Cross My Heart

Chapter 6

Or so I thought. When I arrived to Jacobs room, it was empty. The bed had been made and everything was cleaned up. It was like he had never been here in the first place. I knew I wasn't dreaming about that whole incident. 

A nurse walked in right after me and smiled.

"Uh....miss?"

"Yes beta?" I hated that. I wasn't a ranked member but my father was. So everyone always greeted me with his title, because it was a formality. Kade hadn't appointed a new beta yet so my father kept his position until we had the whole new ranked members figured out.

"Where did the young man go that was in here previously?" She flipped through a chart that was sitting on the end of the bed. Her brows furrowed and she frowned.

"It looks like the Alpha picked him up earlier today." Now I knew why she was frowning. Kade was ruthless when it came to rogues. I thanked her and rushed out. My feet padded against the pavement as I ran down the street towards the pack house. As I got closer, I picked up a faint smell. I sniffed around and immediately knew it was Jacob. I followed his scent down to the basement.

I gasped as the scene in front of me unfolded. Jacob was chained to the ceiling in the middle of the room. His back was facing me and I could see the numerous gashes on his back. Blood dripped down from the open wounds, forming a large puddle of blood below him. 

Kade raised the whip above his head before bringing it back down across his back again. Jacob tensed up as the whip made contact with the already tender wounds. 

"Who sent you?!" Kade dropped the whip on the table and picked up a rag that had been sitting in a bowl of what I could only assume was wolfsbane laced water. He made his way over to Jacob. Kade laid the towel out on Jacobs back so that it covered a majority of his wounds. I watched in horror as Jacob dropped his head.

I rushed out from my hiding spot. Kade looked back at me. I could see his wolf was fighting for control as his eyes shifted from their normal color to the amber of his wolf. 

"Kade," I gasped out. His eyes stopped changing for a moment before he looked down at me. For a moment I had forgotten how much taller he was. As a she-wolf, I was considered small. I stood a measly 5 foot 6 inches. Most she wolves stood at least 6 foot tall. Kade, however, stood at a whopping 6 foot 9 inches. This man was a beast, both figuratively and metaphorically. 

"Liv, you shouldn't be here." His hand went straight to my face. He let his thumb slide over my cheek. I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks. 

"He shouldn't be here." I motioned my head towards a now sleeping Jacob. Kade let out a deep huff before motioning for his men to unchain Jacob.

"He's a rogue Liv."

"I know what he is! But for some reason, my wolf say's we need to trust him." Kade looked shocked at the news. I had never seen him in a more conflicted state.

"Mia? Mia is telling you to protect this mutt?" I felt Mia growl. Before I could comprehend what was happening, she had pressed forward. 

"You listen here, this mutt has a job to do that has been assigned to him by the moon goddess herself." Mia pointed our finger out at Kade in a condescending tone. She took a step toward him as he took a step back. I internally giggled at the scene unfolding before me. Mia was my counterpart. Where I was usually quiet and reserved, Mia wouldn't mind putting someone in their place. Even if that someone happened to be her Alpha.

"Mia, calm down and please explain to me what's going on." Kade tried to reason.

"Calm down?! Now you're telling me to calm down? You  took an innocent creature and tortured him for crying out loud and I'm the one who needs to calm down?" I watched as Kade sighed and hung his head. Mia was right, he had no excuse other than the fact that Jacob was, well still is, a rogue. I get it, rogues are usually very vile creatures who have every intention of hurting whoever gets in their path. But he could have at least talked to the poor boy before going through all of this.

"You're right." He sighed and looked up to Mia who was now inches away from him. 

"I know I am. Now get him back to the clinic and pray that he turns out ok." He nodded.

Mia gave me control back just ash she was turning to walk away from this hell hole. I waited outside the cells to make sure Kade was actually going to bring him to get treated.

I watched as the guards brought a bloodied sheet covered stretcher out and loaded it into the back of the clinic car. I could barely hear Jacobs heart beat as they loaded him in.

"Liv, I'm sorry." Kade walked over to where I was standing. He looked down at the ground and rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't think about how you would feel. I know you were the one who brought him in, so I should have asked you what was going on." I could see him looking at me from the corner of my eyes. My gaze remained on Jacob. I still hadn't told Kade about everything that Jacob had said to me only hours ago. Now I wasn't sure if I wanted to.

"Kade.....save it. You f****d up." I felt the tears well up in my eyes. Why was I so attached to this man whom I had never met before?

I felt Kades arms wrap around me and before I knew what was happening, we were heading inside the pack house. Kade carried me up the stairs to my room and laid me on my bed. He placed a gentle kiss on the top of my head before turning and leaving me in my own thoughts.

I flopped down onto my bed, letting out a long sigh. I had so much to figure out already. Why was this happening to me? Of all people why me? I never bothered anyone but I felt like I was being cursed. I laid there for what felt like hours before I dozed off.

Unlike the last few dreams I have had, this one took place in my room. The balcony doors flew open with a gust of wind. A blindingly bright orb made its way through. I rubbed my eyes and before I knew it, the Moon Goddess had appeared in front of me on my bed. She was just as beautiful as the first time I laid my eyes on her. 

"My child, it's almost time. Jacob will be of great help." She moved a strand of my hair out of my face and smiled. "I think it's time I explain a little bit of this to you."

"Ya think?" I crossed my arms across my chest and stared at her.

"Jacob is your assigned protector. He has been guided to you to help in the upcoming battles you will face. He doesn't know it yet, but his wolf does. And so does yours. Soon, his wolf will fully awaken and he will have his full powers. This will happen on your 18th birthday. So please, don't worry too much about him. He will be fine, I promise." With that she was gone. 

I sat up in my bed and looked around. The sun was still high in the sky so I assumed my nap hadn't lasted that long. 

These visit's from Selene had become more and more frequent. My birthday was two days away now so I guess that could be the reason behind them. Well other than the warnings she's been leaving me. 

I tossed the blanket to the side and slid out of the bed. My feet drug across the floor as I made my way to the bathroom. 

I gasped as I looked into the mirror. The person staring back at me looked....different. My hair had more shine to it, my eyes seemed to glow brighter, my face had looked flawless. If I didn't know any better, I'd say I was glowing!

I quickly washed my face. This made me think of all the toiletries I had tried to bring Jacob before the whole incident with Kade.

I had left the bag sitting in front of the pack house so maybe they were still there. I made my way downstairs, making sure to avoid any prying eyes.

Just as I reached for the handle, a dark mist appeared and swallowed me whole. I let out a scream before being consumed by the darkness.

Inside the cloud was a dimly lit room. A table and two chairs were in the middle of the room. Nothing else. No doors, no windows, nothing. A man suddenly appeared in one of the chairs and motioned for me to sit. I hesitated momentarily before making my way to the empty chair opposite of him. 

The man couldn't have been much older than me, late mid to late 20's at best. He had black hair that was combed back to reveal a striking set of  grey eyes. He was dressed in a black suit that fit him well. A red tie hung from around his neck and just looked so classy.

He flashed a set of pearly white teeth as I sat down. We sat there for a moment before he begun talking.

"My name is Dante. I'm sure you're wondering why you're here." His voice was so smooth and velvety. I had almost forgot he had kidnapped me. 

"That would be the best thing to lead with." I sat back in my chair and crossed my arms. 

"Feisty one aren't you princess." A more sinister grin crossed his face as he spoke. His eyes went from grey to red and then back to grey.

"Only when I'm being held hostage."

"Oh no, you're free to leave at any time. Assuming you know how." I looked around at the empty room and shook my head. "That's what I thought." He waved his hand and a black door appeared on the wall behind me. I got up to leave. Before I could make it to the door, Dante had cleared his throat, making me stop in my tracts.

"Before you go, there's something you must know, princess." I turned back to face him.

"Why do you keep calling me princess? And you still haven't explained why I'm here."

"Oh but you are a princess!" He clapped his hands together and smiled again. This time a set of razor sharp fangs made their way forward. I gasped and he covered his mouth.

"Vampires are only....."

"A fairytale? Yes and so are werewolves. At least that's what most of the world thinks. Besides, I'm no ordinary vampire. I'm a hybrid." Great. First I find out that vampires are real, but now I find out hybrids exist and I'm speaking to one right now. Can this day get any weirder?

"Hybrids are just a myth." He chuckles and stares at me.

"Oh my dear, there are so many things you have to learn. But for now, I'm here to help you."

"Help me with what?"

"Well, finding out who you really are for one."

"I know who I am. I'm the Beta's daughter. Their only child."

"Not quite. That's the story they've been telling you? I must say, I thought I taught them better." He shook his head.

"Wait, you know my parents?"

"Your real parents or the ones you call your parents?"