Chapter Twelve
Jade
Jade watched with horror as the shifter she had spotted outside Ghost’s office, the one who followed them in the forest and had been there when she’d been shot, pulled Noah from the car. He kneeled by Noah’s body and looked at her with such hatred it made her freeze in place.
Noah. No. No. No. Noah!
She launched herself from the backseat and onto the ground in front of Noah in one swift movement. She reached out to pull him away from the shifter, but instead, Noah was yanked away from her again.
“She will understand now, what it’s like to lose what you love.”
Her heart froze in her chest as he bit down on Noah’s neck. The scream that was wrenched out of the man she loved almost brought her to her knees. She watched as Axel, Gunnar, and Hunter latched on the shifter and pulled him away from Noah before throwing him on the ground and holding him down.
Jade moved toward Noah, not knowing what she could do to save his life, but knowing she would have to do something.
Think. Think, think.
Liv moved in front of her and wrapped her tiny hands around Jade’s biceps and squeezed. “You have to introduce your venom into his system. The shifter only pushed a small amount of venom in before he was removed. Bite him and you will know how much he needs in order to survive.”
Jade stood still for a second, but Liv’s brows drew down and she pushed her toward Noah.
She kneeled in front of him and the pain on his face almost killed her.
“Noah? Noah?” Jade cupped his cheek and turned his gaze toward her. It was already cloudy and he was squinting in pain, biting his lip and trying not to cry out. She needed to save him. Now.
“I’m sorry.” Jade could tell her words confused him but she ignored the pang in her chest at the fact she was forcing him to become an immortal.
He hadn’t decided. It wasn’t fair.
Wanting to numb the area before she bit down, she licked his neck, tasting the sweet tang of his blood on her tongue. Knowing she would have to take his choice away from him, she licked him one more time before she bit down, releasing a rush of venom from her teeth. She had no idea how Liv thought she would be able to tell how much was enough, but soon, the flow of venom slowed to a stutter and after a few more seconds, came to a stop.
Making a sound of surprise, she licked a swath over the wound, once and then again, making sure it was closed. Not knowing if it could work, Jade dropped her head onto Noah’s chest.
A sob surprised her when it bubbled from her throat and escaped in a wail. She wrapped her arms around Noah, holding him close and taking a small amount of comfort that he was warm. She could hear his faint heartbeat, and he was breathing.
“Let’s get him comfortable.” Liv’s words brought Jade back to reality.
Jade nodded and rose to her knees. She scooped Noah up in her arms and stood, cradling his head against her chest as she glanced up to follow Liv into the house and up the stairs. She made the mistake of looking at her family and the devastation on their faces had her drop her gaze down to Noah. She noticed that his puncture wounds had healed, but she knew they had a long way to go.
Silently, Liv led the way into the house, followed by Jade, and then the rest of the assassins. Jade followed Liv quietly, holding Noah gently in her arms, and only glanced up when Liv cleared her throat.
Jade settled Noah onto the bed with gentle movements. She ripped off his shirt and pants, leaving him in his boxer briefs. They would probably have to lose those sooner rather than later, but for now, she helped Noah keep his modesty.
“I’m going to get an IV for a morphine drip. I’ll get you a cooler with ice packs and a pile of towels to keep him comfortable.”
“Thank you.”
Liv squeezed her hand. “It’s not your fault.”
Jade nodded. “Yes, it is. He wasn’t sure about this life. And who can blame him, really. A shifter killed his best friend after lying to them, he was thrown into working with us, and a rogue shifter attacked him for reasons we have yet to understand.”
Jade paused and glanced up, spotting Kai standing in the doorway. “You still have that fucker, right?”
Kai nodded, his eyes drifting back to Noah, telling her silently that she should concentrate on her mate and not worry about anything else.
Liv squeezed Jade tightly. “No one has the ideal transition and life throws curveballs in your way when you least expect it. Just know, after his transition, he will be fine. His heart is strong and with our help, he will make it through this without much pain.”
Jade nodded, her throat too tight to speak.
Liv darted out of the room while Jade pulled up a chair close to Noah’s bedside and reached for his hand. She hesitated for a split second, before she reached for it. Jade had no idea if he would let her close to him after this.
As if in a daze, she heard Liv moving around her, putting the IV drip into Noah’s arm, which made Jade flinch at the thought of him being in more pain, although it was for a moment. The cooler had been placed near her, filled with ice packs and near the end of the bed, towels.
Jade watched Noah for any changes and about an hour after her bite, she noted that a sweat broke out on his forehead. She moved to stand and get a washcloth and basin with water, but Reaper’s hand on her shoulder stopped her. He placed those exact items on the bedside table next to her.
“Thank you.”
Reaper took her by surprise and hugged her from behind. “Stay strong. And remember, he’s in pain, so whatever he might say, he doesn’t mean.”
Jade felt her body shiver in fear, but when Noah moaned on the bed, she nodded at Reaper before reaching for the washcloth and dipping it in water. She mopped the sweat off his forehead before she placed a cool, fresh one, hoping to help his fever.
The next few hours passed without a word from Noah. She could tell he had a fever; his face and chest was flushed, but the morphine seemed to be doing its job. He hadn’t moved or moaned in pain since an hour after the IV was put in, and while that gave her some comfort, Jade found herself checking his pulse every few minutes to make sure his heart could handle the transition.
And she knew this wasn’t the worst part of the transition. That would be day two when the venom would strengthen his bones and muscles, making him ache in ways that were indescribable. Soon after, the venom would make everything hurt as it transformed him from human to shifter.
She would take his place in a heartbeat. Now she understood why Kane was hesitant to put his wife through this. Watching someone you love cry out in pain was soul destroying. And there was no way of knowing if Noah would be accepting of her when he’d gone through his transition.
If he rejected her…
Jade shook her head and concentrated on Noah.
***
She had no idea how much time had passed. She’d guessed it was early morning on Sunday. But as she watched, Noah’s skin steadily turned darker as he practically glowed with a fever. The morphine wasn’t enough to hold the pain at bay, so Jade made quick work of laying cold towels, along with strategically placed ice packs, around his body. When the towels touched his skin, he let out a sound halfway between a groan of pleasure and a gasp of pain that brought tears to her eyes.
“We can turn up the morphine now. I purposely started low so by the time the worst of the pain struck, he wouldn’t overdose.” Liv pressed the arrow twice, the readout changing, before she turned to Jade. “How are you holding up?”
“I want to take it away from him. I would gladly go through it if he didn’t have to. I feel so helpless.”
“We all did.” Xander pulled Frost close.
“And watching Noah, we wish we could take the pain away too. I have no idea why it’s so painful, but the worst part is watching your mate hurt.” Aubrey moved closer and hugged Jade.
“The pain, to be honest, you can’t remember once it’s done.” Ara bent down and kissed Jade on the forehead before she wrapped her in another hug. “He’ll be fine. He’ll be strong, but right now, you have to be strong for him.”
When Axel walked in the room, he lifted Jade into a crushing hug and Jade froze when she heard Noah growl, low and unlike anything she’d heard from another shifter.
“He’s even possessive in his sleep.” Ax sounded bemused.
“Was that a tiger growl?” Liv asked.
Jade reached for Noah’s hand, and although he was still hot, he squeezed slightly, letting her know he was still there.
***
Jade had removed the last of the ice packs, completely melted and felt to be around room temperature, when she heard the sweetest sound.
“Jade? Baby?”
She rushed to Noah’s side and when he blinked open his beautiful dark-blue eyes, she smiled a watery smile at him.
“Hey, love. How are you feeling? Do you need anything?”
Instead of answering her, he pulled her into bed and squeezed her close. “Are…you…okay?” His voice sounded raw and scratched.
“I’m okay. But I wasn’t fast enough to prevent him from biting you. The only way I could save you was to push my venom into your bloodstream.”
Noah blinked his eyes closed and was slow to open them, but when he did, Jade spotted something she hoped she never would from Noah. Anger and betrayal.
He thought she betrayed him.
His arms dropped from around her and with pain in her chest that threatened to split her heart in two, she slowly rose from the bed.
“What do you need?” She wasn’t sure she was asking if he wanted her to leave or if he wanted someone else to take care of him.
“Not…you.”
Although she knew it was coming, the pain from hearing it was more excruciating than…anything.
She nodded at him and he watched her move toward the door with narrowed eyes, and when she looked back at him, he closed his eyes and blocked her from his view. She nodded and silently left the room.
Jade couldn’t hear anything as she stumbled her way down the stairs and toward the front door. Silas jumped into her arms and she managed to catch him before she turned and put him in Xander’s arms. She opened the door, walked through it in a daze, and closed it firmly behind her.
Without thinking, she shifted and started a run. Toward where, she had no idea. Everything was numb. Her mind, her body, her heart. But Noah would live, he would be alive, and that was more than Jade could hope for. And as she ate up the miles, she almost convinced herself that she didn’t matter in the long run.
Noah would’ve died if I didn’t…
His hatred and demand that she remove herself from his life was a small price to pay. He would move on, be healthy, never die.
Jade slowed her run and glanced at the full moon. She had no idea how long she ran, but as she took a deep breath, she realized it was far enough away that she couldn’t scent anyone she knew. She would build a makeshift bed underneath a tree and in the morning when she woke, she would run farther.
After that, she had no plans.