Free Guardians Of The Shifters by Shannon Schoolcraft Page A

his rib cage. Placing ointment on it I taped some gauze to it. He didn’t have as many scrapes and bruises as I did and I envied him of that. He stood up and faced me. “I’ll find a shirt for you to wear until we go back to your room and grab a few things.” The last part of that sentence didn’t register in my mind until he disappeared into a different room.
    What does he mean by grab a few thing? He doesn’t expect me to stay here does he? Shortly he returned wearing a freshly cleaned grey t-shirt and a black shirt that looked four sizes too big for me dangled from his fingers. Handing it over I pulled it on. When I stood up from the chair the bottom of the shirt stopped just below mid-thigh. Arching my eyebrows I looked at him.
    “It’s too big.”
    He smirked. “Here.” He pulled out a knife from his pocket and cut the bottom of the shirt until it stopped at my waist. “Better?” He asked.
    Looking down. “Much better but you ruined it.”
    “Nah, I’ve got plenty.” He looked at the time. “We are going to be late.”
    “Late for what?”
    “The burial.”
    The way he said it made it sound like it was some kind of a tradition type thing. I followed him out the door and back to where the battle ground was. In the middle of the square sat a long wooden table with bodies of the dead lying next to each other side by side. A see through cloth was spread out across them covering their entire body and draped a little over each of the four sides. Kindling of wood were set up kind of like a tepee at the four sides. Cole stood at the head of the table holding a torch already lit with a flame. His voice echoed in the oncoming darkness.
    “Tonight we lost guardians and shifters alike in such a horrid manor by our enemy, they somehow were able to breech our safe haven and attack us from the inside. Tonight we light the fallen in flame and set their souls free. But do not fret the loss of our friends because we will see them again when it is our turn to perish. Tonight they go as one.” He touched the fire from the torch onto each stack of wood and we watched as the flames engulfed the bodies and the table. “Fly home free our friends.”
    Everyone around us murmured the last sentence in unison, we didn’t depart until the flames started to dissipate. Caden walked me to my room staying close to my side. After unlocking the door he stepped over the thresh hold first, once he gave the all clear I walked in. Where the hell was someone supposed to hide at in here? He already had my backpack on the bed and was heading to my dresser. On his short trek to the bed I stepped in his way.
    “What are you doing?”
    He looked down at the clothes in his hand. “Packing some of your clothes.”
    Scrunching up my eyebrows. “Why?”
    He side stepped me and shoved the clothes in the backpack, went back to the dresser and grabbed more. He did this a few more times before grabbing a few daggers and a sword off the top of the dresser. I stepped in front of him again. My hand rested on his chest, I could feel the heat radiating off him and seep into my palm. He looked down at me before answering.
    “Because I don’t want you to be alone after what happened tonight.” He paused for a few heart beats. “Also because I don’t want to be alone.”
    I looked up at him in confusion and wonder all wrapped into one. “Okay.” Once that one word left my lips he bent his head down resting his forehead against mine. We stood like that for a few minutes until he pulled back and grabbed the bag slinging it over his shoulder. Together we walked out the door and headed to his place. We didn’t get far for Cole stepped out of the shadows and right into our path looking between us.
    “Headed to dinner?”
    Really? How can people eat after what happened? “Just stopping by my place first.”
    Cole looked at the strap on Caden’s shoulder then down to me. “With company? You know its forbidden Caden.”
    Caden shrugged a shoulder.