Chasing Fate (Sentinel & Guide)

Chapter 21

Later that night, after the food had been eaten in silence and both had prepared for bed, Jack cast out his senses in the immediate area and settled into the bed to rest.

As their bond was still new, he couldn't sleep without touching his guide in some way. Preferably she'd sleep in his arms as they did the first night, but he knew that it would be uncouth to even bring it up. Instead they compromised.

The air conditioner was turned to cool, she slept snug under the plush hotel sheets and comforter to keep warm , her hand out on the pillow for him to hold while he slept on top of the covers, his metabolism ran too hot to even entertain the idea of bundling under.

With the pulse of her wrist beating steadily under his fingers, he was able to slip into a deep sleep not long after she did. Some part of his conscious was still active, scanning the area for threats, but unlike other light sleepers, this was a sleep that allowed him to dream just as deeply as anyone else.

Usually his dreams were nonsensical or indicators of the big stresses in his life, he'd had plenty of dreams of going into the ring with an embarrasing pink thong on, or having to wrestle a giant sentient ice cream, or being trapped in his 7th grade math class for eternity. But the dream he had that night wasn't the musing of a tired brain. It felt more real than even being awake.

There was a feeling of flight. He was a bird, a hawk and could see the air currents, feel them beneath his primaries, telling him when to flap and turn. He could see up ahead another bird. Without seeing his own form he knew it was his mate. her feathers were broken, some patches gone altogether. She flew with a slight wobble in her gait, and her talons were bloodied with small cuts.

He flapped his wings to catch up only to see her dive out of the way, aiming for the thick forest below. He did not hesitate to dive after her into the misty darkness of a forest so old it couldn't have existed in the real world. The old pines seemed to go down for miles before meeting the matted floor. As his talons hit the ground, he became a wolf, tall and golden , shining against the dim. He caught a glimpse of his mate's eyes glowing before again she turned tail and ran.

He raced to keep up. She would not survive alone with her injuries. Her dark fur was matted and she smelled of blood, she had no pack to help with grooming or hunting. Ribs stuck out under her skin. scars created white patches in black fur, concentrated on her legs. Still she ran so fast and so surely it was hard for him to keep up. He could only reach her when her run was cut short by a giant grizzly that slammed her down with a paw.

Jack leaped into action, tearing at the grizzly's throat while she struggled. The bear was defeated easily, it was only a dream, but looking back at his mate for approval, he found she'd run again, turning into a small, gangly doe. He hopped too and turned into an antelope, a massive buck with huge spiraling horns. She hopped over a shrub and suddenly it was a wide plainsland.

His hooves beat the ground as he fought to catch up. This was the answer. She would show him why she was running. Her coat in this form was well kept. Her gait was smooth.

Jack couldn't run as fast now, his horns were heavy, they spiraled up into the sky and he watched in horror as a snake reached up and bit her ankle. He felt as though he was frozen as he saw her topple, the herd running on without her. Two turned to investigate her desperate bleats, but eventually turned their heads and ran.

Fate struggled, the doe form collapsing into a teenaged girl wearing a modest guide school uniform and a bright ribbon in her large mass of black hair. The snake grew too, its huge fangs gleaming large enough to pierce her through. The beast became more terrible every second, its mouth changing from snake to crocodile to demon, its huge tail wrapping around her legs and throat, its long maw shaping into a man's face as it closed in on her.

Jack was unfrozen now, he ran at the beast with full speed, goring it with his long antelope horns. As a wolf he howled, biting off its head, and as an eagle he wreslted the tail from around her body, flinging it supernaturally far away. Fate, now older and wearing that familiar hoodie stared at him in shock, her eyes unable to turn away from his form standing human and confident in the privacy of her own mind.

"I'm your sentinel. It's my duty to protect you, isn't it?"