Jason's Salvation (8 page)

“They will never let her go. She is their mate. But if we get rid of her, they might fall completely apart.”

“Get rid of Eve? Scare her away?”

He gave the cat a nasty look. He was constantly surrounded by idiots. “Kill her. She needs to be dead.”

“That could make them more determined to get at you.”

“There is always a chance that they will fall apart like that worthless uncle of theirs. Purebreds are tied to their mates. It is a weakness.” He shrugged again. “Still, I’m prepared for the fight. With you and the rest of your kind behind me, I should have no problems.”

“You want me to kill her?”

“Yes. Do what you want with her before, but just make sure she is dead in the end.”

Eve felt the brush of something soft move over her cheek the next morning. It wasn’t a finger, because it was too soft. More like a flower petal. She opened her eyes and found Jason smiling down at her. He was twirling a daisy in his fingers.

“Good morning,” he said.

She smiled. The warmth of the morning bed, along with waking up with Jason, made her so happy. “Good morning.”

He returned the smile. It was so good to see it, to see the darkness that seemed to be haunting his eyes gone. “I thought you might sleep the day away.”

“What time is it?” she asked.

“Ten in the morning.”

She looked over at the drapes and noticed the sun peeking through.

“I can’t believe I slept that long.”

“I can. You were very active for some reason last night.”

She laughed. “Well, it is hard to resist a sexy wolf-shifter in bed with me.”

“I hope that was everything you wished for.”

Her heart melted. She reached up and cupped his jaw. “It was.”

It
had
been special. Their night together had been intimate and wonderful. She had felt connected to him on so many levels. It was as if they had moved beyond the physical and emotional to something that could only be described as spiritual. As long as she lived, she would never forget it.

“And I’m pretty sure you worked up an appetite, so I made you some French toast,” he said, nodding to the side table. A tray sat there, with French toast, berries, and a carafe she hoped was full of coffee.

She sat up and gave him a quick, loud kiss. “You are a god. I like you best.”

He laughed. “Well, that’s because I
am
the best.”

He rose and picked up the tray and set it on the bed next to her. After filling her coffee cup up, he handed it to her then poured one for himself.

“So, how did you sleep last night?”

He looked at her from the corner of his eye. “Meaning, did I go out and run around naked?”

She laughed. “You weren’t naked.”

“I was. Or I think I was.”

She took hold of his hand. “We will figure it out. Ethan and I can do some tests here. Worst-case scenario, we go into Anchorage and have you looked at.”

“Oh, that will be wonderful. ‘Excuse me, doctor, but could you check out my shifter lover? He’s been having nightmares about killing animals.’”

“Come on. Tell me. Did you go out last night?”

He shook his head. “Nope. Apparently being in bed with you helps me. So I better just make sure I keep you close.”

He leaned forward and gave her a kiss. “What do you have planned today?”

“I thought maybe I could get a couple of you to take me out. I need to check on some of my wolves.”

He sighed and she could tell he didn’t like it. None of them did, but she did have research to finish. She picked up the plate and started to eat.

“I don’t think that is a good idea.”

“None of you do. But it has been quiet for days now. I know that it isn’t safe for me to go running around by myself. And we will only be out for a little while.”

“What are you planning now?” Noah said from the doorway.

“She wants to go out looking at her wolves.”

“I am right here. I can answer for myself, Dillon.”

Noah’s lips twitched. “Indeed you can. And I see nothing wrong with it. You, Max, and Rand can take her. She will be fine with you all around.”

Jason didn’t look convinced, but since Noah was the Alpha, there was no way for Jason to say no.

“Great. Let me get dressed and I will be ready in twenty minutes.” She gave Jason a kiss and hurried into the bathroom. She didn’t want to give Noah a chance to change his mind.

She shut the door behind her and smiled at herself in the mirror. Lord, she was beyond happy. So in love, so ready to start new in her life, she could not even think of anything that would change her mind.

Knowing she had little time before they started to growl that she was taking too long, she started to clean up. She felt revived with a new sense of purpose, and she wanted to get started on her day as soon as possible.

* * * *

Jason pulled on a pair of jeans while giving his cousin a dirty look.

“Spit it out, Jason.”

“I know we agreed that she could go out, but I have a feeling.”

That stopped Noah. He was studying Jason with that look that always made him want to squirm. They had several years between them, and while he knew that Noah saw him as a man, he still looked up to his cousin.

“A feeling?”

“Yeah. I feel like I’m ready to come out of my skin.”

“Maybe you need to shift?”

“No. It is a different feeling. Like something is waiting around the corner, some other horrible event.”

“That’s because it’s been quiet and we know that something else is going to happen.”

Jason pulled on a flannel shirt and nodded. “We know this isn’t over. Not by a long shot. I just wish I knew what the hell they were after.”

“Power,” Eve said from the doorway.

“What do you mean?” Noah asked.

“He wants to take your place.”

Jason shook his head, confused. “How is he going to do that?”

“If he kills you off, then he can.”

“No. He would have to get people behind him. The other shifters wouldn’t support that.”

She shook her head. “There has been someone helping this guy all along.”

Noah nodded. “But there would have to be enough of the shifters to side with them.”

“The cats have enough, Noah,” Ethan said from the doorway. “They breed like rabbits.”

Jason smiled. “There is that. But they aren’t powerful enough.”

“Don’t ever underestimate the ability of someone to rule through fear,” Eve said. “If they are terrorized and there is no order, there is a good chance shifters would comply. The ones that would fight would end up ruined.”

“Worst-case scenario,” Noah said wryly.

“It’s nothing to joke about,” Jason said.

“No, but today is a nice day, and you have promised Eve some time out today. We can’t solve all our problems today.”

She gave Noah a blinding smile and then turned toward him. Jason felt his heart squeeze tight as a lump grew in his throat. Noah was right. The day was too short to worry about their troubles right now.

“Sounds good,” Jason said, ignoring the niggle of worry in the back of his mind.

Eve drew in a deep breath of air. The first stirrings of spring tickled her nose. The fresh soil along with the melting snow stirred something within her. She knew she didn’t have a scientific reason for it, but the connection she felt with Alaska was growing by the day. No matter where she was, she always felt connected to the Earth.

“You look pretty happy,” Jason said.

She smiled over at him then looked down at that page and made a note. “I am pretty happy. I am outside, the sun is so warm today, and I have three sexy shifters taking care of me. A girl can’t lose with that going on.”

“There is something else there.”

She laughed. “Part of it is that I am happy that you finally opened up to us. I was really worried about you.”

He studied her for a moment as if waiting for something.

“What?” she asked.

“I was waiting for the…shame.”

“Shame?”

“Holding that in, thinking that I had debase myself and the pack. I felt shamed for what I might be doing.”

“Is that was going on in your head?” She shook her head. “Men. Any worries now?”

He smiled and grabbed her. The spontaneous action made her happy beyond words. He snuggled her close. “Nope. Just that sharing my worries with you is what I needed.”

“Have you not shared your worries before?”

He sighed and pulled back so he could look down at her. “I always found it hard to tell people what I was thinking.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean why?”

“It seems like none of you are hiding much, and you share so much.”

“Even you.”

She smiled. “Yes, even me. Why would you keep this from us?”

“I’ve always kept to myself a bit. I love my family, all of them, but being part of a pack has always been sort of overwhelming. I guess that is why I read so much, still do. I usually like to keep to myself.”

“I understand, but why did you keep it from me?”

He drew in a deep breath. “When this started happening, my first worry was that you would find out.”

“And why would that be a problem?”

“I hate to admit my worry was that you would be disgusted. I know I was.”

“I would never be disgusted by something that is part of you. Can’t you see that?”

His lips curved. “I do now.”

“Besides, you didn’t know what was going on, and you were still recovering. Why did you change your mind?”

“I talked to Gabe.”

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Gabe, the bear? The one that doesn’t like anyone?”

“Yeah, he knows a lot more than people give him credit for. We were friends when we were younger. We are both loners in a group of shifters who love to be in large groups. I can handle it at times, but Gabe couldn’t.”

“And now?”

“We’re still friends, but Gabe has grown tired of other breathing beings. If everyone knew we talked, they would bother him more. He tolerates me because we understand each other. People start showing up at his door, he’s not going to be happy with me. I know how to keep my distance and so I guess we are still friends in a way.”

“That’s good. I hate to think that he was living up there all alone, with no friends.”

He chuckled. “I have a feeling that he doesn’t look at it that way, but okay. Are you ready to get home?”

“Yeah. I need something to eat, too. I am really hungry.”

“I’ll call the others up here.”

She nodded. “Okay. I’m going to throw this in the SUV.”

Eve heard his whistle to the others. Max and Rand had kept patrol around the area, making sure they had no problems. She knew they had to be vigilant. She would be so glad when this was over with.

She opened the passenger-side door to the SUV and set her notebook on the front seat. Eve needed to call the grant supervisor to discuss her next report. With her mind full of details, she turned around and found herself face-to-face with a man. No, it was a shifter, one of the cats she had seen several times but never talked to.

“Uh, excuse me,” she said. Her blood was already freezing as a chill slipped down her spine.

“No need to excuse yourself,” he said. “My name is Javier. I have seen you a few times.”

He seemed to inch closer, and she resisted the urge to shout out to the guys. Her instincts were screaming for her to do it, but years of her mother’s rules were ingrained in her.

“I’m Eve.”

He leaned closer, setting his hand on the SUV. “I know who you are, Eve. Everyone does. The head bitch of the Dillon pack.”

She opened her mouth to scream but he pulled out a long hunting knife.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. I think you should think twice about that. I would hate to slice that pretty neck of yours.”

* * * *

Jason and Max walked back down the path to the SUV.

“You shouldn’t have left her alone.”

Jason slanted his brother a glance. “I didn’t. I had eyes on her until Rand came in. If I hadn’t had to come find you, we would be on our way now.”

“There’s something up. Some scent I picked up. Weird.”

Jason felt something urging him to get back to Eve faster. He picked up his speed.

“Hey, Rand can protect her.”

Jason shook his head. They walked around a corner where some higher vegetation grew. They almost stumbled over Rand lying on the ground. There was blood on the back of his head, matted in his hair.

Max crouched down and checked his pulse.