Chapter 14 - Jade
Questions filled my head. What the hell was that thing?
One moment, we were talking to a man who seemed nice, and the next, Nora and I were fumbling out of the bench as he shifted into what he was.
He wasn’t a wolf. He was too large, and his fur wasn’t right.
But I saw the fang that made him a vampire, but how could he shift?
How was he able to do two things? It didn’t make sense.
Brandon’s hand was tight on mine as he pulled me alongside him. He was pulling me, and I felt like I was utterly lost as I followed him. “Brandon, what was that!?” I felt like I’d asked the question ten times already.
Brandon paused us for a moment, and I heard it. The sound of us being followed. I could hear the rustling of leaves and the snapping of branches. It was close, and my heart raced loudly.
“Shit.”
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“We can’t go the way I wanted. He’s blocking it now.” Brandon pulled me to the right. I followed, my fingers tight against his as I felt fear like no other.
I thought of what would happen if we didn’t get out of this. What would happen with Ilsa? I didn’t set up a plan. I didn’t have a will or make any arrangements for her. Where would she go? Who would she go to?
That thought made me sick. My little girl was growing up, unaware of what had happened. One moment, she had everything, and in the next, we were gone.
So many questions filled my head, I thought I was going to lose my mind. I knew I needed to stay focused, but it was hard.
I looked at Brandon, taking in a large bite mark on his shoulder and blood trailing down his arm. He was slumped slightly on that side, and I could see pain in his face. If that creature came back, Brandon might not be able to hold it off, not in this condition.
We stumbled to a stop, and I could hear the sound of footsteps crunching closer. Whatever it was, it was still following us.
“Brandon, what is your plan?”
“The plan was to make it back to the training ground, but he keeps changing directions and cutting me off.” He ran a hand over his face, his eyes searching the woods.
I shook my head, confused at him. “Why would you bring it back to the training ground? Isn’t that the last thing we should do?”
He looked at me. “Because it wouldn’t follow. It knows that there are more people there, and it wouldn’t be able to win in a fight. It’s purposely doing this. It’s keeping us cut off from the group.”
My stomach pitched at the thought that he knew what we were fighting against. He knew. And suddenly I was questioning everything.
“You know what that is?” I asked, feeling like someone had just punched me in the stomach.
He glanced at me, almost scared for a moment, before he looked away. He didn’t answer me, and it angered me more. “Is that why you’re here? Why you suddenly came back after being gone for over three years!?”
“Jade, let’s ask these questions after we’re out of this.” Brandon pointed to the left. “This way.”
He pulled me along, and we opened to a clearing.
I watched as he reached down, running his hands along the ground, seeming to search for something.
I turned, looking around the trees, knowing it was still following our tails.
I then heard a click and turned back to Brandon.
He held a trap door open into the ground, and my eyes widened. “How did…”
I didn’t get the question out before he grabbed my hand, yanking me with him through the doorway. We fumbled down a few steps before he slammed the door shut. I heard a loud click behind us.
It was utterly silent, and a cold shiver rolled over my body in the darkness. I felt Brandon’s hand tug slightly, taking me further down the steps. It was only a few before I heard another door open, and we stepped into a bunker. Lights were hanging, filling the room with a low light.
There were a couple of beds pressed against a corner, and a huge table with papers spread out over it. There were clothes on the floor and snack wrappers on the bed, telling me that this place was used regularly. My eyes widened at the space and how he seemed to know his way around.
I tried to catch my breath as he walked over toward the table, moving past it toward a duffel bag that sat on the ground. “We will be safe here. Once I know it’s gone, we will head back to the training ground.”
I swallowed as I watched him rip open the duffel bag, digging around. He pulled out some supplies and yanked a chair out. He sat down and looked at his shoulder. He wiped at the blood, wincing as he did.
I licked my lips. I was angry at him for keeping this to himself. Angry that I had no idea what was going on. But I also knew he needed help with his wound.
I walked over toward him, and his eyes flicked up toward me. I took the rag out of his hand and dabbed it with the disinfectant he had taken out. I wiped at his wound, trying to find my words.
Brandon didn’t look at me as he placed his other arm on the table. “I’m sorry.”
It was silent. There was no sound except that of the rag being dabbed on his wound.
I stared at it, taking in the marks. It wasn’t like a wolf bite.
His teeth were longer and punctured deeper.
Any normal person would need a stitch, but the healing ability that shifters had was already taking effect.
“We built this place when we came into Belrose. Well, Asher and Westley built it. They stay here mostly to track and keep up on the surrounding area.”
I kept my lips sealed as I pulled the rag bag, dipping it back into the disinfection.
Brandon tapped his fingers on the table. “I know you have questions, Jade. Ask them.”
I dapped the rag onto his wound, wiping the blood away. “Does my brother know?” I asked softly.
Brandon nodded his head, and my stomach pitched. I tossed the rag onto the table and took a step back. I turned, looking around. I walked toward one of the beds and sat down, needing space between us.
“Is that why you’re back?”
Brandon nodded. “That was a hybrid. They are a new group that formed several years ago. They are originally either vampires or werewolves. We’re not entirely sure how they came to be, but they possess the genetic components of both. Their main goal is to wipe out shifters entirely.”
I swallowed, taking the information in.
“Why are they here?”
Brandon rolled his shoulder, making a face as he did.
He leaned back on the chair. “Because the pack is weak and they are looking for a place to set down roots and form a solid location as their base. They normally move at night, work together, but they don’t have a home place. At least, none we’ve uncovered.”
It suddenly made sense. The lessons. Him taking over as Alpha. The concern is about keeping the pack and everyone safe. It was a job.
It hurt. It was like someone was reaching into my chest and ripping at every nerve in my heart.
I’d been telling myself he was here for a job, that he was doing everything for a purpose, and he was.
But a small part of me was hoping I had been part of the reason he was here.
A part of me was hoping I had mattered. That Ilsa mattered.
I chewed on my lower lip, my hands shaking in my lap. Brandon noticed his eyes narrowing on them slightly before looking back up at my face. “Jade…” his voice dipped softer.
“Do we matter, or is this all part of your job?” The words came sharp like a knife, the anger bubbling to the surface. “All of this? Is it just so you do a good job and get a pat on the back? What about Ilsa? Did you buy the house for now and plan on leaving once this is over?”
I shook my head, feeling tears burning in my eyes, and one question I knew I had been thinking about over and over. “Are you leaving when this is over?”
Brandon frowned. “No.”
I wanted to believe him, but how could I? When he never told me about this.
“I don’t believe you,” I said with a shrug. “It’s part of your job, Brandon. So, what’s your plan when you finish this? How do you plan to work wherever you work and stay here?”
“You don’t honestly believe that I could walk away?”
“You did before. How can I trust what you say when you’ve been hiding this from me? I don’t know if history won’t repeat itself.”
He looked hurt as he frowned. “You think I wanted to hide this? Do you think I enjoy the idea of my hometown being taken over by those things? You think I wanted to leave before? That I enjoyed the thought of leaving you behind?”
I stiffened, confused.
He ran a hand over his face and pulled himself out of the chair. He walked toward me, dropping to his knees in front of me. He reached a hand up, wiping at my cheek. “Don’t cry. You know I can’t stand it when you cry.”
I hadn’t even realized the tears broke free.
“What do you mean by that? You…you did leave me.”
He looked like he was in pain, and I knew it wasn’t physical. Like a weight had been pressing down on him, and he was exhausted from carrying it.
“My father gave me an ultimatum a week before I left. He said he knew that we were mates and couldn’t stomach the thought of us accepting it. He didn’t want me tied down to someone as weak as you. He said the pack deserved a strong Alpha and a strong woman by his side. One that could shift.”
Lionel had said that?
I felt my shoulders drop.
“He’d paired me up with another woman from another pack that was supposed to be a perfect match. She was raised to be strong and to bear children. It was either marry her or go off to work for the special ops. My father thought I would just accept her and forget about you.”
My mouth dropped slightly at this. How had I not known this? How didn’t Kaleb tell me anything?
I shook my head. “That…” I couldn’t find the words. “Why didn’t you just tell him you weren’t even looking at me?”
“Because that would have been a lie. I was looking at you, Jade. I was always looking at you. I watched you all the time.”
I felt a blush roll over my face.
His thumb stroked my cheek. “I had every intention of making you mine, and my father knew that. So, I decided to leave, but not before having you.”
I pulled my hand up and slapped him. I hadn’t even realized I’d done it until his head was turned slightly to the left and he looked shocked.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I snapped. “You should have told me instead of leaving.”
Brandon looked back at me. A tight, painful smile pulled at his lips.
“Because I knew what you wanted. You wanted to go to college and break free from everything. I wanted you, Jade, but I wasn’t going to be selfish and make you stay.
I wasn’t going to ruin your future because I didn’t have the guts to go against what my father wanted. ”
“So instead, you left me to fend for myself.”
He reached out, cupping my face. “I thought you left for college. I figured we both could enjoy the night and move on.”
I shoved my hand on his chest. “I got pregnant.”
“I didn’t know that,” he whispered, his face growing closer to mine. “I thought I had done the right thing.”
“Well, you didn’t,” I said, looking at his lips. I felt the tug to be closer. I inhaled his scent, suddenly hyper aware of how close he was, how we looked.
“I’m sorry,” he said genuinely.
As mad as I wanted to be, I couldn’t. If what he was saying was true, he was thinking about me. I remembered how excited I had been. I was attending school and planning for my future. I was finally breaking free from everything and becoming who I wanted to be.
I looked into his eyes, taking in the softness. I could see the hurt, the pain from everything. I reached a hand up, running my pointer finger over his lips. I wanted to ask him what we were, what our next steps were now. I needed to clear the air, and we needed to talk. But I didn’t want that.
“Show me how sorry you are.”
I felt his fingers tighten around my neck as he pulled me closer, pressing his lips against mine roughly. It was like fire had erupted as I grabbed his shirt, suddenly needing him closer to me.
I moaned as he hoisted me off the bed, pulling me against his chest. We fumbled back against the bed. It creaked under our weight.
His lips were devouring me, and his scent erupted all around me. It was all so perfect, yet missing everything all at once. I needed air, but I wanted the kiss rougher. I needed to stop, and yet I wanted him closer.
The kiss broke, and his lips trailed down my neck. His hands grabbed my ass, pulling my hips against his. I felt my eyes widen as I felt how hard he was under his pants. I swallowed, feeling every nerve alive.
I panted, knowing just how bad an idea this was. We had things we needed to discuss. We needed to discuss the issues and rebuild our trust in order to move forward.
But the thought of not having Brandon felt wrong.
I felt his hands slide under my tank top, his fingers soft against my stomach. I watched his hands trail up, reaching my sports bra. His hands went under the fabric, cupping my breast. I felt my nipples grow hard at the contact and swallowed.
Brandon’s head dipped down, his hips pressed against my belly button, and then he followed a line up my navel. He pulled the tank top and bra up over my head. I watched his eyes widen as he took me in. He smirked. “You look as good as I remember.”
I blushed, knowing my body had changed. “It’s not the same.”
His fingers trailed my stretch marks, and his smile remained. “You carried our child, Jade. That’s an entirely different kind of turn on.”
My face grew redder.
“I tried picturing it,” he admits. “Your belly growing, and how your breasts would look.” He reached a hand toward my boobs, his hands cupping them.
“I imagined how you would look splayed out naked while pregnant. How I would have fucked you softly during that time. I’ve thought of many scenarios on how I would take you. ”
I felt like I was on fire. He had thought about that? Thought about me like that?
“When?”
“Over the years,” he said. “Gave me something to jerk off to.”
My mouth dropped. “You’re joking.”
He shook his head. “I told you I was going to memorize everything about you that night, and I did.”
“You’re telling me that over three years, you’ve jerked off to the thought of me?”
He smirked. “Yeah, and now I get to have you again, so I’m going to savor every moment of this.” His fingers grazed my stretch marks again. “I’m going to memorize every part of you in a new way.”