I log onto his computer without one ounce of difficulty.
It's just as easy to find the system that controls all of his security cameras.
I browse through the options and the controls, looking for anything that will pause the recording of the cameras. The system is more complex than I expected. I'm not surprised. We've stayed safe in the compound for a century and a half for a reason. But after ten minutes of browsing, I find what looks to be the right option. I press the button and click over to the screen that displays the feed from every camera.
I don't see anything move, but it's also only me and Jaxon here.
I look up at the camera that covers Ascelin's office. I raise my hand and wave in its direction, and look back at the computer screen.
I see an image of me, but I'm still frozen, looking at the computer screen.
I wave my hand again, but my image on the screen doesn't move. It just looks like I'm working on something very intently.
A smile curls on my lips, and I rise from his desk.
I’m nervous. There’s no doubt about it. I don’t have a clue what I should expect.
But I’m ready. So damn ready.
I walk across the command center. And I step in view of the glass.
Jaxon paces inside the cell but stops instantly when he sees me. I watch as the resolve builds in his eyes. I see it as his hand curls into a fist.
But I’m not scared of him. I’m not scared for him.
I’m done being scared.
“You ready?” I ask.
It’s so strange being just the two of us here in the compound. I’ve never, ever been here alone. It’s so quiet. The air feels heavy.
It feels electric with possibility.
“Yeah,” he answers, and I’m so damn proud of him when he doesn’t seem scared either.
This is my Jaxon. This is my equal. The light to my dark, the equalizing gray.
I walk to the control panel to one side of the vault. It’s actually not that complicated. We had it built in the eighties. I press some buttons which are entirely mechanical in use. They beep. There is a scraping sound as the lock unlatches.
I twist a wheel, opening the manual lock.
Crossing to the door of the vault, I pull the four six-inch-thick pins from their place.
And finally, I pull the heavy-duty latch, and the door does a deep moan as it swings open.
Jaxon stands there, rooted in place. His head lowers slightly, and he looks at me through his eyelashes. I watch it as his hands curl into fists.
I see it as heat begins to rise from his shoulders.
Light splinters its way across his hands and shoots up his wrists.
“Serena,” he says, his voice the roughest I’ve ever heard it. There is a faint ring to it.
I stand there in place. My knees are bent just slightly. I have a gun in the holster pack strapped to my thigh, but I swear on my immortal life, I won’t use it. But I let the shadows awaken inside of me, prepared to shift if I have to.
If I shift though, I can guarantee it will trigger Jaxon to shift as well.
“You can do this,” I say, keeping my tone calm and even. “I know you can do this, Jaxon.”
He closes his eyes for a moment. He takes a shuttering, deep breath in through his nostrils. He holds it in his chest for twenty very long seconds.
Slowly, I watch as the heat diminishes. As the light emanating from him fades.
Darker and darker, the vault grows darker.
And he looks normal to me again, human once more, but I don’t say anything. I don’t move. I let him have his time and space to gain control.
He’s trying to protect me, and I’ll allow him every bit of time he needs. No matter how much I’m resisting the urge to rush to him and throw my arms around him.
Slowly, he lets his breath out between his lips. He is incredibly still and silent for another long moment.
But finally, he opens his eyes.
My heart starts pounding hard in my chest, as if a drumbeat is triggered by our eye contact. It’s anticipation surging in my blood. It’s loneliness and desire that are raging through my insides.
It’s the hope that my equal, the light to my dark, is ready.
I watch as he takes one step toward me. My breath stills in my chest as he takes another.
Every movement is calculated and evaluated. I see the intense concentration and focus on his face as he crosses the vault, walking toward the darkling standing in front of him.
Faster and faster my heart beats as the distance between us closes.
Four feet.
Three.
Two feet and I can feel the warmth of his body. It isn’t burning. It’s soothing and comforting.
One foot. I smell the scent of him, and he should stink considering he hasn’t showered in weeks. But he’s spent almost the entirety of that time in ultralight form, burning everything away.
And finally, finally, he stands right in front of me, his green eyes staring into mine intensely.
I have so many things I want to say right now, but they’re racing around in my brain so fast I can’t catch onto a single one of them. And I’m also afraid that if I say anything, it will break the spell of concentration he’s manifested.
So, I stand here, silent and unmoving.
Desire and longing and hope and anticipation are turning the look in Jaxon’s eyes complex.
But he doesn’t say anything either. He simply raises one hand. And slowly, so, so slowly, he touches the back of his knuckles to my cheek, slowly brushing them over my skin.
My eyes slide closed. They shouldn’t. I should never turn a blind eye to an ultralight. Even now, I feel the darkling in me stirring, gaining awareness that the enemy is too close.
But I have complete control of it. It will obey my will. And I will it to stay a prisoner inside of me.
I open my eyes just as Jaxon brushes his thumb over my lips.
“Serena,” he breathes out. There’s…struggle in it. But also…emotion.
I reach up and gently wrap my hand around his wrist.
Instantly, his nostrils flare. Suddenly, his skin isn’t warm, it’s hot.
“You’ve got this,” I encourage. Adrenaline spikes in my blood and my darkling rustles in my chest, ready to burst out. But I force myself to stay calm. Jaxon stares at me with slightly widened, worried eyes. “It’s okay. I trust you. You’ve got this.”
But heat begins to rise from his shoulders. I can barely touch him, his skin is so hot now.
His entire body is shaking slightly. His gaze is so intense, it’s almost scary looking right now.
He’s a breath away from losing control, but I cannot let that happen.
He is mine, and I need him back.
“You can do this,” I say, my tone firm. “Remember those nights at the club? Two of them wasn’t near enough for me, Jaxon. I need more. I need you at my side, doing sketchy shit with me. And I need more of what happened in that parking garage.”
The look in his eyes shifts. He seems more focused now. Instead of the look of a predator, it’s a look of possession in his eyes.
“I need you back. And I know you can do this.” My words come out with determined conviction. “Take me back to that club, Jaxon.”
I wasn’t prepared for it. He takes me entirely by surprise.
Jaxon presses forward and crushes his lips to mine. His hands wrap around my waist, settling low on my back. He walks me back until my spine hits the wall behind me.