Page 3 of Xander
He nodded as he moved forward, taking her left hand in both of his.
“I really was trying to lead them away, but despite me trying to convince them that they were headed in the wrong direction, they noticed the smaller animals avoiding this area.All animals will always listen to their instincts and stay away from apex predators.”She paused for a long moment, her eyes never leaving his as she explained.“Sorry, I tend to talk a lot when I’m in pain…or nervous.But I got shot in the shoulder and it hurts like hell.”
Xander and Kane chuckled, bringing out a huge smile on Frost’s face.
“There you go.You guys looked so serious for a minute.But seriously, the cold is helping, but my ass is starting to go numb.You don’t talk much, do you?Well, I ramble so that’s why I became a wildlife biologist.So I can talk to the animals instead of getting weird looks from people.If I didn’t see him in his human form, I could’ve sworn the gray wolf thought I was crazy.Although, animals give me about the same confused looks that you guys are giving me now.Huh.”
Xander couldn’t tear his eyes away from her.
“Are you sure she was shot?She’s not really acting like it,” Kane said.
Frost pulled her gaze away from Xander and glanced up, way up, to where Kane stood with his arms crossed, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and jeans with just a pair of tennis shoes on.Xander could tell that her pulse didn’t increase, nor did her pupils widen, as she glanced at Kane.He relaxed until her eyes narrowed a fraction.
“And what do you know about it, Blondie?”
Kane raised one of his eyebrows, too stunned to talk.
“I’ve been running on adrenaline for the past few days, trying to lead these assholes off a cliff while avoiding any evidence I found of animals in the area, but there isn’t a cliff around here that is hidden.So how about we cut me some slack?”
Xander jerked out of his astonishment when she tried to stand.As she spoke to Kane, he traced every inch of her.Beautiful pale skin, plump peach lips, beautiful green-blue eyes, and long, flowing dark hair.But her cry as her movement pulled at her wound had him darting forward, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close.The humming that he hadn’t recognized before faded away abruptly when he touched Frost.She seemed to sense the silence and comfort as well, because she sagged against him, blowing out a relieved breath.
Should I get Liv?Gunnar communicated while still in wolf form.
“Can you point me to the nearest hospital?”Frost grunted with her face pinched in pain.
“No.”Xander’s fierce anger came out of his mouth, before he realized that the harshness might have Frost fear him.Instead, she smiled.
“Yes, Gunnar, can you go and get Liv?”The wolf ran off through the trees as soon as Xander spoke.
Xander lifted her in his arms and walked toward his house, taking care not to jar her too much.But when he spotted a cringe with each step, he cradled her in his arms and it managed to lessen the shock.
“Who’s Liv?Your wife?A doctor?”
Xander’s heart ran a mile a minute because he knew that after searching for years, decades even, that he’d finally found his mate.And she was tough, beautiful, and brilliant.He held her tighter to his body when he started to salivate, already feeling the need to claim her.But putting his selfish needs on hold, he cursed himself because he wasn’t able to protect her.
“No, Liv’s a friend and a vampire.Kai is her husband and mate.”
Frost relaxed in his arms and he continued to explain.
“The blond is Kane—he’s also a vampire.Gunnar is a gray wolf shifter, as you saw.”
“And you’re Xander, who I can somehow communicate with through my mind.Which is completely wicked, by the way.”
He laughed, cutting off the sound, not wanting to jostle her too much.“Yes, and I’m a snow leopard.”
“Huh.”
He glanced down and met her gaze, his eyebrow lifted in a question.
“Well, snow leopards aren’t native to Colorado, but since you’re a shifter, it doesn’t really matter.Hell, I didn’t know that vampires existed outside the teen romance vampire books.Which I’m not admitting that I read.But I did.”She winked at him.
He smiled and held her close.“There are several vampires and shifters around.”
“And they all live in Snowfall?”
“Most of us do.”
“But why Snowfall?Oh, are all of you in the same profession?Please don’t say forest rangers.”
