The Heir

by Ariana Rodriguez

  "I think you need to start at the beginning." Her dad told her, reaching for her mom’s hand and giving it a light squeeze.

  Jessica nodded and did just that. She told them about Nick's return, her mom remembered him from months ago, and his first encounter with Shane. Riley helped her recount yesterday’s altercation between them and Shane. Upon hearing about it, her parents became furious and Christian and Axel assured them that Nick had taken care of him.

  Jessica made a note to ask them what they meant by that at a later time and continued with her retelling. She glossed over the details of their bathroom stay, Nick spending the night and the way he'd marked her.

  Thinking about the mark, she itched to run her fingers over it but she didn't dare for fear of drawing unwanted attention to it. She no longer felt pain but she felt it there, solid like the weight of a necklace lying around her neck. She felt as if a piece of Nick was with her and would never leave her.

  Jessica divulged everything she learned from Nick about shifters; Danielle and Riley made sounds of amazement but otherwise stayed quite, like everyone else in the family they'd had months to get used to the idea that shifters were real, and Jessica finished with his wish for her to live with him.

  "Live with him?!" Her mom shook her head "No, you are too young."

  Jessica sighed "Mom, you were my age when you met my father." She pointed out.

  "No, I was older." Her mom replied.

  "Only by a couple of months." She retorted and then took a deep breath to calm down.

  "You don’t know him," Her mom continued to argue; "we don't know him."

  "Mom, you didn't know my father that long either, you told me so." Jessica reminded her.

  Lauren gave her husband a sideways glance and fidgeted nervously in her seat. "That was different." She confided with finality in her tone.

  Lauren didn't feel comfortable talking about Cade at the moment. She didn't know how to explain her relationship with Cade to her daughter and the rest of them without hurting her husband’s feelings. She just couldn’t explain the deep and never ending love she felt for Cade to her husband and children.

  Jessica looked over her shoulder at Christian and Axel. "I need a minute alone with my family, mind stepping outside for a couple?"

  "Why?" Christian asked her, "We’ll still hear you." He pointed at his ears to remind her of their superior hearing.

  Jessica groaned, slouched back on her seat and closed her eyes, trying to figure out a solution. "Did you mean it?" She finally asked after a couple of seconds of thinking and failing to find an answer to her dilemma.

  "What?" They both asked.

  "The loyalty thing." She looked up at them, standing above her "Did you mean it?" They both nodded and Jessica decided to believe them-really she had no choice. "Well then this is your first test, from here on, whatever you hear, not a word to Nick." She raised her hand over her head to shake theirs awkwardly, "deal?"

  Christian nodded quickly and shook her hand, "Deal."

  She moved her hand in front of Axel but he didn't shake it right away.

  "Deal," He finally told her, "unless our silence compromises your safety."

  Jessica rolled her eyes but didn't disagree she knew it was the best she could hope for. "Fine" They shook hands and Jessica turned back to her family who were looking at her with laughter lurking in their eyes. "They are stronger than me." She accused, "I doubt I can get them off me as easily as I did the others."

  "Can't beat 'em, join 'em?" Riley asked her.

  She nodded emphatically and pointed. "Exactly!"

  "Is that really how you feel?" Her mom jumped in, leaning forward in her seat, "like you have no other choice?"

  Jessica sighed. "Mom."

  "Because if you do," her mom continued, "then we will do everything we can to get you out of this. You don’t have to go anywhere."

  Jessica got up, went to kneel in front of her mom, and reached for her hands. "Mom, this is it." She whispered with conviction. "This is my chance. What I've been looking for this whole time. There is no way I am going to let it slip away. Living with you and getting to know you has been great, it helped me learn about myself" She placed a palm over her chest, "but there is still another half of me that is closed off from me. I have to go."

  For the last couple of months they'd been looking, to no avail, for anyone who could answer all her questions about her gifts and she'd finally found him. Like she'd just told her mom, there was no way she was letting her chance slip away. She would do it, even if it meant putting up with the egotistical maniac.

  "Living with some guy is a small price to pay,” Jessica continued, “and when I think I've learned everything I need to learn I'll find a way out of the deal." She shrugged, making it sound easier than she thought it really would be, as if the thought alone wasn't splitting her in two.

  Axel and Christian looked at each other, wondering if they should tell her that Nick was too possessive to ever let her go. Christian raised an eyebrow in question and Axel shook his head, as her bodyguards they had to do what was best for her and he believed that was Nick. No need to scare her into running from him.

  "It'll be easy." Jessica finished confidently, missing the look between her bodyguards but when Christian snorted, she snapped her head around to glare at him.

  Lauren shook her head. She didn't want to let her daughter go. She didn't understand why Jessica had to move out to learn more about her father’s side. She wouldn't be so set against it if Jessica told her that she felt for Nick at least a sprinkle of the feelings that she'd felt for her father. Instead all she was worried was about her past.

  One thing she'd learned that the past didn't keep you warm at night. Still shaking her head, Lauren sighed in defeat; she knew that once her daughters mind was made up, there was no changing it. If Nick was anything like Cade she knew that Jessica would have a fight on her hands.

  "Listen mom," Jessica squeezed her hands, her voice intruding into Lauren's thoughts and pulling her out of her haze. "It's not like I'm going right away. I promised to stay until my birthday and I'm keeping my promise." She smiled at her, "I might even stay longer and give you a chance to get to know him."

  Reassured, her mom nodded and smiled. Jessica silently hoped that he made a better first impression on her mom then he did on her.

  "That's a great idea." James cut in. "Now why doesn't someone tell me what happened to my door."

  Jessica looked at Dani and Riley then over her shoulder at Axel and Christian; she'd forgotten about the door and had no idea how to explain it. Mainly because she really didn't know what happened to the door.

  "You see, uh..." She scrambled to come up with something but she was only drawing a blank.

  "I broke it." Riley claimed and Jessica's mouth dropped open, she'd thought that yesterday had been an aberration but here he was again, helping her out.

  "You broke it?" Her parents asked him skeptically.

  Riley fidgeted, "well, no not I per say, you see Shane, he uh...”

  "Shane broke it when he slammed Riley into it!" Christian exclaimed, bouncing and pointing as if he was answering the million dollar question on a trivia show.

  "It's true," Dani, who'd been silent up to that point, admitted. "I was upstairs when I heard the crash" Well, that part was true, Jessica thought wryly and wondered why they were all working so hard to cover for Nick. "When I came down it was to see Riley unconscious on the floor. Luckily for us Nick came and helped us out." She gushed and Jessica couldn't keep her eyes from rolling.

  "Is something wrong Jessica?" Her mom asked.

  "What? Oh, sorry," She rubbed her eye, "Just have something in my eye." She leaned back, looked up and snapped her fingers. "Blow, please."

  Christian leaned down and blew gently into her eye. A sound of disgust came from the other side of the room and he winked at Jessica. They righted themselves again just in time to watch Dani storm out of the room.

  "What's wrong with her?" S
he asked no one in particular.

  Riley shrugged, "Beats me, she's been in a bad mood all morning."

  Jessica looked thoughtfully at the doorway before getting to her feet, "Well I'd like to go ask her but I’m going to be late for work. Are there any other questions?" She looked at her parents. "No? Then I'm going get ready." She walked out of the room with Christian and Axel following close behind.

  "Don't worry about the door! Nick said he was sending someone down to fix it, on him!" She yelled half way up the stairs then whispered over her shoulder with a mischievous glint in her eye.. "Make it happen."

  Axel nodded but she was already looking away. Axel was thinking that for a new Alpha, she had the ordering part down pat. One thing he was sure of was that he was going to enjoy being her bodyguard; she wasn't as serious as Nick was and he was looking forward to some fun times; beginning with the ride to her job.

  Jessica stopped at the top of the stairs and they looked at her questioningly.

  "This is as far,-" she hadn't finished her sentence and they were already shaking their heads,"-as you go. Don’t shake your heads." She pointed a finger at them, "I'm taking a shower and I don’t want you creeps listening in on me."

  "The hall door-"

  "-Or the bathroom door." They told her.

  Jessica knew a losing battle when she saw one and conceded gracefully. "Fine but you better act like your deaf."

  They smiled at her indulgently. “We will.”

  Five minutes later Jessica made them sorry for patronizing her. In the shower, smiling diabolically the whole time, she belted out a sounding rendition at the top of her lungs of the songs "I will always love you" and "Pocket full of sunshine."

  Out in the hall, Christian and Axel were cringing, their ears ringing.

  "I wonder if anyone has ever told her that she is tone deaf." Christian asked and silently asked the gods for mercy. It never came, she sang until she finally opened the door to her room, ready to go to work. She said goodbye to her parents and opened the front door.

  “Oh my god!” She shrieked like meeting her favorite artist.

  "Surprise!" Christian shouted with a smile the size of the Grand Canyon on his face.

  "Are those the latest z1000's standing in front of me?" She asked in disbelief.

  Axel nodded, "yes they are," He agreed, his hands tucked in his front pockets and also smiling at her.

  "Catch me I think I'm going to faint!" She told them, fanning herself and going limp. Axel caught her and she looked up at him, "How? When? What?" She asked faintly.

  “It is a gift from your mate." He answered her, the smile still in place.

  "But-"

  "Jessica what’s going on?" Her mom asked from behind them.

  She stood up and turned to face her mom- and her brother, and her sister, and her dad. They were all standing there with looks of apprehension on their faces.

  "Nothing bad,” she assured them, “sorry about that. I was just surprised, that's all."

  "Surprised by what?"

  Jessica moved aside and with sweep of her hand indicated the three brand new bikes standing behind her. "I was surprised by that!" She exclaimed, still in shock.

  "Nice!" Riley shouted excitedly and high fived Christian.

  "Wow" Danielle murmured.

  Her parents weren’t as celebratory.

  "Where did they come from?"

  "Who do they belong to?" They asked.

  Still dazed, Jessica could only manage a shrug and a shake of her head.

  "It is a gift from her mate." Axel explained proudly once again.

  "But why three?" Jessica asked him, bewilderment clear in her tone of voice.

  "Two of those are ours." Christian pointed out happily. "Well, if you accept us as your bodyguards of course."

  Jessica nudged him with her shoulder. "You know I do." She told him with a smile. How could she say no, when his eyes begged her to say yes.

  It wasn't as big a hardship on her as she made it seem either. She could see that, for however long this lasted, they would get along well. She believed that Christians playful -borderline obnoxious- antics and Axels quiet -borderline reserved- personality blended well with her assertive and demanding self.

  Also, unlike her previous bodyguards, she knew that in a fight they could actually protect her; they'd proven that yesterday against Shane and they wouldn’t go crazy for her like Shane either. For the first time in months she didn't have to worry about someone else safety or her own as much because she had them.

  It also didn't hurt her decision that they were a couple of hunks sure to draw envious attention from other girls around town. She smiled wickedly imagining stuck up girls rushing into a second hand store just to meet those two.

  "It's an extravagant gift," her mom said, killing her imaginary joy, "you can't accept it."

  "Yes, I can!" She argued then thought about it and snapped around to look at Axel. "Unless, it's some kind of trick. If I accept, am I accepting more than the bike?"

  Axel shook his head. "The bike is yours with no strings attached. Nick saw you in the SUV yesterday and figured it was probably because of the bodyguard. He remembered you on your old bike, and figured this was a better gift than a pair of diamond earrings."

  Jessica looked down at herself and smiled wryly. She was in a comfortable old pair of jeans, wearing her equally old black pair of sneakers and a faded black shirt. "He was right." She agreed and chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully, "so he bought me a bike just because?"

  "Because you are his mate," He clarified, "but yes, just because; it's not a trick."

  After a couple of second of thinking, Christian grabbed her elbow and pulled her away from her family.

  "He worked really hard to get you something he hoped you’d like. He'd be very insulted -and hurt- if you declined his gift."

  "He honestly only had your pleasure in mind," Axel, standing behind her, added quietly.

  Jessica turned to look at the bikes; all three were the same, Black, Z1000 Ninjas. She bit her index finger as she walked around them to take a closer look and recited in awe all the key features that she'd memorized from the website.

  Jessica groaned and tried to wrap her arms around the bike. "I've always wanted one of these." She confided to no one in particular before she looked at her mom and pleaded, "Please don't make me give it back!"

  "Why didn't you tell us you wanted one?" Lauren asked her. "We could have bought it for you."

  Jessica shook her head. "I know you hate me riding and I didn't want to ask, but it's here now and I don’t think I can let it go."

  Lauren wrapped her hands around herself, she couldn't deny it, and she did hate her riding that thing. But she'd never felt like she had the kind of right to tell her what she was allowed to do. "It was gifted to you." She told her daughter surprised that she wasn't choking on the words. "And you are a couple of weeks from eighteen, it's your choice whether you keep it or not."

  "Thank you, Thank you!" Jessica ran to her mom and gave her an exuberant hug and kiss on the cheek, "Thank you!"

  Lauren laughed and patted her back, "Now that I think about it, I wish I'd come up with the idea of such a gift myself."

  Jessica blushed, feeling like a mercenary, "I don't need any gifts." She told her. "That's why I never asked."

  Jessica changed her mind and thought that it was better to return the bike. She didn't want Nick or anyone else to think that they could buy her affection.

  Christian understood her hesitation and groaned. "If you don't take it, then we will have to give ours back too. If not for yourself then do it for me." He looked accusingly at her. "It took me weeks to learn how to ride and just because I heal fast doesn't mean I hurt less."

  "Why would you have to return yours, I'll just use my own." She pointed at her ten year old bike. She loved that bike but compared to the z1000, she shook her head morosely; all the chips and dents were glaringly obvious.

  "Nick's girl riding that piece
of-"

  "Hey!"

  "-while her bodyguards are riding in style." Christian scoffed, "Might as well go get the car, Axel. And call Nick and tell him she said no. All that pain for nothing." He muttered and went to run a hand over his intended bike and shook his head, sadly. "It was nice knowing you."

  Jessica raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. "Laying it on a little thick aren't you?"

  He smiled wickedly. "Is it working?"

  She rolled her eyes. "Maybe."

  "Say yes."

  "Yes."

  "She said yes!" He pumped his fist in the air. "Everybody conga!" He grabbed Jessica by the waist and started to do just that.

  Jessica laughed and swatted at his hands. "Stop it!"

  "I'm going to my room; staring at a wall is more entertaining than watching someone act like an idiot." Danielle snapped.

  Christian's hands tightened on Jessica's waist as everyone turned to watch Danielle walk away.

  "Someone really has to figure out what's her problem, but not I because I have to go to work." Axel handed her the keys to her new bike and she kissed her parents goodbye before hopping on. "Do you think we could go see Nick? I'd like to thank him personally for this."

  Axel shook his head. "Not a good idea, why don’t you just give him a call?"

  "Fine, I'll do that at work, let’s go!”

  The garage doors opened and they were off, Jessica's thoughts were centered on Nick, wondering where he was and what he was doing. She wanted to see him-just to thank him for the bike, she told herself hastily. But she knew it was more than that.

  Chapter 12

  He was home; Nick rolled down the window, took a deep breath and with it the scent of his land. He'd been gone for only a couple of months but it felt like an eternity. There were new shifters here that he had yet to meet. Before he'd gotten the faithful call from Axel, yesterday, Matt had been busy briefing him on all the wolves that had come, trickling in, during his absence. The majority of them had been in hiding for almost nine-teen years.

  He could sense their nervousness in the air and as he drew closer to his home, the scent of ammonia bombarded his nostrils. They were wary of him and he could understand why, they didn't know him, all they knew was that he was his father’s son. It was up to him to prove that he was nothing like him.