Read Online The Guardian by Sara Anderson - Free Book Online Page B

Tears flooded her eyes. “A wolf attacked my friend.” She felt her body
shaking.
    Michael took her in his arms and pulled her into his
lap. “I know, sweetling ,” he said gently as he ran
his hand up and down her back. “I am so sorry about your friend.”
    Cassie cried even harder as the guilt ate at her. “Oh Marcy. It is all my fault. I
left her, and he killed her.” Cassie cried wracking, painful sobs while Michael
rocked her, while whispering soothing words in her ear.
    Michael continued to hold her while she cried. When
her sobs had calmed he put his hand under her chin and pulled her face up to
look him in the eye. “You did not kill your friend. You had nothing to do with
her death.”
    “I—” she started, but he cut her off with a finger
over her lips.
    “There was nothing you could have done. Lucas is a
fallen guardian. Other shifters would not have had a chance with him, much less
you and your friend.”
    “He told me not to move, and I just obeyed him without
even trying. I was just so scared and I wanted to save her, but I couldn’t move
for a long time. Then when I could I just ran.”
    “Lucas has many abilities, one of which is he can
compel you to obey him. He is very good at it. He can also make you very
afraid, so you can’t think properly. Our Goddess, Ilithyia ,
also cursed him with a darkness to make human and shifters alike run from him.”
    “Why would she punish him like that? Why would he care
if people ran away?” Cassie tried to concentrate on Michael’s face as she
listened to him explain. It was getting hard with the way his hands moved up
and down her bare back. She kept reminding herself that she was sitting on a
man’s lap, without any clothes on. To make it even more mortifying he was
touching her bare skin, and she hoped he didn’t stop.
    She looked at his lips, and they were full and looked
perfect for kissing. She wondered if he was a good kisser. She licked her lips, then felt a pang of guilt hit her again. Marcy was
gone, and here she was thinking about boffing this
guy she just met last night. But Marcy would fist pump the air and say, “You go,
girl.”
    "Shifters live in clans, much like animal prides
and packs. The only difference is our animal halves live peacefully with one
another. Most shifters yearn to live among one another. There are a few that
are violent much like in human society, but most shifters live peacefully along
both humans and other shifters. It is painful for most shifters to live apart
from the clan. It causes a deep unquenchable ache in the shifter’s chest to be
separated. When a shifter that has been banished comes into contact with
shifters or humans the curse makes everyone want to get away from them. It
makes the pain of the banishment even worse.”
    She had watched his face while he spoke, but she was
also aware of his strong arms that circled her. She also saw his muscular chest
and thought about how she would like to lick him. What is wrong with me? I am no sex crazed woman who can’t keep her head
in a conversation because there is a sexy man in the room. She concentrated
on his eyes, those beautiful green eyes that seemed to see right into her soul
when he looked at her.
    “What was he banished for?” She asked breathlessly.
    “He was a guardian of a territory neighboring mine.
People were disappearing, and humans were complaining of a rabid wolf attacking
hikers. Lucas had told us it was wild animals, but I suspected it was him. Cholan enforcers and I entered his territory to find out
what was going on. We caught him attacking a young man that was hiking. I had
my enforcers arrest him, and his punishment was
banishment.”
    “Yet he attacked again. My friend is dead because of
him.”
    “Yes, he did. His banishment had recently ended, and
the curse was lifting. He was given one more chance. The only other punishment
left is death. Ilithyia is not a vengeful Goddess and
hopes that Lucas will see the harm he has done and