Chapter 26
TWENTY-SIX
JADE
I was the first one awake in the morning; Hugo’s snoring saw to that. I wasn’t sure how Jewel and Casey were sleeping through it, but I couldn’t really be annoyed.
I actually had to fight a smile as I watched the three of them piled onto my king-sized bed.
The sunrise was shining through the gaps in my blinds, casting the room in a warm, orange glow.
It was almost perfect, and a bubble of contentment swelled in my chest. I wanted to curl back up against Casey and drift off again.
You’d think being on the run from the Institute would be a lot more stressful.
But even if we were caught now, they couldn’t really do anything.
Jewel was bonded. We’d probably be charged with obstruction of justice or whatever the official name for “running away from arrest” was, but with the lawyers Laurel had access to, we’d be fine.
Things were looking up.
I sighed and clambered out of bed, stifling a yawn as I set up the coffee maker.
I poured myself a cup and opened my laptop, sending a secure message to Laurel.
I’d told her we were safe and that Hugo had bonded Jewel, but kept the details scarce.
Laurel had said she was still pressuring the Institute to drop the charges and issue a pardon.
As soon as that was done, we could come out of hiding.
Then we could honeymoon somewhere proper, somewhere with a lot of sunshine and nice beaches.
I’d started searching tropical getaways when I saw the news—something that made my bubble of happiness burst.
Jewel’s name was all over my feed, paired with clips of the same video.
I pressed play.
What. The. Fuck.
I snapped my laptop closed, practically vibrating with rage.
I stood up and walked to the bedroom. Might as well get it over with. I certainly didn’t want to sit here and stew on this by myself.
I knelt next to Jewel and shook his shoulder. “Jewel?”
“Huh?” He yawned and stretched like a cat before gazing up at me with sleepy eyes. His mouth tugged up into a lopsided grin. “Jade?” Jewel raised his head, looking at me with sleepy eyes. “You all right? Fuck, you’re mad. Not at me, though, right?”
“You have to see this,” I said, turning the screen toward him.
He rubbed his eyes and scooted over to the edge of the bed. I saw the moment he recognized the person on the screen, because his eyes immediately focused with intense hatred.
“Hang on. I need pants for this,” he muttered, fishing a pair out of the dresser. Then he pulled up a chair beside me.
I pressed play. Prince Lucas was seated on a couch, talking to a polished-looking talk show host.
“Yes, he showed signs of being unstable and violent from a young age. It’s why his father claimed he was an alpha at first… it’s a bit more understandable when an alpha has a bit of a temper.
“But he was so out of control. Refusing the injection and going gold pack was the last straw. His dad was forced to take him out of the public eye. There’s so much more pressure when the world is watching, you know?
“Maybe faking Jewel’s death was a bit extreme, but he was trying to do his best in a difficult situation. He sent Jewel away to an estate away from the city, hoping a quieter life would help settle him.”
Prince paused, and the host nodded. “You visited him there, is that correct?”
The screen behind them changed, showing a picture of Prince and Jewel sitting together on a couch. Jewel was practically draped over Prince, shooting the camera a sultry smile. It was heavily cropped, but Jewel’s golden eyes were clear.
“Yes. The property was closer to here, so it was easy for me to come by. It worked, for a while. He was more settled, especially when he took his medications.
“But he resented his father for sending him away. He didn’t think there was anything wrong with him. I later found out he was sneaking away, to go partying. Taking risks. Hooking up, even going to fights. Sometimes he’d worry me.”
Prince’s phony sympathy made me want to barf.
“He’s always loved attention—like faking that British accent—but it started getting extreme. He’d talk about how his father sold him, about being prostituted or abused. I think he was paranoid or delusional.”
“Faking my accent?!” Jewel hissed, a vein throbbing on his forehead. “That fucking worm!”
On the screen, Prince continued. “I would settle him sometimes, by being there. But I couldn’t be there all the time. I packed up. He saw it as a betrayal. And then his father died, and he was let loose.”
Jewel muted the screen and jumped to his feet. I’d never seen him appear more furious.
“That brain-dead cum rag,” he hissed, raking his fingers through his hair. “That soggy fucking tampon!”
“Please, let’s not imply that any women would let Prince near their cooch,” I said.
Jewel waved a hand at me. “Of course not. It’s soggy when you open it. You just throw it straight into the trash. Wait, what the fuck is that?”
He turned back to the laptop as the screen darkened. The viewer discretion advised message displayed, declaring the following video contained graphic depictions of violence.
Jewel had stiffened beside me.
The video was shot in the same dim lighting as the other one. It was a dark room with a scuffed wooden floor.
This time, it didn’t show Jewel at a party; instead, he and an alpha were circling each other. Even though it was muted, I still flinched when the alpha charged. Jewel went low. A spray of red coloured the floor as Jewel’s knife connected. Jewel laughed and danced back a step.
The alpha turned and went to try and get Jewel again. A second later, the alpha was on the ground, more red smearing across the floor. Jewel kicked the alpha’s head—one, two, three times—and then the alpha went still.
The video cut off there.
Jewel was silent as he watched the video on my phone. “Shit,” he hissed and lurched to his feet.
“Jewel?” I asked, but he didn’t slow down.
“Just… need a minute. Or five,” he said as he stepped into the bathroom. He didn’t wait for a response before the door snapped shut in my face.
?
JEWEL
I leaned against the counter, my golden eyes reflecting at me in the mirror. Stressed didn’t even begin to describe how I was feeling right now.
That bitch was leaking videos of me to the world?
Prince had always had his camera out, but Dax made him keep all the footage on a password-protected hard drive. He didn’t want any evidence that I was alive to make it back to my father.
I assumed it was collecting dust in Ascend’s basement. Sadly not.
This was honestly embarrassing because this was Prince we were talking about. He was a glorified pawn, who’d spent his life getting used by one person or another.
Pick the right ones, cut the right scenes, and they’d have no trouble showing everyone just how unstable and dangerous I could be.
I looked down at my hands, drumming my nails on the counter as I ran through all the times Prince had his camera out.
When they’d set me against other omegas in the fight cage.
When Dax would get me to kill an alpha who’d crossed him.
Or the shots he’d taken in Ascend’s private rooms.
When I’d been muzzled and leashed in a cage.
Or the time—
The time—
My heat—
I shook my head.
God, I was sweating. Gross.
I took a breath to dispel the disgust that was miring my soul.
No, they wouldn’t show that one. They’d pick ones that made me seem unhinged or two-faced.
They wouldn’t show any of the videos that painted me as a victim.
Not that I wanted that, either.
I hadn’t been a victim.
I’d thrived under Dax.
I’d played him.
I’d won.
I’d won, god-fucking-dammit.
And not against him, but against Prince too.
Kaos had torn apart Madison in the fighting ring while Prince had watched.
Madison’s death had shattered the pack bond.
Prince and Dax had still been reeling from the loss when my father had shown up.
It had been easy to frame Prince for Thaddeus’s murder—an act of desperate revenge from a broken alpha.
I straightened, smoothing my top.
Fuck.
All this moping around was pathetic and boring.
Anger was a much more productive emotion.
I was a busy boy. I had plans to make, people to destroy, empires to topple.
?
JADE
“What do we know?”
Jewel’s voice made me jump. I hadn’t heard him leave the bathroom after he’d holed himself up in there. It had been long enough that I’d woken up the others and told them the bad news.
“Not fucking much,” I said, turning around to face him.
He looked neat and presentable, not a hair out of place; completely the opposite to the meltdown we’d all felt brewing when he shut himself in the bathroom.
He walked over and sat on Casey’s lap. Casey rubbed Jewel’s back, and Jewel practically melted into Casey’s arms.
“There’s no way Prince could have done this on his own. He’s not smart enough.” He said. I walked over and sat myself on Casey’s lap, too.
There.
Better.
“So… is it Valentino?” Casey asked.
“But why would they be working together?” Hugo asked. “Valentino thinks Prince murdered Thaddeus.”
I frowned.
“Yeah, but Prince has made it pretty clear he hates me. Maybe Val went to talk with him, and finds out about Prince’s fucked up video collection.”
I grabbed his arm.
“Collection? He has more videos?”
Jewel scowled.
“Yes,” he said. “Enough to completely destroy my reputation.”
“Shit.”
Hadn’t Prince done enough to Jewel? This trauma was supposed to be over. How on earth was Jewel supposed to move on now this shit was happening?
Hugo leaned forward, lacing his hands together.
“Well, we’ve got an advantage over them.”
I raised my eyebrows. “What’s that?”
“We know where they are. Valentino took over Ascend, right?”
“That he did,” Jewel said carefully. “Right here in Boston.”
Hugo settled back on the couch, a smile playing on his face. He shrugged. “So, why don’t we pay him a visit?”
Jewel laughed and leapt to his feet. “Really?”