Chapter 1 JARED #2
Storm lowers his gaze to the surface of the desk, while his omega glances out the window, a thoughtful expression on his face, a heart-shaped birthmark standing out on his cheek.
For a moment I stare at them both. They found each other… They're stronger together. The Bond between them is almost palpable in the air, a powerful energy binding fated mates. Their souls are merged into one, though living in two bodies.
I want that too, the safety, the strength that can come from merging with the other half of my soul.
But I also want to fall in love for the first time, and to finally know what it feels like to be truly loved in return.
"I've been left with almost nothing. No money, no home, no protection."
Storm's expression clouds over. He averts his gaze from me and slowly turns toward Damien. The omega is already looking back at him, hope shining in his eyes, and I suddenly realize the guy is silently rooting for me.
Storm takes a slow breath; his glowing turquoise eyes darken slightly.
"Jared, I have serious reservations about taking your case."
Silence fills the room once again, my hands shaking a bit.
"Is it the money?" I blurt out.
Storm gives an indignant snort.
"No! I wasn't planning to charge you a cent. My reasons for hesitating are rather simple. I told you: I've never searched for someone's fated mate without seeing the other person first. I can't promise you it'll work."
I grip the leaf pendant so hard my knuckles turn white.
"Please," I whimper, barely getting the word out. "My life has been a nightmare ever since I was fifteen. I haven't been truly happy, except when I'm with my son, Tommy. Mark… he beat me. Humiliated me. Controlled me. Please!"
Silence. Storm lowers his gaze to his hands again. Damien does the same.
"And before Mark…" My voice falters. "It was even worse."
My mouth opens as if to explain, but I just can’t.
I don't have the strength to say any more.
Digging into my dark past, telling them about the Ring, about my desperation and fear, about my life as a model, which seemed glamorous from the outside but was the exact opposite…
it would probably break me. Even now, as I just start to scratch the surface, my breath hitches in my chest.
Storm seems to snap himself out of his grim thoughts as he hears my ragged breathing. Damien immediately stands up and gives me a glass of water that I gulp down in a few seconds.
The purple alpha frowns, rubbing his chin as he says, "Listen, this will be a first for me, Jared, but—"
"But?" I seize on that single word as though it's the only thing keeping me alive.
"But something has changed in my life recently. Something that might make this possible."
Once again, Storm glances toward Damien.
"A few weeks ago, I found my own True Mate.
The nature of our relationship is such that it strengthens my energy…
and I believe it boosts my magic as well whenever I'm—" He trails off, making a very particular face, and I immediately know what he means.
"Whenever I'm close to Damien, I can feel more energy available to me, as if my magic grows stronger.
Before I met him, I never would've agreed to take on something like this, but now…
I'm willing to try. I still can't make you any promises, though. "
A loud exhale escapes me. I’m so relieved that I feel as if I’m about to slide right off the chair and melt onto the floor like a blob of goo.
"The fact that you're willing to try already gives me hope. Please, do your best. If those people find me, I'm finished… and so is my child."
Storm seems a little lost in thought.
His fingers move across the desk, absentmindedly shuffling papers, but my words pull him out of it, and he raises an eyebrow, glancing at Damien one more time, seemingly without any reason.
"Do you have somewhere safe to stay?"
"I do. My cousin Alex offered me a room in his small house."
"And those people… do they know where you are?"
"To make sure no one could trace me, I changed my phone, and when I left my husband's house, I went out of my way to lose anyone who might've been following me.
I haven't logged into my Instagram either, and my friend is handling it.
But those people are powerful, and if they decide they want to find me, they will.
The only question is how long it'll take them to start looking. "
Storm frowns again.
"Unfortunately, even if you find your fated one, they may still come after you. That alone won't solve the problem."
He's right, of course, but I only set my jaw more firmly. For a reason I can’t explain, I have this feeling it would resolve all my issues, even if it seems a bit naive.
"Maybe not, but I simply believe we'll stand a much better chance against them together than I ever could on my own, especially with Tommy still being so small. I have to protect him. He's everything I have left. Other than Alex, I don't have any family."
Storm straightens slightly and lets out another heavy breath.
"I hope that's true, Jared." He huffs. "I promise I'll do everything I can to find him, but to be honest I don't even know where to begin.
Should I look through thousands of people online?
Scroll through photographs? Search Facebook, hoping to come across an aura that's exactly the same color as yours? "
I stare at him blankly because I have no idea what to tell him. I don't have the faintest clue what I could suggest that would make it easier.
Storm steeples his fingers.
"But there's one thing that can make it easier. Your aura is highly unusual. Do you know that? I've never seen one exactly like yours."
My eyebrows shoot up.
"What do you mean?"
"It's an extraordinary shade of green, incredibly vivid, almost vibrating, as if it carries magic within itself. I assume your fated mate has the same one, which might make the search easier. That kind of green really pops."
Oh, well, I may have some idea why that is. Green? That's almost funny.
"You know… I've always had a green thumb," I mutter, making it into a joke, but there’s more to the story.
Storm smiles, probably assuming I am trying to make the atmosphere a bit lighter, so I leave it at that. I won’t spill my secrets just yet.
Unexpectedly, Damien rises from the couch, as if he wants to bring our meeting to a close.
He steps toward us and leans a bit against the desk’s edge.
"Storm will do everything he can to help you, but…
even if he can't find your fated mate, I want to offer you a solution.
My dad owns the Omega Red Line Agency. If you're in serious danger, he can help you.
We can find you a safe place far away from those guys.
My dad knows the right people, he knows shelters, and he can make sure you and your son are taken care of. "
I take a deep breath.
"Thank you. It means a lot to know I still have some safety options. If Storm truly can't find my perfect match, I'll reach out to you. But for now, I'm not giving up hope."
I get to my feet, and Storm does the same. I shake both of their hands, doing my best to keep myself composed.
The conversation could have gone far worse. I came here carrying little more than a flicker of hope, and somehow that flicker is still there. I just have to believe; it's the only path forward, isn't it?
A little while later, after we leave Storm's office, we head to the café where Alex is waiting for me with Tommy sitting on his lap.
The moment Tommy sees me, he throws his little arms out toward me, and my heart flutters. I scoop him up without a second thought and hold him close.
This little boy is everything I have left, the fulfillment of my dream, or at least part of it. I always wanted a big family and a peaceful life in the country. But my dream still feels incomplete.
A little later, as we walk toward the car together, I give Alex a brief rundown of everything Storm told me.
Alex nods before saying, "I have faith in Storm. There are extraordinary gifts running through his family. And I know quite a bit about them, I basically lived with the Nolan family as a teen while dating Bay."
His confidence in the purple alpha’s abilities is infectious, and I find myself taking a small breath of relief.
"Okay. I'll be patient."
Alex walks beside me quietly for a moment with those amethyst eyes of his fixed on the concrete surface of the parking lot.
"You really believe it, don't you? That once you find him… everything will finally fall into place?"
There's something very serious in his voice. And I know he probably thinks about his situation with Bay, which was painfully complicated. They’re supposed to be fated, but somehow it didn't work out, and happiness still hasn't found them.
I let out a weary sigh as I climb into the car and secure Tommy in his pink toddler car seat.
"I don't even know why. Maybe it sounds ridiculous, but something deep inside me believes that if I find him, he will… unravel me. Set me free. Almost magically… transform my world. And my nightmare will finally be over."
"Well, I can definitely see why you want to believe this," Alex responds as he gets into the car, his expression pensive. "I kinda… hope for the same for myself." He averts his gaze toward the road.
I don’t respond. I don't want to stir up the pain he has fought so hard to bury.
Instead, I lean over Tommy and kiss his temple. His light blond hair is exactly the same shade as mine, and when those green eyes lift to meet mine, they hold the kind of bright, carefree expression only a child can have, something I lost a long time ago.
"Dada…" he mumbles, tugging gently on my ear.
I smile back, and his little face lights up. I'm grateful he takes after me.
It means I'll never have to look into the face of my past.