Chapter Eight
Jade watched from the behind the one-way glass as Nick Vrost interrogated the pale, bald man in front of him. He looked gaunt, with his cheeks sunken in and his skin an ashen gray. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought the man was sick or being treated poorly. But he wasn’t. The man was a mage. Marcus was the one who had her kidnapped and drugged. When the New York clan came to rescue her, they were also able to capture him.
While uncooperative at first, Marcus flipped and told them the location of Stefan’s last hideout. Jade was also able to perfect the power-dampening bracelet she had been working on. When worn by a witch or warlock, the bracelet rendered their powers useless. The Lycan and witches devised a plan to try and stop the mages. They were able to storm the mage mountain stronghold, but Stefan got away. However, Lara was able to put the bracelet on Daric, Stefan’s warlock protégé. Now, both the mage and the warlock were detained deep in Fenrir’s basement. Daric, however, refused to talk at all, remaining silent as a stone even though Nick, Alynna, and Grant questioned him for hours.
“Now, Marcus,” Nick began. “What else aren’t you telling us about Stefan?”
“I’ve told you everything, dog,” Marcus spat. “I don’t know where they are now. The Master doesn’t reveal all his hideouts to us.”
“There was another attempt on one of our own,” the Beta said. “He sent more of your puppets to attack Dr. Cross. What do they want with her?”
The mage let out a sardonic laugh. “What else would Stefan want? All of you six feet under, of course.”
Nick leaned back and crossed his arms. “Will Stefan come for you? To rescue you?”
“If he does, it’s not to rescue me,” the mage answered in a serious tone.
“Dr. Cross.”
Jade’s head whipped to the side. “Primul,” she said, greeting Grant Anderson with the traditional honorific for a Lycan’s Alpha. “Sorry, I didn’t see you come in.”
“Are you all right?” he asked, concern marring his face. “I heard about what happened last night.”
She shrugged. “I’m fine.”
The Alpha’s mouth stretched into a grim line. “I’m sorry. If you weren’t working for us, then this wouldn’t have happened. All of it.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I knew what this job entailed. I’m proud to serve you, Alpha. And the clan.”
“Yes, you have served us well,” Grant agreed. “And you’ve sacrificed a lot. As your Alpha, it’s my duty to protect you. And I promise nothing will happen to you.”
“I know you will, Primul,” she said. She looked back at Nick and Marcus. “I’m ready to face him.”
“Marcus?” Grant asked. “You don’t have to.”
She sighed. “I know. But he’s our best resource for finding out exactly how the mages are controlling the humans. And I can’t put it off forever. The best chance we have to stop Stefan is if we can figure out how he’s doing it.”
“Take your time, then, Doctor.” Grant put a hand on her shoulder. “All the time you need. You have all my resources at your disposal.”
“Thank you, Primul,” she said.
“Now,” Grant cleared his throat, “about Sebastian Creed.”
Jade froze at the name. “What about him?”
“I don’t want to alarm you, but, why was Sebastian having you followed? Does he suspect what we are?”
Her eyes grew wide. “Primul? What do you mean? He said he was protecting me. Under your orders.”
“That’s what Nick told me,” Grant said. “But I didn’t ask him to have you followed. His company was hired to do the security at Liam and Lara’s wedding reception. That was it. It was a trial run, and I haven’t decided if I want to take him on as a full-time contractor. If Stefan is trying to kill you, then you’re going to need protection. And with Marcus and Daric here, I simply can’t spare the manpower to guard you, too. What do you think?”
“I don’t know, Primul,” she said. “That’s up to you, I guess. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” she gave him a curt bow, “I’m needed upstairs.”
“Of course.”
Jade’s mind was reeling. Why did Sebastian have his man following her around? Was he suspicious? She wondered if he’d seen anything during their brief encounter. Were her eyes glowing? Could he sense her she-wolf? No, she thought. It was something else.
She took the elevator back to the 33rd floor. Much to her surprise, and delight, two familiar figures were waiting for her inside the lab.
“Jade!” Lara exclaimed as she opened her arms for a hug.
Jade immediately ran to her best friend. “Lara!” she greeted her and looked at Liam. “Alpha! You guys are back from your honeymoon!”
“Just this morning,” Liam said. He gave Jade a warm hug. “I’m sorry to run, but I have a meeting with Grant and Alynna in about five minutes.”
“Go head.”
He gave his new wife a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you at lunch, sweetheart.” With that, he left the lab.
“Jade.” Lara’s voice turned serious. “Meredith told me about what happened last night! Why aren’t you at home, resting?” Lara admonished.
“Rat,” Jade sneered at Meredith.
The other Lycan was sitting on a chair, not far away, flipping lazily through a magazine. “They would have found out,” she answered, not looking at them.
Jade frowned. “I’m fine! Just leave me be, ok?”
“Someone tried to kill you.” Lara’s voice shook with anger. “Don’t you care? What about us? Have you thought about how we would feel if something did happen to you?” The witch’s eyes were bright with unshed tears.
With a sigh, Jade sank into the nearest chair. “I’m sorry, Lara. I didn’t mean to make light of it and upset you.”
“Jade,” Meredith stood up and walked over to them. “We need to talk. This is an interfriendtion.”
“A what?” Jade’s brows knitted.
The blonde Lycan rolled her eyes. “You know, a friendly intervention. I’m your friend, right?”
Jade eyed Lara suspiciously. “Is this why you’re here?”
“We’re concerned about you,” the witch replied.
“Tell her what you told me. About your wolf.”
The Lycan scientist turned pale. “I shouldn’t have told you.” She stood up and tried to turn away from them, but Meredith grabbed her arm. “Let go of me!”
“Or what, Jade? You’re going to hide yourself away? Like you did your she-wolf?”
“Shut up!”
“What happened, Jade? This isn’t normal, and you know it! Why can’t you shift?”
Lara gasped, her eyes wide. “Jade, I didn’t know.”
“It’s complicated!” Jade reasoned. “Neither of you would understand.”
“Then make us!” Meredith shouted, her eyes flashing with anger.
It was the first time Jade had seen the blonde Lycan so serious. “Fine. But don’t judge me!”
“We won’t, honey,” Lara said in a soothing voice, placing an arm on her shoulder. “I promise.”
Jade took a deep breath. This was it. She was going to tell them her most shameful secret. “You guys know I was born here, but I moved to England when my parents divorced. Well, I was the reason they divorced…” She took a deep breath. “I hurt some humans when I was eleven years old. Or rather, my she-wolf did.”
Meredith’s eyes widened in shock, while Lara went pale. The witch reached for Jade’s hand. “Oh, hon…”
“I was on the bus, on my way home from school when I suddenly shifted. It was my first time, and too early. Most shifters don’t start until they’re at least thirteen. I was eleven.” Jade said, her eyes somber. “I didn’t expect it. No one did. We were on the West Side highway when it just happened. I don’t remember exactly…I was just sitting down, talking with some friends when I blacked out. When I woke up, I was in The Enclave Medical Wing.”
“What happened to everyone else?” Lara asked.
“When I shifted, everyone on the bus panicked, of course. The driver lost control, and the bus flipped over. The other kids, a lot of them were seriously hurt. I…I was injured badly, too, and my shifter healing hadn’t quite kicked in yet. My spine was severed, and I couldn’t walk. Dr. Faulkner tried this experimental technique to heal me…basically they had to operate and keep the wound on my back open to make sure it was healing properly.” The memory of the pain came back to her. Weeks and weeks of staying on her stomach, the wound on her back sliced over and over again. It was barbaric, but it had saved her life. The surgery scars were so deep and done so often that the scars remained, a reminder of what had happened to her. As soon as she turned eighteen, she got the tattoo to cover it up, though the ink could never cover her shame.
Jade nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. Tears burned in her eyes, and Lara put an arm around her. She had to continue. Tell them everything. “One of my classmates, Marion Lichtfield, was next to me on the bus. She also sustained similar injuries, but she was human. And so, she was paralyzed.”
“That wasn’t your fault!” Meredith cried.
“I ruined everyone’s lives that day!” The tears began to flow down Jade’s cheeks. “They all saw me! The Alpha, Michael Anderson, had the confusion potion administered to all the other kids. They were having nightmares for weeks! He also paid off the parents to keep quiet and if any of them were to say anything, they’d be hauled off to the Lycan Siberian Detention Facility. I not only ruined my classmates’ lives, but I almost revealed our secret to the whole world.”
“Oh Jade,” Lara choked as she hugged her friend tighter. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“My she-wolf…I couldn’t control her. I didn’t want to control her. My injuries, the accident, everything put a strain on my parents’ marriage.” She hid her face in her hands. “It was all my fault! All of it.”
“No,” Meredith said. “No, Jade, it wasn’t your fault. You were a kid. It was an accident.”
Jade pulled away from Lara. “I know…but maybe if I were stronger, I could have stopped it.”
“You don’t know that,” Lara said. “You couldn’t have predicted what happened.”
Meredith looked confused. “What do you do during Blood Moon then, when you don’t have a choice but to shift?”
Jade looked mortified and stared at the floor. “I…I take sedatives.”
Meredith shot to her feet. “What? How could you, Jade?”
“What’s wrong with you, Meredith?” Lara asked, puzzled. “Why are you acting like this?”
“It’s okay, Lara,” Jade whispered. “Taking sedatives…only those with broken wolves are forced to do that during Blood Moon. Those we can’t control. To take it willingly…well, it’s taboo among Lycans.” Her mother had made it seem normal. Fiona Williams manipulated her daughter into thinking that it was for the best. In fact, she did it herself and told Jade that they simply couldn’t risk her turning back into a wolf. So while she was under her mother’s care, they would go into the safe room before Blood Moon, lie down, and put the IVs into their wrists and go to sleep. Since then, she’d been too afraid to stop, not knowing if her she-wolf, given the chance, would even give her back her body. And she was too ashamed to tell anyone else.
“I don’t understand!” Meredith paced back and forth, and the air around them became thick. Jade could feel Meredith’s she-wolf, the barely-contained power from the other Lycan. “How do you even…I mean, how could you do it? Push down your she-wolf so deep inside you that you can’t call her?”
“I just…I went to England with my mother after the divorce. My father fought for me. Even Michael Anderson tried to prevent me from leaving, but my mother went through the human court system and got custody of me.” She turned away from them. “I…my mother taught me how to ignore the wolf and keep her down. She’s done it all her life. Her husband now doesn’t even know she’s a Lycan.” Fiona was married to a Baron, after all and had gotten used to life as a peerage.
“Jesus Christ!” Meredith shook her head. “Is she one of those self-hating Lycans?”
Jade said nothing, but her face said it all. There were some Lycans who hated what they were and went to great lengths to deny their shifter sides.
“My God!” Meredith exclaimed. “I’ve never met your mom, but—pardon my French—she sounds like a total bitch.”
“Meredith!” Lara admonished.
“She does!” Meredith growled. “What she did…it’s like child abuse!” The other Lycan was angry now, her hands balling into fists.
“Jade…” Lara looked at her with somber eyes.
What was she supposed to say? Jade thought her mother was protecting her. Telling her it was for the best and that she’d never learn to control her wolf. And Jade believed her. How could she not? Her mother took her away from her father, from everything she ever knew and locked her up in her grandfather’s estate in England. Growing up isolated and alone, she only had her tutors and books for company. When she was fourteen, one of her tutors, Mr. Glendale, had discovered she had an aptitude for science and encouraged her to try to get into the Brighton School for the Talented and Gifted. Her mother didn’t want to let her go, but her grandfather insisted. When she tested off the charts, her mother didn’t have a choice. She was glad that her grandfather had died after she turned eighteen. The trust her grandfather left her not only allowed her to live comfortably, but that meant Fiona no longer had control over her, nor cared what she did with her life.
Meredith seemed to calm down after pacing back and forth, muttering silently to herself. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the Lycan scientist. “You can’t go on living like this. You can’t treat your she-wolf like she’s broken. Or she will break.”
“What am I supposed to do?” Jade asked, raising her voice.
“I’m not judging you,” Meredith said. “Don’t be mad at me. I’m saying this because I’m concerned about you. Your relationship with your wolf is a precious thing. I’m surprised you can still use your shifter healing and senses.”
“Those don’t go away,” Jade stated. “I can’t call the she-wolf, but I still have the enhanced healing and senses.”
“What are you going to do about this?” Lara asked. “I mean, what do you want to do about it?”
Jade shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m fine the way I am. This is me. And if you can’t accept me as I am…”
“No, Jade,” Lara said, shaking her head. “We love you just the way you are. But obviously, the mages are out to get you. Your she-wolf would definitely make things harder for them.”
“Or make things worse. What if I hurt someone?”
“Or what if you saved yourself?” Meredith countered. For a brief moment, her eyes glowed, and Jade could feel the power of the other Lycan’s wolf. She wondered again about Meredith’s mysterious past.
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore!” Jade cried. “Please.”
Meredith and Lara gave each other pointed looks. “Fine,” said the blonde Lycan. “But this isn’t over.”
Lara embraced her friend. “Whatever you need, hon, just let us know.”
Jade sighed with relief. The discussion about her she-wolf was done for now. But there was something else she wanted to ask her friends. Something that had kept her up all night. “Well, there is one thing.”
“Anything,” Lara said.
“Well…” Her cheeks pinked. “You know what we talked about before…at Blood Moon.” Having a gun pointed at her head shook Jade to the core, and she realized what people were talking about when they said their very lives flashed before their eyes. “Like I said, I’m ready to…you know…”
Meredith’s face brightened, her anger dissipating. “Wait…do you mean, you want to push through with Operation PTC?”
“Yes. Oh God, am I pathetic or what?” Jade buried her face in her hands. “I just…I don’t want to die without knowing…you know…” She couldn’t say the last part. It was bad enough she was a virgin, but to have never experienced a real orgasm before? Well, she almost did that one time…She shook her head, trying to forget the memory of being in Sebastian Creed’s arms.
“Yes!” Meredith jumped up and did a fist pump. “Operation PTC is a go!” The Lycan grabbed Jade’s phone from her bag.
“Hey! What are you doing?”
“I’m downloading Tinder, POF, and some other apps on your phone. Are you just batting for our team, or looking to explore?”
“What?” Jade grabbed the phone from Meredith. “No! I mean…how did you open my phone, anyway? I have a lock code on it.”
“Oh please. The first six digits of Pi? Really?” She grabbed the phone back and began typing. “Now, go sit over there next to the light.” She raised the phone to take a photo. Good, now pop open the top buttons of your blouse—”
“Meredith!” Jade exclaimed and looked at Lara pleadingly.
“All right, all right,” Lara sighed. “Let’s not get too excited, Mer.”
“But we want to make sure we’re putting our girl’s best foot forward!”
“You don’t want to show my foot!” Jade protested.
“Give me your glasses,” Meredith said. Jade handed them over to her, and the blonde promptly broke them in half and tossed them away.
“Mer!” Lara exclaimed.
“She doesn’t need them,” Meredith glared at Jade. “Right?”
The brunette bit her lip and shook her head. “I used to wear glasses…before the accident. But with the shifter healing and abilities, I didn’t really need them anymore.” She remembered that after her spine completely healed, her vision became a perfect 20/20. The glasses were her last link to her past. Before the accident. Before her entire life turned upside-down. She was using them as a crutch, something to hide behind.
“Now there’s nothing hiding your gorgeous face,” Meredith said, as if reading Jade’s mind. “It’s time to show the real you.”
Jade sighed. This was going to be a long day.
***
Sebastian entered Grant’s office not knowing what to expect. The CEO was sitting on his desk, his brows drawn in a frown as he looked at some papers. Nick Vrost was standing to his right, his icy blue eyes zeroing in on Sebastian as soon as he came in. There it was again as if Nick’s contempt towards him was something physical. He could feel the wave of negative energy coming from the other man.
Grant’s head popped up, and he nodded at Sebastian. “Good, you’re here. Take a seat. This won’t take long.” His voice was cool, even, and didn’t give away a hint of emotion.
“In that case, I’d prefer to stand,” Sebastian replied.
“Whatever you want,” Grant stood up and walked around his desk. “Now, tell me, why were you having Dr. Cross followed? And don’t lie. Nick told me everything.”
“I wasn’t lying,” Sebastian stated. “It was to protect her.”
“And you think she needed protection because…”
“Someone wants her dead. Whoever this sick fucker is, he’s escalated from just wanting to kidnap her.” The look Grant gave him confirmed his suspicions. “Who is it?” Sebastian asked, his voice turning deadly.
“One of our rivals,” Grant said. “That’s all I can tell you for now.”
I’ll find out anyway, Sebastian thought. And when he did, that motherfucker wasn’t going to be around much longer. Keep her safe, The Beast hissed. Kill him.
Nick suddenly stepped forward, and the air in the office grew thick.
“Nick, stand down,” Grant held his hand up.
“But—”
“Nick,” Grant whipped his head towards the other man. “Let me handle this.” He turned back to Sebastian. “Look, Dr. Cross isn’t just an employee. She’s practically family, and I don’t want her hurt, but I can’t ask her to stop her work, either. So why don’t we just make this official? I want to hire Creed security to protect her.”
“Grant, you can’t be serious!” Nick protested. “He’s practically stalking her!”
“Nick, Sebastian obviously has some stake in keeping Dr. Cross safe.” Grant eyed Sebastian. “And he’s done a great job so far. I can’t think of anyone else who would do his best to make sure no harm comes to her.”
Nick opened his mouth to protest, then shut it close.
“Great. If you agree, Sebastian, we’ll sort it out.”
“Yes,” Sebastian nodded. “I’ll personally see to it that Dr. Cross is safe.” And the bastard trying to kill her won’t see the light of day once I find out who he is. He made a mental note to tell his team to start researching Fenrir’s biggest rivals.
They worked out more details of how they would go about protecting Jade. Creed Security would be in charge of Jade’s security detail, just in case there were any leaks at Fenrir. Only Sebastian would know who would be watching Jade and when, and would only reveal the details to Grant or Nick if necessary. After sorting out other matters, Grant declared that he had another meeting, signaling the end of their meeting. Sebastian could still feel Nick Vrost’s glare on his back as he left, but he paid the other man no mind. All he cared about was that he could protect Jade and keep her close.
He stepped into the private elevators, his mind making a checklist of things to do. The elevator stopped on the 33rd floor, and as the doors opened, feminine laughter and chatter greeted him
“…And he’s so hot, too! I don’t think Jade could have done better for a first Tinder date!” Lara Chatraine said to her companion.
“I think she should wear that black dress. What do you think?” It was the tall blonde, Jade’s bodyguard. “Would it be too much to wear sexy lingerie for a first date? We don’t have a lot of—” The woman, Meredith, if he recalled correctly, shut her mouth the moment her whiskey-brown eyes landed on Sebastian. Lara’s face, on the other hand, could barely contain her shock and surprise.
“Ladies,” he acknowledged.
“Mr. Creed.” Lara nodded as they entered the elevator. The two women faced away from him and remained silent.
Sebastian’s jaw clenched, the muscles ticking. They were obviously talking about Jade and some hot date she was having. Something ugly reared its head, and it wasn’t even The Beast this time. Thinking about Jade and some stranger she met on a dating app going out to dinner, his hands all over her, taking her dress off to reveal whatever sexy lingerie she was wearing…fuck, he was going to go insane. Maybe it was a mistake, agreeing to Grant’s offer. He should have taken Lara and Vrost’s advice instead and stayed away from her, for his sake. But, he wasn’t going to back off now. Instead, he decided he would just have to get someone else on his team to work on this job.