Song of the Guardians (16 page)

I retrieved a pen from the same pocket and started to write.

From where I am / the world falls / Our home, our haven / Isn’t one at all

"See the world fall?" Luna asked, moving the paper so she could read it. "Like in your dream?"

I shook my head and folded up the paper before putting it back in my pocket. "From where I am, the world falls." I repeated the lines, turning a circle as I did. "That could mean anywhere."

"What about the last part? Our home isn’t one at all? Could it mean our house?"

"I don’t know, but we should probably head back. Tucker will want to know what we found."

Luna nodded, taking my hand. "All we need now is a chorus."

"Yeah, and I have a feeling it isn’t going to take long to figure it out."

"Come on." Luna directed me toward the woods. "We’ll take a shortcut."

T
ucker

The wood crackled as it burned, the smell of wood fire filling the house. It was a comforting smell, which surprised me. Months ago, I would’ve avoided it altogether, knowing wood fire meant humans, and humans weren’t fond of wolves.

But now that I'd gotten used to my weaker skin, the scent reminded me of home, of Emma and the pack. Sitting in front of the flames, I looked back on what Emma had said when this all began, about how we should let the Earth die instead of sacrificing our love. At the time, I'd been loyal to our pack and the Earth, but now, I considered her words even more.

It was why I didn’t want her going to the ridge at all. The storm yesterday had been a welcomed delay, and while I didn’t think she’d find anything there, I disliked the possibility of her finishing the song just as much. As soon as she finished writing it, there was nothing we could do but keep to the laws of the guardians. And I wasn’t ready to give her up. None of us were.

The likelihood of the song coming to her today was nearly impossible, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t happen tomorrow, the next day or the day after that. Breathing around my anxiety, I stirred the fire one last time before replacing the gate and heading back upstairs. With the girls out at the ridge and the pack on another hunt, I had the house to myself, which suddenly felt empty without the two females or the five wolves running at my feet.

After closing the door to our room, I crawled under the sheets. Emma's and Luna’s scents were all over the bed, in the sheets as well as on the pillows. Their different flavors intermingled, intoxicating my mind, as my thoughts drifted to another place in time.

Emma was lying with me, her fingers combing my hair as Luna looked on. The she-wolf was uncomfortably quiet. She shared images of our run in the woods, and I groaned when Emma rested her head on my chest.

"You can have her, you know," Emma whispered into my ears. "She’s my gift to you."

I turned to kiss her on the forehead, opening my free arm and inviting the she-wolf into bed with us. She wore one of Emma’s thin nightgowns, the delicate fabric dropping to the floor around her ankles.

Luna paused alongside the bed, her fingertips trailing across the bedspread. Emma bit my ear, and I stirred under the blankets. My erratic heartbeat made it hard to breathe, and I tried not to lose consciousness when Luna curled up beside me, her naked skin smooth against mine.

With one female on either arm, my world started to spin. Their hands were like mirrored images, reaching down under the covers to rest along the insides of my thighs. They pulled themselves against me even more, one of them biting my neck while the other kissed me on the lips.

There were so many sensations at once, I blanked out. I thought of nothing. I heard and saw nothing. My shaft brushed against the bed sheets, completely ignored. I withdrew my arm from around Luna and placed a hand on my groin.

Both Luna and Emma glared at me, and as I moved my hand up and down my cock, Luna grabbed my hand from under the covers and held it against the bed.

"Patience," she growled, lowering her head to bite at my nipple.

I arched my back away from the bed, the silken sheets cool on my skin, almost too light for me to feel. Emma placed a leg over mine, immobilizing me from below as Luna did the same from above.

Completely lost to their will, I pleaded with Luna, sending her images of us together in the woods. In bed together.

She grinned. "I know what you want."

I whimpered, sucking in a lungful of air when something wet closed around my cock. I couldn't see Emma, but I could
feel
her. She wrapped her hands around the base of my shaft and licked at the head.

I thrust upward, into her touch, and, as punishment, Emma pulled away. I willed my body to lie still. The exercise was maddening. Each time Emma got a little further, bobbing her head up and down my length. And each time I moved, the seconds between encounters multiplied.

I’d come dangerously close to finishing twice as it was, my climax mounting as I held it back. Pleased with my performance, Emma sucked on me, her tongue tracing the vein along the underside of my shaft. While she pushed me to the edge, Luna put her fingers to my lips, the digits covered in her arousing scent.

My hips bucked away from the bed, and both females vanished.

It was too late for me to stop, and, holding my breath, I took over. In my mind, Luna and Emma were still there, their hands all over my body, their sweet nectar on my lips. And as I tasted them, my body convulsed, and I came onto the sheets.

Struggling for breath, I laid there, my mind reeling with pleasure. A part of me knew the females were still out, but a small part of me believed they'd been there all along.

E
mma

My lungs ached as I coughed around the tightness in my chest, a metallic taste filling my mouth. The woods were darker than before. The smell of pine accompanied every step we took as thin needles crunched under our feet.

I closed my eyes, squeezing Luna’s hand as she led me through the trees. Images of a wolf running on four paws and the guardians flashed through my mind.

"It’s still possible," Luna said, breaking my concentration.

"What?"

"It doesn’t take much to know what you’re thinking, Emma," Luna explained, picking up the pace. "Everything you think and feel now, all of us have experienced before."

"But you said it was possible. What’s possible?"

"To put things in reverse, to calm the Earth. It’s never been this bad—at least, not so long as I’ve been a guardian. I’ve seen a lot, but not like this."

"And you still think we can change it?"

"Not without scars, no. But we can stop the bleeding."

I closed my eyes again, my thoughts settling on the noises around us. The pine needles called out to me, and like an image from Luna’s memory, the last part of our song filled my mind.

We walk on pins and needles / as the world lies awake / Pins and needles / Pins and needles

"Pins and needles."

The paper in my pocket called to me, but I couldn’t stop.
Not now.
We kept running.

* * * * *

I
dragged Luna up the steps toward Tucker’s room. The house was still empty, and would probably stay that way for the rest of the afternoon. With most of the pack gone, I considered keeping the final words to myself, but they just about burst through my chest when I bumped into Tucker in the hallway.

"I know the rest of the song," I blurted out, resulting in very surprised looks from both Tucker and Luna.

"But we don’t have a chorus," Luna said, unzipping her coat.

"I do. When we were in the woods I—"

"Breathe first," Tucker said, sitting me down on the top step. "You have all the words?" I nodded. "And a melody?"

Luna squeezed my hand. "Leave the melody to me."

"What now?" I stared at them. "Do we wait for the others?"

Tucker disappeared down the hall, appearing at the top of the stairs moments later with his coat. "They’ll meet us there."

"Where?"

"The tree."

* * * * *

T
he pack was waiting for us, just as Tucker had promised. I wasn’t sure how they'd known and decided it was some form of guardian magic. The tree Tucker spoke of wasn’t the same one he’d shown me as a child. This one was much bigger, its bark cracked to show the green energy underneath.

Streams of energy flowed from the tree to the rest of the Earth. Every few seconds, the light of the tree would glow and its energy would pulse away from it.

"This isn’t the same tree as before." I glanced down at Tucker and Luna who had changed into wolves as soon as we'd entered the new forest.

"This isn’t the only tree," Tucker said, canting his head to one side. "You can find trees like this all over the world, so long as you know where to look."

"Or if you have a guardian to show you the way," Luna added.

"But I thought the tree was the heart. Isn’t that why we’re going to sing to it?" I covered my ears when the tree hummed, sending another wave of energy into the Earth.

"The heart’s deep underground. Keeping it close to the surface, within reach, would mean anyone could take it. The anger you’ve seen is nothing like what could happen if anyone ever did find it."

"Why the trees?"

"They’re the Earth’s eyes and ears, Emma," Tucker explained. "Messengers."

"When we start to sing, the tree will hum, sending the song to all of the other trees," Luna said.

"But if it only needs us to sing, why does it take the guardians away?" I crumpled in front of them, throwing my arms around Tucker’s mane.

"Emma, look at me."

I raised my head at him.

"We don’t die. The guardians just fall into the Earth, remember? You taught me this."

"Both of you?" My eyes jumped from Tucker to Luna.

Luna nuzzled under my chin. "None of us know. It’s up to the Earth to decide who it needs to help it grow."

"When will I join you?"

"When you are ready," Tucker replied, his voice hoarse. "What does the rest of the song say?"

Rummaging through my pockets, I tore off the first verse I'd written before, placing the piece of paper between us.
This verse doesn't fit.
That was before I’d met the pack. Before the fever. I wasn’t just singing with Tucker anymore.

"Now all we need is our melody," Tucker said, nodding in Luna’s direction.

Tears pricked at the backs of my eyes. I couldn’t stand to watch and pressed a hand into each of their scruffs. Luna began to hum, and soon, the other wolves started to howl. Falling into the melody, I sang the words, my voice joined by many others.

On my perch / a ridge of white / I watch the sky / as it fills with light.

From where I am / the world falls / Our home, our haven / isn’t one at all.

We walk on pins and needles / as the world lies awake / Pins and needles / Pins and needles

We walk on pins and needles...

My voice trailed off, and I held back a cry when a searing pain ripped through my chest. Gasping for breath, I gripped at my wolves, unable to hear them and hoping they were still there. No one answered, and for a long moment, I feared the Earth had swallowed us whole. But then I heard it, a faint melody carried on the wind.

Something touched my cheek. Warm. Covered in fur.

"Emma, open your eyes."

* * * * *

E
mma

Time stopped then. Each time I gathered enough courage, the fear of what I might see crept in. Was it really Tucker I’d heard? Maybe I’d imagined it.

And what about Luna? I could feel both of them at my sides, so either we’d all survived, or we were dead. I strained to hear something. Anything aside for my beating heart.

Someone—Luna, I thought—nuzzled under my chin. "Why won't you open your eyes?"

Heat rushed to my cheeks as I grabbed at her neck fur. "I’m afraid of what I might see."

Tucker rumbled, shifting his weight to my left. "You’ll have to open them eventually."

"I know." My throat was tight. "I’m not ready."

"Ready?"

"What for?" Luna asked.

"For this to end. "
For your memories to end.
That was all this was, after all—my memories of them. As soon as I opened my eyes, they’d be gone. They’d be a dream, a story...a...

"Open your eyes," they urged, pulling away from me.

My heart cried out for them to stay with me, but they didn’t hear it. Resting the palms of my hands on the ground, I drew in a ragged breath.

I took another, slower than before. Was the air cleaner?

I opened my eyes and stared at the ground. My hands were still human, but the Earth beneath them had changed. There were still pine needles and snow, but peeking through the natural debris were fresh blades of grass.

I lifted my gaze, scanning the area in front of me along with the forms belonging to each of my wolves. I struggled to fight my nausea as it surged into the back of my throat.

Tucker's tail swept the ground behind him. "Well?"

"Are we dead?" I asked.

The wolves laughed at that.

"No, we aren't dead," Luna replied, bumping her head against Tucker’s shoulder.

"How?" It was all I could say.

"Why are we all still alive?"

I nodded.

Luna shrugged.

"It could be because you’re our alpha," Tucker suggested. "Or because you share a bond with the entire pack."

"Or because you fell in love with two guardians instead of one," Luna added. "Funny thing about life is that it’s unpredictable. We can only control our own actions. Everything else is up to fate."

"Are you still...you?" I asked.

"Of course we are!"

"So you’re still guardians?"

"You mean, can we shift?" Tucker chimed in, shifting as he did. "Looks like."

"Does this please you?" Luna padded up beside me before shifting to take me in her arms.

"It does." I hugged her back and kissed her on the lips.

The rest of the pack closed in around us.

"Looks like the Earth gave us a second chance at life." Tucker coiled an arm around my waist.

Luna broke our kiss and smiled. "He's right. It could've taken any one of us, and yet we all remain."