Her Mortal Mate

Chapter Fifty Three: Hands Are Bound

Jadea

"Jay. We should get out of here," Garret's voice ripped me back out of my stupor.

"We aren't out of the frying pan just yet," Blade reminded me.

No, we most definitely weren't. Harley and his pack, along with others, were out there somewhere in all the chaos waiting for their chance to happen upon us and take us out. And I doubted they would be forgiving after I’d killed Ryland. I doubted Harley and Hans were fond of the alpha, but he was blood family. He was one of the sons Hans had kept, which meant he had been valuable in other ways.

Hans had lost a lot today. The gloves were bound to come off and his goals of taking prisoners would change to killing everyone who defied him.

Shoving all of the confusing thoughts and emotions out of my head, I focused on the situation at hand. "Derrick, Garret, I want you to go on ahead of us. If you can access our hotel room, gather the bare necessities. The go pack. Chargers. Tech. The important things. Leave everything else."

"Yes ma'am," Derrick saluted right before he and Garret turned and started to run.

"Meet us on the left side of the building, where that little alleyway is between the apartments and the hotel," I called out in their minds. “Blade, Briar. I need you to keep an eye out for a mode of transportation. Preferrably a motorcycle. We will need something that can maneuver through traffic." Something I could take onto the sidewalk and between vehicles if I needed to. Adam and I would be on the vehicle while the others would be in their wolf forms.

Right now, all we needed to focus on was getting out of the city ASAP without being confronted by any of Hans's subordinate packs. It didn't really matter where we went. That could be figured out once we were on the move.

"Adam," I turned to him as the twins went to search the vicinity. I interwove my fingers with his, my gaze softly holding his stormy blue eyes. "I know you aren't okay, so I promise I won't ask that question," I stated feeling his tumultuous emotions. "I'm sorry today has gone down so terribly and unexpectedly. Usually, the immortal world isn’t under attack by a demon lord. I know what I'm about to ask is going to be a lot and I'm sorry. I need you to continue being strong. I need you to hold it together just a little longer, even if you feel like crumbling. I will get you out of here safely. I promise you will see your littles again—

Adam shifted unexpectedly and pulled me into him, his lips crushing mine with bruising force.

“Baby girl, I’d follow you into fire and to the very ends of the earth if I had to. I know our past was rocky. I know back in the day I would have been mentally and emotionally crushed by all of this. I’m stronger now because you gave me the tools and purpose to become a better and stronger man. Even though I’m a bit overwhelmed, I’ll be okay as long as I have you.” His fingers traced down my cheek. “What I’m worried about is you.” His hand continued down until his fingers hovered over my seeping wound. “What I need from you is a promise to take care of yourself too. Your pack needs you. Anika and Aidan need you. I need you.”

For some reason my throat became thick with tears at his reassurances. I really wanted to believe he was okay. That he wouldn’t change his mind. But that’s what happened last year… After his daughter was kidnapped by Valdis, he had lashed out in anger and fear. Things had been said and they’d hurt like hell. They had cut deep wounds in my heart. While I had ultimately been the one to verbally break the relationship, he hadn’t been ready to commit to a life in my world. He had already emotionally detached himself.

Even though he said he was ready to join me now, I couldn’t stop myself from doubting and fearing that there would be a time when he realized my world was too much for him. I feared the time he would leave. That he would decide he and his family were safer and better without me.

“Jadea,” his voice pulled me out of my silent tumultuous thoughts. “Im not going to run away. Not this time. We need to get moving, don’t we?”

Yes. We did.

He refocused me and I took his hand in a firm grip and started jogging towards the hotel.

“Damn!” He panted. “I’m realizing just how out of shape I am. But you are bound and determined to make sure I reach my fitness goals. I’ll be able to run a marathon in just a few short weeks at this pace,” he chuckled in my mind.

While I was amused by his banter, my focus had shifted to Blade and Briar. “Any luck?”

“I’ve got a Harley Fat Boy,” Blade announced.

Not the best for having two riders but it would do.

“It was abandoned on its side. Keys are in it. I’m looking it over for any damages that could be catastrophic if ridden.”

“Good job. Keep me updated. Garret, how are you guys doing?”

“We got in the building. We are almost at our floor. It’s a little slow because we had to use the stairs for obvious reasons.”

Perfect! We would be on the road soon.

Right as Adam and I made it to the little alleyway, my father’s presence was suddenly in my mind. “Jadea, are you safe? Did you make it out of the cavern?”

Instant relief washed through me. Knowing he was alive and had survived Leviathan relieved some of the anxiety in my chest. “Yes. We all made it out. There were some complications and we aren’t entirely out of danger.” I opened my mind to him and showed him what I meant.

“Head back to Lance’s,” he commanded. “There’s a lot that has happened and some emergencies we need to see to immediately. It will be crowded as a forewarning. Constance and her Imperium Guard are here.”

“What kind of emergencies?”

“The kind that hold this world’s fate.”

No pressure. None at all.

“The kind that I’ve pulled my pack out of retirement for.”

I took a deep breath to help calm my racing heart, trying to keep focused and not be overwhelmed by the entire nightmare of today. There had been plenty of emergencies over the years, and there hadn’t been one he had called his pack to arms over. Whatever was going down was really bad. “If it would be better, should one of the demons come and teleport us directly there? It would be faster—

“No. Constance needs everyone here. She has Balthazar on sight.”

What!? That was odd. “I thought they’d locked him away in purgatory?” Why would they pull him out? That seemed very rash and dangerous. Balthazar was a hybrid halfbreed. He was a half demon half dragon and extraordinarily powerful being. In his very long history on this earth he had become a Phoenix, had fallen and had become the arch nemesis of two Imperium Guards. The damn immortal was as evil as they came, sly to boot and nearly impossible to contain let alone kill.

“It’s complicated, Jadea.”

“What do you mean by complicated!? He is the only one who can destroy the Imperium Guard!”

“He won’t destroy them and he isn’t the only enemy who has risen up in defiance of the Phoenixes.”

No, he wasn’t the only one. He had created the second leader of the Eschaton Guard. They called him Cerberus because he was an immortal Frankenstein. Three different souls had been fused to make him: Balthazar; Victor, a dark and malicious vampire; and Camael, a fallen archangel.“His word means s**t and you know it! Constance knows it!”

“Damn it Jadea! There was a complication even the Phoenix herself never saw coming.” Lucien fairly growled in my mind.

“What kind of complication would ever give her the right to bring and use such a monster!?”

“She isn’t necessarily using him,” he seethed.

“What is that supposed to mean!? You know what, I don’t want to know. I’m not going to bring Adam anywhere near there if Balthazar is there. I’m not subjecting him to that kind of danger.”

“Jadea.” The way my name rolled out of his mouth, I knew I was in trouble. I knew he was displeased with my decision. “You have an oath to uphold,” he snarled.

“I retired from hunting, father,” I snapped back, unafraid. “I don’t owe her, or you, anything.”

“Actually, you do. Because you have been named as my successor in the council.”

“That’s not possible!”

“Yes. It is. In times of great peril, the Imperium Guard can replace and/or name a replacement or successor in the council. Chance was captured, Jay. He confessed to everything which disqualified him. Though, he hadn’t wanted to become a councilor in the first place. You took an oath upon your candidacy. You will report here in no less than twelve hours or you will be held in contempt.”