Chapter Eleven #4
“I was. I didn’t have a choice. My father was a hunter, and I was supposed to be one, too.”
“Except that you’re half monster.”
“I didn’t know that, either. I probably still wouldn’t know if a monster I was after hadn’t told me.”
Emric leaned closer. It alarmed Archie a little, but he didn’t move. Jasper knew how to defend himself if he had to, and Emric didn’t look aggressive or like he was about to do something stupid.
“How do you feel about that? You thought you were human, and you were a hunter, and now, you’re a monster, the same kind of people you used to come after. Do you hate yourself? Do you hate your biological parents?”
Jasper didn’t answer right away. He looked like he was trying to find the right words.
He probably was. This had been a complicated situation for him.
As much pain as Emric had gone through, it didn’t erase the pain Jasper had lived through, and it didn’t erase how complicated his situation was.
That was something that Emric would never understand.
He couldn’t because he hadn’t been raised by hunters. He hadn’t been lied to his entire life.
Archie wasn’t sure which man had it worse.
“I don’t hate anyone,” Jasper eventually said.
“Although I should probably hate Leroy. Part of me certainly does, but like I said earlier, he’s my father, whether I like it or not.
He raised me. But no, I don’t hate my biological parents.
Why would I? No matter what they were, they couldn’t change it, and while I never got to actually know them, I’m told that they were good parents.
They were trying to make a difference with the sanctuary, and they probably would’ve succeeded if it hadn’t been destroyed.
I’m proud of that legacy, and I’m proud of who I am.
I’ve always had conflicting feelings about my adoptive parents and being a hunter, which is why I stopped several years ago. ”
“I bet the hunters hate you now.”
Jasper snorted. “Plenty of them hated me even when I was a hunter. I was good at my job, and I was Leroy’s son.
They were jealous. They thought that because of that, I had advantages they didn’t, but I was just good.
But yeah, they hate me more now, and they never miss an opportunity to let me know.
” He paused. “They’re going to come after you. ”
“Let them. I’ll kill all of them, just like they killed my parents and everyone I’ve ever loved,” Emric spat out.
Archie had an idea where this was going. He suspected that he knew how Jasper felt about the killings, but also that Jasper wouldn’t try to stop Emric. He would want to protect the other man, though. It was just the person he was.
“I understand why you’re killing people,” Jasper said calmly.
“I can’t even say that I blame you. You lost a lot more than me because you have memories of your parents.
You have memories of a happier life. I’m sorry you lost all of that, but if you continue killing hunters and ex-hunters, the organization will find you eventually. They will kill you.”
“You think I care about that? What do I have to live for?”
“I don’t know your life, but I don’t think this is what your parents would have wanted.
I don’t think it’s what my parents would have wanted, either.
They were trying to build a place where people like us could be happy.
Where they could belong. Maybe we should try doing the same instead of killing the people who destroyed it. ”
“Are you going to try to stop me if I refuse to stop?” Emric asked. He sounded curious but not like he was planning on saying no. It was like he was testing Jasper, which was understandable.
“No,” Jasper said. “Like I said, I might not like what you’re doing, but I understand why you’re doing it. I can even say that I’m happy those men are dead. I’m not going to try to stop you if you continue killing them, but I don’t want to lose you.”
Emric blinked. “We don’t know each other. You don’t care about me.”
“Maybe I don’t care about you personally right now, but you’re one more link to my past. You’re one more person with answers for me. You’re one more person who could help me with what my parents were doing.”
“You want to rebuild the sanctuary?”
Jasper looked surprised by those words. “Well, I hadn’t actually thought about it in those terms, but I guess I do.
I don’t know what it’s going to look like, but I think that it’s worth doing.
I think it’s what my parents would have wanted.
I think that maybe, it’s what monsters and humans alike need.
But I do think before we can do that, we need to find out exactly what happened at the sanctuary.
That’s where I’m going to need your help. ”
Archie held his breath. He was sure that Jasper would continue doing whatever he was planning even if Emric told him to fuck off, but he didn’t want Emric to do that. He wanted him to work with him. He wanted this connection to his past.
“I’m not making promises,” Emric said.
Jasper smiled at him. “Good, because neither am I.”