Chapter Three
Jade
Jade sighed as she flung another unneeded piece of equipment onto her bed. She knew Noah would pack the essentials, but being with a human in the woods in the middle of winter, she wanted to be prepared for everything. She knew he had his winter gear, but she packed extra heat packs and thermal clothes and blankets and MREs.
It wasn’t as though she had planned to stay away from Noah during his training. But when Noah agreed they would explore the connection between them after they tracked and eliminated the immortal shifters who were a danger to everyone, she didn’t want to pressure Noah into anything so she stayed away.
Jade had been thrown off-kilter when Silas announced to everyone Noah was her mate and further surprised them when he mentioned each couple’s colors, expecting Noah to freak out and walk out of the house. Instead, he was calm about the entire situation.
It helped that he was enamored with Silas from the first moment they looked at each other. It stirred desires that Jade had never felt before and knew to be impossible. Liv confirmed it after Frost had gotten pregnant earlier in the year. Jade and the other’s weren’t able to get pregnant. At the time, it never occurred to Jade to want a family because she loved her job and she’d never given a thought about a mate of her own.
But seeing how gentle and caring Noah had been with Silas, Jade could feel desire for a family of her own.
When Noah told her that they would take care of their problem and then talk, her heart jumped in her chest because she knew he was giving her a chance. That was, until she overheard him yesterday speaking to Kane.
“I should’ve turned her when I had the chance. But every time she brought it up, I dissuaded her by saying it was too much of a risk, too much pain. I regret that every day. If I had a chance to turn back time, I would have bitten her, flooded her with my venom the moment she told me she loved me. Trust me, man. Mates are rare.” Kane’s voice wobbled at the end.
Noah nodded. “I understand, I really do. But I need to concentrate on eliminating Sam’s killers before I can think about my future. And I’m not sure if Jade’s for—”
He was interrupted before Jade could hear the rest.
During Noah’s training with the other assassins, she either spent time with Silas or hidden from view where she could watch Noah’s progress. She was impressed by his intensity learning what he needed about how immortals moved. Since he didn’t need to worry about vampires, they taught him how shifters moved (they usually came at you head on, while vampires would use stealth to their advantage). He also had great senses, not missing anything whenever there was movement near him or he was distracted by another fight.
Although he didn’t have the strength and speed of the shifters he was sparring with, he was accurate with a weapon and could strike with a knife in a way that impressed the most hardened assassin. Kai; she was talking about Kai.
For the past two days, they’d been conditioning Noah, sparring with him, and teaching him how to detect movement from shifters. The larger, the easier to spot.
“This group is untrained and stupid, so that makes them predictable. They will come at you without stealth or grace and they will fail almost immediately. Then they will try to gang up on you, sensing you’re human, and they will try to separate you from Jade. Don’t leave her side. Fight back-to-back if you have to, but under no circumstance should you be separate from Jade. Also, if she tells you to do something, you need to comply immediately. There is no questioning her in battle, because she will do everything in her power to save your life, even if it means she sacrifices herself.”
Fuck, Kai, could you calm the fuck down a little? He’s a soldier—he knows all this.
He’s human and although well trained and deadly, he’s a target. Don’t forget.
I won’t and I don’t think he will either.
“Since venom from vampires will kill shifters, Jade will have a gun filled with bullets that contain small capsules of venom inside that will explode on impact. We want to see how quickly it incapacitates or kills them so we can use it in the final battle. You have a limited supply, but since Liv figured out a way to stabilize the venom once it’s harvested, we will work on more for later. And whatever you do, for fuck’s sake, stay alive and don’t get bitten. If you are bitten, there’s not much we can do for you. Got it?”
Noah, who had been staring at Kai with an impassive face, nodded his head. “Yes, sir.”
“Cut the sir shit.”
Noah and Kai laughed and the group went back to their training.
Kai and Reaper had wanted her to train with Noah that afternoon, but Jade had begged off to get their weapons and other essentials packed. She knew she would have nothing to show him. She was deathly afraid she might hurt him in some inadvertent way and she would never take that chance.
So she picked up another .45 and checked the magazine was fully loaded before she slammed it back into position. It joined the four others Jade already checked. She would carry the MP5 with her during their hike and she would have two more for Noah when he needed them. She also packed enough ammunition they could survive a couple of firefights, enough for a strategic retreat.
The last thing she packed were extra batteries for the satellite phones, one for her and Noah, that had a direct line back to the team. She sensed Reaper at the front door as she zipped up her pack and listened to his distinct footsteps before he loomed in her bedroom doorway.
The silence that stretched between them was a tactic Reaper used to push the others off-kilter before they spilled their guts, but it never worked with Jade. She continued to ignore him as she set her pack by the door.
Reaper sighed. “You can’t deny the most fundamental part of who you are.”
“I’m not denying it. He asked to give him time, to get through this mission and eliminate those who killed his best friend, then he said we would talk about it. I’m doing what he asked.”
“But you should be training him so he could learn your movements and how you respond to an attack so he could have your back.”
Jade turned her glare to Reaper. “I know how you were when we trained Ara and you didn’t participate because you were afraid that you would pull your punches and she wouldn’t learn anything. I’m afraid of hurting him because he knows too much. I will demonstrate my fighting technique so he could learn, but I refuse to spar with him.”
“You’re right. Sorry about that.”
She shook her head and waved off his apology. Jade felt sensitive about the subject. She couldn’t remember anything about her past life and although she found her place in the world with the assassins, she never felt wanted. And Noah being hesitant to be her mate reinforced the fact that she still wasn’t wanted.
Except for my skills as a tracker and fighter.
Shaking her head, she stopped her morose thoughts and nodded at Reaper. She was ready.
Jade followed Reaper to the clearing outside Xander’s house where they’d recently fought. She laughed when Silas waved his little arms at her and went to press a kiss on the top of his downy head. “I love you, little one.”
I love you, too, Jade.
Reaper moved near Noah so he could explain the way she fought. Jade was surprised when Noah gave her a short nod and a small smile. She would take it and smiled back.
Jade stepped into the clearing and turned toward Kane, always the first in the group to attack. He was a blur, even to her eyes, but Jade had honed her senses over the years, especially after getting her ass kicked by Kai so many times. She calmed her heart and relaxed her muscles, making tracking the gung-ho vampire easier.
The moment he reached for her, Jade ducked and timing it just right, she lifted up and planted her shoulder into his gut, before she twirled around. Using the momentum of the action and her strength, she launched him through the trees and out of view.
She swung around in time to capture Axel’s fist in her own. She twisted her wrist lightly, but the movement was enough to make the lion shifter lose his balance and flip in the air. He landed hard on his back and, with one strike to his sternum, Axel groaned and dropped his head on the ground.
Ara lifted her off the ground before she could strike Ax again. Jade waited until she reached a sturdy branch. She reached for the branch, flipped herself so she could stand on it, and without hesitation, she launched herself at Hunter. The surprised look on his face was nothing compared to when she lifted him easily and threw him at Ara, who hadn’t been expecting that counter. They tumbled into each other and she heard Reaper growl at her actions, but she ignored him.
Gunnar snarled at her and she blinked. She loved the way his soft gray hair would sway with the wind, but he snapped his sharp teeth together and charged. She sensed Kane coming back for a second round and dropped onto her back as he flew past her, hitting a tree and felling it.
“Hey, leave the trees out of this,” Xander huffed.
Gunnar reached her and snapped his teeth at her neck. She let him get close enough before she brought her knees to her chest. When she pressed her legs up to make contact with his chest, she sent him flying into the air and out of view. Silas chuckled to see a gray wolf flying through the air and that made her smile.
Thomas and Isaac, the two vampires who liked to fight together, reached for her and she darted out of their grip. They might be vampires, but she was faster. She maneuvered them until they were close enough she could feel the brush their strikes against her skin without actually landing. As they recovered and attacked again, she determined where they were to strike next and darted away in time so their strikes landed on each other. The force of their dual hits against each other sent them out of sight.
Xander shifted and Jade immediately followed suit. He growled at her, showing his large teeth, and she danced away. Xander charged and she rolled under him, his teeth missing her neck by millimeters. She unrolled from her tuck and pushed off the ground, landing on Xander’s back before he stopped his momentum. She pressed down on his shoulder blades. From his own forward momentum and the force of her body, his legs gave out and he skidded on his face for a few feet before stopping.
Ghost, in his white wolf form that she rarely saw, then jumped on top of her, pinning her to the ground. She immediately bared her teeth and growled, as did he, and they snapped at each other, trying to find a vulnerability. Getting nowhere, she moved and tried to head butt his leg. He noticed her actions and when he moved it, she shouldered Ghost off her and pounced on his back, bringing her mouth around his neck and squeezing slightly. She backflipped off of him and waited.
Kai was always her last opponent because he liked to be patient, looking for vulnerabilities in his enemies. She learned patience from him.
She scurried up the tree and rained branches and dead leaves down upon his head, chuckling to herself at her actions.
“Kai was the most talented fighter until Jade came along,” Reaper explained.
Jade heard Noah grunt and that split second of distraction allowed Kai closer. She jumped toward Kai, swiping her paw across his chest. When she heard the small grunt of surprise, she continued with her assault. She moved quickly, striking him on the legs, the Achilles, across the back, all while using the trees to ping-pong herself around Kai.
She continued with a strike on the back of his neck, his wrists, the back of his legs before she landed on all fours several yards from Kai and stared at him.
Kai nodded at her, telling her that if her claws hadn’t been retracted, her attack would have worked perfectly as she moved from artery to artery with swift and precise strikes.
“Her moves are always practical and logical. Also, they are the quickest way to eliminate a target. She will never allow herself to be overwhelmed and will separate the enemies before slowly killing them until there isn’t anyone standing. Your job is to keep those who don’t fight fair off her back until she’s done. But she’s always got your back. Don’t forget that. Protect your six and hers and you’ll be fine.”
Jade moved toward Liv, farther into the trees, where Liv handed her a hoodie and a pair of jeans. She hugged Liv and smiled when she pressed a smacking kiss to her cheek that caused Liv to giggle. She walked back toward the group.
“Inside for one last mission briefing,” Ghost announced.
Jade caught Silas as he jumped into her arms. She buried her nose into his stomach, loving the baby smell and something uniquely Silas, before tossing him in to the air. She laughed as he giggled and soon, she had him cradled in the crook of her arm. “I love you, little one, very much.”
I love you, too. I’m gonna miss you and Noah while you two are gone.
We’ll miss you, too.
Of course we will, buddy. We’ll be back soon, though. Jade wasn’t surprised Silas included Noah in the conversation.
Okay. But come home safe.
Silas sighed. Okay, Daddy, I’ll go upstairs and play. The entire team heard that and chuckled.
Silas kissed her on the cheek before he jumped from her arms and sprinted up the stairs. They took seats around Xander’s living room and Jade was surprised when Noah sat next to her.
“Do you guys know where you’re headed?”
Jade nodded. “Based on Noah’s intel and where the failed shifters headed after they lost the fight, their camp is most likely in southwest Colorado, somewhere near Crested Butte.”
“Why there?” Reaper asked.
“I suspect because it’s near a popular ski resort where they could ‘recruit’ new members. Also, there is a lot of open land where they could set up a headquarters without being noticed coming and going.”
“When?” Ghost asked.
“There is a snowstorm forecasted for the end of the week. It should take us half a day to hike and find their headquarters, so if we head out tomorrow and find their camp by mid-afternoon, we’ll be back by Thursday at the latest. The snow will come in on Friday afternoon—well, that’s when it’s predicted.”
“When we get their intel, we’ll start with our plans, but we won’t finalize them until Jade and Noah get back and she can show us the layout from memory. Jade, have you and Noah been working on your mind link?”
“No.”
“What do you mean?” Noah asked.
Ghost explained, of course. “All the assassins have been successful at teaching themselves to mind link. It’s what Silas can do with ease. Usually it’s hard to master, but since you are mates, you two should find it easier to mind link.”
“But I’m human and I thought Silas was special, that’s why he could, even with me.”
“Yes, Silas is special, but you should be able to master it with Jade because you’re Jade’s mate.”
Jade opened her mouth to protest, not wanting to force Noah to do anything he would be uncomfortable with. He hadn’t accepted her yet, and this was the last thing she wanted Noah to know about.
“It would help coordinate in combat situations instead of using coms.” Noah turned to Jade and gave her a determined look that she couldn’t dismiss.
Jade nodded. “We’ll work on it during the drive down, the hike, and downtimes.”
“Thank you.” Noah nodded at her and turned back to Ghost.
“Okay. You’re both packed?”
Noah and Jade both nodded. Noah didn’t need to know that she packed him extra provisions.
“Then we’ll see you off at sunrise.”
As Ghost ended the meeting, Silas flew out of nowhere and landed in Xander’s arms. He smiled at Xander, knowing his daddy wouldn’t be mad at him, even though he hadn’t stayed upstairs. He hugged Xander and his mom, before he hopped down and climbed onto Noah’s lap.
Jade smiled into her hand when Noah wrapped Silas close and they started a conversation that only the two of them could hear. She loved that Noah had accepted her family so easily, but as she watched Noah and Silas’s faces light up as the conversation continued, Jade wished that in time, she could get through Noah’s wall and truly connect with him.