Jade’s eyes widened and she reached for the bullet with her right hand quickly, wanting to rid him of the pain that was coming with it, but Xander was faster and he turned his head away and spat it out on his hand.
“Throw it off,” Jade ordered sharply when she saw him wince.
“Xander,” her voice broke as her eyes glanced over the freshly peeled part of his lips.
Her heart cut into a million pieces seeing him injured that way.
She did not need anyone to tell her, he was in control. Howbeit she was mad, angry and hurt.
“Please.” The tears she had fought back finally broke out.
Watching her cry, Xander opened his palm and let the bullet fall entirely to the ground. But no longer was it bullet form but it was turned to dust.
.....
“Jade.”
She shut her eyes and shook her head while the tears flowed down still. “No. Why…”
She questioned him as she sobbed.
“Why would you hurt yourself?” Jade inquired once more through tears and a shaky voice. “Why?”
“I’m sorry. I need to make sure no dragon gets hurt by it. Also, I would have to destroy all the silver bullets. We do not want a new enemy to find this out. I can’t afford it,” he explained and immediately wrapped his hands around her body, pulling her into a protective hug.
“I am sorry, my love. Forgive me for hurting you.”
She understood his reason but seeing him this hurt, her heart clenched so much she could hardly breathe. She felt every pain through the mate bond.
For this, Jade knew she would never hate this feeling the mate bond brought to her.
If it was a very normal human circumstance, she would have had her lover hide the truth from her but like this, none of them could do that to each other.
“I’m so sorry, Jade. Forgive me, please,” Xander pleaded.
On and on she cried in his arms.
Whether or not it was due to the fact he was hurt or because she missed him and she was a little bit scared at the thought of losing him, Jade could not piece them together and only allowed him to hold her in his arms for as long as he could, ignoring everything and everyone else.
******
On the other hand, the others chased after what was left of Zale and his men and whoever had to be fought with outside.
No one was to be spared or left alone at this point.
They all knew what they were coming for and readily came with a will to fight.
Now death was the only offering the dragons were ready to give without mercy.
Luckily for Zale, his escape was as swift as his life depended on it and he left without a trace.
Even Asteria could not find him. It was he simply disappeared from the vicinity with no explanation.
While the others fought, they searched their surroundings but found nothing still and in time, everyone returned back to the warehouse to meet Xander.
To their amazement, when they arrived, they saw all the bullets and guns that had been used in the initial fight hovering in the hair with Xander and Jade at the centre of it all.
“Xander.”
Aramis was the first to stretch his hands to the side to stop them from acting rashly and watch.
His eyes remained open with both hands spread at his side while Jade hugged his muscular chest tight and kept her eyes shut.
He had offered for her to stay back but she refused, stating that, ‘wherever he went, she goes, where he was, there she would be also.’
Having such a stubborn mate, he was left with no choice but to do this in her presence and with both hands to avoid any mistakes.
For the next few seconds, they watched as every metal and harmful object began to turn to dust one after the other.
It took a few more seconds but he achieved everything with his bloodshot eyes narrowed as he gritted his teeth even more.
Using his powers on a silver bullet like that affected him but not as terribly as it did when he held it with any part of his body.
Suddenly everything fell back to the ground, the same time Xander let it go and dropped his hands.
Quickly he did not let Jade feel lonely and wrapped his hands around her, tightening the hug in a protective manner.
“My love, it is done,” he informed her and listened to her breathing slowly return to normal.
The others watched the scene with teary eyes. Their love had proven strong, going through some painful obstacles.
And even though they knew Jade was stubborn, no one could blame her. She went through her own pain.
And different people healed at different times and frequencies.
But seeing her hug Xander like that, they had hoped for the love which they were sure would overshadow all obstacles.
Xander pulled back first and moved her head from his chest to look at her face.
Fresh tears still stained her cheeks, and her face turned red from all her crying.
“I wish that they would remain red from my teasing you, flirting with you, eating you and making love to you but definitely not this way,” he whispered to her hearing.
Before she got the chance to complain, he lifted her chin and pressed his lips on hers, sealing all of her thoughts in that kiss.
He could not care about their audience. In fact, he loved it.
He was not ashamed of her and was proud to show his emotional side.
“Xander,” Jade complained as soon as they broke it off and lowered her head in embarrassment.
“Naughty girl. Stop crying. I am fine.”
As he said this, she lifted her head and true to what he had said, his lips had healed up.
She breathed out in satisfaction and nodded her head. “You are not permitted to get hurt again,” Jade warned before hugging him once more.
“Never get hurt or else I would cry some more.”
“I promise. I will try my best.”
While they basked in their affectionate moment, time was not on their side and they needed to do things fast.
“Your Majesty,” Astoria called out, interrupting their moment.