Thirty four

JADE POV.

"Do you think she's going to make it?" A familiar voice reached my ear, but so did other loud jarring sounds, and that alone made my head feel like it was splitting in two. If they kept going, I was sure I wasn't going to make it, which would be preferable to the banging in my head.

Trying to get a read on the location I was, I struggled with getting my lids open when they felt as if heavy rocks were placed over them. The first glimpse I got made me wince. The brightness had been blinding, irritating my barely open irises.

"Oh my gosh! She moved" a male voice crashed through the space again, but it didn't hurt as much as when I first woke up. Maybe it was an unconscious act, but I found that I had subconsciously tuned out the volume of the noises outside until I only had my focus on the people in the room.

There were three heartbeats, one stronger than the other two. I could also identify exactly who it was that had spoken. Hayden. It was Hayden's voice. His accent was so different from everyone else's that it was easy to pinpoint his exact location in a crowd just by his speaking.

"Are you serious" Lexis asked, her high-pitched voice almost ruining the ambiance I'd created.

Fuck it. It was just my luck to be stuck with Ryland's bitchy sister. How did she find me, how did I end up wherever this was when just a few hours passed, I thought I was going into the light, or hell.

Trying to force my eyes open proved a big task but I finally did it and bit by bit, my irises adjusted to the light, then to the faces above mine. Just like I'd worked out. It was Hayden and Lexis, but then, who owned the third heartbeat that drummed powerfully just as mine did.

I was different. There was something off about my body that I couldn't place my hand on, but it was there and I could feel it.

"Jade?" Hayden called, his voice laced with worry. "Are you alright, do you feel any sharp pain when you move".

Lexis rolled her eyes, "Can you quit it with the stupid question Hayden, What do you think she's feeling right now? she was freaking bleeding out when we saw her".

"She'll be fine, you don't have to be so fuzzy," Ariel said walking Into the room. My gaze collided with hers and I glared. I'd almost died because of her and here she was, being all casual about it. "Don't be so mad, doll face. I was pretty sure you wouldn't survive the bite, but it turned out I was wrong. You're one tough nut to crack"

I didn't need or want her compliment, and as I stared at her, I contemplated a million ways I could have her killed, once my body cooperated with me. My throat was parched and I was starving so I couldn't really give her a piece of my mind.

"What bite?" Hayden asked, his brows furrowed.

Ariel shrugged. "poisonous snake bite".

"Help me seat Hayden," I managed to get out and Hayden quickly rushed to my side and gingerly pulled me into a sitting position.

"Do you need anything else?" he asked staring into my eyes. I reached to touch his face, just to feel that he was real and I wasn't hallucinating the whole scenario at the point of death. He looked really good, I could see his eyes and the intricate colors that made them unique.

Hayden leaned into my touch Instinctively. "I'm here Master".

His words made me jerk my hand from his face and I watched, the room getting a bit stuffy as his face fell.

"Did I... Did I do something wrong".

"No!" I bit out sharply and he winced.

"You did not do anything wrong" I answered just to make him feel better. Why had I reacted like that, I asked myself even tho the answer to the question was loud and clear at the back of my mind. I would never admit to it tho. Maybe Dearil had succeeded in messing with my head after all. Sex had always been a means to an end for me, so why did what we shared for just one time, feel almost life-altering? It felt as if the memory was etched so deep into my memory that anytime I blinked, flashes of them haunted me.

"The mark took." Ariel's voice made me wince and I looked up at her cluelessly.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't act like you're dumb Jade. You know exactly what it is I am talking about, except maybe you want me to spill the whole detail in front of your human friends here and then they won't be allowed to leave, is that what you want" she asked sweetly, one of her brows arched to the limit.

"What are you both babbling about, is there some sort of secret we aren't in on," Lexis asked, her gaze moving from Ariel to me.

Ariel rolled her eyes while I glanced at her with a bored expression. "What are you doing here Lexis, shouldn't you be attached to your beloved brother's hip as you always are?"

Lexis pursed her lips, her eyes avoiding mine, her intention of not answering my question very clear on her face

I glanced at Hayden and then back at her. "You know I've been trying to figure you two out but I can't quite conclude why you, lexis are in Etral forest with my Pet, whom by the way I gave specific orders to stay away from you and your brother".

Hayden twisted his hand beside me, his head dropping as he avoided my gaze. I could feel him getting anxious, but Lexis was just her usual self, proud and spoiled rotten.

"Hayden doesn't have to listen to anything you say, especially now that Ryland is Don".

The news was a shock. Did father immediately make him the leader once I went missing? I'd have thought he'd have left that off until he was at death's door, except... My gaze snapped to Lexis. "What did you do to father, how come Ryland is the new Don"

"I didn't do anything. It was all Ryland" she yelled, her voice defensive. "Why would you even think that I could kill our father".

I paused, then raised a brow." I never said you killed him".

Lexis stuttered then looked towards Hayden to defend her but he was still staring at the floor as if he had discovered the secret to life in them. She turned to face me with a frown etched on her face.

"Fine! It's true, but I would have never done it if Ryland did not threaten to kill me. Father died because Ryland wanted to be Don, you were freaking gone and It was the perfect opportunity. You all know father trusted me the most with his drinks, so I was the only one who could give him the poison that took him out, but that was because Ryland lost his goddamn mind and threatened to kill me if I didn't go through with it, which is why I did it, but he didn't keep his word. The damn bastard still went ahead and made plans to have me killed. He told Hayden to seduce and kill me in my sleep".

Hayden's head jerked up in a panic, his eyes cutting at Lexis. "I didn't seduce her. I had no choice, Ryland was going to send me off to the whorehouses if I didn't do what he said" he quickly defended, his eyes on mine as he pleaded internally for me to believe him.

Ariel chuckled, her eyes wide open in shock. "And I thought Dearil's family had more drama over here. Turns out, we have absolutely nothing on your family Jade".

"Stay out of my business Ariel. We still have our score to settle, so maybe you should prepare yourself for that" I threatened. Ariel scoffed, pissing me off. My chest clouded with a rage so intense, my whole skin sizzled with it and I felt invincible all of a sudden.

"Hey, calm down Jade. I'll leave you all to talk then" Ariel quickly said then walked out of the room, a frightened look in her eyes.

Just as sudden as the rage came on, it dissipated and I turned to face Lexis and Hayden.

Lexis had lied about Ryland threatening to kill her but that wasn't my main concern, it was the fact that Ryland was the new Don, and had probably ruined all the years of my hard work, and probably destroyed half of the alliances that I had garnered over the years.

It was freaking funny that I'd always contemplated killing Alvarez, and never pushed through with it, yet his two beloved children did it immediately after I was out of the picture.

I hope the worms were feeding on his eye socket at that very moment because he deserved that and more.

"Your eyes are weird" Hayden stated, his gaze fixed on them in awe.

Lexis stared too. "They are freaking golden. Are you wearing contact".

I'd known I wasn't right and this proved it. "Yes," I said, choosing to lie. "Well, why are you both here".

"Ryland is after us. He wants us dead so we had to run. This was the last place you were last seen and I was sure that you were alive, so we decided to come here"

His words were pleasing. "You were sure that I was still alive?" I asked and Hayden beamed.

"Never doubted it for a second. I knew no one could kill you".

I smirked, then pet his soft hair. "That's my boy" I praised.

"Can you both stop, this is so freaking cringe"?

I glared at her, then got out of bed, all the dizziness and pain nonexistent. They both stared at me in awe.

"There is no way... "

I cut off Lexis' exclamation. "Are you here to ask for my help? You're really presumptuous to think that I would help you after everything you and your brother did to me".

"You're not only doing this for me. Haven't you always wanted to be Don, or are you going to remain a coward and hide away in this freaking forest all your life. Is that it, Jade Alvarez?".

I laughed, then took a step in her direction, the evil intent on my gaze making her move back. The power in my veins intensified, urging me forward

"How about I show you that I'm not a coward by getting rid of you first before I go for your brother".