Chapter 4

His ice cold hand had tightened to the point that I could no longer breathe. I had always thought that I would die of natural causes. Well, by human means at least. Not like this, by the hand of a blood sucking monster out for my death.

"NO!" a voice roared at the last possible moment. I couldn't move my head in the slightest so I couldn't see who it was. Seconds later Melchior's hand was gone and I slumped down on the ground against the tree gasping for air. I heard growling and snarling and looked towards it. There fighting Melchior with movements just as blurred was Achilles. Something cold touched my hand sending goose bump shooting up my arm, reminding me that it was still raining and I was only wearing a tank top and a plaid shorts. I looked next to me and saw a soaked Fang. Where had he run off to? Why hadn't he protected me like usual?

I heard a final snarl than a rush of wind and silence. I looked over at Achilles. He was shirtless with only a pair of boxers on. He looked over at me and walked towards me slowly as if he was afraid of scaring me.

"Are you ok?" he questioned in a whisper. He knelt down in front of me, just within arms reach. I nodded carefully. What was he? His eyes weren't red. His skin wasn't pale. His touch was warm. He smelled human.

"Can I help?" he asked, his eyes burned with concern. I nodded numbly. He came closer and picked me up bridal style. He cradled me close as he walked back to my house. He was so warm! He radiated heat like a fire. He stepped over the broken sliding glass door and skillfully maneuvered around the shards of glass.

He put me in the bathtub in my bathroom and turned the warm water. He watched it slowly fill up, his eyes flickering to mine every few seconds.

"Is it too hot?" he asked suddenly. I shook my head slowly, not wanting to take my eyes away from him. I couldn't figure him out!

"Your not going to see anything that you haven't already, Lexxi." He said staring at me intently.

"What are you? Where did you come from? And why are you only wearing boxers?" I blurted out. I started to blush furiously. "Sorry!"

"What did you see?" he asked cocking his head to the side.

"I heard snarling and growling and you were fighting him and you were blurred and how are you NOT cold?" I said than gasped in air.

"Oh." He said looking away. He stood up and began to pace. He ran his hands through his hair numerous times making it stick up at odd angles every direction. Than he finally stopped and looked at me with an odd emotion swimming in his eyes.

"Fang came and found me. I was sleeping. He led me to you. He thought I could protect you better than he could. I know this because I can understand animals. I can understand animals because I can change into them. I'm a shape shifter. As were your parents. My parents did die in Rome. In 1810." He said slowly, watching me carefully like I might lose my mind.

"Can you go find a shirt?" I asked. "This is very distracting." I said gesturing to his exposed chest.

"That's it? I just told you life changing things and that's all you can say?" he asked, flabbergasted.

"Pretty much. I didn't tell the entire truth to how my parents died either." I took a deep breathe. This would hurt, just thinking about it made my entire body feel as if a boa constrictor was tightening around me.

"I was out running and the next thing I knew something so cold it could put ice to shame slammed into me, throwing me into a tree so hard I heard a snap in my ribs. It turned out to be a red eyed man. He stalked over to me with this murderous smile on his. Like he was enjoying my pain. And he cam and sat on my legs and pulled a knife out. He said he didn't want them suspecting it was him. He stabbed me repeatedly in my chest, in my stomach. My parents smelled the blood and came charging through the forest in this huge rage. And he heard them and dropped the knife and ran with speed that made a cheetah look like a snail. And they stopped at me and my mother saw me and roared in complete anger and my father came over to me and he couldn't stop talking about all the blood. My mother kissed my forehead and told me to hang on that she would be right back. She said the vampire wouldn't get away with hurting me. She ran after him while my father called 911 and covered me with a jacket saying that I wouldn't bleed to death. I could only die if my neck broke or if my heart was stabbed. Than ran after my mother to help. I lost consciousness and only registered my mothers screams, my brothers car screeching to a halt near me, an ambulance pulling up and someone talking softly to me and than my heart stopping and than nothing. Apparently I had been 2 rows of trees away from an empty road." I said staring blankly at the water in front of me.

"You've known about the supernatural world for a whole year and nothing has tried to kill you until now?" he asked bewildered. Shock the clearest thing on his face.

"Yeah, I've made it through the year by lying and saying it was an animal attack and keeping to myself. It hasn't been all that hard. I've been Depressed since I woke up in the hospital with Fang whining in my ear." I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Oh, was that story about Fang true than?"

"Yes, Matt was out running while I was sleeping. He's my twin in a way. He and I both enjoy running. Its like if you keep going nothing can touch you; all that matters is your feet pounding on the ground in time with your heart. Thump…thump…thump." I said softly.

"Kyra has seen you run in Gym. She says she can't get through to you until you finish running. She says it has some kind of calming affect on you. You let everything else go and focus on nothing but the next meter." He said smiling.

"I really enjoy it. Was anything that you said or did real? Or was it just to protect me?" I asked.

"Everything was real; I just didn't tell you everything. You didn't ask so I didn't feel the need to tell you." He said swishing his fingers in the water.

"Will things change now?"

"Yes, Kyra and I will be able to be our complete selves with you now. You can't be alone either. Fang, Kyra or myself must always be around." He said his eyes intent.

"My own guardians." I whispered.

"You should get dried off and dressed."

"Ok."