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the rocks to get to him as Cade and Jax both jumped to their feet and waded into the icy water.
Cade reached Rayce first and hauled his head out of the shallow depths, pulling him up on the
banks. Jax turned to tell Mason to come with them, and found he d disappeared. Frantically, Jax
looked for him by the rock he d last seen him clambering on, but there was no trace of him. A
choked scream made him jerk up his head.
120 Shannon West
Mason must have fallen off the back of the rock he d been climbing on to get to Rayce, and
he d slipped into a small eddy that had swiftly taken him to the middle of the stream. The rapid
current had caught him up and was swirling him away right in front of Jax. Without giving it a
second thought, Jax launched himself over the rock and dove into the rapids after his brother. He
heard a startled cry behind him, but all his focus was on Mason s bright red T-shirt as it bobbed
along ahead of him and then disappeared over a little rock fall in the middle of the stream. Jax
went sailing over it too, and landed in a pool with torrents of water cascading over his head.
There was no sign of Mason, and fear gripped him so hard he thought he might be sick. He dived
under the water and finally caught a glimpse of color in the churning pool. He swam toward it
and found Mason, his white face floating just under the surface, his arms splayed out in front of
him and his eyes wide open and panicked.
He reached him in only seconds and wrapped an arm around him. Bursting to the top with
Mason, he pulled his little body over to the edge of the stream, surprised to find Cade there
before him. He splashed out into the water and gathered both boys in his arms, taking them to the
bank. Mason was already sputtering and coughing up water, so all Cade and Jax had to do was
support him and make sure he got it all up. Soon he was breathing almost normally again, if a
little too fast and excited. Jax stood up, weak in the knees now that it was all over, but before he
could reach for Mason, Cade picked him up in one arm and hauled Jax up to his side with the
other. Can you walk, or do I need to carry you too?
I can walk, Jax protested, but stumbled when Cade released him, so Cade slung an arm
around his waist and half-carried him back up to where Rayce was still sitting on the bank,
sporting a huge bruise on his temple.
Rayce leaped up when he saw them coming and made a huge fuss over both Mason and Jax,
calling them both silly names in French until Cade told him to take Mason back to camp and get
him warmed up. When Jax started to follow them, Cade pulled angrily on his arm.
You stay here. I m not through with you yet.
Jax widened his eyes and looked up at him, shivering in the cool breeze. The water had been
freezing and he was still feeling a little numb. What did I do? he asked resentfully, pulling
away from Cade s tight grip on his arm.
Bloodlust 121
What did you do? You threw yourself into danger again, without any thought to the
consequences. He took Jax by the shoulders and shook him. Is it a death wish, Jax? Is that
what it is? Do you have any idea what I felt like when I saw you disappear over that falls?
Well, God, Cade, it wasn t much of a fall it couldn t have been more than six feet& and
hey, when do we get to the alpha pair part of this relationship? You promised me we d both be
in charge.
Of the pack, yeah. But not in our relationship. I m still your alpha.
Nicky is so right about how you wolves just change the rules to suit yourselves.
I m not changing anything and that s not the point! Damn it, what if I lost you? Do you
have any idea how much I love you? Hell no, you just get in the car with strange men, offer
yourself up to rapists and crazy fucking rogues and jump in front of men with guns and now you
throw yourself over waterfalls. Fuck, Jax, how badly do you want to die?
Wait a minute, what did you say?
What? What part? The part where you take stupid fucking risks or the part where you re
trying to kill yourself?
No. Jax shook his head firmly. The part where you said you love me.
Cade looked at him in complete confusion. Of course I love you. What the hell has that got
to do with anything?
Jax threw his arms around Cade s waist and buried his face in his chest. Oh, Cade, I ve
been waiting so long for you to say that.
Is this an attempt to change the damn subject? Because we re going to have this discussion.
And what do you mean so long? We ve only known each other a few weeks. Cade set his jaw
firmly, his dark eyes flashing.
You can fuss at me all you want to, so long as you say it again.
Cade narrowed his eyes. I love you, okay? You already know that.
How in the hell do I know that? You ve never said it! I tell you every time we make love,
which is like every night and every time you catch me with my pants down in the morning, and
then once you woke me up in the middle of the night and&
Okay, okay, I got the point. And of course I ve said it.
122 Shannon West
No, you haven t. Not once.
Well, okay, I love you. Satisfied?
Maybe& do you mean it?
Cade rolled his eyes. I said it, didn t I?
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