Caden chuckled softly. “You don’t have to put on a face for us, Lex, but don’t hide away with your sadness.”
“Just give me today.”
Caden left; she saw him pause in the doorway and say something to Lincoln. She smiled briefly thinking how Lincoln always thought maybe Caden could get through to her, maybe he just had no idea what to do. Lincoln slipped quietly into bed a little while later. She rolled over and snuggled into him and felt the tension go from his muscles. “I’ll be okay, Linc, don’t worry.”
He pressed a gentle kiss to her hair and they fell to sleep, Lexia safe in his arms.
When Lexia walked into the kitchen the next morning, Lincoln and Caden had been arguing in hushed whispers; the moment the door started to open they shut up. Pouring a coffee, Lexia sat across from them. She said nothing, just eyed them both curiously whilst sipping her coffee.
Lincoln sat across from her, Caden by his side; his eyes were completely panther and had a deadly edge to them, like at any moment the cat would burst from his skin. Caden’s eyes kept glancing at him; he was on edge, too, as if waiting for the moment Lincoln would strike.
“What’s going on?” she asked, sipping more coffee, her eyes looking from one man to the next.
No one answered. “I know something is going on! I heard you arguing, you’re not the only ones in the house with good hearing... So are you going to tell me or do I have to beat it out of you?”
Lincoln looked up at her, a guarded look in his eyes. “Nothing, Lex, everything is fine.”
“Don’t lie to me,” Lexia snapped, which made Lincoln’s panther eyes flash deadlier.
“Lincoln doesn’t do well confined,” said Caden, glancing again at Lincoln.
“Why do you always speak in riddles? Just give me it straight!”
“Look, it’s nothing, Lexia, don’t worry,” Lincoln interrupted.
“Damn it, Linc, do you think I can’t see the panther in your eyes, do you really think I can’t feel the danger coming off you? That I can’t feel you inside me like a wild force ready to blow!”
The moment Lexia said ‘feel you inside me’ Lincoln’s eyes lit up. “What do you mean, ‘feel me inside you?’”
Lexia frowned at his question; she’d not really put much thought into what she meant by that. Her hand rubbed absently over the center of her chest. “Stop changing subjects! What does Caden mean by you don’t do well confined?” she glared at Lincoln and then Caden.
Lincoln sighed, “I’ve never been able to live in cities long, keep from shifting long.”
“But I don’t understand, Caden lives here and he’s a cat, too.”
“Some shifters are closer to the nature of their beasts, Lincoln is one of them,” Caden answered.
“What will happen if we stay here?”
“Nothing, I’m fine,” said Lincoln. Lexia glared at him and looked at Caden.
“He’ll lose control, it’s why he’s always lived in the forests and travelled. He’s just not made for the city.”
“Then we’ll leave; Lincoln you can’t sit here going mad until we decide our next move and we need to go anyway, I’m not hiding at Caden’s forever!”
“No, Lexia, it’s too dangerous. We can’t just go running off without thinking things through, I can control it.”
“Can you? Seems to me it’s just as dangerous as sitting around here waiting for you to go panther and tear us to shreds,” Lexia said through clenched teeth.
“I’d never-“ Caden cut him off. “You could just go away for a few days, I’ll keep her safe.”
Lincoln growled, the sound reverberating off the walls. “Fine!” he said, folding his arms. “Now back to you feeling me inside of you!” Deadly panther eyes held Lexia’s and she gulped, trapped in a predator’s snare.
“I didn’t mean anything by it... Just that I can feel you, so wound up and on edge,” she mumbled.
“But you said you could feel me inside of you!”
“What are you getting at? I love you, of course you’re a part of me.”Lexia felt confused, as if Lincoln was trying to ask her something but not being direct.
“Can I just cut in?” Caden asked. When he only received silent glares, he continued, “I think what Linc is trying to ask you, Lex, is can you feel the mating bond?”
“What do you mean ‘bond?’” Lexia mumbled.
“You’re my mate,” Lincoln said, like that explained everything.
Caden huffed, “Really, Lincoln, you should explain shifter ways more to Lexia instead of leaving her in the dark because you’re afraid of how she will react.”
Lincoln snarled at his friend, pushed his chair away from the table and then started to pace.
“Okay, now I’m completely lost. When he says I’m his mate, it’s more than just a shifter word for girlfriend?”
Caden laughed, “It means far more than that, Lex. When a shifter mates, they mate for life. A bond is formed between the two and if either of them dies... Well, normally the mate left behind dies shortly after.”
“Okay...” Lexia’s heart had started to pick up speed.
“I think Linc always assumed that you couldn’t feel the bond because... Well, you’re not a shifter, you’re a Hunter and your DNA is something altogether new.”
Lexia looked at Linc and thought about how to explain what she felt to him; yes she’d felt a bond between them from the first moment she’d laid eyes on the panther there had just been something that always stopped her from wanting to hurt him. Was that the bond? Was the way she always knew how he was feeling the bond? She’d just thought that they loved each other, that they were connected but not in a physical way.
“I can always feel you, Linc. Inside of me, in my heart, this light, this love so strong it always brings me back from the dark, I know when you’re sad or worried, I just never thought more about it...”
Lincoln stopped his pacing and turned, the wild edge of him soothed for a minute as he walked towards her and claimed a fierce kiss. “Mine,” he whispered, “you are mine.”
But they couldn’t ignore the fact that his beast was getting too strong and so close to the surface. He was becoming a danger to those he loved so that night Lexia found herself standing in the doorway saying goodbye. When she’d told him to go she’d not anticipated how hard it would be letting him leave. He kissed her fiercely making her want to lock him in the bedroom. “Bye,” she said.
“I’ll be back in a few days, baby; stay indoors.” Then he turned and left. Lexia ran to the front of the house and watched the street; she saw the glint of gold panther eyes before they disappeared into the dark night.
Lexia sighed deeply, she could handle a few days without him.
“Shall we order in tea?” Caden asked.
Lexia pulled her eyes away from the window. “Sure, you pick.”
She stood at the window a few moments longer and the hairs on the back of her neck prickled. Rubbing her neck, Lexia glanced one last time outside but saw nothing. She stepped away and flopped onto the sofa putting it down to missing Lincoln.
Later that night full from her takeaway, Lexia drifted off to sleep in front of the TV. She didn’t want to go to bed because she knew the second she reached the empty room and got into bed she’d lay there all night thinking of Lincoln, running wild and free into the Black Hills.
Caden picked Lexia’s sleeping frame up from the sofa and carried her to bed; she stirred slightly, murmuring for Lincoln but never woke. He watched her as she rolled over and clutched Lincoln’s pillow. He wondered what it was about Lexia that drew out the protective needs of his leopard. How had one girl managed to have two grown men completely devoted to her? He’d give his life to protect her, and even though she seemed so strong and invincible, on the inside Lexia was just a girl, lost and struggling to deal with what life had thrown at her.
“Good night, Lexia,” he whispered, closing the door.
Chapter 12
Lexia woke with a start as she reali
zed she was not alone, but the Hunter in her had kicked in too late and she had no time to react before she felt the sharp stab of a needle going into her skin. Almost instantly she felt a heavy feeling spread throughout her body. She fought against the man trying to get her and knocked him to the floor but as she scrambled out of bed to run from the room, her legs gave way and her head swam as whatever he’d injected her with took effect.
“She’s alone,” another man grunted as he entered the bedroom.
“That drug worked a treat, Lucy will be pleased.”
Somewhere in the thick fog of Lexia’s mind, she started to panic and fight against the drugs shutting her body down. Lucy’s come for me!
The two men grabbed Lexia’s feet and arms and started to carry her from the room. Lexia’s head cleared a little and she struggled against them but it was no use; her muscles felt so weak they didn’t respond properly to her desperate commands.
“Didn’t last very long, how we going to keep her under control in the car?”
“Stick her in the trunk.”
“Lucy will love that.”
“Well she should have made the drug stronger then.”
Their rough voices penetrated through her mind forcing her legs to respond. No way am I going in a trunk!
“Shit,” one of them swore as Lexia kicked a leg free.
Lexia kept up her struggles as they descended the stairs and as they got halfway, she sensed Caden hiding in the shadows; she smiled to herself pulling her leg free again. I’m not alone.
Caden crouched low in the shadows waiting for the perfect moment to strike; he saw Lexia lock eyes with him as she struggled to get free from their hold. He wondered what it was that made her so different from these two Hunters; essentially they came from the same DNA but Lexia had come out of it with her humanity and extra senses. They didn’t know what was coming; they didn’t feel the danger that lurked in the shadows
Caden leapt as the Hunter holding her feet stepped from the last step; he didn’t even have time to call out before his sharp predator teeth sank into his neck. He felt the rush of warm blood filling his mouth, exciting the beast within, creating feelings that he’d not felt in a very long time and as he heard the crunch from the neck breaking, he dropped him to the floor.
He turned, ready to fight the other Hunter but as he twisted around, he heard the muffled sound of a gunshot and felt raging hot fire tear through his flesh as the bullet hit him.
“Caden!” Lexia cried, scrambling to her feet; she stumbled down the stairs and reached Caden as he shifted back to human form. The Hunter that shot him ran from the room.
“Caden, oh God.”
“Lexia, go! Stop him from reporting back.”
Lexia stood frozen for a second as her still-foggy brain struggled with what to do. Caden had been shot, she couldn’t just leave him but if Lucy found out her exact whereabouts she’d have a whole army here by sunrise.
“Go!” Caden gasped.
Lexia ran out of the house; her head still felt fuzzy and her arms and legs felt heavy but the drug had worn off enough for her to catch up with the fleeing Hunter. He looked behind him and his eyes widened in fear as he spotted her approaching. She forced her legs to move faster and when she was a few feet behind him, Lexia jumped.
He fell to the floor with a grunt, Lexia’s knees digging into his back; she grasped his head and twisted until it snapped.
“Back to reality,” Lexia grumbled to herself as she got to her feet and bent to lift him over her shoulder. She hurried back to Caden’s quickly, hoping no one saw her. She could feel the Hunter powers still raging through her blood; it craved more death. She found herself worrying again about what would happen if she ever lost control, if she never came back from the darkness of her Hunter side. What would happen if she stopped killing the Hunters and joined them?
As she walked into the house, the metallic smell of blood lingered in the air and she dropped the dead Hunter and ran to where she’d left Caden but he wasn’t there. She followed the drips of blood to his home office to find him collapsed on the floor.
“Caden!” He stirred when she called his name and her heart started to thunder in her chest as she looked at him; deathly pale with a dark pool of blood spreading out around him.
“Lexia, the bullet....... get it out,” he rasped.
“Oh god Caden... I...”
“Lexia you can do it, get it out and seal the wound,” he whispered before falling silent.
“Caden! Caden?” Lexia looked around her in panic, the room was a jumble of chaos; stacks of books and paperwork littered every surface but in the far corner sat a bed, pristinely clean and next to that all the things Caden would ever need in an emergency. He always kept that area in order for when something like this happened.
“Oh god, Doc, wake up,” she said in a trembling voice, looking back at his shoulder; the seeping red blood a stark contrast to his pale skin. You’re supposed to fix us up, not the other way around!
With her heart trying to beat out of her chest and hands trembling, Lexia carefully picked him up and carried him over to the bed. She opened the drawers looking for gauze, and pressing it hard over the bullet hole, Lexia took a deep breath and tried to get her emotions in check.
“Okay, I can do this.” Lexia ran to the sink and washed her hands then she ran back to him and delved her hands into his torn flesh.
Tears started to spill from her eyes when she realized the bullet was too deep and she would have to dig it out. She was all alone, no one was coming to rescue her, and all the power in the world couldn’t help her here. She couldn’t kick and punch her way out of this one and all the Hunter fearlessness had left her system the moment she’d laid eyes on Caden.
Lexia rummaged through the drawers and found an instrument with a long narrow tip; she hoped they could dig deep enough to get the bullet. She imagined Caden wasn’t on the bed and that he stood next to her telling her what to do. His cool calm voice entered her mind and she knew she could do this. She didn’t need her Hunter strength to do this; she’d always been strong, always took care of herself, she didn’t need rescuing, she was going to rescue herself.
When Lexia finally finished, she wrapped Caden in a blanket and fell to sleep at his side. That night she was haunted again in her sleep. The faces of the dead taunted her and there was no escape; the face of every person she’d killed battered her again and again but no matter how hard she screamed and willed herself to wake up, she never could. Lexia thought that was her punishment for the death she’d committed, it was what she deserved.
She woke with a start, someone was in the house. Lexia stood listening to the sounds around her; the night was still dark outside and the birds hadn’t risen yet so she guessed it was maybe 3am. Caden slept soundly, the color had returned to his face and the bandage was still clean. Please be okay.
Leaving Caden sleeping, Lexia slipped from the room and headed towards the sound. As she glanced into the front room she spotted her knife laying at the end of the sofa but she froze as she stepped through the doorway because a Hunter had just walked into the room on the other side.
Their eyes locked for a second before Lexia dove for the knife. He landed on her as her hand gripped the cool silver. His large heavy body pinned her to the floor whilst he tried to pin her hands. Lexia struggled beneath him and brought the hilt of her blade down on his head. He grunted in pain, his hold on her loosening for a second giving Lexia the chance to push him off. She jumped to her feet and came at him with the sharp edge of her knife, slicing across his body, splashing crimson spots across the wall. He took a step towards her but Lexia had already brought her hand back and thrust it forward sending her knife through his chest.
Lexia didn’t have time to think about another death delivered by her hands because all her senses went on red alert and as she ran to close the front door she realized why. Looking at her, now framed in the doorway, was Derrick. His gold eyes alight with an unknown emotion, Lexia
slowly started to close the door not taking her eyes from his face but he didn’t move a muscle, just stared as if trying to tell her something.
The spell was broken as a women walked between them. He looked at her as she talked to him and Lexia locked the door. She hurried to the front window and peered out at the early morning street full of Hunters; Lexia could see ten men and two women and they all looked to Derrick for an order.
Lexia’s heart started to race again as the situation started to sink in: Caden was hurt, Lincoln was gone, and she was the only person that stood between the Hunters and Caden’s death. She ran up the stairs, blindly throwing clothes into a bag. Pulling off her shorts she dragged on some jeans that were tossed on the floor and then she started to strap weapons to her body. As she ran from the room Lexia stuffed the box her dad had left her into the bag and zipped it up.
Silently she ran through the house back to Caden, a gun held tight in her hand. He was still asleep where she’d left him, completely oblivious to the threat brewing outside.
“Caden, wake up! Doc, come on, we need to move.” His eyes slowly opened, focusing on her face.
“Lex?”
“Hunters outside. I’m so sorry but you need to get up now! Here I brought you some clothes.”
Caden looked at her a second longer in confusion before slowly sitting up; he winced in pain, biting his lip to keep from moaning.
“There’re too many of them, I can’t be sure I could kill them all and they will just kill you Caden, I... I, I can’t kill them.”
“It’s okay, Lexia.”
Caden got to his feet, careful not to jar his shoulder; he walked to the wall and moved aside a photo frame.
“They’re here Caden, what are you doing?” She walked to the door and stood waiting, gun ready to fire.
“I’ve been waiting for this day to arrive so I packed all the money and documents I would need to start again.”
“What! Caden you’ll be back, don’t say that.”
“As soon as you start to fire that gun, the police will be all over this place. It’s okay, Lexia, I knew what I was signing up for.”
Whispers of Darkness (The Deadwood Hunter Series) Page 7
