“Hey,” Rhys greeted her. “E was here checking on you. Actually, he hasn’t left, been a pain in the ass since we got back.”
The corner of her mouth quirk up. It’d be good to talk to him. She had missed him, been happy for him, but never expected to be able to just hang out with him again.
Her irritated mate ran a hand through his short hair. “I told them all to wait until you’re ready.”
She arched an eyebrow. All?
He nodded, exasperated that there was so much attention on his cabin. “There’s E, and then Ana wants to meet you. At least she has the sense not to be so damn pushy. Of course, your niece and nephew want to see you. Ronnie’s all casual, but Sarah’s like a yapping Chihuahua.” He gave his head a shake. “Dani’s been by, too, but Dante’s keeping her pretty busy.”
Dani Santini. X had been pretty damn relieved when that girl’s situation rolled out well. A few mental pushes and a pregnant Dani busted her way out of Sigma and ran into the arms of Mercury. Their bond overrode the one Madame G had tried to create with the baby when she impregnated her with Mercury’s semen. Dani and Mercury were happily mated and raising their baby.
X had a role in the lives of many of the humans and shifters who resided at the lodge. Not all of their interactions had been good. While her partner E, her niece and nephew, and Dani might hold X in high regard, there were several others who held a heavy grudge. Just because Bennett’s and Mercury’s mates may not despise X, the shifters each had several scars from fighting with her.
Then there was Jace and Cassie Stockwell. X had befriended Cassie so she could capture the couple and hand them over to Madame G. The only way she helped the pair was to clue Cassie in that in order to break Madame G’s hold over their mating, Cassie would need to stab Jace in the heart with their mating dagger. He resented X for that.
Rhys probably carried the worst of the scars from her. She didn’t use her silver-lined blades when she could get away with it. Against the Guardians, she and E had to fight like Agents. The other Guardians might not be so forgiving, but here was proud and honorable Rhys Fitzsimmons, after all she put him through.
She owed a lot to Rhys. According to him, she owed him nothing; she was his mate, he would do whatever he needed to for her. To say he was a good male would be an understatement. He wouldn’t force their mating, would wait however long she needed him to, and he wouldn’t expect her to put out until she was ready.
Honestly, even after the way she had lived her life for the past twelve years, what she’d done with her body, she wasn’t ready to be intimate with him, no matter how the mouthwatering male made her burn.
What the hell was her problem?
Her problem was that she survived. She had thrown away everything but her family to get to Madame G. There was supposed to be no happily ever after for her.
Yet, here he was, ready to let her into his world. In the kitchen, making her coffee that he didn’t drink. He must’ve smelled it on her during their encounters. Oh wait…There was that one time she threw a cup in his face when the Guardians had her cornered in West Creek and she couldn’t risk shooting at him in public.
“E brought your stuff from the compound. I’ll make some lunch while you shower.” He banged around the kitchen.
X stood up and stretched. “You saying I stink?” Silence. She grinned. “Kidding. I smell atrocious.”
“You smell just fine, Alex” he rumbled from the kitchen. “It’s Madame G’s remnants plastered all over you that are starting to get ripe. Just drop your clothes on the sheet you slept on and I’ll take them out to burn.”
“Does Biggie call himself anything else now?” she called to Rhys while she stripped down.
“Nope. We tried Julio, but everyone got confused about who we were talking about, him or his son. Sometimes we say Esposito but mostly he’s stuck with E.”
Esposito. He’d always be Biggie to her and if he didn’t like it… She suppressed a snicker. If he didn’t like it, he’d know he was screwed.
“How about you?” Rhys asked, his voice barely carrying through the cabin.
She shrugged even though he couldn’t see her. “As long as there’s no ‘Agent’ in front of it.” She left it at that because truth was, she didn’t know.
In case he inquired further, she headed to the bathroom. The question bugged her and she chose avoidance for now.
Holy hot mess, Batman! X examined herself in the mirror. She was nearly healed, but she was covered in dirt, soot, and dried blood. Her hair was tangled in a mass of debris and sticky matter that had long dried. Underneath it all, the scars faded before her eyes, leaving only the ones previously earned from silver-laced weapons.
She jumped into the shower and mused at Rhys’ sparse supplies. Soap. Razor. While he had thought of a lot of stuff for her, like her clothing and the coffee, he was still a dude and clueless as to what a girl needed in the bathroom.
“Hey! Can you bring me my bag?” she shouted as she wet down her hair.
The door opened and he tossed in a bag. If things were different and they were a real couple, she would’ve flashed him or stuck her leg out and invited him in. Or just walked out buck-ass naked and gotten busy with him.
They were supposed to be mates. All they needed was a ceremony to eternally bond them together. They could be a real couple at any time now, but the idea unsettled her. The thought of having sex with him, even as warmth seeped into her center, making her insides smolder for the intense male in the other room, it was…too much. She just couldn’t go there. Not yet.
Wonder what Cassie would say? The human mate of the Guardian, Jace, was a shrink, but fuck if X was going to go to her and lay out her insecurities. She’d figure it out, like everything else in her life.
Murky, dirty water gradually changed to clear as she scrubbed, scraped, and lathered herself back to humanity. Or hybridity.
After drying off, she found scissors and clippers in her bag, and tackled her hair next. Instead of shaving her sides down, she tapered and blended her top into them, leaving the front half longer. They’d do a sassy sweep forward over her forehead, and when she was so inclined, she could still give herself a funky ’do.
Digging around the bag, she found her favorite pair of low-rider jeans and a pink T-shirt that read Howl University.
Time to face the world.
*****
Rhys made sure he was gone when X stepped out of the bathroom. He left her food on the table and hoped she would stay there to eat and wouldn’t roam around without him. But, she’d do whatever the hell she pleased.
He threw the bedding and clothing into the fire pit that was already working overtime with all the gear the Guardians were going through and burning from their search of Sigma’s compound. Rhys headed back into his cabin.
Thank the Sweet Mother. She was sitting with her bare feet up on the kitchen table, the plate next to them already empty. One of his books was in her hands and she was fully engrossed. She looked extremely hot, even in just a simple shirt and jeans, and he liked her new cut. Full of attitude, like her.
Closing the book and tossing it on the table, she raised her brilliant eyes to him. “You want me to do the VIP visits here or out there?”
“Who do you want to talk to first?”
Her expression said no one. “Biggie, I guess.”
She and E had been closer than two people should be without being mates. Hell, even closer than some mated couples he knew. Rhys jutted his chin toward the cabin they renovated for E and his family. “He’s about two hundred yards behind us. Want me to go with?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Nah.” Still, she exuded great reluctance.
X had written off having any life left after Madame G was destroyed. Planning a life afterward was a luxury she hadn’t been able to afford. He couldn’t imagine the mental mind fuck she was in now.
“Holler if you need anything.”
She shot him a thumbs-up and swung her feet down. Then he watched
her hips sway as she sauntered out the door wearing no shoes or socks.
Boss. Council’s calling. Bennett’s voice rolled through his head.
Shit.
He had sent a bare bones report that they terminated the Freemont chapter of the Sigma Network. Didn’t even mention having vampires’ help because he wanted to stall for time. If they found out E was part of his pack, they might demand the former Agent for punishment. But Rhys’ worst fear? If they found out X was here with him. He had no idea what they’d do with her. Likely use the excuse that she was an Agent to execute her and solve their problem of what to do with her.
X wasn’t the only issue. The final battle with Madame G revealed her to be a hybrid in front of many witnesses. The vampires would have just as vested of an interest in her as the shifters. It wouldn’t be long before someone came to the conclusion she might have family. Then, not only would Sarah and Ronnie be in danger, but their hybrid father, X’s brother John King, would be, too.
Be right there, he replied back to his second in command.
Chapter Five
X shifted uncomfortably in the little kitchen of E’s cabin. She, Ana, and her former partner sat awkwardly at the table. After all the, “Hey, howya doing?” and “Can’t believe we survived” shit, there wasn’t a whole lot to say. It was weird. She and E had been to hell and back together, and now they could barely small talk.
Ana thanked her for being E’s lifeline. X waved her off. She liked E’s mate and the love shining between the two of them warmed her heart and made her want to vomit at the same time. Apparently, her lovey-dovey tolerance wasn’t that high after her years with Sigma.
When Julio ran in, X tried not to yell, “Thank the Sweet Mother!” for his distraction.
“Hey X.” he said, his brown eyes shining.
“’Sup dude?” X checked out how much he’d grown since she’d seen him last.
Madame G captured the kid, and she had him altered, just like his daddy. The madam was hoping he’d turn out just like E. And he did, X thought smugly. Goodness radiated off the kid. Though he was lanky and stronger than he knew what to do with, it was obvious his sharp mind, and good upbringing, would become a complete package of badass when he was older.
“Did you see my Lego masterpiece?” Julio darted off, and X waited to see his creation.
“Holy shit!” She had cussed without thinking when he came back, carting a large platform that housed an intricate plastic building block replica of Sigma’s compound. He even built little Agents. The little bodies appeared to be defending the compound, and losing, against tiny wolves. “This is amazing, Julio.”
The boy beamed under her praise.
For once, her mind wasn’t on her past or present, wasn’t trying to ignore her future, but marveled over Julio’s handiwork. All those little figures…she could teach him maneuvers, strategy…
Ana coughed behind her hand, trying not to laugh at X’s stunned reaction.
“He’s got quite the imagination.” Pride filled E’s voice. “He’s got his mother’s mind. I’m trying to get him to try soccer.”
“Maybe later, Dad,” Julio said distractedly, rearranging the little figures.
X smirked at E, who shook his head. The guy was still getting used to being able to be an active father in Julio’s life. But she got the feeling that even if he’d been able to help raise Julio from the very beginning, the two were so different, he still wouldn’t know what to do with the boy.
“I gotta jet. Catch you b—” X stopped herself before saying bitches. She’d already sworn once in front of the kid. “Catch you later.”
Ana’s eyes twinkled as she waved at X. E walked her to the door.
“What now?” he asked.
“Dunno. You?”
He lifted one shoulder and scanned the woods. “Laying low until either council finds out about me.”
“I doubt you have to worry about the vampires. They had their own people undercover, so it won’t be hard for them to believe you’re not a homicidal tool.”
E nodded in agreement. “Demetrius said he’d take care of it. I think with the civil war rising among vampires, they’re content leaving me to be the shifters’ problem.”
X stayed grimly silent for a few heartbeats. “I don’t anticipate they’ll leave me be—either council. I have an ally in Demetrius, but if he’s not the victor…” X sighed. “My parents were in hiding for a reason. They didn’t trust either council and neither do I. They’ll find out about me soon. Then they’ll go looking for John and his kids.”
“Whatever happens, I’m with you, X.” E’s determined gaze met hers.
“No, Biggie. Whatever happens, you finally get to be with Ana and Julio.” E was about to argue, but she gave him a talk-to-the-hand. “They come first. I’m not going to worry about the shitstorm coming my way until I can smell it. By the way, when I get a car, you get to clean it. I totally won the bet about Madame G’s shoes.”
E rolled his eyes. “Prove it.”
“Don’t tell me you didn’t look when I took her down. I know you were in the trees with the rest.”
He narrowed his eyes, trying to hide a smile. “Maybe.”
She gave him a friendly punch in the shoulder before she left and headed out into the woods. Her mind wandered. She had felt edgy when she woke up. After seeing E, the feeling intensified. It was great viewing him in his new little home with his beautiful family. It was everything they had fought for.
So why did she feel so…restless?
Squinting up through the leaves, she headed toward a familiar tract of land that bordered the Guardians’ property. The sun was bright and the air crisp enough that if she stopped, she’d get cold. Her bare feet enjoyed maneuvering through the brittle undergrowth, while her eyes savored the shade of the multicolored autumn leaves.
It was fucking gorgeous. Her heart twisted as an unbidden memory rose. Her father, laughing next to her one late summer day, as they wandered in the trees around the house she’d grown up in. They each had a camera and took pictures of the turning leaves for her vampire mother, since she couldn’t be out in daylight. It hadn’t been significant to her then, just something sweet her father had done for her mother. Now, she marveled at how accepting her dad had been of her mom’s nature. Two beings, from two separate worlds, trying to raise a happy, healthy family.
And they had succeeded, X thought mournfully. Her brother John had found his mate in a human woman who was willing to live in secrecy with him and raise their kids. Some of X’s fondest moments were of running around, playing games with little Sarah and Ron.
Then one dark day, it was all taken away from them.
X frowned, barely noticing where her feet stepped, just following her senses, lost in thought.
She and her parents had been heading back to their house in the country. They had driven far out on nearly forgotten roads to shift and run their wolves without being seen or sensed by others. It was after dark, so her vampire mother could run with them.
The ambush had been sudden and devastating.
Agents rammed their car. Taking advantage of their disorientation, they pumped silver bullets into both of her parents before beheading them. She tried getting away, but an eighteen-year-old stood little chance against trained fighters.
Her mom had just fed from her father after their run and smelled like a shifter. Madame G never suspected X was the hybrid she’d been searching for, just a little shifter prize for her to torment.
Agents hid the murder by burning the bodies in the car, then pushing it deep into the trees. It had all happened in such a remote place, X wondered if they were ever found. Not that whoever found the scene of the crime could make out any details. The Agents had made sure of it.
It had been pure stubbornness that she didn’t cave to Madame G’s every demand those first two years she was captive. Stubbornness and cleverness. She had remained astute enough to hypnotize the males Madame G sent her way and take their blood
. Yes, she could’ve mesmerized them into leaving her alone, but then she would’ve been caught. So she sacrificed her body for her mind.
Why the fuck was she treading down memory lane? Those memories hadn’t plagued her for over a decade.
X strode through woods, making little noise. It was not that she was trying to act like a stalking predator, it was just automatic at this point. She came upon a clearing in the trees and sensed her target working in the gardens.
A straw hat hovered a few feet off the ground as the slight body underneath was picked the last of the harvest.
Sarah Young tensed when she sensed another presence, but the young hybrid straightened with a big smile on her face.
She squealed and ran toward X. “Auntie Allie!”
X couldn’t help but grin. Sarah used to do the same thing when she five. Now twenty years later, it was like nothing had changed.
Her niece flung herself into X’s arms. Laughing sobs were muffled by X’s shirt.
“I’m sorry.” Sarah drew back, wiping at her eyes. “I just didn’t think you’d want to see me.”
X’s brow drew down in confusion. “Why the hell not?”
Sarah blinked. “It’s just that, you know, we wrote you off as dead.”
Pinning the girl with a stern look, she asked, “Do you hold it against me that they went after you, thinking you were the hybrid they were hunting while I was under their nose the whole time?”
“Of course not,” Sarah said horrified.
Her niece sniffled and stood awkwardly, and yeah, this totally was the theme to X’s day. Awkward.
“You’ve really grown, kid.”
Sarah grinned. “Yeah.”
X scanned the little farm that Sarah and her brother cared for. “So…Bennett Young, huh?”
A pretty blush stained Sarah’s obviously happy face. “Yeah.”
“Isn’t he kind of a dick?”
Sarah’s grin widened. “Yeah.” She sounded completely, hopelessly in love.
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