A Warrior Wedding

by Teresa Gabelman

  Watching them leave the office, Duncan threw Slade an ‘I’ll be back’ look over Pam’s head. Once alone, Slade glanced down at the envelopes containing Pam’s blood. Bleak rage consumed him. Undeterred, he grabbed the envelopes, headed out of his office and back to the kitchen. But seeing Jill gone, and Sid telling him she went up to their room to rest, Slade hurried to Sloan’s office.

  Finding Sloan alone, he knew by the angry expression on Sloan’s face the news he was about to hear was not good.

  “They cannot refuse this request.” Slade’s control slipped a little. He placed the envelopes on Sloan’s desk in fear of breaking the vials inside. Without Sloan telling him, Slade knew they had been refused.

  “They can and they have.” Sloan watched Slade closely, waiting for the blow up. “I’ve called everyone in here, but you need to keep calm, Slade. We need you focused because you may be their only hope.”

  Eyes blackening in rage, Slade’s chest heaved as a sneer curved his lips. His eyes looked around for something to smash, but Sloan’s words reached part of his brain that was still reasonable. He did have to get a grip. Jill’s life depended on it, not to mention every manmade half-breed out there. “I don’t want Jill here. I want to tell her alone.”

  Sloan nodded, picking up his phone. After he finished, he looked up at Slade. “Adam hasn’t shown any symptoms, has he?”

  Slade shook his head. “Not that I know of.”

  “I told Adam the meeting was cancelled, as well as Steve, because Steve has a big mouth.” Sloan leaned back in his chair, staring at Slade. “We’ll figure this out. She’ll be fine.”

  But at what cost? The silent question hovered between the Warriors while they waited for everyone.

  ******

  Jill lay on the bed with her eyes closed, but her mind racing. Sitting up, she grabbed the bridal magazine laying next to her. Nicole, Tessa and Pam were driving her crazy with all the wedding hoopla. She’d be happy to grab a minister, head in the woods behind her old house, and marry Slade beneath the trees she was so fond of. But ever since Slade set a date, which was in three weeks, the women had been driving her nuts. So in order to get them off her back, she had given them the go ahead to set up everything. They were calling themselves the Warrior Wedding Planners and even talked about going into business. Thumbing through the magazine, Jill grinned at the thought.

  Her stomach grumbled and her throat tightened with thirst, thirst for Slade’s blood. Swallowing hard, she continued to look through the magazine trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling until her door flew open.

  “Hey.” Steve and Adam walked into her and Slade’s room.

  “Hey,” she replied, tossing the magazine. “And you better watch bursting into the room like that. You’ve already caught Slade naked once and he wasn’t too happy about it.”

  “Seeing Slade and his, well you know, wasn’t very pleasant.” Steve frowned. “It made me downright depressed.”

  Adam glared over at Steve. “Dude, are you gay?”

  “No, I’m not,” Steve replied, then looked at Jill. “But if I were, I sure would be giving you a run for your money, ‘cause I mean... whoa.”

  “You are messed up, man.” Adam shook his head.

  “Yeah, well, you didn’t see what I saw.” Steve snuck a grin at Jill. “So what do you think is going on?”

  “Where?” Jill asked, scooting back to lean against the headboard.

  Adam and Steve glanced at each other. “You didn’t get the text from Sloan?” Adam asked.

  Grabbing her phone to double check, she shook her head. “No.”

  Steve frowned. “We both received a text saying the meeting was cancelled.”

  “I didn’t even get one about a meeting. Oh, well, maybe something came up and he didn’t get around to texting everyone,” Jill leaned her head back, tired.

  “Sloan doesn’t individually text everyone...duh.” Steve hopped on the bed, making himself comfortable. “Group messages is the thing now, Jill. Get with the program.”

  Okay, that woke her up. Steve was right for once. “Then why was I left off?” She sat up and looked at Adam.

  “Not sure.” Adam stood against the wall, arms crossed. “But I think we should go find out because obviously this has to do with us since we saw Jared, Damon and Jax heading into an already full office for a meeting you weren’t even invited to and we were uninvited.”

  Steve jumped up from the bed, a huge smile on his excited face. “So how we going to do this?”

  “Ah, walk into Sloan’s office.” Jill slowly clambered off the bed.

  “Ah, no.” Steve headed toward the door. “Obviously they don’t want us there so we need to do this the Warrior way.”

  Jill didn’t know if she was up for the Warrior way at that moment, but no way in hell would she admit that, and Steve was right. The Warriors wouldn’t say a word if they showed up.

  Steve snapped his fingers. “I’ve got a plan.”

  “No,” both Jill and Adam said at the same time.

  “What do you mean, no? I haven’t even told you yet.” Steve threw his hands out, but then looked up at the ceiling and pointed. “Sloan has one of those above his desk.”

  Jill and Adam looked to where he was pointing. It was an air vent. “You’re crazy.” Jill’s eyes widened. “That will never work. They’d hear us before we got close enough.”

  Steve thought for a minute. “True. We are dealing with Warriors who can hear a mouse fart, but we all know how these meetings go. Everyone talking at once, Sid throwing in jokes after anyone talks. It’s never quiet and they will be distracted because this meeting seems to be pretty serious business.”

  Sighing, Jill didn’t respond as she left the room.

  “Come on, Jill,” Steve called out after her. “I’ve always wanted to do that and this is our chance. It will work.”

  “A mouse fart?” Adam gave him a sideways look as he passed Steve to follow Jill.

  “Hey, they get gas,” Steve grumbled, following. “Come on, guys. I even know where to get in. We can do this.”

  CHAPTER 6

  Jill walked straight up to Sloan’s door, but stopped. She knew this room was soundproof, but as Steve pointed out, they were also Warriors. Kneeling down, she scooted sideways next to the door and pressed her ear against it.

  “Oh, and this is a better idea than mine.” Steve snorted with a pout. “This is—”

  “Shush.” Jill smacked his leg.

  Adam and Steve planted themselves above Jill putting their ears to the door. “This is stupid,” Steve whispered. “My plan was sooo much better.”

  Jill pinched his leg hard, but didn’t say anything. The first voice she heard was Slade. His voice was harsh and filled with an anger that made her hold her breath.

  “I don’t care what they say.” Slade’s voice reached their ears as they eavesdropped through the door. “If it comes down to it, I will change her and no one will stop me.”

  “Then you will lose everything.” Concern laced Sloan’s words. “Are you prepared for that?”

  Jill glanced up at Adam, who still had his ear pressed against the door, but was staring down at her.

  Something blew air on her fingers making Jill look down at her hand. Her fingers were halfway under the door. Figuring it was just someone passing the door creating a flow of air, she ignored it, until it happened again. But this time, it sounded like something was sniffing. With a frown, she eased her face down to the floor to look under the door. What she saw surprised her. Between two furry paws was a large black nose. Popping back up, Jill’s eyes widened, wondering who got a dog. Before she could say anything, a loud growl came from under the door and it swung open.

  Steve and Adam fell through the open doorway past the biggest, meanest looking dog Jill had ever seen with Jax standing behind it. Jill back peddled as the dog leaped out the door toward her. Her only thought was to keep the huge beast off her. She rolled back on her elbows catching the beast in mi
d leap with her feet and tossing it over her head. Standing quickly, she turned to see the animal land gracefully and shift before her shocked eyes into a naked man, who looked almost as wild as the beast. His hair was a dirty blonde with raven streaks, his eyes a mixture of wildness and calm control. It was a mind blowing contrast.

  He stood slowly, clearly not embarrassed by his nakedness. Jill’s eyes stayed on his, waiting for the next threat, but Slade was in front of her taking any threat out of the picture.

  “What in the fuck are you three doing?” Sloan walked out, casting a hard stare at Adam, Steve and Jill.

  None of them were brave enough to answer. Instead, they remained silent looking guilty as hell.

  Jill peeked around Slade to the man who was now grabbing clothes from Jax and putting them on. His eyes met hers and he grinned at her with a wink. Glancing away quickly, she hoped Slade hadn’t seen that, but his deep growl dashed her hopes.

  “Get your asses in here,” Sloan ordered, stomping into his office to his desk.

  “Told you this was a stupid idea.” Steve glared at Jill before following Sloan and the other Warriors into the office. “We would have never been caught with my idea.”

  Slade took her hand to lead her into the office.

  “Nice move, shorty.” The man, now fully dressed stopped in front of Jill.

  “Never threaten her again.” Slade sneered, his grip on her hand tightened.

  The man held up his hands, a crooked grin on his face. “Hey, sorry, man. But where I come from threats are everywhere, even with pretty—”

  Blaze who had been standing on the sideline walked up and pushed the man toward the office, coming between Slade and him. “They also don’t know when to shut the fuck up where he comes from.”

  Glancing up at Slade, she watched the tick in his jaw and his eyes were dark with anger. Without looking down at her, he pulled her into the office slamming the door behind them, then let go of her hand.

  “So much for telling her alone.” Sloan’s eyes narrowed on the three who weren’t supposed to be there. “And just fair warning, you are on report.”

  “What?” Jill frowned. “Why?”

  “Are you seriously asking me why?” Sloan’s voice rose slightly. Before Jill could say anything, he continued. “You were left out of this meeting for a reason. It is a serious offense to eavesdrop on confidential VC matters.”

  “VC matters that have to do with me,” Jill shot back with as much respect as she could muster. “And them.” She pointed to Adam and Steve. Steve gave her a ‘leave me out of your bitchfest’ look.

  “Jill.” Slade’s voice was stern.

  “What?” she shot back. “Were you or were you not discussing me?”

  When no one answered, Jill crossed her arms waiting.

  “I for one—” Steve cleared his throat.

  “You were left out because you have a big mouth.” Sloan cut Steve off with a warning glance.

  “Good to know.” Steve took a step back with a nod of relief.

  “And me?” Adam’s deep voice rang out.

  Sloan and Slade looked at each other for a spit second. “I’m not sure if this is going to have anything to do with you or not yet.”

  “For shit’s sake.” The man who Jill had never seen before in her life, took a step forward. “Tell her and get it over with. She has a right to know.”

  Jill’s eyes opened in surprise. “He knows?” Betrayal swirled in her gut. With narrowed eyes, she looked up at Slade. “Somebody I’ve never met before in my life knows whatever in the hell you are trying to hide from me. Who in the hell are you anyway?”

  Having eyes for no one other than Slade, she had to give this guy credit. He was good looking and had a weird attraction vibe going for him, especially when he smiled, which he did directly at her. “Hunter Foster,” he said and ended with another wink.

  “Choo...choo.” Sid sighed, his eyebrows raised as he looked from Hunter to Slade then back to Hunter.

  Hunter opened his mouth to say something, but Slade’s fist closed it. Hunter’s head snapped back fast as he wiped the blood from his mouth. “Chill out, man.” Hunter worked his neck. “I’m not out for your lady, just being friendly.”

  “I’d say maybe, just maybe you tone down that friendliness when dealing with our mates unless you want the Slade Train to make another stop on your face,” Jared said with a shake of his head.

  Hunter nodded, looking Slade up and down. “Noted.” He grinned, working his jaw back and forth. “But if that was my lady, I sure as hell wouldn’t be keeping anything from her.”

  Jared looked at Sid. “They never learn.”

  “Hunter.” Jax shook his head at him in warning.

  “Keeping what from me?” Jill ignored everyone. Her eyes actually looked into every Warrior’s eyes until they stopped on Slade.

  “You know nothing.” Slade growled at Hunter.

  “I’m part wolf and I smell death on her.” Hunter’s easy banter disappeared, a seriousness straightened his features and filled the room with tension. “And I say it’s not far off, so I would stop—”

  It took every Warrior in the room to separate the Warrior and the wolf, except Jill, who stood back watching everything move as if in slow motion. She was dying? Watching the Warriors all bunched-up and wrestling around, a surge of anger overpowered her. The shaking started as she walked toward them. Her arms outstretched as power radiated from her. Without thought to what she was doing, each Warrior she aimed her hands at went flying, until there was only Slade and Hunter left. Two tears ran down her face, one clear and one blood red.

  ******

  A film of rage shadowed everything inside Slade. Just hearing the word death and Jill in the same sentence was enough to send him over the edge. All he wanted to do was take out the person who dared speak the sentence. Power enveloped him as he rolled around, with Warriors pulling at him and the man underneath him protecting himself. Soon the weight on his back lightened and he was forcibly yanked away and rolling across the floor. His rage disappeared at the ravaged face of Jill standing over him.

  “Jill.” Slade tried to stand, but she used her power to keep him plastered on the floor. “You need to stop. You need to...”

  “I need to do nothing.” Jill glared down at him. “But you need to tell me what in the hell is going on because honestly, I’m about to lose it.”

  Slade felt her power weakening and it worried him. Managing to stand against her power, he took two steps, grabbed her arms and put them down to her side. With one hand, he wiped the tears off her face. “I won’t let anything happen to you.” Truth and promise radiated with every syllable.

  Looking toward Duncan, Jill’s lip quivered as she looked back up at Slade. “Is Pam...?”

  “No one is going to fucking die.” Slade pulled her into his arms, not caring that everyone was in the room staring at them. Glancing at Damon, he nodded toward the chair. Damon carried the chair over for Jill, who gratefully sank into it.

  “Shouldn’t Pam be here?” Jill frowned up at Slade.

  Slade put his hand on Jill’s shoulder, his thumb rubbing back and forth. His eyes met Duncan’s whose pain reflected his own. No Warrior wanted to see their mate in danger and that was exactly what was happening, but it wasn’t against anything they could physically fight. That was what was killing him the most.

  “It’s up to you,” Slade told Duncan, waiting for his answer, but when Duncan wordlessly shook his head, Slade nodded then looked down at Jill. “I wanted to tell you this alone.”

  “Obviously this isn’t just about me so I’d rather you just tell me now,” Jill replied, her voice quivering at the end. She cleared her throat trying to hide the fear in her voice, and he loved her even more for it.

  “I took Jill’s blood samples to the hospital,” Slade began, his fingers tightening on her shoulder. “Dr. Vaughn, who is a highly acclaimed hematologist...”

  “Is he going to start talking doctor talk?” Sid
whispered to Jared.

  Slade glared at them both. “He studies blood.”

  “I knew that.” Jared winked at Jill who was half-smiling up at him.

  “Bullshit.” Sid snorted.

  Slade tried to keep his shit together and knew that Sid and Jared were trying to lighten the dark mood, but he was on a dangerous spiral and honestly didn’t know if he could take much more. Anything could set him off and he knew it. Jill in truth was slowly dying and until he had a definite answer on how to save her, he was on the edge of destruction, and anyone in his way was in grave danger. Gazing down at Jill, he saw her attention was back on him. She knew him well. Well enough to know he was close to losing it.

  “What did the doctor find?” Jill’s voice was strong, but her eyes showed the fear she couldn’t hide, and it killed him.

  “Your human leukocytes are attacking and destroying—”

  “You already lost me?” Jill said before Sid or Jared could say anything.

  Slade kneeled down in front of her. “Whatever they gave you...” he then glanced at Duncan and Adam, “...gave all of you is failing. The human body is a force to be reckoned with and is finding a way to fight against what’s foreign in your body, which is the serum you were given.”

  “But that was so long ago.” Jill said, her forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Why now?”

  “That’s something I can’t answer.” Those words were bitter on his tongue. “But the human body is constantly trying to find ways to fight off disease, infections or whatever is foreign. You all were given a manmade drug, which we’re still trying to decipher exactly what it contained. Without knowing what the serum consists of, we don’t know what to look for to reverse this process, or if there is a way to reverse it.”

  “Okay, so what you’re saying is my...” Jill frowned. “What did you call them?”

  “Leukocytes, which is your white blood cells that seek out and fight off disease-causing organisms or substances.” Slade’s fist tightened in anger, but he kept his voice calm.

  “So my body is fighting for me to be human again.” Jill’s voice cracked.