The Guardian (Mended Souls Book 1) by Jacquie Biggar Read Free Book Online Page A

eyes went wide.
    A magnificent set of swan-like wings rose from his shoulder blades. Their span had to be nearly eight feet in width, each feather snowy white. His pulse jumping crazily he tried an experimental flap. His feet lifted off the ground, then dropped him none too gently back to earth.
    Holy shit.
    He’d been kidding the other day when he asked for wings. This was nuts. Talk about your roller coaster rides. His gut hadn’t caught up to the last changes, now these… wings. He had freaking wings.
    Another cry from the next street over and with the slightest direction his wings unfurled and guided him over the rooftops to a view that froze his blood.
    The kid lay trapped on his side against an old wooden shed while a bunch of teens took turns kicking him as though he were a soccer ball and they were looking to make a goal.
    Lucas let loose a hair-raising screech and dove, anger a deep burn in his chest. The group on the ground looked up, and stark fear took hold of their features. He knew all about bullies and planned on teaching them a lesson they wouldn’t soon forget.
    He landed on the balls of his feet between Mike’s son and the teens and only stumbled a little this time. He allowed a quick glance to make sure the kid was okay and widened his stance, folding his arms, which seemed to have grown some impressive pipes, over his now solid chest.
    This is more like it.
    One of the teens, a punker with scraped back green-tinged hair and a ring through his nose, spat near Lucas’ kickass biker boots.
    “Halloween isn’t for a couple weeks yet, old man.”
    Old. Ha. Little did he know.
    “Back off,” he warned. “You boys are treading dangerous ground. One bad mistake can screw up your whole lives. You don’t want to do that, do you?”
    The other two looked suitably chastised and hung their heads. But the pack leader wasn’t willing to back down. He grabbed a nearby piece of pipe and brandished it in the air as though he were a modern day Peter Pan .
    Aware that he couldn’t change the boy’s free will, Lucas decided to try out his newfound powers. He closed his eyes and a lift of his hand later, the teen wore neon tights to match that awful hair color. His friends broke out in guffaws of choked laughter.
    The teen glared at Lucas. “Funny, dude. I don’t know how you pulled it off, but this ain’t over.” He turned and marched off into the night, his butt a beacon in the dark. His friends followed, snickering.
    Now that he’d taken care of the problem, Lucas turned to help Mike’s boy.
    But the kid was gone.

Chapter 9
    T he coffee they served in the waiting room of the veterinary hospital could have been used to sterilize the equipment. Tracy inspected her spoon, shrugged, and added another cube of sugar to the mix. She had a feeling she was going to need the boost.
    She wandered the confines of the room, careful to avoid the corner where Scott was chitchatting with the nurse who had taken their information. Far be it for her to care about the fact the woman was practically sitting in his lap. Or that her breasts were mashed against his arm. And how could he stand her gigglitis condition?
    Tracy leaned a tired shoulder against the window frame and stared into the darkness beyond. A hot bath, a glass of red wine, and her warm bed sounded like a slice of heaven. The events of the day were catching up to her. She could feel her hard-won poise deflating by the second.
    Ken had assured her the pup would be fine. In fact he’d told her to go home and he’d call in the morning, but she and the animal had connected in the garage. Tracy couldn’t leave without making sure he pulled through. This case had her worried. Their team had performed autopsies in the past on everything from high-ranking officials to gang members and sometimes even received hate mail. This was different. Malicious.
    “Penny for them?” Scott’s reflection joined hers in the glass, his voice a velvet cloak wrapping her in his