Kiss of Midnight_ A Midnight Breed Novel - Lara Adrian [924]
Could Kade one day turn into a monster, too? He certainly believed he could, and the worry put an ache in Alex’s chest, not so much out of fear for herself but out of concern for Kade.
She didn’t want to see him in pain. She didn’t want to lose him to the disease—or to the addictive wildness—that had claimed Seth.
With the exception of Jenna, whom she could only pray would be all right, Alex had already lost everyone she loved. Now Kade could be next. He feared the seductive nature of his talent. Seeing what it had done to Seth, Alex feared it, too. She wasn’t sure she could handle letting herself fall any deeper in love with Kade, only to lose him later to something she could never compete with and hope to win.
But the problem was, she did love him.
It was the depth of that love that terrified her the most as she flew him and the other warriors back to Harmony. She couldn’t dismiss the knowledge that Kade’s Rogue brother lay dead and shrouded in the cargo hold, a grim warning of the future that might await Kade one day.
Losing her loved ones to Rogues had been difficult enough. Losing Kade to the same vicious enemy that had robbed her of her family was a prospect too terrible to consider.
Alex dragged her thoughts away from those dark worries and searched for a place to land near Jenna’s cabin outside town. They had decided on the way to avoid using Harmony’s airstrip when it would risk drawing more undue attention from the upset residents. Instead, Alex brought the plane down in a small clearing not far from Jenna’s property.
“The trail to the cabin is just through those trees,” she told Kade and the others as she brought them to a stop and killed the engine.
Kade turned to look at her from the passenger seat, the first time he had done so since they’d left the mountain to head back into Harmony. His eyes flicked down for a moment as he cleared his throat. “After we sort things out here in town, I’d like to return Seth to my family’s Darkhaven near Fairbanks. I know it’s a lot to ask of you. Too much, probably, especially after—”
“It’s not too much to ask,” Alex replied. “Of course, Kade. I’ll take you there whenever you’re ready.”
His expression was sober, contrite. “Thank you.”
She nodded, feeling a bit sorry herself for the way he seemed to be pulling back from her with his silence, and his carefulness when he did speak to her. Or maybe it wasn’t so much that she felt him pulling back but, rather, pushing her away.
Alex climbed out of the plane with him and the other three Breed males, leaving Luna to stand watch over Seth’s body while the rest of them went to check on Jenna and Brock.
As soon as her friend’s cabin came into view with the door smashed open and Zach’s blood still visible beneath the freshly fallen snow, the reality of what had occurred there rose up on Alex in a swell of emotion.
“Oh, my God,” she gasped, breaking into a run as they drew closer. “Jenna!”
Brock appeared in the open doorway, his huge Breed body blocking the entrance as Alex dashed up the steps of the porch. “She’s doing fine. Confused and not exactly coherent yet, but she’s unharmed. She’s going to be okay. I put her in the bedroom so she could rest more comfortably.”
Alex couldn’t help herself from throwing her arms around the big male’s shoulders in a grateful hug. “Thank you for taking care of her, Brock.”
He nodded solemnly, his dark brown eyes warm with a kindness that seemed incongruous with the warrior’s immense, lethal appearance. “What happened?” he asked as Alex moved past him into the cabin and Kade and the other warriors came in behind her. “Did you find the Ancient?”
“Long story,” Tegan said. “We’ll fill you in later, but suffice to say the Ancient is dead. Unfortunately, not without casualties on our side. Kade lost his brother in the battle.”
“What?” Brock’s expression fell as he put a comforting hand on Kade’s shoulder. “Ah, Jesus. Whatever