Evelyn

"So, you're the one who has caused this mess." Said the unfamiliar man standing in the doorway. He was about six foot two and was built like an Olympic swimmer with black hair that was shaved thin, dark brown eyes, and dark tan skin.

He crossed his arms and looked down at me with a glare.

"If it wasn't for you, my daughter would be safe in her bed right now, but she is out hiding in the forest full of hunters, and it's all your fault," he growled, taking a step towards me with clenched fists.

I took a step back, bumping into a really pissed-off Clay.

Clay growled, then stepped in front of me, his body seemed to swell, and his eyes glowed as he held his Guardian back. "I don't care about your rank. Talk to my mate like that again, and we'll see who's the more dominant wolf."

The man growled, looking up at Clay as he stalked forward. They were nose to nose when my father stepped in.

"That's enough, Wovoka; you need to calm down," demanded Father.

"I will not let this pup disrespect me, Alpha," Growled Wovoka.

"You will calm down now; you and your daughter are already on thin ice. Don't make me banish you when I know it isn't safe," said Father.

Wovoka stormed out of the house with a growl, slamming the door behind him.

"Who was that?" I asked Clay

"That is our Chiefs Beta, or second in command, Wovoka Williams. He is also Harmony's father. He lost his wife a few years back, and now he has to take care of three girls alone."

"Oh, I didn't know Harmony's mom died," I said, I know it's not easy to lose your mom.

"That doesn't excuse them for being so mean and nasty." Says Lala, "So, who's this little guy?" she asked, motioning towards the boy in my arms.

"I don't know his name," I explained, then looked down at him, "What's your name, little man?"

"Jathson," he said around his thumb.

"Did you say, Jackson?"

He nodded, then laid his head on my shoulder.

I smiled, then looked up to find Clay watching me with a smile.

"What are you smiling about?" I asked.

His smile grew wider as he leaned down to kiss my forehead, then cupped my face. "You will be an amazing mother someday, Little Bird." He said in a soft voice.

I hid my face in Jackson's hair as all the blood in my body rushed to my face.

It was a little while later when the sun was starting to set. My father was in the kitchen talking with Clay's parents, while Clay, Jackson, and I were in the living room, cuddled on the couch, watching Aladdin.

"I love this movie," I said, grabbing a handful of popcorn as Aladdin rode on a magic carpet.

There was a commotion in the backyard.

We all got up to look out the backdoor to find twin gray and white wolves dragging a smaller black wolf. Behind them was my brother's large charcoal wolf.

"That's Harmony." Says Clay as we all step out onto the back deck. The twin wolves shifted, revealing Cole and Flint.

"We found her hiding in an old wolf den deep in the forest," says Cole.

When Harmony spotted Clay, she shifted back with a manic smile on her face. "Oh, Clay, have you come back for me? She's gone now, isn't she" she giggled. "I knew you would come back for me."

This girl has genuinely gone bonkers.

I handed Jackson to Lala, then stepped off the deck so she could see me. She gasped with shock, eyes growing wide as I stalked towards her.

"How can you be alive!" she whined

.I grabbed her by the throat as I leaned into her face. "It's all your fault that I was taken. Because of you, I was tortured and forced to expose our secrets to the world," I growled.

Someone touched my back; I turned and snarled at them but stopped when I saw it was Clay, "Let her go, Little Bird; I know you're angry; believe me when I say I'm angry too, but this isn't the way."

With a growl, I reluctantly let her go with a shove. When I turned my back, she lunged for me, shifting into her wolf as she went for my neck.

I exploded into my wolf before she could reach me with a ferocious growl. We tumbled through the yard, chunks of fur flew, and blood sprayed as we fought. When I finally gained the upper ground, I pinned her to the ground with my teeth at her throat.

My father's giant solid white wolf stalked forward; when he nodded, I stepped back, panting with exhaustion.

I was startled when a hand touched my head; I looked up to find Clay crouched before me, so we were face to face. "You never cease to amaze me Little Bird."

"She has generations' worth of Alpha blood in her veins." Said a very naked Asher.

I groaned, hiding my face in my paws.

The guys just laughed, assholes...

"You really need to get used to the nudity, sister; we Guardians get naked often when we shift," Asher said with a smile.

The sun was entirely set when Wovoka came and picked up his daughter. I took a much-needed shower, said goodnight to Jack, then followed Clay to our bedroom. I was so tired that I could barely keep my eyes open. Clay lay on his back as I snuggled into his side, with our legs entwined.

"I love you, Little Bird." He said with a kiss on my forehead.

"I love you too, fuzzy butt" With a happy sigh, I fell into a deep sleep.

A few days passed, and now we were on our way to Kansas, a thirteen-hour drive from Topton to Cottonwood Falls. We would have taken an airplane, but it was too dangerous with my face plastered all over the news.

"Why do we have to meet them in Kansas?" I asked as I snuggled against Clay in the backseat.

Joining us for the trip were Asher, Cole, and Flint. My father didn't want a large group; apparently, that would look too suspicious. When I tried to explain to him that a girl in a car full of men usually looked suspicious, he just waved it off.

"Kansas is the middle ground for the council. It's easier for them when they're all scattered around the US and Canada." Explained Clay.

"How does one become an Elder on the council?" I asked

"When the Council was created, the Great Spirits marked them with a symbol of their element on their forehead. When an Elder dies, the new Elder is chosen by the Great Spirits and will receive the mark of the Elder that died." Explained Father

A few hours later, we stopped by a gas station to get gas and to use the bathroom. When Clay and I returned to the truck, the guys were huddled together, looking at something on Flint's phone. My stomach sank when Asher looked up at me with a sad look on his face.

"You don't want to see this sister," he said

"I deserve to know," I growled.

"Let's watch it together, Little Bird," Clay said, taking Flint's phone, then lowered it so I could see.

I gasped when I saw the familiar face of Father Lucas. My knees shook as Clay pressed play.

"Hello world. Today I will show you more proof of the demons that walk among us. See for yourselves as they attack my men and me." He said; then the video showed a tiny Native community that someone had lit on fire. In the video, a woman shifted into a lynx, then attacked a man, ripping his throat out with her teeth. A gun went off, and the lynx went down. When the lynx died, it shifted back into a woman with empty soulless eyes. I was horrified as I watched all the lynx Guardians die.

The video stopped, and Father Lucas said, "Did you see that? Those evil demons live among us. They could be anyone, a friend, a co-worker, or even your neighbor. We are not safe; we must kill them all before they kill us, stay tuned for more. I will return with more proof that demons do exist next time."

I stood there frozen, unable to look away from the monster I saw on the screen. My stomach turned, knowing it wasn't the end and it would get much worse.

I jumped when Clay touched my shoulder; I turned to see a horrified look on his face.

"What are we going to do?" I asked in a whisper.

With a sigh, Clay ran his hand through his hair, then said, "I don't know, Little Bird. I think the only thing we can do right now is get to the Elders; maybe they will have some insight into what we should do."

"Clay's right, sister; there isn't much we can do right now." Said Asher, pulling me in for a one-arm hug.

"We need to get going, kids; it's not safe for us to stay in one place for long," Said Father.

I opened my eyes to find myself back in the church. I was in my Guardian form, searching through every room. I froze when I saw the sizeable bloody figure chained to the floor. I shifted, falling to my knees, screaming "NO!!!" when I saw my mate's dead soulless eyes.

I gasped awake, screaming when strong hands cupped my face. I sobbed as my vision cleared, and Clay's worried face appeared.

"Shh, Little Bird, it was just a nightmare." He said, wiping my tears with his thumbs.

"You...were…dead," I said in between sobs.

"Oh, Little Bird." He said, pulling me close with a light kiss on the lips."It was just a nightmare, baby; I'm right here," He said, placing my hand on his chest. "Feel my heartbeat."

I curled up in his lap with my head on his chest to hear his heart beating. Clay wrapped his arms around me, rubbing my back soothingly, then kissed me softly on the forehead.

Once I calmed down, I looked out the window to find the sun shining brightly. "Where are we?" I asked, wiping my snotty face with the bottom of my shirt.

"We still have another five hours to go. We're about to stop for something to eat and to stretch our legs," said Father from the passenger seat.

I watched out the window, still sitting in Clay's lap, as we pulled off the highway, then soon pulled into a Mcdonalds. After parking, we all stretched our legs and used the bathroom. I wore one of Clay's oversized hoodies to hide my face, hoping no one would recognize me.

I was in the bathroom taking care of business when two girls walked in.

"Did you see that video?" asked a nasally voice.

"You mean the one about the girl who changed into a wolf?" the other girl said.

"Yeah, I mean, do you even think it's real? With the technology today, it could be completely fake." Said the nasally voice.

"I thought it was all staged until I saw the second video. I can't believe Father Lucas posted a video with all those dead people like that, and there was so much blood."

"I saw that video too. I thought it was sad when Father Lucas's people killed all those Lynx people; they were just defending themselves." Said nasally voice

"Do you really think they're demons?" asked the other girl

"I don't know, Katie," said the nasally voice.

After they left, I sat there thinking about what they had said. I thought deeply as I walked out to find Clay waiting for me in the hallway.

"Are you okay, Little Bird?" he asked, pulling me in for a kiss.

I nodded, "I will be okay as long as you are with me."

A smile lit his face as he leaned in for another kiss.

After we ate, we all got back into the Bronco, with my father now back in the driver's seat, then headed off for Kansas.

Five hours later, I was gaping at the large building that looked like a small medieval castle painted white with a red roof.

"Why are we at a courthouse?" I asked Clay as we made our way up the steps.

"The mayor is a Guardian and lets us use it for council meetings. It's the best place to judge someone's crimes, don't you think?" he joked

."Well, duh, it's a courthouse," I said

"Exactly," said Clay with a smug smile.

We followed my father down a long hallway; at the end of the hall was a door that revealed a spiral staircase to the next floor. At the bottom of the stairs was a booth where we had to tell an older lady our names and sign in.

"Go ahead and sit inside; the Elders will be with you shortly." She said, eyeing me up and down as she handed me a visitor's badge.

We stepped into the large room with five high-back seats on one side and five more on the other. Each seat had a picture of an element where that particular Elder had to sit with wooden placards with their names on the desks.

I sat next to Clay, lacing our fingers together as we waited.

Ten minutes later, the door opened, and the Council members entered the room.

We all stood and bowed our heads as the Elders took their seats. They each wore white robes with colored sashes that represented their elements.

"You may rise," said a deep voice that amplified through the large room, "Bring the girl forward."

My father bowed, greeting the older man with long gray hair bound in a braid, wrinkly dark-tanned skin, and dark brown eyes. He wore a green sash and had the elemental symbol for the earth in the center of his forehead.

"Thank you for coming all this way, Alpha Denton; please introduce the young girl," Says the old man with a raspy voice.

"Elder Okhamhka, I want to introduce my daughter, Evelyn Denton."

"Young Evelyn, I am Elder Okhamhka, Elder of the wolves and coyotes. It was you who was forced to expose us. Am I correct?" asked Elder Okhamhka.

I bowed my head respectfully, then answered, "Yes, Elder, it was me."

"We asked you to come here so Elder Tocho could look into your mind to see the truth for ourselves. If what you say happened is the truth, we will not punish you, but if we find you have lied, you will be sentenced to death for treason. Do you understand this young pup?"

I nodded, "I understand, Elder. I promise you that what I say is not a lie."

The Elder nodded, "Very well." He then motioned for an older woman with long silver hair split into twin braids, wrinkly tan skin, and milky white eyes. This Elder wore a purple sash with the spirit symbol on her forehead. She moved slowly, using a cane for balance as she walked.

"Come closer, child. I am much too old to walk so far," she demanded

I met her halfway, then knelt before her... "My name is Elder Tocho, Elder of the wild cats in the US. I will search through your memories for the truth." She said, then placed her palms on my temples.

I tensed when a slight pressure filled my head, then my memories flashed before me one by one. She started from the beginning and then moved on and on. I got to see the one memory of me and mom where I pretended to be Cinderella, and she pretended to be the fairy godmother. I smiled as those memories flashed before my mind. I hated when I got to see the day of my mother's death, when I threw up everything I ate, being bullied by Harmony, then being taken by Father Lucas. Tears were streaming down my face when she pulled away.

"I feel so much pain coming from you, dear child." She said, cupping my face. Then turned to the others. "Evelyn told us the truth; I saw with my own eyes as he torchered a little four-year-old boy to make Evelyn do the video."

"She should have just let the boy die," said an old man with short gray hair, brown eyes, and dark tan skin.

"Would you let an innocent boy be tortured?" Said a woman with long white hair.

"The boy's life would have been a great sacrifice to save our people." Growled the gray-haired man.

"Elder Payatt, you can see she is a young girl. Anyone in her situation would have done the same thing," said Elder Okhamhka.

I jumped when I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I turned to find Clay watching me. He pulled me to his side, breathing heavily with anger.

"You two are true mates," said Elder Tocho, looking from me to Clay,""At such a young age too. I can see the invisible thread that ties you together, but it has yet to be completed."

"What do you suppose we do with the child?" Said Elder Payatt

"I don't think she deserves to be punished. The girl has been through enough, and now is the time for us to work together to find a solution." Said Elder Okhamhka.

"Let's put it to a vote," says Elder Tocho, "All in favor of punishing the girl" Three hands lifted, and one was Elder Payatt, and the other two were on the Canadian side.

"How about letting the girl go and working together to find a solution?" Said Elder Tocho. I sighed in relief when seven hands rose up.

"Looks like the girl is free to go; we will inform you, Alpha Denton when we figure out a solution." Said Elder Okhamhka.

"I have one quick question." Said Father, "What do we do about the kids' education? None of the Guardian children are safe in the human schools."

"Alpha Denton has a good point," said a woman with long brunette hair on the Canadian side.

"We will contact you as soon as we come up with a solution," repeated Elder Okhamhka.

After that, we left the courthouse and stayed at a local motel.