Page 9

H is boots clicked on the cracked concrete floor as he walked through the hallway of an abandoned warehouse. It looked like every other abandoned warehouse Stephan had ever seen—dilapidated, rusty, with trash everywhere.

Stephan, however, wasn’t here to admire the scenery, he thought, as he entered a wide-open room near the back of the warehouse. He walked in and stopped short of its center.

No, he was here tracking down a rather irritating and slightly homicidal individual—not that he considered Jayden a bad man, he was just…a bit broken. Stephan was a bit broken himself, so he couldn’t really judge. Well, not too much anyway.

The faint smell of magic permeated the air around him. While it was true that magical energy was always present in the air, it was usually undetectable unless a spell was cast.

With how little was left, most would assume the residue was from an old spell. However, he knew better. If he opened up his senses, his very cells would vibrate with the magic charging the air.

Standing there, he called out, “Jayden.” When nothing happened, he sighed. “Jade, I know you’re here.”

When still he got nothing, he put his hands on his hips and glared at the empty room. “Jayden, you drop the damn spell, or I’m going to cast one of my own,” Stephan threatened.

At his threat, the magic in the air shifted, and between one blink and the next, the spell hiding the room’s occupants disappeared.

In the center of the room were two men. One was covered in blood and passed out in a chair—truthfully, Stephan couldn’t care less about the man in the chair, a monster no doubt. No, he was here for the other man in the room.

The second man was also covered in blood. However, he was standing and holding a rather large, bloody knife. He was also currently staring at him. His cold, dead black eyes were completely void of any emotion.

Jayden, voice a deep rumble, asked, “Here to interfere again, Stephan?”

The man had grown so much in the past five years. No longer was Jade the small, skinny teen he had first met. His hair was still a black feathery mess, and his eyes still black holes, but Jayden had filled out. Now six foot two, he had wide shoulders, and had put on quite a bit of muscle. The vampire’s biceps had to be at least twice the size of his own.

Those soft features Stephan had seen when they first met had hardened. The beautiful youth had grown into a handsome man.

Stephan wrapped his arms around his stomach, holding himself. “Are we really going to do this again, Jade?”

“If you would stop following me, we wouldn’t have to. One day, I’m going to find the chip you placed in me.”

“Please, Jade. Please, stop this. There are other ways. You know this! You could just turn them in! Why do you keep…why do you…” He trailed off.

What could Stephan say? What could Stephan possibly say now to convince him to stop? Nothing had worked so far. He kept finding himself in this exact situation over and over again.

“Why do I do ‘this’ ?” Jayden waved the hand holding the knife at the bleeding man. “Why do I torture? Is that what you’re asking me?” He sauntered toward him. “You know why, Stephan. It’s because I want to. Because I need to. It’s because, no matter how much you want to deny it, I’m a monster.”

“You’re not a monster!”

Jayden stopped a few feet away from him. “By the Gods, Stephan, why won’t you give up? Look at me!” he screamed. With his arms held all the way out to the sides, he spun. “I’m covered in the blood of a man I want to kill. Everything in me is screaming to kill him. I want to coat this warehouse with his blood. I want to watch it run cold, watch the light leave his eyes!”

“You’re not a monster. Please…please, stop this…please, Jade,” Stephan begged weakly. Avoiding Jayden’s eyes, he bit his bottom lip, keeping silent as his tears began to fall—why did everything have to be so hard?

Jayden growled and stalked right up to him. The vampire grabbed Stephan’s shoulders and gave him a shake. “ Enough is enough, Stephan! Give up !” the man shouted as he abruptly released Stephan.

What Jayden didn’t understand was that Stephan couldn’t give up. He didn’t have it in him. Jayden was part of his makeshift family…he couldn’t abandon him. Not now, not after all the time they’d spent together.

J ayden stared at Stephan’s red and puffy eyes, his reddened button nose, and his pale lips that were pressed into a tight line, and?—

Fuck, I’m an inconsiderate bastard, he thought with disgust.

He hadn’t even considered how the man would react after what had happened earlier. Jayden had only thought of himself. He shouldn’t have done this, not today.

What he felt right now, Jayden thought it might be regret—not for torturing the man behind him, but for causing Stephan pain. In his need to protect himself, he had hurt the only person who cared.

His free hand clenched into a fist. Jayden didn’t deserve what Stephan had so willingly given him. It had to stop. They couldn’t keep going on like this—Stephan would break. And that was the one thing he couldn’t let happen. He wouldn’t let it happen.

But…he couldn’t see himself stopping—his urges were too strong. And they were urges…not wants…

No, the only way Jayden could end this was by staying away from him. Stephan needed to stay away, as well—something the elf wouldn’t do willingly, as things were now.

Jayden would have to do something to make Stephan want to. The question was…what? The man never listened to him. Stephan was so fucking stubborn. He just wouldn’t accept what Jayden was. So how? How could he make him see? How could he…

Fear! Jayden would play on the man’s fears. He knew what Stephan was afraid of, and scaring people came naturally to him. If Jayden tried hard enough, he was sure he could make Stephan fear him, as well.

Jayden crept forward until their chests were pressed together—well, it was more chest to stomach, as Stephan was short. While Jayden had continued to grow, the elf had remained the same small, beautiful man he had first met…

When had he begun to find Stephan beautiful?

Pushing the pointless questions from his mind, while flush against him, Jayden walked forward, forcing the man to back up. Stephan squeaked as he stumbled, but quickly righted himself.

The man’s arms went out, and he pressed his hands against Jayden’s chest. “Jade…what are you doing?” Stephan asked, in a wavering voice.

Jayden didn’t bother answering. He just continued forward. An uneasy look flitted across Stephan’s face. He was so tiny—Stephan weighed almost nothing—and moving him was effortless. And move him he did, not stopping until Stephan’s back hit the wall.

The man jumped as he bumped against it. He was now pale and sweating. His hands wavered against Jayden’s chest. “Jayden, stop…”

After grabbing the man’s wrists with his free hand, Jayden slammed them against the wall. Stephan gasped at the rough treatment.

Moving in closer to Stephan’s ear, Jayden whispered menacingly, “Why. Should. I?”

A shudder made its way through the small man. And then Jayden smelled it—fear. It tasted bitter to his senses.

It was what he was after, but it angered him—he didn’t want to do this. He liked having Stephan in his life, and Jayden had taken comfort in the fact that the man didn’t fear him. It had made him feel less like a freak.

But those wants didn’t matter. He needed his fear now—it was the only way… The only way Jayden could protect him. He would protect the man from himself, even if the elf refused.

When the smell of fear suddenly dissipated, he blinked in confusion.

“You won’t hurt me,” Stephan declared with conviction.

Jayden jerked back and stared down at him. His shock quickly cleared, and he threw his head back and let out a booming laugh. “You always surprise me, Stephan. You’re always so confident. But what if you’re wrong?”

He then did the one thing he knew would cause Stephan to panic—something cruel. He slowly leaned his entire body against Stephan’s, pinning the man to the wall.

Stephan stilled, his heartbeat speeding up again. His breathing hitched, and the bitter smell of fear came back with a vengeance.

Over the years, Jayden had noticed that Stephan tended to shy away from body contact—the elf feared it. The man had perfected his movements to the point that his discomfort went unnoticed by all that didn’t know him. But then, how could they notice? Stephan could expertly extract himself from any situation without offending anyone.

Not that he couldn’t handle little things. Stephan was fine with quick hugs and small touches. However, the only person who Stephan could handle long full-body contact from was Liam.

As Stephan’s fear permeated the air, Jayden couldn’t help but hate himself. He hated that he was doing something so cruel to the man who had taken him in. To the man who had cared for him when no one else would. His own actions disgusted him, his stomach churning each time Stephan flinched.

Jayden knew what the man was experiencing. He had felt the soul-crushing fear and devastation that the touch of others could bring.

Everything in him screamed for him to let go as the man started to struggle and whimper. But he didn’t—Jayden’s grip only tightened.

Stephan’s fear grew, and his power began to lash out, slicing into Jayden’s arms and hands. Blood flowed freely, as his hands became slick with the warm substance. It loosened his hold enough for Stephan to break free.

The man attempted to flee, but Jayden was faster, his reach longer. He lurched forward and grabbed on to Stephan. They struggled—him to hold on, Stephan to free himself.

With his frantic movements, Stephan tripped. And without thought, Jayden’s hand shot out to stop his fall.

A soft yelp of pain had Jayden’s blood freezing in his veins. The small body in his arms sagged as the smell of fresh blood that wasn’t his own drifted up.

Gripping his slim shoulders, he held Stephan up. Jayden cried out in denial, his world swaying at what he saw. With Stephan in one hand, his other trembled as it hovered over the knife sticking out of the man’s abdomen.

Jayden had stabbed him… He had…he had hurt him. Jayden had hurt the only person who mattered to him.

He slid to the floor and pulled Stephan into his lap. “No…no, no, no, no, no, no!” Jayden screamed. “Oh fuck, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

With his world in a haze of terror, he rocked the limp man in his arms. For the second time that day, Jayden found himself crying.

“Jade…Jayden…” A soft voice floated through the fear that had overtaken him. Peering down, Jayden saw that Stephan’s lilac eyes were open and staring up at him. The little man’s complexion was waxy, his normal flush of life gone.

“St-Stephan, I-I d-didn’t mean t-to,” he sobbed.

This wasn’t supposed to happen—Jayden had just wanted him safe. He would have been fine on his own, just knowing Stephan was out there and safe. But a world without him in it was too bleak for Jayden to conceive.

Stephan let out a pain-filled whimper. “I know, but it’s going to be okay. I’ll heal.” He reached out and wiped one of Jayden’s tears away. “Don’t cry.”

“I hurt y-you.”

“You didn’t mean to. Besides, this pain is nothing…” Stephan tried to laugh, but ended up coughing and wheezing. “Compared to the pain I feel when…when I find you in places like this…it’s nothing.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll stop, I’ll stop. I promise. Don’t die. Please, please…”

W hile Stephan wanted Jayden to stop, he wished it hadn’t taken a knife to the gut to do it.

It hurt—Stephan could have sworn the wound was on fire. Every breath he took and every movement brought on crippling pain. To be honest, Stephan’s tolerance for pain was pretty low, and the trembling arm holding him wasn’t helping.

The man’s eyes were wide, and Jayden seemed lost in his fear and guilt—it looked as if he was going into shock. It was an odd reaction. Stephan wasn’t human, and considering how many Jayden had tortured, the man knew perfectly well that it took more than this to kill an immortal. And despite his young age, Stephan’s healing abilities alone meant he would survive more damage than most. It still hurt though.

Honestly, Stephan found Jade crying much more shocking than getting stabbed.

Jayden never cried. He hadn’t even known the vampire could cry. Stephan would admit—at least to himself—that he deeply cared for the man, loved him as his family, just as he loved Liam, but he had accepted that Jayden had abandoned many of his softer emotions a long time before he’d met him. So Jayden feeling even this much gave Stephan hope. Hope that one day, he would be able to piece together what had been broken.

Stephan couldn’t blame him for what happened. Well, he could, but he didn’t. It had been an accident. Jade had been trying to scare him, not kill him. A task he had been succeeding at until the whole knife-to-the-stomach part.

Stephan’s fear had begun to dominate his every thought. Not fear of Jayden, though—fear of what had already happened. His mind had dragged him into the past. In a warehouse that no longer existed, he had been surrounded by his rapists again. Then he had felt it, their vile touch—every twinge of pain they had caused him.

Now that he thought about it, being stabbed had been a good thing. The physical pain had chased the memories away.

Just thinking of what could have happened if he’d completely lost control terrified him. More than shallow cuts, he could…he could have killed Jayden. Stephan would have never forgiven himself—his mind wouldn’t have survived that.

With a shaky hand, he grabbed the handle of the knife and began to pull it out. As it slid free, Stephan cried out.

“Oh, fuck! I’m so sorry!” Jayden sobbed.

“Shh, I’ll be fine.” After drawing forth the energy he held within, Stephan focused it on healing his wound. His power shot out and infused itself in the blood that had left him, calling it home. He grunted as it returned—the wound welding together, healing in seconds.

Stephan felt exhausted, but otherwise fine. It was unfortunate that healing oneself took more energy than healing another person.

“See, all gone,” he said weakly. After taking hold of one of the man’s hands, Stephan brought it to his stomach.

Jayden pulled up his shirt and ran his fingers lightly over the now-smooth flesh. Upon seeing that he was healed, the man let out a shaky breath and hugged him close .

As he was engulfed in Jayden’s arms, all he felt was warmth. Stephan’s usual panic was absent, as Jayden’s fear pushed back his own.

“I’ll stop. I’ll stop.” Jade murmured the words over and over again.