Jaded

by Danielle James

  “I could get in you know,” Michael said through clenched teeth.

  “You could try,” the guard said without looking up from his paper.

  “Or you could stop being an ass and call Angel and tell him I am here.” This guy was a jerk. Michael felt the back of his ears burning, but he maintained his outward calm.

  The guard didn’t even answer. He just flipped the page of his newspaper and took a sip of his coffee.

  “Are you fucking kidding me!” Michael grumbled. “I walked to the door. I didn’t fly in, I walked. I was being respectful by not barging in. But no! The king of gates was never taught to use the freaking phone!”

  “Apparently,” the guard said while studying his paper and without raising his voice, “Neither were you.”

  Michael growled at him. He didn’t budge. Michael wondered if that coffee was hot and if the guard would enjoy wearing it. He wondered if the cup would hurt when he shoved it up the guard’s too tight ass. He wondered if he would beg for his life as Michael choked the life out of him.

  “Again, you could try,” the guard said, this time with a smile. The moonlight glinted off a pair of shiny white fangs. Well, if this vamp thought that Michael was afraid of vampires, he had another thing coming. He lived with some of the scariest vamps in the U. S.

  Michael had had enough of this nonsense. He bent at the knees and grabbed the sides of his coat, preparing to rip it off and just fly over the gate. Before he even got his coat open, two werewolves were on top of him. They tackled him to the ground and had his arm yanked up behind his back.

  “Where the hell did you come from?” Michael snarled into the cement driveway.

  The first wolf laughed. “It’s our job,” the second one answered. “Now, get out of here and don’t come back until you have a fucking appointment.”

  The two wolves were off his back as fast as they had gotten on it. Ok, Michael thought, brute force was not going to get him in. He pushed to his feet and brushed the dirt off his knees. He glared at the vampire who was still at his post. The vamp smiled back at him and waved. Fucker actually waved.

  Michael turned around and stormed away from the front gates. He supposed he could call, but then that wouldn’t prove anything but defeat. Michael didn’t handle defeat very well. No, he was going to use this opportunity to prove without a doubt that he would be an invaluable asset to Angel’s team, and he was going to do it by breaking in.

  ***

  “Just get this over with,” Jade sighed as her family stood around in a large circle to witness her pain and embarrassment.

  “It’s not that bad,” Frankie, the resident witch, told her reassuringly. “The first time I tried to wax by myself was a disaster as well.”

  Jade perked up at that comment. “Really? What happened?”

  Frankie looked at her niece and hesitated. Her face turned a pretty shade of pink. “Well, let’s just say that I glued myself to the bottom of the tub and leave it at that. Ok, everybody out! No one needs to be here except for me and Jade.” She turned to Sam. “And you should be ashamed of yourself. You knew what was going to happen. All of you should, laughing at her pain. Go on, shoo.” The family grudgingly left the bathroom, leaving Jade alone with Frankie.

  Jade snickered and felt a little bit better. She watched as Frankie covered her ankle with a homemade salve and whispered an incantation. The wax that had glued itself to Jade’s leg began to lose its grip on her. Frankie wiggled a pair of scissors under the cloth and began snipping. Finally, FINALLY, the wax fell free and Jade was freed from her self-imposed prison.

  “What on earth possessed you to wax anyway?” Frankie asked her as she tossed the wad of wax and cloth into the trash.

  “I don’t know,” Jade told her.

  “Well, that’s a lie if I ever heard one,” Frankie laughed. “I get that you don’t want to go through this in front of everyone, especially Angel. I couldn’t imagine having him for a father. Not that he is a bad father, just wow. The pressure you must be under all the time.”

  “You have no idea. He is always looking out for me like I am still a child. He dotes on me all the time!”

  “Most girls would love that,” Frankie pointed out.

  “Yeah, but he forgets that I am a grown ass woman. I can take care of myself. I am one of the strongest psychics ever in the history of the world. I am strong like a vampire but not hindered by your shortcomings.”

  “Thanks,” Frankie laughed. “Let’s not forget that you have an affinity for Earth magic too.”

  “That’s right!” Jade smiled.

  “So you are all that,” Frankie joked with her niece.

  “And, I even have my bag of potato chips!” Jade laughed.

  The girls howled in laughter until Frankie got the hiccups. “Now this is lovely,” she barked out between them, “A big, bad vampire with a case of the hiccups!”

  “Hold your breath,” Jade told her. And then her tone became serious again. “All I am saying is that I would like to have just some part of my life that is just mine. I don’t like blocking Dad all the time. I wish he would understand that I am not a helpless child anymore.”

  Frankie let out her breath. “I know but Sweetie, you’ve got to remember, he is your father. He is always going to see you as his little girl. He lived for hundreds of years alone before your mother came into his life. And then you came along. You two are the most precious things in the world to him and he would die to protect you.”

  Jade grumbled under her breath. “I wish he would get a grip. It’s not like I am gonna get myself killed with a jar of wax.”

  Frankie looked at her. Yes, Jade had grown into a respectable young woman. For years she had been working as a freelance composer and producer. The guys had taught her all about the music business and Jade was making her own fortune now. Where her cheeks used to be full and cherub-like, now they were thinner and more defined. Her eyes gleamed with knowledge that no one her actual age should possess. But still, Frankie could understand Angel’s overprotectiveness. “Has he told you about his life before he was turned?”

  Jade shook her head. “He keeps that buried deep. But I have never tried to go poking around for that information.”

  “He needs to tell you,” Frankie said. She brushed her long brown hair out of her face. Jade didn’t think her dad would talk to her. His word was the rule and no one argued it. Well, no one but Brea, but she was the only one who could get away with it. Maybe Jade would just pick the information out of her mother’s head.

  “So, are you going to tell me why you were waxing?” Frankie reminded her.

  “No,” Jade said.

  “Well, if you’re interested, there is a great salon downtown that does a really good job. I can give you the address.”

  Jade shook her head. “No thank you. I think I am just going to stick with my razor for now. Thanks for helping me and not laughing too hard.”

  A smile played around the corner of Frankie’s mouth. “You’re welcome,” she managed without laughing. Jade saw her aunt out the door and then closed it behind her. After she flipped the lock, Jade allowed herself to lean against the door for a moment. Her mate was still coming and she needed to prepare.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Michael sat on the branch high up in the trees. He watched the Knight Estate from a distance with his incredible eyesight. That was something else he inherited from his father. Raptor vision, he called it. Whatever. Michael could see for miles and it was useful on more than one occasion. At the moment he was watching the guards make their rounds. Just as Michael had suspected, there was a gap in their rotation.

  That would be his opening. Three vampires walked the perimeter of the property, inside the privacy wall, like clockwork. Every ten minutes one would walk by the section where Michael watched. He wasn’t fooled. He knew that if he took the opening they gave him, he would have only a matter of seconds to get over the wall and into the house. To see what kind of reaction time the guards had,
he tossed a rock over the wall and waited when it hit the ground.

  One, two, three. Three seconds was all it took for all three guards to run at their vampire speeds to where the rock landed softly on the dirt. Hmph. He was going to have to be super-fast. In fact, he was going to have to distract the guards before he flew over.

  No, he shouldn’t fly over. He should climb like any other person trying to breech security. Michael dropped down out of the tree and landed on silent feet below. The ten foot wall stood in front of him. He picked up a rock and threw it as hard as he could. He knew when it landed with a thud that he had almost gotten it to the other side of the yard.

  He sprinted around to the back of the estate and pushed off the ground with his powerful legs. Michael grabbed the top of the wall and hoisted himself up. The wall was damp from an earlier rain so it was difficult to keep a grip on it, but he managed. He lifted one leg up and then the other. He stood tall on the wall, proud of himself for being so smart. He shifted his foot and then…. it slipped on the wet stone.

  Michael pin wheeled with his arms in a desperate attempt to keep his balance, but Mother Nature was not on his side and he lost it. He fell hard, with one leg on either side of the wall. As his nuts were shoved up into his body, he was absolutely sure that they were lodged in his throat. He resisted the urge to cry out in pain, swallowing it hard.

  He instinctively reached for his bruised sack and the shift in his weight caused his balance to shift. He leaned precariously to one side and there was no stopping it when gravity took over.

  As Michael landed hard on the ground below, there was nothing he could do except lie there in a fetal position. He looked up at the wall that loomed above him and was gifted with three smiles peering over the top of the wall. Three smiles that showcased fangs. The guards had found him and they were laughing at him. “Fuck you,” he grumbled.

  The three vamps laughed and dropped back down on their side of the wall. Great. Now they were going to be on the lookout for him.

  He knew he had to move before they came around to collect him. No! He had to get in. He was even more determined as he forced himself to ignore the pain he was in and shoved to his feet. He spread his wings and retreated back to the relative safety of the trees.

  Ok, he thought to himself. Climbing over was a bad idea. He was going to have to fly in. Just as soon as his nuts dropped back to their designated position. He rocked back and forth on the limb, willing the pain to subside.

  Finally, it did. There was no sense in waiting until the vamps thought he was gone. It would be so much more impressive for him to get past them even with them knowing he was there. He knew they would be watching the back of the estate, but would they expect him to head right for the front door? Nope, probably not.

  Michael leapt out of the tree and spread his wings. He circled high in the sky, too high for the vamps to see him until he saw his opening. Like a bullet from a gun, Michael lit his wings and shot forward, heading right to the front door of the mansion. He barreled in at incredible speed, slowing only when he was mere feet from the entrance. He intended to land on the stoop and knock on the door before letting himself in.

  That was the plan.

  As he slowed his approach, Michael slammed into another wall. This one was invisible. The force of the impact rattled his brain and caused his teeth to snap in his mouth. He bounced off of it, literally bounced, back and onto his ass with a loud thud.

  Michael was seeing stars and not the ones in the sky. He imagined himself with little birdies floating around his head and then shook off his own insanity.

  He didn’t have time to even make it to his feet before the guards were on top of him. The three of them tackled him like a freaking dog pile. As they yanked him to his feet, Michael considered toasting them but decided against it. Angel would never hire him if he killed his guard dogs.

  “I warned you,” the vamp from the front gates snarled as he stood behind Michael. “It was even funny at first. Frankie’s little spell hurts like a bitch, don’t it?”

  “You’re just pissed that I got past you,” Michael hissed.

  “No, you really didn’t,” the vamp growled. “And you never will. Nighty night, whatever you are,” he said as he put one of his hands on top of Michael’s head and the other below his chin. With a quick jerk of his wrist, the vampire snapped Michael’s neck, breaking his spinal cord. Then he let go and Michael’s body dropped to the ground.

  In the few precious seconds he was aware before he died, Michael thought, I hope I inherited this from Dad too because it’s gonna suck if I die.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Jade was nearly ready. She examined herself in the vanity mirror one more time. Her hair was silky and shiny, curling around her face in loose ringlets. Her eyes were lined with kohl liner, giving her a smoky look that made her eyes seem brighter and darker at the same time. Her lips were glossed and her legs, thankfully, were shaved and free of hair.

  She had put on her knee-high boots that had stiletto heels, a dark skirt that drifted mid-thigh, and a blue tank top that showed off her breasts. Of course, the push up bra she bought just for this occasion helped with that as well. One last fluff to her hair and …

  A powerful feeling smacked her in the gut. Something was wrong. Her mate needed her.

  Jade tore out of her room and flew down the stairs. “Frankie!” she shouted, “Take the wards down!”

  She saw Frankie look up from her book as she ran past her toward the front door.

  “What’s going on?” Jacque asked his mate.

  “I don’t know,” Frankie answered just before chanting the spell that would drop the wards around the house.

  “Well, might as well check it out,” Jacque said as he stood, taking Frankie by the hand and power walking to the front door.

  The whole family had joined Jade outside. Frankie and Jacque, Gage and Serena, Rebel and Leigh, Azerial and Sam, Sebastian and Jessica, and of course, Angel and Brea. They were all ready for a fight as they took in the scene in the front yard.

  Three of Angel’s night guards were standing over a body slumped in the grass.

  “What is going on here?” Angel demanded.

  “Had a breech, Sir,” one of the guards answered. “It’s taken care of now. No worries.”

  Jade saw the body on the ground. It was a man. Tall. With wings. Yes, orange wings. Her mate had come and the guards killed him. Her suspicions were verified as a fire lit spontaneously on the body.

  “Oh no,” she heard her father say. There were other thoughts being voiced, but none of them Jade cared about.

  “You idiot!” she shouted. Anger welled up in her chest and she called the wind to feed the fire in front of her. “You better pray he comes back!” She stomped in the direction of the fire. Angel tried to grab her to stop her, but Jade lifted her hand in a stop motion. Angel hit an invisible barrier.

  “Get away from him!” Jade shouted again. When the idiot vamps didn’t do what she said, she waved her hand as if to say shoo, and the three guards were thrown back twenty feet. The wind picked up Jade’s hair and made her look dangerous. And at that time–she was. They dared to touch her mate? Let alone kill him? They would pay with their lives.

  “Jade!” Azerial called to her, “Please be careful!”

  Jade turned and looked at the goddess. The goddess who had her mate right by her side. Jade rolled her eyes. She was tired of being treated like a child. She stomped over to the burning pile of ashes and said softly, “You better come back to me.”

  Jade waved her hand and formed an invisible barrier between herself and her family when she noticed they would have come to her. This was a trick that she hadn’t let on that she had before now, and her family stood there with their mouths gaping open.

  The fire grew hotter still but Jade held her ground precariously close to it. No one dared to come any closer. The flames were making them sweat from their distance.

  “Jade,” Brea whispered, “Baby, pleas
e come back over here.”

  Jade rolled her eyes. “He won’t hurt me, Mom.”

  Brea hoped her daughter was right. She wanted to run to her and protect her, but Jade had sufficiently locked everyone out.

  The flames finally began to die and there in the yard, was a pile of ash. Jade knew this was where the truth would be known. She also knew that her actions were going to cause some questions. She backed away from the ash, taking a stand next to her mother and father. She blindly reached for Brea’s hand and felt her mother take it and give it a squeeze. Of course, her mother would understand. Jade felt silly for not trusting her in the first place.

  Thunder rolled and lightning streaked across the sky, but the thunder wasn’t only coming from the approaching storm. It was coming from the pile of ash. The ground shook beneath their feet and the ash exploded before their eyes. Jade watched with pride and awe. This was her mate.

  Dear God, he was magnificent!

  Michael had grown up quite a bit since the last time she had laid eyes on him. As he emerged from the ashes, he spread his wings wide and held his arms out from his sides. Orange, red, and blue flames stretched out behind him over his wings. Eight feet of wings! His skin, tanned to perfection, glowed from the inside out. Jade took in his dark, curly hair, his face that had been rounded before but now was chiseled into the form of a Greek god. She took in his long neck, broad shoulders, and further down to his rock hard abs and his long, long legs. And then there was his cock, limp but impressive just the same. Her mate floated a few inches above the ground before her and Jade’s heart swelled in her chest. He was a work of art, beautifully sculpted and powerful beyond measure. And he was hers. He just didn’t know it yet.

  And then Jade was plunged into darkness. Someone had the audacity to cover her eyes! One quick sniff and she knew it was her father’s hand that was on her face. She turned and snarled at him and he jerked his hand back as if she were a rabid dog dead set on biting him.

  Angel felt his brows shoot toward the sky as his lovely daughter snarled and snapped at him. At that moment, she wasn’t his sweet little girl. She was a deadly predator and he was standing in her way. He heard Brea chuckle but shook it off. His eyes darted between the young phoenix in the yard and his daughter and back again. What the hell was going on? The phoenix, Michael, held Jade’s rapt attention like a buffet in front of a starved man, or woman, as it were.