Heart of the Guardians: Adoring Destiny by Adrianna Adore (best books to read for self improvement txt) 📕

“We weren’t aware you kept records.” Scrimson finally said.

“Because you spent all of your time hunting and killing us.” Dimitri replied but there was no anger in his voice, he was stating facts. “It’s true, many of my kind are mindless predators when they change. Many shift into shapes no larger than a wolf, there isn’t room for the human side of brain, only animal. Those of us that survived your purges have kept the writings safe.”

“Why did they kill the king if all they wanted was peaceful entry?” James demanded. “Why start a war?”

“Did you not hear?” Dimitri asked “You and your ancestors are the only fools who didn’t bury and forget the entrance. We need it to find the breach in our lands. The king must have suspected we would come out of desperation, a team to force entry. Why were you not consulted, esteemed council? Why did you not know of this? Why did the king not help us to close a portal?”

There were uncomfortable glances around the room. They knew the truth of it. Because the king wanted them dead. He still bore the scars of a werewolf encounter from his youth and still held grudges. There hadn’t been open warfare between the Werewolves and the more civilized shifters for centuries, a fragile truce had been established, but there was no love lost between them. If the wolves were being killed fighting hell spawn creatures prowling their lands, the king didn’t really care.

“I don’t think my countrymen killed the guards or the safe cracker.” Dimitri said to their disbelieving looks. “If you examine their wounds, they will be from creatures that came out of the portal. If your king had not interfered, you would have found them tied up in the morning.”

“We have been searching for a hundred years to find the breach.” Dimitri continued over their gasps of outrage. “There are uncharted caves and crevices all along the thousands of miles of mountains. It could be anywhere. We can locate it from the other side, from inside the portal. The writings say the openings glow and pulsates with energy. You have all passed through for your initiation rites, how did you find your way back? You followed the pulse, you searched for the light in the dimness, yes? You are not of that world so this world pulls you back, you feel the draw, correct? The scrolls say it is so, is it true?”

The council members shifted in their seats and didn’t meet his stare. The lion, the cougar and the tiger had gone through the portal but at the whispered advice of their mentors, they hadn’t strayed far from the door. They prowled the dim world but kept the faint yellowish glow within sight until the hour had passed.

“Yes.” James said when no one else answered. “I was attacked when I went in for my testing. There were too many to fight so I fled into the forest. I ran blindly but I never felt lost. I always knew the way home.”

“Exactly.” Dimitri said. “It is written. If you would have traveled farther, you would have felt the pull from another entrance. The world inside the portal is a dark mirror of ours and it is said time is different, too. It is believed that with a large enough force going through, they could fight off any attackers, they could have traveled freely, mapped the other world and found the breach.”

“If you know all of this, why didn’t you come to us?” Scrimson asked. “If the king wouldn’t listen, you could have approached one of us before you broke in and caused all this destruction.”

“No one knows who you are.” Dimitri said. “Stigmund would not divulge your identities. You are quick to disparage his name, to throw him under the bus as you say, but he was an honorable man. You hide yourselves in ceremony and secrecy. We asked him to appeal to the king but he was commanded to be silent on the matter, to never mention it in the Kings’ presence again, so he helped us in other ways. He led hundred-man search parties to try to backtrack the creatures that prowled the mountains but we never found anything.”

“You should have come to me.” James said.

“You?” Dimitri scoffed. “You were too busy going to parties, bedding beautiful women, racing your fancy cars and getting your picture in the paper. Would you have listened to a lying dog?” he asked, throwing James’ words back in his face.

“Enough.” Scrimson said when James stood in anger, his chair tipping over behind him. “You bicker like old women. We have funerals and coronations to plan, new council members to bring into the fold and a thousand other duties. You two go down to the portal, see if you can pick up the scents of the unnaturals that came through and try to track them before they start slaughtering our citizens. Succeed and we will weigh the merits of allowing you to enter the portal to find your breach,” he added with a solemn nod to Dimitri.

“I’m not working with him.” James said.

“YOU WILL DO AS YOU ARE TOLD!” Scrimson roared and slammed his fist on the table, his fangs showing and the old lions’ hair growing shaggy. “YOU ARE NOT THE KING AND YOU WILL OBEY THE ORDERS OF THE COUNCIL!”

James bit back his retort and glared at the wolfman. Just a few hours ago he’d been planning a weekend retreat with Claire, he’d been deliriously happy. Now he was dragged back into a world he’d tried to escape, his uncle was dead, the council was useless old men, monsters stalked the city and he was saddled working with one of the dog men who had started this whole mess.

“Come on, then,” he told Dimitri as he stood, “follow me and don’t steal anything.”

Scrimson shook his head.

“Go with them, Frank. Try to keep them