by Sydney Addae
This was getting worse. “Jasmine, that’s not true.” He hadn’t considered her marriage valid because her husband had gone to great lengths to terminate it. Their marriage had been dead for years, it simply hadn’t been buried with a divorce.
“Or maybe you thought I’d be just fine accepting money for my husband being killed in combat when he wasn’t. I guess I’m just that kind of woman to you.”
“No… that’s not true.” Truthfully, he’d never thought of the illegality of her accepting the money from the government. He could wring Davian’s neck for this mess.
She snapped her fingers and placed them on her chin. “I get it. You thought I’d be perfectly fine having babies from one man while my husband was banging someone else.” She waved her hand. “Yeah, because I’m that kind of woman, so there’s no fucking need to tell me he’s alive, just wipe that tidbit beneath the mat.” She paused, wiped the wetness from her face and glanced at him. “Guess what genius, my last name is still Bennett and now that means something because he’s still my fucking husband in a court of law. And the law matters to humans, damn you,” she screamed.
The lights flashed on and off.
Her words sliced through him. He stood and took her in his arms. She fought him, tried to push him away and although she was strong, he was much stronger. He wrapped her in his arms and held on tight. She was slipping away from him. He sensed it in his bones.
“I’m so sorry…Baby, forgive me…I was wrong…I’m sorry…Please, forgive me…I love you so much…I was wrong…” he continued until her sobs lightened and her breath was coming normally.
“Jasmine, believe me if I had to do it all over again, I’d handle it differently. I never thought less of you for any reason, you know that.”
“You didn’t want to mate a human.”
He closed his eyes. “That was before I knew you. You are the best part of me. I messed up. I admit it. I’m asking you to forgive me.”
She mumbled something against his chest.
Frowning, he leaned back. “I didn’t hear you.”
“I said get out.” It wasn’t the words but the utter lack of emotion that accompanied them that ripped through him. He looked down into her face and when she looked up at him, there was no warmth, no gentle humor, and no loving glances. There was nothing in the depths of her eyes for him. A chill slid through him as she pushed him and stepped away. “Either you leave or I will.”
He didn’t know what to say or how to deal with this cold person. It was if she had reached inside him and took the worst of his attributes.
“Baby, don’t do this…”
“Get out,” she snarled low and rumbling, sounding like him.
He exhaled as he raked his hand through his hair. She didn’t recant or release her narrowed stare.
Moving slowly, he walked to the door. When he reached it, he glanced over his shoulder. “I love you, Jasmine. That will never change.”
“The cost of your love is too high. Get the fuck out.”
He left, shutting the door behind him. His stomach roiled as her words reverberated in his mind. The cost was too high? What did that mean? They could work through this, they had to work through this. She was it for him, for life. Didn’t she understand she was his mate? He leaned against the wall, resting his head on the canvas wallpaper. After a few deep breaths, he was still clueless how to fix this. She was right; he had dealt with Davian’s situation like a wolf. Listening to her, he realized she should have been told, should have made her own decisions.
“Everything okay?” Cameron asked, coming down the hall toward him.
He nodded. “It will be, eventually. How’re things with you?” he asked, not really caring one way or the other. His mind and heart were behind those closed doors behind him.
Cameron looked up and down the hall. “This mate thing is driving me crazy. This need for her…” he tapped his chest. “I feel it deep, so deep sometimes I can’t think straight. But…she’s like moving at a different speed.” He leaned closer his dark brown eyes brimmingwith confusion.. “I don’t think she feels the same about me, how’s that possible? I mean how does this work if we both don’t want each other the same?”
Silas exhaled and forced himself to change the trajectory of his thoughts. Talking about half-breed mating habits was just the thing to keep him occupied for a while. Jasmine needed a little time to think through things. He had no choice but to give it to her.
“You’ve been gone for a while and I haven’t had a chance to bring you current, especially about dealing with half-breeds.”
“Jasmine’s a half-breed, right?”
“No, she’s not. She’s human and has no wolf.”
Cameron jerked back, searching his eyes. “That’s not…how’d that happen?”
Silas looked at the door one last time, slung his arm over Cameron’s shoulder and walked off. “Let’s get you caught up. There are a lot of things going on around here and I’m going to need your help.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Chapter 14
Jasmine walked to the window and looked out over the complex. To her right was the north wing where Tyrese, Cameron and his mate, and a lot of offices were housed. To her left was her former wing, where Tyrone and his mate, along with Thorne, lived. She and Silas were in the largest wing; their private area occupied the top floor, giving her an excellent view of the mountains.
The sun had just risen and kissed the peaks. She stretched as the panoramic view soothed her tortured thoughts and soul. Her sleep hadn’t been peaceful, it never was without Silas. It had been two days since he'd told her Davian was alive. Two nights she had slept alone. Because they were semi-connected, his distress over their situation kept her half-awake through the night.
He had honored her request, albeit grudgingly, to back off and give her space. They spent time with the children separately and had no further communication. Yawning, she went into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water and guzzled it down. It had taken a few hours after Silas’ announcement about Davian being alive and mated for her to get over her shock and anger. Davian hadn’t loved her, not the way she needed to be loved anyway. She was still pissed and planned to tell him about himself one day, but…eh, in the grand theme of things, he didn’t really matter.
Hell, she was content to allow him to stay dead. No skin off her back. There was no valid reason to drag him to court. Why divorce a man who’s legally dead? The real issue, the thing that kept her from returning to the warmth of her lover’s arms yesterday was how Silas had handled the situation. Her marriage with Davian had been one-sided and she’d be damned if she’d ever do that again.
Silas hadn’t treated her like his equal partner and that burned. He had made a high-handed decision on her behalf and she refused to live that way. Granted, he probably knew Davian was alive before they mated, but he should have told her before they'd made a commitment to each other. Silas had a long history of disliking humans and thinking they were inferior beings. There were times she wondered if that was the reason he refused to recognize her as a human.
For them to make it, he had to accept her for who she was at her base level. Neither of them could change the fact she couldn’t shift into a wolf or have fangs or even think like a wolf. It was a discussion that needed to be dealt with soon.
But first, she wanted to talk to Matthew Chism, Davian’s mate. She strode to the bedroom to dress and go see her babies. She would contact Hank and tell him to set up a room for her and Matt to talk privately, no audio. She knew better to ask for no video, Silas would never permit her in a room with anyone other than himself or the twins without security watching.
Her cell rang.
It was either Renee, her mom or Mandy, her sister’s mate. Needing a sunny voice in her darkened mood, she moved quickly to answer it.
“Hey Renee.” She smiled, genuinely happy to hear from her sister.
“Hey. Thanks for the pictures, they are beautiful. All four of them.”
She paused. “I can’t believe you have six kids. It’s hard to comprehend.”
Tell me about it, Jasmine thought beginning to doubt the wisdom of answering the call. “Yeah, I know right. Never would’ve guessed it. How’s Mandy? You talk to ma lately?”
“Mandy’s at work, but doing good. After seeing the pictures of the babies, she backed off the baby talk. She’s petrified that multiple births run in our family. I should thank you for that.”
Jasmine laughed.
“Last I talked to mom, she and her new husband, she got married again, were traveling to his home-town, somewhere in Italy. She says he’s the one, the real deal and then got mad when I reminded her she said the same thing about Chris and Rafael.”
“She did say that, didn’t she? Well at least she hasn’t given up her search for true love.”
“No, because she keeps finding it, over and over again,” Renee said with a chuckle. “I told her to take her stone with her this time and maybe this new man will last.”
Jasmine’s stone was in her bedroom on the dresser. She had forgotten and wished she had used it the past two days. “I hope it works for her this time. How are your classes coming along? Any interesting students this semester?”
“No. Not yet. They are all sniffing about, trying to determine how tough I am. If I mean what I say, that type thing. It won’t really get interesting until the flakes drop the class. That’s when I get to really teach and play hard ball.”
Jasmine shook her head. Renee was a real softie beneath the tough shell. Few people took the time and effort to look deeper.
“I have some time off next month, Mandy and I want to come see the babies and the boys. That okay?”
“Yeah, that’s great. I’ll do the christening then so you don’t have to make another trip or miss it. I’m thinking about flying in Pastor Wells to do the service.”
“Who’s that?”
“He’s from my church back home. I haven’t found a church here yet.”
“Oh.”
Renee believed each person created their own destiny, and as such were their own gods. After a few tense discussions over the years, religion and faith was one of those topics they agreed to disagree on. “I have a stone for each of the kids. I’d like to present it to them and when they are older, I want to show them how it works if that’s okay with you.”
“That’s fine. I’ll have to explain how a gratitude stone works to Silas first.” Jasmine walked in her bedroom and picked up her stone. It was no more than a smooth rock similar to those you buy in a craft store. But it acted as a focus point to channel thoughts. Closing her eyes she rubbed and thought of all the things she had to be grateful for.
“Thanks, I appreciate it. Maybe I’ll bring him one, you think he’ll it?”
“Yeah, I think a gratitude stone might be a nice gift for him. Thanks.”
.
<<<<<>>>>>
Jasmine entered the secure room and looked at the large glass in front of her wondering who was on the other side. Tyrone? Tyrese? Silas? Because of how personal this was, she knew it would be one of them. She bit back a smile, the twins had avoided her for the last two days, just sticking in their heads in the nursery to say hi and keep moving. It would be good to see them, check out their reactions to Davian being alive. Although he was no longer important in her life, he would always be their dad. And for the most part, he had been a decent father.
Butterflies raced in her stomach as a door from the other side opened and she released a pent up breath. She had no idea what she thought Davian’s mate would look like but it wasn’t the tall, redheaded, man who stood just as nervous near the door. Matthew wasn’t handsome, in fact Davian probably outshine the man whenever they were together. He offered her a hesitant smile and his whole face changed. His green eyes were cautious but they also lacked guile, the brackets around his mouth said he enjoyed a good laugh.
In a patented diva move she learned from her sister, she inclined her head. Not quite sure what she expected from this conversation, but committed to see it out.
“Matthew?”
“Yes, Jasmine?”
She took a seat at the table, interlocking her fingers together to hide her nervousness. He took the one across from her. They studied each other for a moment in silence. He was as tall as Davian, which had been a surprise. Maybe it was the pale skin and green eyes. Davian was very light skinned although he tanned quickly when he spent a lot of time in the sun.
“So you are Davian’s mate?”
He rubbed his chin. “Yes I am.”
She nodded.
“This is awkward. I mean every since La Patron told me you were here and might want to meet with me, I've practiced what I would say. I had a litany of reasons why Davie and I are together, why he faked his death, why he returned to you so many times before making the final break.” He paused and released a breath. “But…now, looking at you.” He shook his head. “You are beautiful. I understand why it was so hard for him to leave.”
She glanced at the Kelly green and white short-sleeved shirt and matching pants she wore and wondered if he were giving her a line.
“Hard for him to leave? He left quite often if you’ve been mated for eight years.”
He nodded. “You’re mated. You know how hard it is to deny your mate, and he did that for a few years because he was torn. He wanted to be with you and his sons, but the mating call pulled him in a different direction. There were times I thought he’d end it all for real.”
She didn’t want to hear how hard it was for Davian to leave her and the twins. “Davian is gay? How long has he known? Did he date other men while we were married?”
Matthew frowned. “Neither one of us is gay. We’re mated and that’s not a gender thing. No one was more surprised than me when he walked into the hospital where I was working at in Iraq. I was dating one of the nurses at the time, and I really liked her. A lot.” He chuckled and something eased inside her.
“The only man I’ve ever been attracted to is my mate. He never cheated on you, with a man or woman. He’s not that kind of man. This mating thing…” he raked his hand through his hair. “The only way to understand the intensity of it is to experience it. I don’t think anyone can truly explain the joy of being irrevocably connected to another person at a cellular level. It is mind boggling.”
Jasmine thought of Silas and had to agree with him on that point. She leaned forward, elbow on the table and held her the side of her face in her palm. “I hate him, you know.”
He released a breath. “I know.”
“He should’ve divorced me.”
Matthew nodded. “You’re right.”
“That was a high-handed move. He left me at home while he spent time with you.”
His face twisted in a grimace of distaste. “Huh, he should’ve stayed at home. He only sat around feeling guilty when he was with me.”
“We didn’t have sex the last few years.”
“Honey, he couldn’t get it up for anyone but his mate, that’s physiology. But I wasn’t getting any real sex either.” He looked at his hand, opened and closed it a few times and then winked at her.
She laughed. She couldn’t help it. Matthew was a likable guy.
“Seriously. I got no real loving until after his death. Then, well let’s just say it’s all good.”
“Good?” She shook her head wondering if he had low standards, because Davian had never been that good of a lover. Especially after being with Silas, her ex didn’t even rate.
“Most definitely.” He paused and leaned back watching her. “Can I tell you something? I mean I know we’re being watched, I was warned within an inch of my life to remain respectful and not to upset you.”
She wasn’t surprised. “What do you want to tell me?”
“He was scared of you. Davie.”
That surprised her. “Why?”
“You’re human. He’s a big man, in many ways. He was always afraid he would hurt you. But if you�
�re mated with La Patron, you could’ve taken anything he could’ve thrown at you. I’m glad for all of our sakes he didn’t know.”
Jasmine wondered if Matt knew she was a human breeder. “You’re right. I can’t imagine what would have happened if I was actually happy with Davian and he left me for you,” she said in a sarcastic tone.
“What if by some twist of fate, you were happy with Davian and then you met La Patron? Huh? What if he realized you were his mate? That would be a disaster of gigantic proportions.”
That was unimaginable. “He would have brushed me off as some human,” she said dismissively to see if he knew anything about breeders.
“La Patron is a wise man. Telling you about Davian was a hard decision for him. The man was torn. I offered to leave and take Davian with me, to keep the lie in place. To keep you blissfully unaware. But he refused. Said he could not lie to you and the lies needed to stop. He made that decision knowing it would cause problems between the two of you. Not that he admitted that, but if I were you, I’d be mad as hell.”
She tipped her head in acknowledgment but remained quiet. It wasn’t often she heard this side of Silas’ decisions.
“He warned me that you might want to talk to me or Davian, and when I asked him to keep you away, he refused. He said you had access to any room in this place; no one could lock you out of anything, or something similar. I was impressed and then scared to my toes when he said you were his mate. So… that was my rather long-winded way of saying, La Patron might have fought the bond for a while, maybe even tried to respect Davian’s human claim as your husband. But at the end of the day, you would be right where you are, a woman who is loved by her mate and sons.”
Touched, Jasmine swallowed hard and tried to smile. “Thanks.”
He nodded.
“I’m still going to kill him, though.”
Matthew laughed. “Oh please don’t do that, I’ve just about got him trained just the way I need him.”