Page 8 of Cruel Revenge (Jacky Leon #12)

CHAPTER SIX

I was home by late afternoon, throwing my keys to Dirk so he could drive with Olivia to take her things home.

After he did that and dropped my car off, he was going to meet Landon and head home from the packhouse.

I knew my house was empty long before I stepped into it.

Carey was off at the packhouse as well, hanging out with the younger werewolves.

She’d texted at noon, saying they were going to the game.

I was glad to see her get out of the house, away from classwork.

And my wedding. I really didn’t consider how involved she was going to want to be in it.

I puttered around the house for the rest of the afternoon, cleaning up anything I saw out of place.

I did laundry and swept the floors, catching up on housework I knew would have been missed in my absence.

It didn’t help that I refused to hire a real staff to help do all this, like my siblings had.

Between me, Heath, and Carey, we kept up with it most of the time.

I noted that Carey had finished all of her chores.

Heath and I were the ones behind. I left a few of Heath’s chores for him, knowing he would handle them once the meetings slowed down again.

Or Landon and Dirk would jump in and get them done for him.

Maybe I should admit defeat and hire a regular cleaning service or proper household staff like my siblings… It would free up a lot of our time and let us actually take some time off when we can afford to.

I mulled it over as I pulled clothes out of the dryer, feeling Heath finally return to my territory from the Tribunal. It was nearly dinner time, so it made sense that he had escaped his new position to make it home.

“He won’t care if we do takeout a second night in a row,” I said, chuckling as I carried the laundry upstairs as he approached the house. I was folding when he came in, and from the small movements he was making, he was looking for me.

“Jacky?” he called out, but not loudly. He knew I could hear everything in this house when I was paying proper attention.

“Upstairs. I’m putting away laundry,” I answered.

He was pounding up the stairs before I finished and came bursting into the bedroom, looking shellshocked. I dropped the shirt I was holding, letting it knock over the neat pile I had going.

“What’s wrong?” I asked immediately. I sniffed the air, trying to understand what was going through his head, what he was feeling, but could smell nothing but his natural scent. “Why is your Talent up?”

He was breathing hard for a second, then closed his eyes.

I had never seen him need so much effort to drop his Talent before, but once it dropped, I could smell everything.

It was too much. Horror, surprise, weariness, caution, love, and more.

It was so much that it almost dazed me from the intensity of all of it all at once.

“I’m sorry,” he said, waving a hand in the air even though it wasn’t going to help, and we both knew that. “Nothing is wrong… but I had a long meeting with your… parents today…”

That had me sitting down on the edge of the bed, further ruining the folded laundry.

“Okay?” I didn’t like where this was going, but I wasn’t sure what I had to do yet. Did I need to be angry? I had thought we were past problems with my family.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me that Kushim was an Immortal?” he asked, running a hand through his hair. “Or that you know how the moon cursed came about? Or that Subira wasn’t just Changed by the original werecat, but is his biological daughter?”

I opened and closed my mouth several times as it settled in what my parents had talked to Heath about. Family. Our family.

“I… I just never thought to,” I admitted, and it was the truth for parts of what he was asking about.

“Like Kushim… he’s an Immortal, yeah. Can’t die.

Makalo watched his head get cut off and put back on the day they met.

He’s with Zuri. They have a kid together, little Amir.

I just never… thought to say anything. He’s just Kushim. ”

“And the rest?”

“How much did they let you in on?” I asked with a pained expression, fearfully wondering how much they had actually inducted Heath without me .

“Subira’s biological relation. The origin of your family…” Heath ran his hand through his hair again, taking a deep breath as his gaze searched my face for anything. “Hasan’s Talent.”

That made me feel a little better, actually.

“Well, we’re not allowed to talk about Hasan’s Talent under penalty of… death, I believe,” I said, sighing heavily. “And for Hasan’s safety, obviously. He can smell someone’s chances of surviving the Change… that’s dangerous for him… and for others.”

“Yeah…” Heath deflated a bit before me. “I understand that. Subira asked me to let you know they told me all of this. I guess I never really considered how much you were keeping secret for your family.”

“Not all of it was intentional,” I admitted. “Some of it… I try to leave it at the door. I avoid it, understanding it’s not really mine to tell or that I’m just not ready to have long discussions about it.” I shrugged. “Kushim was just Kushim.”

“Well, he’s not really,” Heath said, frowning. “He’s the son of an ancient witch who died over four thousand years ago. In fact, he was killed by Hasan.”

I winced.

Oh yeah. That. I forgot that part…

“Yeah, the witch who tried to control Hasan and keep him as an immortal bodyguard and pet,” I said, nodding as the pieces fell into place.

“Yeah, that was Kushim’s mother. That witch is also the reason why Hasan and Subira know so much about the control magics we’re seeing used by witches now.

That’s why Subira asked people to leave her and me alone in the basement with the dead witches.

So she could talk about it without the werewolves learning it was about Hasan and his life.

And to keep Hasan from having to relive those memories any more than he had to. ”

“Yes.” Heath nodded slowly. “And while you learned a little bit about that in Alaska, you also learned that your family knows what caused the moon cursed. Not just a curse, but who did it and why.”

I could only nod. I did in fact know that. Subira’s aunt cursed her brothers, and that turned them into the original werecat and werewolf.

“She didn’t frame that as family at first,” I admitted. “She was telling me about the impossibility or possibility of magic working and how human knowledge limits what magic can and can’t do based on our preconceived notions.”

“Excuse me?”

“She didn’t give you the speech about how the moon isn’t magic…

but it is magic?” I asked, chuckling a little madly, knowing my grip on reality slipped every time I tried to deal with that particular thought.

Hence why I avoided it. “Which was how she explained that the idea of robbing free will should be impossible, but since we know real cases where it can happen, it must be possible to replicate, and therefore, the witches think they can, so they devised ways to? It’s easier to do on werewolves because the curse already gives a way to control your kind.

” I was talking quickly as I tried to explain it to him, his eyes narrowing, then going wide before he leaned away, my energy freaking him out.

“Uh, no… she didn’t tell me all of that,” he said softly. “We need to talk about communication. Between you and me… or better yet, your family and the rest of the world…”

“Yeah…” I sighed, putting my face in my hands. “Did you know that she actually made the mate bond between Jabari and Aisha?”

“No…”

I lifted my head and met his stare again.

“I’m going to tell you this just so you know how powerful she really is…

” I remember being on the video call for this, those horrifying moments when we didn’t know if anyone was going to be okay or if we were going to watch that passionate woman die or not.

“Jabari apparently had a mate three or so thousand years ago. I don’t know her name, Jabari won’t share that, but she was murdered while he tried to find Subira to Change her into a werecat.

He lived with the remnants of that mate bond for all that time until Aisha was hurt.

Subira literally went into his head, using her magic and his to grab his old mate bond and give it to Aisha, who subconsciously accepted it.

Through it, Jabari’s magic helped her Change and heal from the injuries.

But for all this to work, she cast a spell to freeze Aisha’s body in time so she wouldn’t die before Subira could try to help her. ”

Heath’s face paled. I knew he was going to be thinking about that for a long time, so I just continued, knowing the full story. I had visited Mozambique right after all of this had happened. He’d known about the trip and the discovery of Jabari’s family, but I had never told him the entire story.

“Subira, Zuri, and Jabari are too powerful to do healing magic, and from their time, there wasn’t enough knowledge about the human body for them to know how to even try without…

catastrophic results. The mate bond and how it was formed gave Aisha the ability to tap into Jabari’s ability to use magic. ”

“So…”

“I’m glad my parents trust you enough to bring you in on everything,” I said lamely, smiling weakly, hoping this wasn’t the thing that finally scared him off. “You’re not going to run, are you?”

Heath blinked before what I said finally sank in.

“No!” he said loudly, coming over to sit beside me on the bed.

“Gods no, Jacky. I’m not going anywhere.

I’m just shocked at how you knew all of this and kept it secret for so long.

You told me just enough to keep me from asking for too much more.

I always wanted to respect the privacy of your family, so I didn’t hunt for more information.

This is just so much. Knowing Subira is powerful is different from hearing several examples of how powerful she really is.

It’s just a lot to take in, and I’m amazed you have been able to compartmentalize everything so well. ”

“I guess it’s a talent,” I said, half-serious, but the pun was intended as well.

It didn’t make Heath laugh, but it made him crack a small smile.

My small joke also made me think of Hasan again.

An honest thought came to mind as my first knowledge of his Talent came to mind.

“Personally, I kind of hate Hasan’s Talent. ”

How long has it been since I’ve thought about that?

“Why?” Heath asked, tilting his head next to me.

“Don’t judge me for what I’m about to say.

It was like fifteen years ago,” I said, putting my hands in my lap, wringing my fingers together.

“His Talent was why he Changed me but not my fiancé. Why Hasan believed he could save me, but didn’t even try to save him.

Hasan thought he would just make it more painful for him to die. ”

“Jacky…” Heath reached for me, his fingers brushing against my back before wrapping around my waist. “No judgment from me. We both have previous relationships. While you’re the love of my life, that doesn’t mean I’m okay with Landon’s mother being dead.

Why would I judge you for missing your late partner? ”

“Thanks. It’s just… Hasan and I have had a really complicated relationship all these years.

He lied to me early on. Told me that he was dead.

When I could smell the lie, I recognized the scent of it…

I left. That’s why I came here and lived away from my family.

At the time, Hasan wouldn’t tell me the truth.

I wouldn’t know for several more years.” I shook my head.

“But he told Dirk when he was a child… something everyone has been angry with him for.”

“He did what? Dirk has always known?”

“Yeah…” I gave him a sympathetic look. “Landon learned in Germany, too.”

“My son has been…” Heath’s jaw clenched, and I could hear his teeth grind. “I guess that’s why Hasan and Subira smelled a little surprised I didn’t already know some of this.”

“They would have expected me or Landon to say something eventually, because I trust you both. But I compartmentalize, and Landon probably thought he could just mind his own business. He got back from Germany with his mate and was happy with that.”

Heath rubbed his face.

“Even if he tried to tell me he had secrets about your family, I probably would have stopped him from telling them to me,” Heath said, muffled thanks to his hands. “There’s no more, right?”

“Not that I know,” I said, reaching out to rub his back this time. “Do you still want to marry me after learning all of that, or…” My question was rhetorical. I knew Heath wasn’t going to run just because he learned family secrets. The threat of death didn’t scare him away. Why would any of that?

But the heat in Heath’s eyes as he turned to me…

“Do I need to prove to you how much you’re stuck with me?” he asked softly, reaching to grab one of my wrists.

“I was kind of joking. I know you won’t go anywhere,” I said, trying to scoot away before he acted on whatever thoughts he was having.

“No, no. I think we need to have a long discussion about the many reasons why I won’t be leaving you for any reason,” Heath said, a growl in the words, the heat behind them making my face warm.

“I don’t think that’s a discussion,” I said, huskily as he continued to invade my space. His lips touched mine.

“Well, while you’re breathless and can’t argue, I get to tell you everything about you that I love,” he said, grinning before he swiftly moved, lifting me up and tossing me into the middle of the bed. “All the reasons why I’m here and nowhere else right now.”