Page 18

R eddish-brown spots stained the covers beneath them, and were identical to the patches on Jayden’s skin and clothes.

They were both a little bloody, him more than Stephan. As the blood was all his, it made sense. At least the thousands of shallow cuts Jayden had received were all pretty much healed—though his clothes were a loss, as were Stephan’s.

But none of that matters…what mattered was that while the elf’s powers had quietened, his eyes hadn’t returned to normal.

Jayden’s heart ached at the loss, but…if the beautiful lilac never returned, he would still love Stephan. Dante Kozen, of course, would die slowly for his part in causing the change.

Though…Jayden might still kill the man, even if they did revert back.

“There is no might. We will kill him!” his monster snapped .

Ignoring the voice in his head, he tried to coax Stephan back to him. “Sweetheart… Stephan, I’m sorry.”

Stephan tilted his head, looking up at him. When lilac began to wash away the darkness, Jayden sighed in relief.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Stephan rasped softly.

“I didn’t want to hurt you.” Staring down steadily, Jayden threaded his fingers into Stephan’s curly strands. “And I knew him disappearing would hurt you less than knowing what he did.”

“I had a right to know.”

“You did…but I still didn’t want to tell you.” Hesitantly, he divulged, “And Liam felt the same.”

As Stephan already knew the worst of it, telling him about the man’s involvement now felt like the right thing to do.

The elf’s eyes widened. “Liam knew?”

“Yes, he also helped. He killed the woman involved. His eyes…they turned black when he found out what your Uncle Grant had done.”

Stephan scrunched his nose up. “Black, but that’s…” His words trailed off.

“What did Liam do before coming here?”

“My father…I think he said Liam worked for the Zaytari. He dropped everything to take care of me.”

“How did you know Dante Kozen’s group had no executioner?”

“What? Liam told…” Stephan trailed off.

Jayden sighed. “I suppose, if he had been the previous one, he would know.”

C ould Jayden be right? Had Liam been Dante’s previous executioner? Did it matter?

No, Liam was still Liam. It didn’t change anything. Besides, the fewer people who knew what the man had done, the safer they were.

“Stephan…I know this is a stupid question, but are you alright?”

He laughed bitterly. “No, not really. Not only was Grant my last blood relative, he was responsible for my parents’ deaths. And I…not knowing that…let my parents’ murderer into my home.” Stephan swallowed back the bile that formed at the thought. “The man wanted me dead. They…they were supposed to kill me, as well…after they were done.”

“I know. I read it in his mind.”

“I have no family left,” he whimpered, as tears flooded his eyes.

“That’s not true. You have Liam. While he’s not blood-related, he does love you. And then…there’s me. If you’ll have me, that is,” Jayden murmured warily, before kissing the top of his head. “I love you, Stephan. You’re not alone.”

Stephan let out a sob and plastered himself to the man. Jayden cupped his face, and leaned down to place a soft kiss on his lips.

He needed this, to feel something, something other than the betrayal plaguing him .

After scooting up his body, Stephan deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue past Jayden’s lips. As he hardened, he whimpered and began to rub his erection against Jayden’s abs.

Growling, Jayden rolled them and pinned Stephan beneath him. The man sucked on his bottom lip before pulling away completely.

“We should stop,” Jayden rasped.

Stephan’s voice cracked when he asked, “Why?”

“It wouldn’t be right…you’re upset. I won’t take advantage of you. It would make me as bad as them .”

They both knew who ‘them’ was. Even so, Stephan wanted him. He wanted to be with him, even if he was scared.

“I want you…I don’t want to wait, please,” he begged.

“No, not now. Later, yes. But not now. Once you’ve rested and your mind has cleared.” Jayden bent down and gave him a quick kiss. “It may be selfish, but I can’t. Not this way. I need to know that you’re with me, not because of shock, but because you want to be. Because you’re ready to be.”

“You want me though, right?” Feeling uncertain, he asked, “You don’t think I’m damaged?”

“No! I would never think that. You’re perfect! There is nothing wrong with you, so don’t ever think there is. I love you, Stephan, and I will always want you.”

Biting his lip, he nodded. “Okay.”

Jayden slid off of him and began to tuck him in. “Now, you should rest.” He paused. “Though…maybe you should take a bath first. You’re a little bloody.”

“Later…”

“Well, I’m going back out there to talk to our…guest.”

The word ‘guest’ ended in a growl—which didn’t bode well for Dante.

“Okay.” Stephan sniffled. “But don’t hurt him.”

Jayden huffed. “I won’t, if that’s what you want. Even if I really, really want to.” He leaned down and kissed Stephan’s cheek. “Now, rest.”

A fter closing the outer door of Stephan’s room, Jayden started down the hallway toward his own. Thanks to the dry blood, his dress clothes were even more uncomfortable than before, plastered as they were to his skin. He fully intended to change before dealing with Dante again.

Once in his room, he kicked off his shoes, and quickly stripped away his ruined clothes. Jayden strode nude into the bathroom, then grabbed a washcloth and wet it in the sink. He wiped himself down, trying to get as much blood off as possible.

After throwing the bloody piece of cloth into the trash, he re-entered his bedroom.

“Now, what do I wear?” Jayden murmured to himself, as he looked around his bedroom.

The walls were forest green, with some silver filigree on them, and the room was large enough to fit a small sitting area with green couches, and all the dark brown furniture one could ask for. His large four-poster king-sized bed was against the far wall, and the marble floor was covered in a soft black rug.

Jayden eyed the double doors that led to his walk-in closet. He could put on another dress shirt and whatever, or he could go for comfort. Considering what Jayden wanted to do to Dante at the moment, he didn’t feel talking to him warranted nice clothing.

Jayden opened one of his dressers and grabbed a pair of black boxer briefs, black jeans, and a black T-shirt. Once fully dressed, he looked around for his slippers—over the years he’d been living with Stephan, Jayden had gotten into the habit of wearing them.

“You threw them away a few days ago because of all the holes,” his monster reminded him.

“Shit, I forgot.”

“You don’t have to talk out loud for me to hear you. Just think words at me. Oh, there’s always the pink ones Stephan got you for your birthday?!”

Jayden snorted in disbelief. “I know that, but I prefer it when we’re alone. And you can’t be serious.”

“But they’re so fuzzy! Also, I bet Stephan would be happy if we wore them.”

Apparently, not only did his monster share his homicidal tendencies, but also his love for Stephan.

“He’s mine, as well! You have to share! Be fair!”

Considering that his monster was a part of him, he supposed… Nothing, he supposed nothing, as he had no interest in closely examining his monster’s claim.

Sighing, Jayden quickly headed into his walk-in closet, and dug out the fuzzy pink slippers, finding them still in the box they’d come in. After leaving his room, he closed the door behind him and started off toward the staircase.

“I want a name. I don’t like being called ‘monster’. ”

Eyebrows rising, Jayden hesitantly mumbled, “I’ll think about it.”

“You do that… We should kill him.”

“We can’t.”

“ Why not?” his monster whined, and stomped his foot.

Jayden caught himself as he stumbled on one of the steps, his eyes widening at his monster’s childish display. “We can’t kill him. It would ruin Stephan’s plan.”

“What if the man refuses and tries to hurt Stephan?”

“Then we’ll kill him.” Jayden chuckled darkly.

Almost to the living room, he picked up the conversation going on.

“So you killed Jill,” Dante surmised. “We always wondered what happened to her. No clues and no body.”

Liam laughed. “I couldn’t leave a body behind.”

“No, I suppose not. The methods you used to torture and kill her would have led us right to you.” The man sighed. “Even if you had lost trust in the rest of my group, why didn’t you come to me? You know I would have made them pay if I had known, Liam.”

“I couldn’t. You know what would have happened if what Grant had done had become public knowledge. Such a high-profile figure, there would be questions. And then on top of having to deal with his anger and grief, Stephan would have been hounded by the press. Reporters trying to break him down just for a story,” Liam snarled. “Not to mention, it would have led you right to Jayden.”

“There is some truth there,” Dante agreed, but he could have sworn the vampire sounded hurt.

“So I was right. You were an executioner at one point,” Jayden drawled as he sauntered in.

The two of them were a mess—both as bloody as he had been. Liam’s red dress shirt was stained and torn up, and his black pants were not much better. Jayden found it a bit strange to see Liam so out of sorts, as before this, he had never seen the man have even a hair out of place. Even after what he did to Jill, there hadn’t been a speck of blood on him.

Dante was not much better, his expensive suit was ruined, and there were smudges of blood on his face.

“I was,” Liam confirmed. “But as I’m sure you’ve figured out, I retired when Stephan needed me.”

Sitting next to Liam, he narrowed his gaze on Dante. “Mr. Kozen, to be honest, right now, I want to kill you.”

For some reason, the man smiled at that and said, “No doubt.”

“However, Stephan told me not to, so, for now, I won’t. But I would suggest we get on with this before I change my mind.”

“Yes, well, your anger is to be expected. I apologize for revealing what I did. Unfortunately, I do need to finish reading your mind.”

Of course, he did, Jayden thought with a snort. At least, it should go quickly—there wasn’t much left for him to see.

He grabbed Dante’s hand. The man jolted in surprise, but quickly calmed down, his eyes glazing over as he slid into Jayden’s mind.

Monitoring Dante’s progress, he pulled away before the man could see his memories in Stephan’s bedroom.

Dante’s green eyes cleared. “That body in the forest is going to be a pain to find. Though, I believe, there was a little more left for me to see.”

“It’s nothing you need to know.”

“Are you sure? ”

“Positive,” Jayden growled.

There was no way in hell he was going to let Dante see Stephan in his frilly pink panties. That was for his eyes only. The man’s moans were his, the smell of his arousal, his declaration of love. Jayden would share none of it.

Dante’s gaze on him was probing, but the look soon fled as the man relaxed. “I believe you.”

“So, what happens now?”

“Now, I contact the king and a few others, to tell them what I’ve learned. Believe it or not, I see no problem with you joining my group. Skills like yours are very useful in my line of work. And the job of executioner would fit you quite well. The final decision, however, will be the king’s. I believe King Adrian will want to meet with you both.”

Somehow, Jayden didn’t think the king would appreciate his work. Then there was Stephan…the societal implications of being found out would be devastating. Plenty of idiots out there were still prejudiced against Lydus blood elves.

“I don’t want Stephan involved. If anyone finds out what he is, his businesses, any company his name is attached to, will be ruined. Stephan would lose everything, not to mention his life would probably be in danger. Then there’s the fact he hid a murderer for ten years.”

“I assure you, Stephan will not be punished. As for the registry, that’s another matter entirely. But I’m sure King Adrian will figure something out.”

“If you say so,” Jayden muttered dryly.

D ante absently watched the scenery go by out the car window. Everything he had learned kept turning over in his head. The information he’d received was beyond his imagination. Dante felt positively giddy with excitement.

Gods, they had found him—after ten years of searching, they had finally found him. The public could never find out what he had done. Despite who Jayden’s ‘victims’ were, to this day, there were still some relatives screaming about conspiracies.

If Jayden became his executioner—and he would, if Dante had anything to say about it—his previous activities should probably be kept secret, even from Dante’s people. Though, considering his signature methods of torture, Jayden would be found out quickly by those who’d been involved with the case.

He could possibly tell those higher up in his organization, as they already knew more of the intimate details. Dante snorted—not that the younger members wouldn’t find out anyway. His people gossiped as much as the old women in the First Realm…or was that old men?

Once he was finally home, and secluded in his study, Dante pulled out his cell phone and called the king. Adrian answered after a few rings.

“ To what do I owe the pleasure of this call, Dante? ”

Dante’s mouth curved into a smile at Adrian’s less-than- thrilled tone. The king just didn’t appreciate his flair for suspense—a shame, really.

“I just had a rather interesting meeting.”

Adrian let out a heavy sigh. “ About what?”

“Some old cases.”

“ I swear to all that is holy, Dante, if you don’t get to the point, I’m going to track you down and shov ? — ”

Adrian’s voice cut out, and a deeper one spoke. “ I apologize, Dante. Adrian is a bit…grumpy tonight. ”

Dante laughed. “Don’t worry, King Xavier. I’m not offended.”

“ I would suggest, however, getting to the point. My man hasn’t been sleeping well lately. ”

“Oh, I see. Well then, I’ll be quick about it.”

Dante heard Adrian snarkily say, “ Doubtful, ” in the background. He couldn’t help but grin—the vampire was as feisty as always.

“ Thank you. Here’s Adrian. ”

“You know those kidnappings that stopped five years ago?” Dante asked in excitement.

Adrian grunted, “ Yes .”

“I found him!”

He could hear covers rustling over the line. “ You found him? ”

“Yes, I met him in person. He let me into his mind. The man is simply extraordinary. We were right about him being young, by the way. However, he is more powerful than we even imagined.”

“ And why did he let you read him? ”

“He wants to join my group.”

“ I see…well, it appears we should meet. I imagine it’s a conversation better had in person. ”

“Yes! There’s so much to tell!” Dante shouted passionately. “About Stephan Everwood, and believe it or not, Liam Valence. Not to mention, Grant Everwood. We also missed quite a few bodies. Oh, and there was a betrayal in my group. Then there’s the young man in the middle of it all. Jayden is his name, by the way. God, wait till you see him. His eyes th?—”

“ Dante! ” Adrian snapped. “ Calm down. You can explain everything when we meet. ”