Guarded Hearts Ch. 05

Author's note: All characters and companies mentioned in this story have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone or anything bearing the same name or names. Events portrayed in this story are pure invention and have not been based on any events that have happen in real life. All the characters involved in any sexual acts if their ages are not mentioned before hand; are over 18 years of age. Enjoy.

Hi everyone

Okay here is the new chapter, I know... I've taken my sweet time with this one, I'm sorry. So with that said just a heads up this is the second last chapter of Guarded hearts then I will be going onto Split in time. Another heads up, I know you will be pissed by the way this chapter ends and I know I am going to get serious demands (actually threats are probably closer to the mark) to get the last chapter out and I promise my editor and I will work as hard as we can but December for both of us can be crazy to the point of exhaustion.

So as usual, thanks goes first to my editor, I hope your cold gets better, and to you the fan. And if I don't submit again before next year I wish you a happy holiday and a happy new year.

Have fun and remember all comments are welcome.

PS. Some of the issues brought up in this story are violent and graphic however necessary and I appologise to anyone who finds it difficult to read. I promise it is only for a small part.

Katie ran a brush through her damp blond hair as she raced down stairs, she could hear Eric performing introductions and was glad he was there. Ghost followed her and was also running a bush through his long almost platinum-blonde hair, he had thought for a moment earlier about cutting his hair but instantly rejected it, he liked having long hair.

"Grandma, Grandpa." She said as she walked into her small lounge room, quickly making her way to the elderly couple to hug and kiss. "How's your trip been?" she asked before launching suddenly into the next one, "Have you met everyone?"

Electra snickered as she guessed what was causing Katie to be nervous, Nathanael glared at her to stop making an already awkward situation worse.

The elderly woman grabbed her granddaughters shoulders and appraised her with a critical eye. The appraisal only lasted a moment before she broke into a welcoming smile. "Our trip was fine and we've meet everyone but the man who followed you in." She said answering Katie's questions.

Katie tried to slow her heart beat, "Grandma, Grandpa this is Ghost. Ghost this is Lionel and Ester."

Ghost smiled nervously as he walked into the room, "Hello." He said as he came to a stop next to Katie.What do I do?He asked her silently.

Kiss her cheek and shake his hand.She answered.

He quickly leant down and kissed Ester's cheek and after he had done that he offered his hand to Lionel.

Lionel took his hand with a friendly smile and gave it a vigorous shake. "Ghost... is that your real name or a nickname?" He asked in a friendly manner.

"It is the only name I consider my own." He answered carefully.

"Grandpa, Electra, Maria, Nathanael and Ghost are all Were." Katie explained, "All bar Maria are Immortal Were. Ghost has been known as Ghost for... for a very long time." She continued as she didn't know how long he had gone by the name of Ghost.

Ester sat with a sigh, "So why are Were moving into Colville?" She asked.

"We aren't." Electra said, "This is still free territory."

"Why don't we all move outside, Eric said he would man the grill." Maria suggested.

"Splendid, normally when we visit we have to go into town to eat." Ester said as she pushed herself out of the chair. Katie blushed a little in embarrassment at her grandmother's comment but it rammed home the point that she now had a mate to take care of and that meant feeding the ravenous Were.

"Were eat a lot." Maria explained, "We've been stocking her fridge." That got Ester to laugh as Katie's fridge normally only had a few bottles of water and a jar of PB and J.

"So why did we have to be checked by a squad car at your front gate?" Lionel asked as he sat at the outdoor setting, Ester sat next to him. Eric went to check if the coals were ready and Maria went with him. Ghost sat next to Katie across from her grandparents, the need to have her scent close to him was strong. Electra and Nathanael sat next to each other making sure to force Maria and Eric to sit together not that either would complain about it.

"Um... well... three days ago..." Katie turned to Electra, "It was three days ago right?" She was a little surprised, three days, three days and her life had changed drastically. Three days... was that all it took to become different, to see differently, to find love and take it.

Electra gave her a confirming nod.

"Three days ago I got a phone call, a wolf had been badly hurt and was at the hospital," Katie said starting to explain what lead up to this moment. She explained why Electra and Nathanael had come and then later why Maria had come. Her grandparents were mortified by what had happened to Ghost, the only thing Katie didn't explain was that she was now in transition, that in a month she would be Were.

"Now why would anyone want to hurt a Were." Lionel vented when his granddaughter finished. "We met a nice couple a few weeks back, helped us with a flat tire, couldn't get the lug nuts off. The man lifted the car and the woman undid the lugs easy as, they changed the tire and followed us to the nearest town to make sure nothing happened to the other tires." He said explaining just one of the reasons he believed Were should be left alone but there were many more reasons.

Electra smiled, "Were are taught from a young age to respect the older members of their group. Grandparents help mind the cubs, teach the cubs their place in life. We extend that respect to all older people." She explained.

Nathanael frowned, "I'm older than you... you don't respect me." He said not impressed.

"I do... it's just more fun to tease you." She said with a smile. "Besides... you're not really old. You are immortal which means age and time are irrelevant, Thais's words not mine."

He chuckled and shook his head.

Maria came out of the house with several large plates and took them to the grill.

"Need a hand?" Electra called out.

"No... you'll just start eating everything." Maria snapped at her as she walked pass.

Eric took the top most tray and smiled as he started to put ribs on the grill. Forty minutes later they were all seated around the table as the last plate of cooked meat was put down.

"I know Were aren't generally religious but can we say grace first." Ester asked the table respectfully. Nathanael nodded and bowed his head, he had no problem with peoples religious beliefs as long as no one tried to force those beliefs on him, Maria, Electra and Katie just waited quietly, as Eric also bowed his head.

"We thank the lord for the food we are about to eat and good health to our new friends and granddaughter. Amen." Ester said keeping it short in respect to the Were around the table and Katie who didn't believe.

"Amen." Lionel said, Eric just nodded.

Katie said nothing, she had long ago decided that God didn't exist, if he did he never would have let her parents die and would never have let her witness that event.

"Yay food." Electra said picking up a plate and piling hers high. She loaded her plate with everything much to the amusement of Ester and Lionel who had not seen Electra eat before.

Eric leant across Maria to grab some bread. "Sorry," He said, not meaning it, he didn't understand the draw that had him wanting to get close to her. But he was going to explore this as much as she would let him. She smiled slightly at him and focused on her food.

Maria rubbed her stomach as she finished eating. She had been famished and Eric's ribs had lived up to his boast, they had been the yummiest ribs she had ever had.

Nathanael glared at Electra for a moment and together they got up and started gathering dishes, Maria went to get up but stilled as Nathanael glared at her. "You deserve a night off. Electra and I will do the dishes." He told her before turning to house to take the dirty dishes in.

Ester and Lionel excused themselves and wandered back to their RV to go to bed. Katie and Ghost soon disappeared back to her room. Maria levered herself up and took a deep breath. "I think I'll go for a walk to help with the digestion." She told Eric.

Eric jumped to his feet, "I'll go with you." He told her. She watched him for a moment then they walked off together. They didn't care what direction they went or if they spoke or not, they were content to just be together. They came to a wooden fence near the old barn and she stopped to perch on the fence and watch the night's sky. He sat near her and together they just gazed at the night.

He took his jacket off and draped it over her shoulders when he saw her slight shudder. "So..." He said gently, "what is keeping you here now that you've done your bit?" He asked.

She considered his question for a moment. "Why do you ask?" She asked.

"Electra and Nathanael made it seem like you would go home the moment you did your thing, yet here you are." He said carefully not wanting to push her away but needing to know if he was the reason she hadn't left yet.

She hopped down off the fence and started walking away, he joined her quickly as they walked into the disused barn. He waited but she refused to answer his question. "Why are you still here Maria?" He asked when he was really close to her. She spun and he came face to face with her wolf, her normally deep brown eyes were bright yellow, he stilled knowing that her wolf was much more basic in it's thoughts patterns. Her nostrils flared as she took a deep breath.

Unease prickled down his spine as she stepped forward and took another deep breath, her eyes closed almost in pleasure as his scent danced around her nose. Her eyes opened and she stepped back her eyes once again that deep brown he adored.

"You," she said gently into the still night, "you are the reason I am here," she admitted feeling vulnerable. When she had been freed from her mate she had decided to never again let someone have that kind of control over her, to guard her heart from anyone who could break it. She had lived through abuse of the worst kind yet she knew deep down that that was nothing compared to having her heart shattered by someone who claimed to love her and who she loved in return. So she lived with a guarded heart, letting no one close enough to hurt her emotionally, preserving that one part of her that Nicolai had never been able to hurt.

He caught her arm gently in his left hand and carefully pulled her to his body. "Do I scare you?" He asked as he caught the jacket she wore with his free hand effectively trapping her.

She nodded her head quickly, he would never know just how much this scared her.

"Why does this scare you?" He asked gently.

She shivered and shook her head, she wasn't going to answer. He slowly backed her into an empty stall and into a corner, he knew this was a dangerous act, cornering a clearly scared Were as she could easily kill him but he did it anyway, he was not going to let her go until she told him what had her scared.

She started to pant a little with fear when she realised her predicament, her wolf however was calm in her mind, resigned, even a little excited by what he was doing. He spread his legs to shoulder width using his hips to help trap her. He leant down slowly until his lips were brushing her ear. Her blood heated with need and her heart started to thud quickly in excitement.

"What scares you?" He asked gently into her left ear before he carefully took the lobe between his lips and gently bit down, applying his teeth just enough to make her quiver.

She held very still, she tried to think, about him, about this, him dominating her like this was making her wet, made her ache for him. This confused her, she didn't understand why having Eric do this excited her when her memories of Nicolai doing the same thing made her fear for her life.

His hands slowly carefully slid up her sides and into her borrowed jacket as his lips gently traced a path down from her ear to her neck. She placed her right hand on his chest, not knowing whether she wanted to push him away or fist her hand in his shirt and pull him closer.

"Maria... what scares you?" He asked when he got to the junction of her neck and left shoulder.

She shook her head refusing to answer. He gently ground his pelvis and his aching erection into her tummy as he used his left hand to move her shirt and jacket to continue his exploration of her soft skin. He came to a deeply recessed scar that ran from her collar bone to her shoulder blade across the top of her shoulder. He gently began to kiss it.

This act more than any other had her reacting without thought, she pushed him away violently, flinging him across the stall. He slammed into the wooden railings and through them before coming to rest in a pile of straw. The hand she had used to push him away went to her mouth, for a moment she was frozen in shock at what she had done.

She raced to him as he tried to push himself up. His hand went to the back of his head. She stilled several paces from him, her body quivered, anxious as to what he would do now. Would he turn violent and hurt her, would he take what he wanted from her body. Those conclusions were the only ones she had any experience with, if she fought or pushed away she would be hurt, it had been beaten into her. Thing was she didn't understand why she pushed him away, except that she guarded that shoulder as closely as she guarded her heart.

He pulled his hand away from the back of his head but it wasn't bleeding, he checked again just to be sure before turning to a clearly petrified Maria. He wanted to ask why she did that but the confused and afraid look clearly told him she had no idea why she had reacted that way to what he had been doing.

"Okay... I may have deserved that." He said gently trying to get her to lose the scared look. He went to stand but lost his balance and flopped back into the straw.

She was suddenly beside him helping him to his feet, she cringed a little when he was standing, expecting the strike which would have in her experience followed such disobedience.

He tilted her head back and stroked her trembling jaw gently with his thumb, "That was my fault... I deserved that." He told her earnestly.

"Lets... lets get you back to the house." She said softly turning her eyes from his, she supported him as they made their way back to the house. Nathanael was on the back veranda just taking in the night's sky, he jumped to his feet when they approached and raced down to help Maria.

They sat Eric down. "What happened?" Nathanael asked in a firm manner, he wanted the truth out of one of them.

"Maria was just telling me to back off." Eric answered.

Nathanael turned to Maria. "What happened?" He asked again a warning to his voice.

"I pushed him, he went through some wood railings and landed on some straw." She answered her eyes down cast.

Nathanael however was impressed, Maria was much stronger than she looked, he was also pleased that she was standing up for herself.

"It's nothing..." Eric said trying to get up. "Just a bump to the back of the head... nothing some ice won't fix."

Nathanael pressed him back to the chair. "I'll be the judge of that." He said firmly.

Maria turned and fled to her room not wanting to know if she had hurt him badly.

Nathanael rested his hands on Eric's head, "What did you do to make her push you away?" He asked as he sent his power into Eric's head to see if it was hurt.

"I had her backed in a corner and was kissing a scar on her left shoulder." Eric answered with a wince as Nathanael touched the small lump at the back of his head.

"The long jagged scar that runs across her shoulder?" Nathanael asked.

Eric nodded.

"She's always been protective of that shoulder, I had to use my ability on it to fix it when she first came to the pack, her ex had deliberately crippled her, it took months to get her arm to work correctly." Nathanael explained. "Just a bump, it'll be gone by morning." He released Eric.

Eric stood. "Time to battle the beast." He said and went to go to Maria.

Nathanael smiled as he watched Eric leave.

"They're mates." Electra said coming out of the darkness she had conjured.

Nathanael jerked to her surprised. "Mates? When did that happen..." he petered off as he thought for a moment. "The day before, when she was shot at," he surmised.

Electra nodded. "He knocked her out of the way and under his car with her, close enough for her to get that all important whiff." She said as she slumped down into the chair near him.

"About time she had something truly good in her life happen." He returned as he sat next to Electra to enjoy the nights sky.

"He has a fight on his hands though, Maria has been adamant, she doesn't want a mate." She said as she took a cold beer out of a cooler and offered it to Nathanael.

"She may not, but her wolf does. They'll work it out." He said as he took the beer.

She got another and cracked the top open, "That or they'll kill each other." She said before taking a swig.

He nodded and held his beer up toasting the rising full moon before taking a long drink.

Eric walked as quietly as he could, he could hear the gentle moans and grunts coming from a room at the far end of the hall and knew that Katie would be a very tired woman come morning. He knew which room belonged to Maria, he carefully opened the door and glanced in.

She was belly down on her bed, clutching a pillow as she cried. He paused for a moment wondering again and not for the first time about her past, he walked in and gently closed the door, he kicked off his boots and took off his belt before joining her on the double bed. She hiccupped and turned to see who had joined her just as he gathered her up in his arms to hold her.

"Clean bill of health," he told her.

She took a shaky breath, "I'm sorry..."

He hushed her, "you did nothing wrong and you didn't hurt me so let's just forget it happened." He gently rubbed his nose against her left shoulder, she tensed slightly. He moved and brushed his lips against her jaw. He pulled his lips away from her skin, "How about you tell me what happened to your shoulder."

He tightened his arms to keep her from getting away, before nuzzling his face against her throat. He thanked the gods that he had gotten those books on Were, it had explained that Were were very social people, craving affection from those that were close to them. That nuzzling between friends was a very common thing to witness and that it would help her relax.

"What has Electra and Nathanael told you about me?" She asked as she arched her head to one side giving him more access to her sensitive throat.

"Not much... mainly that you and Electra came from the same pack, which was dissolved for crimes against women." He said against her skin, "they said it was your story alone to tell." He added before he nibbled gently at her neck.

She squirmed in his arms, the feeling of his teeth against her skin had goose bumps breaking out across her skin, and heat infusing her body. Her wolf was in her mind, watching and waiting but not forcing, her human side had to come to accept him, she could push but her human side had to form her own relationship with him, be comfortable and even fall in love.

"I originally didn't belong to that pack but a different one, after I was taken it went through a drastic change, the old Alpha was killed and his daughter took his place... regardless by then it was too late to save me, to bring me back. Nicolai was visiting the village I lived in with my parents and saw me helping my ma with the market stall we had. Nothing would do, he wanted me even though I knew he was not my mate."