Spirit Guardian

Be careful what you hunt

Must have 10 comments and 20 votes for another chapter. Photo above was made by me  on Leonardo AI. I know Leah's fur is lighter but this was the best I could get.

                    At the Swan residence, Edith speeds around Bella's bedroom grabbing clothes and throwing them in a backpack. Koda does the same for her father as Bella explains what happened at the baseball game to Charlie. "The first place he'll go is here, Dad. He'll track my scent to you, and if you died because of me.... I," she choked out with tears in her eyes. Charlie pulls his daughter into his arms, doing his best to comfort her.

                   "It's not your fault, Bells," he whispered as she cried into his shirt, overwhelmed with fear for her father's life but also her own. In Bella's room, Edith halts at the sound of her mate crying, causing tears that would never fall to fill her eyes. A touch on her shoulder brings Edith out of her own thoughts.

                    She looks over, seeing Koda, "Everything is going to be ok," Koda proclaimed.

                    Edith was surprised by her confidence, "How can you be so sure?" she asked, no longer hiding the fear in her voice.

                   "Because she has you," Koda replied, surprising Edith. She knew how protective Koda was over her family, and for her to trust Edith with her sister's life meant a great deal.

                   "...Thank you," Edith whispered. Minutes later, Koda and Edith walk down the stairs and into the living room, where Bella and Charlie stand.

                    Charlie reluctantly lets his daughter go and looks at Edith, "Keep her safe," he orders, but Edith can see the pain and fear in his eyes. His daughter was in danger, and he could do nothing to protect her.

                    "With my life," Edith vowed, then left with Bella. Koda and Charlie stood on the porch watching as Bella's truck disappeared down the road. Suddenly Koda's eyes snapped to the tree line from across the street. A deep growl rumbled in her chest, surprising her father. He followed her line of sight to the trees, but his human eyes couldn't see the danger before them.

                    "Ko?" he whispered in an uneasy tone. James watched them from the tree line weighing his options. He wasn't sure what Koda was, and even though he loved a good fight, he loved the thrill of the hunt more. He turns away from the Swan household and disappears into the woods.

                    Edith drives Bella's truck towards the Cullen's house, "Koda will keep Charlie safe," she said, trying to reinsure her mate.

                    Bella pulled her eyes from the car window and looked at Edith, "I know, but who will protect her?" she asked. Edith looks back at the road, not knowing what to say. She knew that leaving Koda and her father like that wasn't easy.

                    "I'm...sorry. If I had been stronger, you would have never been pulled into this world," Edith finally admitted. Bella could hear the overwhelming pain and regret in Edith's voice.

                    "I don't regret any of it.... even if I could go back in time, I would still follow you into those woods every time," Bella proclaimed, shocking Edith. Bella reaches forward and takes Edith's right hand from the steering wheel she had been clenching and intertwines their fingers. Edith thought she couldn't love Bella any more than she already did, but at this moment, her love for the human next to her lit up like a raging fire that would never be extinguished. Soon they pull up to the Cullen household, and Edith jumps out of the truck, zooms to the other side, and opens the door for her mate.