Chasing Fate (Sentinel & Guide)

Chapter 4

Jack had been tense and on edge since he entered the compound and squared up against the other sentinel. There was something...off about him. For one, his name definitely wasn't Pete. He answered just a millisecond too slow for him to be even partially familiar with the nickname. For another, he carried himself with the sort of bearing that Jack had only seen in some of his father's old war buddies. It was the walk of a man who had killed before and didn't quite mind it as much as the everyone else did.

Though he wasn't a prime sentinel with all of his senses enhanced, he was quite strong. His bearing was that of an alpha, and there would be quite a contest if they could go toe-to-toe.

The best hope he'd have would be for their taste in guides to be as contentious as their personality. The further away they stayed from one another, the better it would be for all involved. The rest of the sentinels' attention snapped away from their posturing when the door opened, bringing in the unmistakable scent of a matched guide. Karen, the one their coordinator had gushed about on the entire ride up there.

According to his descriptions, he expected the woman to enter wreathed in light and fluttering on delicate angel wings. She looked like any other guide he'd met before, pretty, but unremarkable. She began talking, welcoming them to the retreat and beginning to drone on with the same rules he'd heard month after month.

He found it so hard to concentrate on anything she was saying. He felt his mind going blank, his thoughts slipping away and the room spotlight seeming to shift to her left shoulder. A tiny black circle was shimmering with every slight movement of her shoulder. It was a hair, tight and coiled, a loose strand that escaped from an afro. Beyond the scent of her mate and other guides, he caught a whiff of something enticing. It was too weak to truly identify, but he leaned forward as though proximity would help.

"Whoa there Mr. Hammond, Mr. White" Hunter's taller frame moved between his guide and the two sentinels that had prowled closer in their trance, "You'll get a chance to find your guides after sunset. For now, I suggest you go review your backpack and gear. We're expecting a bit more snow tonight and I'd hate to come haul you out."

The two massive sentinels blinked, their trance breaking, though the dark-haired one -Mr. White- let out a threatening growl. Hunter almost, almost, backed down. But he stood firm. The blonde, Mr. Hammond, grunted derisively at him and inevitably they began posturing at each other, trying to establish dominance.

Hunter carefully escorted his wife out while the sentinels were distracted.

"Was I really like that?" he asked her with a chuckle as he protectively draped his arm over her shoulder. Her heart was hammering from being so closely inspected. She leaned into him as he led her away to the small administrative trailer.

"Oh you were worse, you tackled that other sentinel just for walking in the same direction as you," she whispered into the crook of his arm, taking comfort in the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. He was tense, but wouldn't let it show. His focus was on getting her back on an even keel.

Hunter laughed, pulling her closer, "I didn't know there was another guide in the vicinity. I was just focused on you."

Karen shook her head fondly as they walked into the small administrative cabin. Immediately she shrugged off her cashmere sweater and dumped it into a large sterile bag. She was still a bit shaken but this wasn't her first rodeo. Unbonded sentinels were always intense. It was a part of their nature, a drive to seek out the optimal guide no matter what the obstacle. Part of it was what made them such good protectors. A sentinel could out-track a hunting dog or see better than a hawk if their guide was in any sort of danger. the only problem is that the laws of compatibility weren't set in stone.

The NOGS tried to sell their fairy tale, but Karen knew her bond with Hunter was a lucky break. Sentinel and Guide compatibility was a matter of genetics. The pulls that draw a sentinel to any particular guide are about as concrete as anyone's preference for tall versus short, thin versus thick, pale versus dark. Scientists tried their hardest to lump them into categories but in the end, the truth was simple. Some guides just had more pull than others.

Karen was a pretty sensitive guide, but her pull was weak. It was the reason she'd gone on excursions in the first place. It was that extra push that she'd needed to get matched. It was entirely by luck that they weren't completely incompatible personality-wise.

Bonds were irreversible without extreme consequences. The bond itself created a codependency that would cripple both sentinel and guide if they separated. The sentinel would be lost in a sea of sensory overload while the guide's mind would be exposed to every stray feeling for miles.

She understood it on a practical level. She'd grown so used to Hunter's calming presence in the back of her mind that separation from him would feel like trying to hold water in a sieve. In the very beginning of their bond, it had been even tougher. She couldn't hold out a whole day without him to help soothe her, and he'd needed the contact just as much.

Now, three years down the line they had stabilized. They could be apart for hours- and in extreme cases- days. They only needed a quick touch to stabilize their senses and emotions after years of practice. Karen felt like the missing puzzle piece in her life had slotted into place.

It wasn't all easy. They had disagreements and lovers spats and Hunter often found himself sleeping on the couch like any normal couple. Despite nearly being able to read his mind, she couldn't always decipher what he was feeling. Despite being keyed into her every heartbeat he couldn't always figure out when she was upset.

But that was life, and as she looked at her bonded sentinel as he carefully tweezered out hairs from her sweater, she understood that her fairy tale was definitely in the 'happily ever after' stages.

Hunter worked with the speedy precision of a forensic team member. It was nice to catalog hair that wasn't from a gruesome crime scene for once. There was no overlying scent of ash or blood, just the confusing mix of different guide scents and a very significant amount of dog hair.

Karen made her way over when he finished, presenting her cheek to be swabbed for the facial oils that had touched her when she'd hugged a couple of guides. Only her bonded sentinel could really tell the difference. She wasn't wearing any makeup but he could see the variation as if she was under a microscope. Not that she minded the attention when he finished the job with a kiss on her nose.

"Go wash up," He said turning to key in the data he'd collected, "I'll call in the data and meet you back here, okay?"

Karen frowned. His voice was tense. He was radiating uncertainty. Usually, he didn't get this way before an excursion unless...

"Hunter...you're keeping something from me."

Hunter looked up guilty. He reached around to pick up a tiny bag from the pile, holding it up under the light. Karen moved closer to inspect it but didn't quite understand what the little black circle meant.

"Both of the high volatility sentinels locked onto this." he said with a sigh, "We might have a fight on our hands"

Sentinel fights were dangerous for both parties. It was the reason that excursions were so carefully controlled. In not-so-ancient times they had almost always been to the death of one or both sentinels. After guide's rights became more widely recognized, the power of determining a bond was given to the guides themselves. But that wasn't a failsafe. The interest of one strong sentinel could freeze a guide in their tracks, let alone two.

"It'll be fine. We can mark them as dangerous... set them on opposite paths. If we call in some backup we can at least break them up if-"

"Karen," Hunter's face was serious as he shook his head. She could feel the gravity radiating off of him in waves.

"Hunter this isn't the first fight we've handled why are you so-"

"Karen. It's Fate."