Her Mortal Mate

Chapter Forty Nine: The Cloaked Woman

Jadea

I couldn't worry about Adam right now.

I couldn't worry about my father and if he had made it out of the courthouse alive.

I had to focus on the situation that was right in front of us.

As much as I may have wanted to worry about him, to reassure him and tell him everything was going to be okay there was just no time.

There was no time to explain anything either, not as the ground continued to vibrate beneath our feet. It wasn't significant, but I had no doubt Leviathan was trying to trip the natural fault line. If he was able to trip it, there was a higher liklihood that the magnitude of the earthquake would be severe. Severe enough to cause major damage to the mortals living within the area. Severe enough to make the cavern collapse in on itself.

Adam had wanted to embrace my world, well this was it. This, right here, was the ugly truth about my world. The scary reality where monsters came and disrupted the peace.

I didn't have time to negotiate with Hans. I didn't have time to play games. Not when our backs were against the wall with no way out.

We had one chance to do this.

I had one opportunity to get my pack and mate out of here alive, and I wasn't about to botch it.

Adam could be mad at me later. But right now, it was do or die.

Hans wouldn't expect Adam to have a gun. He wouldn't expect my mate to get involved. Just as Garret put it, they viewed him as a damsel because in our world, he was defenseless. His mortality fragile.

“Adam, I'm sorry for what I'm about to do, but there is no other way."

"I've already told you, I trust you."

I prayed his feelings on the matter wouldn't change after this. Latching onto his mind, I wove my manipulation spell. I told him what he needed to do. I showed his mind what needed to happen and blocked out his emotions. However, I didn't release the spell yet. I held onto it as I turned my attention back to Hans. I pulled his attention away as my pack shifted. Derrick and Garret closed the space between them, blocking Hans's view of Adam entirely. That way, Hans and his pack wouldn't see Adam pull the gun from his vest. Blade moved further to the left as Briar moved further right, moving only to draw attention to themselves.

“Baby girl... I'm not opposed to this, but I can't see my target," he admitted, because in my mind he knew this wasn't a killing spree. I was only trying to obtain access to Hans's mind so I could cast a manipulation spell. He knew our only other two options were to die in this cavern or to die at Hans's hands after I pledged myself to him.

"I will be your eyes," I assured him.

"There is no way out, Jadea," Hans stated victoriously as the ground continued to shake. It was more a vibration, but it was getting more violent as the seconds ticked by. "Your only option to save yourself, your pack and your mate is to pledge your fealty to me."

I bared my teeth.

"Admit it, Jadea. You've been bested. Without your manipulation ability, you are nothing."

You are nothing... Nothing...

I shook my head, forcing the vile memories back.

Now was most definitely not the time for flashbacks or any repressed memories to shake loose.

"Draw your weapon," I commanded Adam. When he drew it, I used my pack's sight to zero in on the shielder. She was tucked behind Hans and a little to his right. Adam would have a clear shot at her.

Taking over his mind and body, I guided him to raise his gun.

"I am more than you will ever hope to obtain," I growled. "Your only regret was in letting me go, because somehow in your own sick, perverted mind, you believe I would have still risen to the same heights as I have under Lucien's loving guidance. You believe you could have used me to gain a fortune. It would never have crossed your mind to utilize hunting packs to get rich. Even now, you know there is no one under you that would be successful in the hunting business because of the self centered, narcissists they have become. You know if you try to force them into hunting and reap the benefits of their hard work, you will have more than just a riot on your hands because you have raised selfish pricks for children."

Hans bared his teeth at my disrespectful jab.

"Take a breath, vanilla," I whispered. I'd gotten Hans fired up for a reason. I needed him distracted so he wouldn't be able to respond in time, to stop the bullet.

Garret and Derrick were in my mind, waiting for the order. They wouldn't move until Adam's finger was pulling the trigger. The longer they waited, the less likely the bullet would be intercepted. The less time it would give the intended target time to respond.

"And fire."

Everything seemed to suddenly slow down.

I heard the sharp boom of the gun.

Garret and Derrick barely moved in time for the bullet to whizz right past them.

By the time Hans realized Adam had a gun, it was too late.

His eyes went wide and he jerked towards the hooded figure, knowingly.

The bullet hit home under the cowl of the cloak.

It hit with such force, the individuals head jerked back hard enough to dislodge the hood.

And as the woman was revealed, I felt Adam's instant shock.

"Leila?" he breathed in recognition as she fell to the ground and his mind instantly became turbulent. I wanted to embrace him. I wanted to help him, but right now I couldn't. I needed to save us all first before I could focus on this new development.

"She's an incubus," Garret stated as her powers faded away and Hans and his pack were left defenseless. Their minds not only open to my suggestion, but to Garret's mind reading abilities.

"No!" Hans roared as he fell onto his knees next to Leila.

Before I could even breach Hans's mind, wolves lunged forward.

Blade and Briar were in motion, their blades striking home. Some heads rolled while others suffered severe wounds. As I infiltrated Hans's mind, I felt his anguish over the loss of life and knew his wolves deaths were only going to make him all that more desperate to 'get even'.

My orders ripped through his unprotected mind and latched onto those in his pack. With an easy command, the wolves were all running away. Hans's vicious growl ripped through me and awoke traumas and past fears as he gathered Leila in his arms. While Adam may have shot her in the head with demon's blood, she wasn't dead. It had merely stunned her.

My orders left no room for disobedience. Hans was the last one to leave the small clearing with Leila cradled in his arms.

I had just breathed a sigh of relief when Garret's voice split the air. "Jadea, look out!"

But his warning came too late.

Ryland lunged out of nowhere, his mind the only one not tied to Hans's. I had to say, I was surprised by this.

Ryland wasn't in his wolf. One arm wrapped around my waist while he held a short sword to my throat.

When I tried to cast my manipulation spell, Ryland's evil laughter filled my ears. "Oh dearest sister, your mind tricks aren't going to work on me," he hissed against my ear.

"He's not being shielded," Garret announced, confused.

"Wondering why you can't breach my mind?" he asked.

"f**k! Jay, he's—

"I'm a weak, inverted shielder," he explained sadistically. I could hear the triumph in his voice and knew I was beyond f****d. "Which is why your mind reader can still read my thoughts. During my training, I focused more on being able to block spells from my mind. Therefore, when the time came to face someone like you, I wouldn't be controlled."

"Is he alone?" I asked Garret as Ryland continued to talk. I was worried his pack was laying in wait close by or already on their way to help him.

"Yes. His pack isn't even underground. Hans stripped him of his alpha-hood after his failure with Adam and his children." Garret announced in my mind. "He's desperate to regain his father's approval back. And Jay." He hesitated.

"Yes?"

"There's something else... Hans wanted to ensure you didn't get away. He's placed several guards at each entrance. And, if I am reading his mind correctly, Harley is waiting for us at this exit."

Ugh! My disdain and dislike of Hans just continued to grow. Though, I had to give it to him, he knew how to cover all of his bases. As much as I hated it, that's where I got my perfectionistic and scrupulous tendencies from. "You're coming with me," Ryland snarled.

"The hell I am," I snapped back. "Go, I've got this," I encouraged in Garret's mind. The vibrations within the earth were becoming more violent. There wasn't much time before something would shake loose. They would be slower because of Adam, which meant they needed to move. Now!

“Jay--

"Don't make me go alpha on you," I snapped.

"Don't you dare move!" Ryland shouted as my pack started to obey my orders, the blade bit into my skin. "No, you will not escape. I will not fail a second time. All of you will come with me!" he fairly seethed.

"We don't have time for this," I hissed. "Just go!"

"I'm not going to let him cut off your head!" Garret bit back.

Ugh! For heaven's sake!

I stomped on Ryland's foot. Not that it would hurt him, it was more for a distraction. The instant his focus shifted, I elbowed him in the gut and clutched the wrist that held the blade with my other hand. Right as I was about to yank him and roll him over the top of me to send him sprawling out on his back on the ground, he yanked his wrist right out of my grip. The ground shifted and rolled right at that very instant and sent us both careening off balance. As we stumbled, somehow, Ryland's blade slid home. We stood there, face to face both of us in complete shock. It took a second for me to shift my gaze downward where I stared in confusion as the hilt protruded from my lower abdomen. The blade had entered at an angle, which was probably a good thing. By the looks of where it was, most of the damage would be along the intestines.

I knew my pack was in a riot but their voices had faded away as the adrenaline took over. I wouldn’t die from this immediately. I’d honestly been injured far worse during some of our hunting jobs.

I could fairly taste Ryland's shock as he stared dumbfoundedly down at the weapon accidentally skewering me. I didn't hesitate. My fingers curled around the hilt and in one swift move, I jerked it out and severed his head all in one motion.

Dropping the blade, I faced my packmates, my steps faltering.

Damn but it hurt like a b***h! I would need some minor stitches to stop the bleeding. But what I would need most was fresh blood and a healing sleep.

"We need to get out of here," I growled right as Blade caught me under my arm to help support me. "Now!"