Page 3 of Awakened Gifts

I huff while dropping to my side, and he jumps up from the bed, not bothering to put a shirt on as he makes his way to the door that is diagonal from the bedroom. He looks back to make sure I’m wrapped up in the sheet before he opens the door for the army of suits.

Hell. I think I need clothes for this.

“Probably a good idea,” Jase mumbles, apparently not liking what he now hears in their minds.

He comes to shut the door to the bedroom, and I scramble to pull on some clothes as one of the men in the other room starts talking.

“At least fifteen prisoners have escaped from an underground holding facility. We’ve been taking care of them for the past couple of weeks, but two have already been killed,” the guy says, not really making much sense to me.

“And you think it’s linked to the men who held them captive,” Jase replies, either reading their minds or drawing the conclusion for himself.

“Yes. And we want to bring them here. Yorkaine has the most officers right now. These prisoners could help us figure out who took them. There’s another threat becoming more apparent now that the Unaligned have pulled back their war efforts.”

Shit. They’re catching scent of the Scorpions.

“Or the Unaligned could be tracking them and killing them because they were the ones who took them, and they don’t want us knowing what all was done because it could hinder the upcoming peace treaty signing,” Jase counters, sounding incredibly believable.

After smoothing down my hair and making sure I have on enough clothes, I open the door and walk into the room full of important people. Something like this used to intimidate me, but seeing everyone looking to Jase for guidance reminds me who is in charge, and the intimidation factor slinks away quickly.

Jase smirks, not looking at me, but I know that means he’s reading my mind. I really need to work on blocking him out more.

He shakes his head, finally meeting my eyes, and a challenging glint glazes over his pale blues he’s put back into place. I wish he’d keep his true eyes visible. I love feeling him inside and out, and that’s the only way I can.

“Commander,” one man prompts, ending the staring competition we have in place.

Jase breaks the eye contact, and he looks back toward the men.

“Bring the refugees here. I’ll see what I can learn about them and who had them,” he says with that sexy authoritative tone of his.

“They’re on their way now. They should be here within the hour,” a captain says.

Damn. That means our day of celebrating my shiny new ring will have to wait.

Jase stifles a grin, and then he rolls his eyes at me. Drama is happening everyday, but this is my first day of having that small ring of promise that Jase is finally mine. Now I just need one more ring to make it official.

“I’ll grab a shirt and meet you gentlemen downstairs.” Jase’s voice still carries that commanding presence. It’s completely different from the way he talks to me.

They start filtering back through the door without delay, and I start pouting like a child who is watching her candy get locked away.

“You’re adorable when you’re frustrated,” my full blood hybrid teases as he comes to wrap his arms around me.

I thread my fingers through his hair and draw him down for a kiss that makes my toes try to curl. He kisses me harder, his tongue expertly navigating my mouth, arousing me with just that divine touch.

He sighs as he pulls back reluctantly, but he holds me to him while I sulk.

“I’m always frustrated when they make you leave me. I guess you’re going to read the survivors’ minds and find out if it was Scorpion affiliated?”

He nods, not looking any happier about leaving than I am.

“If it is, we need to prepare for this getting out. Right now, your mother is doing good about staying in her place with the children, but if she finds this out—”

“Then she’ll definitely come out of retirement, and she’ll get herself killed by going against that monster,” I interrupt, finishing the sentence the way he would have.

The kids have played an important part in holding back my mother. She knows the threat is out there, but she doesn’t know how much we know about it.

He nods regretfully, and I run a hand through my hair while thinking over the limited options I have. I’ll be glad when this is over.

“So will I,” he grumbles while releasing me. “I’d rather be planning our wedding right now.”

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