Something twisted inside her. No. If she was to go through with this, she had to push Zach into a vault. And lock the door.
It was the only way.
Cara emerged from the darkness beyond the corral. The woman walked straight to Jessie and smiled at her. The lines around the Watcher’s mouth and eyes had vanished.
Out in the corral, Storm raised her head. She hadn’t reacted to Cara, but the mare’s focus was on the back pasture. A form appeared. No mistaking that physique. Jessie thought her heart would pound straight out of her chest.
Cara placed a hand on her shoulder, and a soothing calm swept over her.
“It will be all right. Fate has a way of making you jump before it gives you what you most need.” The older woman patted Jessie’s arm. “He’s a good man.”
Jessie swallowed, and her eyes pricked with tears. “I know.”
Cara passed through the front door, leaving Jessie alone.
Kade stopped at the bottom of the steps. He was dressed in tight jeans and a tee shirt that clung to his upper body.
He’d be sexy in dungarees, Jessie thought. And then realized she had no idea what dungarees really were. It almost caused her to laugh out loud.
Kade’s eyes gleamed gold at her in the darkness as he offered her his hand. “Come with me.” His attempt to speak softly erupted as a hoarse purr.
She rose on trembling legs and took it. Even with her standing a step up, and him on the ground, he was taller than her. His hand was so huge that hers disappeared within it.
The grip was warm but not soft. She felt the calluses along his palm and fingertips. Where the pads formed, after the change.
Strong. Brave. Loyal. He radiated the qualities from every square inch of skin. As though they were the Sabre mantra. And perhaps they were.
When he tugged gently, she followed. He led her back across the yard, past the watchful eyes of the mare, and into the back pasture.
“Where are we going?” Jessie asked. She’d thought they’d go back into the house.
“I have something to show you.” Kade’s voice rumbled low in the darkness. “Watch your step. There are boulders.” He steered her around one.
“I can see them,” Jessie said, surprised. She could. In fact, the entire pasture was clear as day to her, with colors that shouldn’t have been possible.
“Your eyes are already changing,” Kade noted. “Or, you are absorbing it from me with your talent. Hard to know.”
“This is how Weres see?”
“It will get better,” he said.
“It’s amazing.”
He took her to a gate, passed through it, and down a forest path. It wasn’t wide enough for them to walk abreast. He had to let go of her and gestured for her to walk ahead.
“Turn left here.” He pointed to a narrow track—so narrow that the foliage closed in on her as she walked.
“There better not be any poison ivy around here.” She warned.
“Oh, believe me, there is.” Kade had an odd note in his voice. “But you’re immune to it. One benefit of being a Were.”
“I’m not a Were yet.”
“So you might itch for the day.”
She couldn’t help it; she laughed. And then noted that the trees ahead seemed oddly lit, as if the moon had come down to rest among them.
“What—”
