by A Lonergan
“Yes, but how did you know he was here?”
“Because of me,” A familiar man in a matching suit exited the shadows next.
Ambrogio smiled. “I didn’t want to give away my human friend unless he wanted to be known.” The highest vampire lord bowed his head and backed up.
“Father?” Jade shouted across the space between us. It all clicked into place then. No wonder his scent was familiar.
Mr. Rivers bowed his head. “Yes, I brought them here. I have spent my entire life knowing the highest members of the supernatural communities. It was probably what drew me to this little town in the middle of nowhere, besides the fact that my daughter got accepted to the college here.”
Jade stumbled up the hill through the rain and the mud. Her mouth was agape as she struggled but somehow, through all her shock she got to my side. “Dad?”
“Hello, Jade.”
Ambrogio grinned from the shadows. His canines on full display. They were much longer than the wolves. “The beautiful Jade Rivers, it is so nice to see you again.”
Her brows creased in the center. “Mr. Ambrogio. You haven’t aged a day. But I guess this explains it all.”
Jade’s father looked uncomfortable but also extremely confident. “Call off your men, Damian. We have over two hundred vampires waiting around the perimeter here. You will all die a very violent and painful death. Or Ambrogio here loves to have a few snacks handy all times day or night.”
Damian paled further. Jade simply watched the exchange with horror and appreciation. “I have so many questions.”
Mr. Rivers’s lips curled into a little smile. “Later. We have much to discuss later.”
The men surrounding Damian dispersed quickly. Ambrogio grabbed Damian around the neck with ease as he looked at the rogue wolves. “You are free from your binds and your duties. Whatever he has against you has been resolved. All children have been freed and all families have been liberated. You must choose a new pack, though you will need to find a way to make it up to the community you tried to destroy. Think about how you will redeem yourselves. This will not be an easy road for any of you.”
“No!” Valentina screamed down the hill. The rain had stopped and her hair fell in thick clumps around her face. She marched with her fists thrown down with each step. “I will not accept this! He will die! He will die at my hands.”
Ambrogio took Damian by his neck and hauled him away. Mr. Rivers knelt in the mud and came face to face with the little demon. “I know you would like your revenge. I would love to get revenge against those that have wronged me. But alas, it doesn’t always happen the way it should. You are a strong girl, Valentina Charles. You always have been. We have been watching you and your mother for some time now. You would have made her proud today.” He brushed a tear away from the child’s cheek. “Supernatural prisons are unlike anything you ever want to experience. I promise you he will suffer there for a very long time. He will not get out of this easily.”
Valentina’s face softened but I could see it in the way her shoulders were set that she wasn’t content with that answer. Someday she would probably hunt the man that had taken everything from her.
He looked at me next. “Thank you for taking care of my daughter all this time and thank you for the window replacements. There was a role I had to play and forgetful dad is a big part of that.”
He straightened up, dusted off his suit, and kissed his daughter’s temple. “We will talk soon.”
Then they were gone and everything hit us full force. The bodies were littered and scattered around the Pack Lands. There were more than I thought there would be. I raked my fingers through my hair and grief hit me square in the chest. How many of our men had fallen? How many were waiting for their final resting place?
I was surveying the damages with Knox when Archer came staggering from the woods. Blood was splattered across his face and his clothes were torn but that wasn’t what held my attention. It was the man thrown over his shoulder. The man that was quiet but powerful. The man that had always worked behind the scenes for me. He had his own impact on this family, in this pack. A branch the size of Mav’s arm was protruding from his back and I knew immediately what Archer was going to say when we made it to him. I scrambled over the bodies and the muck to get to my two brothers. Sadness washed over me as my fingers searched for a pulse. A pulse I knew wouldn’t be there but tried to find anyway. My shoulders shook as a sob wracked through my body. My brother. Jade’s touch on my arm was gentle but I barely felt it. All I could feel was pain and sorrow. Losing my father was the only kind of pain that could compare to this. But when Tracey carried Granny from the woods next, my entire world felt like it had been turned upside down. All I hoped was that Damian got everything he deserved in the prison he would spend eternity in.
Chapter 50
Jade
Granny’s will was short and simple. The grief I felt over her passing was immeasurable but what Tracey and Lucas were going through had to be so much worse. Axel and Vivian held onto each other as if their lives depended on it. Granny didn’t like long, drawn-out things. Even after she was gone. Everything went to Lucas, which was a surprise. Lucas didn’t look at all comforted by it but in the letter she left she explained that he would need to take up the torch of this place. He would be the witch for these Pack Lands as long as he wanted it. Valentina was left a letter and so was Tracey. Neither one of them broke the seals while we were together.
Alice was recovering nicely though she milked the crap out of it. I didn’t blame her. She had taken care of everyone else for far too long. Everyone owed her.
The witches came in floods to regain their children and their dead. We had expected anger and prepared for it, but instead, they were grateful for us and what we did. Even though we weren’t the ones that had arrested him, which wasn’t exactly a bad thing. When we had talked about what would happen to Damian. We had always been final about it. He was supposed to die but now that he was going to live, I didn’t know how it made me feel. Though, Rafe did reassure me that supernatural prisons were hardcore. Damian would be tortured for years to come, if not for the rest of his life. At least he would get back what he had given us.
Like everyone knew, Valentina was left without a home. No one came to retrieve her. We expected it as much as more witches came to retrieve their children. Her face was passive with each family. They didn’t even look in her direction. Lucas reassured her that she could continue to live in Granny’s cottage until they figured something out.
Duncan was the first on the pyre. I held Rafe’s hand as he clenched his jaw and his eyes went cold. The others that were laid there with him were fathers of some of the youngest pups in the pack. My heart broke watching them struggle from the side with their mothers and parents. The elders that had been sent away were finally back for this. What an incredibly sad thing to come home to.
Axel had been severely injured defending the border with Archer and Duncan. He was lucky he made it out alive. His arm was in a sling as he sat beside his wife and two kids. Granny was to be buried behind the cottage. She wanted to be rejoined with the earth that she loved so much.
Knox had taken a wolfsbane bullet to the face. Thankfully it had just grazed his cheek. He smiled at all of us as he sported his thick bandage. We all knew it had healed already but he loved the attention it brought his way. Rafe had scarring on his back from the burns and all I escaped with was emotional trauma and more questions for my family. At least we knew Damian wasn’t Rafe’s older brother. That was about the only honesty any of us knew or believed these days.
A few days after all the funerals and madness were over, Rafe pulled me into a corner behind the manor. He tucked my hair behind my ear and kissed my lips gently. “It’s about time you stop ignoring your parents.”
My chest felt empty after all the crying we had done. “I’m not ready.”
Rafe pulled my hands into his. “You will never be ready but I think it will help you sleep.”<
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My eyebrows pulled together. “Oh yeah?”
We hadn’t moved in together but the thought of it was more appealing now than it had been before. On the battlefield, I had learned a lot of new things about my feelings for him. I knew that I didn’t want to live without him. I knew that my feelings were a lot stronger than like but I couldn’t admit it to myself. When he had jumped on top of me as the ceiling came down, I found that I would be completely okay with figuring it all out as we went. I didn’t want to rush things but I also knew that this life wasn’t promised. I wanted to spend as much of it with the people I cared about. Including my parents, but that was more complicated than even I wanted to admit. He wrapped his arms around me and I laid my head on his shoulder. His heart pounded beneath my ear.
“You’ve been watching me sleep?” I asked playfully. I no longer cared if he snuck in my room at night. It excited me in a weird way.
“Yeah, I’ve been missing you in my bed.”
“Maybe we can arrange that.”
He pulled away suddenly. “What are you saying, Jade?”
I shrugged. “I’m saying that maybe we shouldn’t waste anymore time.”
He kissed me deeply and thoroughly before he painfully pulled away and smacked my ass. “Go talk to your parents. When you get back, I’ll have you moved in.”
I raised my eyebrows and laughed. “Confident are we?”
“I’ve been waiting my whole life for you.”
Something snagged deep within my chest and I knew right then and there that there was nothing else out there for me. He was it. The mate bond snapped into place with full force. I could hardly breathe with the weight of it. He said he already felt the mate bond, so there was no way he had felt what I just did. I rubbed the center of my chest with my palm and smiled to myself.
Nalia practically celebrated in my head. She threw a dang party in there as we walked away from our mate. I’ve been waiting for this day.
Chapter 51
Jade
Father unbuttoned his coat and my mother brought him some coffee. Today my mother had abandoned her tracksuit and sandals. She wore a cream-colored dress and expensive red bottom heels. She looked every bit a mob boss’s wife. I fidgeted in my chair.
“I work for the Supernatural Council. We make sure every race is running and operating as it should be. Mass genocide is a thing of the past and we are trying to regulate it.” He patted my mother’s hand.
“So you never worked with numbers? Have you even been retired all of this time?”
They both chuckled. “Yes, I was retired until you were kidnapped. I went back to work immediately. But even though I was retired, I still kept up my contacts. All different supernatural races around the globe.”
“How did you know I was kidnapped?” They hadn’t acted like they knew anything. Who were my parents and how had they managed to keep all of this from me for so long? Was I that naive? How had I not picked this up?
Mother raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow. “You don’t wear oversized sweaters.”
“When you called that day, I thought my heart was going to burst. I knew you would be okay.”
“Why did we move to this town?” All of the questions rushed out of me.
Father rearranged the pens on his desk. “I knew Rafe Crimson would be on the Pack Law soon. There had been rumors about it for a while. I hoped I would be able to have a meeting with him before it happened.”
“To get your foot in the door of the Pack Law?” Even more questions branched off from these answers.
“Yes, not one of the other Alpha’s wants anything to do with our council. I had to do what I could. But turns out, I didn’t need to.”
“You knew didn’t you, all this time about them? About Tracey?”
My parents nodded together. “Oh yes, we had a very extensive file on everyone in the Crimson Pack.”
“Did you know about me?” My shoulders slumped forward.
They looked at each other before my mom answered. “We were suspicious of it for a while, but it wasn’t set in stone until you got a job on their Pack Lands.” She sat on my dad’s armchair. “Packs don’t invite people on their land unless they are pack family. It became more evident when you invited us to your home and you were dating the head honcho himself.”
“Rafe is my mate,” I didn’t know if they knew that but I felt like it was an important bit of information to let go of. Especially now that Rafe was insisting I move in with him and the bond had solidified inside of me. I wondered if he was really going to have me all moved in before I got back.
They both grinned at me. Happiness came off of them in thick waves. “We didn’t know that. But we hoped.”
“The cameras?”
“We knew what was out there and knew we had to try to protect you as best as we could. Living as close to the Pack Lands as possible was another thing we were hopeful about. All this traveling and things like that, we just couldn’t introduce you to this world. Little did we know that you would find it all on your own.”
I laughed and leaned back in my chair. “You did just say you moved us as physically close as possible to their lands. You had to know the odds.”
They shrugged. “We hoped it wouldn’t find you but we also had to protect you. Now we don’t need to. You can protect yourself.”
“And the blankets? Are you really going to a third-world country?”
My father nodded as he leaned forward against his desk. “There are many supernatural races in those communities. You would be surprised. They need as much help as they can get.”
Mom took that opportunity to blush bright red. “Well, some of them are also for you.”
“Excuse me?”
“I want as many grandchildren as you can give me.”
I pressed both of my hands into my face all while I shook my head. “Seriously?”
She shrugged. “I can dream.”
“You’ll need to dream a little longer.”
“Don’t make me wait forever please.”
“Will you both continue to live in this house?” I chose to change the subject even though I didn’t want to ask it. I had gone the last few years without them as they traveled but knowing they had a house here and my father going back to work had to mean something. At least, I was hopeful. If all of this had taught me anything, it was that I wanted them in my life more. Now that we could share this life and all its secrets, it just made sense.
“We will sell the house but I hear Rafe has a massive house big enough for guests. Whenever we come around to visit.” Mom waggled her eyebrows at me and it proved she was still goofy as ever and not a highly sophisticated super-spy like she looked now.
“Where will you both live?” I frowned.
“We could go live at the beach house for a little while. But not until you have your mating ceremony.” Mom clapped her hands. “I get to plan a wedding.”
“I’m so relieved that you both know.” It took a massive weight from my shoulders. “I don’t feel so alone anymore.”
“We will visit you often. Now that you know it isn’t all vacations and I went back to work, we will be able to see a lot more of each other. You will also be able to travel with us.”
There was still one question on my mind. “How did you even get into this lifestyle?”
Father patted my mother’s hand over his. “I was working at a big firm about twenty years ago. There was an incident. A supernatural had broken into the office and was rogue, we assume. Even though this was a creature I had never seen before, I was able to diffuse the situation. When the Supernatural Council arrived, I was the calmest out of all of the other humans in the firm. It wasn’t because I wasn’t scared or not in shock… It was because I already knew. There was a part of me that had always known that these creatures existed. They were wiping minds and I had this deja vu that it had happened to me before. Maybe that was why I wasn’t as scared or worried. These things were in my subconscious. Either way, the vamp
ire that day looked at me and how reserved I was and asked what I did for work. Apparently, the other human council member had died a few years before of old age and they were looking for someone new. Someone not afraid of supernaturals. She hired me on the spot.”
“Is because I wasn’t allowed friends?”
Mom laughed. “You were allowed friends, but it was a dangerous lifestyle. We were constantly worried about having you in it.”
“Then why accept the job? I had been born already.” That was the logical answer. Don’t accept something dangerous if you’re worried about your family, right?
“I didn’t like the thought of my mind being tampered with again. What if I forgot about you?”
I nodded as I looked down at my clasped hands. “I suppose that’s true.”
“We’ve gotten to live an incredible life because of it,” they both reassured me. “We wouldn’t change a thing.”
Rafe hadn’t been kidding when he said he would have all of my belongings moved into his house by the time I got back. I wasn’t exactly surprised either. He was lounging on the couch when I got there. There wasn’t a hair out of place on his head and he wasn’t even breaking a sweat. I dropped my purse by the front door and looked around. He had even managed to hang a few of my pictures. My tea kettle sat on the stove and a massive trunk full of clothes was at the bottom of the stairs.
“You said all moved in?” I asked with a chuckle.
“More like moved over. I know how picky women are about their clothes so I figured it would be best if you moved those.” Three pairs of my shoes were lined up by the front door.
“Where are the Guardians?”
“They helped me move everything but I shooed them off before you got back.” He jumped over the back of the couch and picked up the trunk effortlessly. “Follow me please.”