Winter's Guardian (Her Guardian's Series Book 1) Read online

  "Vampire’s are real?" I whisper harshly.

  "Yes. Are you that shocked?" He laughs

  “What about the other two sons?” I ask.

  “Well I don’t know the whole story, just rumours but they started the witches and angel race.”

  “Witches? Angels? They are real too.” I sit back.

  “Yep.” He tells me.

  "Fairies? Dragons? Oh, I've always wanted to see a unicorn." I ask smiling widely and Harris starts laughing.

  "Who knows? I don't think there real but my mother always warned me that fairies would come and steal me if I was a bad child." He laughs with me and soon people are staring at the mad couple in the corner wiping tears from our eyes.

  “Honestly there are sub-demons. I don’t know if demons are real but their pests are. The sub-demons glamour themselves to look like rodents. They mainly do this for humans, so they don’t get killed or found out. Witches have familiars; they are sub-demons but can look like normal pets.” He says.

  "This is hard to believe if I hadn't seen it. How many of you are there? I mean supernaturals." I ask.

  "Well, that's a complicated question. No one really knows because of the wars between our kinds." He says quietly.

  "What wars?" I say just as quietly because some people walk past our table.

  "I can't tell you. Your human but let's say vampires are not like us, witches are neutral and help whoever pays. The angels are well, they are dicks but they hate witches." he says.

  "Why are vampires not like us?" I ask.

  "They feed on human’s Winter. They need you to survive." He says in a scary tone. The café is strangely quiet as his words scare me.

  “So how long do you live for? Are you immortal?” I ask.

  “We live for around two hundred years or so. All the supernatural have the same life span.” He tells me.

  My phone rings as Harris finishes his sandwiches like he hadn’t just told me all the secrets of the world.

  "Hey," I answer without looking.

  "I'm picking you up at five tonight." Jaxson’s growly voice says down the phone.

  "Alright," I answer, but the bastard has hung up on me.

  "Jax I'm guessing?" Harris laughs as he asks.

  "He is a rude asshole," I tell Harris.

  "Nah he just, well he doesn't let people close and he dislikes humans. It's not you," he tells me.

  "Right," I mutter not wanting Harris to see how that affected me. I stand up grabbing my bag to leave.

  "He is picking me up at five and I have an essay to finish tonight, so I have to go," I tell him as he stands too.

  Harris shocks me by pulling me into a tight hug.

  "We shifters can smell your strong emotions. Don't let Jax upset you because I have a feeling you’re going to change his stubborn mind." Harris whispers before letting me go.

  "Shoot, I forgot about the rest of my questions," I say as I put our rubbish in the bin by the door.

  "Another time." He laughs before we both walk out. I shoot a wave at Harris before turning and walking to my car and going home quickly to get some work done.

  The sound of my door being knocked distracts my attention from my laptop a few hours later that day. Alex walks in my room looking like someone just pushed her out of bed and yet she still looks great.

  "There is a seriously hot guy waiting for you in the lounge, want to explain?" Alex says raising an eyebrow at me. I almost laugh at her annoyed face in her fluffy pink PJ’s that she would never let a guy see her in.

  "Who is he? You've been holding out on me. First, it’s that hot guy in class and now this one," she crosses her arms with her face in a pout.

  "First off, it’s not like that with Harris,” I tell her truthfully; he seems like too much of a good friend to be anything more.

  “Second, the mildly attractive asshole out there is my new self-defence teacher. He lives near here and we are carpooling to class," I say. I don’t even admit the number of lies in that sentence to myself.

  I hate lying to her but at least some of it is true, we are doing self-defence because it’s the only way he could persuade me to spend time with the pack. Honestly, I loved learning how to defend myself growing up, I was always top my class and I won a lot of awards that my mum collects. After what Harris said today about all the different supernatural's out there, I want to see if they have weaknesses that I can use to defend myself.

  "Sure, that's why he is giving you a lift. For a smart girl, you’re so clueless," she shakes her head at me.

  "Honestly, he doesn't see me like that. I agreed to a date with Wyatt." I tell her and enjoy watching as her whole face lights up. I can see she is planning double weddings at this point, knowing my best friend as I do. That thought alone makes me want to run for the hills.

  "That's amazing." She squeals. I laugh grabbing my bag off the side of my bed and walking out my room with Alex following. I changed earlier into yoga pants and a tight-fitting tank top, knowing I would need to be able to move. My hair is up an in a tight bun so it’s out of the way, this is how I’ve always dressed when I go to class but as soon as I see Jaxson, I’m aware that I have too much skin on show.

  Jaxson is looking at a picture of me and Alex at a fun fair, that’s shown on the fireplace in the living room. We must have been around ten and I smile, remembering how happy I was that day.

  "Are you ready?" Jaxson asks turning away from the picture to look me in the eye. I can't help but feel a flush of heat looking at him dressed in black sweats with a tight black shirt showing off his impressive chest. My breath catches as I see him eyeing my outfit in the same way I'm checking him out, but as if he hears my inner thoughts he decides to glare at me. It should be scary to have him glaring at me but it isn’t. Oh no, it has a different kind of affect altogether.

  "Are you going to answer? Or have you forgotten the English language since we last met lass?" He asks.

  "Don't be a jackass already, let’s go," I say watching as he laughs deeply as he replies.

  "No one’s called me a jackass in a long time. It almost seems comical coming from someone like you." My anger burns as he continues to laugh and Alex clears her throat coming up behind me.

  "Jaxson, this is Alex," I introduce her through gritted teeth, while he turns on a charming smile.

  "Hello Alex, it's nice to meet you." He says politely, no sign of the previous rude Jaxson. My jaw drops open before I grit my teeth in annoyance. Alex ,he is nice too?

  "Likewise," Alex says winking at me.

  "Let’s go," I repeat as I walk past Alex, who pulls me into a hug before I can escape.

  "There is no way that man doesn't want to do naughty things with you," she whispers.

  I shake my head at her as she let’s go of me and I follow Jaxson out to his car.

  "So how is Freddy?" I ask when he starts driving for small talk.

  "Being Freddy. He talks about you a lot. I think you have an admirer." Jaxson smirks at me.

  "He is a sweet boy." I smile thinking of the little wolf.

  "Yes but slowly becoming a handful. His interest in girls is a new one." He laughs and I can't but join in.

  "I think that's normal for his age," I say.

  "So tell me, lass, are you looking forward to me showing you how to protect yourself?" He asks me.

  "I already know how to. So no, this is a waste of time," I tell him.

  "No, it's not. You've put yourself in a dangerous world. I promised Freddy I would make sure you are safe, so here we are." He says, acting like it’s worse thing in the world. I cross my arms ignoring him to look out the window, not liking his asshole behaviour. For one moment I thought we could get along and then he ruins it.

  Jaxson doesn’t stop the car when we come to the wall of trees, like last time, and drives right through them. I feel a slight wave of some kind of energy but it is nowhere near as bad as last time.

  “How does that work?” I ask Jaxson.

  “A witch created
the barrier, as long as the alpha is alive, no one can enter unless invited by a wolf or pack.” He tells me. I should have guessed it was some kind of magic.

  We don't speak as we drive past the cabins, with people as well as a few wolves watching our car. A lot of people stop what they are doing to stare at us and it's a little unnerving. The only good thing is the few children I see running through the cabins, playing ball. The wolves all look like normal people, of different ages and wearing modern clothes. I don’t know what I expected them to be like, but this wasn’t it. You couldn’t tell there was anything different about them, other than they all seem better looking than most people. I wonder if that’s a wolf thing.

  I wave back when a little boy about six starts jumping up and down, waving at me.

  "Don't worry lass, they haven't seen a human on pack lands in a little while." He tells me.

  "Why?" I ask still watching the people. They weren’t outside the last time we came, and I wonder if it’s because I was coming and they didn’t know what to expect.

  "Humans and wolves don't mix," he looks at me in a strange way as he talks like he is reminding himself of that fact. I want to reply but he makes it clear the conversation is off-limits by stopping the car and getting out.

  The slam of his door snaps me out of my internal thoughts and I jump out of my side of the car to follow Jaxson. He leads us around the main cabin and towards a large ground floor cabin, behind the main house. The outside is pretty empty of anything, and the building hasn’t got many windows.

  Jaxson opens the door for me and says as I walk in,

  "This is our training room." I watch as he moves away from me and flips a switch on the wall.

  My jaw drops as the massive room comes into view. It's fitted with grey plain walls and matching soft tile flooring. There is one wall full of every weapon you can imagine and all of them shine in silver as the lights hit them. The other wall has ropes and benches lined up, with mats on the wall.

  "There isn't anyone here," I comment as Jaxson pulls out two mats out from where they were resting on the wall and chucks them like they weigh nothing on to the floor. They slam making my ears ring.

  "No, I asked for it to empty for a few hours or everyone would want to talk to you." He says.

  "Did you ask them nicely? Did you say please?" I inquire with a chuckle and he doesn't answer me but I see the small smile he tries to hide.

  "Right smartass, we will start with stretches and then I want you to run on the treadmill for thirty minutes.” he tells me.

  “You’re joking right?” I ask and he puts his hands on his hips as he glares at me.

  “We will do hand to hand combat when you’re in shape." He states.

  “I am in shape!” I tell him.

  “I can see that,” he looks down my body; surprisingly it didn’t sound like an insult. More like a fact he is aware of but doesn’t want to be. Or he could just be a jackass, who knows?

  "Fine, let’s get this over with," I mutter, knowing there isn't much point to fighting him on this.

  Half an hour later, I practically fall off the treadmill which he set to super-fast speed, to piss me off. I'm sure of it and walk over to a happy looking Jaxson who is lifting some weights. Each weight looks the size of me, and it’s a little concerning how turned on I am at the sight of his straining muscles. I didn’t see him before when I was running because he was behind me.

  "Does my suffering make you happy?" I ask and he laughs. I'm a little caught off guard at how sexy he sounds when he laughing.

  "No lass, but we will be doing this three times a week and I thought thirty minutes instead of a normal hour, was me being nice." He is still laughing at me as he speaks.

  "Fuck you," I say slowly, crossing my arms and he laughs more. He coaxes me over the mat by waggling a finger at me.

  "Well you apparently know the basics, so I'm just going to attack you and you try to stop me." He shrugs.

  "Right, that's not fair, your shifter stuff makes you a hell of a lot stronger than me." I point out but I still lower myself into a defensive position as he smirks at me.

  "I will go easy lass," he chuckles like this is all a joke to him and then before I can blink he is front of me. It takes him less than a second to knock my legs from under me and all my previous training flies out the window. I blink for a few seconds feeling my ass hurt from that landing and glare up at him.

  "Come on lass, you’re better than that." He taunts me.

  I jump up and attack him, this time with my muscles remembering my classes. We go over the basics as he defends himself from me. The problem is, the man is a wall and no matter what I’m doing, he is still smirking at me.

  I somehow twist around him, as he grabs me and I elbow him in the back, before backing away again.

  "Your fast, good," he comments as we circle each other. For the next hour, he knocks me on my back a million times and I manage to get a few decent hits in. My body feels like it's on fire but he hasn't hurt me enough to have any bruises after this.

  "Last time," he says with a small smirk, as I wipe off the sweat off my head. I watch looks at the clock on the wall. It’s nearly seven and it’s still very light outside, which is normal for this time of year. I try not to look at Jaxson as he drinks some water, a few drops slip down his chin and down his throat. I find myself wishing I could lick the water off him. I shake my head as he puts the water down and faces me.

  This time he doesn't let me prepare for him and he knocks me to the ground straight away, shifting us both mid-air so he takes the brunt of the land and I’m landed smack on top of him.

  We both stare at each other, with our bodies pushed closely together, he rolls us over after a second. I shiver when he is on top of me but somehow not resting all his weight on me. I feel deliciously trapped between his muscled arms as he lifts a hand to push one of my escaping brown hairs out of my eyes, and his finger traces down my face.

  My breath catches as my eyes flutter to his perfect lips, as his eyes seem to be doing the same to mine. For one second I'm sure he is going to kiss me before he shuts down, pushing himself off me and walking out. The door slams, shaking the cabin with his anger.

  What the hell was I thinking to let him get that close anyway? It's clear he doesn't like me; I sit up looking around at the empty room before the door opens again. Freddy walks in with a big smile.

  "Winter!" He shouts running over to me as I stand, and soon I'm pulled into a big hug from a stronger than he looks little boy.

  "Freddy, can't breathe," I push out as Freddy laughs letting go.

  "Woops sorry, I kind of forgot your human." He says like it was a little bit of an insult to be human and I try not to take an offense about that.

  "Right. How are you? No more sneaking out I hope?" I ask.

  "No. I'm still grounded but it's alright. Do you want dinner? Fergus and his mate, Anna, are cooking." he asks quickly, looking far too excited.

  I look towards the door where Jaxson left and I know he wouldn't want me there.

  "No, I don't think I should come to dinner Freddy. As much as I want to see you, I think it would be a bad idea." I say placing my hand on his shoulder.

  "Please." He says with actual puppy dog eyes.

  "Come on; don't make him start his fake tears to convince you," Fergus says from the doorway with a smirk, very much like Jaxson’s littered on his face.

  "Would the tears work? I mean it works on Anna." Freddy smiles up at me, clearly proud of his work.

  "No needs for dramatics, I will eat with you, if that's ok Fergus?" I ask, glancing at the huge alpha. If it's possible he looks bigger now than when I first saw him. Despite the fact he is just wearing worn jeans and a blue shirt, he seems to command the room. His brown hair shorter than Jaxson’s is windswept. Even I have to admit he is attractive, looking like he should be cutting wood in a magazine for something. Maybe it’s just the resemblance to Jaxson, who I have to admit I have a crush on. Well, I can acknowledge it
to myself, just not out loud.

  "We would be honoured for you to join us for dinner Winter," he says nicely, showing a little of his sharp teeth and I smile a little, even if he intimates the hell out me.

  "I'm not dressed for dinner," I comment, feeling my sweat filled clothes sticking to me, as me and Freddy walk over to Fergus.

  "My mate will find you something to borrow and a shower. You look around the same size." He says before turning and we follow him out. Freddy slips his small hand into mine and I give it a little squeeze.

  "So do you go to school Freddy?" I ask wondering about it now. If they don’t see humans, then they can’t be going to any of the schools around here. I guess it would be hard for them to hide their wolves when they lose their temper. I remember Harris telling they can’t control them until they are adults.

  "Nope, we are home schooled. Anna is our teacher actually, it's safer this way. No humans because of the w,"

  Freddy is cut off by Fergus loud growl.

  "No speaking of that." He says turning to give a warning look to Freddy, who looks down quickly.

  “So you do you have a small class if Anna is the only teacher?” I ask.

  “Children are rare for wolves because we don’t have many females and we don’t mix with other species,” Fergus tells me and Freddy nods.

  “Why not?” I ask.

  “True mates are only found between same species, the Goddess won’t allow half-breeds to be born and mix our races. There are couples, who of course that ignored this rule, but no children ever come from it, which we know of. There is one exception but I’m not too concerned it’s anything other than a fairy tale.” He tells me, a distant look on his face.

  I don't say anything else as we walk to the house and we enter through a back door, with a wolf sitting outside. This one has a creamy coat and a little smaller than the others I've seen. I'm guessing that it's a she-wolf, not a man. The wolf seems to stare at me for a long time before looking back towards the forest behind me. We come straight into a large kitchen with light wooden cabinets and matching appliances littered around. There is a big fireplace in the room which looks nice, making it seem homely. A small woman is in the fridge, pushing things around, and turns to see us some in. Her blonde hair is in a bun in her head and she looks in her early thirties. She is wearing a pretty pink sundress with a little white cardigan over the top.