“After that I made it a priority to visit her at least four times a week. There were a few times when she tried to resist me. She would hit, bite or scratch me, but never yell. She never spoke to me. It only took a few times of me beating her before she realized there was no way to resist me. Eventually she stopped fighting. I would come to her and she would be ready. She knew what was coming. It was usually rough and she would be weeping when I left her, but I was easy at times too. I think she enjoyed me when I was gentle. She responded to my body. Over time I came to her less violently and she responded even more until, I think, she looked forward to my visits. She had no other responsibilities in that compound. Her only job was to be ready for me when I came to her.
“Once, I caught her with one of my men. It never occurred to me that she was interested in another man. The jealousy was intense. I sent the man on a near impossible mission and when he failed, which I anticipated he would, I sliced his head off. Everyone assumed it was because of his failure to complete a task, and that was part of the reason. The main reason was my inability to share Fionna. You see, I could fuck any women of my choosing but I was sick knowing she willingly let another man do to her what I always had to do with force.
I found her that night, alone in her room, weeping openly. I knew she was weeping for him. I felt rage course through my veins. There have only been two times in my life that I felt that kind of, uncontrollable urge for violence, about anyone. The night I raped Annie and when I saw your love for Heren in the ice cave,” he said quietly and Kelsha was surprised by his admission. Sure, she and Jax had been intimate back then, when he was raping Fionna day after day, but to know he felt jealous of her feelings for Heren made her feel good. They were a twisted pair, she thought.
“Anyway, I beat her pretty severely that night. She didn't fight back, or ask me to stop. I had to stop myself. At one point she was so still I thought I had killed her. Now I may have been ruthless, still am, but I honestly did not want to kill her. I genuinely cared for her, in my own way. I stopped and picked her limp body up off of the floor. I took time and washed the blood from her face and held her until she regained consciousness. When she finally woke I apologized for what I had done. I never apologize for anything, but I was truly sorry. When I beat her in the past it was not enough to mark her face or really injure her fragile body, not that night. Her face quickly puffed up and turned a bright shade of blue. One of her eyes was swollen shut and I was pretty sure I cracked a few of her ribs as well as her collarbone. For the first time in my life I felt disgust for myself. I felt remorse. It was a strange feeling for me and I didn't know how to deal with it. I did the only think I could think of to make her better, nurse her back to health. Once she was strong enough, I gently made love to her one last time before promising to never touch her again. She thanked me when I left the room. That was during the time that I kidnapped Akayleah and had taken Shep and James Mender hostage. Then you came to me with news of your pregnancy. I was being pulled apart inside, to say the least, and I was so hell bent on making Annie love me. I was blinded by my obsession of both Annie and Fionna.
“I am sorry I didn't see you as being my perfect mate back then. Had I not been so blind, maybe things would be different. I would never have hurt Fionna the way I did. Annie might still be alive. I would be me, not a mix of myself and your lover. Maybe our child would have lived. Maybe we could have been a happy family, you, me and our son.” The last words were strained. Kelsha felt a drop on her hand and realized he was crying.
“We have both done horrible things, Jax. We have both made mistakes. I tricked your son into killing you. I don't think it gets worse than that. We are not good inside, Jax. We never will be. Separately we are rotten but together we are amazing. We cannot dwell on what was done, it is done. We have to move on. We have to forget. Fionna will forgive you. She probably already has. Now that I know the history though, I stand by my idea of you walking in as Heren,” she said and kissed his neck. She had to let him know she understood, and she loved him in spite of his past, as he loved her.
They flew in silence the rest of the way to Antiope. The closer they came to Antiope, the more Kelsha's heart fluttered with excitement. She could hardly wait to hold her boy. Kelsha and Jax would be a family. She would make sure of it. He motioned to the ground below and she saw it, her town, Antiope. The butterflies began to flutter inside her belly. The anticipation was killing her. When the dragon landed Kelsha jumped off and ran to the Inn.
“Fionna! Fionna! We're here! It's safe to come out!” She yelled as she bound up the front stairs. The town was eerily quiet, even for a deserted town, but Kelsha didn't pay attention to the silence. She called out to Fionna as she searched room after room. She found herself back on the main floor where Jax was standing in the form of Heren.
“Where are they?” He asked but knew by her face that they were not here.
“They’re gone,” she whispered and sat on the nearest chair for fear that her legs would no longer hold her. It took a few seconds, but once she absorbed the fact that Fionna was not there with James, she knew. She should have known. She should have never trusted the tramp.
“That bitch took my son back to the Levannah's. She took him back to Lilly!” Jax came to her and held her while she sobbed. He would find the boy. He would bring him back to Kelsha. He would fix her pain. He had caused her so much pain. This time he would ease her pain.
~Chapter Eight~
It seemed as though a hundred days had passed since Kelsha discovered James to be missing. Jax stayed with her, comforted her, until her sanity found its way back into her mind. She slept through the first two sunsets and remained in bed, unspeaking, for the next five. Finally, on the sixth night she turned to her lover, her friend, her Hybrid. “Thank you, Jax or Heren or whatever, thank you for staying with me,” she whispered before falling back to sleep.
When he woke the next morning, he felt a jolt of panic, when he realized she wasn’t in bed. He quickly jumped out of bed and dressed himself before going to look for her. He was halfway down the stairs that lead to the dining room, when he smelled smoke. Alarm bells rang incessantly in his head as he rushed toward the smoke. The closer he came to the source, the more the smoke smelled aromatic, not sinister. Once he reached the swinging door that led to the kitchen, he stopped, smelled, and listened. He listened to Kelsha, in the kitchen, singing to herself.
The fear of impending doom slowly dissipated and was replaced by an overwhelming feeling of affection for the woman behind the swinging door. He smiled to himself before opening the door to find her singing and cooking. She turned to face him, her mouth smiling, her emerald eyes sparkling, her olive skin dewy, and yet it was there. It was lingering beneath the surface of that magnificent woman. One may think she is nothing more than a beautiful woman cooking breakfast for her man. One would be wrong. She was sinister. She was vengeful. She was off. She was cooking her man breakfast. It was all the things that made her Kelsha that made him love her.
“Good morning, love,” she said, the smile never leaving her lips.
“Good morning to you,” he replied.
“I’m making you breakfast,” she exclaimed proudly.
“I see that. How did I get so lucky?”
“You didn’t get lucky, you stayed with me. Thank you for that. I am better now. I know what must be done. I also know I haven’t eaten in days. So we are going to eat this nice breakfast while we discuss our next move,” she told him with assurance. He shook his head in agreement and found his way to the dining room. A few moments later she followed with two steaming plates of Neveah’s finest food: Aria eggs, Ox bacon, and sweet fruit. The two of them ate in silence. Kelsha had just swallowed her last bite when she finally spoke again.
“I want to call you Jax. Not Jax or Heren or any variation of the two. I loved Heren dearly. He was a kind, generous, sweet man and I know part of what kept you here with me was the part of Heren that lives inside you. I also know that you lo
ve me, Jax. It may have taken awhile for you to realize it, but you love me. When we are alone I want you to be Jax, and only Jax. A time will come when you can walk as Jax permanently, but for now, only when people are around, you will be Heren. I will call you Heren when others are present, but only then. We are going to get James back. We are going to knock the Levannah family off their pedestal. I plan to kill Lilly. I plan to kill Shep. Are you with me, Jax? Can you kill Shep?” She watched him for his response. He continued eating the last of his food before replying.
“Why, Kelsha, you are a bossy thing, that has not changed has it? You’re right darling, I love you. While part of what kept me here with you was Heren, the bigger part was all me. I feel you deep in my soul, Kelsha. I will help you get James back and I will kill Shep. We are a team Kelsha, you and me! We will triumph!”
His answer couldn’t have made her happier. During her days of silence her mind never stopped, not even for a moment. She had no relief, no momentary glimpse of sanity. Just thinking, plotting, and planning, while the seed of revenge planted itself deep inside her mind. All the while she felt his arms around her. She felt Jax’s arms around her and knew there was no other man she wanted in that moment. She knew he would stand with her, beside her, he would fight with her, but hearing him say the words made them all the more real.
“I assume Fionna has gone to the Levannah Manor to return James to Lilly, and maybe to Shep. I am not sure if he has returned to Neveah, but he will. Every ounce of me wants to storm in there and demand James, but I am not a stupid woman,” she said, pausing for breath.
He studied her face with deep admiration. He had known from the beginning that Kelsha was off inside. He was drawn to her for that reason. She was dark, just as he was. He saw now that she more than just a little off. She was stark raving mad, and he loved it. Her intensity and passion burned his heart, made him ache for her. How had he been so blind before? He would not be mistaken again. He would not be led away from this woman again.
“What do you plan to do, darling?” He asked sweetly. His hand reached across the table, covering hers. “We have to go back to Ellurrah,” she replied. “But first I want to go to the Levannah Manor. I just want to see from afar if my child is with them.”
“Of course, Kelsha, anything,” he replied. “Then we will go back to the island and complete the training. We need to ready everyone for battle. We will win this. We will get the boy back,” he said as he held her hand. He wanted to say more to her. He wanted to tell her to leave the boy alone, they could have their own. He wanted to ask her why having that baby was so damned important to her. He understood wanting power, wanting to make that family suffer, wanting to rule the land. He wanted all of that too. He didn’t understand the baby. She must have seen the confusion reflected in his eyes. He was careful to hide his thoughts from her.
“Jax, what’s wrong? It must be troubling to you. I can see how much you are trying to hide your thoughts. You can talk to me.”
He took a deep breath and stared her in the eyes. He thought he could see into her soul. He thought he could see his own soul reflected in those dark eyes. He contemplated his answer. He could be straight with her, or he could pretend all is well and move forward. He chose the more righteous path, the honest path, for the first time in his life. He chose to be honorable with her, at least as much as he could manage to be.
“I’m just wondering what is so special about that boy is all. I mean why not try to have one of our own?” He asked and studied her expression. If she was irritated with him, she didn’t show it. Her lips turned up into a smile, and she laughed a little before explaining the child’s significance to him.
“He is special,” she began in a near whisper. “You have the powerful talent of skin walking, and I can hear and feel things that have not been spoken aloud, even from miles away. Lilly is a Healer and Shep, well he is a Healer as well, only he heals himself from the inside out. My sister, Leah, has the gift of camouflage, and let us not forget that old man Levannah is born of Fey blood which makes him able to see the future. So many specialty bloods run through the veins of this child. He has the strength of one hundred men and the heart to heal himself and any other living Creature. But most importantly he has a rare gift of sight. He can not only look into the past and future but he can actually go there.”
“What do you mean, like time travel?”
“Something like that, he can teleport himself anywhere he pleases. And, I can’t be sure but I think that when the powers of Shep, Lilly, and James come together time can literally be stopped. A moment can be frozen in place. This rare gift gives him the power to change the future or the past. It is amazing really. Given the right direction, the correct guidance, this could change Neveah forever,” she finished, allowing the information to soak into Jax’s mind.
He thought of the possibilities. This child could grow to be a wonderful, helpful, good man or a devious, hateful, sinister man. He was betting Kelsha was going for the sinister man, as was he. He understood her need to have this child. She could, would, do great things if this boy believed himself to be hers, believed himself to be theirs: Jax and Kelsha’s son. He hadn’t thought he could admire this woman and her brilliant mind more, yet here she was pushing him further into love with her.
“Well, I can see why you are so desperate to get him back. Does anyone else know of his ability?”
“I don’t think his own parents know. They are rather daft after all, but I am sure the Lord Levannah knows. I am sure he sees the potential in his grandchild regardless of whose care he is in, the boy has amazing potential.”
“They will fight all the harder for him.”
“Yes, Jax, they will. We will fight harder,” she said before leaning across the table to kiss him. His mouth tasted of the sweet fruit she served him for breakfast. Her mouth was soft and urgent as she slipped her tongue inside of his mouth. In one quick gesture Jax cleared the table of their morning meal just before Kelsha crawled up on top of the flat surface. She sat before him, above him, and slowly removed her gown, one button at a time. She enjoyed the tortured look he wore as she taunted him with her striptease.
Just as the last piece of cloth came off, Jax reached across the table, pulling her onto his lap. He could take no more of her teasing. His mouth found her naked breast, just as he slid his trousers down his legs. Kelsha lowered her body onto his attentive manhood causing him to bite her nipple just a bit harder. She screamed loudly as pain and pleasure radiated through her body. She rocked her hips back and forth, slowly at first. The harder he sucked and bit at her breast the faster and harder she rode him until his mouth broke away from her swollen breast and found her hungry mouth. He kissed her hard, tasting her entire being, needing to feel every inch of her. One hand held a tight grip on her ass while the other snaked around her neck, holding her head close to his. She was unable to pull away when her body exploded in pleasure. She was helpless in his grasp. He held her tightly as her tremors caused his own body to convulse. Together they were pained and pleasured, and he held his grip on her until both of their bodies fell limp. Her head rested on his shoulder, and his arms softly wrapped around her waist.
“I love you, Kelsha,” he whispered in heavy breaths.
“I love you too, Jax,” she whispered back.
“We will get that boy back,” he promised, and she believed him.
~Chapter Nine~
I woke before the sun the next morning and met Leah in front of the giant tree. I left Shep sleeping soundly with our baby beside him. He was still not thrilled with my mission of the day, but gave up on talking me out of it. I owed too much to Calista just to allow her to wilt away in that cave. Bringing her and her sisters together was the least I could do for my friend. I hoped they could find strength in each other. I hoped their sisterly bond was enough to keep them alive until we could stop Kelsha and her darkness.
Leah had her dragon and mine ready for flight. “You ready?” She asked. “Yeah, let’s go,
” I replied and a few minutes later we were soaring through the darkness. Flying high above Neveah always gave me a feeling of peace. The land below was never less than magical. Even now, with all that lay ahead of us, of Neveah, the land below showed no signs of wear. The wilting flowers, the trees that were fading slightly in color, the shift in the air. Not one sign of darkness was visible from the air. Neveah rested deceivingly peaceful from my viewpoint. I allowed my body and mind to relax and enjoy the moment of peace. Leah and I flew in silence. There had been so much talking, planning, and plotting in recent days. I was soaking in the silence. I knew I would not have the luxury for long.
The sun that had been sleeping when we left was now shining its colorful rays upon us. I pulled up my sleeves and removed my hood so the rays could warm my body. It felt good having them lay on my skin. I was preoccupied with my contentment of silence and the warmth of the sun when Leah first called my name. By the time I emerged from my peaceful place she was screaming my name.
“Lilly! We’re here,” she said when I finally acknowledged her.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you. I guess I got a little too relaxed,” I replied quietly.
“It’s alright. I know it’s easy to get lost in the peacefulness of flight, but we are here,” she said again and pointed down below us.
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