Guardian - 6. Chapter 6

After three days of not being able to leave the platformed area, Gabriel was getting highly irritated. Goliath would growl and give him warnings verbally when he went against him and was, most of the time, manhandled back into the bed. Sure he was given food and even bathroom breaks but when it came to anything else nothing was given to him unless big bad wolf did it first. Gabriel was getting fed up with him and fast. By the morning of the fourth day, Gabriel told himself he wasn’t going to take anymore of the ‘Alpha’s’ bullshit. So when he woke up with a still snoozing wolf beside him he got up, quickly hearing the warning growl but ignoring it as he went straight to the ladder. Obviously he was testing the wolf because the next thing he knew, he was being lifted, and that was when he snapped.

“That’s it! Put me down now! Right now!” He was so surprised when the man complied that he was slightly speechless but was quick to speak again when he saw the expression the adult made. “I’m tired of being stuck up here! You don’t let me out of your sight, fine! Whatever, but at least let me do my own thing! I hate feeling trapped and that’s all you’re doing! So just back off!” The look on the big man’s face was perfectly priceless but in his rage and anger Gabriel didn’t care. He left and climbed down the ladder, storming out of the barn, not even noticing how the whole pack quickly moved out of his way.

Orion stood, speechless and rather angered that the Jarkla even thought like that. He was just doing it to protect him, but if he was so keen on acting that way, well he’d just see about that. He wouldn’t be playing Mr. Nice anymore. If the Jarkla wanted to act like that, fine, but he was in for a very rude awakening.

Gabriel had no idea where he was going to be honest, and so he wouldn’t get lost, he stayed where he could see the barn. Finding a patch of tall grass, he planted himself down and sat there. He never had gone off on anyone in anger before and his blood was pumping so fast through his system his heart was again in his throat. But that wasn’t the only thing that was making the teen suddenly nervous. His hands were shaking from the excitement and his whole body felt as if it was on fire. He took slow and steady breaths to calm himself down, rubbing his hands together since they were still shaking. It took him a while to finally relax, his eyes staring at the ground and the bent grass beneath him. He pulled up a stock of grass and just messed with it, bending it and seeing how many knots he could tie in the single strand. He hadn’t realized he had dozed off.

When my eyes opened, I noticed that it was dark. Standing up quickly I looked around for the barn but didn’t see it. I panicked and ran in the direction I had come from, but still nothing. I stopped and turned again, running in another direction.

“Shit…” I muttered, turning once more and running into a clearing. I stopped to see a small pool of water and on the surface was the reflection of the moon. Looking up at the sky I saw it, bright and full. My body froze when a soft white orb left the moon and travelled down to the water, causing soft ripples in it. Was this a dream? I had to have been dreaming. My eyes were glued open and my body was frozen on the spot as I watched the water start forming something. The water was in the shape of a young woman, her body clothed with simple fabric and her hair short and curly like a man’s. I knew she was female however with her breast and curved body. Her eyes were closed and over her full body were markings that shined in a soft dark blue. My eyes caught hers when they opened, revealing a lavender iris. She smiled at me and planted her foot on the grass, the entire area coming to life in blooming flowers. I couldn’t speak as she came closer and gave a soft giggle.

“Hello.” I had to swallow the lump in my throat before I could speak.

“H-hi..” She giggled at my stuttered and squeaked response. “Wha-..I mean..who are you?” My voice cooperating this time when I asked.

“I’m like you. I am the last Jarkla.” I was completely confused. It was the same term and name I’d heard the wolf say.

“And what is that exactly?” Her head tilted at him.

“You mean you do not know?”

“Nope, completely clueless.” I admitted. She gave a sigh and reached out to take my hand.

“Walk with me, and I will tell you.” She said pulling me along. “Jarkla’s are the animal’s savior, the werewolves treasure and the human’s mystery.”

“Yep you lost me. Can we start at the beginning?” She laughed at me before she actually replied again.

“Yes we can. First steps shall we? What I mean by animal’s savior is that you are their voice in a way. We can understand their needs and wants by simply being around them. They feel our pain as well as our wants and needs. If we give them something, they will return it somehow. They will come to us for shelter, guidance, food and just the company of interaction.” Now I understood why animals had begun to flock to me. I walked with the girl through the tall grass that seemed to be never ending. “Werewolves are different, and as you can already see for yourself, they are real, and our best protector. Usually a single one will leave in search of us, gain our trust and become our guardian. Along with our guardian, we receive our partner, who is an animal that has given its life to serve us. And our eyes. A bird usually that we can share our eyes, to see what they can see and vice versa. Of course doesn’t happen all at once. You are 16 yes?” I nodded, trying to calculate everything she was telling me. She smiled. “Oh then you already have your guardian.” I finally stopped and she felt herself being jerked back by my side.

“But how do I know if I do or not? Please tell me it’s not Goliath.” I mumbled. She gave me a mystical laugh.

“If you mean Orion, no he’s not.” I was relieved by that but quite curious as to who my supposed ‘guardian’ was, as I titled my head staring at her. Did she know? She gave a smile and something inside me answered my question. “Tristan is your guardian.” I sulked. Great, my guardian was someone I didn’t even know. The girl gave a giggle and whispered in my ear. “The one you call Raoul.” Instantly I perked up, turning and almost smacking her with the sudden movement. She had to step back.

“What?” She smiled and skipped ahead and pulled back the tall grass and instantly the scene changed around them to the alleyway where Raoul’s still body rested around the stray animals. I tried to run forward but the girl stopped me.

“Do not touch him. He must rest, he was hurt badly with the collision to the wall.” I turned to her.

“But he’s ok right?” She smiled reassuringly to my question.

“Yes, the strays are helping him build his strength back. When he awakes, you both can meet in this place.”

“So..Tristan is his name right? He’s a wolf…” She giggled again. But I didn’t mind her giggles at all, they were mystical and even musical when they lasted longer than a second.

“He’s a werewolf, like Orion. And the alpha’s son west of here in the Island Pack.” My brows creased in confusion.

“So..how many packs are there?” She skipped around some, the scene changing again to a cliff side where the ocean crashed against its walls.

“A few, but just five main ones. Island Pack in Washington, Desert Pack down in the area of Arizona,; Prairie Pack, which is what Orion rules over; Southern Pack which takes up most of the southeast and then the Moon pack. They are up in the northeast and merge into the borders of Canada. That is where I’m from.” She said cheerfully. Of course, I was still trying to calculate everything and frowned when the girl skipped away. I stood there, my eyes skimming the area then going back to where she disappeared.

“Hey wait I had another question!” I said, wondering if she was gone. But she appeared again as a fox, the markings still over her face and her bright lavender eyes staring.

“Yes?” Now I had several other questions piling into my thoughts, watching her morph from the fox to a small humming bird then back into a human.

“Ok several now..first, how did you do that and secondly, will I get..those markings?” I held my hand up waving it down the length of my body. She jumped to me and smiled, getting rather close to my face but pulling away quickly.

“You learn over time to take different forms, but you will always have the markings, once your bond is complete with your guardian.” I groaned. Another answer that just caused another question.

“And what is that supposed to mean? This bond. How does it work? When will it happen. You are answering my questions but just causing more to form.” I said irritably

“You are very picky Gabey” She chimed, which made my expression slacken at her given nickname for me.

“Not picky, just…confused, irritated and bothered.”

“That’s still a lot. You know you affect the animals and were’s around you when are like that.” Her tone had changed from a musical tone to a serious one in the instant she said the phrase.

“Well how am I supposed to act when I was kidnappedby two guys and then stuck with this ‘Orion’ guy? My parents hate my ass so bad that they knocked me unconscious and left me to die on the side of the road. I’ve only ever felt comfortable around animals for the last couple of years, I lost my guardian, I’ve lost my chance of having a home and I so lost my insanity with you standing here calling me this ‘Jarkla ’or whatever thing that I’m supposed to be, this fucking savoir?! This is…idiotic! I’m not this Jarkla! I just want to go back to Lance’s place and hopefully get adopted by a family that will actually like me and have my wolf back!” She stood before me, staring at me as I shook with a soft rage. The silence between us was tense and my body felt like it weighed one hundred pounds more than normal.

“…Perhaps it was too soon to come to you. When you are ready to accept what you are, I will be here waiting.” I heard her soft voice fade and quite suddenly, everything went black.

Gabriel gasped and shot up, feeling like his lungs were deprived of air. He found himself still in the same spot he was before. Standing quickly, he grunted, his head swimming some at the sudden flow of blood. The sky was dark and he instantly sought out the barn. He saw it and made a mad dash to it. Panting he went in and he could see the worry on the werewolf faces he looked at. He gave a nervous smile and went to the ladder which rested on the ground.

“Damn…” he muttered, grabbing it and hauling it into place up on the platform. Not having that much difficulty, he climbed up to find Orion resting in his bed, hands behind his head and eyes closed. Gabriel now had to think. He stood at the edge just staring at him. His guardian, Tristan as he remembered his name, was hurt because of this guy. So what was he thinking he could do if he had succeeded in killing his wolf, if that was his goal. What was he doing here? Trying to remember what the girl told him he recalled when she said he was a werewolf treasure. What made him a treasure to them? Regretting being so mean to the past Jarkla, he bit his lip. Today just wasn’t his day. First he blew up at this guy which he did give props to for healing his now scared arms, feeding and giving him shelter and his own bed to sleep in. All Gabriel asked for really was just some space. It was a lot to think about, and with what happened he wanted to feel exhausted but he wasn’t.

“Are you going to stand there all day?” He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard Orion speak to him, looking at him with a single eye open and staring at him.

“No…I was just thinking,” he said defiantly and Orion snorted at him and closed his eye again. Gabriel sighed heavily and let his arms hang beside him. After a few more moments, he decided that maybe it was time to at least try and get answers from the alpha male. Walking over to the bed, he sat on the edge. “Can I ask you a few questions?” he muttered, afraid to actually ask the questions, not knowing if he’d get any answers or just be ignored. He watched Orion’s eyes open and look at him.

“What kind of questions?”

“Spare me the type, will you just answer them? Or I can be a complete jerk to you for the rest of the time I’m here.” Gabriel replied, a frown largely formed on his face. Orion raised his brow slightly and gave a snort, sitting up.

“Fine. Ask your questions then Jarkla.”

“First off, don’t call me that. My name is Gabriel.”

“Mmhm. Fitting name.” Gabriel couldn’t help but blush a little at that, Orion’s eyes just staring at him. He couldn’t hold the gaze as he looked away, behind the man then back when he asked his question.

“Why am I important to you? What makes me being here benefit you?” He watched the smile form on Orion’s lips and heard the soft chuckle he gave.

“There is only ever one of your kind. Every pack fights for you. Whoever is able to label you as his, or hers, and given the title of Guardian, gains most rule over the other packs. Over the years, your power will grow, and others will do anything for you. In short, you can think of yourself as what the human’s call “Christ”. While they have their god, we have our Mother Moon who sends her love to a single form, you the Jarkla, in hopes to combine her children under a single rule. That rule being the Guardian of the Jarkla.” Gabriel stared at him and blinked, looking away and again calculating what he said.

“So, the big picture basically is that, whoever my guardian is rules over the packs?” Orion gave a rather large smirk.

“Pretty much.”

“And let me take a wild guess, you want to be my guardian?” Gabriel watched as Orion actually rolled his eyes at the teen.

“You think I’d let anyone sleep in my bed?” he muttered. Gabriel gave a snort and crossed his arms.

“Hey, how do you expect me to know about you right off the bat and know that you’re not just some horny guy who fucks everything he sees?”

“No tempting.”

“Not what I wanted to hear!” exclaimed the teen. Orion gave a chuckle.

“Are you done?”

“No!” He was fuming and Orion was just smiling at his aggravation. “What if I have a guardian already?” Orion’s pupils narrowed some.

“I would have to have him killed.”

“Ok stop right there. Why? “ Gabriel asked rather demandingly. He wasn’t expecting to be touched so the sudden grab made him squeak, Orion’s nose touching Gabriel’s when he was pulled into his lap.

“Because I want to be your guardian. I will be the best and no one will match me.” His voice was in a growl and Gabriel couldn’t tear his eyes away from Orion’s. Gabriel gave a swallow.

“O-ok..o-one more question.” He tried to pull away but Orion only let him lean back, the teen stuck in the man’s lap as much as he despised how small he felt sitting in it. “What’s the bonding?” Orion gave a slight tilt of his head. He hadn’t even mentioned the bonding so how did he know of it? No matter to Orion, the man smiled.

“That happens when you’re…older usually. I should let you take a wild guess on what it is.” Gabriel’s face flushed immediately after Orion’s tone and his whole body became increasingly hot. Orion smiled and gave a soft laugh at the look the teen was giving him.

“What if I don’t want to?” He finally was able to ask and Orion’s single finger was placed on his lips.

“Too late, you already asked your last question.” Gabriel glared at him despite his red face. “Now, I have a slight bone to pick with you,” he mentioned, Gabriel getting more and more uncomfortable in his lap. “I didn’t appreciate your little tantrum today, so for a small punishment, you can go without dinner.” Gabriel’s body slackened and his glare got even worse, his head lowering, forcing his eyes to look up at the man’s face.

“Isn’t that a kind of punishment to give to your own kids?” he grumbled. Orion chuckled.

“Technically little Gabriel, I could be your grandfather.” At that comment, Gabriel tried desperately to get out of his lap. Laughing rather loudly, he let the teen up who was completely flustered and stalking off back down the ladder, after he turned and gave his own replay, sending Orion in another round of laughter.