Eternal Embrace (21 page)

“I think so. And for the record? I’m in your world now and plan to stay. Besides, I did good, didn’t I? I mean for my first time and all?”

Grinning, he shook his head before he sobered and stood to scan the area, then turned to her with a signal to move out. They both started walking. She was so quiet, it was like being sneaky. Her sense of smell had grown so intense, she could determine exactly how far the changelings were from them. She could also hear better and thought she detected Viktor’s every footfall.

“You were fantastic. You fried a demon, darlin’.”

At first, she thought Jaxon referred to her new skills as a cat person, but she realised with a surge of happiness that he meant her battle skills. She felt like her face split in a grin, but with her cat features, she wasn’t so sure how she looked. Jaxon’s smile grew, so he must be sneaking into her thoughts more deeply. Or he could read cat body language.

“I sure did. That bitch would not go down!”

“No shit, they never do.”

“What? You could have told me that—”

He stopped her mid-rant with a hand on her head. She scented the changelings closer. Viktor had stopped ahead of them, his head down, seeming to confer with the other Lykae.

“You were scared enough, now—ah, shit, I think we’re here. This better work.”

Chapter Seventeen

Jaxon settled next to Joey on the dirt floor of the cave, making certain that Viktor and the other male Lykae were standing guard between them and the entrance. The changelings surrounded them, all watching him with Joey. None of them had interfered with him bringing her inside. It was almost as if they’d been waiting for them. Still, the dozen or so beasts made him nervous. He had no idea what species they had been prior to the change, and worse, if any of them were Death Stalkers posing as changelings. The intel on the Death Stalker cells and this new, twisted, forced change was limited. Worse, there was no time to figure anything out because Joey needed him.

“Are you certain of this?”

“I am.”

She sounded so normal, so confident. He swallowed tightly, and rubbed his hand over her soft fur. “
You make a beautiful wildcat, like a small snow leopard.”

“Well, thank you, but I’m not staying this way. I think you owe me a real bonding ceremony with chocolate, champagne and cherry burgundy on ice—or you.”

The snap to her tone made him smile. His wildcat. She was so strong, so damn brave. He knew she was in shock, and worse, frightened, but she tried to hide it—for him. Shit, she killed him.
“Right, I can see where this wouldn’t work with that.”

She lifted a small paw, settled it on his chest, right over his heart, and forced him to meet her eyes. Hers burned with an intensity and intelligence that felled him. But what she wanted…

“Jaxon, please, just begin. I’m crawling with nerves here, waiting on you to do this!”

He snorted and rubbed her head.
“Let me first deal with our audience.”

She relaxed back on her four feet, and turned her head to regard the group of changelings.
“Yes, tell them what you’re attempting.”

Feeling worse by the second, Jaxon still spoke to Viktor first. “Vik, get ready to be on guard here.”

Viktor rose from where he’d sprawled out next to them. He tilted his head at Joey, then stared at the wolf next to him, then back to Jaxon.

“Look, she says I have to drain her. She thinks it’s the blood keeping her trapped in the beast form. Well, maybe for you it’s the collar,” he added, with a grin at the two wolves.

Viktor snorted and the other wolf shook his head marginally. Who the guy was, Jaxon didn’t know, but if they could get to a witch, they might get those collars off.

“Just stay focused. This will make her weak, and until I do this, we’re stuck here.”

Viktor nodded. Alongside him, the other wolf did the same. Beyond them, the changelings watched him with eerie silence, from perches all over the silent cave.

“Jaxon. Now, please.”

“Now, hold on to me with your mind.”

“I always will, Jaxon. I always will.”

He didn’t flinch, but sliced her paw deep, hitting the vein beneath the fur quickly. She tensed, but through their bond, she remained steady. He soothed her in her mind as best he could telling her how beautiful she was to him and how much he needed her. In response, she did something that reminded him of her snuggling closer to him, if she could do such a thing in his mind.

“Your mind is amazing, Jax.”

“Really? Did you check out my porn?”

“Oh…porn…”

He loved this woman. She fit him. There’d been a moment back there when they’d worked as one, as if they’d been together centuries instead of mere days. She was his and even more, he could sense he was hers. Gradually, her body grew heavy and limp with the loss of blood.

“That’s it, almost there, then I will give you my blood.”

“Mmm, I feel a bit on display here, Jaxon.”

“I doubt we could get them to leave, Joey. Not now.”

She began to fade and Jaxon calmed his instinctual panic. Pulling her head to his lap with one hand, he bit his other wrist deep, placing the cut at her mouth immediately after and forcing the blood past her lips. She didn’t respond at first until she licked at his flesh and finally sank her fangs in and drew from him. He let her drink for a few more minutes before he gently pulled her from his wrist. “
Joey?”

“Again. It might take two more tries, though.”

He stared at her feline features and pulled her knowledge from their bond. She was convinced this was the only way. Her surety calmed his growing unease, but he still asked,
“Two more?”

“Yes, two more. Can you supply that much blood?”

“Viktor, I’m going to need blood.”

Viktor gave him a look as if he’d lost his mind, but stared at Joey then at him and shook himself.

“Yeah, believe me, I didn’t want to ask.”

“Oh, Jax, I love you so much.”

Shocked, he finally spluttered,
“
This makes you say that? Sharing blood with a mangy wolf?”

“Yes.”

“You’re insane, woman.”

“I know, that’s why you love me.”

“I do, I love you, crazy cat. Now, once more. Same paw, or…?”

“Uh, not paw, and no, different hand.”

“Smartass,” he whispered against her soft fur. She nuzzled his jaw, but he could tell she was anxious and tired. She’d missed two risings, he realised. She had to be exhausted, yet she’d stayed awake throughout both. Settling her more firmly in his arms, he looked at Viktor’s expectant wolf face. “I have to let her bleed once more then give her more blood, that’s where you come in. Either me, or her.”

Viktor snorted, shook his head, then finally nudged Joey, gently Jax noticed, and nodded with exaggerated movements of his head.

“Fine, then. But I’ll have to cut your throat.” He laughed at the look he got from the wolf. “And when we get that collar off, you can tell everyone all about it over bottles of that nasty vodka you try to push on everyone.”

“You like him.”

“He’s a good man. He saved our lives.”

“He did, didn’t he?”

After three more drains, Joey sighed that she thought that would do it. Jaxon tried not to panic, but when nothing happened, when she remained a small, if not beautiful, wildcat, he shook her shoulder lightly.

“I thought this would work!”

Viktor lay nearby, recovering from the blood loss with a wild hare the changelings had brought him. The other wolf was sleeping, he guessed. Both Lykae had donated, and for that, he owed them a huge debt.

The changelings seemed to grow tense around him, and in his arms, Joey started to stir.

“Oh, shit, I can’t quite remember what I looked like!”

“What? How is that fuckin’ possible? Here, just remember your body, how it felt, what it looked like. It’s like stealing all those things, darlin’. You simply will it so. Fix an image of you firmly in your mind and will it. Or use my image of you.”

She concentrated on him, and through their bond, he sensed only the lightest touch of her mind to his. He grinned, and rubbed her back when she thought to him,
“Well, your image of me is nice, my love, I think I’ll use that, but I don’t think you should focus on my breasts so much, huh?”

“Those are my breasts. Make sure you get them right.”

“Jaxon!”

“Shift, damn it! Now!”

In his arms, she shivered, then slowly grew lightweight and before he could panic, she was in his arms, hugging him tight and crying. Naked, he realised after only a second. “Shit, you’re naked!”

Clothes appeared on her, but she didn’t stop crying and he held her, unable to stop the flow of his own tears from screwing with him. “
I thought I’d lost you. I couldn’t fucking think of it, but it was there, always there.”

“I’m so glad you didn’t. I’m so glad you did what I asked. I’m sorry I had to ask you to do that, Jaxon, I really am. If that woman is still around, I can kill her for you if you like.”

“I already did, wildcat.”

“Oh, Jaxon!” She hugged him harder, and the tears she’d managed to slow grew again until he feared she’d get sick. Over him.

“Stop now, Viktor is looking pained, and he’s a big gossip. No doubt he’ll tell Hunter first thing.”

“Stop it, you liar.” She sniffed, though, and rubbed her hand over her eyes, reminding him of a kitten.

“I’m never calling you wildcat again.”

“I liked that,” she managed, sounding like she barely held in another cry.

“All right, wildcat, please stop, because I don’t know how to deal with tears. Break me in a bit slower here, okay?”

“Okay,” she whispered and pressed her face to his neck. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. I always will, but right now, you need to explain to the crowd how you did that, because I think they’re anxious.”

She hugged him harder but nodded, and brushed her fingers through the back of his hair. She froze with a gasp and looked at him.

“What?”

“There’s something in your neck, at your hairline. Bend down, let me see!”

He reached back and touched his neck and sure enough, there was something there. A button-type thing, not flush with his neck, but ridged about a centimetre out from his skin, he thought. Whatever it was, it was circular and alien and clearly not meant to be there. “What is it?”

Around him, the changelings shifted, and even Viktor inspected his neck.

Joey huffed at Vik and the wolf stepped back. As soon as he did, Joey sucked in a shocked breath. “An implant, something…oh, Jaxon this is what is stopping you from shifting. What should we do?”

“Take it fucking out,” he said, giving her a ‘what the fuck’ look.

She scowled at him. “If I do that, it might…hurt you. This thing could go all the way to your brain! Think.”

“
Vampire
, Joey. I’m a vampire. Say it with me, baby,
vampire
.”

Joey sat back on her butt and stared at him for two seconds, then started laughing so hard, she hugged her stomach. “Wise ass. How’s that? Did I say it right?”

“If you’re quite done laughing at my expense, you could take this out.”

“Okay, but it’s going to hurt, I just know it. So far, everything down this rabbit hole has hurt. Even the stupid run through the labyrinth of hell hurt,” she grumbled.

He grinned at Viktor, but kept his mouth shut. She was rightly pissed. He’d dragged her into this world, bonded her under pressure, got her shot then hit with a tiger-wolf drug.

“Joey, just remain focused here and pull the fucker out.”

“Okay, okay, cool your jets, I’m doing it,” she said. She stroked her soft fingers along his neck, tenderly rubbing the muscles to try to ease him, he thought.

“I’m calm, baby, just take it out.”

She gripped the button and her nails rubbed against his skin for a moment, then she yanked, and searing pain flashed down his back and up to the top of his head. Her mouth suddenly settled over the spot and her warm, wet tongue eased the pain, soothing it to a dull throb. She continued to use her mouth, and thoughts of where else he wanted those lips had him stilling her with a hand on hers.

“Good, I’m good.”

“Well, if you get us out of here, you will be. Naughty boy, you want me to pour some of that lovely cherry burgundy on your hard stomach and lick it all the way to your—”

“Joey! Christ!”

“Oh, sorry, are you all better now, vampire?”

“Hard as a rock, so no, not all better.”

“Can you shift?”

He sat forward and pulled her over his shoulder onto his lap. She laughed and perched herself on his leg, happy as he’d ever seen her. “You’re amazing. Let’s see what I can do.” He called to mind his home and a second later, they landed in his bed.

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” She hugged him tight and rolled to her side, kissing the sheets. Then shot to her knees before he could kiss her. “We can’t stay, we need to go back and get the others.”

“On it. Let me get my extra phone and off we go. Watch me shift this time, next time I might let you try.”

“Oh…” She blinked. “I can’t wait to make love to you, Jaxon.”

“Darlin’, I’m going to make love to you all night, and then we’re going to renew those vows, the right way.”

“Oh, Jaxon,” she murmured.

Just a bit longer
, he told himself.
Just a bit longer and you’ll hear that soft, sweet sound in your ear while you rock her world.

Chapter Eighteen

Jax took hold of Joey’s hand and shifted them back to the cavern. In his mind, he sensed her examine what he’d done and her surprise at how simple shifting distance actually was. “
Distance doesn’t matter, baby. You keep the picture of where you want to go in your mind, and then move your body there.”

“It’s still freaky.”

“Most things are,” he told her with a grin.