Chapter 27 Jack
Chapter twenty-seven
Jack
When I woke up the next evening, I glanced over at Julian, sleeping calmly next to me. For a moment, I just looked at him and took in this moment, a moment I’d been wanting for over a year now.
If Julian hadn’t denied us, then this could have been us every day for the last year. Part of me was still mad that he’d made us waste so much time. The other part was just happy to have him, any part of him, for however long it lasted.
One thing I had to note was the lack of nightmares I had with Julian asleep next to me. I hadn’t had a nightmare free night in over a week. Not since…
I swallowed. Not since Kyren and Tate used to sleep with me.
I slipped out of bed carefully and grabbed my clothes as I made my way around the room. I pulled Kyren’s shirt back over my head and quietly walked out of the bedroom.
Once I was far enough away from the bedroom, I went to my bag and pulled out a new pair of underwear and pants. As I dragged them on, I shot glances back toward the bedroom, like Julian was going to come stalking out at any moment, wanting to talk about us. What this was.
Fuck. What was I going to say to Tate? I mean we weren’t exactly back together, but I couldn’t say in good faith we were apart either.
I sighed, changing my shirt before grabbing my school bag. Walking toward the door, I lingered by it, glancing back to where Julian was,
The urge to crawl back into bed with him was strong, but not as strong as my need to have a moment to myself. To think things through.
Opening the door, I jerked to a stop when I found Tate there once again, waiting for me with a to-go coffee cup for me.
“Oh, hi.” I ducked my head, brushing my hair behind my ear.
Tate smiled slightly and offered me the cup. “Good morning.”
I took it and focused all my attention on it as I closed the apartment door behind me. I started walking toward class. I didn’t wait for him, but I knew he’d follow, anyway. I sipped from my cup, savoring the coffee rather than thinking about what had happened the night before.
“So…” Tate started. “How was it?”
The coffee went down the wrong pipe. I coughed and glanced over at him my eyes watering. “What?”
“Sleeping over at old stick in the mud’s place, of course. What did you think I meant?” He took a drink from his own cup, eyes twinkling as if he knew something but didn’t want to say.
I swallowed, clearing my throat. “Uh… it was fine. We ate dinner and went to bed. He slept on the couch.”
“Uh-huh.” Tate nodded, before adding, “And was that before or after you had sex with him?”
“Wha—what?” I almost choked again, and my head whipped around to see him grinning from ear to ear. “I… We didn’t… I should have showered first,” I muttered, staring down at my cup.
Blowing out a breath, I lifted my gaze. It was better to be upfront and honest about it.
“It wasn’t something we planned. And I know we haven’t exactly talked about what we were anymore but…”
“Princess, relax.” Tate cupped the side of my face. “I’m not mad. You’re right. We never did say if we were together again, though I would like to clear up right now.”
I swallowed and blinked up at him. “But Julian…”
Tate chuckled. “I wouldn’t have left you there with him if I wasn’t okay with something happening.”
“You are?”
“I admit, I was jealous at first. Mainly because he got to have you when I couldn’t. But he’s proved he knows you and wants to keep you safe just like I do.” He shrugged. “And you might not believe it, but that man is madly in love with you.”
I licked my lips and flushed. “You think so?”
“Most definitely,” Tate tucked a knuckle under my chin, “and no one can ever say I’m not good at sharing. Now, Kyren on the other hand…” He smirked, amusement twinkling in his eyes. “He might need convincing.”
I snorted. “That is the least of my worries right now. He can’t even be in the same room as me, so I don’t think he gets a say in who I do or don’t have sex with.”
“That’s what you think,” Tate muttered as he sipped his coffee.
I ignored his comment, not willing to go down that road right now.
Tate walked me to my first class with a promise to meet me afterward and then for lunch later. I walked into class and found my lab partner, Flynn, already there. He had his head down and was texting fiercely on his phone.
“Hey, Flynn.” I slid into my seat next to him, then paused, my eyes catching on his face. “What’s up with the shiner?”
Flynn didn’t look up from his phone. “Doorknob.”
“That might work with someone who doesn’t know how fast werewolves heal,” I scoffed, “but not on me.”
He sighed and put his phone down, meeting my gaze. “I appreciate your concern but I’m good. I’m dealing with it.”
“Does this happen a lot?” Leaning on my elbow, I scanned his face. “Running into doorknobs?”
Flynn grumbled.
“I’m sorry, what was that?”
Flynn blew out a hard breath. “Not anymore. This…” He gestured at his face, “This was me being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
I hummed, concerned that the wolves had such bad tempers that they’d abuse one of their own for a mistake. Before I could ask anything else, the professor started class, and I had to drop it for now.
At the end of class, Flynn darted out of the classroom before I could have a chance to question him more. Thinking about how some people just didn’t want to help themselves, I was one of the last people out of the classrooms.
That made it all the more curious that Tate wasn’t waiting for me after class.
Frowning, I started toward the stairs to wait for him down in the courtyard when I heard hushed arguing coming from nearby. I turned the corner and paused, finding Tabby quietly griping at one of her witch friends in the stair well.
“This is not how we work. You can’t just leave stuff in people’s room.”
“I thought that’s what you wanted?” her friend whispered back, seeming genuine in her questioning.
“She was freaked out. Like really freaked out.” Tabby sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Just leave her alone. We’ll be lucky if she even talks to us after this.”
I shifted my weight, the movement drawing their attention. The friend’s eyes widened before she quickly ducked past Tabby and raced down the stairs.
Arching a brow, I waited for Tabby to speak.
“Jack,” she started, walking my way. I tensed, my hand slipping into my bag. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea Monica had left a message for you. She thought it would help convince you to let us study you.”
I stared at her for a long moment. “By writing a threatening message on my wall? In blood?”
“Blood?” Tabby looked aghast. “What blood?”
Then I realized she wasn’t talking about my latest message. She was talking about the note from a few days ago, the one with the sigil on it I asked her about.
“Never mind.” I shook my head. “So… Monica left the note that said we know what you did on it?”
Tabby winced. “I am so sorry. She was supposed to ask you to meet us so we can talk about the latest development in your abilities.”
I tensed. No one knew about my powers except for Tate and Julian. I hadn’t even gotten the courage up to call my dad yet.
“What… abilities?”
Tabby cocked her head to the side. “The voice control. Like your dad, Antoine?” When I still didn’t admit to it, she continued. “I was there in the gym when you were deal with that asswad wolf? When you stopped him from shifting?”
I gaped at her. I knew something weird had happened in the gym that day, but I never imagined my new powers had stopped the guy from shifting. No wonder he was so freaked out afterward.
“Uh… how did you know I did that? I didn’t even know until now.”
“I’m a witch.” Her lips curled up. “I felt the air change when you used your powers. It’s a clear sign that magic was being used.”
So vampire powers were some form of magic. That was new information.
Tabby then frowned. “If you didn’t know about your powers then, how did you find out about them?”
“The hard way.” I grimaced, adjusting my bag. “Killed some crows. Almost killed my boyfriend.”
“Oh, no. I’m so sorry.” She rushed over to me, her hands on her chest. “This is all my fault. If I’d just come to you right away, none of this would have happened.”
I shrugged a shoulder. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. You couldn’t have known.”
“But still—”
“Is everything okay over here?” Tate appeared in the stairwell, coming up to meet us. “Sorry, I was finishing a test and lost track of the time.” He stepped up to me and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “What’s up, Tabby?”
“She was just telling me that they could help me with my new powers,” I explained to him, not wanting to get Tabby or her friend in trouble for breaking into my room.
“Oh, well, that’s a relief.” He grinned, then wrapped an arm around me. “Want to go to lunch early? They probably have some leftover breakfast they haven’t switched over yet.”
I nodded. “Sure. I’ll find you later okay, Tabby?”
“Yeah, sure.” Tabby’s head bobbed eagerly. “And sorry again.”
As we walked away, Tate glanced down at me. “Sorry about what?”
“Nothing.” I waved him off. “So food?”
We worked our way down to the cafeteria where I sat my bag at our usual table and went to fill a tray with food. I had missed breakfast, so I ended up getting way more than usual, causing Tate to tease me a bit.
“Hey, I burn a lot of calories being this awesome.” I grinned back, sitting next to him at the table.
“Oh, you burned calories doing something alright.” Tate winked, taking a huge bite of his burger. He’d been right about the leftover breakfast, so both our plates had a mixture of bacon and eggs with a side of burgers and fries. A well-balanced meal for any supernatural creature.
“Oh, I need juice,” Tate announced, standing up again.
I chuckled at him and then dug through my bag, planning on looking over my notes for my next class, Bloodlines and Power Dynamics, when my hand pulled out something else.
Another note, but this one didn’t have the sigil of Tabby’s coven on it.
Frowning, I glanced around, wondering who could have put it in my bag without me noticing. There were several students in the cafeteria, but none of them looked suspicious or like they were waiting for me to open it.
I opened the envelope and quickly read over its contents.
If you want to find your family’s enemies, come to the address below. Come alone.
Below listed an address in the town a short way from the academy. It also had a time—five a.m.
“Hey, got you one, too.” Tate announced, sitting a glass in front of me.
I shoved the note back into my bag and smiled. “Thanks.”
I tried to get through the rest of the day as normally as possible, but the entire time, my mind was on that note. I needed to see what they had to say. Except they wanted me to come alone.
As I walked toward Julian’s apartment I wondered over what to do. How was I supposed to do that without my two protectors trying to come with me?
“Hey,” I said to Julian, setting my bag down on the island later that day after class. “I’m going to head to my parents. Talk to my dad about my powers.”
He looked up from his computer. “Do you want me to come with you?”
“No, no.” I waved him off. “I’m going to ride my bike. No need for an escort. I think I can make it there and back without dying.”
Julian watched me for a long moment before nodding. “Alright. Text me when you get there and back.”
“Yes, dad.” I grinned, stepping up to him and shyly kissing his cheek.
“Hey.” He caught my hand. “You disappeared this morning.”
“Oh.” I flushed. “I wanted to get a head start on class.”
“And wanted to avoid the what are we question.”
Chewing on my lower lip, I ducked my head. “Maybe.”
“It’s okay, Jack.” Julian tilted my chin up. “We can be whatever you want, take it as slow as you want.”
My face softened. “I know. It’s just… complicated.”
Julian leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to my lips. “It always is.”
Without another word, I grabbed my helmet and left the apartment, his words making me feel even more guilty for lying to him.
However, this was something I could handle alone. It was a quick trip into town and if it turned out to be nothing, then they didn’t get all hyped up for nothing. And if it was a trick, at least I kept Julian and Tate out of the line of fire.
I drove my motorcycle out of the academy gates and on the road, pulling the destination into my phone’s GPS.
When I pulled up to it a half hour later, I frowned. This couldn’t be right.
Glancing down at my phone, I realized this rundown house was indeed the location. Turning off my bike, I grabbed my knives out of my saddlebags before slowly making my way up to the house. There weren’t any lights on in the house and no sign of anyone having been there recently.
I couldn’t smell anyone waiting in the shadows nor hear any heartbeats.
Maybe they weren’t here yet?
I glanced at the time and saw that it was already five after. Pursing my lips, I went to the front door. I reached out and tried the handle.
It turned. Well, either someone was here or no one cared enough to keep this place locked up.
I stepped carefully into the house, using my phone light to see where I was going. There was furniture from the previous residents, but they were worn and dirty. A few more turns around the living area didn’t reveal anything new.
“Hello?” I called out, hoping the person was further in the house and just hadn’t heard me arrive. “It’s Jack. You left a note for me.”
There was a creak on the wood floors and a shuffling of clothing. I spun around, using my light to find the noise. Finally it landed on a dark figure.
“Hello? You said you had information for me. About my family’s enemies?”
Someone snickered.
“Oh, yes we know all about them. And they want to thank you for making this so easy for them,” a voice I didn’t recognize answered, and then a light flicked on.
I was surrounded. Eight people stood in around me, all wearing masks. I sniffed the air but couldn’t catch anything. I had no idea if they were human, witch, vampire, or shifter.
I realized then how stupid I had been, leaving campus on my own without telling Tate or Julian where I was going and how utterly fucked I was now.
If I was lucky, I’d get out of this alive, if not… then here’s hoping someone cried at my funeral.