Guarded: Neon Sunset Ep. 00

Welcome, my lovely reader!

This is Guarded, the very first serial I ever wrote! I've edited and tried to bring it up to my current standards of writing, so if this is your first time here, rejoice, it's not such a fustercluck!

So what is this? It's a drama/romance between an older jaded wolf-girl and a younger ram-boy pop star! This one is all heterosexual unlike most of my other work, but the main couple IS pansexual and this will be a factor in the sequel.

As a cursory note, the story is not a tragedy, but the prologue is a gut-punch to the feels, so try to be prepared for that and just know it will get happier as it goes.

Let's jump right in!

—♥—

Prologue:

Gone Away

"And it feels, yeah, it feels like, The world has grown cold, Now that you've gone away."

"The witness has been sworn in, your Honor," The bailiff snorted the words out before stomping back over to the side of the stand. He was a short stocky male that was heavy with muscle, slightly elongated tusks showing in his mouth with a wiry tail whipping about behind him.

"Thank you," The judge spoke towards the bailiff, he then peered at the young wolf at the stand through his large rimmed spectacles before continuing. "State your name for the court please."

Snow white ears flicked in agitation as she sat there on the stand looking straight ahead a small pea-sized chunk missing from the inner rim of her left ear that had moved. Her azure eyes focused maliciously on a male sitting at the table in front of the court, a grey-haired middle-aged goat in an orange prisoner uniform with curled horns protruding from his forehead.

A Leopard stood next to the obvious prisoner, dressed in a crisp fancy suit that looked like it cost more than a month of her salary. The wolf found a growl bubbling up in her throat as she glared at the two of them.

The judge paused at the scene for a few heartbeats before calling out to the wolf a second time. "Miss! Your name for the court if you please." The elderly fennec fox spoke the words out sharply in commandment as he looked down at the young dog next to him.

Those sharp blue eyes cut over to the judge to her right, then shot over to the bailiff next to her. The warthog snorted at the wolf, his hands resting on his hips in a posture like he was just waiting for her to try something stupid. She made a third glance over to the group of sixteen jurors of various ages and species.

"Tracey Wellford," She spoke the words with a sharp tone, all the contempt in her voice plain and evident, practically dripping with malice.

A lithe doe moved to the witness stand before Tracey, she wore a neat trim suit but it looked more reasonable in price compared to the leopards. It was the district attorney she had spoken to on multiple occasions leading up to the trial and now this sentencing hearing. "Ms. Wellford, could you please state your profession for the jury and the judge?"

She shifted her gaze to the doe while moving a hand through her own short jagged locks of hair, crimson red except for a shock of white that highlighted down the right side. "Personal security agent," She replied in a concise tone.

"A bodyguard?" The doe prodded, hoping to give the jurors a more relatable job title.

She snorted and looked over towards the jury. "Bodyguard."

"You were under the employee of Mrs. Sherry, were you not?" The DA flicked her small brown tail as she saw the wolf flinch and a furious look cross her face. The doe gave her a look as if pleading with her to keep cool.

"Yes," Tracey growled the word through clenched teeth, her nails digging into the wood at the front of the stand she was at. Her posture had changed and she had shifted to sit up more stiffly, her tail rigid, the fur bristled out at the tip.

The bailiff had also noted the posture and taken a step into Tracey's line of sight, resting a hand on the holster at his hip that was holding the gun he was wearing. The pig said nothing and didn't even make eye contact with the dog, just looking off in the distance like he wasn't even paying mind to her, but the message was clear.

The doe hesitated, looking at the judge then the jury before returning her gaze to the wolf. "You were present the night of the twenty-second of July, were you not?"

"Yes ma'am," Tracey spoke the words sharply, giving the bailiff a defiant glare before settling back in her seat.

The district attorney took a long pause before her next question. "In your own words, can you describe the events of that night to the jury?"

—♥—

"I still don't like it! Such a dangerous job, why not just work a normal job, Honey?" The wolf flicked her ear while listening to her mother droll on and on over the phone, a grin on her face.

"Relax, Mom! The job is super easy and with the pay I'm getting, I will have college paid off before I even finish it! I even get to study on the downtime between rallies." The young wolf spoke the words cheerfully into the flip-open phone, leaning against the side of the venue building watching the stagehands set up for tonight's speech.

"It's still so dangerous though, sweetie. I worry about you constantly!" Her mother's voice sounded resigned but still pushed her concerns.

"Don't worry, Mom, I'm not going to do anything stupid." She huffed the words out in a gentle loving tone, her focus shifting and ears lifting. "Ah, looks like Helen is here. I gotta go, Mom, love you!"

Tracey pushed off the wall, brushed out a few creases in her suit, and then quickly moved over towards the older wolf that had just come into view. "Helen! Your rally isn't for another three hours, is something wrong?" The young wolf asked the older one, her snow-white tail wagging behind her rapidly.

The older wolf by the name of Helen gave the young wolf a loving smile as if she were looking upon a granddaughter. Her ears and tail shared a similar shade of white, but the brown fur faintly showing at the tips made it evident the white was more from age than genetics. She had well-worn laugh lines along her cheeks and crow's feet easily visible at her eyes but mostly had a smooth pale complexion despite her age. "Nothing is wrong, I just wanted to take a walk. Would you like to go get some tea together?"

Tracey puffed her chest out proudly and gave a confident grin, showing her sharp canines while wagging her tail eagerly. "Yes ma'am! I'm happy to stay by your side and keep you safe!"

A small chuckle erupted from the older wolf's lips before she shook her head gently. "You're such a kind child, but just keep me company as a friend. I enjoy your companionship little one."

Her cheeks flushed at the words and the younger wolf nodded quickly. She was hardly little compared to Helen, Tracey had well over a foot on the older one. Tracey wasn't built like a wall or anything, she was actually a little on the small side as far as wolves go. "O-Of course, Helen. You know I always enjoy your company. Will you let me pay this time?"

The elderly wolf strode forward, the younger one pacing up next to her in an eager trot, her tail still wagging about. Helen looked at the young woman out of the corner of her eye, a soft contented smile on her face while the bodyguard followed her like a puppy giving chase after her grandmother. "Hum... I will consider it."

A few days later Tracey was sitting in the lobby of the hotel they were staying at. It had been a three-day ride to this new town for another rally. Helen sat across from her sipping on a hot cup of earl grey, her normally ponytailed silver hair down. The older wolf's hair flowed over her shoulders, moving down her back all the way to the base of her tail, a stark comparison to Tracey's crimson pixie cut.

"Shouldn't you be getting rest for tomorrow? It was a long ride here." Tracey spoke to the older wolf with concern in her voice, holding a cup of her own tea in her palms.

"I'm not so old to worry about in such a way, my little wolf. Besides... if all this campaigning pays off, I will be busier than ever after the summer elections finish," Helen spoke the words with a gentle smile as she moved in for another sip of tea.

"You're totally going to win! Everyone loves you!" Tracey practically barked the words out, clenching a fist as she huffed through her nose proudly at the older dog before her.

Helen gave her a gentle smile before settling back in the chair, "How do you feel about my stance on predator rights?"

Tracey blinked at the words, she rarely talked politics with Helen. She always assumed the older dog had enough of that in her day-to-day, so made a point to skirt around the topic. "Oh, well... I mean, I agree with you fully. It's great that laws have been put into place to prevent biased treatment of non-predators. However, now we are seeing the opposite effect and actually getting persecuted in several areas."

"Some people think I'm an old bigoted fogey trying to go back to a more draconic time, you know?" The silver-haired wolf spoke the words with a small smile.

"Those close-minded jerks can sod off!" Tracey snarled the words, making sure to keep them family-friendly in the presence of the wolf she respected. "Anyone so much as looks at you the wrong way, I will make them wish they were never born!"

Helen let out a soft giggle then looked at the other wolf for a long moment. Tracey felt her cheeks warming and blinked back at the older dog, her azure eyes meeting the soft brown hue of Helens. "Uh... w-what is it?" The younger wolf huffed out awkwardly.

"I just had always wished I had a granddaughter, but I lost my only son early in life. My job keeps me too busy to adopt." The older wolf gave the younger one a grin and with some effort began to wag her much larger tail. "It's a pleasant thing that I feel I've found one at last, and one I get to spend every day with to boot."

Tracey huffed out in shock, her vision blurring as she blinked several times. Her heart pounded in her chest as her tail furiously wagged. "Ha... T-thank you Helen. I never knew my grandparents, they were already gone before I was old enough to."

The younger wolf shook her head and growled as she clenched her fists, tears trailing down her cheeks as she barked out. "I will stay by your side and protect you with my life! Even after this campaign tour, even if you don't pay me!"

Helen let out another soft giggle then a faint cough before taking a breath and giving the younger dog a knowing smile. "Thank you, my child, but rest assured I will keep you on the payroll. Regardless, know I appreciate your friendship and company. You've been a blessing this last year."

The final rally came and passed, a week later the elections were held. Helen Sherry won the popular vote by a landslide and was elected as the first predator in her district to become a senator in over three decades. She was one of only five predators to hold a senate position when all was said and done.

"You did it Helen! I-I'm so proud of you!" Tracey barked the words out loudly next to the older wolf at their campaign headquarters. The room was electric with excitement, hundreds of supporters cheering and celebrating the victory. Fans of all walks of life, not just predators.

"I couldn't have done it without your constant support, my child!" Helen called out as loudly as she could over the roars and cheers, speaking directly into the younger wolf's ear.

Tracey gave the older dog a wide pride-filled grin and looked out over the crowd, seeing the overflowing support for her grandmother. The wolf's ears then shot up, seeing someone moving through the crowd with obvious intention, a middle-aged goat, clumsily concealing something under his coat.

"Fuck!" Tracey snarled out and clicked the mic feed on her earpiece. Helen had already clued in on the situation as well the moment she saw her little wolf's ears jerk up. "Get the other security upfront, now! We've got a situation!" Tracey barked the words into her mic.

"Go to hell, you prejudice bitch!" The goat yelled out over the crowd as he withdrew a semi-automatic handgun and trained it onto the older wolf before opening fire.

Everything seemed to slow down at that moment as if suspended in a thick molasses of time. Tracey snarled with a growl, her body responding before her brain could catch up. No time to tackle Helen to the ground, so she did the only thing she could. She simply jumped in front of her grandmother to be a shield for her.

Pain flashed out in the young wolf's vision as she felt something tear into her shoulder, then another blast of pain in her thigh. She locked her knees and grit her teeth, she wouldn't buckle, no matter what. The other guards were already practically on top of the goat, she just needed to hold out a few more heartbeats. It didn't matter, nothing mattered as long as Helen was safe.

"No child! Stop!" The words rang out above everything else, Helen's voice calling out behind her.

Tracey felt a heavy shove on her back, why her back? The attack was coming from the front! Her mind reeled to process the change in the situation. The push made her stumble forward, her injured thigh throbbing then her knee buckled. her shredded muscles were unable to hold her weight with the sudden shift.

The young dog fell forward on the stage taking a knee as a bullet meant for her chest blurred by, clipping her ear, carving a small piece of it away. A sickening thump of impact filled Tracey's ears, then a second, followed by a loud heavy flop. The other three bodyguards tackled the attacker to the ground while the crowd screamed and people scattered from the gunfire.

Tracey let out an aching groan from the pain before gathering her composure and looking around frantically for Helen. The young wolf's blood ran cold when she saw the older one collapsed on the stage. With a loud panicked yowl of a sob, she picked herself up, her leg trying to buckle again as she stumbled over to the older wolf. The whole scene had played out in a span of four seconds.

"Helen!" Tracey screamed her name as she fell onto her knees next to the smaller wolf and scooped her up into her arms. The older wolf's head resting on her bloody lap. "Don't! You can't! Y-you're gonna be okay, the medics are on the way!"

The older dog winced and opened one eye, her pupil shifting about erratically before focusing on the younger wolf holding her. Her chest and stomach were soaked in crimson while she panted for breath. Helen slowly and gently moved her bloody hand up, pushing it against Tracey's cheek. The younger dog's tears flowed over her fingertips as Tracey snatched her hand in her own, the other gently stroking the older wolf's hair.

"Please! Please... don't leave me, grandmother!" Tracey sobbed the words uncontrollably, feeling her chest grow tighter by the second, her breathing growing shallow as the panic fully gripped her.

Helen mustered up a gentle smile for her little wolf, the same one she showed her so many times over the last year with her. "I'm sorry child... I had to... be selfish... I bur..ied... my son... I could... not... you..."

The older wolf's hand slacked and her eyes drifted closed. Tracey yowled out again in panic. Screaming out in an uncontrollable sob as she shook Helen in her arms. "No! Don't! Please!"

—♥—

Tracey sat there in the chair, her teeth clenched, her chest rising and falling in a labored huff. Her ears were folded and her tail was down without a twitch of movement. The doe looked upon the judge then the jury before giving Tracey an apologetic look. "I've no further questions, thank you for your testimony, Ms. Wellford, I know it was difficult."

The older fox looked to the table with the goat sitting there and turned his attention to the leopard in the fancy suit next to him. "Do you have any questions for the witness?"

The leopard stood from his chair and placed his palms on the table before speaking out to the judge, "I have no questions for the witness your honor."

The fox nodded and looked down at the young wolf beside him. "Thank you for your testimony, I know this was difficult for you. You may step down, Tracey."

"You've got no questions for me?" Tracey hissed the words in a raspy strained voice before looking up and focusing on the goat at the table with a glare, tears freely flowing down her cheeks. "Because I've got a fuck ton for your client!"

"Ms. Wellford, please control yourself in my courtroom!" The judged barked the words sternly at the wolf beside him.

Tracey acted like she didn't even hear the words and just kept screaming. "Who the fuck do you think you are?! You killed my grandmother and best friend! She didn't want anything but everyone to be happy together!" She had stood now, a hand on the front of the witness stand, snarling and barking the words, her sharp canines showing. The bailiff had already begun to move in on her during the outburst.

"That's enough! Ms. Wellford, if you do not step down, I will have no choice but to hold you in contempt!" The fox yelled the words and nodded at the bailiff.

"Contempt?! Let me show you contempt!" Tracey screamed the words out as something snapped in her. The bailiff reached and grabbed her wrist but she deftly twisted her arm and pulled from the grab. The whole courtroom rose up in a panicked scream as the wolf climbed over the stand, sprang forward, and launched herself across the table and on top of the goat in a tackle.

The middle-aged buck yelped out in panic as Tracey grabbed him by the throat and closed her grip on his windpipe. Tears freely flowed from her eyes and dripped on the older male's face. "Kill you! I should have ended you that night!" She furiously barked the words slamming the back of his head against the floor again and again while strangling him.

"Give me back my Grandmother you piece of shit!" Tracey howled the words out feeling the goat's life ebbing away at her hands. Her heart throbbed in a gleeful satisfied thrum in her own ears.

The wolf gave a wide hungry grin as she watched the man that took everything from her start to blackout, then the world spun as the bailiff tackled her, knocking her off the goat. "What the fuck are you doing?! Get off me! I will kill him! He will pay for my Grandmother!" Tracey howled the words and rolled the warthog off her in a practiced martial throw, shoving him away. She clambered back over to the unconscious goat with murder in her eyes, her tail cutting through the air.

Another court officer that had rushed to the front tackled her then a third and fourth. It took all four of the larger males all they could to hold the small wolf back as she screamed, howled and tried to tear away from them to get to the man that took her grandmother away.

"Order! Get her to a detaining cell and get a medic in here, now!" The fox yelled out the orders to the courtroom as he slammed his gavel down several times.

"Let me go you, bastards! I'm putting that son of a bitch in the dirt, I don't give a fuck the price!" She howled and fought against the four officers the whole way out of the courtroom.

—♥—

Several hours passed in the cell for Tracey before a court officer came down to her. "The judge wants to see you in his chambers. You gonna freak out again if I let you out?"

The wolf cut her blue eyes at the officer, the same warthog that tackled her to begin with. "If you hadn't interfered-"

"Take that as a yes. Cool, sit here and stew for the weekend," The pig grumbled the words and turned to walk away.

Tracey grunted and flicked her ears sharply. "F-fine, I will behave!"

The bailiff looked back at her and nodded. "See that you do, or you will end up in county for a few months."