I am Jade

by Victoria Danes

  “I’m a not a child, Stephan. He can’t come into my life now and demand control.” I hissed.

  “It’s not so simple, Duchess.”

  The waitress came back to the table with our drinks. She set them down, winked at Stephan and then walked away.

  I took my drink and sipped at it until it was almost empty.

  “You’re not missing much.” Stephan took a gulp of his own drink. “It’s all meaningless until you share it with someone you love.”

  “Is it really?” I asked, sarcastically.

  Again, Stephan rubbed his chin and looked over the dancing crowd. I assumed he was looking for Adrian to save him.

  “All right so maybe there is some fun involved. Some…” He shook his head. “I can’t talk to you about this, Duchess. I’m sorry. Just please be realistic. You are not going to spend your entire life without experiencing it. Trust me.”

  I nodded, staring into my drink, and then I reached for the fruit on the bottom of the glass. I took it out and dropped it in Stephan’s glass.

  “What’s that?” he asked lifting his glass and eyeing the small red fruit.

  “I’m offering you my cherry.” I licked my fingers clean of the drink.

  Stephan laughed. A full-throated masculine laugh, but then his eyes grew serious.

  “I don’t like cherries, Duchess.” His cocky blue eyes were mocking.

  “Well, I’m still debating on that notion, but even if that were true, this is my cherry. Not just any cherry. And before you refuse you should know that my virginity makes me a target, and I would benefit from losing it.”

  Stephan looked at the fruit again. After a moment, he reached into the glass and picked it up with two fingers and ate it.

  “You’re drunk, Duchess.” He stood up and reached out his hand to me. “Let’s get you home.”

  Adrian was standing beside me now. I grabbed a handful of his shirt and forced his eyes to mine. “Don’t take me home,” I whispered. “Take me to your bed.”

  Adrian’s eyes widened and he had a little trouble catching his breath again.

  I pulled him lower to me. My mouth was impossibly close to his. I could nearly taste his drink on his lips.

  “Please,” I whispered.

  He held me close and staredinto my eyes. “Don’t do this to me, Jade,” he whispered. “I can’t.”

  “But why?” I pulled him down and found his mouth. “Please.” I all but begged against his mouth.

  Adrian kissed me briefly and then handed me off to Stephan.

  “Get her home.” He told him and then disappeared into the strobe lights.

  Shock doesn’t begin to explain what I felt when her lapdog called me and filled me in about her already existing wolf and who her father was. He was also certain to let me know that Lucian Sinclair will not forgive me for touching her. I guess I will have to pay the price.

  When she walked out of the hotel, I wanted to run to her and take her in my arms, but her scowl kept me at bay.

  I imagined she had a pretty hard day, so I understood the need for alcohol, but when she began taunting us with that body, I wanted to throw caution to the wind and take her right there on that dance floor.

  She is like the goddess from my dreams, promising pleasure and ecstasy with just one sway of those hips. She moved easily to the music, like her hips could disconnect to make those perfect, sensual circles.

  When Stephan moved, I moved.

  I didn’t expect that he’d push her against my alert body. She smelled delicious and felt incredible, those taunting lips begged to be devoured. Was she trying to ruin me?

  The rigid muscle in my pants strained against my zipper and throbbed with unbearable need.

  I turned her away from me, and when she walked away, I took a few minutes to collect myself.

  I know I can’t have her. She is lethal to me, but I cannot resist forever, and I’m starting to think that a taste might be worth it…

  Adrian

  ***

  I awoke with another pounding headache. I tossed the covers to the side and breathed easy when I noticed I was dressed this time.

  I sat up against the headboard of the bed and looked around. Stephan walked in with two cups of coffee.

  The sight of him made my heart drop instantly.

  Dear God, what had I done?

  What had I asked him to do?

  Stephan’s smile was mischievous. One of his eyebrows was arched as he handed me a cup of coffee.

  “Before you ask, I took wild advantage of you and I’m surprised I can even walk. You wore me out.”

  I brought a hand to my throat and almost gasped.

  Stephan laughed. “Easy, Duchess.” He smiled reassuringly. “Your virtue is safe. At least from me, but I’m sure Kincaid wanted a taste.”

  I relaxed my shoulders and made an effort to smile.

  Stephan touched my hand. “Listen to me, Duchess, besides the fact that you are forbidden to me, I respect you and love you too much to ever compromise something so precious. One day, a very lucky bastard will have the privilege of being with you and…I already hate him.” He squeezed my hand.

  “Have we established then that you are not…gay?” I asked.

  Stephan dropped his head. “I will not tell you something that you already know, Duchess. In my defense, I felt you pull away from me when we started high school. I know you would have eventually completely abandoned the idea of being my friend because you would have never trusted that I wouldn’t try to seduce you. All I did was make you certain that that will never be a possibility for us. I made myself totally unavailable to you.”

  “And that was your decision?”

  Stephan tilted his head. “More or less. I couldn’t risk allowing you to slip from my radar. As you already know, your father is not…lenient. I kept you close and kept my distance at the same time. Problem solved.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his blue eyes.

  I wondered how many opportunities he has passed up because of what he has pretended to be all these years.

  Stephan smiled. “Not many,” he answered my thought.

  I groaned and put my hands over my face. “How many times have you invaded my private thoughts, Stephan?”

  “Don’t start another argument. I do not invade your private thoughts. Sometimes they scream at me, and I can’t help hearing them. Other times, I try to read you and you’re accidentally shielding. And most of the time…I avoid your mind completely.”

  “So last night…” I said touching my lips. “You knew…that…I mean…”

  “I would have liked to think that it was my irresistible godlike appeal that compelled you last night, but I know better, Duchess. I know what you wanted. And I know it was anger and confusion and maybe…just maybe, a little curiosity.” He laughed and I hit him in the arm. He was right. I couldn’t deny that.

  “Don’t feel guilty for having these urges.” Stephan offered. “Your wolf is seeking a mate, and until it finds one, these feelings will be almost overwhelming. You shouldn’t feel like you are betraying Seth. You love him. These feelings that are not really your own yet will not change that. Nothing will ever change that. However, you can’t hold on to him forever, Jade. Someday, someone will come along that will capture you again, and you will have to let go of your past.”

  I stared into my coffee cup as I spoke. “As long as the possibility of him being out there somewhere is still real, I won’t give up, Stephan. I can’t.”

  He nodded. “You do know that even if he is out there…he is not…”

  “Don’t say it.” I stopped him. “Don’t.”

  He gave me a smile and sipped his coffee. “Okay.”

  “Can we talk about your powers for a minute?” I asked.

  “What about them?”

  “What…are they? Anything else besides the mind reading?”

  “I’m an illusionist,” he answered.

  “Explain.”

  “I can make you see things that I
want you to see. Things that aren’t actually there.”

  “And that can cause pain?”

  “It can if I want it to.”

  I took a slow breath. “Like the illusion of pain?”

  He shook his head. “Not exactly. The pain is real, not mental. I can hurt you physically without touching you.”

  “How?”

  “It takes a lot of focus, Duchess. It’s like I can reach inside you and tear you apart because I imagine it in my mind.”

  “So what have you ever done to me?”

  He smiled gently. “Never anything bad. I promise. I just put you to sleep. That’s more of an illusion I force into your mind and shut it down.”

  “I have one more question.”

  “I have one more answer.” He winked.

  “Are you my age or older?”

  “Older.”

  “How much older?”

  “Much older, again…illusion.” He smirked.

  “You won’t tell me?”

  “Not today, Duchess.” He gave me a sly smile and then he stood up. “I have to go and so do you.”

  My cell phone rang and he handed it to me. Faust.

  “This is Jade.”

  “I set up a meeting for you at the station with everyone at nine. Does that work for you?”

  I looked at the time. It was seven-thirty. “Yes. Thank you.”

  “See you then.” He hung up.

  The station made me think of Adrian and everything inside me tightened.

  He had resisted me, but what if he would have obliged my request? Would I have gone through with it?

  Stephan gave me hard eyes.

  “What?” I asked.

  He shook his head.

  “Tell me.”

  “Your father won’t like it.” He told me.

  “I don’t care.”

  “You and Kincaid share a link. That’s why the two of you gravitate toward one another. Your beast reacted to his and they formed a bond…if you will. He bit you, which means he tasted your blood. He kissed you and your wolf reacted, and if you taste his blood…” He stopped.

  “Go on.”

  “Let’s just say your father will stop it before it happens, but if you taste his blood, your bond is almost complete. The only thing left then would be – sex.”

  “That would seal the deal?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can I stop it?”

  “Sure you can. Don’t taste his blood. Ever,” Stephan said, mockingly.

  “I meant…could I have stopped it? Stopped my wolf from reacting to his?”

  “I don’t know.”

  My cell phone rang again. The number was unknown. My heart began to hammer as I already knew who it would be.

  “Jade, this is Detective Lupescu. I have news for you. Can you talk?”

  Chapter Twenty-four

  My adventurous explorer

  I had to swallow past my speeding pulse as I got out of bed and began looking for new clothes to change into and head out.

  “Yes,” I answered in a cracked voice.

  “I did some research. A lot of research. The man who claimed they fell off the path at the castle had lied. He knew your fiancé was in town and that he was American and thought he might be able to profit when the family wanted answers. He was with Seth at the castle – illegally. Seth never filed the proper paperwork for permission. He said they parted ways when Seth started getting curious about our Hoia-Baciu forest.”

  My heart stopped.

  “What?”

  “It is one of our most popular forests. It is believed to be haunted and plagued by curses and evil. Although that does not stop people like your fiancé from coming to feed their curiosity. So, the only thing I can say is that he checked into a hotel about two kilometers from the forest and then checked out early the next morning. The manager said he left behind some gear. A camera. I have it.”

  I held back tears to the best of my ability. “Can you have officers go search for him?”

  “I did. They could not find anything.”

  I began to nod frozen in place with a shoe in my hand. “Thank you for all of your help, detective. Please do not get rid of the camera. I will make arrangements to come to you.”

  Stephan gave me wide eyes.

  “Of course, I will hold it for you.” She assured.

  “Thank you.” I hung up.

  Stephan walked over to me and handed me my jacket. “April sixteenth.” He reminded me. “That’s when the last super moon was.”

  Was Seth in Romania at the time? I tried to remember.

  Stephan nodded.

  “Yes. He was,” he answered my private thought – again. “If you think your father will let you set foot into that forest you’re wrong.”

  “My father can’t control me, Stephan. He gave up any right to my life when he abandoned me and my mother.” I put on a dark denim jacket and stepped into the hallway.

  Stephan followed. “I know you see it that way, Duchess, but he doesn’t. It was his way of protecting you.” I held up a hand to stop him.

  “I don’t want to have this conversation now.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you later.” He gave me a kiss on the forehead and walked ahead of me down the stairs.

  I took a deep cleansing breath to prepare myself for the day.

  It was going to be a long one.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  What now?

  Detective Faust had arranged for all the parents to meet me at the station. When I got there they were waiting in one of the conference rooms. Everyone except Faust was sitting down. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He managed a smile when I walked in.

  “So, what’s up, Jade?” he asked, pushing away from the wall and standing beside me.

  “You’ll find out. Good morning, everyone,” I said in my loudest voice. “Thank you all for meeting me. I asked you here because I have some questions. Please just raise your hand if the answer is yes.”

  The parents whispered to one another momentarily but then gave me their full attention.

  “How many of you had fertility problems before getting pregnant?”

  I watched as all the hands came up hesitantly.

  “Thank you. Hands down, please. How many of you tried fertility treatments that didn’t work?”

  Again, all the hands went up.

  “Okay…now how many of you tried something else?”

  “Like what?” one of them asked.

  “Like…something a little more spiritual. Like drinking a tonic of some sort made by a witch maybe?”

  They erupted into skeptical whispers. Someone even slammed their hand onto the table.

  “Are you fucking kidding?” one of the men snarled. “You brought us here for this shit?”

  “Everyone, please!” Faust interrupted their banter.

  They turned their angry gazes to me. Their energies bit at my skin. I rubbed my arms and took a breath.

  “She’s wasting our time.” Another man growled. “You are all wasting our time when you should be out there looking for our girls.”

  “Why is it you have a hard time answering that question?” I asked over their voices. “Is it that hard to believe in the power of a witch?”

  One of the women stood up and cleared her throat. If memory served me right she was mother to Olivia Coleman.

  “I have sought help from a woman like that.” She interjected loudly.

  All eyes turned to her and her beautiful Creole cheeks became pink but she continued. “After years and years of trying to get pregnant and quite a few miscarriages, I came across a woman who called herself Regina. She promised that I could have a baby within the next year if I drank a potion she made.” She began to cry and her husband stood up to comfort her. He placed both hands on her shoulders and kissed her head. “I paid her five hundred dollars for this drink. I was pregnant the next month…but if I would have known…” She broke down and her husband turned her into
his embrace.

  Within the next few moments, all the women stood up and admitted to drinking such an elixir at one point before becoming pregnant. The witch that had offered the toxic concoction used different names each time.

  We were able to establish that she was a woman in her mid-forties with vibrant red hair and intense blue eyes. They also said she wore strange clothing. Long bright colored skirts with floral patterns and green tops with gold embroidery.

  An hour into the meeting and once all the details were written down, Faust and I stepped into the hallway for a private conversation.

  “Talk to me, Jade. What’s up?”

  I took a deep breath and told him everything about the faeries and my theory that a bad witch used a tonic to trick these parents.

  “I think she most likely was indebted to them, and they made her do it to win back her freedom from them.”

  I had done quite a bit of research on these ladies since I found out about them.

  “Do we find the witch?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “It would be a waste of time.”

  He nodded. “So…now what?”

  “Now…we go to Romania.”

  His eyes grew wide. “I can’t go to Romania, Jade. I have no jurisdiction there.”

  “I know, but I’m going. I have to. There is more in this for me.”

  “I figured.”

  “When are you going?”

  I shrugged. “Soon as I can get a flight.”

  “You’re going alone?” he asked.

  “Probably not.”

  I knew it would be an issue with my father so I expected an entourage.

  “Can I suggest someone?” He offered.

  “Who’s that?”

  “Kincaid.”

  The name made my bones react, and in an instant, I knew he was near. I could smell him. Feel him. My knees threatened to crumble. I wanted him. She wanted him. The lustful she-wolf inside me stirred with eager anticipation.