That sent Cash back. Jessie had been sent to find him but never contacted him, not even once, and Senior and Mattias both knew. That was something he would be discussing with Jessie later. Right now, he needed to concentrate on Jenna.
“Yeah,” Cash said, putting his arm around her back, squeezing her closer, “did I live up to your expectations?”
“That and more,” Jenna laughed, “but I don’t want to give you a big head, so we’ll just say meeting you was okay.”
Cash had always liked the Gunther’s but hearing about how they treated Jenna made him want to tear them apart. How could parents give up one child, only to keep another one? The things she had been through, damn. But he was learning his Jenna wasn’t as naïve as everyone thought she was. She watched, learned, and adapted. It would serve her well for what was to come.
“Just okay?” Cash tickled her ribs making her squirm. “Not good enough, I might think that’s another challenge,” Cash said, leaning down and taking her lips in a hard kiss.
Jenna pushed him away, smiling.
Nope, we’re going to do this because I don’t want to do it again. This will be referred to as the history of Jenna 101. A one-time class.”
“I was always a good student, I plan on passing this class with flying colors. Go on.”
“Okay because there will be a test afterward, so you know.”
“Noted.”
“Anyway, I don’t have to tell you about Jessie, you knew her. When she gets her mind set on something, there is no stopping her. I really don’t think the Gunthers ever said the word no to her, so she felt entitled.”
“Spoiled, more like it.”
“Yeah, spoiled would be a good word. When we came together, we triggered each other; my gift increased as long as Jessie was in the room or close by. Hers didn’t come until after that first year. Declan and Uncle Matt tested it constantly. If I refused, they would say they were going to send Jessie and the Gunther’s away.”
“Assholes!”
“Yeah, that and then some. When we were about eighteen, Jessie started to hang out with a tiger shifter in Kayden’s pride. He always bothered me; he wasn’t right in the way he acted with her or hell, anytime. If she wasn’t in the room, he was a different person altogether. One day, he challenged Kayden. The fight was brutal, and Gunner was taken down. Jessie demanded I help him, pushed her power into me until I almost passed out, but still I refused to help.”
“Shit, babe.”
“That isn’t all of it. Uncle Matt and Declan came and demanded I help the downed tiger. Gunner was near death, his internal and external injuries so extensive, I knew it would be impossible. But they insisted and used Kayden to get what they wanted. He was already injured from the challenge. Uncle Matt goaded him, causing him to attack. Using me against him. Every blow Kayden took, Declan would whisper in my ear, This will end if you just do what we ask. Jessie was standing there, arms crossed, glaring, watching Kayden get his ass handed to him, doing nothing to stop it. Yelling at me to save Gunner, demanding it. It got to be too much, so I did.”
Cash could see the scene in his mind like he had been there himself. Jenna and Kayden against two of the biggest and baddest shifters in existence. Kayden, full of beast, and Jenna scared, but both of them determined to save the other. He wished he could go back to that meeting this morning and bloody them both. He also wished he had handled Kayden differently.
“What happened, did you heal him?”
“Yeah, I healed him alright. I also took a part of him into myself when I did. He was right on the cusp of going rogue. He immediately attacked me. Uncle Matt got Jessie out of the room while Declan tried to subdue the man, but he kept coming, snarling and tearing at me.” Jenna rubbed her arm. Cash hadn’t noticed the thin white scars before, but now he could see them clearly.
“That’s not all, is it?” Cash questioned.
“No, they kept him alive for twenty-four hours. Declan had subdued him, but they also kept me in the room, not allowing me to leave and kept asking me questions.”
“What kind of questions?”
“Do you feel this? What is he thinking now? Over and over again. Having him in my mind caused me to have a break of some sort. I felt like I was going crazy. I must have passed out at some point because I woke up with Gunner leaning over me, half-shifted, teeth dripping with saliva. Kayden saved me and took me out of there.”
“Shit, babe I don’t like hearing any of this, and I want to kill both of them all of them for doing this shit to you, but I’m glad that Kayden got you out of there. Where did you go?”
“Kayden took me to Kiera,” Jenna smiled.
“Ah, it seems like we are all connected to Kiera in some way, aren’t we?”
“Yeah, I think we are. It took me over a year to recover from healing and being attacked by Gunner. I wasn’t the same person after that. Kiera helped me get my nursing degree and negotiate my release from Uncle Matt and Declan. I think Kayden helped too, I’m not really sure though.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it, he seems like a good guy even though I don’t know him well. He always kept to himself around me.”
“That’s because he was ordered to, we all were.”
Cash had suspected it but didn’t like it.
“It doesn’t sound like they would have been willing to let you go so easily. How did you manage that?”
“Well, they say knowledge is power, and I used the only thing I had.”
“Yeah, what is that?”
“You.”
Chapter Nineteen
“Okay, enough about me, the history of Jenna 101 is now officially over. We need to talk about you and Jessie.”
“No, babe, we don’t because there isn’t any me and Jessie, hell, I don’t think there ever was,
Cash said, running his hand down his face. “Long and short of it. My dad was a nut; if there was a legend or a myth, he ran from it. Step on a crack, and you will break your mothers back, yep that was how bad he was—black cats, ladders, all of it. But he was even worse with shifter history and legends. Mating was cursed in my house, and that’s why I think I latched on to Jessie so tightly.”
Jenna tensed.
“None of that, we never shared anything more than a small kiss. I think I wanted to believe she was my mate so badly, I convinced myself the attraction was something more than it was.”
“And what was that?” Jenna asked.
“Teenage hormones.”
“Yeah, those do suck, but you believed for so long. You called out to her when you were sick. Even when we connected in our dreams, you called me Jessie.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. I wish I had the magic answer to calm all your fears. All I can say is the mind is a powerful place. I had held on to the fantasy of Jessie being my mate for so long that when I felt those things for you, I assumed it was her. When I saw her that first day, none of those feelings existed. I can see her as a person I know but nothing more. Besides, when confronted with all that shit, who did I call out to?”
“Me.”
“Damn straight.”
“Okay, I think I can accept that. I won’t guarantee I’ll feel comfortable if I find the two of you alone, but I will try.”
“Babe, she is mated, so are we. Shifters do not cheat on their fated mates. It’s impossible. But I realize it will take some time for you to wrap your brilliant mind around that.”
“Brilliant, huh? I think I like the sound of that,” Jenna said, kissing Cash on the cheek. “But just like my boobs in our dream, that brilliance, sorry to disappoint you, is just a part of your imagination. I am average at best.”
“Babe, you can heal people with your hands. That is so far from average, it’s not even in the same universe.”
“Maybe but that’s not brilliant, it’s a gift, one I don’t like to use.”
“Is it really that bad?”
“Most times yes, but this last time with Jacks, not so much. I took some of him into me
when I healed him, just like before, but as soon as you connected the Gemini, it was gone.”
“Yeah, we need to talk about that too. If you ever try to break our bond again, I will do more than spank you, Jenna.”
“I was trying to do the right thing. I thought that it was my fault, that you wanted to be with Jessie, that I wouldn’t be enough. Don’t you understand I wanted to give you your freedom to choose?”
“I know why you did it, but babe, I hope you know now, it was wrong.”
“I do. Okay, no more sad stuff. What do you have planned? All of it. Are we going to try to bring Gemini together? Cash, I have tried. They made me the center more than once while testing us, and it’s hard. The power was too much. I fear for you,” Jenna laughed as Cash looked taken back by her statement. “I know you’re strong, don’t get all puffed up. It’s that I have felt it, up close and personal. Hell, it put me on my ass more than once. We all tried it, Cash, no one could maintain it for longer than a couple of minutes.”
“Oh, ye of little faith. I am Alpha, hear me roar.” Cash roared, making Jenna laugh and hit his chest.
“Cash, you need to take this seriously.”
“I am, babe, and we will talk about that, but right now, I think we need to talk about Kayden.”
Jenna straightened; she hadn’t remembered Kayden bringing her to the facility or that he said she was going to save his mate. Shit, Kayden had a mate, and she had been taken. This was not good, she needed to find him, help him. Jenna started to get up, but Cash pulled her back, taking the coffee cup out of her hand and placing it on the nightstand.
“Babe, he’s gone, left the night after you healed Jacks. I’m not going to say it was pretty or lie to you and say we didn’t come to blows because that did happen. But shit, we can’t help him. Until we know how to harness this power and Jessie gives birth, there isn’t anything we can do. You have to know that. I will put Trace and Chance on it, I have even asked Jacks to help. They know Mia, love her. She is Ryleigh’s best friend, all of Alpha will do all they can to help, you have my word on that, but right now, Gemini is in a holding pattern. Can you live with that?”
Jenna didn’t know if she could. Until Cash, Kayden had always been her person. The one who she went to when things went to shit. She wanted to be there for him now, help him find his mate, but she wasn’t an operative. She was trained but still a civilian; she didn’t have anything but basic computers skills, and she would suck as a spy because she generally hated being around people.
“Chill, babe. I can see that mind of yours spinning. I will make sure any help Kayden needs, he gets. Now, we need to talk about our next step.”
“I just feel bad, I promised him I would help, and I went and…”
“He understands, babe. He might be pissed, but he understands and wouldn’t want you hurt trying to help him or his mate. Now you have a decision to make cold or colder?”
“What?” Jenna was confused, she had no idea what Cash was getting at.
“I asked you, cold or colder? Do you want to live in Alaska or Canada?”
Jenna had loved her cottage in the woods, so her answer was an easy one.
“Canada works for me, I heard that Alaska is wild and untamed.”
“Babe, so is Canada and with us there, it will be even more so. Okay, that’s done, now what do you want to do about the team?”
“Cash, do we even have a team? I mean, we can never be like Bravo or Alpha, only you, Chance, and Trace have training. The rest of us, just are, well, not normal but kind of.” Jenna said blushing.
“Babe, we really need to work on your optimism. You know more than anyone what power the Twin Warriors hold.”
“Yeah, but we can only use them short-term, hell, not even long enough to help unless we’re right there, and there are always consequences; Cash, we always go down for days, weeks, or months. Then there is the fact we can’t be in the same room, it kind of makes it uncomfortable and useless to try.”
“Listen, I’m not being a dick by saying this, but that was before I came here. I can hold the power, filter it. We, all of us, need to practice and find out what we can and cannot do. That can only happen if we are all together. Will you be okay with that? I know you like to live alone, and if that is what you truly want, then I will go back to that cottage with you and forget about all of this. The choice is yours.”
Jenna knew all the good the Twin Warriors could do if Cash was right and could harness and channel the power. She never really liked being alone but conceded that she needed to be. This was her chance at a family. She also knew Cash needed this, he was an Alpha. He needed a pack, pride, or whatever it was bears needed. She really needed to Google that. She thought bears were solitary creatures, but shifters were different. Jenna was okay with working with the others but living with them was a hard point for her, but she realized that as Alpha Cash would need this, so she nodded her head in assent. If he was willing to take all this one she was willing to feel a little uncomfortable. Just her nod made him smile. She would do anything this man asked just to see that smile every day for the rest of her life.
“Okay good, because they are waiting for us in the conference room.”
“What? Cash, I’m not even dressed. Why are they waiting? When did you set this up?”
“Last night. Now, up you go, make yourself pretty for me.” Cash kept pushing her until she got out of the bed, landing a solid smack on her ass. Startled, Jenna spun around and glared at him.
“You will pay for that, Alpha.”
“I’m sure I will in so many good ways. You liked it, I can smell it. That cinnamon-vanilla scent of yours deepened. Makes me want to eat you up and keep you in this bed for the next decade. Now, you better hurry up and get in the bathroom before I change my mind and make the team wait even longer. No telling how much trouble Chance and Trace can get into, and it will all be your fault.”
“No, it won’t, you’re the Alpha. That means everything that happens is your fault,” Jenna said, blowing him a kiss. She also put an extra swing in her hips while she walked, hoping he would decide that making the team wait a little longer was a good idea. When he didn’t take the bait, she pulled out the big guns. Looking over her shoulder, Jenna said, “I might need a little extra time.”
Cash was laying in the bed, his hands under his head, the sheet covering his lap but leaving every other inch bare to her.
“Yeah, why is that?”
“I need to take care of something before we go.”
“Jenna, you can take care of whatever it is later.”
“No, this needs to be taken care of now.”
“Babe.”
“Cash, I have this ache, and since you won't take care of it, I have to do it myself, and babe, that can be fun but…” Jenna stopped talking and turned slightly to the side, only allowing Cash to see the side of her body. Taking her hand, she ran it down her chest, watching as his breathing increased and the sheet started to make a tent in his lap. When she kept moving her hand down lower, a strong, hard hand gripped her wrist. Damn, she hadn’t even seen him move. Cash scooped her up into his arms.
“Let's see if I can take care of that ache for you.”
Chapter Twenty
Mattias sat in a chair in Kiera’s house. glaring at Declan’s back. The meeting with Cash Warren had not gone well. He could feel the anger rolling off of Declan. Normally, that would make him happy, but this time, it was messing with his plans. Cash Warren was messing with his plans.
“Quit brooding; you deserved what you got. We need to figure out our next step.”
Declan spun on him, eyes glowing fiercely with the Dragon. If he was at full strength, it might have raised Mattias hackles, but Declan was weak right now.
“Our next step is nothing. Did you feel his power? That was something neither of us ever counted on.”
“You might not have, but I did. That’s why I found Jenna. She is the only one who can control him, and I am the only one that can co
ntrol her.”
“You think you can control Jenna?” Declan laughed. “Hell, where have you been the last five years? That girl isn’t controlled by anyone. We broke her trust, forcing her to heal that boy. You’re just lucky she still talks to you.”
“You forget, she loves me like a father. Tell me you can’t get Ryleigh to dance when you want something? Jenna will be no different. I just have to play my cards right to make it happen.”
“You’re an old fool, Mattias, once they mate, that’s it. Your influence diminishes just like mine did with Ryleigh. Jacks controls her now. You just have to hope she allows you into her life a little.
“We need to discuss the child,” Declan said picking up a folder and handing it to Mattias. Mattias shuffled through the pages, getting to the test results.
“That’s too bad, Jessie and Chase will have a single child. I hadn’t held much hope out for something more, both are more deemed more beta or omega than Alpha. Their child will be normal,” Mattias spat with disgust.
“I wouldn’t count on any of these children being normal. We’ll have to watch and see. Quinn and Kenna are showing signs of the beast already, it means times are changing. The next generation will be even more powerful than the last.”
“Even you have to admit a twin birth from Cash and Jenna would be extraordinary. I think it deserves some thought and consideration. They have mated, but Jenna won’t be swayed that easily. There’s still a chance I could break the bond. If she’s already pregnant, that could work in our favor.”
“Let me see,” Declan said, walking over to the bar and pouring himself a drink, taking a large gulp, savoring the burn as it went down his throat. “You felt Cash’s power, and you think it’s possible to break the bond? Are you getting senile, old friend, or hard of hearing? Were you not there when Jenna herself tried to break it? Did you not feel the magic he has hidden? I, for one, did. There will be no messing with Cash and Jenna. At least, not until the power of three is restored. If he is able to tap into the full power of the Gemini, even the three will have a problem controlling him.”
Cash: NAC & The Holly Group (Alpha Team Book 6) Page 13