra had never made their triad formal, so technically, Warren had no right to claim vengeance. If they had only gone through the ceremony, then Cole would not be looking at the responsibility of being the territory’s beta and Kelach right now.

  Michael looked at Travis, who appeared agitated by the judgment. “If shifters go around killing humans, we would be exposed, and probably hunted down. I understand your anger. This is for the good of all of us. Ilithyia handed down her punishment to Warren. This matter is closed.”

  Cole had a cold dread growing in his gut. There was too much falling on him at once. He couldn’t take this position and a new mate all at the same time. It was too much to cope with and too much to put onto his betrothed, Blair. What if cholan showed up at her house to tell her he was dead? What if he and Blair had children? He needed time to think.

  Warren handed Cole the brass sheriff’s badge. “I will formally step down tomorrow morning, and I will make it known I am stepping down for Myra and the boys. It’s not a lie. Even if I had not killed the humans, I would have wanted to be with my family more. They need me more than ever now.”

  Cole felt tears form in his eyes, as Aaron, Travis, and Brad picked up Brian’s body to carry it to a waiting ambulance. In an instant, their lives had changed in devastating and tragic ways. Cole drew a shaking breath. He was on the verge of breaking down. “What will you do?”

  “For now, you and I are going to tell Myra.”

  ****

  Cole and Warren walked up the walkway, carefully avoiding the snow covered toys littering the front yard. Warren pulled the screen door open, then knocked on the wooden door. Cole’s sensitive hearing could hear the baby fuss and Myra starting the swing. I am about to ruin her happy life. At this moment, everything is fine in her life. Cole willed time to stop so she would never open that door and learn her mate would never return to her, and her brother was gone forever.

  The door opened, and Myra smiled at them. “Warren, Cole,” she said cheerfully. "Come in, it’s freezing out here.”

  Warren, still acting the part of a Kelach, took the lead. “Thank you, Myra.” They both walked into the small entryway of their home. Warren grabbed Myra’s hands. “Myra, I need to talk to you.”

  Cole could tell she sensed the tension in the air. She looked from Cole to Warren. “Ok,” she said slowly, her face paling.

  Warren pulled her into the bedroom. He took both of Myra’s hands in his own large ones, looking down at her. The baby, Andy, started to fuss in his crib. Cole walked over and picked him up. He looked so much like his father, Brian. He would grow up without one of his fathers now. It wasn’t fair. He rocked the baby, as Myra’s scream shattered the silence.

  “No,” she cried in a long, heartbroken wail. “Brian,” she cried again.

  He heard Warren murmuring, “Myra, I am so, so sorry.”

  Thomas, their older boy, came running over to Cole. “Mommy is crying.”

  “Yes, she is. She has gotten some sad news. Uncle Warren is in there with her.” He would be willing to tell the boys, but he knew it wasn't his place to tell the child his father and his uncle had died. That was Myra and Warren's decision as to how that conversation was to happen. Thomas clung to him looking worriedly towards the bedroom where Myra continued to cry uncontrollably, and Cole rocked the baby while Myra cried for her lost mate and brother. He knew he would be here for a while, so he took off his jacket. He sat down in the recliner, and no sooner had he sat down, Thomas was in his lap sucking his thumb. The baby looked around, concerned, and Cole's thoughts went to his beautiful Blair. They had been best friends as cubs and had always been together. Now they were seriously dating and he had planned to mate her, but now, he was not so sure mating was a good idea.

  He was still reeling from the day's events, and the urge to walk away from Blair was strong. What kind of mate would I be if I want to run away? Being the Kelach is a dangerous job. Add in the fact I am a coward who wants to run. I am not a good mate for Blair. She deserves someone strong. If anything happens to me that would be her screaming in grief, and possibly left alone with our children.

  ****

  Blair heard Cole walk up the stairs of her little house. She ran to the door to unlock it, expecting Cole to be happy to see her. Instead, he was bloody and had a haunted look in his eyes.

  “Cole! Goddess, what has happened to you?”

  Cole didn’t move from the doorway. He stared at her but seemed to see straight through her. “There was a shooting. Hunters came into our territory.”

  Blair stood in the middle of the living room staring at Cole. She had a warm fire going in the wood stove, but she was growing colder.

  “Who?” she whispered, feeling her heart poun
d. In this size of a town, Blair was sure to know whoever it was.

  Cole did not look at her as he said, “Brian and Nathan.”

  Blair’s hands covered her face. She felt tears falling down her cheeks. “Goddess. Poor Myra. Both her brother and her mate?” Blair walked over to Cole, but when she tried to put her hands around his waist he stopped her. She looked up at him confused.

  Cole took her hands in his. “Blair, I think we should slow down. I need some space. I need to think.”

  Blair looked at him as if he’d struck her in the face. “You want space?” She knew what that meant. It was a nice way of calling off their plans to mate.

  Cole nodded. “I am sorry, Blair. I just can’t be a Kelach and worry about a mate and children.”

  Blair shook her head at Cole. “But you are not the Kelach yet.”

  “Yes, I am. Warren stepped down to look after Myra and the kids. I am the Kelach and territory beta under Michael. I will soon be the sheriff after a special election.”

  Blair backed away from Cole. Her vision wavered as tears filled her eyes. He was leaving her. She knew that shifter woman, Kathy, had her eye on him since Michael kept brushing her off. She was beautiful and had money. Perhaps he would choose Missy Hanson, who had a strong family, or Carol Mansfield, who had looks, money, and a strong family.

  Cole had finally decided that she was not good enough for him. She heard the door click and looked up. The last piece of her heart shattered as she realized he had really walked out on her.

  Chapter Two

  Present day

  Blair made a fresh pot of coffee and looked at the stamped tin on the wall. So much had happened in the last five years. Blair had left Pleasant Cove long behind when she moved to France to be with her parents. She’d left Cole behind as well, never expecting to return. She had taken a job as a cook in a local restaurant and found that she had her grandmother’s gift of being able to cook and bake nearly everything. She loved her job, and her parents were always off globe-trotting, so she always had her own space.

  She had occasionally spoken with some friends in Pleasant Cove, but international calling was expensive, so communication had been sparse, and in the time she was away she had learned to ignore the constant ache in her chest, thinking she was happy.

  One year ago her parents had come home and informed her that her Grandma Blair had passed away, leaving her the coffee shop. She could not resist the urge to return. The coffee shop was more than just a business to her grandmother. It was her life and the heart of the town. Blair wanted to continue what her grandmother had started so many years ago.

  Blair had many childhood memories of watching her grandmother prepare the dough for the pastries. Her grandmother had not only handed down her coffee and pastry shop, but her love of creating food as well. Blair could not allow the business to be sold. It would be like selling her childhood.

  When she’d moved back here a year ago, everyone had been thrilled with seeing her. She had missed Myra dearly. Their phone calls and messages did not make up for a real hug and face to face conversation. But the biggest hurdle she had to get over was seeing Cole again. She remembered thinking surely she was over him and he would be mated by now. It had been four years by that time.

  Then she had learned Cole had never mated either, and she’d wondered if his chest hurt, too. But what if it didn’t? Could she cope with the thought of Cole taking another woman to his bed?

  She remembered how her heart had fluttered in her chest when she had seen him again for the first time. Was that really a year ago? The sun had been just coming up making the stamped tin glow, and the door had chimed. Blair had looked up from cleaning the counters, and time had stopped as the air was sucked from her lungs as she saw his handsome face again. The hours preparing herself to see him on the flight back to Colorado had been for nothing. As soon as she saw him standing there in his sheriff’s uniform, looking as sexy as ever, she was a mess. He had matured in her time away, and the uniform suited him well. He looked sexier than ever, and it made her want to run into his arms. She waved shyly and quietly said, “Hi.”

  Cole walked towards her with a stunned expression on his face. “Hi, Blair. What are you doing back here?”

  Blair’s heart had broken all over again. He’d appeared shocked, not happy, to see her. Part of her had hoped he would take her in his arms and say he had waited for her. The look on his face had said otherwise. “Grandma Blair gave me the coffee shop. I couldn’t let it be sold, so I came home.”

  Cole had finally smiled. “I’m glad you’re home.”

  Blair had thought his smile looked forced, but that was ok. Pleasant Cove was big enough for the two of them. She had her friends to get reacquainted with, a business to run, and a home to clean up. That would keep her busy for a long time, and it had.

  An entire year had flown by since then, and she was in her coffee shop again, just like last year.

  Running her own business was a lot different from just cooking for someone else, as she had in France. In the past year she had learned how to run a business and be a manager. Now that she was on a good schedule, had the records straightened out, and a few good employees, she had a lot more time.

  She found most of her free time the last couple of months involved Cole. He showed up at her business, and stopped her on the street to talk. When he wasn’t invading her space, he overtook her thoughts. He was all she’d thought about since coming home. She found herself just as much in love with him as she had been five years ago. It would be easier to keep her schedule if Cole would stop coming into her business. Then she could think straight. He was around at least once a day, coming in for coffee and waiting for her, and only her to take his order, or walking her to the post office, and even home sometimes. It was always something, and very distracting.

  The coffee pot beeped telling her it was ready, drawing her out of her memories of the past.

  Blair looked up when the door opened letting the fresh breeze in, and she saw Cole walk into her coffee shop. His gaze scanned the large room until he found her. Her heart sped up when their eyes met, and she felt the same emotion she had denied for five years.

  Love.

  Cole talked to a few people before finding a table. He sat down, and his eyes roamed the coffee shop until he found her and signaled her to come over to him, and as always Blair walked over to him.

  She enjoyed their chats, nothing important, everyday chitchat, just like old friends.

  Cole stood up and pulled the chair out for her. Cole gave her his trademark look that melted her heart.

  “Hello, Blair. You are looking beautiful. How are you today?”

  “Fine, Cole.” She liked sitting down and talking to Cole. Her chest didn’t ache as bad when he was near to her.

  “Good. Michael says to tell you Cassie is doing very well and to thank you for all your help with the funeral arrangements.”

  Blair smiled and sat down in the empty chair. She liked Cassie and knew she was dealing with a lot right now with her new life as a shifter, along with coming to terms with the death of her friend. Cassie needed Michael, so the least Blair could do was make sure the funeral went well without taking up a lot of Michael’s spare time.

  “I like her. She is a good mate for him.” Blair was very happy for Michael and Cassie. Michael was a good man and a just Guardian. The townsfolk respected Michael, too. They were a tight knit community, so trust in their leaders was paramount. They were a good community, not just because of the small size of their town, far from the main road, but they were a mix of shifters and humans. These humans had been coexisting with the shifters for years, and all lived peacefully together. The territory council trusted the humans that lived there, and no human living in the town had ever betrayed a shifter.

  Michael used his abilities given to him by their Goddess, Ilithyia, to keep their town off of maps and tourist guides. Not many knew about their peaceful town, which kept their population small and tight.
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  Many women were attracted to Michael’s power, but he never had shown any interest in them. Blair had assumed Michael would be one of those shifters that would never mate. She wasn’t at all surprised to come home last year and find him still unmated. Then Michael had met Cassie. They were soul bonded already when they met. Ilithyia liked to meddle in the lives of her beloved shifters, and bonded some herself. Shifters called this a soul bond. They felt drawn to one another and complete when they were together.

  Some shifters could sense a soul bond, but Blair did not receive that gift from Ilithyia. She was a plain shifter who turned into a fox. Her sense of smell allowed her to scent humans, but not track anything, and her eyesight was only a little better than a human’s. Her father was a strong shifter, but her mother was a halfling that never chose to change into a full shifter. She could never get over the fear of the pain involved with changing to a shifter, and Blair’s father never pushed her to change. Blair seemed to have inherited more of her mother’s genes than her father’s.

  Cole’s face lit up in a smile, transforming his normally harsh looking features into the face she remembered before Cole became Kelach. “You do not know Cassie very well. How can you be so sure?"

  Blair raised her eyebrows at him and smirked. “I am a very good judge of character. Remember I told you she was harmless when I first picked her up, and later when the others were all worked up and scared she would bring us trouble.”

  Cole smiled his charming smile he used when he wanted to play with her. He wrapped his large, calloused hand around hers. “You are. I am sorry for not listening to you.”

  Blair looked into his eyes and saw the sincerity there. She felt the pull to him, and her body leaned towards him. She knew he meant what he said. The business phone for the coffee shop phone rang, and it brought her out of Cole’s spell. “I have to get back to work.” She looked around the room, blinking back tears.