Chapter Eleven
Thorn knelt down in front of her. He touched her cheek with the back of his hand, “Jayden, are you okay, love?”
Jayden couldn’t have described what she felt. All she remembered was Thorn begging her to fight as they seemed to be underwater and he was pulling her to the surface. When she opened her eyes, there were two women leaning over her. One she recognized as Cordelia, the healer who helped her mom at times.
“Oh, love,” Thorn whispered.
She shook her head, tried to smile, but her lip was too sore. A stray tear slid out of her eye and down her face. “You were there, weren’t you?”
He nodded, pushing her hair back away from her face. “What have I done?”
“You’ve done nothing. I’m…” She couldn’t continue. The look on his face said a lot to her. He would have killed for her and he’d almost or could have died for her going into the afterlife. She swallowed hard, her throat sore and her entire body felt like it was on fire. Jayden had no idea what happened after the man fired that gun. She shook her head; she didn’t want to remember.
She wondered if anyone else had died tonight. Thorn had come in and tried to rescue her. But those men had fought with him. Her mate was alive and unhurt. “Why did you go there to save me?” Her voice came out so soft she wasn’t sure he heard her.
“Because I would have chosen death over losing you. It was my fault you were there in the first place.” Thorn bowed his head.
She tried to lift her weaken limb to touch him. Her hand didn’t want to move, so she forced her mind to control it. She touched his face softly before she ran out of energy and let it drop back to her side.
“Jayden, you must save whatever strength you have left,” a tiny woman next to Cordelia said to her.
She shook her head; she didn’t want anyone else to die. She needed to tell the men not to kill anymore. She couldn’t imagine life without Thorn. He’d saved her from those men. She knew no matter what, he would always be there for her if she needed him. Now, Jayden remembered the feral look in Thorn’s eyes. Right before she’d passed out or died. Whatever had happened, she couldn’t believe how wild and out-of-control he’d been. Knowing he’d come to her when she was in that place, it only made her realize he was angry and had killed those men to protect her and the other women. If he hadn’t, they would still be alive to hurt others.
This wildness was part of him. It made Thorn one of the most feared Lycan in the world. He was their leader and an Alpha. Nothing changed this fact. She could love him now more than before. He didn’t take decisions lightly, she’d learned that over the years she’d been in his thoughts, dreams, and now here tonight. “You okay?” She touched his face.
Thorn smiled and nodded. “I am because you’re with me, here. Don’t you ever leave me like that again, okay?”
She nodded. “You’re a control monster, you know that?”
“Of course, ask my family.”
She chuckled, then held her hand to her body. “Oh God, don’t make me laugh, it still hurts.”
He looked up at the healers. “Is she still…”
“No, Jayden will be okay,” the young healer, Taraji replied. “You must take her home and not let anyone disturb her for days. Let her rest with the healing sleep of our people.”
Thorn nodded, then gazed down with a smile. “Jayden, just so you know. I will never be able to live without you here.” He pointed to his heart. “If you don’t want me to fight any longer, I won’t. I do not want to go through that ever again.”
“You must fight to protect our people. I understand that. Thorn, please take me home with you. I don’t want to be without you.”
“You do know you went through a Lycan conversion?”
She nodded. “I can feel the wolf deep inside me now. I did not have one before?”
“No, love, you didn’t.”
“Thank you for making that difficult decision without me. I would have wanted to live, if only for you.”
“I can’t live without your light to my darkness.”
‘Someone forgot to invite me to the party. What’s going on?’
Another voice registered in Jayden’s mind, Jayden tried to sit up. “Thorn, help me. He must not see me lying here on the floor, or he will try to take me to the hospital.”
Thorn helped her sit up.
“What’s going on here, Miss Jayden?” Sheriff Mills had walked in and stood right before her now, destroyed coffee shop.
“Nothing, just got the wind knocked out of me.” Jayden leaned against Thorn’s body. Everything about the night hit her full force. The destruction was everywhere. Everything she’d just spent hundreds of hours working on…wrecked.
“Cade, these men attacked her.” Lucien pointed at the bodies as he greeted the Sheriff.
Jayden hugged herself as Thorn stood, taking his warmth with him. She immediately began to shake again. “Please, Thorn, take me home.”
Thorn reached out and took her hand. He squeezed it gently. “Easy, love, let me take care of this, then I’ll get you home.”
Jayden nodded, she looked outside. The man who’d tried to rape her was still alive, handcuffed, and leaning against the car parked out front. She wanted him to suffer as she had. Never believing she would ever be safe again, she wanted him dead.
Cade, Lucien, and Thorn walked outside and stood in front the man, Daryl. They’d left the door to her shop opened, and their voices carried inside. Cade asked him, “You caused all of this?”
Daryl leaned forward and spit blood from his mouth. “Fuck you!”
“You bastard.” Thorn lunged toward the man.
Lucien grabbed him and whispered something.
Thorn relaxed and shrugged out of Lucien’s arms.
Jayden looked over at Cordelia. “Have you ever wanted a man dead before?”
Cordelia smiled before answering, “Oh yes, I killed him.”
This was a shock to Jayden. “Really? You did?”
“Yes, I did. No man is allowed to touch us if we don’t choose it. This man will die for his sins today. It might not happen tonight, but don’t you worry, he will suffer greatly for what he’s done to you. Lucien doesn’t take lightly to humans hurting one of us. Jayden, no matter if you’re Lycan now, you’ll always be one of us.” Cordelia held her hand giving her a little comfort until Thorn returned for her.
Then the other young woman reached out with her hand.
Jayden smiled and took ahold of it. “Thank you. What is your name?”
“I am Taraji.”
“Well Taraji, thank you again for saving my life. You were the one that healed me?”
She nodded her head, her face turned red. “You don’t need to thank me. Without Cordelia here, I couldn’t have saved you.”
“Nonsense, we both worked together,” Cordelia spoke up.
The Sheriff held up his hand. “Hold on a moment, I want these men out of here. Take all of them to the jail and lock ‘em up. I’m going back inside to get Miss Foster’s statement.”
When Jayden heard the Sheriff speak, she now knew why Najha had told her about her dad being strict. Cade was in total control it seemed, even over Lucien and Thorn. She wondered why Thorn in his rank would tolerate this human giving out orders like he was. She needed to remember to ask Thorn when they were alone.
Cade walked over to her.
Jayden, with the help of both Taraji and Cordelia, was now sitting on a chair.
The Sheriff smiled gently. “Jayden, my men are taking all the men in that are still alive. Did you see anything that happened in here?”
She wasn’t sure how to answer, but she decided as little as possible. “I’m sorry, Sheriff. Those men broke in, nearly raped me, and knock me unconscious. When I woke up, it was to see exactly what you’re seeing.”
Thorn shook his head. “Cade, you need to get your ass out of here. Go to the jail and take care of those men. I’ll be in later on and tell you everything, please. I need to take Jayden home to her family.”
Cade nodded once. “Don’t forget to report to me later.”
Jayden looked up at Thorn.
He smiled tenderly. “Jayden, I…”
She shook her head, she somewhat understood what was going on here. If Thorn did anything at all, it would go against the human code of what the Lycan could do around other humans. Sheriff Mills was, after all, a human—or was he? The other men who were with the sheriff all appeared to be human. But Jayden honestly didn’t know who was who in this mixed-up town.
Almost out the door, the Sheriff stopped, turned then walked over to Jayden. When he started to kneel down in front of her chair, she heard the tall tale sign of a wolf growl coming from Thorn.
Thorn quietly spoke, “Back away, Cade, slowly.”
“Thorn, what the hell?” The sheriff spoke softly but listened and started to move backward toward the door.
“We’ll handle this among our people, Cade,” Thorn growled out. “After your men leave tonight, I’m coming to the jail.”
“No, think about this for a minute. We need to do this the right way, or you’re going to be toast. Do you want to go to prison and leave your MC alone?
“No, but I will handle this myself,” Thorn ground out between clenched teeth.
Jayden wanted to go to him, but the look he gave her was sit or be sat down by him. She didn’t move and actually felt frozen to the chair.
“Thorn, you can’t go around killing people, it’s against the law. Let them sit overnight. We’ll meet tomorrow, maybe, at Lucien’s.” Cade looked to Lucien.
He waved toward Thorn. “It’s up to him. I’m down with wherever you want to meet. These men came in here and almost raped her.” Lucien pointed toward her. “I’d like to see justice as much as Thorn does. But I agree, we must handle this as the law would.”
“They’ll bail up and be out by Monday morning,” Thorn muttered.
Jayden knew this had to be hard on both Thorn and Lucien. They were both alpha males, but the worst was the Sheriff had no idea what had happened here today. How she’d almost died and had to be changed. She leaned forward and spoke, “Please let the Sheriff do his job. I want to go home, please.”
“Okay, take her home.” Cade pointed.
Jayden stood, her legs barely holding her, so she hastily sat back down. Thorn raised his brow at her, she felt silly now. Something inside her stretched and moved. She knew it must be her Lycan. She tried once again. This time, her legs held her, and she found a strength she didn’t know she had. She walked over and stood beside Thorn. Reaching out, she touched his arm. “Please, Thorn, let’s go.”
Thorn couldn’t believe the intense color of blue her eyes had become. The Lycan inside her had risen and now helped his mate control her body, which was very weak and needed the sleep of their people. Reaching out, he touched her face gently. “You are so beautiful.”
“Thank you.” She turned to the Sheriff. “Thank you, Sheriff, for coming over and taking the men away. Will you please tell Najha, I won’t be opening the shop for a little while. I will call her when I start to feel well. Tonight, was a little trying to me.”
The Sheriff nodded. “I’m sorry about what happened here. I hope you’re okay.” He pointed to the blood-soaked sweatshirt she wore. The long garment laid all the way past her ass.
Thorn wondered if Jayden remembered anything that had happened after she’d been shot.
Her hands shook as she lifted the shirt slightly and stared at the blood. “I’m not sure whose blood this is?” She looked up at Thorn and frowned, her lips trembling. “I’m really not feeling well.”
The Sheriff nodded. “I’ll take care of all this. Make sure you’re available by phone, all of you.”
“That’s not a problem. I’ll be in touch.” Thorn pulled her away from the others. To let Cade haul those men away had been one of the most difficult things he had to do in over four hundred years. In the 1800’s, he would have killed them on the spot. Hell, even the 1900s and now.
Jayden’s pain-filled expression told Thorn she’d been hurt to a great length emotionally. Physically, she would be okay with the sleep of their people. But how was she going to get through everything else without his help? This strong woman had taken a beating to protect her womanhood from those men, and she’d actually done what she’d set out to accomplish. Her virginity was intact. He wouldn’t push her to even consider giving him that right until she was over the grief and pain of what happened here. He led her outside the restaurant to his motorcycle. “Are you going to be okay to ride with me?”
“I think so,” she whispered.
“Do you want to go to your home?”
She shook her head. “No, can I go home with you please? I’m not sure I know what to do with this animal inside me?”
“Of course, anything for you.”
“Thank you.”
Thorn hugged her to him. If Jayden had died tonight, nothing would have prevented him from using his Lycan, and mayhem would have prevailed. He would have begged Lucien to kill him after all the men responsible for her death had died. If anything had happened to Jayden, it would have been his last night here on this earthy plane. Going to the in-between wasn’t an option for him. No, he would have been sharing the space with the devil tonight.
As if a hammer hit him over the head, he suddenly realized—Lucian’s parents were found dead in the forest as if a Lycan had killed them. Lucius’ mate had been raped and murdered. How could Lucius allow this to happen? Maybe he knew something no other would ever know, or did he? Did something happen to Lucien’s mother and then his father served justice? Afterward, did a friend take care of Lucius after mayhem had been served?
He waited for Lucien to come outside before he took Jayden home to his house. “Jayden, love, I need to speak to Lucien a moment, then I’ll take you home, is that okay?”
She nodded, holding onto his hand as she stood by his side and waited for Lucien. Thorn rubbed her back gently. He couldn’t believe what he might have figured out about Lucien’s parents. Had he solved the mystery over the death of the vampire leader’s parents?
Jayden just stood quietly next to him as they waited. Her hands were the only sign she was still distraught. They were held in front of her, her knuckles were white as they clenched together.
Thorn didn’t know how, but he had to help her tonight. He turned her around, the tears staining her face nearly his undoing. He gently wiped them with his thumb. “Love, you’re crying?”
She smiled, her lips trembled, but she shook her head. Thorn gently pulled her until she lunged the rest of the way into his arms.
Jayden whispered, “I just needed and wanted to be held by you. Do you know you’re the most amazing man I know personally?” She broke down, hugged him tightly and started to cry again.
He felt helpless and unable to do anything for her. Thorn held on to her as her body shook with sobs she tried hard to hold in. He’d never felt so powerless in his entire life. He’d wanted to kill tonight for her. Letting go of that anger was hard for him, but he needed to if he was going to help Jayden. He hoped she would let it all out. To hold onto that kind of pain and emotional damage those men did to her, would slowly eat away at her soul.
When her crying ceased, she dried her eyes with the back of her hand.
“You okay, beautiful?” he whispered.
“I think so. You must think I’m a big cry baby.” Her voice was soft and unsteady.
“Nope, not at all. You’re a strong woman. You fought those men off as if you were a Lycan female already.” Thorn’s praise echoed in his own ears. He did feel proud of her and all she’d been through tonight. Even with all that trauma, she still stood by his side and tried to compose herself. The wolf inside her was calm and steady, trusting his Lycan to protect them.
He thought about earlier in the night. He’d been worried about that damn motorcycle club and cleaning the bad people out of town that he hadn’t yet provided the security detail himself for her. What the hell had he been thinking? He spoke to the men about the detail, but it hadn’t been formed yet. He told the men to do it after the coffee shop opened and not before. Dammit! Every woman, child, and man were in danger in this town.
The men here tonight had been from the MC that earlier in the month they’d been meeting without them in those woods when they’d all been attacked. He knew it was a matter of time when the president would retaliate. He just didn’t think far enough ahead. He’d also been preoccupied with the Bolnav. Those demons were still a major problem.
This MC attack laid on his shoulders only. He rubbed her back and held Jayden tightly to his body. “Jayden, you have nothing to worry about. I’m going to take care of you. Nobody will ever hurt you again, that I promise.”
“How can you promise me such a thing? Those men were bad and had snuck up on me. I didn’t know they were there until it was too late.” Her lip between her teeth getting the brunt of her anxiety as she glanced away.
“Don’t look away from me, and please stop biting your lip, it’s already a hot mess.” He gently touched the lip and released it from her teeth.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
“Stop saying sorry,” he ordered, his voice low and throaty. He couldn’t help himself, he kissed the top of her head. It dawned on him suddenly, he needed to forget seeing what those men were doing to her when he came through the back door. Right now, telling Lucien what he suspected was his number one priority. “If Lucien doesn’t come out in a minute, I’m going to go in there and get him.”
“He’ll be out soon. There’s a mess in there and I know him, he needs to resolve the cleanup before heading out here. It will be dawn soon; he must get home before the sun comes up.” Jayden reached up and circled his neck with her hands.
Thorn let her pull his head back down to her. Their lips met in a tangle of tongues, he couldn’t take any more of the kissing without claiming her. His wolf near the surface wanted to mate with hers. He separated them quickly and leaned away from her slightly. “Whoa, girl.”
“How can I have such strong feelings for a man I barely know?” Jayden whispered.
He smiled gently, his hands keeping her tight to his body. “You are my true mate, my destiny. Our bodies were made for each other. These feelings you’re sharing with me I also have for you. It makes no sense to you, Jayden, but I’m willing to try to show you if you’ll trust me.”
She nodded her head. “I trust you.”
What felt like hours really was only minutes when Lucien and the rest of his men and Lucien’s men stepped out in the alley. “Thorn? Thought you already took her home.”
“No, I need to speak to you for a moment.” Thorn gently set Jayden away from his body. “Love, will you go with Aiden for a moment and let me speak with Lucien in private?”
She nodded.
Aiden stepped forward. “Jayden, after you.”
Thorn watched Aiden respectfully lead Jayden away from them a few short feet. He knew with her new Lycan senses, she would hear their conversation, but he didn’t care. He wanted to give respect to Lucien.
“What is this about?” Lucien asked.
“It dawned on me tonight. After seeing what those men were doing to Jayden, I nearly went berserk and killed all those men. I would have too if you didn’t stop me. If Jayden had died tonight, I would have probably turned rogue.”
“Yeah, I get that.” Lucien frowned looking perplexed.
“You don’t understand, do you?” Thorn crossed his arms over his chest.
Lucien shook his head. “Explain.”
“Your father must have found your mother first.”
Lucien’s eyes widened.
“I know this because I know what I would have done myself. A vampire and a Lycan are too similar when it comes to our mates. Your father must have killed that night and destroyed the people who had hurt your mother. A Lycan must have killed your father?”
“You know; it seems all too possible. But who if it wasn’t you or any of your men?”
“I have no idea. But I think we need to look in that direction. Why wouldn’t that Lycan step forward?”
“I’m going to find out. If you say it’s a possibility, I’m going to seek the truth, Thorn.” Lucien’s face showed his murderous rage.
“My friend, I don’t want you focusing everything on this. You must first find your mate, or you’ll be next to be turning to a Bolnav.”
“I’ll consider your thoughts, Thorn. Thank you. Now, take your woman home and take care of her.”
Thorn turned toward Jayden, she was still standing but clearly exhausted. He pulled Lucien in his arms and clapped him on the back. “Lucien, thank you, brother, for helping me save Jayden as well as keeping me to this earth. I would have turned tonight if you hadn’t been here. Please thank Cordelia as well. She is a very powerful and special healer.”
“Yes, that girl is a freak of nature. You know she is only fifteen in human years. She is a very powerful vampire, and she’s alone in this world. Both her parents were killed protecting my parents.”
“Seriously, well you need to protect that child from the evil in this world. Does she have a mate yet?” Thorn knew she would need all the protection she could find.
“No, none of our men is her mate, we’ve already looked.”
“Well, she has mine and my warriors’ protection as well.” Thorn let go of Lucien and strode toward Jayden. “Let’s go.” He picked her up and carried her to his motorcycle.