Xander (A Dark Assassins Novel Book Three)

by Valerie Ullmer

  “Huh.”

  He glanced down and met her gaze, his eyebrow lifted in a question.

  “Well, snow leopards aren’t native to Colorado, but since you’re a shifter, it doesn’t really matter. Hell, I didn’t know that vampires existed outside the teen romance vampire books. Which I’m not admitting that I read. But I did.” She winked at him.

  He smiled and held her close. “There are several vampires and shifters around.”

  “And they all live in Snowfall?”

  “Most of us do.”

  “But why Snowfall? Oh, are all of you in the same profession? Please don’t say forest rangers.”

  Xander laughed. “No, we’re government assassins.”

  Frost had gone quiet and when he glanced down, her brows were lowered in thought for long minutes before she spoke. “That’s how you were able to take care of those men so easily. I’m glad I ran into you.”

  As the house came into view, Frost glanced up and her eyes widened as she surveyed the massive structure. She darted a glance behind his shoulder and cringed. “Sorry I brought them so close to your house.”

  “It’s not your fault. You didn’t know. I take it you didn’t volunteer to lead them?”

  Frost scoffed. “No. My boss, that asshole, told the mercenaries that I was the best tracker they had. I mean, come on, mercenaries? Another group I had no idea really existed until three days ago. When I found out what he hired them for, I figured the only way to save humans and animals from being slaughtered was to lead the expedition, but away from anyone they could harm. I tried to steer them farther up the mountain, but they became impatient after two days of spotting nothing and started their own way. If you hadn’t come across us when you did, I was afraid that they would’ve started killing randomly. I wonder why my boss wanted to kill you and your friends?”

  “Your boss is probably the middleman. Dark Company is very lucrative and it’s only because we’re trained and very successful at what we do. Anytime there’s money or power involved, someone will try to make a grab for it. It’s not the first time, and it won’t be the last.”

  “When the leader, the one who shot me, doesn’t call to check in, they’ll send another group to the last known GPS location. He makes the call at ten every night.”

  They reached Xander’s front door and he grabbed the spare key in a hiding spot beside the door, all while glancing at her face for any signs of pain. Making sure not to jostle her, he pushed it open. He turned toward the living room. His plan was to lay her on the couch, but as he leaned down, she balked.

  “I would prefer to sit somewhere the blood won’t stain your furniture.”

  “It’s comfortable and I can always get another couch.”

  “No, don’t worry about my comfort. I’ve had worse. The bathroom is fine.”

  “What?”

  Frost blushed and looked down. “Early on in my career, I was attacked by a mountain lion. I had been tracking a bear cub who had broken his leg and I wasn’t paying close attention to my surroundings or the direction I headed. The mountain lion pounced and caught me on the side with his claw, before something scared him away. That hurt worse than getting shot.”

  She had spoken easily about a wound that might have killed her, and he had been so stunned by the matter-of-fact delivery, that he moved toward the bathroom before he could process what he was doing. He gently lowered her onto the bench in the shower, grateful that it was large enough to cradle her body.

  Frost’s face pinched in pain and he silently called for Liv to hurry. To distract both of them, he kept asking her questions as he removed her outerwear and sweater carefully, leaving her in a long-sleeved shirt and jeans.

  “Why did your parents name you Frost?”

  She laughed and something inside him bloomed at the light and infectious sound.

  “My mother loves everything about winter. But I was the opposite of what she expected. They both have light, almost white hair, like yours. They have pale skin and light-blue eyes. And of course when I was born, I had a full head of black hair, and while I do have pale skin, my eyes are green. My mother loves that I’m different. I’m twenty-seven, with no prospects to even think about getting married and I work with animals. She worries about me, but she’s given up on thinking I’ll do anything normal.”

  He smoothed his hand down her black hair and she leaned into his hand. He smiled knowing that she trusted him.

  Before they could continue the conversation, he heard Liv’s tiny footsteps as she rushed up his staircase. She rushed into the bathroom and directly into the shower stall where Frost struggled to sit up the moment she spotted the tiny vampire in the room. Xander propped her up on the bench as she stared at the small, curly-haired vampire who came to a stop inches in front of her face. Xander shook his head as he watched Kai, Gunnar, Kane, Seth, and Jade rush into the already crowded room.

  Frost’s movements had slowed significantly, but when she spotted Jade trail after the others, a low growl erupted from her throat. When Jade stepped forward, Frost erupted with a more animalistic growl that had Jade take a step back and hold her hands out in front of her. Frost’s eyes never left the red fox, but Jade made the mistake of glancing over to Xander before she took a tentative step forward.

  “Get the fuck away from Xander, before I rip your head off.”

  The room stilled at the threat, and for the first time since he’d known her, Xander could see actual fear reflected in Jade’s eyes.

  Xander stepped closer to Frost and felt her entire body relax. But he could see that the tension in her body caused her to bleed profusely. He knew that he needed to get Jade out of the room before Frost went critical, but when he said Jade’s name, he realized his mistake at once. A loud roar, the sound almost deafening, erupted throughout the room. Disregarding her injury, Frost stepped in front of Xander and bared her teeth at Jade.

  Before Jade could leave or Frost could attack, Liv stepped in Frost’s view, despite Kai’s protesting snarl. Instead of pushing Liv out of the way and attacking, Frost slumped back against Xander and he wrapped his arms around her to pull her closer.

  Xander could spot the anger in Liv’s eyes as she glanced up at him.

  “You haven’t explained it to her yet?”

  Xander shook his head, not sure in Frost’s condition that she was ready to hear about their connection.

  Liv turned her gaze to the woman in front of her. “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t catch your name.”

  “I’m Frost, and you’re beautiful. Are you Liv?” Frost’s voice sounded strained.

  “Yes, I’m Liv. Do you remember what happened to you?” While she asked her questions, Liv reached for the hem of Frost’s shirt. Moving faster than either he or Liv thought possible, Frost jerked back out of Liv’s reach and to Xander’s surprise, forced him back as well.

  “Not the shirt. You can rip off the sleeve, but I’m not taking it off.”

  Liv nodded and without hesitation, ripped the right shirt sleeve off and examined the wound. She pressed a clean bandage against her wound on both sides, and flinched as Frost screamed before biting her lower lip.

  “Do you mind if Seth draws some blood?”

  She shook her head. Her lids were slower as they blinked up and down.

  Seth darted to Frost’s side and she blinked at him before he smiled. “You’re fast. Oh, right, immortal. I keep forgetting.”

  After Seth made quick work of the blood, Liv removed the bandage and examined the bullet wound, which exited the front. Tears formed in Liv’s eyes, and then in Seth’s, while the others in the room took a gasping breath.

  “It’s okay. I’m okay. It’s nothing. I won’t need surgery, especially with the range of motion I still have. So if you just sew me up, I would appreciate it.”

  Xander couldn’t believe how Frost was able to deal with the pain, as if it were nothing. But when Liv pressed a clean bandage around the leaking wound, the pain and exhaustion caught up with her. Wi
th a moan, Frost’s eyes fluttered closed and she passed out in his arms. He moved to lay her on the bench and without realizing it, his movements caused her shirt to ride up and expose her old wound to their view. It looked as though a chunk of her side was missing. When he glanced closer, he could see claw marks.

  Xander’s throat clogged with emotion, taking the time to brush her hair out of her face, before he placed chaste kisses on her face. When he pressed one last kiss to her lips, unable to stay away not that he’d found her, he could’ve sworn that she kissed him back. Her breathing was even, although it hitched every once in a while, as Liv made quick work of cleaning the wound, before she stitched it and dressed both the entrance and exit wound.

  When Liv indicated that she had finished, he lifted Frost in his arms and gently laid her on the bed.

  “Xander?” Liv’s voice was tight, but she wanted to know.

  “She was mauled by a mountain lion several years ago. And tonight, I wasn’t fast enough to stop her from getting shot.” As he ran his hand down his face, blowing out a frustrated sigh, he realized that his words were met with complete silence.

  Chapter Two

  Frost

  Consciousness sucked. The intense fire that scorched her from the inside out spread slowly through her body. The worst of the burning, and what had woken her, was the scorching sensation on the soles of her feet and it had continued upward. It was now at her thighs, licking up to her hips, and she wondered whether she were truly on fire. She rolled her eyes under her closed lids at her dumbass thought. She had been unable to pry them open no matter how hard she’d tried.

  Panic sounded like a solid plan, but whenever she tensed her body, her throat would clog and the fire would only intensify, so she cursed her reflexes as she unlocked her muscles, one area at a time. When she was able to breathe normally, or as normal as her situation allowed her to, she had a chance to take stock of the situation.

  She concentrated on the pain first. Her wounded shoulder, the surge of pain that she remembered before she blacked out into nothingness, was there, but the throb was minor compared to the burning sensations that were getting closer to her navel. In addition to the burning, there was an underlying ache that encompassed her entire being. It compared to the flu, but only by a little. This time, the pain brought tears to her eyes.

  Her high tolerance for pain deserted her at this moment, and she sought relief in any form she could get it. She couldn’t open her eyes, so she tried swallowing to check whether her throat worked, but she couldn’t move to even do that. She tried to groan or shout, any vocalization that she could think of, to beg for any pain medication that would get rid of this torture she was going through, but no sound escaped.

  Xander.

  Once she thought of the beautiful, muscular man with bright-white hair and penetrating blue eyes, she forced herself to take slow, deep breaths, relaxing her muscles to at least unclench her jaw. It did nothing but add more pain to her already strained body, and she didn’t know whether she was grateful or mad at herself as she let the blackness overwhelm her.

  ***

  The next time she awoke, she immediately thought of the throbbing fire that had struck her body so fiercely that last time. For a split second, she thought they might have passed, but the fire still licked her body and her bones ached even worse than before. And on top of that, she had a splitting headache that made her feel sick to her stomach.

  She thought that she heard her name, but she couldn’t be certain because the voice sounded distant. She couldn’t identify the gender of the speaker. Once again, she tried to open her eyes, but found herself unable. With force and concentration, she was able to open her chapped lips a fraction, but as she tried to push words through her throat, the only thing that sounded in her ears was a whimper.

  Her body locked down when she heard the rustle of sheets next to her head, and she relaxed as she thought about Xander. Was he okay? She remembered the pain etched on his face as he laid her down on his bed. She was able to fight consciousness long enough to see the guilt reflected in his eyes, but for the life of her, she couldn’t reassure him. She did feel the press of his lips against hers, but that memory might have been a dream because she had wanted it so badly. But she wanted to ask him why he had that look on his face, and she wanted to figure out why it bothered her so much to see him in pain.

  The first time she heard his clear voice inside her head, she felt a sense of peace wash over her that she’d never experienced before. Although any other time, hearing a stranger’s voice so intimately would have freaked her out. But with Xander, it felt natural. And when he came into view, she couldn’t look away from his gaze. Only when he turned to confront the mercenaries did her eyes move to the exposed olive skin on his arms, his huge stature, and beautiful white hair that added to his attractiveness, if that was even possible. He was powerful and massive, compared to most other men she’d seen. And the sheer power that he exuded had her shiver with a need she’d never thought herself capable of.

  Frost had no idea with their connection meant, but logic bullied its way to the forefront of her mind. He must’ve been nice to her because she’d been hurt. No man who looked like Xander, and who radiated power and control, would ever fall for a curvy woman who had found herself comfortable with animals, not humans.

  And then she had to be snarky to the tall blond Xander had indicated was Kane, the vampire. Then she didn’t shut up the entire time in the woods, talking about fuck only knows what. She had felt so out of control of the situation that her mouth ran without forming a single thought in her mind. She had tried to avoid thinking about it, but the violent way she reacted to the redhead Xander had called Jade made her feel worse than the pains that throbbed throughout her body. She had almost attacked an innocent woman with no other cause than she walked into the bathroom.

  Frost’s thought paused for a moment when her body was doused in cold. The heat dissipated and with it, the extreme ache of her bones lessened slightly, and she blew out a relieved breath. Again, she tried to open her eyes or at least thank whoever had relieved the pain, but her body sank into the mattress and she found herself being pulled into the darkness of sleep.

  ***

  Awareness came slowly this time. At first she had become aware of Xander’s scent, somewhere close. And then, she heard several voices close by. Xander’s voice sounded worried, anxious, and she couldn’t understand why. She must’ve scrunched her brows because as his voice drew closer to her, he carefully touched her forehead with his wonderfully cool fingers, and she blew out a sigh at the sensation. When she felt a brush of a kiss against her mouth, a different throb had overtaken her body and she tilted her head back to get closer to Xander’s lips. She still couldn’t speak; she tried. She wanted to beg Xander to relieve this new ache as it throbbed in her core and steadily spread, but his hand paused on her cheek.

  Xander’s voice cut off, not that she could understand a word he spoke. She cursed her body’s reaction to his touch when he pulled his hand away from her skin. She missed him and his touch acutely. For the longest time, she strained to hear anyone who could be near, cursing that she was trapped in the abyss of her mind. When her body tired from the strain of her awareness of those around her and when she almost faded out again, she heard Xander speak to her.

  Despite her attention focused on him and the sound of his voice, she couldn’t understand what he tried to convey to her. Her brows drew down, and she was a little surprised by the movement, but most of her craved to know what Xander wanted to say to her.

  Xander’s tone became excited after her tiny movement, but she scrunched her eyelids closed and concentrated on the words. Finally, she thought she could hear her name as he spoke. She sighed in relief when Xander slid her hand in his and linked their fingers together. But again, his touch had her body throbbing. Not from pain, but pleasure. She scoffed at herself for her horrendous timing, but she wondered how her shifter would react. Slowly and painstakingly,
she forced her eyes open, only to find a concerned Xander staring at her.

  His eyes were rimmed in red and his beautiful hair stood on end, as if he’d been constantly running his hands through it.

  “Do you know what’s happening?” Xander’s voice sounded low and scratchy.

  She managed to shake her head, only small movements, twice.

  “You passed out when Liv touched your wound and when I caught you, I pressed a kiss to your lips. I needed to feel close to you and offer you some comfort. But I didn’t expect you to respond.”

  It hadn’t been a dream. She forced herself to think back to those moments that were fuzzy from the extreme amount of pain and throbbing from her shoulder, and she distinctly remembered the cool lips that pressed to hers, and the resulting tingle that spread from her lips. She wanted to feel the kiss again, to burrow into Xander until the pain ebbed, but her thoughts became muddled.

  “Liv believes that our kiss started your transition from human to shifter. She has tested your blood and found that you already had shifter DNA. Your body recognized my touch and accepted me as your mate when we kissed, which started the transition.”

  Thinking that she was too weak to speak, she tried to use their mind link that she shared with him earlier, but her body and her thoughts were too weak to complete it.

  “Mate?” She flinched at the sound of her own voice.

  “Yes, sweetheart. I’ve been waiting a long time for you.”

  “Y’ too. Tired.”

  “Your transition is almost complete and the next time you wake, you’ll be stronger, with no effects of the gunshot wound or the pain that you had to go through while you changed. Don’t worry, sweetheart, I won’t leave you.”

  His reassurance had the tension melting from her body and she smiled against his lips as he gave her a brief kiss. I hope you’re right. Next time I kiss him, I will be completely aware of it.

  ***

  She blinked open her eyes and glanced around to get a sense of her surroundings in the semi-darkness of the room. She took a deep breath, but she didn’t recognize the scents that assailed her. It was oddly comforting—a mix of grapefruit, mint, and vanilla—and she took another cleansing breath, memorizing the scent for future reference.