Chapter Twenty-three
Them
I got to my feet and helped my mother to hers.
“What is it, Mom?” I asked, irritated by the lack of information.
“The auction is not the reason these girls were taken.”
“Then what? If you know the reason, please share.” I prompted.
“The legend of the ladies has always been a frightening subject. They cannot be mentioned by name because there is a risk they will retaliate. It is said that they are daughters of the moon but some believe they are daughters of Alexandru Macedon, and that they drank a tonic made by a witch. They danced in the forest under the enchantment of the moon and charred the earth with their steps in a perfect circle. Nothing can grow there anymore. No one can step inside it or they will be disfigured. It is also said that their beauty is not for mortal eyes to behold and those that see or hear them are punished severely. Only the dance of the Calusari and the presence of the black horse can cure the punishments. Legend also says that sometimes beautiful young men or women can fall victim to their song and their beauty and they can take these youngsters and trap them in their dance of death. Others believe that the virgin blood is used to maintain their immortality and youth. Every seventeen years, it is thought that they seek girls directly related to them.”
“So these girls are related to them somehow?” I asked.
“I assume, yes,” my mother responded.
My parents exchanged a glance.
“Somehow, they must be related. Some people believe that while the ladies come in groups of three, seven, nine, and twelve each group offers different wishes. Each chant has to have the proper sacrifice. The ladies of light grant love and happiness and fertility to those who seek them. Your father and I…when we couldn’t have children, we summoned them, and I drank from their enchanted well and soon after I became pregnant with you. I wonder if the parents of these girls somehow did something similar but instead summoned the wrong ladies or were tricked into it.” My mother offered. “Your beauty, power, and virginity put you at risk, Jade. They can sense you. They can bewitch you if you get close enough. I cannot let you near that forest.” My mother told me.
Who knew my virginity would be such an issue?
“Mom, I have to go. I need to finish this. If you’re that worried come with me and keep me safe.”
“They have no use for you if you are not a virgin.” She blurted out.
My cheeks reddened. “Really? We are going to talk about my virginity?”
“Absolutely not.” My father cut in. “That sacred part of you is important for your future, but it does, however, make you a target in more ways than one. Your potent blood could do many things.”
“What do you mean?”
“That is a question for another time, Jade.” My father countered. “Soon, we will need to sit down and talk about what your duty is in this pack.”
“I don’t belong to a pack.”
He grunted. “You belong to me, Jade. Like it or not. You are a princess to this pack and you will behave as such and fulfill your obligations.”
I shook my head. “Wonderful. I will let that marinate. I have to go,” I said as I headed toward the door.
“Where?” My mother probed.
I shrugged. “I don’t know, Mom. Maybe I’ll go get drunk and have sex with a total stranger.”
“Jade…” my mother whispered.
I inhaled sharply and tried to stifle my anger. “Sorry. I just need some air. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” I shut the door behind me.
In the hallway, I took out my cell and dialed Faust’s number. He answered on the first ring.
“I need a meeting set up with the all the parents,” I said.
“You got it. When?” he asked. He sounded sleepy. I felt bad for waking him knowing how little sleep he actually gets.
“Tomorrow some time.”
“I’ll get it handled. What’s up?”
“I might have come across something. I’m not sure yet.”
“Okay,” he said.
“Okay. Thanks.”
“Are you all right, Jade?” He questioned after a minute.
“Yes. No. I don’t know.”
“Do you want to talk?” He quizzed.
“No. Thank you. I need…a drink maybe.”
“Do you want me to join?”
I shook my head even though he couldn’t see. “I think I want to be alone. It’s been a hell of a day.”
“Okay, then. Take care, Jade.”
“You too.” I hung up.
When I stepped out of the hotel lobby and into the night, I was surprised to see Stephan and Adrian leaning against my car. They both smiled as I approached, but I didn’t smile back.
“What the fuck are you two doing here?” I asked, walking right past them.
“I know you wanted to see him and against your father’s wishes, I called him to comfort you.” Stephan admitted.
Adrian walked beside me but didn’t talk.
I glared at Stephan.
“Come on, Jade. It’s still me,” he said.
“I don’t know who you are, Stephan.”
He got in front of me and placed both of my hands over his heart. “Yes, you do.” His beautiful face was serious. “It’s still the same me that can sing you to sleep and offer you comfort when you’re hurting. The same me that watches old movies with you while eating rocky road ice cream. The same me that has hurt with you and laughed with you all these years.”
I wanted to cry, but I shook my head and yanked my hands free. “It’s not the same.” I hurried into a bar with blaring music.
Once inside, I ordered a shot of tequila and downed it. Stephan and Adrian both flanked me.
Adrian gave me kind eyes.
“I’m sorry for being so harsh with you.” I apologized. “None of this is your fault.”
He shrugged. “Stephan filled me in, but I did bite you. You don’t have to apologize for anything.”
Stephan put his hands in his pockets and opened his mouth to talk, but I raised a hand to stop him.
“Never mind, don’t talk. Don’t say anything.” I downed another shot. “You’re my father’s guard dog.” I made a sour face and slammed the small glass down on the bar.
“Right?”
“Jade, maybe you should slow down.” He urged softly.
I laughed bitterly.
Yes, I loved Stephan, but I was tired of being lied to and betrayed by the men I loved. He lied to me for years.
Another glass later, I wiped my mouth and gave Stephan my best serious eyes.
“Guard me, doggie,” I said and then leaned in to whisper. “I’m about to get into trouble.”
I walked away from him and toward the dance floor. My hips swaying as I walked. Stephan and Adrian both turned to watch me. They leaned back on the bar, keeping their distance but watching.
Stephan knew if he would follow me, I would resist him, and he might risk forcing my beast and his out in public. There were too many casualties.
I pushed through the crowd and made myself room.
The beat of the music danced through me, and I became someone else that moment. I let the she-wolf inside me take over.
I believe the song was “Chains” by Joe Jonas.
Stephan watched me intently while Adrian crossed his arms.
A hopeful man with desire in his dark brown eyes invaded my personal space and wrapped his arms around me from behind. He pulled me close and moved with me, forcing my face to his. I caught the man’s hands, lowered them to his sides and then made a slow circle around him until I was behind him.
He became still…anxious.
His heart beat with need and anticipation when my hands ran up his back and gently rested on his shoulders.
My eyes bore into Stephan’s and then Adrian’s.
I smiled with predatory teeth.
My mouth was above that man’s throat now – so dangerously close to that speeding pulse.
I licked my lips and lowered my head.
Before my mouth could make contact with that salty skin, Stephan moved in, but I moved faster.
I had moved on to another eager man.
Stephan moved again through the darkness – too fast for human eyes to see.
He gripped my wrist.
I growled at him, but he didn’t hesitate. He pulled me away from the man effortlessly and spun me into Adrian’s awaiting embrace.
“Yo!” The man protested when he turned around.
Stephan’s eyes ripped through the man and forced him away from me. “If you like your Adam’s apple where it is, I suggest you back the fuck off!” Stephan growled.
With wide eyes, the man put both hands up in the air and moved backward. Stephan turned his attention back to me. “Have you had enough fun yet, Duchess?”
“No,” I said, raising my chin.
I wanted to walk away, but Adrian pulled me against his body and moved with me. Danced with me. I didn’t protest.
Well, maybe the first second, but then I welcomed that hard body and the promise of those muscles. The feel of him against me. The caress of his hands on my waist.
We moved together in unison, one with each other, one with the music. With eyes locked and breaths deep, hearts drumming louder than the beat and lips too close to pass the opportunity, I put my hands behind his neck and brought him closer to my lips. He moved his mouth away. Stephan was in front me. The three of us then danced together.
I put my hands on Stephan’s chest and leaned into his mouth. “I think I found trouble you can’t guard me against.”
I stopped dancing.
Adrian let me go. Yet I didn’t go far. I walked up a few stairs and took a seat at a round table on the balcony.
Stephan sat across from me, Adrian hadn’t followed.
“What’s happening to me?” I asked not looking at him.
Stephan sighed. “It’s not you. It’s the wolf. They are lustful things.”
I looked at him. “How do you handle that?”
He smiled. “It’s challenging, I assure you, but it gets easier with time.”
“I don’t like these feelings. I don’t like not being in control.”
“It’s a learned skill, Duchess. Don’t worry, you will get a handle on it and then you will have better control over…everything.”
A waitress came over to us. She was wearing a short black skirt, a white top, and fishnet pantyhose.
“What can I get you?” she yelled over the music.
“Vodka and cranberry.” Stephan ordered.
The waitress nodded. “How ‘bout for you, hon?” She turned to me.
“Cosmopolitan,” I said.
She nodded and walked away.
“I thought about taking that step with Seth.” I confessed to Stephan. “I should have because now I regret it. What is it like, Stephan?” I asked looking up at him.
“What’s what like, Duchess?”
“You know what,” I said frustrated. “And don’t play the pretenses anymore. I know you’ve been with plenty of women.”
Stephan rubbed his chin. His eyes were unsure, but his face was amused.
“Maybe we shouldn’t be talking about this. Although I could shield most of my private thoughts from Lucian, he is alpha, and he is strong enough to break down that barrier as well. “Last thing I want is for your father to stumble onto this conversation and the fact that I disobeyed him and allowed you to be around Adrian.”
“I’m a not a child, Stephan. He can’t come into my life now and demand control.” I hissed.
“It’s not so simple, Duchess.”
The waitress came back to the table with our drinks. She set them down, winked at Stephan and then walked away.
I took my drink and sipped at it until it was almost empty.
“You’re not missing much.” Stephan took a gulp of his own drink. “It’s all meaningless until you share it with someone you love.”
“Is it really?” I asked, sarcastically.
Again, Stephan rubbed his chin and looked over the dancing crowd. I assumed he was looking for Adrian to save him.
“All right so maybe there is some fun involved. Some…” He shook his head. “I can’t talk to you about this, Duchess. I’m sorry. Just please be realistic. You are not going to spend your entire life without experiencing it. Trust me.”
I nodded, staring into my drink, and then I reached for the fruit on the bottom of the glass. I took it out and dropped it in Stephan’s glass.
“What’s that?” he asked lifting his glass and eyeing the small red fruit.
“I’m offering you my cherry.” I licked my fingers clean of the drink.
Stephan laughed. A full-throated masculine laugh, but then his eyes grew serious.
“I don’t like cherries, Duchess.” His cocky blue eyes were mocking.
“Well, I’m still debating on that notion, but even if that were true, this is my cherry. Not just any cherry. And before you refuse you should know that my virginity makes me a target, and I would benefit from losing it.”
Stephan looked at the fruit again. After a moment, he reached into the glass and picked it up with two fingers and ate it.
“You’re drunk, Duchess.” He stood up and reached out his hand to me. “Let’s get you home.”
Adrian was standing beside me now. I grabbed a handful of his shirt and forced his eyes to mine. “Don’t take me home,” I whispered. “Take me to your bed.”
Adrian’s eyes widened and he had a little trouble catching his breath again.
I pulled him lower to me. My mouth was impossibly close to his. I could nearly taste his drink on his lips.
“Please,” I whispered.
He held me close and staredinto my eyes. “Don’t do this to me, Jade,” he whispered. “I can’t.”
“But why?” I pulled him down and found his mouth. “Please.” I all but begged against his mouth.
Adrian kissed me briefly and then handed me off to Stephan.
“Get her home.” He told him and then disappeared into the strobe lights.
Shock doesn’t begin to explain what I felt when her lapdog called me and filled me in about her already existing wolf and who her father was. He was also certain to let me know that Lucian Sinclair will not forgive me for touching her. I guess I will have to pay the price.
When she walked out of the hotel, I wanted to run to her and take her in my arms, but her scowl kept me at bay.
I imagined she had a pretty hard day, so I understood the need for alcohol, but when she began taunting us with that body, I wanted to throw caution to the wind and take her right there on that dance floor.
She is like the goddess from my dreams, promising pleasure and ecstasy with just one sway of those hips. She moved easily to the music, like her hips could disconnect to make those perfect, sensual circles.
When Stephan moved, I moved.
I didn’t expect that he’d push her against my alert body. She smelled delicious and felt incredible, those taunting lips begged to be devoured. Was she trying to ruin me?
The rigid muscle in my pants strained against my zipper and throbbed with unbearable need.
I turned her away from me, and when she walked away, I took a few minutes to collect myself.
I know I can’t have her. She is lethal to me, but I cannot resist forever, and I’m starting to think that a taste might be worth it…
Adrian
***
I awoke with another pounding headache. I tossed the covers to the side and breathed easy when I noticed I was dressed this time.
I sat up against the headboard of the bed and looked around. Stephan walked in with two cups of coffee.
The sight of him made my heart drop instantly.
Dear God, what had I done?
What had I asked him to do?
Stephan’s smile was mischievous. One of his eyebrows was arched as he handed me a cup of coffee.
“Before you ask, I took wild advantage of you and I’m surprised I can even walk. You wore me out.”
I brought a hand to my throat and almost gasped.
Stephan laughed. “Easy, Duchess.” He smiled reassuringly. “Your virtue is safe. At least from me, but I’m sure Kincaid wanted a taste.”
I relaxed my shoulders and made an effort to smile.
Stephan touched my hand. “Listen to me, Duchess, besides the fact that you are forbidden to me, I respect you and love you too much to ever compromise something so precious. One day, a very lucky bastard will have the privilege of being with you and…I already hate him.” He squeezed my hand.
“Have we established then that you are not…gay?” I asked.
Stephan dropped his head. “I will not tell you something that you already know, Duchess. In my defense, I felt you pull away from me when we started high school. I know you would have eventually completely abandoned the idea of being my friend because you would have never trusted that I wouldn’t try to seduce you. All I did was make you certain that that will never be a possibility for us. I made myself totally unavailable to you.”
“And that was your decision?”
Stephan tilted his head. “More or less. I couldn’t risk allowing you to slip from my radar. As you already know, your father is not…lenient. I kept you close and kept my distance at the same time. Problem solved.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his blue eyes.
I wondered how many opportunities he has passed up because of what he has pretended to be all these years.
Stephan smiled. “Not many,” he answered my thought.
I groaned and put my hands over my face. “How many times have you invaded my private thoughts, Stephan?”
“Don’t start another argument. I do not invade your private thoughts. Sometimes they scream at me, and I can’t help hearing them. Other times, I try to read you and you’re accidentally shielding. And most of the time…I avoid your mind completely.”
“So last night…” I said touching my lips. “You knew…that…I mean…”
“I would have liked to think that it was my irresistible godlike appeal that compelled you last night, but I know better, Duchess. I know what you wanted. And I know it was anger and confusion and maybe…just maybe, a little curiosity.” He laughed and I hit him in the arm. He was right. I couldn’t deny that.
“Don’t feel guilty for having these urges.” Stephan offered. “Your wolf is seeking a mate, and until it finds one, these feelings will be almost overwhelming. You shouldn’t feel like you are betraying Seth. You love him. These feelings that are not really your own yet will not change that. Nothing will ever change that. However, you can’t hold on to him forever, Jade. Someday, someone will come along that will capture you again, and you will have to let go of your past.”
I stared into my coffee cup as I spoke. “As long as the possibility of him being out there somewhere is still real, I won’t give up, Stephan. I can’t.”
He nodded. “You do know that even if he is out there…he is not…”
“Don’t say it.” I stopped him. “Don’t.”
He gave me a smile and sipped his coffee. “Okay.”
“Can we talk about your powers for a minute?” I asked.
“What about them?”
“What…are they? Anything else besides the mind reading?”
“I’m an illusionist,” he answered.
“Explain.”
“I can make you see things that I want you to see. Things that aren’t actually there.”
“And that can cause pain?”
“It can if I want it to.”
I took a slow breath. “Like the illusion of pain?”
He shook his head. “Not exactly. The pain is real, not mental. I can hurt you physically without touching you.”
“How?”
“It takes a lot of focus, Duchess. It’s like I can reach inside you and tear you apart because I imagine it in my mind.”
“So what have you ever done to me?”
He smiled gently. “Never anything bad. I promise. I just put you to sleep. That’s more of an illusion I force into your mind and shut it down.”
“I have one more question.”
“I have one more answer.” He winked.
“Are you my age or older?”
“Older.”
“How much older?”
“Much older, again…illusion.” He smirked.
“You won’t tell me?”
“Not today, Duchess.” He gave me a sly smile and then he stood up. “I have to go and so do you.”
My cell phone rang and he handed it to me. Faust.
“This is Jade.”
“I set up a meeting for you at the station with everyone at nine. Does that work for you?”
I looked at the time. It was seven-thirty. “Yes. Thank you.”
“See you then.” He hung up.
The station made me think of Adrian and everything inside me tightened.
He had resisted me, but what if he would have obliged my request? Would I have gone through with it?
Stephan gave me hard eyes.
“What?” I asked.
He shook his head.
“Tell me.”
“Your father won’t like it.” He told me.
“I don’t care.”
“You and Kincaid share a link. That’s why the two of you gravitate toward one another. Your beast reacted to his and they formed a bond…if you will. He bit you, which means he tasted your blood. He kissed you and your wolf reacted, and if you taste his blood…” He stopped.
“Go on.”
“Let’s just say your father will stop it before it happens, but if you taste his blood, your bond is almost complete. The only thing left then would be – sex.”
“That would seal the deal?”
“Yes.”
“Can I stop it?”
“Sure you can. Don’t taste his blood. Ever,” Stephan said, mockingly.
“I meant…could I have stopped it? Stopped my wolf from reacting to his?”
“I don’t know.”
My cell phone rang again. The number was unknown. My heart began to hammer as I already knew who it would be.
“Jade, this is Detective Lupescu. I have news for you. Can you talk?”