Stephan's Monster

by Shelby Rhodes

  Even if the woman had prepared for a blood elf, it wouldn’t last long. And Jayden didn’t think she was stupid enough to stay close to the city. Getting to a location where she could hurt him, yet not risk detection would take time—enough time for Stephan to wake up. It had already been thirty minutes. Jayden wouldn’t be surprised if the man had already started to wake.

  Dante chuckled and voiced his conclusion. “Oh, she’ll be very lucky if Stephan doesn’t wake up before they get to wherever they’re going.”

  “We’re dumb, aren’t we?”

  “Yes…” he admitted.

  Bow plopped down on the nonexistent floor of his mind. For some reason, there was a white stuffed-animal bunny in his arms. It hadn’t

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  been there before, and Jayden was about as sure of where it came from as anything else Bow pulled out of nothing. It was odd to see an adult holding a stuffed rabbit. Well…Stephan was pretty adorable when he cuddled with his stuffed animals.

  “What are you guys talking about?” Lily snapped.

  She didn’t know. Jayden had assumed she’d known. Frankly, he was confused as to why Dante hadn’t told her.

  “Well, I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out yet. You were on Jayden’s case, Lily. For months I’ve been waiting in anticipation for the moment you figured it out. Months and nothing!” Dante pouted.

  Jayden shook his head in disgust. Dear God, his boss was childish—turning such a secret into a game for his entertainment.

  Bow giggled. “She looks so angry.”

  That she was. Lily seemed to be about to strangle Dante.

  Jayden jerked—Bow giggled? Since when did his monster giggle?

  As he focused on the creature, his eyes widened—Bow was smaller.

  Smaller than he had ever been, and younger.

  “Bow, are you all right?” Jayden asked.

  His monster said nothing. He just stared back. The longer Jayden stared, the more he changed. The eyes that had always mirrored his grew, dominating the face looking back at him in the darkness. Years were falling away.

  Then suddenly the clone of himself was gone. Jayden saw a child, a child that had his hair, but his eyes…there was a rim of cornflower blue, equal in size to the inky black surrounding it. The child was small for his age—only six or seven—but he was beautiful. A beautiful child who’d tried so hard to survive despite feeling so powerless.

  Bow looked as Jayden had the day he gave in to the hatred inside him. The day the urges started—the day his eyes began to turn black.

  Jayden’s vision blurred, the tears that formed in his eyes hiding the world. “Bow?” he whispered past the lump in his throat.

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  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Eyes cracked and hidden by his long lashes, Stephan glared at his kidnapper. She hadn’t noticed he was awake—yet. From what he had gathered, his hands were handcuffed behind his back, and his feet were bound by chains. Worst of all was the collar around his neck.

  While the links around his wrists and ankles were all enchanted, none of them compared to the spells infused in what was around his neck. It was blocking off the power inside him. Stephan had never felt so physically empty. The true question was how had she gotten hold of something that only the king’s guards and the Zaytari were supposed to have?

  Being so cut off was painful. Stephan was pissed—no, he was furious. Of course, he supposed most people wouldn’t be in the best of moods after being kidnapped.

  The woman was sitting in a chair against the wall, just playing with her phone. Apparently, whatever she gave him was supposed to last longer than it had.

  At the thought of the drug, Stephan began to worry—not for himself, but for his baby. What had she given him? Did she have more of it? What would it do to his child? Nothing good, Stephan was sure.

  Unfortunately, his heartbeat sped up with his growing panic, and she noticed.

  “So you’re awake. Odd. Maybe I didn’t give you enough.”

  Standing up, she smiled. “No matter. We can have some fun. Well, I can.”

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  There was no way in hell Stephan was letting her touch him again.

  He’d kill her first. But what could he do? He couldn’t feel the energy inside him.

  No…that wasn’t true. Stephan couldn’t feel the power he had always embraced, but he could feel his rage. The simmering heat was there. The only one binding it was himself. Stephan’s rage was a force on its own, and it was too strong to be contained by the spells on the collar.

  As she walked toward him, he let his anger build. Stephan snapped the locks off the box that held it for so many years, and he called to the hatred inside. As it filled him, he finally understood what his teacher had told him.

  Fearing what was inside was pointless. Ignoring it was dangerous.

  But embracing it…embracing it meant taking control. It didn’t mean Stephan was giving in. He was just breaking through all that bound him—abandoning his fears. And it was freeing—as if he had been struggling to breathe for years and was now finally able draw a full breath.

  Growling, for the first time Stephan felt the lilac of his eyes bleed away. The woman stumbled to a stop and eyed him. A shiver ran through her. She was no doubt feeling the power seeping from him.

  She gasped. “W-what’s…happening?”

  It was a heady feeling. There was so much power, just waiting for him to use it. Glaring, Stephan sent it spiraling forward, striking out.

  Blood splattered on the floor around her.

  The woman cried out in pain. “What the hell?” she shrieked hysterically. “This shouldn’t be possible!”

  “Touch me and I’ll kill you,” he raged. Lashing out again, Stephan visualized where he wanted it to hit, slicing through arteries.

  She screamed once again, falling to her knees. “What are you?”

  Reluctantly, Stephan slowed the bleeding. “Release me and I’ll let you live,” he sneered.

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  Not that Jayden would, Stephan thought gleefully. Demented, maybe? But the bitch may have harmed his child. The needs Jayden had—he finally understood them. Stephan wanted her to suffer.

  * * * *

  Twenty minutes later

  From the video feed, Jayden had been able to identify Sarah Bridgen, girlfriend of the very deceased Richard Prayton. A woman who they quickly found was working at one of Dante’s branches, given the job by one of his recruiters, who apparently was a sucker for beautiful women. A recruiter who was now in very deep shit.

  It had taken only a few minutes to locate her, as the fool had recently bought an old factory in the middle of fucking nowhere under her own name. Sarah definitely would not make it as a criminal—not that she would get a chance.

  Lily, Dante, and Liam stood beside him now, staring into the window of the factory. With them, they had brought a group of thirty.

  The men and women were spread out around the building, cloaked by spells.

  As Jayden looked into the window at his lover, he became sure of two things. One, they hadn’t needed the people or the large amount of weapons they had gathered. Two, right about now, every single one of the men and women they brought was getting an eyeful of what his sweet little honey bunny could do.

  When he’d first peered into the window, Jayden had felt nothing short of unholy rage at seeing the love of his life bound in such a way.

  However, the minute he saw Sarah and the expression on Stephan’s face, he’d almost laughed. Jayden had never seen the man look so enraged, and Sarah was a bloody mess.

  “He seems well.” Liam choked, trying to smother a laugh of his own.

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  Jayden smirked. “I may be mistaken, but I don’t think Stephan appreciated being chained up. Or kidnapped.”

  “Yes, well…did
anyone bring any bolt cutters?” Dante’s eyes glowed with humor.

  They stared at each other silently for just a second, and then the three of them burst out laughing.

  Lily sighed. “I hate you all.”

  Bow drifted forward in his head—still the child he had changed into earlier.

  “Stephan looks angry. Do you think we could get him a bunny like mine?” Bow held up the bunny he’d been holding since earlier.

  “He would probably like a pink one better,” Jayden pointed out.

  Dropping his bunny into his lap, Bow let out a happy squeal and clapped. “But first we get to kill her, right?”

  “Right…” Jayden agreed hesitantly.

  Would his monster stay like this? Or maybe his monster had always been a child. A bloodthirsty child, but still a child.

  Jayden started to ask, but the words in his mind flew away when Stephan started speaking.

  “I’ll say this again. Release me and I’ll let you live.”

  “If I die, nobody will find you!” Sarah screamed.

  Stephan snorted in derision. “You’re really stupid, aren’t you?

  Don’t you get that this is your only chance to get away? If Jayden comes here, you’ll die. Then again, if you don’t help me, you’ll bleed out anyway.”

  “Fuck you!”

  “Whatever, bleed to death, I don’t care. My boyfriend will find me with or without you breathing.”

  Stephan must have done something, because the woman’s wounds began to bleed. Or maybe he stopped doing something. Sarah hadn’t seemed to be bleeding much at all before, an oddity he should have noticed right away, considering where the cuts were.

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  Dante pushed the button on his headpiece and ordered, “Everyone, move in. We should probably step in before the woman dies.”

  * * * *

  Fuck it. Let her bleed out. What did Stephan care? Jayden would come for him. Not to mention he could always wiggle his way over to her and get her phone after she was dead.

  Though, touching a corpse would be a little gross. Whatever…

  Stephan’s hatred had simmered back down. He could still feel it, but it was no longer the terrifying presence it used to be. Despite his situation, Stephan felt calm. His eyes had even bled back to lilac.

  He jumped at the sound of metal squeaking as the old doors of the factory were forced open. People busted into the room and surrounded both him and his captor. Stephan recognized some of them instantly as Dante’s group. But he ignored them. He instead searched the invading force, seeking out the man he loved.

  When Stephan saw the tall man in question striding briskly toward him, he let out a happy sigh and smiled. “Jade.”

  Jayden kneeled on the floor in front of him. Stephan shivered when the man began to run his hands over every inch of him. “You’re not hurt, are you, sweetheart?”

  “My arms hurt a bit from the angle, and the metal is rubbing a bit, but otherwise I think I’m fine.”

  “Apparently, Dante’s question about bolt cutters was warranted,”

  Liam announced, suddenly also beside him.

  Stephan had been so focused on Jayden that he hadn’t even noticed the man.

  “She lost the key, or rather she threw it away, as she intended to leave him here to starve to death. The chains are enchanted, but if we both pull on one side, they should snap. The collar, however, will have to wait till we have the proper tools.”

  Jayden snorted. “Let’s give it a try.”

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  The two men moved behind him. Each grabbed hold of one of his wrists and pulled. The metal groaned, the magic placed on it shuddering, straining to maintain its purpose. But like a string being pulled tight, under enough pressure it would snap.

  Stephan groaned as the links broke. His shoulders cracked as the men helped him slowly bring his arms forward. “Oh, thank God.”

  The guys made quick work of the ones around his ankles, as well, and he soon found himself engulfed in Jayden’s arms. The man lifted him clear off the floor and buried his face into Stephan’s neck. “I was so worried. I love you,” Jayden rumbled.

  “As was I,” Liam announced.

  Jayden growled, and he giggled as the vibrations tickled his neck.

  “You can be lovey–dovey later, Jayden. I want to hug my godson.”

  Huffing, the man reluctantly lowered him to the floor and pulled away. Another pair of strong arms pulled him in, surrounding him with the smell of freshly fallen rain.

  “I’m old, Stephan. You shouldn’t worry me like this,” Liam fretted.

  Stephan laughed. “Old, please. You’ll never be old.”

  Releasing him, Liam smiled. His eyes twinkled with humor, but they were also glassy with tears. “I cared for you even before your parents died, as an uncle. But after…you became the son I never had, the son I hadn’t even been aware I wanted. I wouldn’t have survived their loss without you. You’re my family.” The man chuckled. “You are, as well, Jayden.”

  “If you say so,” Jayden drawled.

  Stepping back, Stephan stared at the two men. “How would you feel about adding another member to our makeshift family?”

  “What?” Both Jayden and Liam asked in confusion.

  Looking at them shyly, he murmured, “I’m pregnant.”

  Jayden’s mouth flapped, but nothing came out. And then his eyes rolled back and down he went.

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  “Jayden!” Stephan shrieked and tried but failed to catch him.

  His big, strong, bloodthirsty, homicidal man had fainted—the bastard!

  Stephan growled. “What the hell?”

  “Is it true, sweetie?” Liam asked hoarsely.

  Looking at the other man, he noticed his godfather appeared a bit unstable on his feet. What the hell…

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  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Jayden peered at Stephan. The man was sitting on the bed, brushing his wet hair—something Jayden usually did.

  His little honey bunny was pissed and hadn’t spoken a word to him since he’d passed out yesterday. It was…distressing. Hell, the whole situation was distressing—Stephan was pregnant.

  Jayden didn’t know how he felt about his impending fatherhood.

  How was he supposed to feel about it? Jayden honestly hadn’t thought children were in his future. Not that he hadn’t known Stephan wanted them, but as he found out years ago, the man couldn’t conceive.

  Apparently, that wasn’t true anymore.

  Then again, Jayden should have considered the possibility that Stephan would at one point want to adopt.

  Well, whether he wanted a child or not didn’t really matter now.

  Though Bow seemed happy, Jayden thought with irritation. His monster was currently chanting “baby” with an excitement that outranked Dante’s when the man was telling a story—which was a true feat.

  God, he didn’t know anything about children! His parents had sucked. Hell, his childhood had been a fucking horror story! What the fuck did Jayden know about raising a child? Nothing, that’s what!

  Okay, calm down… Stephan was pregnant. So, well, his stupidity when it came to children was what it was. He could learn, though—

  maybe…

  Oh, Jayden was so going to fuck this up somehow. Which was exactly what he was doing right now as Stephan looked like a kicked puppy—shit.

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  “Stephan?” He called his name softly.

  While he said nothing, the man must have heard him, as the brush in his hand froze. Jayden sat on the bed beside him.

  “Sweetheart, please talk to me.”

  Stephan’s face scrunched up, and a big, fat tear rolled down.

  “Stephan, oh shit, don’t cry.” When Jayden went to wrap his arms around the man, to his shock, his honey bunny dropped the bru
sh and punched him.

  Grunting, he rubbed his jaw.

  “You’re a jerk!”

  “I am…I’m sorry, Stephan, I’m sorry. Please don’t cry.” This time when Jayden tried to wrap his arms around him, he didn’t get hit. But he’d rather be hit, he thought, as his little man sobbed into his chest, soaking his shirt with his tears.

  With all the doubts Stephan had, Jayden should have never left him to dwell on it. What he must have thought…

  “I’m sorry, Stephan…I…” He let out a nervous laugh. “To be honest, I’m terrified. But I love you, and I’ll love any child we have together.”

  * * * *

  Stephan had been so worried and so angry that Jayden had said nothing. Had asked nothing. Thoughts of the future had turned bleak.

  Knowing Jayden was just as scared as he was…well, it helped.

  “Jade…I’m pretty terrified myself. But I think as long as we’re terrified together, everything will be fine.”

  Jayden’s brow pulled together. “Stephan, I’m not sure I’m following your logic.”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  Just as Stephan settled against him, Jayden fell back in bed.

  Squeaking as he dropped, Stephan suddenly found himself sprawled

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  on top of the man. He glared and smacked Jayden’s chest, causing the man to chuckle.

  Huffing, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to relax. They still had so much to talk about—to plan for. But right now Stephan just wanted to rest.

  “Stephan…” Jayden’s voice was hesitant.

  “Yes?”

  “Bow…Bow’s a bit different now.”

  “Different how?”

  “Well, about seventeen to eighteen years different.”

  Stephan snapped his eyes open. “What?”

  “Well, he’s sort of a child now. I think it’s permanent.”