by Anna Santos
“Are you fine with all this, Uncle?” Kevin asked Eric, who had remained quiet since they’d entered the office and heard the news.
“I accept it and I’m fine with it. I love Jessie, we became best friends. I felt close to her from the start. It may be weird. But I’m beginning to like weird!” He smiled at Jessie.
“My baby!” Jessie squealed with happiness and ran to hold him tight. “You have no idea how cute you were when you were a baby,” she said, speaking sweetly to him, cuddling his hair, and making him blush slightly at being babied by her. “You grew up to be so tall and handsome! It's so strange to have all these feelings inside me now for you and your brothers.”
“Jessie, Mom, do you remember? Do you know?” Eric's voice trembled with anxiety and his eyes lost their sparkle of happiness.
“Eric, don’t talk about it,” the king said with a serious face, and Eric nodded, leaving everybody curious.
“About what?” Jessica questioned since clearly Marcus was keeping something from her. Something that she couldn’t remember or something that concerned her death. Or maybe she was overthinking things, it was probably something much simpler. “About Alaric? Even if I didn’t remember him, I know that Alaric is Marcus’s son, so he is my son, too. I also know that the blood changed him and he is nothing like he was when...when he was younger.” The words faded on her lips, and she had to sit down for a while. Her head hurt even more, and her heart grew sad because of what had happened to her son. He had lost his way and become something evil without a conscience. The wars, all the death, and the blood he had spilled and drank had changed him.
“Are you all right?” Everybody approached her with concern, but it was the king who held her hands and asked most urgently.
“It is just that...” She felt the tears well up in her eyes and a lump formed in her throat, it prevented her from speaking. It was painful. She felt somehow guilty and didn’t know why she had a feeling of regret inside of her.
“Forget about him, darling,” the king said softly, kissing her hands and bringing her into his arms. It was as if he wanted to keep her safe from painful memories. “There are things you really don’t need to remember.” He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. Then he snuggled her against his chest. They were mates; his scent calmed her down and made her relax.
“We really have a messed-up family,” Kevin mumbled as he stared at Anna. “Sis, am I the only one to find all this creepy? I wake up from a coma to find out that we have a whole new family and now discover that even Isobel is back. Does no one else question why she is back? Or how she can remember her past life? I didn’t believe in reincarnation, not even when Jessie said she lived a past life as a vampire. But, apparently, I was wrong. Now I have to deal with the fact that I’m the nephew of a monster who killed my parents. I meet my father’s family and have a witch as a grandmother! And to make things even weirder, Alaric has put a bounty on Jessica’s head. Shouldn’t someone warn him that she is his dead mom? Wouldn’t he back off? I know that he hates me and Anna because we are hybrids, but still…” He sighed deeply.
“What did you say?” the king demanded, letting Jessica go to face his grandson. “Alaric put a price on Jessie’s head?”
“You didn’t know that?” Kevin asked, rubbing the back of his neck. “Didn’t you tell him, Jessie?”
“No, I didn’t know that either,” Jessica said.
“I forgot to tell her,” Anna explained. “We just found out the other day and I didn’t want to worry her. She had been stressed and having headaches.”
The king’s eyes turned purple and his fangs came out in anger. “I dare him to come near her. This time, I’ll rip his head off, and I don’t care if he is my son or not,” he growled, leaving everybody concerned.
“Calm down,” Jessica requested. It was her turn to calm him by cuddling his face and kissing his lips. He closed his eyes, she continued to whisper softly and ran her fingers through his hair.
“I won’t forgive him this time, Ellie,” Marcus assured her as he opened his eyes. She didn't know what he was talking about. “He killed George. He tried to kill Anna and Kevin. He can’t be left alive. When the time comes, we need to kill him. You can’t show him mercy.”
Jessica nodded because she knew he needed her to agree with him. However, she had mixed feelings about it. Now that she knew he was her son and she had feelings for him that resembled love. She realized that she had given him life in a different time and body. She had memories of him as a child, a young man, and as a loving, honorable prince. There was a time when Alaric was not the evil man he was today.
A dark memory came to her head like a flash; it was unclear to see but it felt painful and frightening. She trembled and stepped back, clutching her heart, her face showing panic and fear.
“What’s wrong? What did you remember?” the king asked, capturing her in an embrace. He looked deeply into her eyes, while his reflected pure heartache.
“I don’t know. It was odd. I’m not sure. Some kind of dark memory of a pair of scary red eyes.” She shivered and put her hands on his chest.
“Let’s just stop talking about Alaric. This was supposed to be a happy reunion,” Anna suggested trying to lift the heavy cloud of sadness. “Plus, Jessica is well protected.”
“Well, even if I don’t like to talk about him,” Kevin said, getting everybody's attention, “we need to address this matter. I have more information about the bounty that I believe everybody should know. I don’t just party and chase women all night. I actually gather information, and I’m really good at fixing my mistakes.”
“What did you find out?” Eric asked, ignoring his sarcasm.
“I’ve contacted my informer. Someone who owed me a favor for letting him keep his head on his shoulders. He is useful for inside information, and the word on the street is that Alaric will pay really well to anyone who finds and delivers Jessica to him alive. The bad news is that there are a lot of bounty hunters looking for her. The good news is that she has to be alive, or Alaric will personally kill whoever harms her.”
Jessica intervened, “Why would he want me alive? I did nothing to him that I can recall that would make him want to kill me himself.”
“I don’t know.” Kevin shrugged.
“So what if he put a bounty on my head? Doesn’t every member of our team have one? Anna has one, Kevin and Jason have one. I was just the newest addition to Alaric’s blacklist,” Jessica said so that everybody lost the serious face. “I’ll be fine.”
Kevin crossed his arms. “Maybe but there is still the little problem with King Francesco, who doesn’t answer Uncle’s calls and no one has shown up to get his girls. We don’t know what to do with them. It is kind of a shame to kill them. Some are really pretty. Most of them are—really pretty.” He smirked and won a slap from his sister on the back of his head.
“Stop flirting with the prisoners,” Anna grumbled.
“Are they being taken care of properly and respectfully?” the king asked, ignoring Anna and Kevin's little quarrel.
“Yes, they are fine. Eric found them a nice house and there are lots of men guarding them. There isn’t any problem in getting men to guard them.” He smirked again, but, this time, he was prepared to grab Anna’s hand and prevent her from hitting him. “Too slow,” he joked, showing her his tongue. Anna rolled her eyes and with the other hand threw a pillow at his face. Kevin stepped back, coughing. “You're so lucky I don’t hit women,” he snarled, upset. “I can have all the dirty thoughts I want! Stop being so mean to me!”
“Stop acting childish, you two,” Jessica demanded, putting her hands on her waist and facing them with a serious face.
“Look who’s pretending to be all grown up,” Kevin said, not the least convinced by her look. He grabbed the pillow and threw it at her face and then ran.
“Oh, you are so going to pay for doing that to me,” she snapped, losing the serious attitude and running after him as he laughed and circled the co
uch.
Chapter Seventeen—The Wedding Plans
THE KING
The childish behavior came to an abrupt halt when the king grabbed Kevin's arm and prevented him from continuing the horseplay. They were having a serious conversation, now was not the time to be playing around, and acting like kids.
“Hey, no fair! You can't help her just because she's your mate,” Kevin complained.
“I'm not helping anyone,” he explained. “Jessica, stop and behave, if you please,” he requested when she tried to throw the pillow back at Kevin.
Then, the king released Kevin and looked at Eric in an authoritative manner. He resumed his speech, “From now on, I'll be handling all these matters. I will call Francesco, and if he doesn't reply, I'll call the council to tell them what is going on. Then I’ll attempt to find out what Francesco is planning to do. I'll be resuming my duties as king. I hope you don't mind, Eric.”
“Of course not, Dad.”
“I will still need your help. You know everybody better than I do now, particularly the younger generation. I will need you to set up a meeting with the leaders and the alphas of the packs, who are our allies. Call the sorcerers and the team leaders. In fact, Shane, can you assemble all the team leaders of our town and ask them to meet me with the others?”
“Of course, Your Majesty. You just need to tell me when, and where you want everybody to meet.”
“The meeting would be best to take place at the school tomorrow. There is plenty of space there in the auditorium.”
Shane replied promptly, “I'll talk to them this afternoon.”
“Good. We also need to increase security in the palace and put more patrolling officers in town. The Sheriff's department should put road blocks at the town’s borders to search people's cars, and verify their documents. We need to control who comes in and goes out. Make certain there are no newcomers arriving to make trouble or bounty hunters looking for Jessie.”
“I will take care of all that,” Shane replied. “I'll confirm everything before I go with Anna to Boston, tomorrow.”
“Why are you and my granddaughter leaving?” Marcus questioned them, unaware of their plans.
“Kevin isn’t the only one with sources. The leader of my organization sent me a lead on Alaric's whereabouts. We won't be gone for long,” Anna explained.
“Who’s going to help me with the wedding arrangements?” Jessica asked with a worried face. “I want you to be my maid of honor. You can't leave!”
“Eric can help you with all that,” Anna said, smirking.
Eric frowned. “I can?”
“If I didn't know better, I’d say you’re making that up as an excuse just to get out of helping me plan my wedding day!” Jessica complained, puckering her lips and pouting.
Anna sighed. “It is a solid lead. I can't just ignore it.”
“It's my wedding. I'm your best friend. You can't ignore that, either.”
“Don’t try to manipulate me, Jessie. You now as well as I do that five days is not an adequate time to prepare a wedding,” Anna declared. “Why not postpone and do it in two weeks?”
“Well,” Jessica replied, looking at her mate for support, “Your grandpa is stubborn.” Then she smiled at him.
Marcus grinned at her, his eyes turning slightly purple when he remembered the reason why he wanted them to get married. Her red cheeks made his hands sweat as his throat got dry.
His granddaughter’s voice woke him up from his reverie. “I’ll just go for one day and then be back. I can also help take care of your safety. We’ll go shopping for your wedding dress and…what else do we need to make your wedding happen?”
“Catering, flowers, decorations, and a guest list,” Jessica pointed out. Frowning, she added with a sigh, “I really need a wedding planner.”
“Well, that I can take care of,” Eric offered. “I can also repair the garden and prepare the palace for guests and a party. I can call our closest friends and family to attend the wedding, though I'm not promising that many will be able to come. It’s really short notice. But I can promise that things will be ready for the wedding this weekend.”
“Where will we find a high priest to marry us?” Jessica asked, looking at the king.
“I will take care of that,” Marcus said.
“Don’t I get to help? I can do something from your list too,” Kevin complained. “Jessica is also my friend, and…apparently my grandmother. I want to help with the preparations.”
“I have the perfect job for you. You can take care of the music,” Jessica said happily, as she stepped forward and ruffled his hair.
He growled and shoved her hand. “Leave my hair alone.”
“You should trim it.”
“You are not touching my hair,” he grumbled.
Marcus took control of the conversation so they didn’t get off track of the tasks at hand. “Okay, so Eric is taking care of the garden and the wedding planner. Anna and Shane are going to be away for a couple of days. Kevin, can you take care of the music selection?”
“I can,” Kevin assured, combing his hair with his fingers.
“I want you to find a great band to play at my wedding, and I also want you to invite Sebastien to come. You two could even prepare a song to sing at the party. Sebastien has a really beautiful voice.”
“Now you’re talking!” Kevin said, excited with his task. “I'll make a cool playlist for the wedding and find you a killer band. But about Sebastien singing, I can't guarantee anything. You know he has a touch of stage fright.”
“Now that all the wedding arrangements are under way and tasks have been assigned, Eric and I need to talk about Francesco,” Marcus said, eager to ensure that nothing ruined his wedding plans. The king was concerned about some things that came to light during the last conversations he’d had with Eric. He needed to know exactly what Eric and Francesco had discussed and the extent of the damage Jessica had caused in Italy.
“Sure,” Eric agreed. “We can go to my office.”
“About Francesco, I can talk to him, Marcus,” Jessie whispered timidly. “If he becomes aware of this new turn of events, maybe he will act differently.”
“No, it will be kept a secret within our family,” Marcus said, disagreeing. “We can't trust him,” he added and he shared a stare with his son.
“Marcus…” Jessica said but stop to look at Eric.
“Do you remember?” Marcus asked as he placed his hand on her shoulder for support.
“What’s going on?” Kevin asked as a look passed between Jessica and the king. “Why the sudden willingness to talk to King Francesco when you wanted to kill him before?”
Jessica nibbled her lip without taking her eyes off of her mate. Jessica and the king were unable to answer and it was Eric who cleared things up. “Francesco is my uncle. He was Isobel's brother.”
“He is family!” Kevin said, wide-eyed with shock.
“We have many family members who you don't know about yet,” Eric added.
“Honey, you are no longer related to him by blood, you owe him nothing,” the king said. Jessica leaned against his chest as his hands brought her into the security of his embrace. “I've endured his arrogance only because he was your brother. But if he tries to harm you, I will not hesitate to protect you whatever that may entail.”
“I don’t really know how to feel about this anymore. The brother that I knew wouldn’t have done what he did. A part of me doesn’t want to believe that he was the one responsible for the death of my new family and relatives. But he had my family’s grimoire, and he has several dark covens working for him. Still…there must be some other explanation why he had my grimoire.”
“Time changes people. Loneliness too,” Marcus shared. “Your family always had covens of witches to do their bidding. Sending his assassins to kill you and recover the grimoire are clear signs that he is guilty, and he doesn’t want anyone to find out. But you are under my protection and no one will harm you. You are safe.”
“I know, honey,” Jessica said, relaxing again as his hands rubbed her shoulders.
“He hasn’t sent any more assassins that we are aware of. However, he hasn’t responded to any of my calls, either,” Eric said, apparently more to himself than to his family. He mussed his hair as everybody watched him. “He is up to something and I’m waiting for my contacts to call me so I know what he’s planning to do regarding Jessica’s supposed invasion and theft. Besides, we need to decide what to do with the prisoners.”
Jessica nodded, suddenly, putting her hand to her head she began to rub her right temple. The pain caused her to lean forward as it worsened.
Marcus turned her to face him and saw her grimacing in pain. “What is wrong?”
“There are so many things that I still need to remember…” Jessica mumbled, pressing her eyelids together.
“Maybe the fewer things you remember, the better it is for you,” Anna interjected. “Your mortal brain cannot handle that many memories. You were more than four hundred years old when you died, Jessie. Your brain can't accommodate so many memories. Try not to remember too many things at once, please. I don't want you to have another seizure and risk something happening to you again.”
“Yes, I need to be more cautious. I don't want to lose all of my memories, like the last time.”
Marcus's face became serious. He had been thinking about this and grown particularly attentive to any sign of a brain lesion. The possibility of Jessica’s losing her memories still haunted him, but worse would be if those memories killed or injured her. “Could you lose your memories? And what memories? The ones we make now? Or those from the other life?”
“My former memories and sometimes the new ones I’ve made, usually right after a memory surfaces. But I'm not having any symptoms currently,” she declared as she stared elsewhere.
