Half-Blood Descendant: A Paranormal Series (Half-Bloods Book 1)

by Natasha Brown

  The sun was touching the hills to the west, and the sky was deepening into a range of purples and pinks. He could make it back by midnight if he got going. He grabbed his phone and switched it on. It chimed with various alerts, missed calls, texts and messages.

  Jax paused before dialing his voicemail. There was one message. He expected to hear Aerilyn’s sad or angry voice asking why he’d left, but instead, Garren’s deep rasp echoed in his ear. “Hey brother, I shouldn’t be doing this, but I thought I’d let you know I tracked down the guy who manhandled Aerilyn. He’s been hanging around the school the last two days, so I followed him into Lakewood to this walled-in mansion off Hampden. Gaudy as hell too, with Grecian statues out front. Anyway, let me know if you want to tell him how to properly talk to a lady. Maybe I can arrange it.”

  Jax saved the message and checked the time of the call. Garren had rung a few hours earlier. Instead of trying him back, Jax sent a text that said, Back in town tomorrow.

  He put his truck in gear and slowly rolled off the property, gazing at his childhood home in the rearview mirror. Jax set his phone beside him. There was nothing from Aerilyn. No missed calls, no texts or messages. Could that mean she hadn’t noticed he’d left?

  Jax pulled onto the highway and sped up, anxious to return to Colorado.

  Thursday morning Aerilyn woke with a hollow feeling in her stomach. She’d avoided Emery the night before, not wanting to discuss the fact that Jax had gone. She pulled on clothes without caring what she wore or how she looked and drove to work on autopilot. Just like every other day that week, Garren trotted up to her with his tail wagging and escorted her to the back entrance, casting furtive glances over his shoulder as he went.

  Aerilyn was distracted through every period, and for the first time that week, she didn’t try to talk to Riley. She watched him leave class ahead of everyone else and decided she couldn’t help a kid who wouldn’t allow her to. She sighed and stared at the file of papers she needed to grade and cursed herself for not creating the assignment online so she could do it on her laptop at home. She chose not to linger after the final bell before gathering her things and walking away from the grading.

  She half expected to see the German shepherd waiting for her near the back door but couldn’t spot him when she exited the school. Aerilyn clutched her keys in her hand, ready for anything. She looked around her and found only a few students milling about the property. There was no sign of Garren or of Riley’s father. Maybe the enforcer was just out of sight, watching from afar.

  Aerilyn hurried to her car and got in. She didn’t waste any time driving away, unable to shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong. Even when she got home and changed out of her work clothes, a sense of foreboding pressed in on her. Emery wasn’t around, which wasn’t all that surprising since she often went into Denver to work alongside Deane at the lodge.

  She began to question her decision to leave her grading at school. She needed something to keep her mind off Jax, so she bundled up and took Petey out for a hike, which turned into more of a jog. Equipped with her hiking boots, she ran between the trees and up the slope. Petey rushed ahead of her, excited to race her.

  No matter how hard she tried, Aerilyn’s thoughts wouldn’t budge from Jax. He was all she could think about. She’d been so careful not to put herself in a position to get hurt, and the moment she’d risked it, she got burned. She’d known he wasn’t the kind to stick around. But the way he’d looked at her and the way he touched her—it was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before.

  Aerilyn grit her teeth and dug in even harder, racing through the snowy clearing where she’d practiced her self-defense moves on Jax over a week ago. Her lungs hurt from the exertion, yet she pushed ever harder. She blamed herself. She’d been foolish enough to believe in love.

  She returned to the house, sweaty and hot. She had little appetite for food and went to bed early, but her mind wouldn’t quiet down. It was after eleven when she got up to take a sleeping pill. Just as she began to drift off to sleep, her phone chimed. She picked it up and looked at the message.

  Dinner my place tomorrow night?

  Aerilyn couldn’t believe her eyes, doubting she’d read it correctly. But sure enough, beside the message was Jax’s name. She gritted her teeth and texted back, I thought you took off, needed some air.

  She closed her eyes while she waited for his response. A long delay made her question whether he was man enough to respond.

  I went home and found something I never knew existed. I’ll never you leave again…unless you want me to.

  Before she could respond, he texted once more. Come to the door. Please.

  Aerilyn frowned again. She could feel the sleeping pill beginning to take effect. Her vision was blurred and her mind fuzzy. But she lifted the sheet off of her and got out of bed wearing only her ratty T-shirt.

  She stomped into the hallway and down the steps to her front door. Aerilyn flipped the deadlock and cracked open the door. Cold, icy fingers of the night reached in to touch her face. She blinked out at the silhouette on her stoop. Her breath caught in her throat, and her eyes watered. She didn’t want to get caught crying at the sight of him and pinched her lips together.

  Jax’s blue eyes blinked back at her. He moved closer to the door and said, “I don’t want to keep you up when you have school tomorrow, but I had to see you before going to bed. You deserve so much better than someone like me—I know it and so does your dad.”

  His breath dispersed into an opaque cloud as he paused to brace his hands on either side of the doorframe. Jax leaned in. “I don’t want to be the cause of your pain ever again. If you don’t want to see me, I’ll go, but love is sacrifice. I’d give up the open road if it meant I could be with you.”

  She swung open the door wider, letting in the cold temperatures from outside. Aerilyn didn’t care. She stared at him and swallowed. “Love?”

  He grimaced. “Don’t make me say it again.”

  “I thought—”

  He interrupted, “I know. I’m a complicated guy, what can I say?”

  “Plenty,” she growled back. “Tomorrow night.”

  “Fair enough.” He didn’t look away from her and leaned in even farther until his face was inches from her own.

  Aerilyn felt his breath on her. She gazed into his eyes with a hardened stare. She wasn’t about to be jerked around by anyone, even if that person melted her heart.

  Jax moved in slowly, pressing his lips to hers. She let them dance down her neck, and she let out a soft gasp. His arms wrapped around her, and his hands lifted the hem of her shirt to grab her buttocks. Aerilyn’s heart raced in excitement. She panted in his ear and held onto him tight.

  Jax pulled away, brushing her hair from her face. “Tomorrow night—dinner?”

  She nodded.

  He placed a kiss on her cheek and let go of her. He turned around and wandered down the driveway. She closed her door, leaning up against it to catch her breath. In a daze she made it to bed, not entirely sure if she’d dreamt him or not.

  Aerilyn woke in the morning having forgotten the previous night. It wasn’t until she saw Jax’s texts that it started to come back to her. She only had to make it through a day of work before getting to see him face to face. She was unsure what he’d have to say about his disappearance, but she wanted answers.

  Her focus shifted as soon as she drove onto school property. The same unsettled feeling she’d experienced the prior day came over her. Aerilyn began her walk through the parking lot expecting to see Garren trotting across the lawn, but she didn’t. Her eyes scanned the horizon, looking for signs of him, and found nothing. She hurried to the entrance of the school and cast one last glance over her shoulder before rushing inside.

  Her sense of concern deepened when Riley didn’t come to class either. He didn’t have any friends that she knew of, yet she still asked the class if anyone had heard from him. Most of her students frowned and shook their heads, and
a few murmured the question, “Who’s Riley?”

  She went to the office after school let out and asked the secretary if they’d received a call regarding his absence and discovered they had not. Aerilyn sighed and pinched her lips together. She didn’t know if there was anything she could do, but she was worried about him. Aerilyn didn’t know if his poor health was directly linked to the fact his father had been harassing him, but she suspected it was.

  She nearly forgot about Garren when she exited the building, she was so absorbed with thoughts of Riley. Aerilyn unlocked her sedan from a few strides away and realized the German shepherd hadn’t run to meet her. She didn’t hesitate getting into her car and messaging her father, Garren not at school.

  She set her phone in the center console before driving out of the lot. Something was wrong, very wrong. She felt it down to her toes.

  Emery’s car wasn’t on the driveway when she got home. The skies were gray and cloudy, yet the temperature was mild for the winter day. Aerilyn went inside to let Petey out and eagerly peeled off her dress and leggings, setting her phone on her bed. Clothed in a pair of yoga pants and a sweatshirt, she hurried down the road to Jax’s place.

  Rock music poured from the trailer, which was once again parked on KT’s property. After a quick knock on his trailer door, she let herself in.

  Jax met her at the entry steps of the trailer with a crooked grin. The smell of garlic and basil filled the air, and she inhaled deeply. She looked past him at the pasta sauce simmering in a pot and was struck with his ability to pretend nothing had happened. She wasn’t about to let him off easy, no matter how delicious dinner smelled.

  “Thanks for coming.” He helped her up the steps and pressed his forehead to hers, gazing into her eyes. “I missed you.”

  She pulled back. “Hold up. I haven’t forgiven you—you can’t just leave and come back like this this without… without…”

  “You’re right,” he said with a sober look. “You have a right to be mad—to send me away.”

  Aerilyn turned away and sat down at the table. She buried her hands into the front pocket of her sweatshirt. “I haven’t sent you away yet. First, I want answers.”

  Jax nodded. He turned to stir a wooden spoon in a pot, leaned against the counter and closed his eyes. “I got spooked.”

  “Was it me?” she asked, recalling how careful she’d been to give him space and to avoid smothering him.

  “Yes and no,” he answered and faced her. “It was nothing you did. It was how I started feeling that triggered me. I drove through the prairie and made my way east into Nebraska without even thinking about it.”

  Aerilyn listened and couldn’t help but think about her father’s proposition to him. “To go to the other lodge?”

  “No.” Jax shook his head and folded his arms. “To go home. It was strange being back there. I haven’t returned since I graduated and I took off with Rick’s trailer.”

  Aerilyn had compassion for what he’d gone through. She couldn’t imagine being abandoned by a parent, but that didn’t excuse him running off without so much as a word to her.

  “I’ve always moved from one place to another before I could grow attached to anyone. It made it easier—it made sense to me.” He turned down the music volume and looked at her. “When my mom left, I thought she didn’t care. But now I know she loved me—loves me.”

  Aerilyn frowned. “What?”

  He picked up a folded piece of paper from the counter and handed it to her. “I found this. She left it for me. Either Rick never got around to giving it to me because he was too drunk, or he didn’t want to.”

  She gripped the wrinkled paper and read the letter. By the time she’d reached the end, he handed her a stained and curled photograph. He touched the blonde woman’s face with the tip of his finger. “Just like I remember her. Beautiful.”

  Aerilyn tilted her head and looked at him. “What was she protecting you from?”

  Jax lifted his shoulders and widened his eyes. “I don’t know.”

  “And what about your father—do you think she meant Rick?”

  He took the letter and photograph from her and put them in a cooking book on the counter. “I don’t think she meant Rick at all, but I have no memories of my biological dad.”

  “That’s a unique way of spelling Jenyphr. If she’s in the Society’s database, I should be able to find her easily.”

  Jax braced his hands against the counter and stared at the stove. “That’s not why I’m sharing this with you. I’ve been afraid of getting hurt again. Love meant pain to me for so long. I ran away the other night instead of facing my feelings.”

  “So, you left before you got attached?” Aerilyn asked with a frown. Why did she think he cared for her more deeply? Maybe she’d dreamt him coming to her door last night after all.

  A sad smile touched his lips. “No, I left because I’m weak. My feelings for you crept up on me and took me by surprise.”

  “That wasn’t a dream last night?” she whispered.

  He gazed at her sideways and lifted a brow. “Who else comes to your door in the middle of the night?”

  Aerilyn laughed and waved her hand. “I took a sleeping pill, and I wasn’t sure if I’d imagined it.”

  “It was real,” he whispered and glanced at her. “I don’t expect you to forgive me or to even want a mutt like me, but I’m willing to learn how to be the kind of man you need if you’ll have me.”

  Her heart skipped a beat. It was partially his words, but the feelings she felt emanating from him took her up short. She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat and whispered, “So long as you don’t leave me again.”

  Jax walked over to the table and sat across from her. He held out his palms to her, and she placed her hands in his. Without breaking eye contact, he said, “Never again. I swear it.”

  He leaned over the table and hovered an inch away from her. She met him the rest of the way. His lips brushed up against hers, and her body reacted like a flower to the sun. She drank in his passion and had to break away to catch her breath.

  “Slow down,” she panted.

  Jax looked at her with lidded eyes before sitting back. “So, what did I miss this week? Everything go okay at work?”

  She tucked her hair behind her ear. “I guess everything went fine. Riley avoided me, and he didn’t even come to school today.”

  “Maybe he thought he was in trouble?” Jax asked and got up to check on the food.

  She considered it but shook her head. “He’s just not that kind of kid. He was avoiding me. Maybe he’s embarrassed about what happened with his dad.”

  “Could be.” Jax wiped his hands off on a kitchen towel and opened a box of noodles. Then he glanced her way to ask, “You didn’t see that jerk, did you?”

  “No,” she said, resting her chin on her hand. “I didn’t stick around.”

  Aerilyn stared out the trailer window at the trees outside and bit her lip. She just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

  She felt his eyes on her when he asked with a worried expression, “What’s up? Is it your dad? Garren seemed to know there was something going on between us. He said he wouldn’t tell Alaric.”

  That was an entirely different concern she didn’t care to think about at the moment. She laid out her hands across the table and groaned. “No, I haven’t heard from Dad, and believe me, I would have if he knew. I just get the feeling something’s wrong. It’s like the time I met you.”

  He raised an eyebrow.

  To make sure he didn’t misunderstand her meaning, she added, “When we met, I thought you were the danger—but it was something else—maybe whoever attacked KT. Well, I’m getting that same feeling again.”

  “Are you sure it isn’t just because you went back to school and the place you were threatened?”

  It was a fair question. But that wasn’t it. Aerilyn shook her head. “Garren took a picture of Ramsay near the school on Wednesday, but I haven�
�t seen him since yesterday.”

  “Wait, Garren, you mean?” Jax asked with furrowed brows.

  She nodded.

  “Just because you didn’t see him, doesn’t mean he wasn’t there,” he answered. Then his eyes narrowed. “He called me yesterday, said he was following the guy around.”

  Loud rapping came from his door, causing Aerilyn to jump.

  Emery’s muffled voice called out, “Aerilyn, are you there?”

  The door swung open before Jax could let her in. Emery peered inside and groaned when she saw her. She held up Aerilyn’s cell phone and said with clear exasperation, “If you hadn’t left your phone at home, I might not have had to haul my ass down here in such a hurry. You know how scared I was?”

  Jax backed into the kitchen area so Emery could come inside. She was out of breath and had a wild look in her eye.

  Aerilyn got up and took her phone from her friend’s hand. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was such a big deal. I forgot to put it in my pocket after I changed out of my clothes.”

  “First Garren, then you,” Emery grumbled under her breath.

  Jax stirred the noodles in the pot and raised an eyebrow. “What about Garren?”

  Emery sat heavily at the table and sniffed a half-full beer bottle before taking a swig. “He didn’t check in today, and we haven’t been able to reach him. What with Aerilyn here not answering her phone, it stirred the hornet’s nest. By the way, you should give your dad a ring so he doesn’t send every enforcer in a fifty-mile radius out looking for you.”

  Aerilyn shut her eyes and tilted her head back. She knew her friend wasn’t joking. She took a deep breath and held Jax’s gaze as she dialed her father’s number. It rang once before his voice grumbled. “Aerilyn?”

  “It’s me. I’m sorry, I left my phone at the house before I left for Jax’s.”

  She winced, not having intended to bring Jax into this.

  Her father paused, and she knew it hadn’t made it past his overprotective sensors. Alaric cleared his throat and asked, “You’re okay then?”