BK 3 - Chapter 5 - Whispers
"I'm here to help you. I'm not saying you're helpless, but I want to help you with your mission." Saxon scrambled for the right words. He could tell Melanie was furious, but he saw something else in her eyes. It looked like relief.
Melanie stared at him, trying to remain angry, but in reality, she was glad he was there. When she went to bed last night, all she did was dream about him, and then she woke up crying. Chika said it was because their souls were looking for each other. She could tell he was worried she would push him away again, but she didn't have it in her.
"Fine, you can stay here, but don't think this means I'm ready to accept you." She looked away, trying to hide how happy she was to see him, but he grabbed her arm so she was facing him.
"I'm not here to try and force you to be with me. I just couldn't be away from you. Your parents came to see me yesterday, and I was a blubbering mess. They talked me into coming here. I know you're not ready, but I only want to help with what you're doing. Please don't push me away. My plan is not to pressure you into anything, I promise." Melanie felt her heart breaking at his sincerity. He had been crying over her leaving.
"My intention was never to upset you like that. I'm not going to push you away; besides, the shifters I'm working with will be thrilled to have you here. They said they wanted a vampire to join them but could never find one that cared about shifters. Trust me, I set them straight about the vampires in my life." Saxon chuckled. He had witnessed Melanie's sharp tongue when anyone put down someone she cared about. He wanted to hug her but didn't want to try his luck. Before he could say anything, there were voices coming toward them and people running.
"Melanie, quick, get in the van. We were able to get two, but they're right behind us." Karlee yelled as the six of them ran. She and Harper were each carrying a cub. Neither looked more than two years old. Melanie and Saxon jumped into the back of the van with the man who attacked her while the others got in the front and middle seats.
"Uh, Mel, who's back there with you?" Eli asked, looking at Saxon wearily. Everyone else turned around to see what he was talking about.
"This is Saxon, my mate," Melanie answered with a small smile. Saxon felt his heart race hearing her introduce him that way. If she was willing to tell people who he was, hopefully, she would come around to accepting him.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Saxon. So you decided to join us lowly shifters, huh?" Karlee asked with an edge in her voice, making Melanie glare at her.
"I told you he's not like that. We're not alone back here, either. After you left, this man approached the van and asked what kind of shifter I was before he tried to attack me. We subdued him before tying him up. I figured we could see what else he knows." Saxon held up the man, who had a bruised face and was still knocked out.
"Okay, then. Good job. We found a house where they were keeping some cubs. We could only get these two before they saw us." Karlee pointed to the male and female cubs. The two little ones had fallen asleep.
The ride back to the warehouse was quiet. Everyone's adrenalin rush had depleted. Vincent drove in and out of the back streets, making sure no one was following them. Once it was clear, they pulled up to the warehouse and went inside. Saxon jumped onto the roof and grabbed his bag before following them. Eli and Brandon grabbed the man who was just waking up.
"I'm assuming you'll be bunking with Mel?" Karlee asked Saxon, who was quick to shake his head.
"If you have another room, that would be better for now. I would be willing to sleep on a cot if it's too much of an inconvenience." Melanie looked away, not wanting to meet Saxon's eyes. She wanted to tell him to stay with her but didn't want to give him false hope. As happy as she was to have him there, she still wanted a little space.
"You can have the room next to Mel's. Would you like to show it to him?" Karless asked her with a knowing grin. She could see how happy the lioness was to have her mate there. Melanie led Saxon over to the room next to hers and stopped.
"This is your room. I'm right there." She said, pointing to the door next to his. He stared down at her but didn't go into the room.
"Mel, huh? I thought you didn't like to be called that. Wasn't I the only one allowed to call you a nickname, Lanie?" She felt her cheeks getting red at the memory. Everyone wanted to call her Mel when they were kids, but she didn't like it. It made her feel like an old man. Saxon tried to fix it by calling her Lanie, but she wouldn't let anyone other than him call her that. The others had to call her Melanie.
"I didn't feel like arguing with them. You haven't called me Lanie in a long time." She couldn't help the fluttering she felt in her heart at that name. It always made her feel special.
"I didn't think you wanted me to. The last time I said that name, you were with a boy on a date and got mad at me. So I stopped. It was the first time I was truly scared that you might reject me." Melanie knew she shouldn't do it but couldn't help herself. She reached over and took his hand.
"I wasn't mad at you; I was angry at him. He started making fun of my name when he heard you call me that. I made him leave right after you walked out. I never told you how much I appreciated how you always watched out for me back then. It may have seemed I was trying to push you away, but in reality, I was testing you. I wanted to see how far you were willing to go to prove I was yours even before I felt the mate bond." Saxon smiled at her words before leaning down to kiss her forehead.
"I'll always have your back, Lanie. Whether or not you ever feel for me the way I feel for you. I will never let anyone hurt you." The way her heart was melting, she knew she needed to put some space between them. Otherwise, she might end up kissing him and never wanting to stop.
"Put your stuff away, and then we'll see what's on the agenda." Saxon nodded and went into his room while she turned back to the others. Melanie froze when she realized they were all staring at her with smirks on their faces.
"Just so you know, we're taking bets on how quickly you two end up sharing a room." She felt her face burning at what Ava said.
"So what do we do now?" Melanie asked, trying to change the subject while they all laughed at her embarrassment. Saxon joined them and stood beside her, so close she could hardly focus on anything other than his presence.
"I know you caught the wannabe shifter, but are you two okay with us interrogating him while you take care of the cubs?" Melanie and Saxon shared a smile. They were masters at caring for young ones. They'd been helping in the group homes since they could walk.
"Absolutely. Where are they?" Harper showed them to the nursery, where the cubs were still sleeping. They were adorable. The boy had dark brown hair and tan skin. The girl had a head full of curly blonde hair and pale skin.
"This brings back a lot of memories," Saxon said, standing next to her, looking at the cubs.
"Do you remember that time we were playing house, and we made the twins pretend to be our babies? Then we made them dress alike, and Dad saw we had put Grant in a dress, and he made us stop. I still tease my brother about that and threaten to show pictures to his future mate." Saxon chuckled at the memory. She may have been pretending, but he had been practicing for their future.
"I don't remember taking any pictures of them," He questioned, and she laughed softly.
"We didn't, but he doesn't know that. It's enough of a threat to get him to do what I want." Saxon put his arm around her shoulder as he smiled at the cubs. The female was a lion, and the male was a bear.
"Can you go to the kitchen and see if we have anything to feed them. I don't know how long it's been since they've eaten, but I'm sure they'll be hungry when they wake up." Melanie didn't shove him off her when he put his arm around her, but she was subtly having him move away. She was getting too close too fast and needed to slow down a little. She rubbed the cheeks of the cubs with a sad smile.
"You're safe now, little ones. No one's ever going to hurt you again." Melanie could feel their pain when she touched them. It was a blessing and a curse to absorb the pain of others. She was thankful that at least she could make them feel slightly better.
Saxon walked to the kitchen silently. One of the perks of being a vampire is being able to move around without anyone hearing. As he passed a slightly open door, he could hear voices, and what he heard made him slow down to listen.
"What are we going to do now that her mate, who also happens to be a vampire, is here? We were ready to take a big risk, but this is something that we didn't bargain for." He tried to place the female's voice, but he'd only talked to the others for a few minutes. With her whispering, it was impossible to know who it was.
"I know, but this could be our largest payday yet. We need to follow the plan. It just may take a little longer than we thought. Let's go see how they're doing with the interrogation." Saxon disappeared into his room at lightning speed before they came out. He tried to see who it was from the crack of his door but from his angle, he could only hear footsteps and not see who it was.
When they were gone, he went to the kitchen, but his mind was on what he's heard. He was convinced he'd made the right decision to be with Melanie. Once he identified who the voices were, he'd tell her and get her away from them. First, he needed to do a little investigating to see which couple it was and what their intentions were.
