His Prowl

Part 27

Chapter 27

Sydney bit her lip before jumping in the back of the vehicle.  She was still considered untrustworthy.  Adam kept his eyes on her as if she was about to attack Ally at any moment.  The only problem was that Ally was nowhere to be seen.  The other two guards stared at her with the same narrowed eyes.  To be honest, she couldn’t tell the difference between the twins until one opened their mouth.  Then, it was easy to determine which was Anthony and which was Andrew.

“Where is Zeke?” she asked.  She had been on her way back to the village when Zeke had stopped, turned, yelled at them to get Ally out of there and took off back towards the village.  So, it wasn’t as if she didn’t know where he was; she just didn’t know why he was there and they were fleeing.

Anthony turned towards Andrew.  The man only tilted his head to the side, but Sydney knew they were speaking to one another.  “Zeke’s sister is dead.  Ally sent Jones back home, and Ned is taking position as near guard,” Anthony said with a blank expression. 

“What are we doing?”

“Us?” Anthony said while looking over at his brother.  “We are the silent ones.  We protect her without the others knowing we exist, and now that you are here, you are a silent one too.”

“You mean I won’t have any contact with Ally?”

“Don’t worry, babe,” Adam said with a wink.  “We all want a little contact with Ally.  Some just can’t be as lucky as our king.”

Isaac shifted closer to her before casually throwing an arm around her shoulder.  Sydney just rolled her eyes at the small display of possession.  The man didn’t own her, but to be honest, she couldn’t bring herself to move his arm.  It felt right, it felt comfortable, and there was no way that she was going to do anything to hinder that feeling.

“What he means to say,” Anthony said with a tiny glare in Adam’s direction, “is that we talk to her.  Hell, she starts conversations with us more than we do her, but our jobs are ultimately to watch her back.  Keep her safe when the last thing on her mind is her own safety.  We step in front of the stray bullets, we snap the necks of those who get too close, and we put her life above ours.”

“And you want to do this?” Sydney asked as the Jeep lurched forward.  She reached up to grab the bar and shivered as the cold air hit her skin.  Looking at the three snow leopard shifters, she rolled her eyes at their attire.  They wore either no shirts, shirts with no sleeves, or short sleeve shirts.  Didn’t they realize that it would snow if the chance was given? 

Andrew looked in the rearview mirror, his eyes connecting with hers.  It is an honor to protect a Queen like Ally.

Another shiver ran up her spine, but this time, it didn’t affect her as much.  As Andrew sent her a smile before turning his eyes back to the road, Sydney had to wonder what had happened.  Has he toned down his power; was that even possible?  Anthony said that only unmated shifters were affected, and, as far as Sydney knew, she was very much unmated.

The arm around her shoulder tightened, making her look up and over into Isaac’s golden eyes.  He flashed her a smile before pulling her closer.  “You cold?”

“A little,” she admitted, snuggling closer to his body warmth.

“Hold on a second,” Adam said from the other side of Sydney.  “If we’re sharing body heat, why don’t you and I,” he yelped in pain, making whatever he was about to say disappear.  “What the hell, Anthony!  Keep your shit to yourself.”

“Ally said not to tease her,” Anthony replied with a shrug, his eyes on the road, much like his brother.

Adam smiled while rubbing his temples.  “Well, if you would have said so in the first place.  Plus, I was just going to offer to trade her…” he trailed off as if he was thinking before letting out a sigh.  “Yeah, I got nothing.”

The men in the Jeep let out a laugh while Sydney rolled her eyes.  This was what she was stuck with for the rest of her life, a group of dysfunctional men who had nothing better to do than tease one another.  Would it always be like this though? Would they always look at her with unease?  Or would they eventually learn to trust her?  She wasn’t the bad guy; she didn’t want Ally hurt.  If anything, she wanted to do her best to protect the woman.  Ally was one of the reasons she had begun to get her life on track.  Sydney owed her, even if Ally didn’t realize it.

“Sydney,” Isaac whispered in her ear.

She glanced up at him and noticed the large smile he had on his face.  “What?”

His smile widened, but shook his head as if he couldn’t believe his next words.  “I just realized why Ally was so happy that I joined them.”

“You mean it wasn’t because she now has one of the most powerful shifters on her side?”

Adam and Anthony snorted, but she ignored them as Isaac started talking once more. “No, Sydney. Think about it.  I’m part of them now. I am Ally’s people now.”

“I don’t understand,” she whispered, not ready to share his excitement.

“Sydney,” he said, leaning closer.  “Think.”

She let out a frustrated breath.  “I do not get it, Isaac,” she said slowly, hoping he understood her.

“Good God, you two,” Adam said with disgust.  “Isaac is part of us, making him part of Ally’s people, meaning that he can now be that person that seals the treaty.”

Shock and happiness flowed through her.  Glancing over at Adam, she let a large smile cross her face.  “You mean-”

“You can do the deed?” he said, interrupting her. “Yep.”

“Not how I would have put it,” she mumbled with a shrug before turning back towards Isaac.  “You’re mine, buddy.”

Bending down, he pressed his lips to her neck, before letting his teeth graze where her neck and shoulder met.  “It goes both ways.  You’re mine too, Sydney, forever.”