Page 41 of Xander
I’ve never been so scared.When I spotted the dart in your neck, I almost had a heart attack.
I’m sorry.I didn’t—
No, sweetheart.I wouldn’t change a moment between us.It’s him and we have to destroy him, because he’s never getting another chance at you or Silas.
I believe you.I would never leave you two, you are my world.Anzû has had too many failures—he’s going to make his play soon.After five months of waiting and now losing two of his men, he’s going to be looking for payback.And he’s not exactly stable, so when he does attack us, we’ll have to be prepared for underhanded tactics.
Xander beamed at her and kissed her again, before he broke off.She pulled Silas onto her chest as she laid her head on Xander’s shoulder, needing reassurance that her family was fine and Xander wrapped his arms them and squeezed them close.She lost track of time as they listened to Silas’s dreams that he projected out to them.They were happy, full of color and featured those he loved most in the world.Xander and Frost were always together and Silas would focus on them more often than not.
Unfortunately, her stomach rumbled and then she remembered she had missed dinner.
“We should go eat.He’ll be fine up here,” Xander reassured her.
She nodded and they moved an exhausted Silas to his crib.As soon as she lay him down, she felt his barrier surround the house, protecting everyone in it.She smiled at her little man and kissed him on the head, before she turned and reached for Xander’s hand, linking their fingers together, and headed downstairs.
Grateful that the house was crowded, they walked toward the delicious smells and noticed that the table was scattered with platters of food, enough to feed an army, or just enough for nine hungry shifters.When she sat, Ax pushed a plate full of pot roast and vegetables over to her and then Xander.She nodded her thanks and dug in.
“You scared us, Frost.”Liv’s voice shook as she spoke.
Frost pulled the small vampire in for a hug and rubbed her back in reassurance that she was okay.Liv held on tighter than normal for a few seconds, before standing up and smiling at her, blowing out a breath of relief.
“I’m sorry.I heard it long before it hit, but I couldn’t recognize the sound.Trust me, they won’t have a second chance to try it again.”
Xander conveyed Frost’s thoughts about Anzû ramping up his plans, and the assassins started to bandy around ideas.But Frost was too hungry and pissed to care about what the plan might be.She piled seconds on her plate, not eating like this since she’d been pregnant, and felt a pang of sadness.She missed Silas so close, so protected.
But her little man had powers that she would’ve never dreamed anyone could possess.And when her thoughts centered on Silas’s talent to hear someone’s thoughts for a great distance, she spoke aloud.
“What if we get Silas to alert us when Anzû is near?That way, we could ambush him before he gets anywhere near the house and we could still have an advantage to kill him before he comes near Silas.”
“You’re a bit scary when you want revenge,” Hunter mumbled.
Her answering smile was all the response he received, and it wasn’t a nice smile.If she were honest with herself, she knew that she would go after Anzû herself if she knew where she could find him, with or without the help of the assassins.He shouldn’t have gone after her when her son had been near, and that would be his fatal mistake.
“We’ll talk to Silas when he wakes up.But if he alerts us, then will have to be ready in moments.We don’t want him to be able to locate where any of us live in case there’s a small chance he escapes.He seems exactly like to type to abandon his men if it means he gets to save his own skin,” Xander pointed out.
“I’m fine with killing Anzû and anyone else who seeks to destroy us, but I would like to give the other immortals an opportunity to run if they want.”They all agreed with Ghost, that unless they continued fighting long after their leader was dead, they would let the others be.
They continued planning and Frost zoned out, pulling a piece of chocolate cake her way, grateful that she could eat chocolate again.But the assassins looked at her as if she might be pregnant again, and she dispelled them of the notion.
“Nope, no glowing of the skin during sex, and Ax, we’ve had a lot of sex.And since I’m eating chocolate, I know I’m not pregnant.This stuff made me sick to even smell it when I was pregnant.Xander and I haven’t discussed the possibility of another child, but we want to have a chance to spoil Silas rotten without the thought of our upcoming deaths hanging over our heads.But you guys will be the first to know if it happens.Happy?”
They all nodded and went back to their various discussions.When she was finished savoring her cake—and it was good cake—Xander pulled her aside.“I want you to be with Silas and Liv inside the house when we go after Anzû.”
She stared at him, her teeth clenched and her hands fisted at her sides, waiting to see whether he would come to his senses and take back his words.Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
“You’re out of your mind, mate of mine.I will be by your side when we take him out, and Silas will be protected inside this house.He’s not getting a second chance to live after what he put Silas through last night.Do you think I would really sit back and allow Anzû to have a chance to hurt you as well?And see how I’m trying really hard not to curse here?”
Xander threw back his head and laughed.He pulled her close and kissed her, despite the audience in the room having gone suddenly quiet.“And that’s why I love you.You won’t take any shit, not even from me.And I’m sorry, I should have known better.”
Mommy!
With one last kiss on Xander’s cheek, she rushed upstairs.When she spotted Silas standing at the railing of his crib, she smiled at him.She had tried to let go of the anger and the hatred she felt toward a man she’d never formally met, but she must’ve had some residual anger because the moment he saw her, Silas started to cry.He hadn’t cried, ever.Not when he’d been born, or when he’d tripped as a cub and taken a tumble down the last three stairs and into the living room.
“Hey, little man, everything’s okay.”
Her words made him cry harder.She had always called him her little man, and he would smile and hold his arms out for her, but seeing her incapacitated must have truly scared him.
Lifting him in her arms, she cradled him close to her body as she turned toward the rocking chair in the corner and gently sat.She tucked his head in his favorite spot, underneath her chin, and she started humming to him.Something that always calmed him.
