Chapter Three
Xander
Xander broke the kiss and held Frost close. His heart nearly beat out of his chest when he realized how close he was to having her walk out of his life. He could feel his body shaking because of it. The next time he saw Reaper, he was going to hug the man.
The transition had been just as harrowing as Reaper described, but what Xander dismissed was the pure helplessness he would feel at not being able to help your mate through the most painful experience of their life. And like Ara’s transition, Frost was taken by surprise when she had begun her transition, without him having released his venom into her bloodstream or knowing that transitioning was a possibility.
It had been pure torture to watch Frost writhe in pain, especially considering her gunshot wound hadn’t healed until the transition had been completed. And he watched her like a hawk for three days and three nights, trying to lessen the pain and prevent her from tearing the wound in her shoulder, as he tried to get her to sleep comfortably. Reaper’s trick worked, setting the alarm for every half an hour to replace the wet towels he had surrounding her body. The first time he removed the towels, he had cursed at the heat that radiated from her skin, before making quick work of switching out the towels.
And because he refused to sleep during this, he had stupidly fallen asleep when he had been too exhausted to keep going, a few hours before she woke. When he had caught her scent mixed with his soap, he had shot up in bed and looked around for her. Panic set in when he couldn’t spot her, but he heard her speaking softly to herself as she made her way downstairs, and shot out of bed to go after her.
When she turned to face him, his breath caught in his throat as he spotted the minor changes that the transition to shifter had made in her appearance. She was as beautiful as when he first spotted her in the clearing, and the transition had only enhanced her features. She stood straighter and looked stronger, with more defined muscles, as if she were ready to pounce at any moment. She was his mate and he’d finally found her after all this time.
He found that he couldn’t stay away from her. When she tilted her head, he devoured her lips and lost himself in her touch for several long minutes. But a rash thought came to mind and he pulled away from the kiss.
“Have you shifted yet?”
She blinked once, and then again, before the question had sunk in and confusion became etched on her face. “No. I felt the need for a shower and all these thoughts bombarded me, but the only one I could pick out was finding my boss and kicking the little fucker in the balls. Why should I be able to shift now, when I wasn’t able to before?”
“The only thing I can think of is that you transitioned with just a touch from your mate, so it could be that your ability to shift is repressed. Liv and the rest of the immortals don’t really know the ins and outs of becoming an immortal. Why we are in a stasis and we are unable to age, or why some of us can shift quickly while others can’t. There is so much unknown about us, and Liv had come to a standstill in her research before she tested your blood. All I know is that unless an immortal is trained to mind link with another immortal, which takes years to learn even if you’ve done it successfully before, an immortal can mind link with their mate if one of them accepts their connection. I knew the first time I heard your thoughts that you were my mate.”
He watched as Frost’s nose scrunched at his last statement. But before he could question it, she asked him a question.
“My shoulder wound healed because I transitioned?”
He nodded but he couldn’t help but glance down at her side. He watched as her face twisted in horror.
“You…you saw?”
Xander was confused by her panic and pulled her closer. “It doesn’t matter what it looks like. It shows everyone how strong you are and what you’ve gone through in your life. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, sweetheart. I felt guilty when I saw it because you were shot due to my inability to protect you. I added to your pain. I know I should have protected you, gotten you to safety before the mercenary had a chance to take the shot, but my ego wouldn’t allow me to walk away from the fight. You had to get hurt for me to realize how impulsive and stupid I was.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
He shook his head and held onto her tighter. “I don’t think you’ll ever win that argument with me.”
She scoffed but relaxed in his arms.
“You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I’m a lucky man.”
“Yeah, right. The wound healed in a way that makes it look grotesque and even then, the rest of me isn’t anything to look at either.”
His lips slammed into hers and he growled as she opened for him. He slid his tongue inside, tasting her sweetness and loving the moans that he drew from her. He knew without a doubt that he was falling for this woman. “Never doubt my need and desire for you. You are gorgeous and you fit perfectly against me, and I will always want you. And I know that you were hoping that your old injury would heal because of the transition, but Liv and I think that transitions only heals fresh wounds.”
He paused and her blue-green eyes were wide as she looked at him for an explanation.
“When Liv met Kai, her life had been in danger because she found out the company she worked for had created a deadly virus that killed immortals, which is next to impossible. She asked Kai for help, and he took her in and protected her. He knew long before he’d actually spoken to her that she was his mate, but he was in denial. So while she worked on the antidote, they got to know each other and fell in love. But Liv was kidnapped and beaten within an inch of her life—several broken bones, a head injury, and a stab wound to her side. Kai’s venom healed her from her newly-inflicted wounds.
“Liv believes that your body had awhile to adapt to the old injury, and became part of you just as much as the color of your hair and eyes. This is just a theory on why your wound didn’t heal during your transition. But, at this point, it’s all a guessing game. Before you, it was unheard to transition without having venom in your system.”
Xander had watched her as he explained and noticed that tears had welled in her eyes, and he pulled her close.
“Who would want to hurt Liv?”
“The scientist wanted to become an immortal and take over Dark Company, but Liv ruined that chance when she discovered his experiment and put a stop to it. He was also bat-shit crazy. Liv used the same bio-weapon he created against him, but in humans they just disintegrate until there’s nothing left. But now Liv is happy, in love and married to her mate, and she keeps researching in case someone else develops a plan to come after us.”
For a long moment, they were silent as Frost processed this new information. But he came to the sudden realization that he was still naked when he could feel the heat and smell the arousal coming from Frost. He reined in his desire and allowed himself a small kiss.
“You must be famished after not eating for close to four days. I’ll go get dressed and cook us breakfast.”
She nodded and he indicated where she could find the kitchen as he rushed upstairs and threw on a pair of baggy sweats and a tee.
When he arrived in the kitchen, Frost was glaring at the coffee maker, trying to figure out how it worked, and he brushed by her, placing a kiss on her head as he chuckled. Her hand shot out and she slugged him in the chest, before she stepped back and watched as Xander taught her how to use the machine.
As the first cup of coffee started to brew, he snagged a kiss, smiling against her mouth when she leaned into him. Not wanting to push her into anything until she was ready, he reluctantly stepped back and ended the kiss. He turned to hide his obvious reaction to her nearness by digging in the fridge and made quick work of cooking breakfast.
“How old are you?”
“Technically, I’m a hundred twenty-two, but physically, I look exactly as I did when I turned twenty-two and stopped aging.”
“Did your mate turn you?”
“No, sweetheart, you’re my mate. I was on a hunting trip with my father and older brothers, making sure that we had enough food to get through the winter, when I was separated from my family and attacked. As soon as I felt teeth pierce my shoulder, I passed out and woke up as a shifter.”
“So, you don’t remember anything about your transition? Not the heat or the pain?”
Xander couldn’t help it; he flinched at the thought of Frost in pain. “No, I have no memories of that. I remember blood, but that could have been the pain or a false memory, but I don’t remember anything until I awoke on the hard, snow-covered ground, alone.”
“What happened to your family?”
Xander swallowed as he pulled up the horrific memories of what he found after he’d become a shifter. “I found my two older brothers dead from the same shifter attack. Dad made it home but when he spotted me, he wouldn’t let me anywhere near the house, thinking that I had been the one who attacked my brothers. Instead of arguing, I let my parents be and left.”
“How did you become an assassin?” She had finished her breakfast and thanked him. She sipped her coffee, looking at him with concern.
He laughed at the memory. “I ran into Kai one day while I was wandering around the mountains. I thought he was a threat, being a vampire and all, and I attacked him without thinking it through. We fought for close to an hour, and while I suspected then and now that he could easily kill me, he pulled his punches and kept his teeth retracted. Shifter venom is deadly to vampires, and vice versa. What I learned later was that Kai was almost a century older than me and had been working as an assassin, training all day every day for decades, so of course I ran out of steam and lost the fight. I expected him to kill me, but Kai had offered me a hand, lifted me off the ground, and took me to see Ghost for a job.”
“You…mentioned that I’m your mate and you’ve been waiting for me. How do you know I’m the one for you?” Frost pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth and he groaned as lust surged through him.
“I had an inkling when I could hear your thoughts, but the moment I spotted you, every cell in my body screamed for me to protect you. To be honest, before I heard you, I thought I was destined to be alone. Kai found Liv close to four years ago, Reaper found Ara soon after, and even Seth, the kid, found his vampire mate, Aubrey, last year. She turned him in November and they married soon after. Out of everyone, I was the only one who had believed that mates were real and I desired to find you, but I lost hope until I heard your voice.”
There was a pause as she absorbed all the information that he’d thrown at her, but he had to ask.
“How do you feel about becoming a shifter and finding out that you’re my mate?”
“To be honest, the idea has settled into place with ease. I’d always felt out of place, preferring to be alone. Before I heard you, my thoughts were always so loud, rioting in my head, but they calmed the moment you spoke to me. I feel safe and comfortable with you, and I’m willing to accept the relationship, but I do have one question.”
Choked by her easy acceptance, he nodded.
“Are you attracted to me or do you want to be with me because I’m your mate?”
“No, sweetheart. Everything about you attracts me—from the sound of your voice to the way your mouth quirks on one side when you’re being sarcastic. How your eyes light up that particular shade of green when you’re happy, or hungry, or thinking. You’re beautiful on the outside as much as you radiate beauty on the inside. Even if my instincts, well, every part of my being didn’t scream for you to be mine, I would still know that I belong to you.”
Her hand cupped her throat with each word he spoke, and by the end, he reached toward her cheek and wiped a tear from her face. “Mates don’t ever cheat, lie, or hurt each other. I would never do anything to make you stop believing that I want you every moment of every day.”
Frost launched herself into his arms and proceeded to ravage his mouth, leaving his mind blank and his heart racing. He memorized every inch of her mouth and he pulled her onto his lap. Only when they needed to breathe, they broke apart and he pulled her close.
“If I’m a shifter now, why haven’t I shifted?”
“I don’t know. I have a feeling that you’re unique and will shift in your own time. But if you’re worried about it, we could talk to Liv and have her investigate.”
She nodded. “I would like to find out, and I need to apologize to Jade and Kane. I still have no idea what came over me when I saw her.”
“Well, you aren’t the only one who’s had that reaction to Jade. Ara had a panic attack when she thought that Jade and Reaper had a relationship. Liv had tried to walk away and ignore her jealousy, until we told her that shifters and vampires can’t mate. Aubrey pulled Seth behind her when Jade had tried to hug him. She even released her fangs and snarled at her. You were injured and your instincts told you that I was important to you; that’s why you reacted the way you did. Jade won’t fault you for that.”
Frost nodded and melted back against Xander. He couldn’t get enough of her and he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. His mate was in his lap and had accepted him. And he would do everything in his power to keep her happy.