“Come on. We need to keep our promise. I’d like to reunite Scarlett and Alayna before dawn. They need to leave before the queen returns.” He pressed his lips to my forehead. “We have much work to do before the night ends, Ash.”

I nodded. After seeing this room, after figuring out what happened to my mother and knowing what was supposed to happen to me, I finally had the determination I needed to face my father. “I’m done being scared.” I narrowed my eyes. “I’m focused. It’s time to end this.”

“That’s my hunter.” Jax grinned.

“Damn right.” My chin jutted out in determination. “You with the ears. You get to go first.” I nodded towards the door. “Let’s get on it.”

With a smile, he moved toward the door and pressed his head against the wood. “Clear.” Then he gently pulled on the knob and we crept out of the room. Within seconds we reached the room and ducked inside. Scarlett was sitting on the floor looking completely dejected, which was a far cry from the woman I’d heard speaking with my father.

“You came.” She smiled sweetly at Jax. Then she noticed I was standing behind him. “And you brought a friend.” Her smile faded.

“She’s going to help get you out of here, Scarlett. Be nice,” Jax warned.

“As if I would be anything but.” She studied me and the way we interacted. I could feel it. Under her scrutiny, I felt smaller, which was precisely what she intended no doubt.

“I don’t suppose you know where the key is?” Jax examined the lock around her ankle.

She shook her head sadly. “I don’t think I even have anything to pick the lock. I would’ve done it myself.”

I wandered around her table and the closest item she had to a lock pick was the long skinny ceremonial dagger. “Did you try this?” I lifted it and dragged it to where she sat on the floor.

Scarlett held out her leg and pulled back her long robe to expose her slender ankle and most of her leg. The gesture was completely unnecessary and I knew she was still trying to gain his attention. Luckily, so did he. Without speaking, he pulled the robe down.

“You try,” he suggested gently. “I’ll keep watch.”

I moved to kneel near her extended leg and began to work the dagger into the keyed lock. I could feel it, the way it wanted to budge, wanted to turn but I couldn’t quite manage to get the metal where it needed to be. Jax watched from a distance. Finally, I gave up and shook my head. “Any other ideas?” I set the dagger on the floor and watched as Scarlett picked it up and slipped it into her pocket.

He bit his cheek for a minute. “Possibly.” He knelt beside me and rubbed my thigh reassuringly. Then he held out his hand. “Foot.” He waited for Scarlett to drop it in his hand. Once she had, he grabbed the chain on either side and pulled. I could see his muscles bulging as he worked to weaken the metal. At first, I doubted his ability, then I could see some of the links bending. Soon enough, he had succeeded and Scarlett was free.

“Thank you.” She gushed and leapt toward Jax. Before she could land in his arms, he stood and helped her to her feet.

“This is going to be tricky.” He sighed. “I never considered I’d need to carry two people over the wall and out into the forest.

“And you just expended all that energy.” I frowned. “Need to juice up?” I pulled back my sleeve and offered him my wrist.

His head tilted to the side as he considered my offer. I sensed he was afraid to drink from me in front of Scarlett and I didn’t blame him. I’d inadvertently put him in a difficult position.

“Sorry,” I murmured as my arm dropped to my side.

Jax shook his head. “Not so fast, babe. You’re right. I need this. It’s just…awkward.”

“Don’t let me stop you.” Scarlett huffed. “I want out of here more than I want to offer you my blood.” She crossed her arms and moved toward the door.

Once she was a distance from us, Jax reached for my wrist. “Thank you, Ash. You’re so good to me.”

‘I love you,’ I mouthed. I really did. The more time we spent together, the more I believed it wasn’t a fluke, or a matter of convenience, but everything about him. I wanted him more than I cared to admit.

Though he didn’t speak, his eyes spoke volumes. Soon, his incisors had scraped my skin and his eyes closed as he began to ingest my blood. I could feel the stirring inside, the one which had me wanting to wrap my legs around his waist and never let go. Soon enough, he had finished and I could feel the tingling of healing after he licked the wound. Then Jax leaned in and whispered in my ear, “I love you, too, babe. More than you’ll ever understand.” He pressed his lips against my throat. “One day, I hope to show you.”

Already, my resolve had weakened. While I still had no desire to become a vampire, I wanted as much time with Jax as my human time frame would allow. “Go,” I murmured.

“You’re right.” He smiled. Then he waltzed over to the doorway where Scarlett stood waiting anxiously. “We’re going to sneak out of here together. Then when we get on the roof, I’ll carry both of you.” He glanced back and forth between us and sighed. “Scarlett will have to be in my arms, since she’s wearing a robe. Ash, you climb onto my back. We won’t have a second to waste. Got it?”

I nodded and tried not to be bothered by how happy Scarlett looked at the thought of being in my vampire’s arms. “Move.”

We made our way to the stairs in rapid time. We ascended quickly, our feet barely making any sound as they scraped the treads. At the landing, Jax peeked from behind the tapestry and nodded. In silence, we followed down the tunnel and up the stairs to the roof. Shadowborne was incredibly quiet with everyone outside during field experience. We knew, from experience, where the instructors would be, and who was watching the courtyard.

Once on the roof, I hopped on his back while Scarlett wrapped her arms around his neck and grinned as he hefted her into his arms. I pressed my face into his back, partly because if I opened them, I be forced to look at Scarlett or the ground. Neither option was particularly appealing.

I could feel him rushing around the top of the wall. He made it seem natural, even as he carried two women. We reached the corner and I knew to expect the long fall to the ground. For this, I buried my face in his back and held on for dear life.

“You okay, babe.” He glanced at me for a moment before continuing on toward the cover of the forest.

“I’m good,” I lied. In truth, I wouldn’t be good until we arrived at the hive and he left Scarlett in her mother’s care. In fact, I wouldn’t be good until my father and the queen were dead. I’d made my decision. Apparently, it had to be him or me, and I wasn’t going anywhere.

We rushed over the knoll and I began to recognize our surroundings. My heart raced faster as we came closer and closer to achieving our goals. Finally, Jax paused and I knew we had arrived at our destination. “Hush. I need to listen.” So we stayed silent and motionless while we waited for him to assess the situation. He scanned the area for a good thirty seconds. Then he deposited Scarlett on the ground. “Go get your mother.” He nudged her toward the entrance. “I can’t go in there, but you’ll be fine. Bring your mother out here. I’ll be waiting.”

She hesitated, then finally her bottom lip trembled as she turned and ran toward the hive. I watched her and the greater the distance between us, the more relief I felt. “Will she be okay?”

Jax wrapped an arm around me. “Absolutely. We’ll get them out of here before the vampires return.” He glanced up at the sky. “We’re running out of time. I hope she moves faster.” He crossed his arms over his chest and I could feel the tension in him.

“Relax.” I smiled warmly, hoping to soothe him. “We’re prepared. We have daggers and stakes and a sword.”

He looked at me. “Oh my.” He spoke flatly.

I giggled. “You’re really quite funny.”

“Believe me, it wasn’t intentional.” He sighed. “You’re cute to think this is enough to save us from a whole hive of angry vamps.”

I shook my head. “I don’t. It only has to be enough for the one.” Then my chin dropped. “Never mind. You’re right. We should go.”

His brow furrowed. “Why?” He reached out and brushed some stray hairs from around my face, then he read everything he needed to in my eyes. “Oh. You worry it didn’t work.” His shoulder heaved and I could tell he’d forgotten all about this.

“I can’t risk it, Jax. You’re too important to me.” I shook my head. “Let’s just go.” I shrugged. “We saved Scarlett. We kept our promise. We can just leave.”

“And go where?” His hands flew up in frustration.

“Wherever we want. We’ll build a new life somewhere else. Let’s just be together. Okay?” I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I mean it. This is enough. Life with you is enough. I can’t handle anymore loss.”

Jax studied my face. “You mean it, don’t you?” I nodded. “Well, I don’t. We can’t. My mother will never let me be. Neither will your father. We need to finish things once and for all, even if we don’t get the happy ending we deserve.”

“We could be Selene and Ambrogio, together in some cave.” I knew I was begging now and I didn’t care.

Before he could respond, Scarlett and Alayna had exited the hive and were walking toward us. “We’ll talk about this later,” he murmured.