"It's good to see you too. But I'm not a little girl anymore." She points to the mating mark on her neck.
He snags the back of her head, pulling her to him, and placing a kiss to the top of her raven colored hair. "Congratulations!" Then he releases her and grabs Kit into a hug. "Welcome to the family." He turns his attention back to Emily. "I'm sorry we couldn't..."
"Don't even. You had to be there for Bloom."
"Well, once all the drama is behind us we're going to have a blow out of a party to celebrate all the newly mated pairs."
"Who else got mated?"
"Those nuts behind me." He responds while pointing over his shoulder at Tucker and Bonnie. Emily's eyes grow wide in surprise. "You caught her."
"I am not prey. If anything I'm the hunter in this relationship." Bonnie declares as she crosses her arms stubbornly.
Tucker arches one brow. "You barely reach my chest."
"I'm a Guardian." She shoots back with a glare.
"I'm an almost 300 pound wolf."
"Don't piss me off, wolf. I'm a trained hunter."
"Your little guns don't scare me. I heal quickly."
She pulls out the dagger Tillie and Heath gave her, and taps it against his chest. "Let's see how quickly you heal when I skin your wolf and put his hide in front of my fire place."
He grabs her at the waist, pulling her closer, all the while smashing the dagger between them. His head dips to her ear, and he whispers something only she can hear. Whatever he's saying has her melting against him, and a smile tugging at her lips.
Elder Fina, who along with everyone else had been watching the Tucker and Bonnie show, shakes her finger in their direction, declaring. "She may be human, but she's fierce like a wolf. I like her!"
Her declaration causes a ripple of chuckles to go through the group. All except Elder Cathal, whose brow is pinched in confusion. "Guardian?"
Pike moves towards him and pats him on the shoulder. "Let's go inside. We have a lot to tell you."
****************************
Our whole group, having moved into one of the conference rooms on the ground floor of the mansion, is sitting around an absurdly large mahogany table in butter soft brown leather office chairs. Pike has just relayed all the news not only about Oracles and Guardians, but also about Kyran's plan to attack. The attack has seemed to slip their notice because they've all latched onto the idea of our gifts. I'm feeling like a rare bug under a microscope as they're all looking at Amelia, Tillie, Bonnie, and myself in awe.
"Oracles and Guardian's? I thought they were a myth." Lilith Cade, Elder Andrew's mate, says not taking her eyes off me.
"So says the shifter." Bonnie shoots back. I can feel the tension coming off her through our connection. It's something I'm not use to. Bon and I have always been close but to know we have something that will always connect us is going to take some getting used to. Not to mention this crazy protective side. She's kind of turned into a miniature more lethal secret service agent. With a ton more fire power and skill.
"You've heard of them?" Elder Andrew questions his mate.
"My nana use to tell me a story when I was little about an Oracle and Guardian who saved their pack. It was my favorite bedtime story. I never believed they could be real."
"I don't know if the people from the story were real but Oracles and Guardians are, seeing that we now have four sitting in our presence." Pike responds.
"And Bloom has had a vision about Kyran leading this other pack to attack us?" Elder Cathal asks, finally moving onto the most important piece of information. It's about time!
I ignore my wolf and answer. "I have, though I can't say when they'll strike. I'm new to my gifts, so I can't control them."
Amelia taps the table to get my attention. "You'll eventually be able to with practice. But it'll take time."
"Can you see when the attack will happen?" Cathal asks her.
"For our gifts to work on that level we have to be connected to the person somehow. By pack, close friends, or blood. I'm new to this pack and though you may still consider him pack, the magic that binds me to you does not. So I have no way of searching out the future that's a direct result of his doing."
"So what do we do? We don't know who he has coming with him or even when to expect the attack." Elder Isla asks.
"We prepare. Bloom and Bonnie are going to work on their gifts. And the rest of the pack needs to brush up on their fighting skills." Pike states from his position at the head of the table.
"But..." Isla starts.
"No." Pike cuts her off. "I'm not forcing anyone. They'll volunteer and we'll need more than just fighters. We'll need people to protect the children and weaker wolves. And though we heal we'll still need people for medical just in case an injury needs some assistance while healing."