Guardian's Mate

Zander was a polar bear. Super-cold water and ice off the Alaska coast must be paradise to him. Rae liked beaches in Baja or Hawaii, long stretches of warm, empty sand, breezes, and cabana boys bringing her fruity cocktails. In theory—Rae had never actually been in any of these places.

Zander glanced behind Eoin to watch her impatiently, every inch a bear. Arrogant shit.

Rae drew a deep breath and willed her feet to make the jump, but her boat heaved upward while the other dropped. She lost her balance, dancing as she tried desperately not to fall between the undulating decks.

Zander reached Rae before Eoin could. He leaned across the stretch of blue water, grabbed Rae by both hands, and hauled her aboard.

His grip was immensely strong, pulling Rae right off her feet. She floated a few inches above the deck before she landed on the boards with a whump. The Sword of the Guardian banged against her back.

Zander dropped Rae’s hands and kicked aside an empty beer can, the liquid remnants trickling out. Eoin only steadied Rae, making sure she was all right. He said nothing about her clumsy entrance or Zander’s assist.

“Kendrick called me,” Zander said to Eoin. His voice was big and deep, matching his size. “I don’t get why you all expect me to train her. I’m not a Guardian.”

“You can show her how to fight with the sword,” Eoin countered. “And keep her safe at the same time.” His dark brows drew down and his voice filled with anger. “I didn’t have a choice. Shifters across the country are furious with me. They suspect me of rigging the sword, of cheating to bring a Guardian into my family. I can’t risk sending Rae to a Guardian in another Shiftertown—he might not be able to protect her from hostile Shifters. And no Shiftertown will let their Guardian leave long enough to travel to Montana to train her. I’m out of options.”

Zander listened to the barrage of words then held up his hands. “I understand. You need to hide her. You picked me because I’m allergic to happy, dancing-naked-in-circles love-fest Shifters. You also picked me because Kendrick has me by the balls. Doesn’t matter that I saved his frigging life. I save everyone’s lives. So, what happens if I out-and-out refuse to train her?”

He burned with frustration, while Eoin burned with sorrow. The two men stared at each other, each trying to make the other back down or at least come to some agreement. The forgotten factor in this equation was Rae.

She raised her voice. “Excuse me!”

Neither of them looked at her. Zander and Eoin were battling it out while remaining absolutely still, two Shifter alphas trying to out-dominate the other without lifting a paw. Zander didn’t want Eoin there—Eoin was shoving Rae onto him as a last resort.

Males.

Rae swung away on her booted feet and marched to the stern—at least she thought it was the stern. She knew crap-all about boats.

The speedboat that had brought them here was temptingly near. If she could leap back onto it, maybe she could convince the pilot to take her the hell out of there. Could the speedboat reach Hawaii? It was due south of here, however many hundreds of miles—not that Rae had ever been there. The bad thing about being Collared and stuffed into a Shiftertown was that Shifters didn’t get many tropical vacations.

The pilot wouldn’t obey her; she already knew that. The guy was human, paid by Eoin and intimidated by him too. Rae glanced down at the hefty man in stained sweatshirt and loose jacket, hands resting competently on the speedboat’s wheel. The guy had given her interested looks—many human males did, wondering what it would be like to have a quick shag with a Shifter—but he’d tried to hide his curiosity around her father. Rae supposed she could always promise him a taste if he’d take her out of there, and then overpower him and steal the boat once they’d gone far enough.

Rae shuddered immediately and turned away. Even if she could convince the man to disobey Eoin, he’d probably drive her over the horizon and then demand his price. He might throw her overboard if she refused. If Rae went wolf and subdued him, what did she know about navigating a boat through trackless sea? Plus, the guy might have a tranq rifle lying around, being a human used to dealing with Shifters. Rae didn’t want to think about what he’d do once he had her tranqued.

Besides, Eoin really was in a bind about Rae. He couldn’t keep her home and he couldn’t send her to another Shiftertown. A fishing boat with a crazy Shifter healer in the middle of Alaskan waters was the best he could do.

Rae reached the stern. Two fishing poles had been fixed here and one of them was whirring, the line playing a long way out.

“Hey, you have a bite!” Rae called down the deck.

Neither man paid attention. They’d started debating again, words carried out of Rae’s hearing by the wind.

Rae might not know about boats, but she knew about fishing. Montana’s lakes were full of fish, and she and her dad and foster brothers went out on lazy summer days and crisp fall mornings to fish. Big cats might hate water, but they loved fish.

Rae caught up the quivering pole and started reeling in the line. Steadily, not too slowly, not too rapidly.

Whatever had grabbed the bait was heavy, strong, and feisty. The fish jumped and pulled, trying to get free of the hook, but Rae kept on reeling, unrelenting.

When it came to the surface, she sucked in a breath. The fish was a giant of a thing; what it was, she didn’t know. It flashed silver, its belly white, as it leapt from the water.

“Woo-hoo!” Rae cried as she fought it toward the boat. “Fish steaks tonight.”

“Hey, don’t touch that!” Zander’s big voice rolled down the deck, followed by his stomping footsteps. A rush of air, fresh like a mountain breeze, brushed by as Zander reached her. His duster coat slapped her legs as he snatched the pole from her. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Landing your fish for you,” Rae said impatiently.

Zander snarled, his beaded braids swinging. “First rule on this boat—don’t touch anything.”

The fish made a final, amazing leap, and as it came down, the hook somehow worked itself from its mouth, the line snapping at the same time. Bleeding but free, the fish dove hard into the water, streaking away under the foam, and was gone.

“Shit!” Zander threw down the pole, line all over the place.

“I had it,” Rae growled at him. “I know how to fish—I was bringing him in.”