Eternal Embrace

by Billi Jean

  “Oh, Jaxon,” she breathed, lost to his touch already. “I am yours.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Jax sprang out of bed, dragged on his jeans, turned and gathered the still sleeping Joey in his arms. He had three types of alarms. The first warned him with a silent vibration that intruders were on the property. Joey was so out of it she didn’t react, but he didn’t want to take a chance of waking her before she’d had her full rest. If it changed to the lower, piercing tone of someone breaching his wards, then he wasn’t sure what he’d do if Joey weren’t safe behind his stronger wards, either.

  He carried Joey to the wall next to his wooden dressing table, waved his hand over the seal and the wall rotated, revealing a room beyond. He went in, ducking under the low entrance automatically, and settled Joey on the bed. He covered her with a blanket, lit the candles and headed out before he did something foolish, like wake her. She needed her sleep from dusk to dawn, and would for many years.

  He closed the chamber door just as the scent of his intruder hit his nose.

  “Shit, nosey fucking bastards,” he grumbled. He glanced at the wall where Joey slept, estimating he had two hours to deal with the nosey bastards before sunset.

  He found his phone, realised it was on alarm clock mode only and grinned at the multiple text messages in his inbox. Shit, two from Hunter, but both were saying for him to call her, six from Torque all demanding to know if he was all right after his dried jerky experience and the last two from the demon at his door. Scratch that, demon and Lykae—Markee, the young pup who had earned Jax’s respect in the raid on the Death Stalker’s stronghold months before.

  Both messages had him grimacing. They wanted to talk about Gerald. That meant a long talk he didn’t want to have. Shit.

  He dialled the demon, Agni, at the same time as he jammed his arms in a button-down, walked to the door and opened it. “What the hell. Does everyone know where I live?” he demanded when Agni grinned.

  “Hey, man. Nah, just us nosey bastards,” Agni said with a laugh.

  “Damn it, are you reading my mind, or guessing how much I want you here?” Jaxon demanded.

  “Good guess, that’s all. Besides, I don’t read porn.”

  “Fuck you. You know I sleep during the day, right?” He opened the door wider and shut his phone with a snap. Markee grinned, apparently thinking that would gain him entrance. Jaxon gave him a ‘don’t fuck with me’ look. The wolf reached up, ruffled a hand through his shaggy brown hair and arched an eyebrow.

  Jax nearly grinned. “I’m a dude. That look doesn’t work on guys.”

  “Worked on me,” Agni said, pushing past him with a smack on Markee’s shoulder. “Good to see you unsalted, Jaxon.”

  The reference to the salt mines didn’t do a thing to ease his irritation. A fact Agni had to know. By the grin, the demon was well aware.

  Markee hooked his thumbs in his jeans’ pockets. “We texted first—”

  “Yeah, yeah, come on in, pup.” He shot a glance around the grounds, but nothing and no one else trespassed. “I was busy.”

  “Yeah, we heard all about it. Hunter is thrilled. She wants to be a bridesmaid.”

  “Agni, your smart mouth is—”

  “Is so much more cultured than yours?” Agni parked his ass on the large black leather sofa as if he owned the place, and rested his arms on the back of it. “Well, well, well, this is a nice pad, man. I expected nothing but the best from you though. Although the books are kinda shocking. Didn’t know you’d moved from reading the Randy Rustler.”

  “Damn, is there a reason you two can’t live without me?” Jaxon tossed a beer at Markee and shot another overhanded at Agni’s head. The demon caught it with a grin and nodded.

  “Thanks, man,” Markee said, and settled on the edge of Jax’s desk. “Look, we’ve been asked to team up with you to hunt down this guy, Gerald.”

  Jaxon emptied half his beer before saying, “I’m not hunting anyone. I’m retired.”

  Markee paused with his High Wire to his lips, but nodded and took a drink. “Damn, that’s good.”

  “Yeah, best beer I’ve had,” Agni said after one hell of a long pause.

  “Not the beer, dickhead,” Markee growled. “You, Jax, you look settled, man. Looks good on you.”

  “Yeah, real good, but that doesn’t mean you can quit and let us pull your load,” Agni griped.

  “Like hell it doesn’t,” Jax disagreed, drinking the rest of his beer in one long swallow before he tossed the empty in the recycling bin. “Look, Agni, I get it, man. I do. I need time to train Joey, once I have her good, we’ll be back on.”

  Agni shot a sceptical blond eyebrow up until it practically touched his hairline. “Is that so? You’re not going through the caveman stage then with her?”

  “Agni, shut it,” Markee said. “Man, if I had mine, I’d take some time too. We can settle this without them heading out on a hunt. Besides, I think Torque wants you at the compound, looking into the changelings.”

  “What about Vik, any luck with that collar?”

  Markee frowned and tilted his head. “Vik took off, man. I thought you knew?”

  “Took off? Explain that,” Jax demanded. Last he’d seen Viktor, the wolf had been with Hunter and Aidan. What had happened when they’d left?

  “I can’t, man.” Markee held up his beer when Jax tried to fire a question at him. “Look, Hunter said after your little woman told Aidan where to shove it, some sort of explosion happened where the compound had been. They all rushed over there but found nothing of the ruins and the underground mess you all had found. Viktor took off like he’d spotted something, and Hunter and the other Lykae couldn’t find him.”

  “Who is the other wolf?”

  “We don’t know,” Agni muttered. “Can’t get the collar off yet, last I heard.”

  “He might be Russian, too, like Viktor.”

  Markee shook his head. “The Russian pack—and you know he’s not Russian, but Estonian—anyway, that pack is gone. Viktor was the last of his kind. A lone wolf even before they disappeared.”

  “Huh, so the collars won’t come off,” Jax muttered, confused by that. “The silver wasn’t even visible when we were in the cells. It only showed after he shifted to his wolf form.”

  “Why did he do that?” Markee asked.

  “He said it would be better, in case the scumbags that ran the place showed up, which they didn’t.”

  “That’s odd, right? I mean, they had you in a cell, and then…?” Agni arched an eyebrow at him and sipped his beer.

  “Yeah, chained, celled, it wasn’t good. Joey got the chains off and then we got out, but we did have to fight. But yeah,” he said pausing to take a sip of his beer. “It wasn’t hard, not nearly as hard as it could have been.”

  “Still, Joey was harmed—changed, she said.” Agni watched him but when Jaxon didn’t comment, the demon simply settled back with his beer to wait him out.

  “Yes, they used a syringe,” Jaxon admitted, trying to keep the grumble from his voice. He knew Agni was only out to help them, but giving out details of his personal life—even to a friend like Agni—wasn’t his style

  “They?” Agni sat forward, concern written all over his face.

  “Gerald. He used a syringe, and within minutes, maybe half an hour, she began to shift.”

  “To a wolf tiger?” Markee clarified.

  “No, actually more like a small wildcat,” he said, remembering how damn beautiful she’d been even then. “Look, I know what you two want, so just ask.”

  “Jax, we don’t want to ruin this time for you, believe me, we don’t, but Gerald is big, huge. We thought the mage Samantha killed was evil and hell yeah, he was, but this guy. He’s been around for centuries?” Markee hunched over his knees and rested his elbows on his thighs. “You knew him before. We just want the facts, man, that’s all.”

  “Just the facts might get you in some deep shit, pup. Gerald is one hard-to-kill bastard, he’s p
erfected the art of destroying others. He likes power, and he doesn’t share it, so just knowing he is part of this DS crap is startling. But if he’s behind it, no chance of this dying down after we hit two, three more, even twenty more of these cells.”

  “Why do you say that? I thought you chased him off, harmed him?” Agni said.

  “I did, but I’ve harmed him worse before and here he is.” Jax broke the cap off another beer and took a long sweet swallow. Gerald simply wouldn’t die. If he concentrated on trying to kill the bastard, he’d lose. “He’s hard to kill. He’s not like anything I’ve ever run into.”

  “How’s that? Hunter said something about his stench being unclear.” Markee pointed his beer at Agni and the demon grinned. “If Hunter can smell him, he’s got to be one powerfully fucked-up guy. You’re the true bloodhound though, what is he?”

  “Markee, you’re the Lykae, you should be able to tell,” Jax countered trying very hard not to grind his teeth.

  “Well, fill us in, cause I can’t say what the hell he is, and I think you can,” Markee countered, not even pausing for breath. The pup was smart. Pissed Jax off.

  Still, Jaxon debated what to say, but finally just shrugged. “He’s a Death Stalker.”

  “No shit, Sherlock, but I’m way ahead of Holmes on this. Spit it out, what is he?” Agni growled.

  “Man, he’s something evil, not a creature I’ve ever run into before, put it that way, and in order to kill him, you might have to dig a bit deeper to figure out what he is, because I kid you not, I tried everything I could to kill him. And he would not die. Nothing, not a stake, not silver, not light, not poison, nothing worked. I mean, hell, I stopped short of tossing him into a pit with Girl Scouts, but everything else? I tried. Even his head.”

  The silence that followed should have pleased Jax. Normally he liked to shock the shit out of immortals, especially badass demons like Agni. This time, the reaction notched his worry higher. If Gerald had his sights on Joey… Jax tossed the worry aside. He’d find a way to kill the bastard.

  Agni set his empty down and eased back. After a few more minutes, he licked his lips and tipped his head to the side, looking like he’d come to some decision, but stayed silent.

  “Hey, you gonna let that out before it chokes you?” Jax finally demanded.

  “Man, this is not going to go over too well. I thought I scented something, but hell, I have to say, I hoped I was off, like light years. The only other time I have sensed something like this guy was in hell, and that is not a good place for our man to come from.”

  “What? Like he was dead, and you ran into him on a trip home, or he’s related and you shared a level with him?” Jax demanded, his body going hot, then cold.

  “Don’t!” Markee shot off before Agni could get the complete fuck you out of his mouth. “Damn, are you saying he’s a demon?”

  “I’m saying I think he’s something from hell,” Agni stressed.

  Markee frowned and so did Jax. “What the he—what does that mean? Exactly,” he clarified when Agni stared at him.

  Agni looked away and ran a hand through his blond hair in frustration. “It means I have to make a trip. That’s what it means. Meanwhile, you should train that woman of yours, Jax, because if he got a scent of her, and likes it, she’s in trouble. Big, big trouble.”

  “What the fuck does that mean?” Jax demanded and shot to his feet.

  “Settle down. Look, do you know anything about the demon hierarchies? Anything at all?” Agni asked.

  Jax shared a ‘fuck me’ look with Markee and they both shook their heads.

  “All these years, and still everyone just assumes I’m some kind of evil bastard, is that it?”

  “Fuck, no,” Markee said, tossing Agni an angry look. “Shit, I know that the fire demons were once men of this realm, caught in a trick by Lucifer to follow him in his battle against their one god. Your side lost but because the Fire nation hadn’t intended their betrayal, they were given the job of protecting the realms from other demons, but still marked as demons themselves until they served,” Markee stalled out and shrugged. “For some kind of long-ass time.”

  “Shit, dude, I’m impressed,” Agni said, bumping knuckles with the wolf and looking pleased as shit.

  Jax was never letting him near Joey. The demon oozed sex appeal like a leaky faucet, and when he was pleased, like he was now, he glowed, like one hell of a light bulb. No way was he letting—

  “Jax? Do you need me?”

  “Shit, baby, you’re awake?”

  Tinkling laughter, sounding tired, reached him. “Mmm, seems so. Why am I in a closet?”

  “It’s not a closet. Go back to sleep.”

  He glanced at the clock over the massive mantel and frowned. “You shouldn’t be awake. Let me deal with some unexpected company.” He sent her a lowdown on the talk so far, and he could sense her shiver of fear through their link, but he also sensed her curling up on her side.

  “Will you leave?”

  “No. Not a chance. I promised you wake-up sex.”

  More soft laughter, then what reminded him of a burst of sunshine and a hug filtered through to him on her sleepy sigh, then nothing. She’d gone back to sleep, but he still sensed her there, almost watchful, worried over him.

  “Oh, great, there he goes. He’s communicating with her now, so we’ve lost him,” Agni’s grumpy voice jerked him out of his happy thoughts.

  “Why are you such an asshole?” Markee asked, tossing his beer bottle in the bin. “Look, Jax, if this is the case, that this guy is some supervillain? I’d stay close to home.”

  “He’s not some supervillain and we’re not the Avengers, kid. The man can die, believe me, you just should have tried the Girl Scout thing.” Agni chuckled, making Jax frown at the oddity of hearing such a normal happy sound from the sarcastic demon. Sobering, Agni said, “We can all die, you just have to figure out how.” He scratched his goatee, and Jax shared a pained look with Markee. The demon would worry this damn thing until he drove them all nuts. Puzzles and demons should never meet.

  “Hey, before you get all stuck in your own fun of picking that apart, why not head out? Better yet, forget where I live and pretend you don’t know me—not you, pup, but Agni, go pester someone else. If Torque needs some assistance with the changelings or anything, Joey might be ready, but nothing big. Not yet. Tell Hunter if she needs us to call.”

  “Gotcha. Hunter will call and you’ll come running,” Agni stood and saluted him with his middle finger.

  “Damn, I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” Markee grumbled.

  “You, my young pup, have been a very, very bad boy,” Agni said, hitting Markee on the back when the wolf groaned and looked sick to his stomach.

  “Shit, you’re twisted,” Markee said with a low growl at the demon’s leer and joke. “Jax, call us if you end up back at that warehouse. I doubt the guy will go near the place, but it’s what we sometimes doubt that bites us in the ass. Besides, I’d like to see what else we can find there. The place still reeked of death, but under that, I don’t know, something else was going on.”

  Jax frowned, remembering he’d sensed the same. Something else dangerous was there, which meant Joey wasn’t going within a hundred miles of the place. “Maybe we should blow it up.”

  Agni rubbed his head and grimaced. “Not a bad idea, Jax my man. I’ll run that by Torque. See what the council thinks of that.”

  “Hey, what happened to that human?”

  Both men stopped halfway down his steps. Markee frowned and Agni shared a look with the wolf. “He’s gone. Him and the other humans. Broke out of the compound even. Torque is one lit dude over it. Hunter, though, let’s just say, the little witch had on a too-bright smile. I think she bugged them.”

  “Bugged them? Like wired them?” Jax laughed at the grin Markee and Agni shot him. “Fucking little witch. They won’t know what hit them, huh?”

  “Yeah, rumour is, Trouble just might be around their corn
er.” Agni’s grin grew. “I might feel sorry for the dumb bastards, you know?”

  Markee shook his head, clearly not willing to tangle with one of the wickedest witches in the Western Hemisphere.

  Jax agreed. Trouble was an awesome force to have at your back, but one hell of a tough woman if you wronged her. Or hers. “Shit, man, I kinda do now. How’d they get on Trouble’s shit list?”

  Agni stabbed finger at him like a gun and winked. “Now that, I’d love to know.”

  “Ah, don’t get him started,” Markee groaned.

  Jax shook his head, grinning at the way Agni playfully popped the young wolf on the shoulder.

  “I have no idea why you go anywhere with this guy. I’m going to be busy though, training Joey. You two and anyone else who thinks they can’t live without me—learn to.”

  “You do that, man. Just make sure to save some of that for the mats, right?” Agni said.

  He didn’t even bother with the ‘fuck you’ he wanted to throw at Agni.

  “Congrats, man,” Markee murmured. “We’ll be in touch if Agni discovers what this guy is.”

  Jax nodded, already closing the door on them, his mind on Joey and the different ways he wanted to wake her up. He shot most of them down as he stripped, settled behind her on the couch, already half asleep, knowing no matter what he did, he’d make her toes curl.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Jaxon?”

  Joey’s soft call made him surge up out of his first sleep, already calling his sword.

  “Whoa there, big boy, it’s me!”

  Joey, smiling at him with a cup of coffee in her hand, brought him to a full stop. “How did you do that? You should be asleep,” he demanded, then softened his tone to say, “You freaking amaze me. You shouldn’t be able to do this stuff!”

  She sat back on her heels, handed him the coffee and leaned in to kiss his jaw. “I’m sorry. I thought I’d wake you with a better good morning than that.”

  He cradled her neck and rubbed his thumbs over the slender column. “You are the best good morning. I just planned on waking you after our nap.”