Alex made her way through Audubon Park, the moonlight making eerie shadows that twisted and lingered. She could see Cale's silhouette on a park bench, his head down and his arms crossed.

Alex sank down beside him, their shoulders brushing. Her fingertips grazed her forehead as she wiped away the blood that had been meant for Gabe, not him.

She peered into his face, which was illuminated by the faint light of the crescent moon in the night sky. Her voice quivered as she said, "You dropped a nuclear bomb on your brothers."

Cale sat motionless, his eyes fixed towards the abyssal void ahead. He responded hoarsely, "Sorry to leave you with that."

Alex shifted closer and propped her chin on Cale's shoulder, trying to take strength from his solid presence. Her breath caught in her chest as she felt his arm curl around her, comforting. "Do you want me to cry all over you? Weeping, hugging, emotional catharsis?"

He was still for a beat before he responded, his face unreadable in profile. Cale turned his head slowly in her direction. He hesitated before asking, "Uhm... do you want that?

Alex shook her head and leaned into his shoulder, her fingers tangling into the fabric of his shirt. Through a few sniffles, she whispered, "No, just thought I would offer. But, how do you cope?"

Cale dropped his gaze and fiddled with the frayed end of his worn tunic. He cleared his throat before speaking. "I buried it deep—so deep, I asked to be apprenticed to both a healer and a priest. Learned how to help others, and some of what I learned helped me too. But the other parts, I stuffed them down and moved on with life. Until now. Seeing you..." His voice trailed off as he looked away from Alex in guilt.

Alex exhaled slowly, shoulders sagging. "Of course. I'm the nuclear bomb, bringing back everyone's trauma and opening up old wounds without thinking twice. Perfect."

Cale drew her close and looked deep into her eyes. His gaze was full of tenderness, admiration, and love - a stark contrast to the self-loathing she held for herself. "No, I'm not just saying that," he murmured. "It's been an education for me to watch you living out all the lies I believed about myself: the self-blame, the self-hatred, the self-destructive anger. It's been more helpful than anything else."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better," she replied, but there was hope in her voice.

"I'm not known for being a liar. How do you cope, Alex?"

She stopped leaning on him and sat straight up, dislodging his arm. "You've seen it. I trawl the streets of New Orleans and take it out on the scum I find."

Her words hung heavily between them until Cale spoke again. "Rile told me that you were worried you would kill one of them."

"He told you? That jerk. That was in confidence," she grumbled as she scooted even farther away from Cale.

"I could say that it's best if you don't tell Rile anything in confidence, but to be honest, he wanted help. Help for you. Please give him credit for that. It's hard for him to ask for help."

"Okay, for you I'll give him credit." Alex slumped back on the bench. "Enough about me. What about you now? Will you tell me what's with the green hide thing? I've wondered about it since you were so shocked when I told you I liked it."

Cale looked down at his claws and tapped them together softly. He let out a long breath of resignation as Alex scooted closer to him.

"Is it a sign of being illegitimate?" Alex asked cautiously, her voice barely audible.

"So they say," Cale said. He paused for a moment, and then continued on in a softer voice. "A son of a Clan Head shouldn't have green in his hide. It's the color of the so-called commoners. We're all Agama, all loved by the Creator of All, so this whole commoner and Clan Heir division is artificial. And no, I'm not illegitimate."

"But I see Agama like vicious rumors like humans," Alex said. "I'm sorry for that. It doesn't seem to bother your brothers. Did it matter to your mother or father?"

Cale shook his head. "No, they know the truth of it. Mama Sarai would never cheat on Father. They adored each other and it was clear for all with eyes to see it." Again, he softly tapped his claws together.

Alex reached out to touch Cale's arm, but Cale shrugged it away. He remained silent as he gazed at the abandoned swing set and slide in the park below them.

"Rile can't help me. Or Gabe. It's why I never told them," Cale said finally, voice hushed and full of pain.

Alex swallowed thickly, not wanting to push too hard. "But you have family who would have helped you. Maybe they can help now. You didn't have to suffer in silence. You don't deserve to suffer anymore."

"Alex, you don't deserve it either."

Alex jumped to her feet and spun around, her eyes blazing. "How do you know that? It might be exactly what I deserve! Maybe that's why I don't remember anything." Frustration made her voice shake.

Cale stood and slowly reached for her hand, coaxing her back onto the bench. His eyes were kind, his voice gentle as he spoke. "No one deserves to be hurt like you were, Alex. No one."

"Morgan said I did, and it's all I knew, before y'all came," Alex said, the slight Southern lilt coming out in her distress.

"I won't listen to a vicious rapist," Cale said. "Neither should you. Those types always justify their actions. You didn't deserve what happened to you, you do not deserve what happened to you, and you will never deserve what happened to you."

Alex sat in stony silence, her eyes fixed on a spot beyond the horizon. Seconds passed in uncomfortable stillness before she finally spoke. "Will you tell me to get over it?"

"I don't think either of us can 'get over it'," Cale said, also looking straight ahead. He took her hand and traced a pattern in her palm with his claws, watching it intently. "But we have a choice."

Alex snorted. "Choice?"

"We can choose to stay victims, we can choose to become victimizers, or we can choose to protect others."

"I choose to beat the crap out of scum." Alex clenched her hand over his claws.

"There's a deeper choice," Cale said. "Staying busy can lead to infecting that hurt, turning it inward. But if you let Him, the Creator of All can change hurt and loss into a deeper good that can bear fruit."

"You're kidding me."

Cale placed his other hand over Alex's. "I've been working on this ever since it happened to me, but seeing you helped it crystalize. I see you desperately trying to right wrongs, and trying to rescue others from what you suffered. You need to be shown the way through to a good place, to the Creator of All. Great suffering puts a fork in the road. You choose how makes you wise or how poisons you."

"Which way is poison?"

"Losing ourselves in hatred, allowing bitterness and despair to consume us."

Alex cocked her head to the side, her brown hair swaying around her face. "And wisdom?"

"Learning that the Creator of All loves us, and we love and help others as He does us."

Alex squinted her eyes at him skeptically. "But I can still beat up scum, right?"

"As long as they're guilty, I think you can safely pursue justice. The point is to not become consumed in bitterness," Cale said.

Alex pondered that for a long moment, staring at Cale's hand over hers. "How long can we stay out here? I'm really angry at your brothers. I don't want to look at either of their faces."

"I would say as long as you want, but you know they'll come looking for us."

"Stalkers," she muttered under her breath.

He smiled warmly back at her. "They're family. They care about us."

She pulled her hand away from his as he jabbed at his phone. "Fire truck caring. They're not my family and they took what they wanted from me without permission."

His voice was gruff as he spoke into the receiver, his jaw tight. "We're going drinking. Leave us alone. Yes, drinking. None of your business where. Stalkers." He dropped the phone to his side, letting out a deep breath.

Alex snorted a laugh.

Cale put the phone away. "Now what?"

"Drinking. Duh. Do you prefer quiet music or loud?"

"Quiet."

"I know a nice, dark, jazz bar. Not upscale like the Bombay Club, but we aren't high class anyway," Alex said. "We'll be two shadows against the wall. I need to introduce you to mint juleps and mojitos."

Cale followed Alex through the bustling back alleys of New Orleans' French Quarter. He admired the deep red brick buildings and glistening cobblestones as he crossed the threshold. Detailed black wrought ironwork framed every window and door they passed, and tiny tongues of flame flickered from prisons of intricate iron gaslights. Alex paused in front of one establishment, examined the menu outside, and then motioned Cale inside.

Alex took a few crumpled bills from her pocket and handed them to the hostess with the request for a table in the back. She then led the way, with Alex following close behind, her long strides propelling her forward. The waiter was dressed in the classic white shirt, black pants, and white apron combo. They settled into their seats and Alex asked for two mint juleps.

Cale admired his drink when the waiter set it before him. "Look at all the green."

"That's the chopped mint leaves," Alex told him. She downed half of hers. "Traditional. I prefer martinis but you need Southern culture. The liquor is bourbon, much harder to make than vodka, I'm told."

They listened to the mournful jazz music as they drank.

"Are you hungry?" Alex asked. When Cale shook his head, she motioned to the waiter. "Two mojitos." When the waiter left, Alex said, "I prefer the more cheerful Dixieland jazz that they play in Preservation Hall, but this suits my mood."

*****

Alex rotated her empty glass between her fingers as the last sips of the mojito burned in her belly. Worry creased her brows as she thought about her friends and their troubles. "I hope Razz is okay," she said in a soft voice. "Trac and Kress, too. Surely Zilik can take care of them with his political schemes." Alex sighed as she looked up at Cale. "Razz is good at getting into trouble. Why can't he just fade into the background and raise his babies?"

Cale smiled gently and reached out to cover her small hand with his larger one. "Because he's Called to a purpose, like you are."

"He doesn't have any powers or training!" Alex flared.

"Go easy, Alex." Cale stroked the back of her hand. "He'll learn as he goes and Zilik will help him."

Alex bit her lip and beckoned the server over. "I'll have a wedding cake martini, please. Cale?"

Cale shook his head and smiled ruefully at Alex.

"Lightweight," she joked, her lips turning up into a mischievous grin.

When the server presented Alex with her drink, it was in a beautiful glass that was painted with red and gold swirls resembling autumn leaves. Crystals sparkled around the rim of the glass. Alex smiled and turned it for Cale to admire. She took the glass up in her hands and offered it to him.

"Take a sip?" she asked before adding, "I can't replicate this martini. I can only make the simple ones, like appletinis and chocolate martinis."

Cale took a sip of the drink while Alex stared at the glass, her fingertips tracing the cold condensation on the outside.

"You did a remarkable job," Cale said, his voice gentle yet firm. "I'm so proud of you for completing your first mission."

Alex finished off almost half her martini in one long gulp. Her gaze hardened as she set the glass down with a loud thump. "Putting another dictator in power — sure, give me a medal for that." She threw up a hand in frustration. "How much do Guardians suck if that was a 'wonderful job'?"

"You freed the entire palace harem and put a male revolutionary in power in the Council. The country will never be the same."

"The country is exactly the same." Alex finished her martini, enjoying the fire traveling down her throat and settling in her stomach.

Cale leaned forward and touched her hand. "You're an excellent Guardian. You accomplished much with little training and even less support. And it was your first mission. Learn to accept praise, Alex, especially when it's well-deserved. Think of Razz cuddling his babies, thanks to you. Think of Trac, also with his babies, again, thanks to you. All of the palace males have their children, thanks to you. Do you honestly think that the rest of the Anolis country is unaware of that? I guarantee you that all the warrior females know, while all the males whisper stories. Razz will have his revolution, and who knows? We may be Called back for that."

"Do you really think so? I mean, really, really?" Alex fought to hold back her tears, but they cascaded down her cheeks and Cale tenderly wiped them away with the pads of his thumbs.

"Really, really. Do you believe me now that you're an excellent Guardian, or must I bring up Razz and the babies again?" He smiled his gentle smile.

Alex held up her hands in surrender. "No, please don't bring up Razz and the babies. I accept your praise. Let's go. I'm tired." She waved at the waiter. "Is this enough?" She stuffed money in his hand when he came over. At his expression, she grinned. She was always a big tipper.

Once they walked out of the French Quarter, Alex asked, "Walk or fly?"

"How drunk are you?" Cale evaluated her with a wary eye.

"One mint julep, one mojito, and a martini? Are you kidding? What kind of lightweight do you think I am? You wound me." Alex grabbed his hand and shot off.

Cale and Alex appeared and disappeared in a rapid succession of speed-bursts. They were only visible for seconds at a time until they finally zipped up to the second-floor landing.

Rile was waiting anxiously at the doorway of their first-floor apartment, waving his arms frantically. "Cale! Don't let go of her!" he shouted.

Cale acknowledged him with a simple nod and an equally speedy response of grasping Alex's upper arm.

"What is wrong with you stalkers?" Alex pulled on her arm.

"This is the part where you fly off and do something stupid." Cale tightened his grip around her biceps.

"No, this is the part where I cauterize my heart because it keeps growing back and causing me pain," she said. "I know what I'm doing. Don't interfere or I'll blast you." She lit her free hand.

Rile bounded up the steps and Alex instinctively backed away, feeling a chill of fear as she realized her feet had hit the solid oak door.

"You stay away from me," she said, her voice trembling. "You and your oldest brother. Release me, Cale."

Cale's grip on her arm tightened as he stepped in front of her, his broad back pressing against her. "No, you're not running away from your problems or us. You're our teammate. I'll stand with you against them and what they did. But don't leave us."

Rile held out his hands palm up. "I meant to tell you, Alex. I swear it."

"The check is in the mail, you'll respect me in the morning, and you're from the government, you're here to help," Alex shot back. "The three biggest lies in the world."

"What's going on?" Gabe yelled from the ground.

"The mess you caused," Cale yelled back.

Gabe froze for a moment in shock, and then peered up the stairs to find his brothers and Alex standing there.

Cale shivered. "Alex, let's all go inside. It's getting colder out here, and it's already too dark to see. Maybe we can go to our apartment? We keep the heat cranked up so it's nice and cozy."

Alex looked down at her feet and sighed. "I guess liquor and being warm-blooded is enough to keep me warm but that doesn't help y'all. I certainly don't want you guys to freeze."

When she entered their apartment, Alex drew her sword. "Cale and I talked over martinis and mint juleps."

All the brothers eyed the sword warily but it was Cale who said, "Alex, we did not talk about you drawing your Guardian sword against my brothers."

She rolled her eyes and then tapped the flat of her blade to her lips. "Cale, darling, I would never draw my sword against you or your brothers. My sword skills are pathetic compared to yours. This," she now smacked the flat of the blade in her palm this time, "Is a reminder as to who I am and that is what we talked about. Gabe, you kept me off the team against the Portal Guardian's orders. So, I freed the Anolis males in the royal harem." Her gaze moved between them all, as if daring any of them to challenge her.

Gabe inhaled deeply and his posture became rigid, as if he was bracing himself for a fight. His face darkened, the anger in his eyes becoming almost tangible.

Alex raised one eyebrow and studied him with her liquor-softened gaze. "So I did. So did you. And just who was found chained in the palace harem?" She smiled wickedly as Gabe clenched his fists and a low hiss-growl rumbled through his chest. "I told you I was drunk and had talked with Cale. The old me would be crying for attention and taking anything you gave. The new me, however..."

She pointed a blazing finger at Gabe and said, "You knew about my glow and you didn't tell me. You're out of my bed."

She swung it at Rile and added, "You, too."

Gabe protested, "We were already sleeping together, Alex. I did not have to tell you."

Alex ignored him and turned to Cale, lowering her finger. "I accept your explanation of ignorance. I know you will never again attempt to sleep in my bed. I'm buying an electric blanket for y'all. The internet has everything."

Gabe took a step back, his mouth slightly agape. His eyes widened and he seemed to deflate as he muttered, "Are you severing our relationship?"

"If you had wanted our relationship, you wouldn't have slept with another female. You would have been honest with me about my glow at night. But you took without asking. Just like Rile. Whatever names you call him applies to yourself as well. You're still my team leader. You want more from me, you'll have to work for it, regain my trust. It won't be easy, probably impossible. But that's your fault."

Alex smiled, her energy dying as she reached for the doorknob. Cale's hand was suddenly on top of hers, his grip firm.

"Where are you going? We still have to work together, right?" He questioned, his voice softening at the end.

She replied politely, "I'm heading down to change into something more comfortable. See you upstairs soon." When he didn't release her hand, her eyes fluttered shut and she let out an exasperated sigh. "Look, I promise not to run away if that's what you're worried about. Do you want me to pinky-swear or something?"

Cale sheepishly withdrew his hand from hers. "No, no. No need for that," he mumbled before clearing his throat. "See you upstairs."

***

Alex pulled on her leather pants and fastened the leather bodice easily. She liked the feel of the extra metal stays protecting her torso and abdomen. She pulled on her black leather boots, glad for the low heel so she could run easily in them.

She picked up her Guardian sword leaning against the wall. The heft of it reassured her and brought back Cale's words about Razz to her, comforting her. The orange and blue cracks in the opal pommel stone glowed and she could see Razz transfixed by the sight of his babies as she handed them to him, could see the palace males with their bags of eggs, each of them stroking their muzzles on her cheek before entering the carriage taking them to freedom.

I made a difference.

She entered the living room with a spring in her step and announced to the brothers waiting, "I'm pimp-hunting. I might catch a few John's on the way, but that's not my main mission. New Orleans is my home and the women here are under my protection, such as it is." Alex ran her finger along the flat of her sword blade. "Sword, I love you, but you are completely impractical for carrying in the big city. No pimp wants to take on a weaponized woman in leather." She tapped the flat of the blade to her lips yet again and thought. "Well, maybe some perv John's but I want pimps."

The sword glowed brighter and brighter, and Alex held the sword down in low guard position. The light forced all of them to close their eyes, but Alex refused to release her grip on it. When the light faded, Alex held two small daggers: a sgian-dubh and a mattucashlass.

The sgian-dubh had a handle of bog oak, jet-black in appearance. The blade was single-edged, although there was scalloped file-work on the back of the blade.

The  mattuchashless was double-edged, although it had the same black bog oak handle. Both blades were only 9 cm.

There was another brief flash and two leather sheaths appeared: one in her boot and one in her armpit, cleverly connected to her leather bodice. She slid the blades in and out experimentally.

"Cale! Can our swords do that?" Rile demanded. "Why didn't we know?"

Cale's mouth crooked into small grin. "Maybe we never asked." He drew his sword and said with reverence, "Can you change as well?"

His sword glowed blindingly bright as well and when they could see again, it was a short blade dagger with a sharply tapered point, a central fuller, and two cutting edges sharpened the full length of the blade. It featured an elaborately carved brass cross-guard. A secondary flash showed that a sheath of rich red leather and brass appeared on Cale's belt. 

Rile drew his sword and told it, "Don't let these two out-do you." His sword flashed into a bichuwa. The blade was curved like a buffalo horn and looked wickedly sharp. The hilt was a single piece of metal, looped around, and fit perfectly in his hand.

It was short, less than 12 inches, even with the bud finial on the top. He admired it and there was a second, smaller flash at his waist. He looked down to see a leather sheath now attached to his belt curved to fit his new blade.

"My Guardian sword is a sword for a reason," Gabe said stiffly when his brothers looked at him. "I have a regular dagger that suits me fine."

Alex's leather boots thumped against the floor as she walked to the door, her hand lingering on the hilt of one of her daggers. She had a determined glint in her eye and set jaw. "I'm off. Those pimps won't stop victimizing women on their own."

Gabe blocked her path, his arms crossed and his expression tight with authority. "Alex," he said sternly, "I forbid your vigilante activity. The Portal Guardian gave me permission to do so."

Rile quickly came to Alex's side, standing almost protectively before her. "Who's a vigilante? She's part of a Guardian team," he said with a mischievous wink towards Alex.

His oldest brother Gabe didn't look impressed, his voice low and threatening as he said, "As if either of you can think clearly in the heat of battle."

Cale raised his chin and grinned, full of pride. "That leaves me. I will be the cool head of this Guardian team."

Gabe's eyes widened in disbelief and his stance slumped in disappointment. He waved a hand around Cale's face as if to push back the idea. "Really, brother?"

Cale raised one eye-ridge. "Alex is choosing the way of wisdom, and I support that. We're going on a mission to take down human sexual slavers."

Rile whispered to him, "Pimps, Cale. They're called pimps."

Cale cleared his throat and turned back toward Gabe. "Our Guardian team could use its leader. Interested?"

Rile punched Cale's shoulder. "Don't invite the stiff."

Alex held up her hands. "I, for one, am not fighting this battle. I'm a Guardian hunting sexual predators. Figure it out, boys, y'all are my backup and my back is heading out right now."

She then gracefully slipped her mattucashlass from its holster at her armpit, flipped it into a high-guard stance and placed it back with a flourish. With a flirty smirk over her shoulder, she opened the apartment door and artfully swayed out of sight.

The brothers were right behind her.

****

A/N

Many thanks to my faithful Wattpad book club partner

IanReeve216