Chapter 3

Chapter Three

I t was the build-up of magic that woke me. I could feel it gathering in the air and suddenly found it hard to breathe. Whoever was doing this was drawing it from the house, from us, and... well, everything within reach.

My clothes seemed to be missing, so I grabbed the shirt Rasmus shed yesterday and slid it on to hide my nudity. His body required tall sizing. His clothing was so long that it fell to my knees like a gown.

The room was in shambles after our hasty strip show last night. All I had time to grab for my feet were a pair of comfortable slippers I wore only in my quarters.

A sleeping Rasmus didn't stir as I ran to the front door. I nearly collided with Henry, who was heading outside as well. "What's happening?" I asked.

"There is a witch at the gates. I asked her to identify herself, but she refused. Now she's trying to break through the wards."

"Are the wards holding?" I peered toward the long driveway that led to the house and cottages.

An explosion suddenly split the air. Our security gates crumpled before being lifted out of the way and flung aside. A woman wearing a long, bright shift and matching headdress now slowly walked down our wardless driveway.

Behind her, I saw a parked car just beyond the entrance. She'd driven here intending to break in but wasn't taking the time to drive the lane.

I sighed and rubbed my forehead. Why did my life have to be this eventful every Goddess-blessed day? I hadn't had a break since the day Mulan's parents arrived.

"I guess the wards weren't strong enough," I muttered in frustration. "Excuse me while I greet our guest."

I elbowed my way in front of Henry and called for Conn's mantle. It covered me in glittering gold. In my hand, a green energy sword instantly appeared. Wearing nothing but the guardian's shirt under my armor, I felt more dressed for Mardi Gras than to fight a magic battle. However, I'd learned to be wary of visitors after the jiangshi also made it through our wards.

It was now glaringly obvious that we needed to up our warding game to keep people away. I should have taken Zenos, my dragon mentor, up on his offer to help set better ones. Pride had gotten the better of me, and I'd refused his help.

The brightly dressed witch hadn't just set the wards off like the jiangshi had, though. She'd obliterated them, so I pointed my vibrating energy sword at her and glared. "That's far enough. Why did ya break our wards?"

She crossed her arms. "I have come to free my husband. You have no right to hold him prisoner. He isn't an animal. He's a human."

Her husband?

My sword lowered a little as I thought of who in the world that might be. Snarling when I came up blank, I glanced over at Henry.

"Do ya know who she's talking about? Please tell me it's not Connlander."

Henry made a strange sound, like choked laughter, and then stroked his chin. "The only energies clinging to her are some human's and your guardian's."

"My guardian's?" I squeaked out before clearing my throat. "That's impossible, Henry. Rasmus couldn't be married to that woman."

"Why not?" Henry asked.

I rolled my eyes when I saw his mouth twitching.

I looked back at the witch again and raised my sword to point it at her once more. "Who are ya calling yer husband?"

"Do not play me for a fool, witch. I know he is here. I feel him . His beast calls to me. It has always been so. That is how we met."

"Beast?" I repeated.

"Hmm... the plot thickens," Henry said with a smile. "Perhaps she is talking about your boss."

"Good Goddess," I said, staring at her. "Are ya Ben's wife?"

"I'm his woman... and his witch . You should fear my wrath."

I lowered my sword and let my armor fade away. "Ben's hiding out in the grove. If ya give me a moment, I'll show ya where to find him. Ya could have just asked us if he was here instead of breaking down our gates and destroying our wards."

"I intended to kill whoever was in my way. Breaking the gates was a warning about my power."

"Ya ruined our security. Now I have to send Ben the bill. Next time, just identify yerself like a normal, civilized visitor. We're not heathens, ya know."

"I insist you produce him right now."

I patted the air in front of me to console her. It may have also looked as if I was pushing against her concerns. Both were true.

"Didn't ya hear what I said, woman? No one kidnapped yer man. None of my people would ever hurt Ben. We didn't even hurt the wicked fairy when he was doing Ben's job and treating us all like shit. That's not how we handle things."

Had Ben seriously not told his wife where he was or what had happened? I shook my head and rolled my eyes at the irony. If I had remembered he had a wife, I would have asked him about her last night.

A half-dressed Rasmus appeared behind me. "Good morning," he whispered in my ear. "What is Ben's wife doing here?"

Rasmus had lived with them briefly when he first returned in his new human form, so it was no surprise to me that the guardian knew her on sight. I'm sure the powerful woman would have been a challenge to forget, even if Orlin had tried to make sure Rasmus forgot everyone.

I chuckled at the strangeness of her randomly showing up and destroying our wards. I smirked at Rasmus. "She's come to rescue Ben from our evil clutches."

"It was a serious question. Why is she here?" Rasmus asked again while totaling ignoring my teasing.

A grinning Henry chuckled at our conversation and walked away. "Breakfast will be served in the dining room at eight-thirty. Please give me the actual number I will be feeding when you can. I'll prepare for ten."

"Thanks, Henry," I called after him. Then I turned to the guardian beside me. "What time is it now?"

Rasmus shrugged in answer. Neither of us wore a watch because neither of us cared about time, especially this morning. That was the beauty of a sex hangover. All I wanted was to go back to bed with him and forget it was morning at all.

As if reading my thoughts, and he probably was, Rasmus grinned at me and plucked at the shirt I'd stolen from him. His fingers tugging on the material gave me all kinds of ideas about taking it off and rubbing my naked body against his.

I blew out a shaky breath and smiled through my lust. "Will ya fetch my sandals for me? I left them in the sitting room the last time I wore them. I'll keep our guest company until ya get back."

Rasmus smiled at me for calling Ben's wife a guest and quickly left to do as I asked.

When we were alone, Ben's witch wife turned to me. She wasn't glaring any longer, but she still looked worried. "What happened to Benjamin?"

I sighed before explaining. "Ben said someone ripped the charmed necklace ya made for him off his neck. He turned into his beast shortly afterward and wasn't able to change back. He sent several of us a text asking for help."

His wife closed her eyes and swore in a language I didn't recognize. When she opened her eyes again, she looked even more worried. "Can he speak as beast?"

"Yes," I said, nodding to back up my words.

"That is a relief," she said with genuine emotion as she patted her chest. "If his beast is back, why did he not call me instead of you? I was worried sick when he didn't come home last night."

I shrugged and made a face. "I don't know why, but I can tell ya Ben can't use his phone right now because of his claws. If he'd asked me to call ya, though, I would have let ya know. Ya could have stayed here last night."

She looked around. "Where is here?"

I looked around. It still felt strange to claim it. "This is my home. My friends and I bought this place together."

"It is large." Her direct turquoise gaze turned to drill into me. "Why is an ancient bird man bringing you your shoes? Did you enslave him?"

"No," I said, trying my best not to laugh. "Rasmus is my..."

I stopped talking to look for the right word. I was too old to call him my boyfriend. We weren't engaged or married. The guardian was just here on vacation, and I was his human hookup woman. Normal human terms didn't fit our arrangement.

Labeling our relationship was impossible, so I asked her a question instead. "How did ya know what Rasmus was?"

The woman made a disgusted sound in her throat. "I felt his power when Ben dragged him into our home. That one reeks of ancient magic. When I was a child, his kind visited my mother's family. They do not think like we do. If our village got set on fire, his people would have handed matches to the arsonists before they ever picked up a pail of water to help us save our homes. I can't believe you're sleeping with him."

"Me neither," I said with great honesty. "But I will say that Rasmus isn't quite that bad. He's picked up a pail of water for me now and again. That's mostly why I let him stay."

The Caribbean witch understood guardians even if she didn't have a name for what they were. But I would not be the one to enlighten her with nomenclature. The fewer people who knew what Rasmus truly was—the better off we all were.

She frowned at my answer. "The bird men keep away from us. How did you meet his kind?"

"I rescued Rasmus from a bunch of military scientists. That's how I met Ben as well. Rasmus has left me several times, but he always returns. And as I'm sure ya know, Ben hired me."

The woman laughed then, and it sounded like music. I could see why Ben found her intriguing.

"Then I was right—you have enslaved him. Well done, witch. His kind is very powerful."

Rasmus returned, smiled at both of us, and held out my shoes. I dropped to the concrete steps in front of the house and switched them out. "I'm not sure why ya're smiling at me that way. Ben's wife thinks I've enslaved ya."

Rasmus scratched at the stubble on his chin as he grinned at both of us. "From a certain perspective, she's not wrong."

" Oh, stop ," I said with irritation as I stood. I reached up and scratched his stubble myself. I'd seen him shaving, but his human disguise didn't fool everyone. "She knows you're not human, Rasmus. Her comments weren't meant as a compliment to either of us."

It was bad enough that I'd met Ben's wife wearing nothing but a man's shirt, but her admiration of my relationship with Rasmus wasn't any less bothersome. While he'd been retrieving my shoes, Rasmus had pulled on a clean shirt exactly matching the one I was wearing. Having duplicates was such a human-male thing that I couldn't help sighing.

It wasn't like I wanted Rasmus to be more human. Or at least, I didn't think I did. But it was the little things like having two identical shirts that made him less intimidating. It made me forget he wasn't like me.

He probably did things like that on purpose. I knew not to trust his appearance or his human actions, but I couldn't shake my urge to want him to be simply what he seemed.

The three of us walked toward the grove in near silence. Rasmus and I looked like odd twins—or that's how I felt we looked.

Ben's wife gave us a few side glances and sly smiles, but her smile instantly switched off the moment we neared my sacred space. Her gaze swept the area, taking in my fire pit, seating, and a greenhouse that smelled of magical herbs.

"You put him in your sacred space to protect him."

It wasn't really a question, and we both knew it. She was a powerful enough witch to destroy all the wards on our property, yet Ben had never discussed her magick with me. That meant he knew from the beginning what I was and that I would have understood his life, but he'd chosen to keep her power a secret. Since I'd done the same to him about Conn and myself, I had no room to complain. However, knowing might have spared us having to replace our driveway gates.

I smiled at Ben's wife. "His beast form was too big for any building except the barn. I put him here to cloak him from outsiders. In his beast form, he could probably protect himself in a fight, but I was trying to give him some temporary peace from having to. He said he could be like this for days before reverting to human."

"The longest I've known him to take his beast form was a week."

With that pronouncement, Ben's witch wife strode into the grove, careful to keep a respectful distance from my firepit. She walked under the canopy of branches and stared up into the leaves.

" Benjamin ," she called in a near shout. "Get down here."

All twelve feet of Ben landed close to her with a loud thump that shook the surrounding ground. A low growl rumbled through him as he stared at her. He thumped his chest with a giant fist, growling loudly each time his fist connected. It was very Tarzan of him.

But I guess his wife didn't find it as romantic and sexy as I did. To my amazement, she drew back her arm and punched him hard in his gorilla stomach with her fist. I had to laugh when the monster doubled over and groaned.

"You could have had them call me, Benjamin. I was worried sick, you old fool."

"Sorry, Felicity," Ben said roughly, still trying to get back his breath.

"First, it was the stupid fairy betraying you. Now I have broken the wards of the witch you bragged so much about hiring. Because of your thoughtlessness you must n ow pay to replace their entrance gate. Consider it your punishment for forgetting your wife."

Ben gaped at her. Felicity's name escaped his lips with a mixture of annoyance and anger. "Felicity… you could have just asked them about me. What did you do?"

"Why do you use that tone with me? I've had enough of your lies, husband. We will retire from the military nonsense, you said. The two of us will sip cold tea and swim in the pool you insisted on having installed." She swept out a hand, indicating the grove. "Yet this is what we get instead. You have once again turned into your beast and have to sleep in trees. And your military is likely after you again."

Ben moved away from her. A disconcerting symphony of choking animal sounds accompanied his knuckle-walking. It was only when I noticed the menacing set of fangs that I realized he wasn't a real gorilla.

Ben's wife grunted in disgust. "Should I take a dangerous job as well? Is that what you want for us? I am not young any longer, Benjamin Benson. I am now thinking I chose the wrong man to commit to. Skills in bed are not enough—I told you that when we met. When you left your military job, you promised me a peaceful life so I could practice the magickal craft of my people."

Her words caused Ben to speed up to a knuckle run while the noise he was making grew louder. Any fool could see he was putting distance between him and the witch he'd married. Her glare could have leveled a building. Was he gorilla laughing at her rant?

Ben would need to watch his human back when he returned to normal. His wife might stick a knife in it. Goddess bless, those two seemed married worse than Jack and I had been. Yet, I couldn't help but grin at the two of them.

"Did they mix yer monster cocktail with saber-toothed tiger DNA, Ben? Ya don't read as a total primate to me. The more I'm around ya, the more curious I get about what ya are. Those fangs don't belong to a gorilla."

Like the scientist Rasmus was, he turned and studied Ben like he was a new bug he'd recently discovered. "With a sample of blood, I could easily determine which sentient creatures were used to create Colonel Benson. Have you ever been genetically tested in this form, Colonel? If so, do the records still exist?"

Felicity Benson turned her glare on Rasmus. " My husband is not your science experiment . He is a cursed man."

"Or a very blessed one," I countered lightly, trying my best to sound as rational as possible. "It's all about what Ben does when he's in this form. He's been nothing but rational with us so far."

Felicity rolled her eyes at me. "You are as bad as those who did this to him. They created a monster to use for their purposes, and my husband was smart to keep their success from them. Benjamin does not wish to be a freak of nature."

I smiled back at her. "I've seen a lot of monsters, Mrs. Benson. Your husband is not one in either of his forms. His monster side could be an asset to him. Instead of hiding from his beast, maybe Ben needs to learn to master it. I hate to say this, but Ezra—the betraying fairy—was right about that."

Felicity shook her head. "No. My husband has retired from that madness." She pulled a necklace from her ample cleavage. "Here, Benjamin. Stop acting like some Goddess-forsaken beast and put this on."

His swift obedience was the most amazing thing to watch.

Ben bent his enormous form in half when she motioned him down to her level. She slipped the necklace over his giant head. The leather strips got hung up on one fang. Mumbling under her breath, she patiently undid the tangle before slapping his massive gorilla shoulders. The most impressive part was that the force of her push shoved Ben back a few steps.

"Now stand still while I perform the spell," she ordered.

Then she chanted and moved her hands around, forming an energy ball between her palms. Chanting louder and louder, she raised her voice, barked out a loud magickal command, and slapped the energy ball against the new talisman.

The energy ball pulsed like a heartbeat, and then the talisman sucked it in.

Ben's giant form pulsed as well, and then his beast was simply... gone.

He'd reverted into a human so fast I couldn't recall seeing him transform. Where once a twelve-foot monster stood, a completely naked Ben now stared at his wife, looking equally relieved and confused.

I covered my mouth to hide my smile. I hated to be the one to tell Felicity Benson, but Ben's body looked nowhere near retirement. The man had muscles on muscles all over. That didn't just happen because of his inner creature. Ben obviously kept himself in prime condition. While Felicity might have been one reason he did that, Aran would bet she wasn't the only reason.

I gazed at Ben in all his masculine glory and wished with my whole being that Mulan had been out here to also appreciate the sight. We could have talked about his astoundingly nude body for days.

Rasmus bent to whisper in my ear. "I consider that amusement in your eyes to be highly suspicious. Are you lusting for your boss?"

I turned to the man wearing a shirt that exactly matched mine. Despite his ability to read my thoughts whenever he wanted, it would be mean of me not to explain the nuances.

"Ben has sculpted his body into a piece of art. A woman would have to be dead not to feel admiration for his physical beauty. Haven't ya admired women other than me?"

"Yes," Rasmus admitted easily, "but I was never tempted to do more than look. My lust for you is for much more than your body. I crave all of you."

I smiled because he truly understood... for once. "Good. I feel the same about ya. I'm quite sure it's the same for Mulan as well. It's very human to look and admire, but most of us tend to be loyal to our chosen mates. It creates a serious lack-of-trust issue when ya do more than look."

"Well, I strive to blend in with your species. It's good to hear I'm succeeding with my fidelity to you." Rasmus smiled at me. "I greatly enjoy being called your mate. Is that the term you wish us to use?"

This was one of those times that I wished I hadn't asked for the real guardian back. I had called him my chosen mate, and he'd referred to me as one of a species. Words mattered so much more than most males ever got around to realizing.

My disappointed sigh was loud.

Felicity Benson chose that moment to step fully into her husband. Her voluptuous body blocked most of him from my view, which I decided was a shame but quite understandable. I would have done the same in her place.

"I made an extra charm long ago in case you broke the first one," she told him. "It shocked me when I felt someone tear the other one off you. Since I didn't want anyone studying it, I spelled the old charm to turn to dust. Let them study its ashes if they wish. They will learn nothing from inanimate bits of clay."

"So his talisman stays linked to your magickal spell?" I asked.

Her nod was curt. She didn't trust me with complete answers, and I didn't blame her. I dealt with this every time Zara questioned me.

I wouldn't have been any more comfortable explaining my magic to Ben's witch wife. But already I respected the woman's power.

More—I respected what her magick had allowed her to do to help Ben. What she did with the talisman was fascinating. In a way, it would have been good if Zara had been present. My instincts were singing about Ben's talisman.

Zara combined the magic of an ancient civilization with a transmutation spell that the gods of my people had once used to create wolf shifters. What if the female guardian could program the reverse of those spells into a talisman the demon wolf women could wear and use?

The other guardians confirmed that the demon wolves were linked to Zara's magic, and there was no way to break the connection.

It would be great to learn more about Felicity's magic and how it worked. It seemed to be a natural counterbalance to all things science. That fact alone made it more valuable than she realized.

Conn walked out of his house in a torn t-shirt and a pair of old sweats that had seen better days. Mulan walked out behind him.

In his hands, Conn carried a second outfit matching the one he wore. Henry must have caught him up on the situation. I think my demon caretaker had demon spies posted all over the property. I'd nearly grown used to his clever omniscience.

But I'd never seen Conn looking so unruly. Mulan must have given him a hard time about his fancier workout clothes. My fashion conscious demon loved his brand names.

I smiled when Conn handed the extra clothes to Ben. He'd brought a pair of men's sandals too. In human form, they were about the same size.

Turning his back to the rest of us, Ben slipped the clothes on. It was a shame when his fine backside disappeared from view. Mulan had missed the best show but I'd bring her up to speed later.

"Let's go to breakfast," I said when Ben was fully dressed.

"What about your gates?" Ben asked.

I shrugged. "Henry's people will keep watch on the place until we get new ones. We'll replace the mechanism easily enough. The warding was the true loss. Now I will have to come up with some new ones that can't be broken as easily by powerful strangers."

I saw Felicity look guiltily at Ben, who shrugged and shook his head. My grin included both of them. "Come on, I'll tell ya about what we did to Mulan's brother-in-law over breakfast. It will give ya a good laugh."

Felicity turned to her husband. "I can see why you protect her, Ben. Her refusal to allow herself to be disturbed by trouble makes her a mighty magickal."

Ben chuckled. "Well, Aran isn't always rational. She's just good at knowing when to be."

"That comes with my advanced age," I said as we walked back to the house in a group.

"What age is that?" Felicity asked.

I judged her to be somewhere in her late forties or early fifties. "Forty, and so far, I'm enjoying my maturity."

"Ah..." Felicity said. "Forty is the year we confront our eventual death."

I grinned at her comment. "I've had some aging anxiety about turning forty, but I wouldn't say I worry much about dying."

"That is because you face your death every day and consider such fears to be a foolish waste of time," Rasmus declared.

I shrugged at his accurate summary. "Risking my life has always been part of my job—part of what I was created to do. That's why protecting my home means so much to me. It's the one place I get to stop worrying about dying for a short while."

My morbid declaration seemed to silence everyone. We completed the rest of the journey to the house without speaking.

We were almost at the doorstep when the sharp metallic twang of an arrow slicing through the air caught my attention. Just as I looked up, I saw a winged man suspended in the air, aiming his bow directly at me. My body jerked as the arrow he'd shot pierced my upper chest just below my shoulder and exited out of my back.

My fingers touched the entry point and came away red. An inch or two lower, and it would have pierced my heart. My entire chest exploded with fire, and I fell to my knees, unable to help doing so. Blood poured from the wound on both sides. I could see it staining the front of my clothes and feel it running down my back.

I looked up again. The bowman who shot me still hovered there, watching me bleed. There was too much distance between us to determine his identity, but his intent to kill me was unmistakable.

Given that I was rapidly bleeding out, he might have even succeeded.

I saw the winged man lower his bow. He made some sort of frustrated sound and then flew away.

Pain from my wound gripped me so hard I nearly couldn't breathe.

Was my attacker a guardian, a vengeful angel, or some other winged creature? Maybe it was one of those fake guardians like the ones Jack's military scientists made. If I died, I would never know.

Goddess, why did my ex-husband and his mischief always pop into my mind when things went badly? Sometimes I felt like I would never get over the sneaky bastard I married and divorced.

My last clear but crazy thought was to wonder if Rasmus had any more shirts matching the one the bowman had just ruined trying to kill me.

"Conn, take care of her," Rasmus ordered. I watched as black wings sprang from his back before he launched himself into the sky.

Do not fear death, Aran of The Dagda. We can heal you. The ancient one knows that.

I nodded to the voice speaking in my head as Conn scooped me up. I couldn't find my way past the pain to think clearly enough to answer. "The stone says it can heal me, Conn. Try to stop the blood flow if ya can, though. I'm growing weaker because of it."

Conn growled in anger as he carried me to my bedroom. Mulan muttered something to herself in her native language before dashing ahead of him to fetch towels from the bathroom to protect the bed covers. I wanted to laugh at her worry about sparing the blankets when I was so close to dying on top of them, but it hurt too much to smile.

"Did ya see what he was?" I asked weakly as Conn eased me down onto the towels. Mulan reached around him and put a thick, folded one under the back of the wound.

"I saw wings. They looked like guardian wings. But he spoke without harming us. It was all irritated cursing when he discovered his aim hadn't sent the arrow through your heart," Conn said, his sharp demon fangs grazing his bottom lip as he talked.

I reached up and pecked on one fang with a fingernail. "Rasmus went after him. Let the guardian figure this one out. Take care of everyone else, Conn. Please do this for me."

"I would have done so without you asking," Conn said flatly.

"I know. Ben... his problem... I..." I tried to say more, but speaking became too hard. I couldn't get my breath any longer.

Conn growled again as I stopped trying to speak and let my head roll to the side.

Closing my eyes at that moment seemed to be an excellent idea, so I let the approaching darkness take me.