Page 2 of Guardians

Lexie reached over and felt Bianca’s forehead. “You’re burning up. You need the antibiotics that were in the medical kit.” The medical kit that was stolen by the hybrids. Damn it. “We have to find out who has the kit and get it back.”

“Any idea how… we do that?” Bianca asked around a fit of coughing.

Tara and Lexie just looked at each other. Their camp was closer to the feline village, but wolf hybrids were ruthless. Wolves took what they wanted without thought or consideration for anyone else. Lions, on the other hand, liked to stalk their prey, watching and waiting for the perfect opportunity to ambush the unsuspecting. Either village could be responsible for the raid, but Lexie’s money was on the wolves.

“I’ll start with the cats,” Lexie decided. “I’ll propose a barter. There has to be something we have that they want.”

Tara scoffed softly as she poked the fire with a long stick. “We all know what they want. Are you willing to barter your body for antibiotics that they may or may not have?”

Lexie looked at Bianca’s pale face and compassion squeezed her heart. Tara was outspoken and opinionated. She could grate on people’s nerves after a while. Bianca was sweet. She never had an unkind word for anyone. She also had skills this camp desperately needed. If it hadn’t been for the hybrid raid, Bianca could have used the equipment to formulate an antibiotic from indigenous plants.

Decision made, Lexie said, “It’s worth a conversation.”

“Then I’m coming with you,” Tara insisted, sounding anything but enthused about the idea. “Even if they decide to keep us, it has to be better than staying here.”

“I don’t want you to go,” Bianca insisted, pausing for another round of rattling coughs. “It’s too dangerous.”

“It’s not up to you,” Tara said firmly. “We’re not going to wander around camp while you grow weaker and weaker. If the cats don’t have the kit, they likely know who does.”

“I agree. Besides…” Lexie took a deep breath and said what she’d been thinking for the past few days. “We’re not going to survive the winter unless one of the villages takes us in. The cats are the most likely to allow it, but we need to approach them carefully.”

Tara shook her head, her gaze shimmering with conflicting emotions. “The cats already offered to let us join their village—as slaves and whores. Do you honestly think their terms will change?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Lexie shot back. “Ourconditions have changed. They’re our only hope. It’s time we admit it.”

They lapsed into tense silence after that, and Lexie’s mind drifted back to the day last week when one of the feline hybrids casually strolled into camp. His demeanor had been non-threatening, but his proposal had been anything but friendly. Still, Lexie couldn’t rid her mind of his image. He’d been tall and sleekly muscled with shaggy brown hair. His eyes were an intense silver-blue that made Lexie feel as if he could see all her secrets. There was nothing overtly feline about his rugged features, but his altered DNA was apparent in every move he made. He walked with the restrained strength of a prowling lion.

Dressed in jeans and a bulky sweater—no coat of any kind—he strolled to the center of camp as if he belonged there and simply began speaking. “I am known as Kane and I speak for the feline village. Anyone who did not directly participate in the experiments is invited to join our village.”

Dr. Babcock glared and took a step forward. “And those of us more directly involved will be left out here to starve?”

Kane stalked toward him, movements suddenly menacing. “If it were up to me, you would be dead already, but our leaderdecided to let Rydaria decide your fate.” He shifted his focus to the entire group as he reiterated, “Anyone directly involved in the experiments isnotwelcome in our village. There are no exceptions.”

Lexie looked around. Everyone in her tent, in fact all the people she socialized with, had been peripheral players in the Griffin Project. The physicians, nurses, and geneticists who had conducted the actual experiments moved off, clustering around Dr. Babcock. They spoke in urgent whispers, desperation clearly written on their faces. Lexie didn’t socialize with them, but simple compassion made her want to intervene. Common sense, however, kept her silent. It was obvious that the hybrid wasn’t finished speaking.

Kane turned his back on Dr. Babcock and his companions, dismissing them and proving that he didn’t consider them a threat. Eagerness rippled through the crowd as the hybrid refocused on the other humans. “Our community has strict rules, and you will abide by all of them. First and foremost, everyone works. If you don’t work, you don’t eat. It’s as simple as that.”

No one argued. They adopted a similar policy shortly after arriving on Rydaria. Life here was hard and everyone had to pull their weight or it negatively impacted the entire camp.

When no one responded, Kane continued his explanation. “You’ll perform the tasks assigned to you without argument. Unlike this camp, our village is not run by committee. The strongest member of our pride is our leader, and his word is law.” Kane paused as if to see if anyone would object. No one said a word. Starvation and frostbite made people surprisingly agreeable. “Lastly, every female must be claimed by one of ourcoalitions. Her mates will provide for and protect her. This is theonlyway females will be allowed beyond our gates.”

“Did you say mates? As in more than one?” someone in the shadows asked.

“What’s a coalition?”

Lexie could answer that one. “A coalition is a group of male lions who work and hunt together. In the wild it greatly increases their chances of survival.”

Kane’s shimmering gaze locked on her face, intent and assessing. “You know about lions?”

“It was my job to know,” she said simply.

“What if we don’t want more than one mate?” Tara objected. “What if we’re not ready for a mate at all?”

Other murmurs and whispered objections rippled through the crowd, but no one else addressed the hybrid directly.

Kane just stared at Lexie as if he couldn’t make his gaze shift from her face.

Apparently tired of being ignored, Tara went on, “You said our mates will protect us. Do you mean from the other hybrids or from the other people in your village? Will we be in danger if we accept your offer?”

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