by R. A. Boyd
Damon stood frozen in his spot as he watched Jax try to breathe life back into their mate. He couldn’t move. Why the fuck couldn’t he move?
Before he even realized what he’d done he was kneeling beside Jax and Cass, taking over for him to give her oxygen as Jax continued to pump her heart along.
How long had she been in the water? How long had it been since Jax had started CPR? How long had it been since they worked together to bring her back? A few seconds? Minutes?
They couldn’t stop.
They would keep this up until they had drained their preternatural strength from their bodies. And then they would die. They would die with her. If God every loved them, ever cared anything for them, The Creator would let them die right here with her.
Damon could hear Audra crying, he could see her beating on the bloodied snow. She was howling. Praying. Screaming.
If they lost Cass any ounce of sanity that was left in their sister would wash away with the flowing water of the creek.
“Guys,” Simon said from behind them.
They ignored him. Kept hoping that the CPR would start her heart again.
“Come on, baby,” Jax said. “Fucking breath!”
“Guys,” Simon repeated. “She’s gone.”
“Fuck you!” Damon roared at him. “Get the fuck back!”
Behind Audra and Simon stood Dean and Neil. Neil, the young man who had tried to save her, was crying. His chest caved in as he breathed. He had felt something for Cass. Jealousy darkened Damon’s vision as he wondered why the fuck Neil was crying so hard for his mate. Their mate.
It was because she was beautiful. Her heart was pure. And even in her broken state over the past two years she had brought some kind of light into Neil’s life when he’d watched her in the market. He would be her friend if they could bring her back. Damon knew this.
But for a brief moment, he didn’t know if they could bring her back. No. He shut that door in his mind. She would come back. She had to.
As he breathed again into her mouth he watched her eyes. Nothing. No life. Even as Jax kept pushing away at her breastbone to make her heart pump oxygenated air through her body, there was nothing. She was gone.
“She’s a strong one, you know,” said a voice from across the creek.
The ghosts knew that voice. That was the last voice of the Heavenly Host they’d heard when they found out they were cursed. The deep, velvety baritone contrasted so greatly with the tall boyish figure that walked soundlessly across the rickety old bridge.
Samael was tall, lithe, beautiful. Exactly what one would think an angel should look like. Lavender eyes sat beneath full, curling, dark lashes. Blond hair so light it was almost grey fell in lovely curls that came just to his collar. He walked through the snow but left no footprints. No puffs of cold air came from his mouth as he breathed, as he talked.
When he stopped he stood over Jax, Damon, and Cass. None of them moved. Only watched Samael as he came to deliver whatever message they had been destined to receive.
Damon took a deep breath and looked down at Cass. His tears fell on her face. It was the first time he’d cried in millennia. “Is this how it ends, Samael? The Angel of Death coming to collect our mate as we watch?”
Audra moved her hands back and forth in the snow, making rippling waved impressions as she went. “Does The Creator hate us so much that we should suffer like this? It was almost over,” she whispered. “Have you come to take… my sister, Samael? Have you?”
Samael looked at each of them, eyes soft and lips pressed together. He clasped his long fingers in front of him, and for the first time, Damon saw that his shirt matched his eyes. “Do you think The Creator hates you? Any of you?” When they didn’t answer he continued. “You were promised something. It will be given to you. She’s so strong, your mate.” He reached down and rubbed a few frozen strands of hair from her face, and then ran his finger along her brow.
With his touch, the sickly pale hue began to drain away from Cass. Her flawless mocha complexion lit back to life and her eyelids fluttered as she began to rouse. A deep groan came from her lips and her body started to convulse has water poured from her mouth.
Her back bowed from the ground, and with a quick start she sat up. She started swinging wildly and landed a punch to Damon’s arm. She was still coughing and struggling to breathe, but she fought.
Samael smiled a closed mouth smile and took a step back. “To the death, she fought.”
As she struggled, Jax pulled her on to his lap and rolled her over to her side to help clear her mouth of the creek water. To still her, Damon held her face in his hands and whispered words to her that no one else but Jax could hear. You’re safe now. We love you. We’re here with you. We will kill all who tried to take you from us.
Her hands latched on to Damon’s as he held her face. She looked at him and all the fight left her body. She allowed him to pull her to his body. She cried. She babbled nonsensical words, but every few sounds she would punch out words like ‘kill’, or ‘dead’, or ‘Heaven’, and it was becoming clear to him.
She knew someone had killed her. She knew she had passed on. She wanted to kill that man.
“She’ll be tired,” Samael said to them. “The memory of her drowning and things she saw while she was dead will pass. That is a kindness to her. And to you.” He looked at her and his face became serious. “You will not be cursed with those thoughts, my beloved. Take her home. Take care of her. Take care of each other. This had to happen. You’ve feared nothing these millions of years. Now, you know fear. Claim that fear and turn it into strength for yourselves.” He looked at them all and then smiled down at Cass as she looked up at him, eyes unblinking. “I’ve watched all of you, and I am so happy this time has come.”
“Are we forgiven?” Jace asked, clear blue eyes almost transparent in the sunlight.
Samael huffed a small laugh and shook his head. “You were always forgiven. You were always loved. You had a lesson to learn, and you learned it.”
Silently, he watched them all and then lowered his eyes to his hands. They watched as he walked toward the snow-covered trees and disappeared from sight.
Chapter 14
Cass sat in her newly built window seat in her room and watched Audra and Simon build a snowman. There were four now, one made every day by Audra herself. It surprised Cass when she saw Simon come over today and help her. Cass hadn’t left the house she now shared with Jax and Damon in six days, and on day two Audra vowed to build her an army of protective snowmen around the perimeter of the house. She started with Cass’s personal space, right under the two rooms that had become her private sanctuary. It was the first thing that had made her laugh. She’d looked down at Audra get that first snowball rolling and listened to her serenade her with a made-up song about sisters.
Even though no one had talked about it, and she hadn’t brought it up, Cass knew that she had died. Someone had murdered her. She could remember the freezing cold water as it enveloped her torso; as it worked its way through her mouth and down her throat. She could remember her lungs burning as they filled with water. She could remember fighting.
Maybe she had been too cocky after she bashed Brennon’s skull in.
After they’d escaped the basement, Neil said that flying with her was the best thing to do. The wolves and bears wouldn’t be able to track her that easily if she didn’t leave tracks and her scent wasn’t in the snow. She’d squeezed her body through that tiny window and high-fived Neil in triumph. Then she turned around as he stripped and changed into the biggest bird she’d ever seen in her life. Before he changed he’d wrapped his shirt around her arms so that his talons wouldn’t cut into her skin. They flew for a few miles, and even though she should have worried that the others would realized they were gone and come after them, Cass had marveled at the picturesque scene. High trees that ran along a long, winding creek that had frozen over on the sides.
They flew above the trees and stayed beside the cre
ek so that if he had to put her down, she could walk through the frigid water so the wolves wouldn’t pick up her scent. She could just see the town coming into view when Brennon’s screech rang through the air to let her murderer know where they were. And then he dived at Neil. But Neil had tried. He pecked at Brennon, the sharp tip of his beak hitting all of Brennon’s important spots. And that son of a bitch’s blood had gotten in her face. It made her happy that he was bleeding.
When she had reached over to stop him from pulling at Neil’s wing, Neil lost his balance and she fell. But as she plummeted back down to Earth, thankfully falling in a pile of soft snow, she watched as they had battled in the sky. Neil was a badass. He’d broken Brennon’s arm and leg, and when the bastard changed back, Cass reveled in the sound of his scream. She wanted to clap joyously when she saw his arm broken in at least two places.
Neil was tired from the fight and tried to pick her up again, and that’s when she noticed he was off balance. He was hurt too. A concussion maybe? She didn’t know, and she felt like grit for not calling to his father’s house these past few days to see how he was doing.
She told him to go and get help. That she would stay close to the creek so they couldn’t track her. Cass watched as he took off and was happy that her people were going to come and get her. She’d started to walk off through the freezing water, but then Brennon started running his mouth about finding her again or killing her family if she allowed herself to be claimed. Cass didn’t think she had murder in her until she heard the cracking of bones as his arm and leg healed. He would follow her. Cass wouldn’t allow that. Especially not after threatening to kill her family.
A rage like she’d never felt before boiled in her middle at the mention of him going after her family. Her mother and father. Her sister. Her Laurel.
She grabbed the biggest thing she could pick up and was surprised at how light the bulky rock felt in her hands. It was as big as her head. As big as Brennon’s head. With a calm that now made her shutter, she lifted it above her head and brought it down as hard as she could on his. Before she landed the first and only blow, she thought she would have to hit him over and over again. That thought alone had made her sick to her stomach, but the resolve in her chest committed her to the act. But it only took one blow. One blow to kill him.
One blow had caved in a portion of his forehead and splattered blood all around them. He had stopped moving. Cass didn’t know how she could tell, but in that instant, he was gone. The next hit she gave to that same spot was an ode to all the horror movies she had seen growing up. Brennon wouldn’t be coming back after this.
Afterward, she’d dropped the stone and moved toward the water. She’d cut herself on a jagged piece of the stone.
As she rinsed her hands in the icy water she had heard heavy breathing behind her, and for a few seconds, she was terrified that she would turn around and see Brennon coming for her. She imagined he would be bleeding from the head with blood and brains seeping out of his face. But it wasn’t.
It was a man, short and powerful looking. His brown eyes reflected in the sunlight. “If boars could Change a human with a bite, you’d be mine,” he’d told her.
The evil slant to his grin had frightened her, and before she could even move to run he was on her.
“No,” Cass whispered, the memory of him dunking her head into the water grabbing hold of her as if it were happening again.
She’d fought but didn’t stand a chance at his strength. His hand held tight in her hair as he held her under. He hadn’t spoken while he killed her. Hell, he only used one hand to do the deed.
Cass wiped at the tears that were running down her face now. She held her hand over her mouth so that no sobs would escape her. She didn’t want to upset Audra with her cries. “No,” she sighed again. “No more tears for that.”
She closed her eyes and tried to let go of the memories. They were fading, just like that man had said they would. That angel. He’d promised she would forget as time went on. He was right. At least now she could sleep through the night without waking up with screams pouring out of her mouth, clawing at Damon and Jax as they tried to soothe her. But she could still see his face. That was clear to her.
That bastard better run, because as soon as her mates had changed her she was going to go hunting.
Her clan had already tracked down most of the shifters that were in on her kidnapping. Neil had gotten a good look at all of them that were there at the hunting lodge, and Dean had used his rank as Alpha to command more names out of the betrayers in his group. As far as they knew there were only three more traders in the wind who they had yet to catch.
“Once you’re up to it,” Damon had said to her a few days before, “we’re going to hold a meeting with the local shifters and clear things up. Tell them where we stand.”
Once she was up to it. Damon and Jax had been there for her. They didn’t crowd her. Damon knew exactly when she wanted to be alone or when she needed them to be with her.
An unexpected laugh bubbled up Cass’s throat as Audra took the nose meant for the snowman and put it where his dick should be. “This is Neil,” Audra screamed from outside, making Cass laugh so hard fresh tears appeared in her eyes. “He’s going to make some woman really happy one day.”
Simon stole Cass’s attention as he started hip-thrusting at one of the snowlady’s that Audra had made a few days ago. “Boy probably doesn’t even know how to use it yet.” He smacked at the hind part of the snowlady, swishing the red tutu back and forth as his hand flew past it.
Cass’s entire chest shook with laughter. She wiped away the happy tears and pulled her robe closer around her body. “Thank you,” she said to them as they smiled up at her from the yard.
She was about to turn from the window and get back into bed when she heard Simon scream, “Damn-it, Audra.”
Audra was now on Simon’s back. She must have run and jumped on him with no warning. “Gimme a ride home, brother.” She kicked her feet as if she were trying to make a horse go where she wanted it to, and hollered, “Mush!”
She smiled again and felt a weightlessness in her chest. She was ready.
“Jax and Damon,” Cass said in a normal tone as she sat on her bed, naked as the day she was born. “Come here, please.”
She was ready. Cass was going to ask them to claim her today. Not because she wanted revenge, well not just because she wanted revenge on that bastard, but because she was ready to be part of their clan. She was ready to see what was in store for them and how it would affect the lives of the rest of this group.
They’d healed her. They had filled in some part of Cass that had been missing for so long. And she was ready now. Ready to make a home in this small community of ghost shifters. Ready to grow and become whoever the heck she was supposed to become as the third in their Alpha Triad.
Jax and Damon hadn’t said anything but they were ready too. They all were.
A soft knock sounded at the door and she stood as she told them to come inside.
She could see the shock on their faces. Shock and longing. And she didn’t feel hesitant. She never did when it came to them. Despite the extra fold that brought a full roll to her stomach and the thickness of her thighs that left no gap for sunlight to filter through, she felt sexy in their adoring gaze.
“It’s time for you to claim me.” She held her head high and looked into their eyes.
They’d been careful around her since they’d brought her home, thinking she was too fragile to deal with what had happened. They were right. She had needed time to settle into the fact that this was the life she would be brought into. It was violent. That was the way of shifters. The ravens, falcons, boars, bears, and all the rest of the packs and clans out there. This was going to be a violent life. Not all the time, though.
But either way, she felt safe. She would be part of the biggest, most ferocious shifters of them all. The saber-tooth cats.
“We don’t need to rush this—” Damon began
, but she put her hand up to quiet him.
“You’re not rushing me. This is what I want. I want you. The both of you. Now.”
A sexy smile curved Jax’s full lips. “Whatever you want.”
They both walked forward, but Jax reached her first. He hooked a finger under her chin and brought her kiss to his lips. Cass swallowed back a moan and leaned into Jax as Damon moved behind her. He left a fiery trail of kisses over her shoulder and down her back, and when she glanced back at him he was already naked. The hard bar of his cock pressed against her back. She rubbed her body against Damon’s as Jax brought her attention back to him. He kissed the corner of her mouth and then let his tongue slide against her lips.
She was kissing the ceiling with how high they made her feel. Damon’s kiss ran up and down her back and his firm hands massaged her ass.
Jax moved his hands up the sensitive flesh of her waist until his hands cupped her breasts. “Your nipples are fucking perfect,” he said as his thumbs drew lazy circles around them. He pushed them together, stooped down and sucked both the hard peaks into his mouth.
Cass’s head fell back as liquid heat rushed to her core from the warmth of this mouth. His tongue danced along the delicate nubs, and she pushed her breasts further into his hands. He stopped sucking and flicked his tongue against them.
She had to slow down her breathing. Her lips were drying from the heavy pants and she was getting lightheaded. Damon sat down on the bed and kissed the soft globes of her ass. He kneaded them and pinched them as Jax focused on her breasts. She gasped and when she looked down into Jax’s eyes they were as bright as the shining sun.
Damon gripped her cheeks tight and then held her them apart. He licked at her tight, puckered hole and Cass almost lost it. She let loose a string of curse words when Jax cupped her sex and ran his fingers along her drenched slit.
“Your pussy is calling for me to taste it,” Jax said as he dropped to his knees. He took her leg and draped her thigh over his shoulder.
