Victor: Guardians in Love, #1

VICTOR

Copyright © 2016 Brianna West.

Cover Design by Labyrinth Design.

The characters in this book are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Printed by Amazon, Inc. in the United States of America.

First printing, 2016.

www.authorbriannawest.com

authorbriannawest@gmail.com

linktr.ee/authorbwest

Other Books from Author

The Promiscus Guardians Series

Awakening, Book One

Metamorphosis, Book Two

Dawning, Book Three

Resurrection, Book Four

The Guardians in Love Series

Victor, Book One

Pavel, Book Two

Bernie, Book Three

Carl, Book Four

Cecile, Book Five

The Underground Guardians Series

When Darkness Breaks, Book One

New Guardian Generation Series

Demon’s Bloodlust, Book One

The Hunter V Series

V for Vampire Hunter, Book One

V for Vindictive, Book Two

Stand-Alones

Angel Tears

Bad B Halloween: A Crossover Short Story

The King and I: A Promiscus Guardian Love Story

Captured by a Blade: A Promiscus Guardian Short Story

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter One

INSTRUCTOR BELFAIR! I screamed, huffing and panting as I chased down my instructor shortly after our lesson. His face, the very image of defeat, glanced back at me. Not one to be deterred, I made my way over to him. About the placement...

It’s as I’ve said, Lilly, you will be placed when there is a position for you, he responded chidingly, and then, turning on his heel, he did his best to flee.

I grabbed his arm, keeping him there. It’s been two years, sir.

Two years, three months, and eleven days, my instructor corrected with a tired smile. Correct?

I counted the days in my head and shook it a moment later. Actually, fourteen days, I amended with a wolfish smile.

My instructor huffed in defeat, appearing completely put out by me. And he had right to be. For the last year, I had continuously petitioned for a spot-on Lucas Easton’s team. My application was denied for the fifth time last week. Its recommendation? More experience was necessary, and there were no current positions available. But it had been a longstanding dream of mine to join the best. Lucas Easton and his team were the best.

My wonderful instructor, Belfair, had said more than once that I still required training. And to my continued grief, I’d been training since right out of school. I had been at the Guardian Compound for over three years now. Most of my fellow Guardians-in-training had already been assigned their teams. Yet, I was still here, waiting. I watched as my peers found their homes and waved them away with bitter acceptance. It was starting to get old, really fast.

Can I petition their leader, perhaps? I asked sweetly.

Belfair and his eclipsing dark eyes saw straight through my cute act, and very quickly rejected me with a glare. You know it’s against the rules, Lilly.

But—

Belfair shook his gorgeous raven-black locks, horns protruding from them in a curved fashion and dark eyes taking me in the moment my mouth tried to open again. No. Victor and Lucas are incredibly busy at the moment. There’s quite the epidemic in London, so I will ask you to let this issue rest.

Damn it all!

I bitterly watched my instructor when he pulled away and set off down the large, open hallway. His body was impeccable—toned, slender, angular—and if he wasn’t such a bastard all the time, I might’ve fallen in love with him. But that was neither here nor there. I couldn’t fall in love. I had to secure a position on the dream team before I could even think about boys.

My friend, Malakai, would say I was a workaholic, too focused on the job to think about anything, including the poor state of my hair and nails. But I couldn’t be bothered by any of it.

Immediately after high school I had taken a position with the Guardians. I trained every day for the last three years, practicing my swordsmanship and overcoming the many obstacles I faced. I even spent what little free time I did have honing any skills that were overshadowed by my genetic predisposition: deadly clumsiness. An inherent trait that was my biggest adversary in my pursuit of the dream team.

I curled my hands into fists and cursed underneath my breath, then headed back the way I came. My auburn hair flew into my face, effectively destroying the calm composure I intended to project for a moment as I swatted at it and blew the tickly sensation away. Finally, when my hair remained rebellious against my face, I used both hands to tear the silky auburn tendrils away, entirely put out.

And then an instant later, my own foot took me to the floor. With a loud crack, my knees collided and I gracelessly collapsed into a mess of limbs onto the hard tile surface. I managed to recover fairly quickly, but garnered my unfair share of bouts of laughter from the surrounding Guardians that passed through that particular hallway towards whatever class or lesson they were headed for.

Heya, Lilly, someone called after I spat out a stray hair, which had somehow lodged itself inside my mouth, and then I wiped the floor bits from my training pants. Whoa, you look pissed.

I eyed my tall friend. He was about eight-foot-five, which dwarfed my five-foot-eight despite it being well above average for a witch. I had been the tallest in my class—though, it was a human class—until I came to this compound. And Malakai was part giant. It wasn’t really his fault that his mother was a giant and his father had a thing for tall women.

His slender figure loomed over me, but I never felt any fear around Malakai. He was a big teddy bear, harmless to anyone that knew him. The light brown eyes paired with his sandy locks only added more depth to his sweet boy vibe. He wouldn’t hurt a fly, but he was immensely talented and could easily hurt a demon or Dark creature in any given situation. He was two years behind me, having been scouted by our very own Belfair for the Guardians, and due to join his own Guardian team soon. I couldn’t find it in myself to be bitter about it. If anyone deserved it, Malakai did.

Hey, Malakai, I greeted, nodding my head at him and continuing my forward trek towards my room.

I had spent the entire afternoon training. I was still clumsy, as Belfair so sweetly reminded me three times during our session, but I was talented with my magic and katana. Top of the class. It still meant little when I had no team to call my own.

I had gotten myself into a bit of hot water last month during our practical. But it wasn’t my fault that Ed Lampert got between me and the fireball I was sending at the target, effectively magically burning both his eyebrows and hair off. It took three weeks for it to grow back, even with the help of magical solvents. But Ed had ugly ass boyband hair and was a shameless bastard who liked to perv on the girls in class.

The jerk had it coming.

Malakai trailed beside me, glancing at me a few times as I mumbled underneath my breath about my horrible luck with pervs. Want to talk about it?

What’s there to talk about, Malakai? I fucked up. I’m a fuck up, just like my dad. Dad never made it to a team. Just got a desk, a plastic stapler, and a whole lot of paperwork. What if they send me to a desk? What the hell am I going to do with myself if I’m glued to a chair all day? I ranted with the wave of my arms.

Malakai shook his head sheepishly. You won’t, Lils. There’s no way they’d put you behind a desk with a talent like yours.

Talent means nothing when you have a knack for making mistakes and stumbling over your own feet, I retorted with a small, reproachful glare.

Did they reject your application again? he asked, stabbing painfully at raw wounds.

I groaned and smacked my head once, then again for emphasis. Yes. Again. I don’t know why I bother.

Because you’re meant to be on their team, Malakai surmised firmly. His face was hard to look at from this angle, so I just offered his lithe torso a grim look before turning the corner into a corridor.

My father had tried his hand at becoming a Guardian years ago—many, many moons ago as my grandmother would say. His talent was coveted within the group. Unfortunately, he was prone to deadly mistakes, which ultimately led to his position writing reports and collecting intelligence rather than being in the field gathering it.

Since I was a child, he had grumbled about his lost chance at becoming a member on Lucas Easton’s team. It was the most coveted of all the teams because Lucas Easton was a legend among the Guardians. Although, his distaste for the Guardians had led to his inevitable departure from them after my mother’s death.

My own admiration for that team stemmed from my father’s inability to make it. I refused to follow in his footsteps. I’d make my own path. To be more like my mother, less like my father. And it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Lucas was the most sought-after bachelor. Or that he was so incredibly handsome that girls literally fell all over themselves in his presence.

I wasn’t interested.

Boys weren’t my thing. I only meant that I wasn’t interested in falling in love or having a relationship, and not that I was a lesbian. Not entirely, anyway. If I were honest, I hadn’t much chance to consider sexual attraction and its many layers because I had been so focused on becoming a Guardian.

Maybe one day.

Recently there was talk about a woman that harbored a power so incredible that even the Guardians were wary of her. And as it just so happened, Lucas was her protective detail, he and his team.

I wanted so desperately to be a part of that changing tide; to make something out of myself. To prove to my father that even in spite of our clumsy nature and my mother’s untimely death, we could still be talented Guardians. To honor my mother who passed away on a mission that, in some way, earned me a spot with the Guardians purely in homage to her incredible sacrifice, which drove my father absolutely crazy.

She had been a valuable team member of Lucas Easton’s team, and it was with her sacrifice that they saved hundreds of humans from perishing that fateful day. I was only a few years old at the time, so I never truly knew her. But I knew of her. Felt a sort of connection to her now that I was training to be a Guardian. If I ever managed to get on a team, that is.

Damn it all to hell!

Malakai stopped in his tracks, just as I quickened my pace and grumbled, intent on venting behind closed doors. Um, Lils, he said shortly before I collided with another body.

I was almost sent ass-first onto the floor, but an arm quickly encircled my waist and kept me upright. I looked up and curiously eyed the stranger, startled by the warmth of his body. His sky-blue eyes and long, gorgeously pale hair, accompanied by a powerful frame that even I was having trouble not ogling openly, were among many things that made this stranger the most beautiful man I had ever laid eyes on.

Finally, I recovered my brain. Sorry, uh—

Victor, he supplied with a brief yet utterly striking smile. And you are?

I—uh—I have a name... I babbled lamely.

Her name is Lilly, Malakai offered and saved my ass from complete embarrassment.

I drew away slowly and quickly smoothed over my shirt that had crept up with the sudden locomotion. Yeah...what he said. I berated myself with a deep sigh.

Victor watched me with a curious smile, giving me a once over a few too many times before nodding. You look so much like your mother.

And my jaw dropped straight to the floor. My...y-you knew my mother?

Victor. That sounded oddly familiar. I racked my brain for the reason, and when it hit me, my eyes widened impossibly. Oh god. Victor, as in the angel Victor that supervised Lucas Easton’s team of Guardians. The very same angel that had supervised my mother.

My hand shot out, and with a lame stare, I offered it to him. I’m Lilly Hughes, the daughter of Adora Hughes that was on your team all those years ago. It’s a real honor, sir, angel, sir.

I ignored the obvious shake in my friend’s head as he attempted to keep from laughing at my poor introduction. I didn’t care. This was Victor! The same Victor that I had seriously considered stalking just so I could become a member of their team. I wasn’t going to blow this one chance, probably the only chance, that I’d get to make my dreams come true.

Victor’s blue eyes glistened knowingly, and with a beautiful smile, he took hold of my hand and brought it to his mouth. With my breath catching in my throat, I watched the pale flesh of my hand meet his lips. A touch so light it barely registered. Still, an electric current traveled my spine with the mere skim of his soft mouth. Then a gasp fled my lips. Something akin to surprise lit the azure depths watching me before Victor released my hand.

What the hell was that?!

I would’ve spent more time pondering it if I hadn’t been slightly occupied with the sheer size of this angel’s muscles. I had to be drooling at this point as I gave him a less-than-subtle once over, completely enamored with his gorgeous body. No one I had met here was even half as incredible looking. I wasn’t even sure if this was just some kind of an angel thing to have a body built to perfection, or simply that he and Chief Simon were freaks of nature and were gifted with good looks.

Despite being a Guardian-in-training, I had only met Simon, the Chief of the Promiscus Guardian Council, once in my entire stay. Worse still, I had never even seen the faces of the other council members, who were all angels as well. Many of us theorized that they didn’t actually exist. None of the other members, save Simon, had ever been seen at the Guardian Compound.

But here was another one, in the flesh. And what enticing flesh it was. I wiped my mouth and peered up at his face after a moment, having had my fill of his fine features.

Enjoy yourself? he teased, making my body go stiff.

Was it that obvious?

I turned towards Malakai. Without so much as a prompt from me, he nodded his head to assert his agreement.

Damn it all...

Um...sir, I started and stole a look at Malakai, struggling. He got the hint and headed the other direction. I was wondering, why does my application for your team consistently get rejected? I placed top of the class last year.

Victor smiled brightly and effectively blinded me with his beauty. Why do you think?

I was confused, and it was definitely showing when I tilted my head and let my eyes bore into his with the faintest hesitation. Um, I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking.

Victor sighed and took a slow step towards me, silently entering my personal bubble of space. I shifted uncomfortably in response, falling out of step for a second before I straightened and met his eyes again. His smile beamed. You lack in-field experience. Lucas expects highly trained individuals for his team. Understandably. They are tasked with the highest-level missions. As you can understand, someone just barely out of training would struggle to fit such a role.

But I can prove otherwise, I said confidently.

Victor’s interest piqued, his expression morphed into silent intrigue before he leaned my direction. Can you, right this very moment?

Definitely, I said with a sure nod of my head. Shall we? I motioned the way I came, the path that led to the training rooms.

If you are sure, he responded in his deep British accent, which only accentuated his widening smile rather than concealed it. Then he followed me dutifully as I led the way.

My heart rate had increased a hundredfold in the time it took me to lead the large, utterly perfect angel back to where the training rooms were located. My escalated pulse made my head dizzy and my breathing shallow. Intent to prove my point, I nervously pulled my favorite weapon from the wall. I wasn’t sure if I should show him my ability to fight with a weapon or my magic first—or both. But when the illuminated gaze of the blue-eyed, gently smiling angel boss settled on me, my brain short-circuited and my legs betrayed me, sending me clamoring to the floor.

I didn’t even see him move. In a blink, he rescued me from my collision with the padded surface. It took my brain a few minutes to figure out what was going on, because my body sure didn’t. Instead, I stiffened as I was cradled inside his strong arms for a moment too long. I peered up at his face, mouth moving in an awkward way, and tried without success to form a sentence.

Goddammit! Why wasn’t my brain working?! I couldn’t ruin the only chance I might have to prove I belonged on Lucas’s team.

I immediately got myself together, clearing my throat from the blush that already flooded my cheeks, and retrieved the long katana sword from the floor. With the skill I’d obtained over long years of training, I expertly twirled the weapon in my hand, switching it to the right and readying for combat with a strong, steady stance.

A katana? Victor inquired, circling me slowly. I have not seen its use...well, I suppose not since your mother chose it as her primary weapon.

His pale hair fell over his shoulders, and his tautly corded body shifted visibly beneath the well-pressed, beautifully tailored suit he wore. I was momentarily curious how a man fought in that sort of attire. Would he need to change? But the moment I thought it, he retrieved a similar sword from the wall, balancing it horizontally in the palm of his hand. Then he took hold of the handle and readied it with another lift of his lips.

Guess not.

His long-fingered hand grasped the weapon before he cut the sword with beautiful precision through the air around himself. My mouth fell open at the easy grace at which he performed each movement, barely glancing anywhere else but across the room, directly at me. When his body moved into position, my heart thumped painfully in my chest, and there was a barely discernable change in his demeanor. It seared heat through my veins. My hands dampened and my body grew rigid, on guard. There was something very dangerous about Victor as he poised and readied himself for my first attack. It couldn’t be put into words. The feeling he projected put me immediately on the offense.

Not one to be threatened by an opponent, I kicked off the ground and dashed forward with every bit of speed and agility I owned. I couldn’t fail here. It would be the end of a lifelong dream if I did. I silently prayed that my clumsiness wouldn’t wipe away that dream, much like this beautiful man tore apart coherent thought.

Victor merely watched me, barely moving an inch as I headed straight towards him. The moment before we connected, I twisted away and cut down my weapon at him, aiming to kill. Anything less would prove unworthy against an opponent as powerful as this angel. Which was proven right only an instant later when he easily deflected the attack and returned it without a breath in between.

I barely blocked his counter, managing to gracefully evade the full brunt of the attack with a quick, well-practiced somersault. I corrected my stance and narrowed my stare on Victor as he silently regarded me. Idly twirling his weapon, Victor acted the part, as if the last attack were nothing to him. And by the one attack I had seen, it was apparent the degree of his skill. But you sort of had to be that skilled, being part of the Council and an angel of so many years.

Time to play dirty.

My body moved again, barely a whisper on the wind. I deflected left and then right, flitting across the room in a dizzying pattern to distract him. His eyes followed my every movement, not the least put out, and I was breathless against the sheer ability of this man. I feigned an attack, slashing my weapon near him, and he took the bait. My lips quirked up into a provocative smile as my leg and arm followed from the other side, magic fused through the palms of my hands and soles of my feet. It was instantly blocked with a sturdy, tautly muscled arm that strained against the strength I had put into the attack.

Victor’s eyes were fully illuminated with this attack. The glow was a complete distraction, but I managed to focus. I pressed my arm and leg into him, calling on my magic to put weight into my limbs. The instant I did, Victor’s other hand dropped the weapon it held, and with very little effort, slammed a small ball of light hard into my abdomen. I was thrown back with a speed I couldn’t protect myself against. But before I could hit the heavily padded wall, white-feathered wings eclipsed my body and I was pulled flush against a perceivably ridged and intensely heated body. My breath escaped in a whoosh the instant I melded into his exponentially stronger form, completely imprisoned against it. Head angled back, I was mere inches from Victor’s face as we hovered just above the floor.

Dear heaven, he was absolutely gorgeous!

And I was drooling...

It was the first time that I couldn’t distract my thoughts. They came, one after another, without fail. It was disconcerting. No one had ever made me look twice. Even more concerning, it was with a man that was impossible—completely unobtainable. Was I utterly stupid? I had to be. Still, I couldn’t help the pure attraction I held for this man. Barely even an acquaintance and I was head over heels.

I was a lost cause.

There weren’t words for how terribly disappointed I was in my own reactions and thoughts. Malakai would be entirely put out with me when he heard about this, especially considering that I had never been swayed by any man before. Not one single man, and it had to be the one person that it was an abysmal, terrible, no good idea to fall for.

Lilly! someone called out. Like falling out of a trance, Victor landed with a gentle thud and released me from his warm embrace. I turned to find my instructor walking briskly towards us, the very image of fury distorting his features. I sheepishly returned the stare. You must pardon her, Councilmen Victor. She’s still very young, he immediately beseeched the man a finger’s length away from me.

My face grew hot with his words, embarrassment inflaming my cheeks, and I openly gawked at my instructor. Instructor...

You, he said in a warning tone, return to your room.

That will not be necessary, Belfair, Victor cut in to my surprise.

Apparently, Belfair was astounded by it as well because his eyebrows went up