Stay under me, little man.
He managed to break her fall and laid her gently on the grass using his head, before he stood in front of her, standing guard, ready to kill anyone who came close.
Silas, I need you to go to Jade and keep close.
Okay, Daddy.
Silas quickly made his way to Jade and Xander felt that he had erected a barrier around all of them the moment he reached her. It had been just in time, because the shifters emerged from the bushes at full sprint, their sights set on grabbing Frost. They slammed into the barrier and it knocked them back on their assess. They looked around, confused. They stepped back to regroup.
Silas, keep the barrier around you and Mommy only, okay?
Silas sent out a wave of anxiety that Xander recognized. Don’t worry, little man. We will be fine. I promise.
He sensed more than spotted the shield move away from Jade, Ax, and himself. Without waiting, they sprung at the intruders, pushing them deeper into the trees and away from Silas and Frost. He didn’t want Silas seeing what he had to do.
Jade opened her mouth, showing her sharp teeth and howling, effectively distracting the two shifters, while Ax came up behind them and swiped at both with his gigantic claws. As one of the men started to run away, Xander jumped on him and wrapped his mouth around his neck, not hesitating to clamp his jaw closed and effectively breaking the shifter’s neck. Not hesitating, he bit clean through the shifter’s throat and spine, only satisfied when his head detached and rolled away from his body.
“Wait, wait. I have a message. You have to let me live,” the last intruder pleaded.
Xander chuffed and growled, showing all of his teeth. They planned on kidnapping Frost and relaying the warning. Their confidence was their downfall. But Silas had saved his mom and now this fucker wanted to negotiate. These guys would pay.
Fuck the warning, Xander communicated to Ax. Ax swung his big paw down, effectively decapitating the second intruder before he had another chance to speak.
While Ax and Xander buried the two, Jade went back and watched over his family. He knew he should have felt a pang of remorse for killing the immortals, but they advanced on them with violence first, and their deaths had been the price they had to pay.
Xander finished up. He and Ax walked back toward the others. He was proud of his son. Silas still had the barrier up.
Okay, little man. Ready to go home?
Yes. Silas sounded so lost.
When Silas dropped his barrier, Xander shifted back and picked up Silas, who had also shifted back. He gently lifted his wife and walked them both back home. He tried to rid himself of the anger and adrenaline coursing through him, but he knew it wouldn’t be worth the effort. It would dissipate when he got his family home and safe. Ax and Jade sensed this and kept quiet.
He rushed through the front door and carried them up to their bedroom, laying Frost on the bed and then Silas, who cuddled up against her side. He dressed Silas in pajamas and covered them both. Xander leaned toward Frost and could smell the scent of the tranquilizer she’d been shot with. He closed his eyes and reassured himself that she would be all right when he heard her steady heartbeat and rhythmic breathing.
Ghost walked in as Xander pulled up his jeans and reached for a shirt. Silas blinked open his eyes and held up his arms for Ghost to pick him up, which he did. Silas, with his talents, played back the entire event, minus what happened after he and the others disappeared through the trees. When Silas had been through it all, Ghost kissed his head and gently placed him back against Frost. Both men watched as he cuddled in the crook of her neck.
He’s waiting for us to slip up. His only objective was to kidnap Frost. We had to kill them.
That’s understandable. Don’t be so hard on yourself. They tried to kidnap your mate. You did the right thing. Ghost squeezed his shoulder and the last of Xander’s adrenaline washed away.
Ghost left them to be together, and Xander cuddled next to his mate, careful of Silas between them. Unable to stand the distance, he pulled her closer and Silas blew out a breath, a wave of happiness that both his parents lay next to him.
Xander shivered in fear at how close he was to losing her. If it wasn’t for Silas, they would have most likely succeeded. With his adrenaline completely drained, but with the horrifying thoughts swirling around in his mind, he fell into a fitful, yet exhausted sleep with his arms wrapped tightly around his entire world.
Chapter Nineteen
Frost
Frost awoke slowly and wondered why her head felt detached from the rest of her body. Her thoughts floated around in her head, and no matter how much she had concentrated on pinning one down, they managed to flitter away the moment she had some semblance of recognition. Instead of targeting one thought, she asked questions and she hoped that she could find enough strength to answer them.
Am I hurt? No, not hurt. The only problem was that her head was fuzzy with something other than sleep.
What do you remember last? Huh. That took a little longer to remember. Silas. Silas and Xander were running around the mountain, darting in and out of the trees as they chased each other. She—no Xander—wrestled with Silas in their leopard forms until…what? Silas…something that had to do with Silas.
Her throat constricted with panic as she tried to pull the memories from the back of her mind. It took her a few minutes to push away the dread that came with her thoughts, enough so she could concentrate on the full recollection of their time playing in the trees. But all she could see was Silas, his pure white and tiny form, tripping from time to time as he tried to keep up with his dad.
There. What was that? Frost watched in her mind’s view as Silas paused and quirked his ears up to hear a conversation. No, not a conversation; thoughts, he said. Others’ thoughts, who were closing in on their positions.
Why?
That she didn’t remember. She reached for Silas. Did she drop him? Hurt him?
Again, despair locked down her body and froze her mind at the thought of her son, their son, hurt or worse because she couldn’t protect him. Xander. She knew that Xander would protect him, both of them, with a ferocity that would scare other immortals.
Concentrate, Frost, for fuck’s sake.
A little swell of pain, in her neck. She remembered that. Silas—she had moved Silas underneath Xander so his dad could protect him, but after that, nothing but darkness. Darkness and the bleakness of not knowing whether her family was still alive.
She felt tears pour down her face, something that she couldn’t have prevented, even if she wanted to. Her muscles were slow to respond; she couldn’t even clench her hands into fists. What the hell was in that dart that struck her?
Dart—there was a dart that she pulled out of her neck. She remembered glancing at it as though it were the cause of all the trouble in her life. And because she couldn’t move, was she being kept—by Anzû? No, she had to get out, to get back to her family. But as much as she struggled, nothing would move. She tried to pry open her eyes and yet, nothing.
Her chest heaved up and down with her fearful breaths. Without a way to relax her body with the thoughts and the imaginings of what had happened to her family, she blacked out.
***
Awareness slowly seeped in and she couldn’t remember for a split second, where she was or how she got here. The panic that she had felt and that made her pass out seemed dampened by the thoughts pinging around in her mind. She could think, make connections, and she wasn’t sluggish. But instead of getting excited, she knew that she would have to assess her current situation.
Her breathing slowed as she listened for any movement anywhere around, and she could distinctly hear two different breathing patterns close to where she lay. She sensed no danger, so she relaxed a bit more. She took a deep breath and inhaled the familiar scents of her son and mate in the same room, and she unlocked the rest of her muscles and opened her eyes.
Xander’s arm lay around her waist, his hand splayed a
round her hip and holding her close to his side. His head was buried against her neck, and that’s when she spotted Silas. He was curled in between them, touching both of them in his sleep as reassurance that his parents were safe and sound.
And suddenly she was pissed. Silas had witnessed the attack on her and even worse, she had no idea what happened to him. Did they attack him as well? She couldn’t contain the growl that escaped her throat. In the same moment, Xander’s eyes popped open and met hers; his widened when he spotted the fury in hers.
Did those fuckers touch Silas?
No, no sweetheart. He protected you while Jade, Ax, and I took care of them.
They’re dead then? Frost was pissed enough at that moment that she wouldn’t have minded a shot at them. Not that she knew how to kill anyone, but for putting Silas in danger, she would’ve found a way. The throbbing in her head became more pronounced.
Are you okay, sweetheart?
Yeah, just a headache. I think it’s a leftover product of being tranquilized. Earlier I couldn’t even move. How long have I been out?
He glanced at the clock and looked back at her with wide eyes. It’s been eight hours. The tranquilizer should have burned up in your system within an hour. They must’ve upped the dose and miscalculated. If you were still a human, it would’ve killed you.
What happened? She glossed over the dose. A headache was a small price to pay considering what could have happened to her family.
Xander relayed exactly what had occurred, leaving nothing out, even how the shifters had died at their hands. But the message threw her. Why would he leave a message with Xander if their goal was to kidnap her? She smiled down at her son, proud of their little man. He’d kept his cool and despite the worry that he must’ve been feeling, he did exactly as his daddy instructed.
Why would they try to kidnap me? It makes no sense, after all this time, unless he really wanted Silas and thought that kidnapping me would give him an advantage. I hope he comes back, because he wouldn’t survive the encounter.
Xander captured her lips and kissed her until her breathing became erratic and she had forgotten her anger that was replaced by lust for her mate. When he pulled back, she ran her fingers through his hair. The devastated look on his face caused her heart to squeeze painfully in her chest. She never wanted to be a liability to Xander, but last night, she had become one.
I’ve never been so scared. When I spotted the dart in your neck, I almost had a heart attack.
I’m sorry. I didn’t—
No, sweetheart. I wouldn’t change a moment between us. It’s him and we have to destroy him, because he’s never getting another chance at you or Silas.
I believe you. I would never leave you two, you are my world. Anzû has had too many failures—he’s going to make his play soon. After five months of waiting and now losing two of his men, he’s going to be looking for payback. And he’s not exactly stable, so when he does attack us, we’ll have to be prepared for underhanded tactics.
Xander beamed at her and kissed her again, before he broke off. She pulled Silas onto her chest as she laid her head on Xander’s shoulder, needing reassurance that her family was fine and Xander wrapped his arms them and squeezed them close. She lost track of time as they listened to Silas’s dreams that he projected out to them. They were happy, full of color and featured those he loved most in the world. Xander and Frost were always together and Silas would focus on them more often than not.
Unfortunately, her stomach rumbled and then she remembered she had missed dinner.
“We should go eat. He’ll be fine up here,” Xander reassured her.
She nodded and they moved an exhausted Silas to his crib. As soon as she lay him down, she felt his barrier surround the house, protecting everyone in it. She smiled at her little man and kissed him on the head, before she turned and reached for Xander’s hand, linking their fingers together, and headed downstairs.
Grateful that the house was crowded, they walked toward the delicious smells and noticed that the table was scattered with platters of food, enough to feed an army, or just enough for nine hungry shifters. When she sat, Ax pushed a plate full of pot roast and vegetables over to her and then Xander. She nodded her thanks and dug in.
“You scared us, Frost.” Liv’s voice shook as she spoke.
Frost pulled the small vampire in for a hug and rubbed her back in reassurance that she was okay. Liv held on tighter than normal for a few seconds, before standing up and smiling at her, blowing out a breath of relief.
“I’m sorry. I heard it long before it hit, but I couldn’t recognize the sound. Trust me, they won’t have a second chance to try it again.”
Xander conveyed Frost’s thoughts about Anzû ramping up his plans, and the assassins started to bandy around ideas. But Frost was too hungry and pissed to care about what the plan might be. She piled seconds on her plate, not eating like this since she’d been pregnant, and felt a pang of sadness. She missed Silas so close, so protected.
But her little man had powers that she would’ve never dreamed anyone could possess. And when her thoughts centered on Silas’s talent to hear someone’s thoughts for a great distance, she spoke aloud.
“What if we get Silas to alert us when Anzû is near? That way, we could ambush him before he gets anywhere near the house and we could still have an advantage to kill him before he comes near Silas.”
“You’re a bit scary when you want revenge,” Hunter mumbled.
Her answering smile was all the response he received, and it wasn’t a nice smile. If she were honest with herself, she knew that she would go after Anzû herself if she knew where she could find him, with or without the help of the assassins. He shouldn’t have gone after her when her son had been near, and that would be his fatal mistake.
“We’ll talk to Silas when he wakes up. But if he alerts us, then will have to be ready in moments. We don’t want him to be able to locate where any of us live in case there’s a small chance he escapes. He seems exactly like to type to abandon his men if it means he gets to save his own skin,” Xander pointed out.
“I’m fine with killing Anzû and anyone else who seeks to destroy us, but I would like to give the other immortals an opportunity to run if they want.” They all agreed with Ghost, that unless they continued fighting long after their leader was dead, they would let the others be.
They continued planning and Frost zoned out, pulling a piece of chocolate cake her way, grateful that she could eat chocolate again. But the assassins looked at her as if she might be pregnant again, and she dispelled them of the notion.
“Nope, no glowing of the skin during sex, and Ax, we’ve had a lot of sex. And since I’m eating chocolate, I know I’m not pregnant. This stuff made me sick to even smell it when I was pregnant. Xander and I haven’t discussed the possibility of another child, but we want to have a chance to spoil Silas rotten without the thought of our upcoming deaths hanging over our heads. But you guys will be the first to know if it happens. Happy?”
They all nodded and went back to their various discussions. When she was finished savoring her cake—and it was good cake—Xander pulled her aside. “I want you to be with Silas and Liv inside the house when we go after Anzû.”
She stared at him, her teeth clenched and her hands fisted at her sides, waiting to see whether he would come to his senses and take back his words. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
“You’re out of your mind, mate of mine. I will be by your side when we take him out, and Silas will be protected inside this house. He’s not getting a second chance to live after what he put Silas through last night. Do you think I would really sit back and allow Anzû to have a chance to hurt you as well? And see how I’m trying really hard not to curse here?”
Xander threw back his head and laughed. He pulled her close and kissed her, despite the audience in the room having gone suddenly quiet. “And that’s why I love you. You won’t take any shit, not even from me. And I’m sorry, I should
have known better.”
Mommy!
With one last kiss on Xander’s cheek, she rushed upstairs. When she spotted Silas standing at the railing of his crib, she smiled at him. She had tried to let go of the anger and the hatred she felt toward a man she’d never formally met, but she must’ve had some residual anger because the moment he saw her, Silas started to cry. He hadn’t cried, ever. Not when he’d been born, or when he’d tripped as a cub and taken a tumble down the last three stairs and into the living room.
“Hey, little man, everything’s okay.”
Her words made him cry harder. She had always called him her little man, and he would smile and hold his arms out for her, but seeing her incapacitated must have truly scared him.
Lifting him in her arms, she cradled him close to her body as she turned toward the rocking chair in the corner and gently sat. She tucked his head in his favorite spot, underneath her chin, and she started humming to him. Something that always calmed him.
Silent tears poured down his little face and splashed against her neck and at that moment, her heart broke for her little man. She should have never put him in that situation to begin with and she hoped that soon, she would have the opportunity to kill Anzû.
When his tears slowed and he fisted his little hands in her shirt, tangling them together, she rubbed his back and spoke.
“It’s okay, baby. Mommy’s here and she’s fine. She’ll always be fine. I promised you that I wasn’t going anywhere, and I will keep that promise, okay?”
She didn’t really expect him to reply, so she stroked her fingers through his hair and the other hand continued to rub soothing circles on his back. She resumed her humming. She usually hummed to calm him when he had too much energy to fall asleep, the sound relaxing him in a way that had become their constant since Silas first shifted. And every night she loved to hold her baby, feeling as close to him as she could get, as he clung to her.
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