Jade

by Valerie Ullmer

  “Why did you guys survive being transitioned by someone other than your mate and others don’t?”

  “We truly don’t know, but Liv suspects that something in our DNA, something powerful, kept us alive. Ara is a telekinetic and grew stronger after she transitioned. Actually, they grew tenfold after she became a wolf shifter.”

  Noah grew silent as he processed what she’d told him. She understood that the world he’d known most of his adult life had changed and he had to process it anew.

  “I didn’t know there were vampires.”

  “Shifters are more common than vampires. Kai, Kane, Thomas, and Isaac are the only vampire assassins on the team. Seth and Aubrey aren’t with the company and Liv works in her lab. Kane lost his mate several years ago and while he’s thriving now, you can see a bit of sadness from time to time.”

  Jade paused. “The group we’re tracking believe the only true immortals are shifters and they look down on vampires. How did you become involved in this situation?”

  “My best bud, Sam, and I recently took early retirement from the SEALs. We were thinking about starting our own protection and private security company, but Sam heard of this lucrative deal where they paid ex-soldiers a lot of money, for what, I didn’t know at the time.

  “Sam had gone behind my back and signed me up. We were transported to a farm in the middle of the night without any warning. They put us two to a room. I didn’t realize it at the time, but they had bitten Sam before they locked us in a room. I barely understood what was happening through words Sam could barely get out. On the second day, his body rejected whatever was happening inside of him and he died.”

  They grew quiet after that. There was nothing Jade could say or do that would make Noah understand that not all immortals were the same. And it wouldn’t be fair for her to defend her kind. They were taking men who had volunteered for combat to defend this country and making them martyrs in a losing cause because they wanted power and money. She knew that both humans and immortals were capable of horrendous acts, but Noah hated immortals because they took the one person who meant the world to him.

  She wouldn’t kid herself and believe he came to Ghost for any other purpose than to avenge his friend. It mattered not that Jade had found her mate because he’d deserved better. He deserved his revenge against those responsible for his friends death. Hatred was his motivating factor. Hatred of all immortals.

  And that meant he hated her as well.

  Chapter Two

  Noah

  Noah had been surprised when the questions he asked were answered truthfully. But not as surprised as his reaction to the sight of the beautiful woman who drifted into the office of the immortal he’d chosen to partially trust.

  He was a means to an end.

  But when Jade had come into the office, he was taken aback by the way his heart beat harder in his chest and the way he seemed to track her quick movements with ease, an instinct that told him exactly where she was at any given time. He was aware of Jade on a level he’d never experienced.

  The limited amount of time he’d spent with the only immortals he’d known, the vicious ones who thought nothing about building their numbers and taking power, and skewed his view of them. He could blame his hostility on his experience, but he could admit to himself as the car barreled up the mountain road it was because she had rattled him.

  Nothing rattled him.

  He had overheard some of the immortals, when they brought them food and water, about their plans on taking over Dark Company. When he escaped after Sam had died, he figured he would have a hard time finding them, but lo and behold, the company showed up after a quick internet search.

  Noah tossed the idea about in his mind about going to the enemy of the immortals he’d escaped from, the ones who killed his friend, but in the end, it wasn’t a hard decision. If a group of immortals could eliminate another, more menacing group, would they take it?

  With Sam’s excruciating death on his mind, he’d called Ghost from a pay phone and explained he had information that might be helpful, but only if he could be in on the takedown. Ghost invited him to his office and after a short conversation, Ghost declared he believed Noah and they were going to work together.

  He had no qualms about using Dark Company to exact his revenge, but he did feel a pang of guilt as he glanced over and moved his gaze over her beautifully flawless face.

  Noah had never been so affected by a woman before. From the moment he locked eyes on her, his senses went haywire. He could smell the softness of peaches and vanilla as she strolled into the room. He was mesmerized by how elegantly she moved around the room, and what took him by complete surprise was how unaware she was of how beautiful, almost ethereal, she looked. And he’d known immediately that she was a shifter.

  Part of him rebelled against his attraction to her, but a larger part wanted to protect her while he got to know everything about her. But he was cautious and he would wait to see how their little mission went before he could trust her and explore his rising feelings for her. Hell, he was good at compartmentalizing his feelings and focused on his job, even though sometimes they ended in a clusterfuck.

  He noticed Jade flinched when he talked about Sam and noticed that she hadn’t said anything to defend immortals, only offering her condolences at his passing. And he knew that she was sincere, but now her silence was confounding.

  Before he could ask her about it, a gigantic mountain house came into view and he managed to swallow back his surprise at the sheer size of it.

  “This is Kai and Liv’s place.”

  “The vampires.”

  She smiled as he felt as though he’d been sucker-punched in the stomach. As Jade parked, Noah noticed movement coming from the shadows of what he assumed was the front door. A huge dark-haired man stepped from the porch, his arms crossed over his chest.

  Jade stepped out of the car and Noah looked back and forth between the two. He could have sworn they communicated without speaking. It wasn’t through a look. He’d shared many of those with his team over the years. This was full-on communication, he was sure of it.

  But whatever was said had the deadly-looking man dropping his arms and his stance relaxed as he looked at Noah, who had exited the car and stood by the door. He started toward Noah and as much as Noah wanted to tense at the advance, he held himself with his arms loose at his sides.

  “Hi, I’m Kai.” He held out his hand, but before he could take it, Noah noticed a darting movement too fast for his eyes to focus on. He blinked and when he reopened his eyes, a small woman with wildly curly hair appeared at Kai’s side and she was smiling at him.

  Noah shook Kai’s still outstretched hand before he turned to her. “Hi, I’m Noah.”

  Instead of a handshake, she moved in for a hug, taking Noah completely by surprise. Tiny, yet strong arms wrapped around his torso and squeeze once, very gently, before she stepped back and melted into Kai’s embrace. He glanced up to see Jade smiling at him and the couple. Her bright smile relaxed some tension in his chest.

  “I’m Liv. It’s nice to meet you, Noah. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you. It’s nice to meet you both.” And he found that his words held sincerity.

  Kai nodded toward the house. “Ready to meet the rest?”

  Noah nodded, again looking at Jade when Liv broke away from Kai and pulled her in for a hug. Jade closed her eyes and smiled. Liv lingered in Jade’s embrace and Noah could tell these two women cared deeply for each other.

  “I’m not sure I like it dark. I miss your beautiful red hair.”

  Jade laughed. “I know. I miss it too, but I get less attention this way. It’ll fade, eventually, and I’ll go back to the way it was.”

  “You’re beautiful either way.”

  Noah silently agreed with the tiny vampire. He followed them inside and relaxed even further as he took in their comfortable home, but as he glanced around, he sensed danger, and reached out to lock the door behin
d him, earning a strange look from Kai.

  He shrugged, unable to explain that he wanted to have the upper hand if Jade was attacked. He ordered himself to compartmentalize and walked deeper into the house.

  Noah tensed when he spotted a white streak, much smaller than Liv’s had been, head straight for Jade and jumped into her arms. He had to blink and when he opened his eyes, his gaze landed on a baby who looked no older than six months old, nuzzling Jade’s cheek. But mid-caress, the baby paused and sniffed Jade and then the air around her, looking around until his gaze landed on Noah.

  Noah felt affection swell in his chest and he swallowed hard when the baby smiled at him, but then Jade and the baby seemed to be having a conversation, another silent one, and Jade shook her head at something the baby had said. The baby scrunched his face, looking as though he was going to cry, but instead of a verbal outburst, it was as though his head exploded with sound and the word yes was screamed into his head. He wasn’t the only one who flinched at the word.

  Pounding footsteps sounded throughout the house before a man ran into the room. He had the same shock-white hair that matched the unhappy baby and he was followed by a gorgeous brunette, concern etched on both of their faces.

  Apparently everyone heard the same scream in their heads and they flooded the room, all looking equally worried. The men were huge and the women were beautiful, but he moved back to the unhappy baby and found his gaze captured when he spotted the usual sparks in Silas’s eyes.

  The man ran his fingers through his son’s hair. “What’s wrong, little man?”

  I want Jade’s mate.

  Liv gasped and all eyes in the room moved to him. Well, all except Jade’s. He could see a blush on her cheeks before her face was obscured when she turned away from him. Noah understood, a couple of seconds slower than the others, when he stated that Noah was Jade’s mate.

  Noah’s attention jerked back to Jade, but before he could ask her what the little baby meant, he glanced around the room and found all eyes on him.

  “What the—”

  Kai cleared his throat before he could get the last word out. He didn’t even want to think it in case the baby was in his head and listening to what he was thinking. He scoffed at himself, but not five minutes before, the baby spoke to everyone without opening his mouth, so anything was possible.

  Noah barely registered the chuckles from his averted question as he watched the baby being picked up by his father and carried closer to Noah. Noah’s eyes widened when the entire group moved closer to him, but his eyes moved back to the baby and stared into his unusual eyes. He blew out a breath when the group stopped a of couple feet away from him.

  “Hi, Jade’s mate. I’m Xander. This is my mate, Frost, and our little boy, Silas.”

  “I’m Noah Hale.”

  “Would it be okay—”

  Xander couldn’t get his full request out before Noah found himself holding his arms out. Although he wasn’t a danger to anyone in this room, he was a little surprised when Xander and Frost shared a look between them before Xander gently moved Silas into his arms.

  He should have been concerned about the people surrounding him and the baby, but his focus was entirely on the baby boy in his arms and the overwhelming protectiveness he felt for him.

  Hello, Silas. I’m Noah. It’s really nice to meet you. Noah decided to see if his theory was right, if he could talk to Silas with his thoughts.

  A surge of happiness rushed through him, taking him by surprise. Silas smiled at him and Noah felt as though he was given a special gift. At that moment, he could feel Jade’s warmth and presence at his side and could feel himself relax a fraction more with her near.

  So you can read my mind?

  There was a chuckle that echoed in his mind. Of course I can.

  How old are you, Silas?

  I’ll be eight months old in three days.

  I’ve never met someone as brilliant as you are. Are you a shifter, too?

  Silas giggled and snuggled into Noah’s arms. He wondered how this child could trust him so easily, how any of them could. His hostility at Jade and his coldness toward Ghost when he first met the man should have put the group of assassins on edge. Instead, they went back to what they were doing and left him with a very special baby.

  I’m a snow leopard like Daddy and Mommy.

  I would like to see that sometime.

  Jade and I like to run in the mountains when it snows. She hides and I try to find her, and it’s pretty easy with her red fur, but it’s fun anyway.

  Noah looked at Jade and he could sense that although she was reading something on her tablet, she was alert, even in her relaxed state. The scent of peaches reached him again and he had to bite his lip in order to prevent a moan from escaping his throat. Each moment he spent with her, the more he was drawn to her.

  Silas…how do you know that I’m Jade’s mate?

  Your scent matches hers and your colors match. You two are a bright-green color, Daddy and Mommy are bright blue, Kai and Liv are a mix between orange and red, Ara and Reaper are yellow, Seth and Aubrey are pink.

  Noah turned toward Jade. “Did you hear what Silas said, about our colors?”

  Jade shook her head, but before she could speak, a huge blond man trotted over toward Jade to sit down next to her, but Noah let out a growl that stopped him in his tracks. The man let out a loud laugh but moved toward the other side of Jade and dropped onto a comfortable-looking leather chair.

  “Ignore Axel. He likes to rile every one. But no, I didn’t hear. What did Silas say?”

  “Our colors match—we are both bright green. And our scents are compatible.”

  “Colors?” Liv asked.

  Noah repeated the color matches between the immortals, each of their eyes widening when Noah conveyed the information, while Silas snuggled into his chest and giggled at his family’s reactions to this information. The stunned looks around the room was a little funny and Noah found himself chuckling along with Silas.

  I like you.

  Noah glanced down and smiled at Silas. I like you too, little man.

  “Well, that’s new.”

  Noah glanced up to see Xander smiling softly at his son. “What else can he do?”

  “He can erect an invisible shield. We don’t know how far it will reach but it was enough to cover my house and the grounds when we fought the group we’re after now. He’s also strong and can read thoughts from long distances. And he shifted for the first time when he was three months old.” Pride came from Xander and Noah could understand why completely.

  How are you going to protect Jade? You’re human.

  Yes, but I am a highly trained human and I’m here to learn from your family as they prepare me for anything that might come when we do fight.

  Silas placed his hand on Noah’s cheek. Why are you sad?

  Noah looked up and he met Jade’s brilliant green gaze. Again, he found sympathy in her eyes for a man she never knew. She gave him a soft smile and although he still hadn’t figured out how to deal with the information that he was destined for her, he couldn’t deny their connection. He gave her a small smile back before he answered Silas’s question.

  I lost my best friend, Sam. The same immortals that your family fought not too long ago are trying to turn humans into shifters, but it’s not working. Sam died after he was bitten. His heart couldn’t handle the pain.

  Silas surprised him by wrapping his arms around his neck and squeezing. Noah smelled baby powder as Silas gave him comfort, and he knew how wrong he was to judge all immortals by what he’d gone through. Noah slowly wrapped his arms around Silas and took comfort from the little boy.

  I’ll be your friend, Noah. I’m sorry about Sam, but I’ll be here for you.

  Thank you, Silas. I would be happy to be your friend.

  The rest of the assassins scattered, even Axel when Noah cast him a sidelong glance. Jade was the only one who stayed close, and for a reason he couldn’t fathom, he blew
out a relieved breath. Noah knew he was acting like an ass to her, sending her mixed signals, but he knew that at that moment wasn’t the right time to talk to her about it.

  How old are you?

  I’m thirty-three. I just retired from the Navy after fifteen years. Sam and I were going to start a business together but that didn’t go as planned.

  Are your parents around?

  My dad still lives in the small town I grew up south of here, Trinidad, but my mom moved to the east coast after they divorced. I haven’t talked to either of them since I joined the Navy. We never really got along.

  Noah knew that Jade was listening to him. For some reason, Silas included her in the conversation and although he could sense her floating around in his mind, she didn’t speak to either of them. Noah liked that he could share some of his life with her, even if he couldn’t tell her directly.

  Why?

  Silas was curious and Noah found that he didn’t mind answering questions.

  It’s kinda hard to answer. They had my older brother, Steven, and then I came alone two years later. So when we grew up, I depended on my older brother more than my parents and we’re still close, but our parents don’t really contact us and we are fine with that.

  Where does your brother live?

  Steven’s in California. He’s married to his wife, Amy, and works as a financial guy for a tech company out there. We talk every month or so and I know he’s happy.

  Silas patted his cheek and smiled. Noah thought his life had been turned upside down by the information that immortals existed, but meeting Jade and her family, especially little Silas, had lowered his anger. Not enough to forget what the others had done, but enough to know that he would do whatever this group of immortals asked. Their lives were in danger as well, and yet they invited him, a hostile human, into their home and Xander never questioned him with his son. All he knew was that he trusted this group.