Werewolves Be Damned

Chapter Ten


Nexi strode through her living room, dressed in black yoga pants, T-shirt, and running shoes. She still loved the home the Council had gifted to her. The night of Haven and Drake arguing which part of the castle she should live in would always amuse her. In the end, the Council decided to give her one of the apartments in the Guardians’ Hall, regardless that she was part witch.

She passed the matching beige sofas huddled around a stone fireplace that spanned floor to ceiling, the thick, dark oak table between the couches, and its vase filled with yellow tulips. Then she hurried to the front door with a happy stomach from the peanut butter and toast she’d eaten.

Once she shut her front door behind her, she made her way toward the Guardians’ Hall. She strode by the thick mahogany doors that had the name of the chambers’ owner carved into the wood with gold calligraphy.

When she passed by the door that read, Kyden, exhaustion weighed on her. She’d tossed and turned all day, sleeping a total of two hours, at best. Her thoughts remained on the incident with him last night, and all that happened. After she’d gotten over the shock that he’d kissed her, which had been the hottest kiss of her life, she was proud of herself for kicking Jaxon’s butt.

Kyden hadn’t said another word to her after he walked her to her door last night. He didn’t even look at her, he simply turned on his heel and left. That’s when the torment in her mind started and she began thinking…and thinking…and thinking.

Maybe she was being unfair to him. Perhaps her introduction to the supernatural world made her twitchy and defensive. For weeks now, he’d been patient when she knew deep down he wanted to take things further with her. He’d been a complete gentleman. A*sholes weren’t gentlemen. Sure, he could be a tad overbearing at times, but did that make him a horrible guy?

She didn’t think so.

Having her in the dangerous supernatural world made him worry, and she wondered if Kyden maybe wasn’t used to worrying about anything, which was why he came off so briskly. Perhaps he cared for her and it killed him to watch anyone hurt her.

Last night, she had an epiphany about this all, since she imagined how she’d react if she saw someone hurting him, and of course, she’d help him. Besides, when had she become so perfect she couldn’t accept someone for having a flaw? She had a long list of flaws herself she could name—her hot temper topping that list. Why did she always have to one-up Kyden? Why couldn’t they be a team? Work together, and not have this battle of wills?

Kyden was who he was, as he told her.

It so happened she liked who he was, too.

Tonight, she’d apologize.

Her running shoes scuffed against the floor in the Guardians’ House hallway, and the breeze coming through the windows warmed her chilled skin. As she rounded the corner and entered the Guardians’ Hall, silence greeted her. She spotted Kyden leaning against the back wall with his arms folded.

She swallowed her pride. “Kyden, I wanted to…”

His expression flared wicked hot in nothing less than a fit of rage, cutting off the rest of her apology. “You’ve been itching for a fight, little one.” His voice dipped in a near growl. “Let’s have it.”

Before she could process the change in his demeanor, he ran forward, slamming into her with the full force of his body. She flew back and kept sliding. All she could do was stare at him in total shock. He’d never shown this type of aggression toward her, even when she irritated him or when he manhandled her with his kiss.

Regardless, if he wanted a fight, she’d happily oblige him.

She continued to slide, but pushed off the floor at the same time and leapt to her feet. In the same moment, Kyden lunged. Before he hit, she slapped his face, with a force that should’ve been lethal. The loud crack echoed through the room, and he reeled away and came to a rest a few feet away.

He slowly raised his gaze. “Bet that felt good?”

With an, I-am-woman-hear-me-roar vengeance, she shouted, “You’re damn right it did.” What in the hell had she done to deserve his wrath? Or wait…had she gotten this all wrong, and he’d been tricking her? Was this the real Kyden, and the other one—the gentle one—was a fake stranger?

His eyelids lowered until she could only see his enlarged pupils through slits. Then he attacked, and she instantly regretted her words. Kyden had never used excessive force during training, and she punched him far harder now, but he moved swiftly.

She was thrown, squished, smacked, and even when Kyden hit, it didn’t hurt—telling her he didn’t use much force—but still, the jackass. And that was only to name a few of the assaults that came her way over the passing minutes.

All of which only pissed her off.

How dare he?

With a hard shove to her chest, he sent her flying across the room where she smashed against the wall. The power of it knocked the wind right out of her, and she lay still, forcing air into her screaming lungs.

Not allowing him to win, she shot forward, kicking out, landing a blow on his hip. He bent in response, and she swung the hardest uppercut into his jaw. His teeth clicked together, and he toppled ass first to the ground.

Within seconds, he rebounded and jabbed her in the side. She keeled over, only to receive a kick to the chest shoving her backward. She snatched up his arm, spinning him with her, and they both tumbled to the floor. He shoved her off with enough strength forcing her to give a harsh grunt, but she managed to get back to her feet and attacked again.

Never stopping.

Fighting hard.

Refusing to let him come out of this on top.

Leveling her with a low kick to her abdomen, he issued a right hook to her shoulder, and she stumbled back. Instantly recovering, she rushed forward and blasted him across the cheek. Then she squatted and swiped his feet out from under him. When he landed, he smashed his head against the floor, but jumped up a second later and charged her.

Her refusal to end this seemed to burn Kyden. He came at her harder. For the first time ever, he truly frightened her, but that only fed her rage. She fought him as an equal and dug deep to offer him the same force he offered her.

Soon, though, she weakened, and he appeared to grow stronger. Her hits didn’t cause half the impact that they had, and her body exhausted. She delivered a high kick to his chest, and he retaliated by sending her ass first to the ground.

Struggling with herself, she didn’t want to walk away from this, but she couldn’t take anymore. That last hit left her dizzy, and everything ached. Sure, it wasn’t his hits that had caused her injuries, it had been her falls to the ground or her slams into the wall. But she couldn’t overpower him. He had her beat, and dammit, she knew it. Staggering to her feet, she snarled, “Go f*ck yourself.”

“Trust me, Álainn.” He stood, breathing heavily, sweat glistening across his chest. “In that capacity, I work much better as a team.”

Scowling at him, she spun away. She only managed one step before he stopped her with a gentle grip on her arm, which made no sense considering how rough he’d been moment’s ago. “Nexi—” he murmured.

She jerked out of his hold. “Don’t you say a goddamn word.”

“Listen–”

Lunging at him, she smacked her hand over his mouth. “Not one f*cking word, Kyden.”

With a reaction she couldn’t believe, he smiled beneath her hand, and her anger quadrupled. Before she could blast him one, he stepped forward, quickly placing her over his shoulder.

He chuckled. “Come on, you.”

She pounded on his back. “Put me down. Right now.”

“Umm…” He hesitated, striding out the Guardians’ Hall door. “No, I don’t think I will.”

“First you beat up a woman, then you kidnap her.” She hit his back and fought against a vice grip of an arm around her butt. “Such a gentleman.” Maybe the ‘beating up a woman’ was a bit harsh, since she did ache more from him blocking, and things like floors and walls, than any hits he inflicted.

Not like she’d point that out now, she was too busy beating the hell out of his back to even bother looking where they were going. His grip never loosened, but at least she’d cause a bruise or two. He deserved that.

Laughter suddenly erupted around her, and even so, she remained too pissed to give a shit. Her only focus now: getting out of this caveman’s grip.

After she delivered a few more wicked thumps to his back, he grunted, then lowered her from his shoulder. “You can stop that now.”

She got right in his face. “If you ever do that again, I’ll—”

“Turn around.”

Spinning on her heel, she discovered that not only Talon stood in front of her in the Council’s Foyer, but Drake and Zia were there too, all eyes on her. Before she could stop herself, she snapped, “What?”

Zia glanced over her from head to toe. “You have some injuries.” Before Nexi could retort with a Wonder why, and a death look at Kyden, Zia added, “Here, let me help.”

The second her fingers wrapped around Nexi’s, heat shot up her arm and tingles—almost like pins and needles—rushed through her veins, all throughout her body. But in the places that ached the most, she noticed a slight sting, even if it only lasted a second.

When the magic disengaged, Nexi exhaled, giving her body a little shake, realizing all her discomfort had vanished. Maybe she even seemed a little more energized now, as if Zia had given her a couple shots of espresso. “That is beyond strange your magic can do that.” She stretched out her fingers and confirmed that all her aches were gone. “But handy. Thank you.”

Zia smiled. “Anytime.”

“Now then,” Talon said, commanding her attention. “Kyden told us last night he thought you were ready for the guardian trials. ” He looked to Kyden. “You wanted tonight to be sure, so what’s your verdict. Is she ready?”

He nodded. “She is.”

Everything about their whole exchange made her head spin and she fought to catch up, giving her head a firm shake. “Wait. Ready for the what?”

Talon turned to her. “To go through your final tests as a guardian. If you pass the trials, you’ll join the Council’s Guard. If you fail, you’ll become a shield.”

Again, like usual, it seemed, what had come out of his mouth made no sense, and for some reason they expected that it would. Of course, her mind still hadn’t caught up, and now she realized she’d be wrong…again. “Wait a damn minute.” She held up her hand and to Kyden, she said, “Tonight, you acting like that, it was all a test?”

His eyes darkened, jaw clenched. “I’m not in the habit of picking physical fights with women for the hell of it.”

Why did she keep doing that, thinking the worst things of him when he’d been nothing but helping her? She should’ve known something more was going on with the fight tonight. Not that he had an actual desire to beat her up and watch her fail. Heck, he’d been training her to ensure she succeeded.

Heaving a long sigh, feeling like a total douche, she asked, “Now, onto the other stuff, what exactly is a shield?”

Zia said, “Think of it as a bodyguard for those in the Earthworld who need protection.”

That didn’t sound appealing in the least. Leaving the Otherworld, moving away from Drake, Haven…and Kyden? She had found a home here now and had no intention of leaving, which meant she needed more information. “What are the guardian trials?”

Talon said, “To succeed the trails, you’ll have to battle a vampire and werewolf.”

Nexi had already been through the wringer tonight. The thought of killing anyone, who likely didn’t deserve it, would pretty much send her right over the edge. “Please tell me this isn’t to the death.”

“We’re not barbaric, Nexi.” Zia laughed. “You’ll use a practice sword. It’s sharp enough to cut but won’t kill, and any injuries that do occur, I’ll heal.”

Turning to Kyden, Nexi expressed another concern. “Shouldn’t I have practiced this whole sword business? I mean, I know I killed Jaxon, but I didn’t really fight with the sword, more just stabbed him.”

He shook his head. “You’re a guardian. It’s what we do. Your sword is as much a part of you as the rest of your body. Trust me, it’ll feel natural when you use it.”

While she didn’t want to leave the Otherworld, she also had reservations, considering what unfolded only a few minutes ago. “You saw me tonight.”

His eyes were gentle. “I saw you do well.”

“Fail, you mean.”

“No, not fail,” he said in a soft voice. “You lasted against me much longer than I thought you would. You’re ready for this.”

Sure, Kyden was the best-of-the-best when it came to guardians, other than his big ol’ dad. However, everyone missed one important fact. “I only fought like that—” She glanced at Kyden. “I had motivation for fighting as hard as I did tonight. I doubt I could repeat that.”

Drake gave a you’ve got this type of nod. “Anger can be a good motivator, so just draw on it, and I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

She grumbled, as her options dwindled. “Do I have a choice?”

Talon said, “Kyden told us you’re ready, declaring your training is over. That’s the end of it.”

Drake squeezed her arm in a reassuring fatherly way. “I wouldn’t allow this if I didn’t think you were ready, but I do believe it’s time.” He backed away, giving her a strong nod. “We’ll wait for you in the Council’s Hall.”

Wondering if she held the same level of self-assurance, Nexi watched Drake follow Zia and Talon into the Council’s Hall. Even after they vanished through the door, she still hadn’t decided where exactly she sat on the confidence meter.

“I had something made for you,” Kyden said.

She turned to him and now that she was no longer seeing everything through a haze of red, she noticed injuries she inflicted on him. He had bruises and cuts on his face. “Why didn’t Zia heal you?”

“Earlier tonight I told her not to.” Darkness rippled across his features. “I did not enjoy anything about this evening. Not having to push you as hard as I did. Not watching you fail. And not fighting with you.” He approached the wall and picked up a medium-sized white box with a pink bow from the floor.

Returning to her, he offered the gift. “Here, for you.”

She remained stuck on his injuries, and she couldn’t decide if not healing himself was the sweetest gesture ever or just plain stupid. He put the gift into her hands, and she blinked away from examining him.

Keeping the box in her arms, she undid the bow, wondering why he decided to give her a gift now. If this night got any more confusing…no, she hoped this was the end of it. When she slid the lid off the package, her breath hitched. Reaching into the gift, and surrounded by pink paper, she lifted out female guardian gear. She let the box and the boots fall to the floor, inhaling the warm scent of leather.

The design was very similar to Kyden’s, only a hell of a lot smaller. Plus she had a matching brown leather bra with the kilt, and tiny black shorts. Obviously, a man had designed this gear. No woman in her right mind would want to fight anything wearing nothing but blinged up undergarments.

Running her hand over the soft leather, she examined her gear, when she spotted something and did a double take. Along the top of the kilt, resting at the hip, was a willow tree engraved into the leather. As she traced the etching, the design was smooth under her touch. She looked up at Kyden, and he stared down at her with tenderness. Her breath caught with emotion and her voice became stuck in her throat.

Turning away from her, Kyden strode toward the Council’s Hall. “Get into your gear and meet me back here.”