Page 149 of Mortal Shift
“Now,” Cole said, “we—”
He cut off abruptly and snapped his head round to the right. I turned quickly, my eyes snagging on movement in the foliage. I tracked it as I backed up a step warily, putting myself closer to the remnants of our small pack.
Cole moved quickly, stepping protectively in front of me and partially blocking my view of whatever was coming through the foliage. I wasn’t sure if it was that, or his supernatural senses, that allowed him to detect what was coming for us before I did, but abruptly the tension fell from his shoulders and he straightened.
“What are you doing here, leech?” Jax snarled, stepping forward so that he, too, was in front of me. I stiffened, and then recognized Thaden stepping from between the trees with Thessalia on his flank.
“Relax, pup. We come in peace, and all that crap.” Thaden’s gaze shifted to Cole. “Have you got any idea what’s going on?”
“We don’t answer to the likes of you,” Jax spat, and Thaden’s gaze flicked back to him.
“Careful, or you'll start to test my patience.”
“Knock it off, the pair of you,” I snapped, stepping between the two of them. “We’ve got bigger problems than your dick measuring contest.”
Cole chuckled, and Thaden lifted one shoulder in a shrug. The tension still rolled across Jax’s shoulders, and behind Thaden, I could see Thessalia’s eyes were still like flint.
Great. Just what we needed. There was some unknown creature—or creatures—stalking through the grounds, and we were about two minutes from doing their job for them.
“Jax,” Cole said, a note of warning in his voice. “Peace. We don’t need to picking fights right now.”
“They’re the ones creeping around in the woods,” Jax protested.
“I think you’ll find we’re all creeping around in the woods, p—Jax.” Thaden’s sudden onset of diplomacy didn’t go unnoticed, and Jax dipped his chin in a curt nod.
“Fair point,” he conceded.
“Good,” I said brightly. “Now that that’s done, can we all get on with finding a way not to die?”
“My mate makes an excellent point,” Cole said, and then to Thaden, “What are you doing here?”
An awkwardness flitted across Thaden’s face, and I frowned, trying to decipher whatever it was he wasn't saying, before I gave up I turned my questioning eyes on Thessalia. She wouldn’t have come here willingly—despite our uneasy truce, she wouldn’t be here if she had any other choice.
“My brother needs to feed,” she said stiffly.
“And that’s our problem how?” Jax asked, canting his head with a sneer. I opened my mouth to answer, but Cole beat me to it.
“Out of the question.” His voice was icy, and hostility rolled off him in waves. Jax immediately stiffened, and Thessalia coiled in response. Oh, for fuck’s sake.
“Will you give it a rest? All of you,” I snapped. “None of us is going to have a single drop of blood left if we stand around here all day, waiting for whatever is out there to come and destroy us.”
Cole rumbled his dissatisfaction, and Jax’s eyes roved the shadows uneasily, while Thaden cast a glance over his shoulder. Thessalia was the only one who seemed unaffected by my words, but then, why would she be? There was something she was afraid of more than whatever was out there.
“He didn't feed before the exams to protect you,” she said, locking eyes with me. “He went into his final assessment in a weakened state, so that you would be stronger in yours. Now it’s time to repay the favor.”
“No,” Cole said flatly, and I shot him a dirty look. As much as I liked his protective streak, it wasn't for him to say who did or didn't feed from me, and Thessalia was right; Thaden was in a weakened state right now because of me. He might not be strong enough to survive whatever was out there, and I didn’t need that weighing on my conscience. Sure, there was a time I might have wished that on him, hell, I was sure there was a time I’d wished worse than that on him, but not anymore. On the other hand, Jax didn’t know the full extent of Thaden’s addiction: we’d gone to great pains to keep it from anyone who might threaten Cole’s ally—even his own pack. I twisted, and locked eyes with the vampire.
“Whatever is out there, the more of us who work together, the better our chance of surviving. I’ll let you feed—” I heard Cole growl and ignored him “—and in return you and your sister will fight alongside us until the end of this trial. Deal?”
Cole grabbed my arm and towed me back a step, then dropped his voice to a growl in my ear.
“What the hell do you think you are playing at?”
“He’s too weak to fight right now. Look at him!”
“And if you let him feed, you'll be the one who's too weak to fight.”
“Be sensible,” I hissed. “I’m a human in a supernatural fight. I’m no use to us. This is the only way I can help, so let me help.”
