Chapter Eleven
Noah
Noah had known they were going to have to face the inevitability of what to do about the shifters who killed Sam and threatened Jade’s family, but with Jade in his arms, he had no desire to do anything but make love to her or, like they had done for the last four hours, and talk about everything.
He’d told her about his childhood, how Steven, his older brother, looked out for him.
“I introduced him to his wife, Amy. I was stationed in San Diego and one night at a bar during one of my few days of downtime, I ran into her and thought she would be perfect for my brother. I told her so and she laughed, asking if I had a picture. I pulled one up on my phone and she told me he was cute. Before I knew it, I’d called him and put her on the phone with him. They talked all night, thank fuck for unlimited minutes on my cell phone plan, and Steven flew out the next weekend.”
Jade looked amazed. “That quickly? How long before he moved to California?”
Noah laughed. “Three months. He sold his house in Denver and got a new job with another tech firm, but this one paid an exorbitant amount of money, and they started ‘dating’ as Amy called it. For six months, they dated and Amy was the one who asked Steven to marry him. They waited until I got back from a tour to get married, and six years later, they are still one of the greatest couples I know. They remind me of Reaper and Ara—well, all of the immortals with mates, actually. They speak without uttering a word. They seem to know how the other is going to move or what they are going to say. My parents said they were in tune with each other, but I say they were meant to be.”
“Do they have any kids?” Jade grew concerned when Noah’s smile disappeared.
“Amy’s unable to have any. Steven doesn’t care because he has Amy, but one day, probably soon, I think they will adopt. Those two have too much love only for each other.”
“And your parents?”
Noah sighed. “My father told Steven years after we left the house that having kids made them happy for a while, but their marriage wasn’t strong to begin with. Both of them were selfish, but when we came along, it put a strain on them that ultimately broke them up. My mother moved to east, somewhere, not really contacting us unless she needs something, and my father still lives in Trinidad, surrounded by his books and is content with his life.”
“At least you have your brother.”
“I do.” Noah glanced at Jade and wanted to say more, wanted to tell Jade he was falling for her, but there was a soft knock on her front door before a voice echoed in both their heads.
Noah! Jade! I know you’re in there. You’re home and didn’t come by and say hi. I missed you.
They both laughed before they realized they were still naked, lying in bed. Not wanting to traumatize Silas, they quickly dressed before heading toward the front door.
When Jade opened it, laughing at Xander’s harried face, Noah glanced down to see a tiny snow leopard sitting on his haunches by the door, glancing at Noah with his beautiful eyes.
Noah, without thinking about his actions, dropped onto the floor, cross-legged, and watched Silas stalk toward him.
Hey, little man. I didn’t mean to neglect you, but Jade was hurt and I wanted her to get rest before we came to see you.
Silas stopped about halfway to where Noah sat and stared at Jade with a curious expression for a leopard. It looked as though his eyes were scrutinizing Jade, searching for any injuries, but Jade smiled down at him.
“It’s okay, Silas. I was shot, but Noah got me to safety until I healed. I’m good as new, I promise.”
Tears leaked from Silas’s eyes and Jade’s smile left her face and she immediately sank to her knees and held her arms out. Silas leapt into them and nuzzled against Jade’s neck while she squeezed him close, rocking him back and forth.
“What happened?” Xander directed the question at Noah.
“We were on our way back to the car when a shot came out of nowhere.” Noah looked questioningly at Xander, wondering if he wanted to know the entire truth or the watered-down version of it.
“All of it.”
Noah glanced at Jade nuzzling Silas close, but Silas, while staying close to Jade, turned his gaze to Noah.
“Jade was first shot in the shoulder. It sounded like a 9 mm, a through and through. She barely flinched. We counted five shifters who were trying to surround us, but there was another shifter who Jade scented in Ghost’s office a couple weeks back. When I shot at the tree above his head, he took off and didn’t return to the fight. Of course, Jade took care of four of them and we were searching for the fifth shifter when she took six to the back. I took out that shifter with the .308, severed his spine and he lost his head.” Noah knew his smile wasn’t one of happiness.
“She lost consciousness soon after, and I carried her back to the SUV. By that time, the snowstorm had come in and we were stuck overnight and most of the morning. We couldn’t leave until late this morning after the snow had melted some and got back at one this afternoon.”
Xander nodded. “Yeah, we saw you two drive up the mountain and figured you guys would need time after you texted Ghost last night.”
Jade looked at him and he shrugged. He had been worried she wasn’t going to recover, despite the proof whenever he peeled back the gauze and looked at her rapidly healing wounds. When they had made love, there was no sign of her being shot. Her skin was as smooth as he remembered it, but whenever he closed his eyes, he could see the blood and the pain reflected in her green eyes.
“Well, we were sent over to get you two for dinner at Kai’s. Then tomorrow, we are going to plan an assault.” Xander glanced back and forth between Noah and Jade until they both nodded.
Silas, still in his snow leopard form, jumped from Jade’s arms after he nuzzled her cheek and moved to Noah, who he nuzzled under his chin before he followed his dad out the door. Noah laughed when Silas put his paws against the window of Xander’s truck.
Hurry up!
Laughing, they hopped in Xander’s pickup truck and headed toward Kai’s gigantic mountain house a few miles away. Xander turned on a blues station and soon they both relaxed back into their seats.
Noah reached out to grasp Jade’s hand in his and she turned to smile at him. But her smile turned tense and she gazed around.
“What?”
“Someone’s following us.”
Xander, whose eyes had already been scanning the surrounding area, sighed in defeat when he couldn’t find anything out of place.
“Whoever it is, is staying out of sight. What do you think they are after?”
“The scent—there’s something familiar in the underlying scent, but something his masking it. I can’t remember where I could’ve smelled it before.”
Noah glanced between Jade and Silas. Jade had just recovered from an attack; there was no way he was going to see her hurt again. Although he couldn’t admit it aloud, he cared deeply for Jade and had thought more than once in their time together about being her mate. They could work as assassins and live together in Jade’s cozy little cabin. But someone out there was trying to rip them apart.
Yeah, we’re coming in now, but I think we’re being followed.
By whom? Kai’s voice boomed in his head and Noah sat back, startled.
“Did you just hear Kai?” Jade asked.
He nodded.
Are we getting ready for a fight?
For fuck’s sake, Ax.
Just asking!
“How can I hear the assassins? I’m not an assassin and other than you and Silas, I couldn’t hear anyone before.” Noah felt confused and it came across in his voice.
“I don’t know.”
I backtracked several times on the drive home, but I couldn’t see anyone following Jade and I.
Noah?
Yeah, Ghost, it’s me.
Be alert. The most dangerous time is from the car to the house. We’re ready for you.
Xander pressed his foot on the accelerator and within a minute, Kai’s house was in view.
ETA, two minutes.
We really have to figure out what the fuck is going on. These fucking shifters aren’t smart enough to come after us, so if it’s not them, then who?
Before anyone could answer, Xander pulled into the driveway of Kai’s house, about twenty feet from the door. Noah took a quick glance around before he turned to Xander.
“Get Silas safe before we leave the vehicle.”
Xander picked up Silas in his arms and dashed for Kai’s front door. The vampire opened it in time for Xander to rush through, and then he, Axel, Kane, Thomas, Isaac, Hunter, and Gunnar stepped onto the porch. They walked closer as Noah opened the door.
There was a flash of movement to his right, but before he could slam the door shut, a fist gripped his collar and yanked him out of the SUV and onto the ground. When Noah blinked up at the stranger, he realized he wasn’t a stranger after all.
It was the man who had run away when he’d taken a high shot over his head.
“She will understand now, what it’s like to lose what you love.” The man’s voice was gravelly, like he hadn’t used it in many years.
“Who? What are you talking about?”
Before Noah got his answers, the man leaned forward, his canines stretching his lips open, and he bit down on Noah’s shoulder. He felt a rush of heat and an explosion of pain, but before he could scream, three of the assassins pulled him off Noah and Jade dropped to her knees at his side, cupping his face gently in her hands.
He wanted to tell her everything was fine, but the searing pain traveled from his neck to his chest and he tilted his head back to find relief. Instead, the pain continued and he finally gave in and screamed.
“I’m sorry.”
He couldn’t speak but he wondered what Jade was sorry for, but in the next second, he felt her tongue on his skin and the pain subsided a bit. He blinked up at her, trying to meet her eyes, but she was staring at his neck.
“This is the only way you will survive.”
Jade’s teeth extended and with one more swipe of her tongue against his heated skin, sending shafts of pleasure through his body, she bit him exactly where the other shifter had. This time, when she released her venom in his system, darkness seeped into his vision until lost consciousness.