Chapter Fourteen

One week later.

Fall colors in Montana glowed bright with golds, reds, and even orange leaves falling to the ground. Leah sat contentedly on the porch of her sprawling log cabin, rocking in a handcrafted wooden chair with a cup of coffee in her hand.

She waved as Ivy jogged out of the forest, holding a plate of what appeared to be pumpkin-shaped cookies. It had been a year since she and her friend had been together, and she had missed her every minute.

"Hey." Ivy bounded up the stairs, her strawberry-blond ponytail swinging, and her green eyes sparkling. "I made cookies." She handed the plate to Leah.

"Thank you. Have a seat." So far, the only furniture Leah had were the two rocking chairs on the front porch and the bed.

Ivy happily sat and reached for a cookie. "How are you liking Montana?"

"It's beautiful." Leah breathed deeply. "I finished my list of traffickers to take down, and it's nice to have a little break." And break was exactly what they'd done to the bed the night before. "I need furniture."

"Nia's bringing you a catalog later today," Ivy said happily. "I think Odette already ordered you a kitchen set. I hope you don't mind."

Odette was Jasper's mother and seemed like one of the kindest people on the planet. "I don't mind at all," Leah admitted. "Picking out furniture doesn't interest me. If anybody else wants to do it, I'm fine."

"Oh, good, because I think Nia actually bought you a sofa set." Ivy winced. "I might have picked out your dishes."

Leah threw back her head and laughed. "That is absolutely fine with me. Seriously, I haven't tried to keep a home for almost nine decades. You all go right ahead."

"Excellent." Ivy munched happily on a cookie, straightening. "Hey, there they are."

Nia and Odette walked out of the forest from the other cabins, hand in hand and laughing about something. The two women were truly stunning. Nia stood to probably a couple of inches over five feet and had gold-flecked brown eyes, a cute smattering of freckles, and a wild mane of coiled black hair. Her delicate bone structure was angled perfectly, and her skin was a dark tawny, kissed by the sun. It was impossible to tell her heritage, but a slight Scottish brogue danced in her tone. Of course, the woman was three thousand years old and had probably lived many places.

In comparison, Jasper's mother had platinum-blond hair and pale, peach-tinged skin. Her eyes were a deep blue-green, similar to Jasper's but darker. She stood to about five-foot-six and had been incredibly kind so far.

The women reached them. "We bought you furniture," Nia said without preamble. "We hope it's okay."

Odette's face scrunched up in a frown as if she was worried about insulting her soon-to-be daughter-in-law.

"Sounds great to me," Leah said honestly. "Buy all you want."

"Wonderful." Nia clapped her hands. "I'm thinking flowers out here."

Ivy angled her head to look at the grassy area. "Not until spring."

"Oh, good point," Nia said. "Anyway, we have a mission."

Leah perked up. "I'm on a bit of a vacation, but I wouldn't mind hearing about a mission."

Nia sat on the stairs on one side, and Odette took the other. "We're worried about Dax," Nia said. "He's almost four hundred years old and hasn't found his mate. I don't want to see him get weak and die."

"It's such an odd curse," Leah murmured. "No other immortals have this?"

"Nope. It's called the Maxwell Curse," Nia said. "I assume these days we'd say it's a genetic mutation and not just a deadly hex."

Odette leaned forward and snagged a pumpkin cookie from the platter. "Nobody understands it, and mating does put us in danger. Now that you've fully mated and spent time together, you understand what happens if you and Jasper are separated for any length of time, right?" Her eyes grew serious.

Leah nodded. "I do. We both go insane and die. It sounds crazy. It's absolute torture."

"It is, but that's why you can't be kidnapped." Nia almost made that sound like another curse. "I mean, a good kidnapping is fun once in a while, you know?"

Leah shook her head. "Not really, but I'll do my best not to get kidnapped."

"There you go." Odette patted her knee. "What are we going to do about Dax?"

Nia threw up her hands. "I've been conducting internet searches all over the world on everybody who submitted their DNA to find out their heritage. I also hacked into hospitals about blood types. I can usually find a marker that shows an enhanced woman, and the special marker for Maxwell mates. I used to travel the world and just get a sense. I have to say, technology has made it a lot easier."

"And nothing?" Ivy asked.

"No." Nia glowered.

Odette shook her head sadly. "I can't lose one of my sons. We have to find her."

Nia's phone dinged, and she lifted it to her face. Then, she gasped. "Oh, my God."

"What?" Odette straightened.

Delight lifted Nia's lips. "We have her."

"What do you mean you have her? How can you just have her?" Leah asked. "You can't just have her—right when we're talking about it. Things don't happen like that."

Nia winked. "They do around me."

"You're such a witch," Odette murmured.

Leah drew back. "No, she isn't."

Ivy snorted. "No, she actually is a witch."

"I see." Leah's eyebrows lifted. She hadn't known that Jasper's grandmother was a witch. How fascinating. "I've heard witches can create plasma fire out of air."

"Oh, yeah. That's easy," Nia said, and a ball of plasma formed on her hand. She threw it up several times and then tossed it to the ground where it fizzled out. "We use an application of quantum physics and scientific applications the humans haven't figured out. I can probably teach you how. It's rare, but we think enhanced females are cousins to the witches. We can give it a shot if you want."

"I would love to make fire out of air," Leah said, excitement washing through her.

Odette tapped on Nia's knee. "Back to the subject. You found her?"

"Oh, yes." Nia looked down. "She is in a place called Fredtown, South Dakota."

"Who is she?" Leah asked.

"I don't know. I just have a marker and a name. She was in the hospital for multiple contusions and a stab wound." Nia straightened. "It looks like Dax's mate might be in danger."

Odette stiffened. "We'd better let him know."

"Yes, we should." Nia jumped up and held out a hand to assist Odette.

"Wait a minute," Leah said. "Shouldn't we help?"

Nia looked over her shoulder. "We'll help from afar. This is something Dax needs to do on his own."

"Are you sure he'll want to go to South Dakota right away?" Ivy asked. "He hasn't shown any indication that he actually wants to find a mate, and he's pretty stubborn. Just like the rest of them."

"Oh, he'll want to go find her," Nia said. "When he discovers she's in danger—if she is—he'll be compelled to rescue her."

Ivy stood. "I'll come back with you to the computer center and see what I can find out about the woman. We should conduct a deep dive." She winked at Leah. "I'll let you know what I discover."

"Cool. If anybody needs help, I'm in." Leah took a sip of her coffee.

Just then, Jasper strode out of the forest and paused at seeing the four females. His mother and grandmother both leaned up to kiss one of his cheeks, and Ivy punched him good-naturedly in the arm. He turned and watched as they disappeared down the trail through the trees. He shook his head and moved toward Leah, loping easily, all of his injuries gone.

Her mouth watered. He stood tall in the autumn sun, his dark hair shining, and his electric bluish-green eyes glittering.

"What was that all about?" he asked, climbing the steps, picking her up, and planting her on his lap.

"They found Dax's mate."

His eyebrows lifted. "They did? That's good news. Are we going to get her?"

"Apparently, they want Dax to go get her, but they're going to do some research first."

Jasper cocked his head. "Who is she?"

"Don't know, but it sounds like she might be in danger."

Jasper stilled. "Danger as in we need to find her right now?"

"Possibly. I'm in if we do."

He kissed her then, taking it deep before releasing her and wandering his mouth along her jawline. "How about you take a nice, earned vacation here in Montana?"

She could go either way on that. It felt good to rest for a while, but if she was needed, she knew how to handle herself on a mission. "We'll see."

He grinned. "Good enough. I hear we have furniture coming."

"Yes. Rumor has it. Do you suppose they'll plan the wedding, too?"

"They will if you want them to." He kissed her chin. "Though you might want to pick out your dress. My grandmother is three thousand years old and still has some odd tastes."

Leah winced. "Good point."

"How about a Christmas wedding?" he asked. "You know, when the snow's out. We can get some pictures with holly berries. In fact, Athan and Ivy are finally ready to take the plunge. We could have a double wedding."

"Sounds good to me." She didn't care when they married. Just that they did. "I'm so glad we can finally start our lives together."

"As am I." He kicked out his feet and rested them on the railing. "I do love you, Leah Ferry." He kissed her again.

She returned his kiss. She had been searching for her place and acting as someone else during different missions for years. It was nice to finally be herself with Jasper.

Happiness swamped her. "I love you, too."

Forever felt real. Finally.

* * * *

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