Page 68 of Jackal's Pride
“Is this about that warlock?”
“I thought Newt was a friend—granted I rarely saw him outside of The Den, but I considered him as close to having a friend as it got. But it was never that way for him. Little did I know how much he was scheming and planning with his brother.” I was disappointed in myself, hurt and furious at the same time when I thought of Newt. I let Barron see the anger and sadness morph my face once more, then I took a deep breath and relaxed my forehead until I no longer felt the crease there.
“He carelessly stood around and let you wager your body! He was never a person you could believe!” I flinched from his words, and then his eyes softened. “They took advantage of your curse, Maureen.”
His words hurt. Hearing it from someone else made it feel ten times worse than what it seemed like inside my head.
Pride was bitter and raging in my stomach.
Barron grabbed my shoulder and squeezed. “Don’t let your pride steal your chance at what Sebastian found.”
I didn’t dare close my eyes. I didn’t have control over the watery texture to them right now. “I can’t trust him.”
“Do you really think I’d allow him so close to you if he was a threat?” Barron asked. “What about Dad? Sebastian and August? You’re too close to see what we see. Jackal is completely enamored of you, and if you think he’s unaware or not able to feel that way, think again.”
He dropped his hand and walked away. I hadn’t gotten that many words out of Barron in years. I didn’t know how long I stood there until I detected his angry essence right before he spoke.
“He doesn’t even have a heart.” I twisted around to Jackal’s irritated voice. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“I’m leaving. Don’t bother following. You’re not invited.”
“And when has that stopped me before?” he asked. He crossed his arms against his chest. “First you ask your family to question me, then you reprimand me for having a heartless chest. You’re out for blood, specifically mine, but why?”
I stood my ground. “I don’t trust you.”
His brows furrowed, eyes igniting into a green fire. “I don’t mind your anger, Little Monster, but credence is something I want from you.”
“Why? Why would you want that from me?”
“Because if I use this eternal life for anything other than creating plagues, I’d want it to be with you, making sure you were safe. The only time I’d want you to unravel would be in my arms.”
Slowly, he came closer. I was his skittish, untrusting prey, and the predator was smart and wary that he’d spooked me. Goose bumps covered my arms. I bet he listened to the outrageous pounding of my heart with his animal-like hearing.
I placed my hands on my hips. “What about when you grow tired of this body? When it’s no longer new to you and your eyes stray to another woman? You expect me to believe that you’d only want me when you’d never discovered anyone else?”
He kept coming toward me, scaring the ever-loving shit out of me. “I don’t have an interest in another’s body. I’d rather let the worlds fall to nothing before I’d allow anyone to ever touch you again. You’re my calling, my salvation. I’d be a fool to let such a fiery woman slip through my fingers.”
He stood before me now. His fingers skimmed over my shoulder, burning tingles paving its way with his touch. He dipped down, inhaling, causing my spine to tingle. Heat unfurled inside me, blossoming into raging desire. “Do you want me to tell you what you smell like now?”
Biting my lip, I shivered. “What?”
“You smell like a meadow full of lavender. You smell so radiant… so flowery. You have all the bite in the world, but it can never hide the truth. You’re a bouquet waiting to be found by the one meant to hold you forever.” He lifted my chin and gazed deeply into my eyes.
I was lost, enchanted by his emerald orbs.
“You smell likemine.” His mouth tipped up at the corners, revealing perfect teeth and two lengthened canines.
More of my armored spikes fell to the ground. He was crazy handsome.
“At first, I wondered why your smell offended me so much. I didn’t know what to do with you, unable to recognize what was right in front of me. Once I did, I made sure to mark you.”
“You marked me, not because you wanted to get back at me, but because…”
“I recognized your scent like it was a love note only I’d be able to understand.” He placed his forehead to mine, rubbing his fingers across my shoulders tenderly. “To think I despised the witch for so long when she led me directly to you. Without her, I wouldn’t have acknowledged you as my one—my desire to live when all I’d ever known was to kill.”
My heart rattled. The poor organ wasn’t used to feeling this way—so sensitive and yearning for someone. I breathed Jackal in much like he always did to me then pushed him away. I glanced around the empty ballroom, wondering if my family could hear us.
Slow, then all at once, those tender feelings left me. His same beautiful words brought reality to the surface. “That’s the problem, you would have felt nothing for me if it weren’t for those hearts. I’m too selfish not to acknowledge that truth. You are but an entity without the means to adore me on his own. Since meeting you I realize I need you to be real, all parts of you. Real in your desire to me and real in your sudden longing to help us.”