Page 6

Noah silently agreed with the tiny vampire.He followed them inside and relaxed even further as he took in their comfortable home, but as he glanced around, he sensed danger, and reached out to lock the door behind him, earning a strange look from Kai.

He shrugged, unable to explain that he wanted to have the upper hand if Jade was attacked.He ordered himself to compartmentalize and walked deeper into the house.

Noah tensed when he spotted a white streak, much smaller than Liv’s had been, head straight for Jade and jumped into her arms.He had to blink and when he opened his eyes, his gaze landed on a baby who looked no older than six months old, nuzzling Jade’s cheek.But mid-caress, the baby paused and sniffed Jade and then the air around her, looking around until his gaze landed on Noah.

Noah felt affection swell in his chest and he swallowed hard when the baby smiled at him, but then Jade and the baby seemed to be having a conversation, another silent one, and Jade shook her head at something the baby had said.The baby scrunched his face, looking as though he was going to cry, but instead of a verbal outburst, it was as though his head exploded with sound and the wordyeswas screamed into his head.He wasn’t the only one who flinched at the word.

Pounding footsteps sounded throughout the house before a man ran into the room.He had the same shock-white hair that matched the unhappy baby and he was followed by a gorgeous brunette, concern etched on both of their faces.

Apparently everyone heard the same scream in their heads and they flooded the room, all looking equally worried.The men were huge and the women were beautiful, but he moved back to the unhappy baby and found his gaze captured when he spotted the usual sparks in Silas’s eyes.

The man ran his fingers through his son’s hair.“What’s wrong, little man?”

I want Jade’s mate.

Liv gasped and all eyes in the room moved to him.Well, all except Jade’s.He could see a blush on her cheeks before her face was obscured when she turned away from him.Noah understood, a couple of seconds slower than the others, when he stated that Noah was Jade’s mate.

Noah’s attention jerked back to Jade, but before he could ask her what the little baby meant, he glanced around the room and found all eyes on him.

“What the—”

Kai cleared his throat before he could get the last word out.He didn’t even want to think it in case the baby was in his head and listening to what he was thinking.He scoffed at himself, but not five minutes before, the baby spoke to everyone without opening his mouth, so anything was possible.

Noah barely registered the chuckles from his averted question as he watched the baby being picked up by his father and carried closer to Noah.Noah’s eyes widened when the entire group moved closer to him, but his eyes moved back to the baby and stared into his unusual eyes.He blew out a breath when the group stopped a of couple feet away from him.

“Hi, Jade’s mate.I’m Xander.This is my mate, Frost, and our little boy, Silas.”

“I’m Noah Hale.”

“Would it be okay—”

Xander couldn’t get his full request out before Noah found himself holding his arms out.Although he wasn’t a danger to anyone in this room, he was a little surprised when Xander and Frost shared a look between them before Xander gently moved Silas into his arms.

He should have been concerned about the people surrounding him and the baby, but his focus was entirely on the baby boy in his arms and the overwhelming protectiveness he felt for him.

Hello, Silas.I’m Noah.It’s really nice to meet you.Noah decided to see if his theory was right, if he could talk to Silas with his thoughts.

A surge of happiness rushed through him, taking him by surprise.Silas smiled at him and Noah felt as though he was given a special gift.At that moment, he could feel Jade’s warmth and presence at his side and could feel himself relax a fraction more with her near.

So you can read my mind?

There was a chuckle that echoed in his mind.Of course I can.

How old are you, Silas?

I’ll be eight months old in three days.

I’ve never met someone as brilliant as you are.Are you a shifter, too?

Silas giggled and snuggled into Noah’s arms.He wondered how this child could trust him so easily, how any of them could.His hostility at Jade and his coldness toward Ghost when he first met the man should have put the group of assassins on edge.Instead, they went back to what they were doing and left him with a very special baby.

I’m a snow leopard like Daddy and Mommy.

I would like to see that sometime.

Jade and I like to run in the mountains when it snows.She hides and I try to find her, and it’s pretty easy with her red fur, but it’s fun anyway.

Noah looked at Jade and he could sense that although she was reading something on her tablet, she was alert, even in her relaxed state.The scent of peaches reached him again and he had to bite his lip in order to prevent a moan from escaping his throat.Each moment he spent with her, the more he was drawn to her.