by Abby Blake
Hannah bit her lip, but she nodded her understanding. And Eric had no doubt she understood. He still had nightmares about the day she’d thrown herself in the middle of a domestic dispute in the children’s ward. A mother and father had literally been beating the crap out of each other, and Hannah, with her above-average height and slim curves, had stepped into the middle and broken them apart.
Eric had seen the footage on security cameras several hours later. It had taken all of his strength not to grab the woman, fling her over his shoulder, and lock her in his bedroom until she promised to never, ever do something so foolish again. Instead, he now found himself trying to cope with her willingness to be bait.
“How is it going to help?” he asked Benjamin. The vampire smiled, obviously aware of Eric’s struggle to stay calm. “They’ve proven already that they’ll just send more. Won’t they just keep coming?”
“Not,” Benjamin said with a wide grin, “if they think they succeeded.”
* * * *
Hannah tried to tamp down the sudden attack of nerves. She’d agreed to do this. She knew the plan inside out and upside down. She absolutely knew she was as well protected as the men and women around her could make it.
She glanced over at the leather-clad vampire pretending to do a lousy job of protecting her. Skye was such a sweet woman it was almost incomprehensible that she could enjoy this type of work. The fact that she was a vampire and needed to cover every inch of skin with thick leather, and her head and face with a type of helmet with a heavily shaded visor to be out this time of day just made her look more intimidating.
But at the moment she was carefully feigning disinterest in protecting her client, casually moving away as if she really didn’t expect trouble. Of course, they were both being protected by more PUP Squad Alpha and Deeks Security employees than Hannah had seen in one place before.
It had taken a long time to calm Eric down. He’d been adamant that she shouldn’t do this, but she couldn’t in all conscience not take the opportunity to end this. If the pixies believed her to be dead, it meant the men and women protecting her would be able to assist in protecting the others.
But right now her heart was beating so loudly she almost missed the telltale noise of the wards being breached. Everything seemed to happen at once. The pixie appeared almost in front of her, confirming that she’d wandered to the edge of the magical wards. Skye ran back to her side, gripping her hand to drag her away, just as they’d discussed. West and Eric came running from the house, West yelling at his cousin to go back inside, adding to the illusion of chaos.
But it was Jed’s magic that made the whole thing bizarre.
* * * *
Eric’s heart pounded so hard he wondered why his ribs didn’t break. It didn’t matter that they’d discussed this very scenario. Seeing the whole thing unfold in front of his eyes was like living a nightmare. West’s squad mate, Darian, hadn’t been available, so Benjamin had enlisted Jed’s help. The plan was very simple. Jed would glamour the pixie or pixies so that they would “see” Hannah die even though they would never actually get close enough to lay a hand on her.
The rest of them would pretend to see the same thing, “fail” to stop the pixies from escaping, and then hopefully the whole thing would be over and Hannah would be safe.
At least that was the plan.
But right from the get-go something was wrong. The pixie got way closer to his mate than any of them had anticipated. Hannah screamed, the sound blood curdling as the pixie managed to lay a hand on her arm.
Panic burst through him, his bear taking over as he ran to his mate. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Hannah wasn’t supposed to be hurt. Hannah was supposed to be protected, not on the front lines of a war she had no business being in the middle of.
A growl tore from his throat, West’s bear voice echoing the same agony as they raced toward their injured mate. She fell backward, her body stiff and unyielding as the stench of burning human flesh reached his nose.
He lunged at the pixie, his teeth snapping against thin air as she stepped into a slip path and beyond his reach. He and West both changed back to their human forms at the same time, West dropping to his knees as he frantically used his healing magic to assess her condition. Eric did the same, pressing his hands against her heart, trying to gauge how badly hurt his mate was.
Grief nearly drowned him as he found her heart not beating, her body stiff and lifeless, every internal organ shut down in an instant.
“No,” he said reflexively, his doctor’s professional training deserting him as he faced the reality of his loss. They had nothing to work with, no spark of hope, no hint of life. His mate was gone. Dead by a pixie’s hand, victim of an assassination for simply being born at the wrong time and in the wrong place.
Grief overwhelmed him, the pain in his chest stealing the breath from his lungs.
* * * *
Anger flooded through West. He wanted revenge. He wanted blood.
He’d known his mate for such a short moment in time, yet he couldn’t imagine a future without her. His hands shook as he touched her beloved face over and over, his mind refusing to give him the hope he needed. Hannah was gone, and somebody was going to pay.
But before he could do anything about it, Benjamin’s hand landed on his shoulder.
“We need to get her inside,” he said in a voice that made it clear it wasn’t a request. West nodded, following his CO’s orders reflexively, lifting the lifeless body of the woman he loved into his arms.
Chapter Seven
Hannah was having a hard time watching her men grieve for her. She stood to the side, Jed’s restraining hand on her shoulder, as West lifted what he saw as her lifeless body into his arms. It wasn’t her of course. But Jed had warned her this might happen. It was a necessary ruse for the pixie to believe she’d accomplished her mission.
But understanding the reason for it didn’t make it any easier to watch.
Jed kept his hand on her arm, his concentration intense as they followed Eric, West, Skye, and Benjamin into the house. As soon as the door closed, Jed dropped the illusion and let the others see what Hannah could.
At first West looked confused to realize he held nothing in his arms, but his mouth dropped open when he saw her standing next to Jed. Unable to let them believe her dead for a moment longer, she ran into his arms, kissing him frantically even as her hand groped behind her, searching for Eric’s solid presence.
And then he was there, his relief obvious in the shuddering breaths that rumbled against her back.
“What happened?” Eric asked as he ran his hands over and over her body, perhaps reassuring himself that she was truly there.
“I had to make it look real,” Jed said from behind them.
“Real?” West asked in a hostile voice. “You put us through all of that to make it look real?”
Hannah held on to West, her arms shaking as she worried he was about to slam Jed with his fists. What she didn’t expect was her gentle, giant pediatrician to flatten the man first.
Benjamin pulled Eric away, almost losing the battle as Jed laughed from his position on the ground. But then the old-looking man seemed to sober and climbed to his feet far more nimbly than his outward appearance suggested was possible. “Look,” he said with his hands palm outward in front of him, “I did what was necessary to save Hannah. The pixie thinks she’s dead. Any other attackers who were watching will confirm her story, especially when they witnessed your very genuine grief.”
“I’m sorry,” Hannah said as she moved into Eric’s arms. They clamped around her almost hard enough to cut off her oxygen. When Jed had explained what he intended to do, Hannah had understood the necessity of it, but she truly hoped she’d never have to put anyone through such an awful experience again.
“Jed’s unexpected tactics aside,” Benjamin said as he pulled his own wife into his arms, “the fact that only the people in this room know Hannah is actually alive is a good thi
ng. We have no idea how the pixies found this safe house. If we do have a traitor in our midst, it would be wise to keep Hannah’s survival quiet.”
“We need the squad’s help to keep Hannah safe,” West said, clearly disturbed by the thought that only a handful of people were now available to protect her. West had made it very clear that he trusted all the members of PUP Squad Alpha with his life.
Benjamin shook his head, but held up his hand to stop whatever West was going to say. “We’ll bring Brody, Nathan, Alex, and Ronan in on the truth, but everyone else is to think Hannah is dead. Am I clear?” West nodded tightly, but it was obvious he wasn’t happy about it. Hannah didn’t miss the fact that the men Benjamin had listed were Ava’s and Kali’s mates.
Benjamin then turned his attention to Hannah. “I’d like you to consider moving to Sugarvale. We’ll need to keep your presence a secret for now, but it was where you were headed in the first place. I feel it would be beneficial for you to be close to Ava and Kali even if we can’t introduce you just yet.”
Benjamin grinned widely as his wife added with a wink, “I can guarantee you’ll like the neighbors.”
Chapter Eight
“This place is perfect,” Eric said as he held her hand and they wandered from room to room. Hannah smiled and nodded in agreement. Ronan’s builders had just finished renovating the place so everything that wasn’t new had been restored to gleaming perfection. She could almost hear the sounds of a happy family growing up here.
West glanced out the window to the back yard. “We’ll have to take that down,” he said with a nod at the haphazardly built tree house. “By the time they’re old enough to climb it, our kids will be too heavy. We’ll have to build something lower to the ground.”
Eric cleared his throat, subtly reminding West not to push it. They’d agreed to give Hannah time to make her decision, but truly she didn’t really need time. Between these men was where she was truly happy. She squeezed Eric’s hand and grabbed West’s with the other.
“I think that sounds like a great idea,” Hannah said, feeling certain about something for the first time in several weeks. “Growing old with you two sounds like an experience I really don’t want to miss.”
“So you’ll let us make you a bear-shifter and claim you as our mate?”
She’d spent days trying to tell herself why it would be a bad idea, and despite all of her valid arguments about not making choices in the middle of a stressful situation, only one thing came through loud and clear—it just felt right to be with them.
“Yes, I want to be a bear-shifter, and I want to be mate to both of you.”
West stepped closer to say something, but his cell phone chirped. He looked annoyed at the interruption, but ever the professional soldier, he answered it on the second ring.
“Brody, what’s up?” he asked in a rather happy voice. It was a little strange for the man to be calling on the cell phone when he was actually in the house, but West’s demeanor changed as Brody started talking. “You can’t be serious.” He glanced at Hannah and then frowned as Brody continued to talk. “That’s completely unfair. She hasn’t even met Kali or Ava yet. How can you even think that it’s true?” He rubbed his eyes tiredly, turned his back to the other two people in the room, and made a sound of resignation. “Fine. I’ll discuss it with Hannah, but if she tells you to go to hell…” He let his words trail off, but it was very obvious that he wasn’t happy. He slammed the phone closed and turned back to Hannah and Eric. “We have a problem,” he said as he urged Hannah to sit up on the countertop. Judging by Eric’s pale face, he’d heard both sides of the telephone conversation.
“What is it?” she asked, starting to feel the worry deep in her soul.
* * * *
West felt like he’d been gutted. Setting aside for the moment that his squadmate had been listening in to a private conversation—damn dragon hearing—it seemed almost callous to have to discuss it with Hannah now. Considering that they’d spent weeks trying to convince her to be their true mate in bear-shifter terms, pulling that option away from her moments after she’d decided to take it could mess everything up.
“Brody has asked us to wait for a while before changing you into a bear-shifter. Apparently his wife, Ava, believes that the Oracle’s receptacles each have a role to play in whatever is coming. Brody thinks if we change you into a shifter that the skills and knowledge that you have might be lost.”
Hannah looked pale, but she smiled bravely and tried to make light of the situation. “Oh, well I suppose that makes sense and it’s…um…that’s…um…nice of him to…ah…let…”
But Eric wasn’t quite so accepting of Brody’s logic.
“He can hear us, yes?” Eric asked West. West nodded, obviously as annoyed as Eric felt about the feeling of living in a fishbowl. After weeks of living in a safe house, the intrusion on their long-awaited privacy was damned annoying. “Get your ass in here, Brody. I want an explanation. I want to know why nothing was said sooner. I want Hannah to meet Ava before she has to meekly accept something that is not what she wants.” He slammed his fist on the kitchen bench, his show of temper completely out of character. “Get in here and explain it properly, you asshole.”
A moment later Brody and Jed came into the kitchen.
Brody didn’t look the least bit offended by Eric’s words. He went straight to Hannah, stood in front of her, and grabbed one of her hands in his own.
“I’m sorry, Hannah. Ava only mentioned it this morning. I was going to say something to West at our debriefing later tonight. I didn’t think to make it a priority because you haven’t seemed inclined to say yes to them just yet.” He glanced over at Eric quickly, but kept her as the focus of his attention. “We don’t know anything for certain. All I’m asking is that you and West and Eric wait until we know something more solid.”
Hannah nodded, but again Eric’s out-of-character behavior caught them by surprise.
“When can she meet Ava? You’re making assumptions on topics you don’t understand. The least you can do is let Hannah meet the woman.”
“It’s not safe for you to meet her just yet. We want to be certain the pixies think Hannah is dead before bringing her into Ava’s and Kali’s lives.”
“Bullshit,” Eric said, startling a gasp from Hannah’s mouth.
“You have assured us that this house is as safe as it gets. If it’s not safe enough to bring your mate here, then why would you think it’s safe enough for mine.”
“Hannah,” Brody said, obviously considering her the voice of reason, “Ava is pregnant with my child. What I really want to do is lock her away from the world until my son is old enough to take care of both of them.” He glanced at the anger on Eric’s face. “But I’ll talk to her. There’s a good chance she already senses your distress, and if I have learned one thing about my lovely wife, it’s that when she decides she wants to do something, even dragon fire can’t stop her.”
* * * *
West felt a smile tug at his lips despite the irritation he felt at Brody’s words. He’d seen Ava’s determination firsthand. She was such a sweet, reasonable woman on the outside that it was probably a shock to most people to find she had a core of steel. Once that woman made up her own mind, nothing stopped her.
Watching Hannah now, West realized that she had very similar traits. She was confident, feisty, independent, and when she’d realized someone was coming to kill her, she’d taken steps to protect herself. Hell, it probably explained her telekinetic ability. She’d already demonstrated that given enough provocation she could put a five-hundred-pound bear-shifter on his ass.
West actually winced as that thought wound its way through his mind. He and Eric probably should have mentioned to Hannah that she would put on weight once she became a bear. As he understood it, human women didn’t like getting heavier, even if it didn’t show, and it was usually something they avoided. Although, being able to compress the bear’s weight into a human form was rather handy i
n a fight. Thanks to the increased density, bear-shifters in human form were bulletproof when it came to the smaller calibers.
Hopefully they could get this latest hurdle sorted out quickly, and then they could go on with their lives.
But as Brody turned to leave the room, West saw sympathy in the man’s eyes. It took every ounce of self-control he possessed not to ram his fist into the dragon-shifter’s face. It didn’t matter that he might just be the messenger. It was obvious he believed West, Hannah, and Eric would never be together as true mates.
“Brody,” Eric said as West tried to pull his emotions back under control. “Did you say your wife is pregnant with a dragon baby? I didn’t think humans and dragons were compatible on a genetic level.”
Brody smiled as he apparently realized where Eric was taking the conversation. The information was finally beginning to dawn on West, too.
“Humans and dragons aren’t compatible normally. There is something about Ava that made it possible though. Perhaps you three will get as lucky.” He sent a smile in Hannah’s direction before he and Jed headed for the front door.
Hannah sat on the counter with her mouth open for all of sixty seconds before she finally got her mouth working. “Something tells me we should have been using condoms.”
“What do you mean?” West said when he saw the huge smile that she suddenly wore on her face.
“I mean…that humans don’t have to wait for mating season to make babies.”
“You think you’re pregnant now?” West asked as excitement flooded through his veins. Shit, talk about a roller-coaster ride. In the space of five minutes his mate had finally agreed to belong to them forever, and then their hopes for a family had been cruelly squashed, and now Hannah was suggesting she might already be pregnant. Hell, one more surprise or disappointment could lead him to a heart attack.