Page 25 of The Hidden Guardian
His brow furrows. He shrugs, not understanding me. My fingers flip through the pages, but there are no symbols for Alpha order. Instead, I change the subject. “Why me?” I point to myself. “Why Awe-tum?”
He seems to understand that as he takes the pencil and draws the M for wolf, the figure eight on its side for Guardian, and around it a circle. The symbols mean a special bond, very strong bond, or possibly a mate. He thinks I’m his mate. Hissoulmate.
“How can you be so sure?”
He growls something at me I don’t understand. Before he points from my heart to his. He repeats this a few times.
“The bond? Between us … it tells you this?” I bite my lip, I don’t want to ask, but I have to understand why. “Did you feel this with your last Guardian?”
His brows furrow.
I point to the moon he drew when we were talking about her. “Did you not–” I point between our hearts like he did to show the bond. “Feelherlikethis?” I stammer, I never met this Guardian. The woman before me, yet a pang of jealousy pings through me. Renall grabs my fingers and places them flat on his warm chest.
“No,” he states so clearly, no wolf accent in sight.
That sixth sense I’ve always felt must be the bond he’s talking about. With Colton it was different as well. It’s not just danger and calmness like with Colton. With Renall I feel worry and anticipation. I sense what he’s feeling, thinking even. After I felt the silence when Colton … well, that deep part of me ached in the empty shell of my grief. The bond started up again, it felt as though my very being was going to be ripped in two. When that feeling came back, it was stronger than any warning or sense I’d ever experienced. Could Renall be right, that we have a special bond? I just hope that what we share is enough to keep both of us alive.
ChapterSixteen
RENALL
The pen as Rawe-tum calls it, glides across the smooth, lined parchment. I don’t care what Lupe ordered me to do. Rawe-tum deserves to know.
I don’t think I’ll ever forget the way Lupe looked at me standing out on that ledge a few hours ago.
Eyes hardened, without a shadow of hesitation in her, she told me, “She isnotto know our true purpose until your fate is decided.”
“My fate …” Of course, I should have expected this. Should have thought beyond the trial, but I don’t think I ever truly thought it would end badly for me. Lupe’s eyes told me she never pictured it any other way.
Lupe is many things: strong, determined, loyal, but understanding is not one of them. As she walked away, I felt the need to remind her. “I would think you of all people would understand. You were an outsider once too.”
She whipped around on me, fire burning in her eyes. “Don’t tell me what I should understand. It is because of where I came from that I make the decisions I do. It’s better she learns the truth now than coddle her as you are doing.”
“This place hardened you, Lupe. I barely recognize who you are anymore.”
“This place, Renall, this calling—you of all people should know it brings out the beast in all of us.”
With that, she stepped out from the ledge. I flinched at a vague memory that triggered my muscles to twitch, but the earth formed steps under her feet until she landed at the bottom, and the steps then dissipated to sand and fell to the floor.
She may have ordered me not to tell my Guardian, but I’ve disobeyed an Alpha order— her puny words mean nothing to me. She is not my Queen.
I finish the drawing and turn the notebook toward Rawe-tum.
“A tree? Yes, I know Guardians can create trees.”
“No.” I shake my head, she’s not getting it. Pulling the notebook back, I draw the roots, the leaves, and tiny marks to show the glow, the life the tree can bring.
“Yes, we make them come alive, I understand all that, Renall … I just don’t understand what it’s all for. Maybe it’s a cultural thing.” She shrugs, confusion twisting across the bond. I’ll take confusion over fear any day. Fear. I will never forget the fear in her eyes as she flinched away from my blood-soaked hands. Never in my life will I make her feel that way again.
I don’t understand most of her words, so I continue to draw. She pulls closer, the scent of her hair distracts me, and my pen falters for a moment. I manage to continue to draw the wolves around the tree, the lake, and a bubble around us all. My clan is not known for being artists, but the rendition is adequate.
“The wolves …” She points, so I nod at her to continue. “Surround the tree.” Her finger circles the bubble I draw. “No, not surround … Protect, they protect it?”
“Pro-tect,” I repeat, mimicking her perfect lips. I still remember what they felt like on mine. I fantasize about it every single night. Gods, I would worship her if given the chance.
“That was good English.” She smiles, and I swear the moon rocks brighten in the walls behind her. “So the wolves protect the trees, and the tree is symbolic of Mother Nature, like Lupe said.”
“No!” I shake my head at the sound of Lupe’s name. “No Lupe,” I growl.
