Chapter 55
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
Jasper growled “Mine” again. The words spilled out from his mouth as he stormed toward Terra.
An overwhelming need of something he couldn’t understand drove him without thinking.
Her hazel eyes captured him as her scent beckoned him closer.
Her scent was like the most delicious blood he’d ever tasted.
It made his insides roll in a frenzy, and he wanted to mark her …
to taste her. She was his mate. She was his.
But right before he could reach her, Ken pulled her back protectively, which made Jasper halt.
He glared at Ken, his gaze possessive, and for a moment, it appeared he was actually crazy enough to consider taking her from the deity in front of him.
Ken held Jasper’s gaze. “Wait.” His deep voice radiated with authority as he glared at Jasper.
He waited until he saw the vampire’s eye color flash back to normal before he dropped his gaze.
“Is this man your mate?” He had no problem with allowing her to have her mate, but he was giving her a moment to process what happened and what she wanted to do about it.
Terra’s hazel gaze pinned the brown eyes of the man in front of her.
There was no denying what she felt. There was no denying the mate pull.
His scent was a blend of cinnamon and leather, different from any other scent she’d come across.
It was a smell that was now hers. His blond hair stood in messy spikes, and she craved touching it.
Her gaze traced over his lips, and she felt a magnetic force pulling her to this man.
But he was a stranger. A stranger who knew nothing about her.
“Yes, he’s my mate. But—” She stared at Jasper.
“We have different allegiances.” She looked at the pure-blooded male vampire that stood behind him.
She recognized his scent. Her vampire blood would know a high-ranking vampire when she met one.
And she could tell the man in front of her was also a high-ranking vampire.
“You follow the vampires. I have sworn my allegiance to Ken.”
“Terra.” Ken quirked a brow up at her. “Don’t hide behind excuses. Remember the talk you had with me. Not quite how one would speak to the one they pledge allegiance to …” If Terra didn’t want to take Jasper as a mate, that was fine. However, she wasn’t going to hide behind excuses.
Terra nodded her head. She understood Ken instantly, so she decided to just say what the deal-breaker was.
“My parents fought with the demons during the demon war. I am the daughter they left behind when they died. My mother was a pure-blooded vampire, and my father was the son of an original demon.”
“Do you remember their names?” Harley asked, his interest piqued.
“Yes, my mother was Claire, and my father was Leoric.” Terra noticed a few people stirring uncomfortably.
Abe furrowed his brows as he frowned. “Leoric … that name. I—” He didn’t have his memories from his first life, and some things were blurry even from his second.
For the most part, he remembered his existence as a bound servant.
But this was a name he’d heard before. A name he was told about.
“Is that the same Leoric who was my half-brother?”
“It is,” Harley confirmed, nodding his head. “There was no other son of an original demon by the name of Leoric. So, I guess that makes her your niece.” Harley chuckled and could see the confused face of the young woman. “It’s a long story, one they can catch you up on later.”
“My name is Jasper. The Prince of the Vampires is my cousin. Yes, I am loyal to the vampires. That will never change. My family is there. You are not your parents and I won’t reject you because of what they did.
Finding each other at this age is a gift.
Let’s take some time to get to know each other. ”
The man's voice, although hoarse, was deep and calm. The timbre of his voice was one that made Terra want to listen. She reached up and tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear as she tried to ignore the almost painful feeling inside her. She thought back to the draw she had seen Ken feel toward Alexa. He was always watching over her, as if he couldn’t live without seeing her.
She wouldn’t lie to herself. She wanted that too.
But she wasn’t just going to agree to it.
She didn’t know anything about this man, at least not enough to agree to give him her life.
It was almost like Ken sensed this, though, because his next words were out of consideration of her.
“Why don’t you come back with us? During that time, you two can get better acquainted and can decide what you want to do from there.
” Ken winked at Terra, who gave him a faint smile in appreciation.
He knew she would feel better not being surrounded by so many people. She wasn’t used to this, after all.
Jasper frowned and pursed his lips. Lucie was heavily pregnant, and it didn’t sit right with him to leave her there, along with Derrick.
“Go,” Derrick said in a commanding voice. “That’s an order.” He knew his cousin well enough that he would have to give him the push he needed.
Jasper turned to look at Derrick. Their eyes met and a slight smile reached Derrick’s lips.
Go. This is your fated mate we’re talking about. We’re completely safe here. Derrick winked at Jasper. Go and win her heart.
Jasper nodded his head. Thank you. He turned back around and looked at Ken.
“I accept.” He then focused on Terra’s hazel eyes.
The girl was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen.
Her dark hair spilled over her caramel shoulders.
Her eyes were brown, accented with little flecks of gold and green.
They were mystifying and alluring. And right now, how she was biting her bottom lip made Jasper clench his fists tightly.
He needed to fight for self-control so he could adjust to her pace.
She wasn’t brought up the same way he was. He wanted to know everything about her.
Jasper wanted to accept the mate bond right away.
He didn’t fear it. He wanted to cherish it and the beautiful woman in front of him.
It didn’t matter to him if he didn’t know her.
But things were different for him. He grew up with loving parents and in a safe environment.
He hoped that in time Terra would learn to put her trust in him.
However, he couldn’t ever see himself leaving the Vampire Kingdom.
It was his home, and he knew this was something they needed to work through.
“Terra, Jasper is family to me. I grew up with him. He’s like another one of my cousins. I can attest that while he can be annoying, he is a good guy.” Alexa heard Jasper snort.
“Hey, I am not annoying. How can you call me annoying with Justice and Aedan around?” Jasper grinned as he listened to the chuckles from the other men. His gaze returned to Terra. “Would you feel comfortable enough taking a walk with me? I promise I won’t bite … unless you ask.”
Terra raised a brow at him. Her mate had a lot of confidence in himself.
Well, it would take more than confidence to impress her.
She was raised by Mr. Confidence himself.
“I’m not a dog. I don’t need to be walked.
” She looked around and spotted a nice area where the trees created a cool shadow canopy.
She looked up at Ken and said, “I’ll be over there waiting. Let me know when we’re leaving.”
Jasper watched her walk away, admiring the way her hips swayed. He wanted to follow her, drag her off somewhere private, and let her feel how the mate bond connected them. But instead, she’d brushed him off. To say he was shocked was an understatement. He’d never been turned down before.
Ken couldn’t help but laugh quietly. She was headstrong and doing things on her terms. He watched Terra sit down in the grass and then turned to look back at Jasper.
“Well?” Ken said in a harsh whisper.
“Well what?” Jasper hissed back. He was still trying to pick his crumpled self up off the ground.
“Idiot.” Alexa clicked her tongue. “Go sit by her.”
Jasper stared at Alexa, confused. “But she said—”
“You want a formal invitation?” Mikah chuckled at how dense Jasper was. He was used to women throwing themselves at him. A woman playing hard to get was uncharted territory. A woman who happened to be his mate.
“Oh … OH! You think—” Jasper glanced over at Terra and his lips curled upward. He then made his way over to Terra. He thought she was shooting him down. Here she was giving him a chance to talk alone but on her terms. Okay, he could roll with this. Not that he had another choice.
Alexa smiled and turned her gaze away from them.
She hoped that everything would work out for the two of them.
She didn’t know Terra well, but from what she could tell, she was a nice young woman.
She didn’t think highly of herself. Of course, then you had Jasper, who thought too highly of himself.
They were probably the perfect pair to balance each other out.
“Alexa! You’re back.” Raine cheered as she ran over with Ryker in tow.
“What were YOU two doing?” Justice asked with a smirk.
“Sleeping.” Ryker shrugged innocently.
“Sleeping? Uh-huh. Sure.” Justice scoffed and Ryker grinned widely.
“We were sleeping … only because we didn’t sleep at all last night.” Ryker’s smile quickly vanished as he heard the snort from Brody not far away from him. “It’s hard to sleep in an unfamiliar place.” He cleared his throat and listened to Justice’s snicker.
“Now that Raine is here, it’s catch-up time!” Destiny grinned. “The four of us have mates now. Lucie and I are about to pop. I want to hear about everything.”
“Hey, what about the snowball fight?” Aedan asked with a grin. “You wouldn’t be afraid, would you?”
Alexa laughed. “Afraid? Alright, you asked for it.” She looked over at a flat, grassy area below the patio they were standing on. With a wave of her hand, the area turned white with thick, fluffy snow. “You know … this isn’t a battle you can win.”
“I have no shame in ganging up on her to bring her down.” Justice rolled his shoulders, cracking them.
“Well, to be fair about this …” Reiya spoke up, clearly enjoying herself. “Alexa, you can’t summon more snow. No one can use their magic. And I’m joining in on the fun too.”
“Of course you are.” Brody snorted, folding his arms over his chest.
“What’s the matter, Brody? You afraid of getting embarrassed?” Hunter smirked as he cracked his knuckles.
“If Hunter is joining in, then I am too!” Chasen chuckled as he felt his excitement rise. No matter how old they were, they were still big kids at heart.
“I think I need to make the playing field bigger.” Alexa laughed as the white spread more. One of the things she loved about her family was their fun nature. They were tough and fierce when they needed to be, but they also knew when to have fun.
“I’ll be by your side, my fairy. I’ll protect you.” Levi rubbed Reiya’s shoulders and looked up to see Ken’s green eyes drilling into him. He leaned down and lightly pecked Reiya’s lips. “Whether you want me to or not,” he mumbled against her mouth.
Ken chuckled. “Well, of course, if you’re joining in on this, I will be as well.”
Blue pinned against green in a fierce stare-down. They might all be family, but right now, it was war. Mother against daughter, father against son, cousins against cousins—all competitive and not willing to show mercy to the other.
“Abe, are you coming? Just remember, don’t eat the yellow snow.” Justice flashed his pearly white grin as the young half-demon rolled his eyes.
“No thanks. I’m staying with Lucie.”
Justice shrugged his shoulders. “Suit yourself. I understand. I mean, you’re so young and little. It would be a massacre.”
“Reverse psychology won’t work on me. Idiot.” Abe sat down next to Lucie, quite content to sit this one out. He wasn’t a big fan of snow.
Ken walked next to Alexa and scooped her into his side. “You know we have to win this, right? I can’t lose to the blue—your father.” He cleared his throat and winked down at her.
“I don’t plan on losing. Snow is my element after all.” Alexa felt him tug her to a stop as he spun her in his arms and gently kissed her forehead.
“Alright, my love. Let’s defend your honor.”